What's Tested on OAT Physics?
The Physics section of the OAT requires strong knowledge of testable concepts and equations, as well as strategic testing skills. You’ll need to comfortable with the following topics:
- Units, Vectors, and Kinematics
- Newtonian Mechanics
- Energy and Momentum
- Thermodynamics
- Fluid Statics
- Electrostatics
- Circuits
- Simple Harmonic Motion and Waves
- Light and Optics
- Modern Physics
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Test your readiness for OAT Physics with the practice questions below:
Answer 1
Each object undergoes the same change in speed. Each object experiences an acceleration of 9.8 m/s², which means that each object’s speed changes by 9.8 m/s each second. Both objects thus experience the same change in speed over the two-second period, i.e., 19.6 m/s.
Answer 2
143 kW. The work done by the engine is equal to the change in kinetic energy of the car:
The average power supplied is therefore equal to:
Answer 3
Yes. The temperature measures the average random kinetic energy of each of the molecules of the substance but tells nothing about the total random kinetic energy of an object, which depends on the total number of particles in the object. Thus, it’s possible to have an object (say a dilute gas) with a high temperature and low thermal energy content. However, if the number of gas particles is known, the total kinetic energy of the gas can then be calculated.
Question 4
A 10.0 Ω resistor carries a current that varies as a function of time as shown below. What energy has been dissipated by the resistor after 5 s?
Answer 4
120 J.
Power is energy dissipated per unit time, therefore energy dissipated is:
E = Pt
The power dissipated in a resistor R carrying a current I is:
P = I²R
Therefore, the energy dissipated in the first 2 s is:
E = I²Rt
= (2)²(10)(2)
= 80 J
The energy dissipated in the next 2 s is zero, since there is no current, and therefore no power is dissipated. The energy dissipated during the one-second interval from t = 4 s to t = 5 s is:
E = I²Rt
= (2)²(10)(1)
= 40 J
The total energy dissipated is therefore:
80 + 40 = 120 J
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