ASVAB General Science Practice Test 749691

Questions 5
Topics Curved Lenses, Groups, Magnetism, Mass vs. Weight, Neutron

Study Guide

Curved Lenses

Unlike curved mirrors that operate on the principle of reflection, lenses utilize refraction. A convex lens is thicker in the middle than on the edges and converges light while a concave lens is thicker on the edges than in the middle and diffuses light. A common use for curved lenses is in eye glasses where a convex lens is used to correct farsightedness and a concave lens is used to correct nearsightedness.

Groups

The columns of the Periodic Table are called groups and all elements in a group have the same number of electrons in their outer electron shell. The group that an element occupies generally determines its chemical properties as the number of outer shell electrons establishes the way it reacts with other elements to form molecules. So, because each element has the same number of electrons in its outer shell, each has similar reactivity.

Magnetism

Simple magnets have two poles, north and south, and opposite poles attract each other (N attracts S, S attracts N). Likewise, the same pole of two magnets repel (N repels N, S repels S). The Earth has a magnetic field and North and South Poles which enables the use of a magnetic compass to determine direction.

Mass vs. Weight

Mass is the amount of matter something has while weight is the force exerted on an object's mass by gravity. So, although a person's mass doesn't change when going from the Earth to the Moon, their weight will decrease because the force of the Moon's gravity is much less than that of Earth.

Neutron

A neutron is a subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom. It is neutral as it carries no electric charge.