MCAT® Exam Physical Sciences Practice Questions
1. What is the name for motion without rotation?
A: transitional motion
B: translational motion
C: non-rotational motion
D: ambiguous motion
2. Name this formula: ΔV = βVΔT
A: formula for change in velocity
B: formula for defining vectors
C: formula for change in valence
D: formula for volume expansion of solids and liquids
3. What is the common name for the point at which the total force due to gravity can be said to
be acting?
A: center of motion
B: gravitational resistance
C: center of gravity
D: center of resistance
4. What is resistivity?
A: intrinsic resistance to current flow in a material
B: intrinsic acceleration of current flow in a material
C: intrinsic indifference to current flow in a material
D: intrinsic amplification of current flow in a material
5. What is it called when waves are in phase and their amplitudes add together?
A: occlusion
B: constructive interference
C: collusion
D: destructive interference
6. What is another name for the ratio of an image’s height to the height of the object it
represents?
A: ramification
B: magnification
C: nullification
D: resolution
7. In regard to a string, what is the fundamental frequency?
A: the highest frequency the string can support
B: the median frequency the string can support
C: the best frequency the string can support
D: the lowest frequency the string can support
8. What kind of oscillation occurs when particles move in the direction of the wave motion?
A: latitudinal
B: unusual
C: longitudinal
D: atypical
9. Which law states that the voltage drop across a resistor is proportional to the current
carried?
A: Mimm’s law
B: Ohm’s law
C: Planck’s law
D: Heisenberg’s law
10. What is electrostatic force?
A: static electricity
B: the force that exists between stationary charges
C: the force that exists between moving charges
D: the force that exists when one charge is moving and the other is stationary
Answer Key
1. B. Translational motion is any motion that does not include rotation.
2. D. The formula indicates that the change in volume will be equal to the volume multiplied by the change in time and the volume expansion coefficient.
3. C. The center of gravity is determined in order to simplify calculations.
4. A. The resistivity of a material is one of its most important characteristics.
5. B. Constructive interference results in combined wave amplitudes higher than any of the wave amplitudes by themselves.
6. B. Magnification is the ratio of the size of an image to the size of the object that it represents.
7. D. The fundamental frequency is the lowest frequency that can be sustained by a string.
8. C. In longitudinal motion, particles oscillate in the same direction that the wave is moving.
9. B. Ohm’s law asserts that the voltage drop across a resistor will be predictable.
10. B. An electrostatic force exists between any stationary charges.
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