Basic Physics Awareness

Basic Physics Awareness is a very crucial topic. In the following space we will introduce the Basic Physics Awareness that every candidate has to know to be able to ace the banking exams like IBPS PO, SO, SBI PO, Clerk etc. Mostly the questions on Basic Physics Awareness are from topics from classes 5 to 10 usually. Let us see more!

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Basic Physics Awareness

Let us begin with the most Basic Physics Awareness. All the matter that you see around you is made because of four kinds of forces. In other words, we say that there are four forces in nature. They are as follows:

A) The Gravitational Force               B) The Electromagnetic Force            C) The Weak Interaction              D) The Strong Force or The Nuclear Force.

The Nuclear Force is the strongest force and is a short range force while as the weak interaction is the weakest force in nature. Charges exert electric forces and moving charges exert both electric and magnetic forces, what we call the electromagnetic forces. Similarly, masses attract each other with a force that we call the force of gravitation.

The force of gravitation is determined by the Newton’s Law of Gravitation and the electric Force is calculated with the help of  Coloumb’s Law. We will see some questions in the below space that introduce the most basic concepts of Physics to us.

Basic Physics Awareness – Part I

Let us see some interesting concepts of Physics with the help of examples. You will see these and similar examples in the IBPS exams and other similar exams. Let us see the first example:

Example 1: Which of the following devices measures current?

A) Voltmeter                 B) Barometer              C) Picometer            D) Ammeter

Answer: The Ammeter is a device that we use to measure current. The voltmeter is used to measure voltage or potential difference. The Barometer measures the atmospheric pressure while the picometer is a unit of length. Therefore the correct option here is D) Ammeter.

Example 2:  The total energy of an object near the surface of the earth is equal to the:

A) sum of the potential energy and the mechanical energy.

B) zero.

C) Infinity.

D) sum of the potential energy and the kinetic energy.

Answer: The total energy is the sum of the Kinetic Energy of an object and its Potential Energy. Therefore the correct option is D).

Example 3: The tides are caused due to the:

A) The monsoon wind that keeps blowing throughout the ocean surface.

B) The difference in the temperature at various levels of depth.

C) The pull of the moon on the earth.

D) The effect of the sun’s differential heating or not.

Answer: The tides occur due to the gravitational attraction or the pull of the earth’s surface by the moon. Hence the answer here is C) The pull of the moon on the earth.

Basic Physics Awareness – Part II

Example 4: Of the following quantities, one remains constant during freefall:

A) height                 B) velocity                 C) potential energy              D) Total energy

Answer: As the object is falling, its height will decrease and its velocity will increase. Thus the potential energy will decrease while as the kinetic energy will increase. However, as per the Principle of the conservation of energy, the total energy will always remain constant. Therefore the answer is D) total energy.

Example 5: The device that we use to measure altitude is ……….

A) altitude meter          B) alternate meter               C) altermeter             D) altimeter

Answer: The correct answer is D) altimeter.

Example 6: A runner completes one circuit of a track in 10s. The radius of the track is 100 m. The velocity of the runner is …….

A) 10 m                       B) 10 m/s                     C) 0                     D) 100 m/s

Answer: The answer is C) 0. This is because velocity is a vector and is equal to displacement/time. The displacement is the difference between the final position and the initial position. Since in a circular motion, the person will always return to the initial position. Hence the displacement of a person who returns back to their initial position will always be zero. Thus the velocity will also be zero.

Example 7: A comb picks up positive-negative charge when rubbed up against a particular material. If two combs that have been rubbed for some time are brought closer to each other, they will:

A) attract at once                         B) repel at once               C) First attract then repel                  D) first repel then attract

Answer: The rule that we observe is that like charges (positive and positive or the negative and negative charges) repel each other while as the unlike charges attract each other. Since both the combs have the same charge, they will repel each other. Hence the correct option is B) repel at once.

Practice Questions:

Q 1: A metallic sphere contains a positive charge. Another sphere put at a distance from it sticks to the surface of this sphere. What is the charge on the second sphere?

A) negative                      B) positive                C) highly positive              D) neutral

Ans: A) negative

Q 2: An electron and a proton, initially at rest, are pushed by the same force. Which of the two will have greater velocity?

A) proton

B) electron

C) they will have different acceleration but the same velocity

D) the velocity of both the electron and the proton will be same.

Ans: B) electron.