How to find data representation in physics - ACT Science

Mary is performing an experiment involving the electromagnetic spectrum. She observes several different types of waves and records their wavelength, frequency, and speed.

Which type of radiation has the greatest wavelength?

A student was interested in determining the relationship between the current, voltage, and resistance in a direct circuit, such as those exemplified by batteries connected to light bulbs. The student built the circuit presented in Figure 1 using a 2 ohm resistor.

Figure 1:

The current that flows through the circuit can be calculated using the equation , where is the voltage of the battery, is the current flowing through the circuit, and is the resistance of the resistor.

The student used a 2 ohm resistor and batteries of various voltages to obtain the results in Table 1. The currents shown in the table are NOT calculated using the formula , but instead directly measured from the circuit using an ammeter. It is important to note that the measured current will only exactly equal the calculated current if the system contains no internal resistance.

In Experiment 1, how much current is most likely flowing through the circuit?

A student was interested in determining the relationship between the current, voltage, and resistance in a direct circuit, such as those exemplified by batteries connected to light bulbs. The student built the circuit presented in Figure 1 using a 2 ohm resistor.

Figure 1:

The current that flows through the circuit can be calculated using the equation , where is the voltage of the battery, is the current flowing through the circuit, and is the resistance of the resistor.

The student used a 2 ohm resistor and batteries of various voltages to obtain the results in Table 1. The currents shown in the table are NOT calculated using the formula , but instead directly measured from the circuit using an ammeter. It is important to note that the measured current will only exactly equal the calculated current if the system contains no internal resistance.

Based on the formula provided in the passage and the data from the experiments, if voltage increases, current __________.

A student was interested in determining the relationship between the current, voltage, and resistance in a direct circuit, such as those exemplified by batteries connected to light bulbs. The student built the circuit presented in Figure 1 using a 2 ohm resistor.

Figure 1:

The current that flows through the circuit can be calculated using the equation , where is the voltage of the battery, is the current flowing through the circuit, and is the resistance of the resistor.

The student used a 2 ohm resistor and batteries of various voltages to obtain the results in Table 1. The currents shown in the table are NOT calculated using the formula , but instead directly measured from the circuit using an ammeter. It is important to note that the measured current will only exactly equal the calculated current if the system contains no internal resistance.

Which of the following shows a possible graphical relationship between current and voltage?

A student was interested in determining the relationship between the current, voltage, and resistance in a direct circuit, such as those exemplified by batteries connected to light bulbs. The student built the circuit presented in Figure 1 using a 2 ohm resistor.

Figure 1:

The current that flows through the circuit can be calculated using the equation , where is the voltage of the battery, is the current flowing through the circuit, and is the resistance of the resistor.

The student used a 2 ohm resistor and batteries of various voltages to obtain the results in Table 1. The currents shown in the table are NOT calculated using the formula , but instead directly measured from the circuit using an ammeter. It is important to note that the measured current will only exactly equal the calculated current if the system contains no internal resistance.

Which of the following shows a possible graphical relationship between current and power?

A scientist is exploring the nature of energy and work in two experimental systems.

Experiment 1

She first sets up a system with a ball on an inclined plane, and calculates the potential and kinetic energies of the ball at three positions. She places the ball at position 1, stops the ball after rolling to position 2, and then again allows it to roll to position 3. The measured kinetic and potential energies are shown in the table, along with measurements of the force of friction acting on the ball.

Experiment 2

The same scientist then sets up another experiment with the same ball, again at three positions. The ball is provided a slight push, and then allowed to roll down three levels without any additional external input of energy.

She uses the following formulae to calculate the energy levels of the ball:

Potential Energy = Mass of the Ball x Acceleration Due to Gravity x Height of the Ball

Kinetic Energy = (1/2) x Mass of the Ball x (Velocity of the Ball)2

She also measures the internal energy of the ball, a value that she defines as the amount of energy contained in the motion of the molecules that make up the matter of the ball.

In Experiment 2, the scientist wishes to approximate the total loss of potential energy from position 1 (PE1) to position 3 (PE3). Which of the following is true?

The graph below depicts the position of three different cars over a 15-second time interval.

At the point where all three cars meet, which car is traveling the fastest?

The graph below depicts the position of three different cars over a 15-second time interval.

What is the speed of Car 1 at time = 7s?

The graph below depicts the position of three different cars over a 15-second time interval.

If Car 3 continues to travel at it's current speed at t = 15 seconds, what will it's position be at time = 20s?

The graph below depicts the position of three different cars over a 15-second time interval.

What is the total distance traveled by Car 3 from time = 0 until time = 4s?

The photoelectric effect is a phenomenon that has led to many important scientific discoveries. Light of a particular wavelength is shined onto a piece of metal, showering the metal with photons. Wavelength is inversely related to a photon's energy. That is, with a smaller wavelength, the photon has greater energy. The wavelength of the light is decreased until a detector next to the metal senses that electrons are being ejected from the metal. This sensor also tells us how many electrons are ejected per second, which we call electrical current. At this point, any additional decrease in wavelength does not affect the number of electrons ejected. This point is called the metal's work function. However, if we then begin to increase the intensity of the light being shone (meaning the amount of light as opposed to the light's wavelength), the number of electrons picked up by the sensor increases.

Which of the following graphs comparing photon energy () and amount of electrons ejected () would best represent the information provided in the passage?

Sound waves travel through a medium by mechanically disturbing the particles of that medium. As particles in the medium are displaced by the sound wave, they in turn act upon neighboring particles. In this fashion, the wave travels through the medium through a parallel series of disturbed particles. Like in other forms of motion, the rate at which the sound wave travels can be measured by dividing the distance over which the wave travels by the time required for it to do so.

Study 1
A group of students hypothesizes that the velocity of sound is dependent upon the density of the medium through which it passes. They propose that with more matter in a given space, each particle needs to travel a shorter distance to disturb the adjacent particles. Using two microphones and a high speed recording device, the students measured the delay from the first microphone to the second. They chose a variety of media, shown in Table 1, and measured the velocity of sound through each using their two-microphone setup. The results are found in Table 1.

Study 2
The students wanted to test their hypothesis by using the same medium at different densities. To do this, they heated pure water to various temperatures and repeated the procedure described in Study 1. Their results can be found in Table 2.

In Study 1, which medium tested had the greatest density?

Sound waves travel through a medium by mechanically disturbing the particles of that medium. As particles in the medium are displaced by the sound wave, they in turn act upon neighboring particles. In this fashion, the wave travels through the medium through a parallel series of disturbed particles. Like in other forms of motion, the rate at which the sound wave travels can be measured by dividing the distance over which the wave travels by the time required for it to do so.

Study 1
A group of students hypothesizes that the velocity of sound is dependent upon the density of the medium through which it passes. They propose that with more matter in a given space, each particle needs to travel a shorter distance to disturb the adjacent particles. Using two microphones and a high speed recording device, the students measured the delay from the first microphone to the second. They chose a variety of media, shown in Table 1, and measured the velocity of sound through each using their two-microphone setup. The results are found in Table 1.

Study 2
The students wanted to test their hypothesis by using the same medium at different densities. To do this, they heated pure water to various temperatures and repeated the procedure described in Study 1. Their results can be found in Table 2.

According to the data in Study 1, as density increases, what happens to the velocity of sound?

Sound waves travel through a medium by mechanically disturbing the particles of that medium. As particles in the medium are displaced by the sound wave, they in turn act upon neighboring particles. In this fashion, the wave travels through the medium through a parallel series of disturbed particles. Like in other forms of motion, the rate at which the sound wave travels can be measured by dividing the distance over which the wave travels by the time required for it to do so.

Study 1
A group of students hypothesizes that the velocity of sound is dependent upon the density of the medium through which it passes. They propose that with more matter in a given space, each particle needs to travel a shorter distance to disturb the adjacent particles. Using two microphones and a high speed recording device, the students measured the delay from the first microphone to the second. They chose a variety of media, shown in Table 1, and measured the velocity of sound through each using their two-microphone setup. The results are found in Table 1.

Study 2
The students wanted to test their hypothesis by using the same medium at different densities. To do this, they heated pure water to various temperatures and repeated the procedure described in Study 1. Their results can be found in Table 2.

According to Study 2, water at which of the following temperatures yields the greatest velocity of sound?

Sound waves travel through a medium by mechanically disturbing the particles of that medium. As particles in the medium are displaced by the sound wave, they in turn act upon neighboring particles. In this fashion, the wave travels through the medium through a parallel series of disturbed particles. Like in other forms of motion, the rate at which the sound wave travels can be measured by dividing the distance over which the wave travels by the time required for it to do so.

Study 1
A group of students hypothesizes that the velocity of sound is dependent upon the density of the medium through which it passes. They propose that with more matter in a given space, each particle needs to travel a shorter distance to disturb the adjacent particles. Using two microphones and a high speed recording device, the students measured the delay from the first microphone to the second. They chose a variety of media, shown in Table 1, and measured the velocity of sound through each using their two-microphone setup. The results are found in Table 1.

Study 2
The students wanted to test their hypothesis by using the same medium at different densities. To do this, they heated pure water to various temperatures and repeated the procedure described in Study 1. Their results can be found in Table 2.

According to Study 2, over what temperature interval does velocity begin to decrease as water temperature rises?

A physicist wishes to study the trajectory of a ball launched horizontally. She varies parameters such as the launching velocity, starting height, and mass of the ball. For each trajectory, she records the time of flight (in seconds) and horizontal displacement (in meters). She assumes air resistance is negligible.

Figure 1

Using all of the data she collects, she constructs the following table:

Table 1

In Trial 1, if a fourth data point were collected in which the ball was thrown with a launching velocity of 40 m/s, what would be the approximate horizontal displacement in meters?

A physicist wishes to study the trajectory of a ball launched horizontally. She varies parameters such as the launching velocity, starting height, and mass of the ball. For each trajectory, she records the time of flight (in seconds) and horizontal displacement (in meters). She assumes air resistance is negligible.

Figure 1

Using all of the data she collects, she constructs the following table:

Table 1

If all of trial 3 were redone with a launching velocity of 20 m/s instead of 10 m/s, then compared to the data for trial 3 presented in the table, the horizontal displacement for all data points would be which of the following?

Figure 1 shows the electromagnetic spectrum, or the spectrum of energies of light emitted from the sun. The top axis shows each type of electromagnetic wave as a frequency (given in hertz, Hz), where high frequencies correspond with high energy light waves. The bottom axis shows wavelengths (given in meters, m) of each type of light, where short wavelengths correspond with higher energy light waves. There is an inset to show visible light, where higher energy violet light typically has a wavelength around 400nm and 700nm corresponds to lower energy red light. Visible light, as shown in the figure, is typically measured in nanometers (nm), where there are nanometers per meter.

Figure 1

A scientist studying the types of electromagnetic radiation emitted from the sun compiled data about the intensity of light at various wavelengths. It was found that less than 1% of radiation from the sun is of wavelengths shorter than 100nm or longer than 2500nm. Intensity of radiation at middle wavelengths was graphed in Figure 2.

Figure 2

Electromagnetic radiation with a frequency of has what wavelength, in meters?

Experiment 1

A scientist develops the following setup, shown in Figure 1 below, to study the charges of radioactive particles. A radioactive sample is placed into a lead box that has an open column such that the particles can only exit from one direction. A detector is placed in front of the opening. A metric ruler (centimeters (cm)), is aligned on the detector such that zero is directly in front of the opening of the column, with the positive values extending to the left and the negative values to the right. On the left side of the experimental setup, there is a device that generates a magnetic field that attracts positively charged particles and repels negatively charged particles.

Figure 1.

The device detects particles in three different places: alpha, α; beta, β; and gamma, γ; as labeled in Figure 1. The paths these particles take from the source of radioactivity are shown.

Experiment 2

A different scientist finds the following data, shown in Table 1, about the energies of the α, β, and γ particles by observing what kinds of materials through which the particles can pass. This scientist assumes that the ability of particles to pass through thicker and denser barriers is indicative of higher energy. Table 1 summarizes whether or not each type of particle was detected when each of the following barriers is placed between the radioactivity source and the detector. The paper and aluminum foil are both 1 millimeters thick, and the concrete wall is 1 meter thick.

Based on Experiment 1, which of the following particles must be positively charged?

Experiment 1

A scientist develops the following setup, shown in Figure 1 below, to study the charges of radioactive particles. A radioactive sample is placed into a lead box that has an open column such that the particles can only exit from one direction. A detector is placed in front of the opening. A metric ruler measuring in centimeters (cm), is aligned on the detector such that zero is directly in front of the opening of the column, with positive values extending to the left and negative values extending to the right. On the left side of the experimental setup, there is a device that generates a magnetic field that attracts positively charged particles and repels negatively charged particles.

Figure 1.

The device detects particles in three different places: alpha, α; beta, β; and gamma, γ; as labeled in Figure 1. The paths these particles take from the source of radioactivity are shown.

Experiment 2

A different scientist finds the following data, shown in Table 1, about the energies of the α, β, and γ particles by observing what kinds of materials through which the particles can pass. This scientist assumes that the ability of particles to pass through thicker and denser barriers is indicative of higher energy. Table 1 summarizes whether or not each type of particle was detected when each of the following barriers is placed between the radioactivity source and the detector. The paper and aluminum foil are both 1 millimeters thick, and the concrete wall is 1 meter thick.

Based on the trajectories of the particles in Experiment 1, what can be concluded about the relative charges of the particles?