Basic Physics

Question 1

What is the atmosphere pressure on a standard day at sea level?

Answer 1

14.7psi or 29.92 inches of mercury

Question 2

What is kinetic energy?

Answer 2

Energy in motion

Question 3

What is the definition of a British thermal unit?

Answer 3

The amount of heat required to change the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 degree fahrenheit

Question 4

What are three methods of heat transfer?

Answer 4

Conduction, convection, and radiation

Question 5

What is the definition of friction?

Answer 5

Opposition to the relative movement between two objects

Question 6

What are the two factors involved in work?

Answer 6

Force and movement

Question 7

What does a basic lever machine consist of?

Answer 7

A rigid bar, free to pivot on or rotate about a pivot called the fulcrum

Question 8

What class of lever is a wheelbarrow?

Answer 8

A second class lever

Question 9

What is standard day temperature in degrees fahrenheit?

Answer 9

59 degrees F

Question 10

What factors determine density altitude?

Answer 10

Pressure and Temperature

Question 11

What is the term used to describe the ratio of the amount of water vapor actually present in the atmosphere to when the air is saturated with water vapor?

Answer 11

Relative humidity

Question 12

In what direction is pressure transmitted when force is applied to a confined fluid?

Answer 12

Equally in all directions

Question 13

How is pressure expressed in hydraulics and pneumatics?

Answer 13

Pounds per square inch

Question 14

What is the basic Pascal’s law formula for computing force, given pressure and area?

Answer 14

Force = Area x Pressure (FAP)

Question 15

Are liquids compressible?

Answer 15

No, they are considered to be incompressible.

Question 16

What is the definition of matter?

Answer 16

Any substance that occupies space, has mass, and is perceptible to the senses.

Question 17

What are three states of matter?

Answer 17

Solid, liquid, gas

Question 18

What is the approximate speed of sound on a standard day at sea level?

Answer 18

761 mph

Question 19

What types of matter are affected by thermal expansion?

Answer 19

Solids, liquids, and gasses

Question 20

What are the four principal forces acting on an airplane in flight?

Answer 20

Thrust, Drag, Lift, Weight

Question 21

What is the angle between the chord line of an airfoil and the direction of the relative wind called?

Answer 21

Angle of attack

Question 22

What causes an airplane wing to stall?

Answer 22

The separation of airflow across the top of the wing from the wings upper surface

Question 23

What function do wing mounted vortex generators serve?

Answer 23

Serve to delay or keep the airflow from separating from the upper surface of the wing during high-speed flight

Question 24

What effect do the lowering of flaps have on an airplane in flight?

Answer 24

Increased lift, decreased stall speed, and increased drag

Question 25

What change occurs in the flow of air through the main rotor system of a helicopter when transitioning from normal powered flight to autorotation?

Answer 25

It is reversed. In normal flight, air is drawn into the main rotor system from above and exhausted downward, During autorotation, airflow enters the rotor system from below as the helicopter descends.

Question 26

How does blade flapping help compensate for dissymmetry of lift in helicopter main rotor systems?

Answer 26

Blade flapping serves to increase the angle of attack on the retreating blade side of the rotor and decreases the angle of attack on the advancing blade side.

Question 27

What have physicists used in comparing the densities of all solids and liquids?

Answer 27

Water

Question 28

What is potential energy?

Answer 28

Stored energy

Question 29

What class lever is a seesaw?

Answer 29

1st class lever

Question 30

Name at least two types of stresses that may act on an aicraft

Answer 30

1) Strain 2) Torsion 3) Bending 4) Shear 5) Tension 6) Compression

Question 31

What term is used to describe the rate of speed and direction?

Answer 31

Velocity

Question 32

What is the name of a tube that converges to a smaller diameter and then diverges back to its original diameter and can be used to demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle?

Answer 32

A Venturi

Question 33

When air or fluid pass through the middle section of a venturi, what pressure and velocity changes occur?

Answer 33

Velocity increases and pressure decreases

Question 34

What is the term used to describe the ratio of speed of an aircraft to the speed of sound?

Answer 34

Mach number

Question 35

Describe directional stability

Answer 35

The aircraft's ability to not be adversely affected by a force around its vertical axis

Question 36

Describe longitudinal stability

Answer 36

The aircrafts ability to not be adversely affected by a force around its lateral axis creating a pitching type motion

Question 37

Describe lateral stability

Answer 37

The aircrafts ability to not be adversely affected by a force around its longitudinal axis creating a rolling type of motion

Question 38

What is the characteristic of wing design called that adds an upward lateral angle of a few degrees from horizontal?

Answer 38

Dihedral

Question 39

A wing design that incorporates a dihedral, gives an aircraft what type of stability in flight?

Answer 39

Lateral

Question 40

What type of wind is parallel and opposite to the direction of flight?

Answer 40

Relative wind

Question 41

What is the name of the imaginary line that runs from the leading edge to the trailing edge of an airfoil?

Answer 41

Chord Line

Question 42

What is the name of the angle between the chord line of a wing and the longitudinal axis?

Answer 42

Angle of Incidence

Question 43

Name at least 2 forms of energy that can be converted into heat energy

Answer 43

Mechanical, electrical, chemical, radiant, nuclear, the sun

Question 44

Name three temperature scales

Answer 44

1) Fahrenheit 2) Celsius 3) Kelvin 4) Rankine