Upcat Science Practice Test.docx

UPCAT Science Practice Test Directions: This Science subtest will gauge your proficiency in basic scientific concepts you learned in high school. Choose the letter that corresponds to your answer. 1. Boyle’s law states that “If the temperature remains constant, the volume of a gas varies inversely as the pressure.” The volume of the gas is 204 mL at 840 mm pressure. Calculate the volume of the same gas at 765 mm if the temperature is held constant. A. 112 mL B. 224 mL C. 288 mL D. 336 mL 2. A student holds a hand mirror to observe the back of her head while standing in front of and looking into a wall mirror. If she is standing 4 feet in front of the wall-mirror and she holds the hand-mirror 1 foot behind her head, she will see the back of her head how far behind the wall-mirror? A. 6 feet B. 5 feet C. 4 feet D. 3 feet 3. The Law of Superposition states that in undisturbed strata of sedimentary rock, the oldest rock layer is at the bottom, the youngest at the top. If geologists can determine which way was originally “up” in a stack of layers, they can put those strata in the correct historical order. Rarely, after a sequence of layers has been deposited and compressed to form rock, it may be literally overturned by the thrusting of the Earth’s crust as continental plates collide. In rare cases like this, how can the original sequence of the rocks be determined? A. Collect samples in near-by undisrupted areas. B. They cannot be determined. C. Carbon-date the fossils that are formed within the sedimentary rock layers. D. They are totally in the reverse order of oldest to youngest. 4. The magnetic needle of a compass always points to the north because A. The needle touches the North Pole. B. The earth has a magnetic north pole. C. Compasses are used for finding direction. D. The earth’s magnetic field is strongest at the South Pole. 5. The translational speed of the center of mass of a bowling ball that rolls without slipping along the horizontal section of the ball return is 3.50 m/s. It then moves through a vertical rise of 0.760 m on the way back to the ball rack. If you neglect frictional losses and assume that the mass of the ball is distributed uniformly, then what is the translational speed of the ball at the top of the rise? A. 1.27 m/s B. 1.52 m/s C. 1.52 m/s D. 4.78 m/s

6. Water is essential in the process of photosynthesis. In plants, water is first absorbed in the roots and is conducted all the way to the leaves where photosynthesis primarily occurs. This conduction process occurs through the xylem vessels of plants. There are two forces that participate in this water conduction: adhesion and cohesion. Adhesion refers to the attractive forces between the water molecules and the walls of the xylem vessels, while cohesion refers to the attractive forces among water molecules. Suppose an air bubble is present in a xylem vessel, the conduction of water will be unable to proceed. What is the reason behind this phenomenon?