Additional General Science for ASVAB Power Practice Problems

These general science practice questions are based on the actual ASVAB. Take this quiz to see how you would do if you took the exam today and to determine your strengths and weaknesses as you plan your study schedule.

Time: 11 minutes

Which of the following elements is expected to be least reactive?
1. Kr
2. F
3. Ca
4. K
When the Moon is new, which is true?
1. A solar eclipse could occur.
2. A lunar eclipse could occur.
3. An Earth eclipse could occur.
4. A corona eclipse could occur.
What is the mass number of an atom with 60 protons, 60 electrons, and 75 neutrons?
1. 60
2. 120
3. 135
4. 195
Which of the following is the main function of the urinary bladder?
1. to convert urea to urine
2. to absorb water
3. to store bile salts
4. to store urine for excretion
Which of the following is known as the "powerhouse of the cell"?
1. chloroplast
2. vacuole
3. endoplasmic reticulum
4. mitochondrion
Which of the following represents the ground state of an ion in the alkaline earth family?
1. 1s²2s²
2. 1s²2s²2p¹
3. 1s²2s²2p²
4. 1s²2s²2p³
Which process requires the most energy for a cell to transport material through its cell membrane?
1. facilitated diffusion
2. osmosis
3. active transport
4. filtration
In the reaction 2Cu₂S + 3O₂ →3Cu₂O + 2SO₂, if 24 moles of Cu₂O are to be prepared, then how many moles of O₂ are needed?
1. 24
2. 36
3. 16
4. 27
In a food chain, which of the following are the producers?
1. dead organic matter
2. plant-eating animals
3. meat-eating animals
4. green plants
A mixture consisting of 8.0 g of oxygen (MW = 16) and 14 g of nitrogen (MW = 14) is prepared in a container such that the total pressure is 750 mm Hg. The partial pressure of oxygen in the mixture is
1. 125 mm Hg.
2. 500 mm Hg.
3. 135 mm Hg.
4. 250 mm Hg.
Membranes in cells are used for all of the following EXCEPT
1. providing rigid support.
2. regulating transport of substances.
3. containing DNA.
4. creating cellular organelles.
The energy of the Sun is created through which chemical reaction?
1. single combination of molecules
2. splitting larger elements into smaller elements
3. combustion of fuel and oxygen
4. combining of smaller elements to larger elements
The Himalayas are the result of
1. a continental collision zone.
2. a plate subduction zone.
3. a volcanic zone.
4. a ridge spreading zone.
The time required for half the atoms in a sample of a radioactive element to disintegrate is known as the element's
1. decay period.
2. lifetime.
3. radioactive period.
4. half-life.
Bacteria are part of which of the following kingdoms?
1. protist
2. monera
3. animal
4. plant
A 10 g sample of hydrogen sulfide gas is in a closed vessel at 127°C and 6 atm. What would the pressure be in the vessel when the temperature of the sample is changed to 27°C and the volume remains the same?
1. 2 atm
2. 4 atm
3. 6 atm
4. 8 atm
If a cell is in an environment that lacks oxygen, how will it get its energy?
1. photosynthesis
2. transpiration
3. fermentation
4. cellular respiration
A pressure of 740 mm Hg is the same as
1. 1 atm.
2. 0.974 atm.
3. 1.03 atm.
4. 0.740 atm.
Which adaptation do protists and plants share that separate them from fungi?
1. chloroplasts
2. nucleus
3. cell wall
4. specialized tissue
When aluminum (Al) and oxygen (O) form an ionic compound, it is represented as
1. AlO
2. Al₃O₂
3. Al₂O₃
4. l₁₃O₈
In a cell with 16 chromosomes, how many gametes with how many chromosomes would be present after meiosis?
1. 2 with 8 chromosomes
2. 2 with 16 chromosomes
3. 4 with 4 chromosomes
4. 4 with 8 chromosomes
To get the most accurate data, where would be the best placement of a weather balloon?
1. the mesosphere
2. the troposphere
3. the stratosphere
4. the thermosphere
What is the proper nomenclature for the covalent molecule CCl₄?
1. carbon chloride
2. carbon chlorine
3. carbon tetrachloride
4. carbon quadrachloride
If the half-life for a radioactive element is 6 minutes, what was the initial mass of a sample with 40 g left after 18 minutes?
1. 320 g
2. 160 g
3. 80 g
4. 40 g
Viruses appear to be living organisms for the following characteristics EXCEPT
1. nucleic acids.
2. enzymes.
3. adaptation.
4. cellular reproduction.

Answers

a. Krypton (Kr) is a noble gas found in the last column of the periodic table. These elements have complete outer valence shells, making them very unreactive to otherelements.
a. When a Moon is new it is between the Sun and Earth. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon crosses the path of the Sun's light rays between the Earth and Sun, which can happen only during the new Moon phase.
c. The mass number of an atom is the sum of protons and neutrons. In this case, 60 + 75 = 135.
d. The urinary bladder stores urine after it is created in the kidneys.
d. A mitochondrion in a cell produces energy for cellular functions through processing ATP.
a. The alkaline earth metals are in group 2, which all have a valence electron configuration of s².
c. Active transport requires energy to transport substances through the membrane. Diffusion and osmosis rely on concentration differences, and filtration relies on pressure differences.
a. According to the balanced reaction, 3 moles of O₂ in the reactants is equivalent to 3 moles of Cu₂O in the products. Therefore, to make 24 moles Cu₂O, 24 moles of O_<2 are needed.
d. In the food chain green plants "produce" energy through photosynthesis, which is transferred to consumers—first plant eaters, then animal eaters.
d. Partial pressure of each component is proportional to its molar ratio of the mixture. Using the mass and molecular weights given, there are 0.5 mol oxygen and 1 mol nitrogen Therefore, the molar ratio of oxygen in this mixture is and oxygen's partial pressure is mm Hg = 250 mm Hg.
a. Membranes are not rigid and do not provide support like cell walls do. The cell membrane is responsible for transporting substances and forming structures to contain cytoplasm and DNA.
d. Nuclear fusion is the combining of smaller nuclei to form a larger one. This reaction releases extremely large amounts of energy and is the reaction occurring at the Sun and other stars.
a. Mountains that are not volcanic are formed at a continental collision zone.
c. The time for a radioactive element to lose half its atoms is referred to as its radioactive period. Be careful not to confuse this with half-life, which is the time it takes for the concentration of a sample of nuclei to decompose by one half.
b. Bacteria are a part of the kingdom monera, the classification for the simplest single cell life.
d. Use Gay-Lussac's law, P₁T₁ = P₂T₂. Don't forget to convert temperature from Celsius to Kelvin by adding 273.
c. Fermentation is a process that produces energy without oxygen.
b. 1 atm is equal to 760 mm Hg. Since 740 mm Hg is just a little bit less than 760 mm Hg, the answer should be just a little less than 1 atm.
a. Fungi and plants evolved from protists. Some protists are autotrophs and contain chloroplasts like plants. Fungi are not autotrophic. Protists do not have specialized tissue.
c. When two elements form an ionic compound, the charge of the ion needs to be determined. Aluminum (Al) has three valence electrons and will give those up, while oxygen (O) has six valence electrons, so it favors taking two electrons in. This gives the Al ion a +3 charge and the O ion a –2 charge. The number of ions in the ionic compound is determined by balancing the overall charge. In this case, two Al ions will give a charge of +6, which will be balanced by three O ions with a total charge of –6.
d. Meiosis results in four haploid gametes with half the number of chromosomes as their parent. This is unlike mitosis that results in two daughter cells with the same number of chromosomes as their parent.
b. Weather and almost all clouds are located in the troposphere.
c. Covalent molecules are named using prefixes to describe the number of atoms and generally end in the suffix -ide. In this case, tetra- represents four chlorine atoms.
a. After 18 minutes, three half-life cycles have occurred. unknown mass. unknown mass = 320 g
d. Viruses are unable to reproduce because they lack cells. Viruses rely on host cells to express their genetic material. Viruses contain enzymes and nucleic acid, and have evolved through natural selection similar to other living organisms, but are still considered nonliving because they lack cellular reproduction.