General Fundamental Scientific Principles 5

Question 1

What is the term for the minimum energy required to start a chemical reaction?

Accepted Answer

Activation energy

Answer

Activation energy is the minimum energy reactant molecules must have for a reaction to occur, often depicted as a hill on an energy diagram.

Question 2

What phenomenon explains why a straw appears bent when placed in a glass of water?

Accepted Answer

Refraction

Answer

Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another with a different optical density, changing its speed.

Question 3

Which subatomic particle has no electric charge?

Accepted Answer

Neutron

Answer

Neutrons are neutral particles found in the atomic nucleus alongside protons, contributing to atomic mass but not charge.

Question 4

What is the name of the process by which water moves through a semipermeable membrane from low to high solute concentration?

Accepted Answer

Osmosis

Answer

Osmosis is the passive movement of water across a semipermeable membrane toward the region of higher solute concentration.

Question 5

According to Einstein's mass-energy equivalence, what does E = mc² tell us?

Accepted Answer

Mass can be converted to energy and vice versa

Answer

E = mc² shows that mass and energy are two forms of the same thing, with the speed of light squared as the conversion factor.

General Practice Test