Questions selected from http://muller.lbl.gov/teaching/Physics10/chapters/PffP_MCQ.htm
for Midterm on Feb 27, 2003.

Compare the energy in a kilogram of gasoline to that in a kilogram of a 
lead-acid (car) battery:
( ) the gasoline has about 400 times as much energy
( ) the gasoline has about 10 times as much energy
( ) the gasoline has about 400 times less energy
( ) the two cannot be honestly compared, since one stores power and the 
other stores energy

Which of the following statements is true?:
( ) Energy is measured in joules and power in calories
( ) Power is energy divided by time
( ) Batteries release energy but TNT releases power
( ) Power signifies a very large value of energy
( ) all of the above

Hybrid vehicles run on:
( ) electric and solar power
( ) solar power and gasoline
( ) electric power and gasoline
( ) nuclear power and gasoline

The greatest energy for one gram of material comes from
( ) fusion
( ) a meteor
( ) a comet
( ) TNT
( ) fission

Temperature is the measure of:
( ) average momentum
( ) average Kinetic Energy
( ) average velocity
( ) average total energy

What is the main reason that hydrogen-driven automobiles have not replaced 
gasoline ones?
( ) Hydrogen is too expensive
( ) Hydrogen is too difficult to store in an automobile
( ) Hydrogen is radioactive, and the public fears it
( ) Hydrogen, when combined with oxygen, is explosive

In spite of the fact that TNT has very little relative energy per gram, it 
is a highly effective explosive. Explain why, in a few brief words:
______________________________________
______________________________________

Which has the most energy?:
( ) one gram of uranium that undergoes fission
( ) one gram of TNT
( ) one gram of chocolate chip cookies
( ) one gram of gasoline

A person accidentally walks into a nuclear reactor chamber and receives a 
sudden dose of 1250 rem of radiation. The probability that this 
person will die of cancer is (WARNING: some people might consider this to 
be a "trick" question):
( ) about 10%
( ) about 50%
( ) close to 100%
( ) much less than 10%

An energetic photon from a radioactive explosion is also known as a:
( ) x-ray or gamma ray
( ) beta ray
( ) alpha ray
( ) cosmic ray

If 100 people are exposed to 10000 rem of radiation how many people would you 
expect to get cancer:
( ) 4 people
( ) 1 person
( ) 25 people
( ) it depends on how much each person received individually

In the cloud chamber demonstration, what was the cause of smoky trails?
( ) the particles are burning when theyB!GBre released from the nucleus, 
due to the high energy from the explosion.
( ) the air in the chamber is supersaturated with alcohol. Droplets of 
alcohol adhere to the ions broken up from the atoms of the air, thus 
leaving a trail.
( ) as particles collide with atoms of the air, the energy transferred 
from the particles to the atoms makes the bounced-away atoms vibrate 
strongly, making a visible path.

Approximately how often does the square root rule of statistical analysis 
hold true?
( ) nearly 100% of the time
( ) about 95% of the time
( ) about 2/3 of the time
( ) about 50% of the time
( ) about 1/3 of the time
( ) about 5% of the time
( ) much less than 5% of the time

The number of people we expect to die from cancer, caused by the Chernobyl 
accident, is approximately
( ) 2600
( ) 26 thousand
( ) 26 million
( ) none, because the statistical variations are too large

10,000 students from Cal and 10,000 from Stanford are tested on physics 10 
concepts. Of these, we learn that 900 Cal students understand physics 10 
concepts, but that only 830 Stanford students understand the same 
concepts. Is this a statistically-significant difference?
( ) yes, it is much more than 1 standard deviation
( ) no, it is much less than 1 standard deviation
( ) It is just barely significant at the 1 standard deviation level

One watt is equivalent to :
( ) one joule/sec
( ) one coulomb/sec
( ) one calorie/sec
( ) one horsepower

When an electron is emitted from a radioactive nuclear, the electron is 
often called:
( ) an alpha particle
( ) a beta ray
( ) a gamma ray
( ) a cosmic ray

When the nucleus explodes, we say we have:
( ) TNT
( ) fusion
( ) a radioactive particle
( ) a cosmic ray

Why is Prof. Muller's radioactive watch safe to wear?
( ) the number of decays per second is very small
( ) it isn't really radioactive. It just absorbs light and reemits it.
( ) the emitted radioactivity does not make it out of the watch
( ) it is a kind of radioactivity that doesn't cause cancer

Which is not a unit of energy?
( ) kWhr
( ) calorie
( ) Calorie
( ) joule
( ) watt

What is creating new C-14 every day?
( ) radioactivity in the earth
( ) the earthB!GBs magnetic field
( ) ultraviolet light from the sun
( ) cosmic rays

Why do we use TNT for explosives?
( ) it has high energy per gram
( ) it is radioactive
( ) it does not pollute
( ) it releases its energy quickly

What would happen if all molecules in a chamber were brought to rest?
( ) the temperature would be 0 K
( ) the temperature would be 0 F
( ) the temperature would be 0 C
( ) the temperature can not be determined

If you have 128 atoms of Mullerium, and Mullerium's half-life is 12 
years, how much will you have in 36 years?
( ) 64 atoms
( ) 32 atoms
( ) 16 atoms
( ) 2 atoms

What is the by-product of K-40 decay?
( ) Carbon-14
( ) Argon-40
( ) Potassium-41
( ) Kryptonite-35

What process is used for finding the age of things that once were alive?
( ) potassium argon dating
( ) carbon dating
( ) tritium dating
( ) DNA dating

What process is most frequently used to find the age of rocks?
( ) potassium argon dating
( ) carbon dating
( ) tritium dating
( ) DNA dating

One joule per second is equal to one:
( ) calorie
( ) Calorie
( ) coulomb
( ) watt

For an effective nuclear explosion, the number of generations must be
( ) 2
( ) 3.14
( ) 4
( ) 8
( ) greater than 8

With what can you boost the fission process?
( ) tritium/deuterium gas
( ) strontium-90
( ) cadmium
( ) potassium-40 
( ) helium

What is "Critical Mass"?
( ) the amount of mass needed to start a chain reaction.
( ) the amount of mass needed to cause the most damage.
( ) The amount of moderator to make the chain reaction work
( ) The amount of tritium in a hydrogen bomb

The cost of energy from a flashlight battery is closest to:
( ) 14 cents per kWh
( ) 5 cents per kWh
( ) 14 dollars per kWh
( ) 1000 dollars per kWh

What is the half life of K-40?
( ) 12 years
( ) 6000 years
( ) 2 million years
( ) 1 billion years

One uranium fission produces about:
( ) 200 MeV
( ) 2 eV
( ) 1 Cal/gram
( ) 1000 kWh

Kinetic Energy can be measured in:
( ) watts
( ) calories
( ) grams
( ) amperes

How many joules does it take to raise one gram of water by one degree 
Celsius?
( ) 1
( ) 4
( ) 1000
( ) 4000
( ) 1.6 x10^-19

For fusion to take place, we need:
( ) high temperatures
( ) critical mass
( ) a moderator
( ) fission fragments

Check all the following statement(s) which is (are) true:
( ) heat is a flow of energy
( ) temperature is a macroscopic property of an object
( ) temperature is a measure of the average molecular kinetic energy
( ) heat and temperature are the same thing

Check all the following statement(s) which apply. If two objects have the 
same temperature, then
( ) they have the same average atomic kinetic energy
( )if they are in contact with each other, no heat will flow
( ) they have the same pressure

The specific heat of ice is 0.5 cal per gram degree C. How many calories 
is needed to raise 20 grams of ice 10 degrees C?
( ) 10
( ) 20
( ) 40
( ) 100
( ) 200

An object with a speed of 81 km/hr has a kinetic energy of 90 joules. If 
the speed were reduced to 27 km/hr, the kinetic energy would change by a 
factor of
( ) 1
( ) 3
( ) 5
( ) 7
( ) 9

How much energy is required to leave a 66 watt light on for 6 hours?
( ) 396 kWh
( ) 60 kWh
( ) 11 kWh
( ) 0.011 kWh
( ) 0.06 kWh
( ) 0.396 kWh

Nuclei are smaller than their atoms by a factor of
( ) 100
( ) 1000
( ) 10000
( ) 100,000
( ) 1,000,000

If 1000 people are exposed to 1 Sievert of radiation, the number of them 
that will die of cancer is closest to (careful: possibly a trick 
question):
( ) 40
( ) 4
( ) 400
( ) 240

The source of the Sun's energy is
( ) fusion
( ) fission
( ) bombardment of meteorites
( ) gravity
( ) annihilation

The first occurrence of fusion on Earth was in
( ) fusion reactors
( ) fission reactors
( ) the laboratory of Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman
( ) in the explosion of the hydrogen bomb in the 1950s

The dangerous fallout from a nuclear bomb consists primarily of:
( ) fission fragments 
( ) plutonium
( ) uranium
( ) radiocarbon

The probability of a U-238 nucleus capturing a neutron goes up when the 
neutron speed:
( ) decreases
( ) increases
( ) it doesn't matter what the neutron speed is

For a Presidential poll to have an accuracy of 3%, the number of people 
who must be polled is approximately:
( ) 50
( ) 200
( ) 1000
( ) 10000

The Calutron was named after:
( ) California University
( ) Calories
( ) Calvin and Hobbes
( ) Ernest O. Calutron

Which of the following devices sometimes makes use of radioactivity (check 
all that apply)
( ) smoke detectors
( ) cloud chambers
( ) carbon dating
( ) wrist watch display

Which of the following reactors can explode like a nuclear bomb?
( ) heavy water
( ) light water
( ) fast breeder
( ) slow breeder
( ) no reactor can explode like a nuclear bomb

Which of the following contains the most energy per gram:
( ) TNT
( ) chocolate chip cookies
( ) fusion
( ) battery
( ) fission

How many electron volts are there in a typical nuclear decay?
( ) 1
( ) 1000
( ) 1 million
( ) 1 billion

Which type of bomb is effective at killing life but does little damage to 
buildings?
( ) neutron bomb
( ) plutonium bomb
( ) uranium bomb
( ) TNT

Assume Florida had 6 million voters on election day. Between Bush and 
Gore, how many votes would constitute a statistically significant lead?
( ) 1 vote
( ) 153 votes
( ) 550 votes
( ) 1800 votes 

In a standard television set, the image is produced by:
( ) electrons hitting a phosphor
( ) protons hitting a phosphor
( ) xrays
( ) ultraviolet radiation 

x-rays are most strongly absorbed by
( ) water
( ) carbon
( ) calcium
( ) oxygen
( ) hey, we werenB!GBt taught this!

2500 rem will kill how many people from cancer, on average?
 ( ) 1
 ( ) 25
 ( ) 50,000
 ( ) It depends on the number of people who are exposed

After three half lives, the amount of radioactive material is reduced to:
 ( ) half of its original amount
 ( ) one third
 ( ) one quarter
 ( ) one ninth
 ( ) one eighth

Next to each of these mark whether it is a unit of energy (E) or power (P)
 horsepower _____
 kilowatt-hour _____
 watt _____
 calorie _____

The California Energy Crisis (which then didn't happen) was expected 
because of
 ( ) low power capacity
 ( ) low energy reserves
 ( ) expected cold weather
 ( ) contracts that required us to export power

The C-14 in your body was
 ( ) left over from the creation of the solar system
 ( ) created by cosmic rays
 ( ) residual radiation from the Chernobyl accident
 ( ) a consequence of potassium-40 decay

Moore's Law addresses the doubling of
 ( ) DNA molecules
 ( ) Electronic circuits
 ( ) fissions in a chain reaction
 ( ) viruses

The World Trade Center collapsed because of 
 ( ) the heat from the fire
 ( ) the force of exploding fuel
 ( ) the impact of the airplane
 ( ) explosives carried by the terrorists

Volcanic heat comes from
 ( ) chemical explosions taking place deep in the earth
 ( ) explosions of nuclei taking place deep in the earth
 ( ) the enormous weight of the earth pressing down
 ( ) we don't know the origin

The bomb that Saddam Hussein of Iraq was planning on building was to be a
 ( ) plutonium bomb
 ( ) uranium bomb
 ( ) hydrogen bomb
 ( ) an Oak Ridge bomb

The kinetic energy of a typical 1 gram meteor is approximately equal to 
the energy of
 ( ) 10 grams of TNT
 ( ) 100 grams of TNT 
 ( ) 1/100 grams of TNT
 ( ) 10 grams of gasoline 

"Smart Rocks" are considered for 
 ( ) geologic dating 
 ( ) ballistic missile defense
 ( ) nuclear power
 ( ) solar power

Mark each name that refers to the Hiroshima bomb (more than one might be 
correct):
( ) atomic bomb
( ) fission bomb
( ) nuclear bomb
( ) plutonium bomb

Two identical potassium-40 nuclei
 ( ) will decay after exactly the same time
 ( ) could easily decay at times that differ by a billion years
 ( ) will probably decay within 5730 years of each other, but it could be 
longer
 ( ) will not decay unless they absorb a neutron

The polymerase chain reaction is
 ( ) used in weapon design
 ( ) important for identifying victims of the World Trade Center
 ( ) a major source of energy
 ( ) a key concept in the electronics industry

Our velocity around the sun is approximately
 ( ) 30 km per second
 ( ) about the same as the velocity of sound
 ( ) close to the speed of light
 ( ) 1000 miles per hour

The critical mass
 ( ) is the same for uranium and plutonium
 ( ) is a few grams for uranium
 ( ) depends on whether the plutonium is compressed
 ( ) is approximately a ton for plutonium

At an airport security station, prior to the terrorist events,
 ( ) almost every person is x-rayed
 ( ) only carry-on luggage is x-rayed
 ( ) you walk through a device that looks for explosives
 ( ) special "sniffers" detect most (but not all) plastic knives

The probability that the number of events will deviate from the expected 
value by twice the square root, is approximately
 ( ) 1%
 ( ) 5%
 ( ) 33%
 ( ) 50%

A terrorist who wants to build an atomic bomb would most like to obtain:
( ) U-235
( ) Li-D (lithium deuteride)
( ) plutonium
( ) tritium

Strontium-90 is:
( ) a key element in the design of nuclear reactors
( ) a coating used on hydrogen bombs to increase fallout
( ) added to fission bombs to moderate the neutrons
( ) a fission fragment with a half-life of 28 years

Plutonium is most like to cause cancer if
( ) eaten
( ) rubbed on the skin
( ) inhaled
( ) its presence triggers panic

A solar cell is about 3 feet by 3 feet square. The power of sunlight 
hitting this cell (not the power in electricity coming from the cell) is 
approximately:
( ) 1/10 horsepower
( ) 1 horsepower
( ) 10 horsepower
( ) 100 horsepower

Compared to TNT, a typical meteor with the same mass has energy that is
( ) 10 x smaller
( ) equal
( ) 10 x larger
( ) 100 x larger

If you double the energy content of a kilogram of gas, the temperature of 
the gas (measured on the absolute K scale):
( ) is unchanged
( ) increases by the square-root of 2
( ) doubles
( ) is multiplied by 4

Compared to the chemical energy in a single molecule, the nuclear energy 
is greater by a factor of about:
( ) 100
( ) 1,000
( ) 100,000
( ) 1,000,000

Radioactive fallout from the Hiroshima bomb was relatively small because:
( ) the bomb exploded at high altitude
( ) it was made from uranium, rather than from plutonium
( ) it was not boosted
( ) it was a thermonuclear explosion

The number of nuclear warheads in the United States stockpile, over the 
last ten years, has been closest to which of the following numbers:
( ) 666
( ) 1000
( ) 10,000
( ) 100,000

To make a road-sign brighter at night, it is often covered with:
( ) tiny glass beads
( ) fluorescent dyes
( ) chemicals that make white "whiter than white"
( ) flat mirrors to reflect the light

Alcoholic beverages have their radioactivity tested by the U.S. government 
to
( ) make sure they won't cause cancer
( ) make sure they were not manufactured from oil
( ) make sure they were not imported
( ) make sure they weren't stored in radioactive containers

The following kind of radiation is most potent at making other atoms 
radioactive:
( ) fission fragments
( ) alpha radiation
( ) beta radiation
( ) neutron radiation

The dose of radiation that gives you a 50% chance of dying from radiation 
poisoning is approximately (careful: I said radiation poisoning, not 
cancer):
( ) 1 Sievert = 100 rem
( ) 3 Sievert = 300 rem
( ) 25 Sievert = 2500 rem
( ) 100 Sievert = 10,000 rem

A radioactive material has a half-life of 5 years. After 25 years, the 
amount of radioactivity is reduced to:
( ) 0
( ) 1/5 of its original amount
( ) 1/25 of its original amount
( ) 1/32 of its original amount

To determine the age of a rock believed to be about a billion years old, 
the most likely method we would chose would be:
( ) C-14 dating
( ) Potassium-argon dating
( ) fission fragment dating
( ) tritium dating

When you walk through the detector at the airport, 
( ) you are being x-rayed 
( ) you are passing through a metal detector
( ) you are passing through an explosives detector
( ) you are passing through a device that will detect even plastic knives

The World Trade Center buildings collapsed because of:
( ) the impact of the airplanes damaged the structure
( ) the TNT carried on board the planes by the terrorists
( ) the sudden explosion of the airplane fuel
( ) the slow burning of the airplane fuel

A key idea that made the nuclear bomb possible was
( ) the discovery of the equation E = mc2
( ) the discovery that neutrons were emitted when nuclei fission
( ) the discovery of natural plutonium in the Earth
( ) the recognition that tritium was radioactive

The greatest energy for one gram of material comes from
( ) fusion
( ) a meteor
( ) a comet
( ) TNT
( ) fission

kWhr is a unit of 
( ) power 
( ) temperature 
( ) electric current 
( ) energy

A table has the same temperature as the air above it. That means that the 
molecules in the air and in the table have:
( ) The same average velocity
( ) The same average energy
( ) The same average acceleration
( ) The same average mass

The kinetic energy of a bullet, per gram, is (within a factor of 2)
( ) about the same as the energy released from one gram of TNT
( ) about the same as the kinetic energy in a typical one gram meteor
( ) about the same as the energy released by one gram of chocolate chip 
cookies
( ) none of the above

In ten years, Muller predicts that many of us will be driving a very low 
pollution car powered by:
( ) electricity, using battery power
( ) electricity, using solar cells
( ) an improved gasoline engine
( ) a combination of gasoline and battery

If a man is exposed to one Sievert of gamma rays, his chance of cancer 
will increase by
( ) 4%
( ) 10%
( ) 100%
( ) 0, but he will be heated slightly 

I have listed several scientific processes below. Check each box for which 
the "doubling law" is obeyed:
( ) nuclear bomb
( ) baseball scores
( ) development of integrated circuits
( ) polymerase chain reaction

The cost of electricity, supplied by the small battery Muller showed, is 
approximately:
( ) 0.13 cents per kilowatt-hour
( ) 13 cents per kilowatt-hour
( ) 13 dollars per kilowatt-hour 
( ) more than 13 hundred dollars per kilowatt-hour

A terrorist who wishes to make a nuclear weapon should steal:
( ) U-235
( ) Pu-239
( ) tritium
( ) deuterium 

The secret United States program to make nuclear weapons was originally 
called the:
( ) Calutron Project
( ) California Project
( ) Nuclear Bomb Project
( ) Manhattan Project

The dangers of fallout arise primarily from
( ) neutrons
( ) fission fragments
( ) plutonium
( ) deuterium

Which of the following statements is true?:
( ) Energy is measured in joules and power in calories
( ) Power is energy divided by time
( ) Batteries release energy but TNT releases power
( ) Power signifies a very large value of energy
( ) all of the above

the power in sunlight is approximately
( ) 1 horsepower per square meter
( ) 1 joule per square meter
( ) 1 gigawatt per hour
( ) 1000 kilowatts per square centimeter

When listening to a Geiger counter put close to a smoke detector, some of 
the counts appear to come in clusters, short bunches. This is because:
( ) the half life rule says that bunches are more likely than gaps
( ) the behavior is quantum mechanical, and this is a feature of quantum 
mechanics
( ) the counts are triggered by cosmic rays, and these arrive in bunches
( ) humans tend to interpret random events as clustered

The half life of C-14 is 5730 years. The reason that there is so much C-14 
in our bodies is that
( ) it was created in the Big Bang, and is still around
( ) it is constantly produced by cosmic rays, absorbed by plants, and 
eventually gets into our food
( ) the half-life rule states that the atoms never completely disappear
( ) C-14 is produced by the decay of potassium-40, so it is constantly 
replenished

The first "atomic" bomb dropped on Japan was
( ) a uranium bomb that had never been tested
( ) a plutonium bomb that had been tested in the New Mexico desert
( ) a radioactive weapons that spread deadly C-14 and K-40
( ) a weapon that killed mostly by its radioactivity 

The velocity of sound
( ) increases when the temperature increases
( ) decreases when the temperature increases
( ) depends on the pressure of the air
( ) is constant, independent of the temperature 

When warmed by 10 C (not by 1 C), a highway 1 km long expands by:
( ) 1 millimeter
( ) 1 centimeter
( ) 10 centimeters
( ) 1 meter

A Sievert is:
( ) a very energetic photon
( ) a unit of energy
( ) a device that shows radiation tracks 
( ) a unit of radiation exposure

Alcohol is tested for radioactivity, to make sure that
( ) it is made from plants
( ) it will not cause cancer
( ) it comes from the United States 
( ) is strong enough to intoxicate

If a million people are expected to die of cancer, then one standard 
deviation (1 sigma) is
( ) one million people
( ) one thousand people
( ) one hudred people 
( ) one person

Moore's Law addresses the doubling of
 ( ) DNA molecules
 ( ) Electronic circuits
 ( ) fissions in a chain reaction
 ( ) viruses

A typical neutron will travel how far through "solid" material before it 
hits a nucleus?
 ( ) several centimeters
 ( ) several kilometers
 ( ) a few microns (millionth's of a meter)
 ( ) through the entire earth

In a piece of wood, the instantaneous speed of the molecules is 
approximately
( ) zero, since they don't move
( ) whatever speed the wood is moving
( ) approximately 13.7 meters per second 
( ) approximately 1000 feet per second
( ) approximately 186,000 miles per second