AEPA Physics Exam

The Physics test measures your knowledge according to the Arizona Academic Standards. Success on the test indicates that you are qualified to teach physics in Arizona public schools. The test content is drawn from five subareas based on AEPA learning objectives: Scientific Inquiry (19% of the test); Mechanics and Heat Energy (36%); Electricity and Magnetism (15%); Waves, Sound, and Light (15%); and Quantum Theory and the Atom (15%). The test covers the basics of each of these areas. For example, the test includes content on the principles of inquiry within science and physics and how physics relates to other disciplines and society. Other topics include force, motion, and thermodynamics. Test-takers should know about relativity, the laws of motion, types of motion (circular, rotational, etc.), inertia, and momentum. They should know how to use algebra to solve problems relating to motion and force, in addition to knowing kinetic-molecular theory and other topics. The Electricity and Magnetism section covers topics ranging from the characteristics and units of electric charges to principles of electromagnetic induction. Other test content includes the characteristics, motion, and interference of waves, in addition to reflection and retraction. Test-takers should also be familiar with quantum theory, atoms, light, radioactivity, and nuclear reactions.

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AEPA Physics Practice Questions

Physics

1. Which of the following is a vector quantity?

A: temperature
B: speed
C: velocity
D: pressure

2. Which of the following explains the decrease in pressure in a tube through which a viscous fluid is moving?

A: Poiseuille's equation
B: Pascal's principle
C: Archimedes' principle
D: Bernoulli's principle

3. If a mass is suspended by a spring from the ceiling of an elevator, such that it has a constant period, how will the period of the mass change if the elevator begins moving up with a constant acceleration?

A: It will decrease.
B: It will increase.
C: It cannot be determined from the information given.
D: It will not change.

4. What determines the pitch of sound?

A: frequency
B: wavelength
C: amplitude
D: volume

5. Bob and Carl are riding on a merry-go-round. Bob is closer to the center of the merry-go-round. Who has the greater centripetal acceleration?

A: Bob
B: Carl
C: They have the same centripetal acceleration.
D: It cannot be determined from the information given.

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Answer key

1. C. A vector must contain both quantity and direction.
2. A. This equation describes the relations between the length of a tube, the rate of flow of liquid within it, the pressure gradient, the radius of the tube, and the viscosity of the liquid.
3. D. So long as the acceleration remains constant, the period of the spring will not change.
4. A. Frequency is the number of whole waves that pass through a given point in a certain amount of time.
5. B. Because Carl is farther away from the axis of rotation, he is moving a greater distance and therefore has a greater centripetal acceleration.