Practice physics class test — Year 2: heat, temperature and changes of state.
15 questions drawn at random from a bank of 25, on the block of the programme your teacher is finishing: every attempt is a different test. No penalty for wrong answers, so answer even if you are not sure. At the end you receive by email the correct answer to every question and your weak topics — with an account you see them straight away here on the page. The step-by-step solution unlocks with your first lesson.
A class test is the written test an Italian high-school class sits after each block of the programme; this practice version is multiple choice.
Test in ItalianThe questions of this simulator are in Italian, as in the real exam.
Programme covered by the test
- Celsius, Kelvin and Fahrenheit scales
- Linear, surface and volume expansion
- The anomalous behaviour of water between 0 and 4 °C
- Specific heat, heat capacity and the formula Q = mcΔT
- Equilibrium temperature when mixing
- Conduction, convection and radiation
- Changes of state and latent heat
Two worked examples from the test
A quanti kelvin corrisponde la temperatura di ?
Solution
La scala Kelvin ha la stessa ampiezza di grado della scala Celsius, ma lo zero spostato allo zero assoluto.
Passo 1 — Scrivo la relazione.
Passo 2 — Sostituisco.
Passo 3 — Il controllo di segno. Si somma , non si sottrae: una temperatura assoluta non può mai essere negativa, quindi il risultato deve essere maggiore del valore in gradi Celsius.
Il risultato è . sottrae invece di sommare (); applica l'offset due volte (), come se il valore già convertito andasse convertito di nuovo; lascia il numero invariato.
Un corpo passa da a . Quanto vale la variazione di temperatura espressa in kelvin?
Solution
Qui non si converte una temperatura, ma una differenza di temperature: sono due operazioni diverse.
Passo 1 — Calcolo la variazione in Celsius.
Passo 2 — Converto la variazione. Passando in kelvin ogni temperatura aumenta di , quindi nella sottrazione quel termine si elide:
Passo 3 — La regola da fissare. Un grado Celsius e un kelvin hanno la stessa ampiezza: le variazioni di temperatura si scrivono con lo stesso numero nelle due scale. Il serve solo per le temperature, non per i salti.
Il risultato è . somma alla differenza: è l'errore che poi rovina tutti i calcoli con , perché gonfia il calore di un fattore dieci o più.
In the online practice test you will find 13 more questions like these; the correct answer to every question arrives by email.
Prefer paper? Download the test as a PDF (15 questions, 5 pages · 84 KB, ready to print). You receive the solutions by email after taking it online.
Download the PDFWhat a physics test on heat and temperature looks like
Conversions between temperature scales, a linear or volume expansion, a heat calculation with Q = mcΔT, an equilibrium temperature for two bodies put in contact and a change of state with latent heat.
The mistake that costs the grade
Using the formula Q = mcΔT during a change of state: there the temperature does not change and you need the latent heat. When mixing, the mistake that ruins the exercise is writing the two ΔT with the same sign instead of as heat given up and heat absorbed.
How to use this practice test
Take it once cold, without revising and with the timer on: it is there to show you where you stand, not to look good. Then look at your weak topics, revise only those — usually two or three, not the whole chapter — and retake it after a few days. The 15 questions are drawn from a bank of 25, so the second attempt is not the same test and the scores are genuinely comparable.
Is the score not enough?
See which topics lost you the most marks, then read the typical physics mistakes in high school — or we look at your results together: the diagnostic is free.