About me and why I created this physics website.
Science Quiz
I put together a science quiz for kids to test and challenge their everyday understanding of the natural world. This quiz tests reasoning and problem solving skills, and is at a level suitable for kids. The emphasis of the quiz is on physics based concepts. This is perhaps the most important area of science for understanding how the natural world works.
The quiz is divided into multiple choice problems and word problems. The multiple choice problems consist of questions which have pictures corresponding to the different choices. These problems test your ability to visualize solutions when different options are presented. The word problems involve a combination of reasoning and/or hand calculation. These problems test your ability to work out solutions without the benefit of a visual aid. This is often the case when having to solve real world problems.
The answers for the problems are given at the end of the page.
Multiple Choice Problems
Problem # 1
Four blocks are placed at the edge of a table as shown. Which block will fall over?
Problem # 2
Which block is the easiest to tip over? Which block is the most difficult to tip over?
Problem # 3
Which block will slide down the ramp the easiest?
Problem # 4
In which case is the rod perfectly balanced?
Problem # 5
Which block weighs the most? Which block weighs the least?
Problem # 6
A ball is placed at the top of four different ramps. For which ramp will the ball speed be the highest when it reaches the bottom? For which ramp will the ball speed be the lowest when it reaches the bottom?
Problem # 7
Four balls are dropped from different heights. Which ball will bounce the highest after hitting the ground? Which ball will bounce the lowest?
Problem # 8
Which crate is the easiest to push?
Problem # 9
Which is the most stable stacking of blocks?
Problem # 10
Four identical blocks are dropped from different heights above four identical springs. Which spring will compress the most? Which spring will compress the least?
Problem # 11
Four levers of different lengths are used to move a rock. For which lever is it easiest to move the rock?
Problem # 12
Four identical blocks are placed on slabs of different sizes. For which slab is the pressure on the ground the highest? For which slab is the pressure on the ground the lowest?
Problem # 13
Water is placed inside four containers. Each container has a hole near the bottom. For which container is the water coming out the fastest?
Problem # 14
An ice cube is placed inside four insulated boxes. Each box has a different thickness of insulation as shown. In which box will the ice cube melt the slowest? In which box will the ice cube melt the fastest?
Problem # 15
Which rod is the most difficult to pull out of the ground?
Problem # 16
Four paths are shown. What is the order of the paths in terms of longest travel time to shortest travel time?
Problem # 17
Four fluids of different density are placed into a container. The red fluid has the highest density. The green fluid has the second highest, the blue fluid has the third highest, and the yellow fluid has the lowest density. Which of the following shows the correct arrangement of the fluids after they have settled in the container?
Problem # 18
Only one of these blocks will fit exactly into the box. Which one is it?
Problem # 19
Which container has the most water in it?
Problem # 20
A container full of water is spun about its center. Which shape does the surface of the water take?
Problem # 21
Four identical blocks are suspended in the center of a string between two walls. Which has the highest string tension? Which has the lowest?
Problem # 22
Given that all the blocks are the same weight, which is perfectly balanced?
Problem # 23
Bricks of different sizes are placed inside four water filled containers. Which container has the most water in it? Which has the least?
Problem # 24
A light bulb is connected with wires to a battery with positive and negative terminals as shown. Which method of connection causes the light bulb to shine?
Problem # 25
A heavy rope is thrown over a horizontal pole. In what situation will the rope not slide off the pole?
Word Problems
Problem # 1
A car travels 100 miles in two hours. What is the speed of the car in miles-per-hour?
Problem # 2
Two identical objects are dropped onto the ground from a height of one meter and two meters. Which object leaves a bigger dent in the ground?
Problem # 3
Two objects are thrown straight up. One object reaches a height of nine meters and the other object reaches a height of seven meters. Which object is thrown with a greater speed?
Problem # 4
Two cars leave skid marks on the road. These are caused by the tires locking up and leaving a mark, due to hard braking. The skid marks created by one car are shorter than the skid marks of the other car. Which car was going faster before the brakes were applied?
Problem # 5
Why is it a good idea to slow down a car when going around a turn?
Problem # 6
If it takes one person six hours to paint a house, how long does it take three people to paint a house?
Problem # 7
If it takes 50 joules of energy to hammer a nail in halfway into a piece of wood, how much energy does it take to hammer the nail all the way into the wood?
Problem # 8
A world class sprinter can run 100 meters in 10 seconds. What is the average speed of the sprinter, in meters-per-second?
Problem # 9
A concrete slab weighing 100 pounds is placed on the ground. The slab is a rectangle with side lengths equal to 20 inches and 12 inches. What is the pressure on the ground due to the weight of the slab, in pounds/square-inch?
Problem # 10
When firing a gun, 65% of the energy is used to generate heat, and 2% of the energy is consumed by friction between the bullet and barrel. How much of the energy goes into propelling the bullet?
Problem # 11
The sides of a box are measured to be 8 inches × 10 inches × 4 inches. What is the volume of the box?
Problem # 12
On earth I weigh 150 pounds. How much would I weigh on the moon given that it has 1/6 the gravity of earth?
Problem # 13
Two batteries which each have a voltage of 1.5 V are connected in series. What is the total combined voltage across the batteries?
Problem # 14
What source of heat energy can be concentrated to a very high temperature?
Problem # 15
A stack of paper is 3.5 centimeters thick. Given that each sheet of paper is 0.07 millimeters thick, how many sheets of paper are in the stack?
Problem # 16
Four ropes are attached to the top corners of a heavy crate in order to lift it. Given that the breaking strength of each rope is 500 pounds, what is the maximum possible weight of the crate so that the ropes don't break?
Problem # 17
A string is joined at both ends and placed on a flat surface. What must the shape of the string be so that the area inside of it is as large as possible?
Problem # 18
One liter of water at 80 degrees Celsius is mixed with one liter of water at 50 degrees Celsius. What is the temperature of the resulting mixture?
Problem # 19
How long does it take a 100 watt incandescent light bulb to add 20,000 joules of heat energy to a room?
Problem # 20
A child is swinging back and forth on a swing. At what point during the swing does the child experience the greatest g-force?
Problem # 21
A balloon filled with air is squeezed. What happens to the air pressure inside the balloon as it is squeezed?
Problem # 22
Water comes out of a tap at 500 milliliters per second. How long does it take to fill a 10 liter bucket?
Problem # 23
Is it easier for an airplane to takeoff flying against the wind or in the same direction as the wind?
Problem # 24
If ice is so slippery how do hockey players gain speed as they skate along the ice?
Problem # 25
Consider a rock and a feather inside of a large sealed container which contains no air. Both are dropped at the same time from the same height. Which (if any) reaches the bottom of the container faster?
Answers to Multiple Choice Problems
1. d
2. b, d
3. b
4. c
5. d, c
6. b, d
7. b, c
8. a
9. d
10. b, d
11. c
12. d, a
13. b
14. a, b
15. c
16. c, a, b, d
17. b
18. a
19. a
20. d
21. a, b
22. c
23. a, c
24. a
25. d
Answers to Word Problems
1. 50 miles-per-hour.
2. The object dropped from a height of two meters.
3. The object that reaches a height of nine meters.
4. The car with longer skid marks.
5. To reduce the effect of centripetal acceleration. This effect is what causes you to slide across your seat when going around a turn.
6. Two hours.
7. 100 joules.
8. 10 meters-per-second.
9. 0.417 pounds/square-inch.
10. 33%
11. 320 cubic inches.
12. 25 pounds.
13. 3 V
14. The sun, using a magnifying glass or a parabolic mirror. Both can focus the sun's energy to a hot point.
15. 500
16. 2000 pounds.
17. A circle.
18. 65 degrees Celsius.
19. 200 seconds.
20. At the bottom of the swing.
21. The air pressure increases.
22. 20 seconds.
23. Against the wind.
24. They turn their skate blades and then dig into the ice with the edge, enabling them to push off the ice to gain speed.
25. With no air resistance the only force acting on them is gravity which pulls on them equally. This causes them to reach the bottom at the same time.
Return to Real World Physics Problems home page