Practice Test 3 – Mechanical Concepts

Two motors are used to pull crates of gold bars up a hill. Which hillside (A or B) will be easier to pull on?

A weight can be lifted by one pulley or by four pulleys. Which will require the least pulling force?

Four cogs rotate together. Cog 1 spins clockwise. A cog is added. In the new set of five cogs will Cog 2 spin clockwise (A), counterclockwise (B), or not at all (C)?

Two identical blocks of clay are suspended from the ceiling by strings. They are raised to different heights and dropped towards each other. After they hit and stick together, where will the new mass of clay go? Left (A), right (B), or nowhere (C).

Water flows through a funnel. With reference to the large end, will the small end have greater water speed (A), lower water speed(B), or the same water speed (C)?

Two identical blocks are on the same hill slope. One block is on smooth ice. If released from the same height on the slope, which block will reach the bottom first? (If equal, mark C)

Two identical gas tanks have oxygen inside. One has twice the mass of oxygen than the other. Does the one with less mass have more pressure (A), less pressure (B), or the same pressure as the other (C)?

In this set of belts and pulleys, which pulley is rotating with the lowest number of revolutions per minute?

A farmer wants to put a heavy barrel in front of his gate to keep it shut. Which location will keep the gate closed best?

A soccer player kicks a ball up into the air from the ground. Ignoring air resistance, when the ball hits the ground, will it be going slower (A), faster (B), or the same speed as when it was kicked (C)?

Two men are trying to lift identical rocks with levers. Will the man with the longer lever need to push with a larger force (A), a smaller force (B), or the same force (C) as the man with the short lever to lift the rock?

Which switch should be closed to turn on the light?

Two boats support a bridge. When the truck is closer to one side than another, which boat supports the most weight?

Two machetes are used to clear tall grass. Which machete will allow for the fastest cutting?

Will adding salt to water make objects in the water more likely to float (A) or less likely to float (B)?

Will adding water to a water tower increase (A), decrease (B), or not affect (C) the water pressure at the bottom of the water tower?

A man wants to cool down by getting into the river. Which location will cool him down more quickly?

Milk is measured in a liquid measuring cup. Which orientation will allow for the most accurate reading of the volume of milk?

Two vehicles weigh the same. Which is more likely to tip on a corner?

A bucket has a clear tube on the outside which connects at the bottom. How high will the fluid in the tube go?

Two identical balls are pushed vertically into identical springs. After the balls are released, which ball will reach the greatest height?

A fan spins with a certain rotational speed. Which part of the fan blade will travel the fastest through the air?

Two bags of sand are poured into identical tanks of water. Which tank will have the highest water level?

Two identical balls with identical speeds bounce off each other. Which path is ball 1 likely to follow?

A pendulum is released at the shown height. It travels to point B. After the pendulum swings back and forth four times, how high is the pendulum likely to reach?

A sack of concrete is on a board. If the man lifts the board on the end to raise the concrete, where should the concrete be located to minimize the required force?

Two bowling balls are dropped onto identical springs. One bowling ball is dropped from 5 feet. The other is dropped from 10 feet. Which spring will compress more?

A toddler pulls the toilet paper off a toilet paper roll with a constant speed. Will the roll spin faster when the roll is large or when the roll is small?

Water flows down a pipe with one size. Where will the water travel fastest?

A bowling ball and a baseball are dropped from the same height onto separate platforms. Where should the second platform be placed so that the bowling ball and baseball land at the same time?

A boy spins a ball with a string. If he suddenly releases the string, which direction will the ball travel?

An antique bicycle has one large wheel and one small wheel. When the bicycle is moving forward, which wheel rotates faster or do they rotate at the same speed?

A cart has a bucket of water resting on it. If the cart going to go around a right corner quickly, which way should the road tilt to keep the bucket as stable as possible?

Two cars go along the track. Which car travels the greatest distance?

Six identical cogs spin each other. If the first is spinning clockwise, which cog is also spinning clockwise?

Twin goats push each other with their horns. One goat is standing on ice (left), but the other is on dirt (right). Which goat will succeed in pushing the other goat back?

A man tries to brace a falling wall. In which position is it best for the man to push?

Which switch, if opened, guarantees that all the lights in the circuit are turned off?

Two bowling balls are the same size, but ball B weighs more than ball A. Which ball is more likely to float in a tank of fluid?

Which arrangement of boxes on the cart is more likely to result in tipping?

Two identical valves have differently sized handwheels. Which handwheel will require the least amount of force to use?

Two weights, one forty lb weight and one eighty lb weight, are dropped from a height of four feet over the ground. Which weight will hit the ground with more force?

A boat is driving in circles. A man on the boat jumps straight up. Where will the man tend to go?

A baseball player swings his bat at a specific rotational speed. Where should the ball hit to rebound with the highest speed?