Free ASVAB Practice Tests

Because different materials have different refractive indices, light changes speed when passing from one material to another. This causes the light to bend (refraction) at an angle that depends on the change in refractive index between the materials. The greater the difference, the higher the angle of refraction.

The area of a triangle is equal to ½ base x height:

a = ½bh
a = ½ x 6 x 7 = \( \frac{42}{2} \) = 21

Mechanical advantage (MA) can be calculated knowing only the distance the effort (blue arrow) moves and the distance the resistance (green box) moves. The equation is:

MA = \( \frac{E_d}{R_d} \)

where E_d is the effort distance and R_d is the resistance distance. For this problem, the equation becomes:

MA = \( \frac{5 ft.}{2.5 ft.} \) = 2

You might be wondering how having an effort distance of 2 times the resistance distance is an advantage. Remember the principle of moments. For a lever in equilibrium the effort torque equals the resistance torque. Because torque is force x distance, if the effort distance is 2 times the resistance distance, the effort force must be \( \frac{1}{2} \) the resistance force. You're trading moving 2 times the distance for only having to use \( \frac{1}{2} \) the force.

Current is the rate of flow of electrons per unit time and is measured in amperes (A). An ammeter is used to measure the electric current in a circuit.

An air mass is a large body of air that has similar moisture (density) and temperature characteristics. A front is a transition zone between two air masses.

A first-class lever is used to increase force or distance while changing the direction of the force. The lever pivots on a fulcrum and, when a force is applied to the lever at one side of the fulcrum, the other end moves in the opposite direction. The position of the fulcrum also defines the mechanical advantage of the lever. If the fulcrum is closer to the force being applied, the load can be moved a greater distance at the expense of requiring a greater input force. If the fulcrum is closer to the load, less force is required but the force must be applied over a longer distance. An example of a first-class lever is a seesaw / teeter-totter.

The biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships. This includes their interactions with the lithosphere (the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle), hydrosphere (all surface water), and atmosphere (the envelope of gases surrounding the planet).

The Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old and its history is divided into time periods based on the events that took place and the forms of life that were dominant during those periods. The largest graduation of time is the eon and each eon is subdivided into eras, eras into periods, periods into epochs, and epochs into ages.

In the mesosphere, temperature again drops as altitude increases until the coldest point in the Earth's atmosphere, the mesopause, is reached where temperatures fall to −225 °F (−143 °C).