Final Exam Review
Chapter 3 Energy
1. Energy is the ability to do ___________ or cause change.
2. Briefly describe each form of energy:
Mechanical
Sound
Chemical
Thermal
Electromagnetic
Nuclear
3. Explain the difference between kinetic and potential energy.
4. On which two factors does kinetic energy depend? Explain how each factor effects kinetic energy.
5. On which two factors does gravitational potential energy depend?
6. Describe an apple falling from a tree in terms of both potential and kinetic energy.
7. What is the law of conservation of energy?
8. What type of energy is produced during every energy conversion?
9. Describe the energy conversions between kinetic and potential energy on a swing.
10. Give an example of an appliance that converts energy from one form to another. Trace the energy
conversions.
Chapter 4 Temperature and Heat
1. State the kinetic theory of matter.
2. What does temperature measure?
3. Explain how a thermometer works in terms of thermal expansion.
4. Explain the difference between the three most common temperature scales in terms of zero.
Final Exam Review
5. What is heat and how is it related to temperature?
6. What is thermal energy and how is it different from temperature?
7. What is the difference between a calorie and a joule?
8. To what does a substance’s specific heat refer?
9. Explain the difference in temperature between the sand and the ocean water during the day and at night
in terms of specific heat.
10. Explain the difference between conduction, convection and radiation. Give an example of each type of
heat transfer.
11. Explain the difference between conductors and insulators and give an example of each.
Chapter 10 Motion
1. What does position describe?
2. What is a reference point and why is necessary to describe an objects position?
3. How does the straight line distance compare to the distance along a path between two locations?
4. What is motion?
5. Why is all motion said to be “relative”?
6. Explain the relative motion of a train and the train platform from the perspective of a passenger on the
train and a person standing on the platform.
7. What does speed measure? What do you need to know in order to calculate an object’s speed?
8. On a distance-time graph, what does the steepness of the line represent?
And, what do the following lines represent:
a horizontal line
a climbing line
a declining or falling line
9. What is the difference between speed and velocity?
Final Exam Review
10. What is acceleration? Describe 5 ways that an object can accelerate.
11. What information do you need to calculate an object’s acceleration?
12. On a velocity-time graph, what does the steepness of the line represent?
And, what do the following lines represent:
a horizontal line
a climbing line
a declining or falling line
Chapter 11 Forces
1. What is a force? And which unit is used to express force?
2. Why are forces considered to be vectors?
3. What is net force and how is it calculated?
4. Describe the difference between balanced and unbalanced forces in terms of an object’s motion.
5. State Newton’s First Law of Motion.
6. What is inertia and how does it relate to the first law?
7. State Newton’s Second Law of Motion.
8. Explain what happens to an object’s acceleration if the force is increased.
9. Explain what happens to an object’s acceleration if the mass is increased.
10. State Newton’s Third Law of Motion.
11. What are force pairs and why don’t they cancel each other out?
12. Identify the action/reaction force pair involved when you kick a soccer ball.
Chapter 12 Gravity and Friction
1. What is gravity?
Final Exam Review
2. How is mass different from weight?
3. According the Law of Universal Gravitation, on which two factors does gravitational force depend?
4. At what constant rate do all object’s accelerate toward Earth due to gravity?
5. Explain the difference between a hammer and a feather dropped on Earth and on the moon? What
accounts for the difference?
6. What is free fall?
7. What is friction? Describe the four types of friction: static, sliding, rolling, fluid.
8. On which two factors does frictional force depend?
9. List two ways to increase friction and two ways to decrease friction.
10. List two ways friction is helpful and two ways friction is harmful.
11. What is projectile motion? Explain why an object dropped from a roof and launched forward off of a
roof will hit the ground at the same time.
Chapter 15 Waves
1. What is a wave?
2. What is a medium?
3. Explain the difference between wavelength, frequency and wave speed.
4. Draw a wave and label: crest, trough, amplitude, rest and wavelength.
Chapter 17 Light
1. Explain the difference between a mechanical and an electromagnetic wave.
2. List the types of radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum from low energy to high energy and give a
use for each wave type.
3. List the colors of the visible spectrum from low energy to high energy.
Final Exam Review
4. Explain the difference between refraction, reflection, absorption, and transmission.
5. List the primary colors of light.
6. Draw the color addition wheel.
Vocabulary
energy
kinetic energy
potential energy
law of conservation of energy
kinetic theory of matter
temperature
degree
thermometer
heat
thermal energy
calorie
joule
specific heat
conduction
convection
radiation
insulator
conductor
position
reference point
motion
speed
velocity
vector
acceleration
force
net force
Newton’s First Law
inertia
Newton’s Second Law
Newton’s Third Law
gravity
weight
orbit
projectile motion
friction
fluid
air resistance
wave
medium
mechanical wave
electromagnetic wave
longitudinal wave
transverse wave
crest
trough
amplitude
wavelength
frequency
radiation
electromagnetic spectrum
radio waves
microwaves
visible light
infrared light
ultraviolet light
x-rays
gamma rays
transmission
absorption
scattering
prism
primary colors
polarization
primary pigments