AP PHYSICS PRACTICE TEST

CHAPTER 8 & 9 EQUILIBRIUM & FLUIDS

1. A heavy boy and a light girl are balanced on a massless seesaw. If they both move forward so that
they are one-half their original distance from the pivot point, what will happen to the seesaw?
a. The side the boy is sitting on will tilt downward.
b. The side the girl is sitting on will tilt downward.
c. Nothing, the seesaw will still be balanced.
d. It is impossible to say without knowing the masses and the distances.

2. A book weighs 6 N. When held at rest above your head the net force on the book is
a. 0 N. b. 6 N. c. 9.8 N. d. -6 N.

3. Which of the following is not a unit of pressure?
a. atmosphere
b. N/m
c. Pascal
d. mm of mercury

4. You are originally 1.0 m beneath the surface of a pool. If you dive to 2.0 m beneath the surface, what
happens to the absolute pressure on you?
a. It quadruples.
b. It more than doubles.
c. It doubles.
d. It less than doubles.

5. When atmospheric pressure changes, what happens to the absolute pressure at the bottom of a pool?
a. It does not change.
b. It increases by a lesser amount.
c. It increases by the same amount.
d. It increases by a greater amount.

6. Consider three drinking glasses. All three have the same area base, and all three are filled to the same
depth with water. Glass A is cylindrical. Glass B is wider at the top than at the bottom, and so holds
more water than A. Glass C is narrower at the top than at the bottom, and so holds less water than
A. Which glass has the greatest liquid pressure at the bottom?
a. Glass A.
b. Glass B.
c. Glass C.
d. All three have equal pressure.

7. 50 cm
3
of wood is floating on water, and 50 cm
3
of iron is totally submerged. Which has the greater
buoyant force on it?
a. The wood.
b. The iron.
c. Both have the same buoyant force.
d. Cannot be determined without
knowing their densities.

8. Salt water has greater density than fresh water. A boat floats in both fresh water and in salt water.
Where is the buoyant force greater on the boat?
a. Salt water.
b. Fresh water.
c. Buoyant force is the same in both.
d. Impossible to determine from the information given.

9. Salt water is more dense than fresh water. A ship floats in both fresh water and salt water. Compared
to the fresh water, the volume of water displaced in the salt water is
a. more.
b. less.
c. the same.
d. Cannot be determined from the
information given.



10. A piece of iron rests on top of a piece of wood floating in a bathtub. If the iron is removed from the
wood, what happens to the water level in the tub?
a. It goes up.
b. It goes down.
c. It does not change.
d. Impossible to determine from the information given.

11. A steel ball sinks in water but floats in a pool of mercury. Where is the buoyant force on the ball
greater?
a. Floating on the mercury.
b. Submerged in the water.
c. It is the same in both cases.
d. Cannot be determined from the information given.

12. A 10 kg piece of aluminum sits at the bottom of a lake, right next to a 10 kg piece of lead. Which
has the greater buoyant force on it?
a. The aluminum.
b. The lead.
c. Both have the same buoyant force.
d. Cannot be determined without
knowing their volumes.

13. Which one of the following is associated with the law of conservation of energy in fluids?
a. Archimedes' principle
b. Bernoulli's principle
c. Pascal's principle
d. equation of continuity

14. When you blow some air above a paper strip, the paper rises. This is because
a. the air above the paper moves faster and the pressure is higher.
b. The air above the paper moves faster and the pressure is lower.
c. The air above the paper moves slower and the pressure is higher.
d. The air above the paper moves slower and the pressure is lower.

15. As the speed of a moving fluid increases, the pressure in the fluid
a. increases.
b. remains constant.
c. decreases.
d. may increase or decrease,
depending on the viscosity.

16. A sky diver falls through the air at terminal velocity. The force of air resistance on him is
a. half his weight.
b. equal to his weight.
c. twice his weight.
d. Cannot be determined from the
information given.

17. Water flows through a pipe. The diameter of the pipe at point B is larger than at point A. Where is
the speed of the water greater?
a. Point A
b. Point B
c. Same at both A and B
d. Cannot be determined from the
information given.

18. Water flows through a pipe. The diameter of the pipe at point B is larger than at point A. Where is
the water pressure greatest?
a. Point A
b. Point B
c. Same at both A and B
d. Cannot be determined from the
information given.


1. c
2. a
3. b
4. d
5. c
6. d
7. b
8. c
9. b
10. b
11. a
12. a
13. b
14. b
15. c
16. b
17. a
18. b