Physics Trivia Quiz
Physics Trivia Quiz: Test your knowledge of the fundamental laws of the universe with our collection of physics quizzes featuring questions about famous physicists, groundbreaking discoveries, fascinating phenomena, and more!
Welcome to our Physics Trivia Quiz collection!
Put your knowledge of the fundamental laws that govern our universe to the test – we're covering everything from classical mechanics and thermodynamics to quantum physics and relativity. All quizzes are totally free, no sign-up needed, and you can play as many times as you like!
Our physics trivia dives deep, spanning from Newton's laws to Einstein's theories and modern quantum mechanics. We've got questions on famous physicists, groundbreaking experiments, fundamental constants, fascinating phenomena, and mind-bending concepts. Whether you're a physics student, science enthusiast, or just curious about how the world works, we've got quizzes that'll challenge and entertain you!
For each quiz, 20 questions will be randomly selected from the list below. Are you a true Physics Expert? Come on and test your knowledge!
1What force keeps planets orbiting the Sun?
Magnetic force
Gravity
Centrifugal force
Friction
2Who proposed the famous mass-energy equivalence equation E=mc²?
Isaac Newton
Albert Einstein
Galileo Galilei
Marie Curie
3Approximately what is the speed of light in a vacuum?
300 kilometers/second
30,000 kilometers/second
300,000 kilometers/second
3,000,000 kilometers/second
4Which of the following scientists is famous for their research on radioactivity and won Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields?
Niels Bohr
Michael Faraday
Marie Curie
Max Planck
5What is the property of an object to resist changes in its state of motion called?
Weight
Density
Inertia
Momentum
6The formation of a rainbow is primarily due to what phenomenon of light?
Diffraction
Interference
Dispersion and reflection
Polarization
7In which medium does sound travel fastest?
Air
Water
Steel
Vacuum
8The "Three Laws of Motion" were proposed by which scientist?
Albert Einstein
Isaac Newton
Galileo Galilei
Johannes Kepler
9What is the central part of an atom, containing protons and neutrons, called?
Electron cloud
Nucleus
Orbit
Photon
10Which of the following phenomena is caused by the scattering of sunlight by Earth's atmosphere?
Lunar eclipse
The sky is blue
Tides
Aurora
11What is the SI unit for measuring force?
Joule
Watt
Newton
Pascal
12Which scientist experimentally proved that the acceleration of falling objects is independent of their mass (ignoring air resistance)?
Aristotle
Galileo Galilei
Archimedes
Nicolaus Copernicus
13When an ambulance approaches you, the pitch of its siren sounds higher, and it sounds lower as it moves away. What is this effect called?
Photoelectric effect
Compton effect
Doppler effect
Hall effect
14What is absolute zero in degrees Celsius?
0°C
-100°C
-273.15°C
100°C
15Which of the following materials is a good electrical conductor?
Rubber
Glass
Copper
Wood
16"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" is which of Newton's laws of motion?
First Law
Second Law
Third Law
Fourth Law (does not exist)
17Who was one of the founders of quantum mechanics and proposed the hypothesis of energy quantization?
Albert Einstein
Max Planck
Niels Bohr
Erwin Schrödinger
18What phenomenon describes the bending of light waves as they pass through a small opening or around the edge of an obstacle?
Refraction
Reflection
Diffraction
Interference
19How is the direction of friction always related to the direction of an object's motion or tendency of motion?
Same direction
Opposite direction
Perpendicular
Uncertain
20Which scientist made significant contributions to electromagnetism and has a law of electromagnetic induction named after him?
James Clerk Maxwell
Michael Faraday
André-Marie Ampère
Heinrich Hertz
21When an object floats in a liquid, the buoyant force it experiences is equal to what?
The volume of the object
The volume of the liquid displaced by the object
The weight of the liquid displaced by the object
The density of the object
22A black hole is a celestial body with such strong gravity that not even what can escape?
Sound
Matter
Light
Magnetic fields
23What is the SI unit of energy?
Newton
Watt
Joule
Ampere
24The famous "double-slit experiment" primarily demonstrates what property of microscopic particles?
Electric charge
Wave-particle duality
Radioactivity
Magnetism
25Which of the following materials is a natural magnet?
Copper
Aluminum
Lodestone (Magnetite)
Gold
26Which scientist proposed the planetary model of the atom, suggesting electrons orbit the nucleus much like planets orbit the sun?
John Dalton
J.J. Thomson
Ernest Rutherford
Niels Bohr
27What are the three fundamental ways heat is transferred?
Conduction, evaporation, radiation
Conduction, convection, radiation
Convection, refraction, diffraction
Radiation, reflection, absorption
28Who proposed the "uncertainty principle"?
Albert Einstein
Werner Heisenberg
Erwin Schrödinger
Paul Dirac
29Earth's magnetic field protects us from what kind of cosmic radiation?
Infrared rays
Ultraviolet rays
Solar wind and cosmic rays
Microwaves
30Which of the following phenomena is NOT an electromagnetic wave?
Visible light
X-rays
Sound waves
Radio waves
31Which scientist is famous for his work on black holes and cosmology, and wrote "A Brief History of Time"?
Carl Sagan
Stephen Hawking
Richard Feynman
Neil deGrasse Tyson
32What is the process called when a substance changes directly from a solid to a gas?
Melting
Freezing
Sublimation
Liquefaction
33What is the unit of electrical resistance?
Volt
Ampere
Ohm
Watt
34Who discovered the atomic nucleus through the gold foil experiment (alpha particle scattering experiment)?
J.J. Thomson
Ernest Rutherford
Niels Bohr
James Chadwick
35When an object vibrates at a specific frequency and is driven by an external force of the same frequency, its amplitude increases significantly. This phenomenon is called?
Attenuation
Resonance
Damping
Interference
36LASER is an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation." What are the characteristics of the light it produces?
Polychromatic, divergent, incoherent
Monochromatic, collimated (parallel), coherent
White light, focused, random
Colorful, scattered, polarized
37What is the unit of electric current?
Volt
Ohm
Ampere
Coulomb
38Which scientist unified electricity and magnetism, forming the theory of electromagnetism?
Michael Faraday
James Clerk Maxwell
Heinrich Hertz
André-Marie Ampère
39What is the cause of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and Aurora Australis (Southern Lights)?
Lunar gravity
Interaction of solar wind particles with Earth's magnetosphere and atmosphere
Volcanic eruptions
Comet impacts
40One of the most notable properties of a superconductor is that its electrical resistance drops to what value below a critical temperature?
Infinity
Zero
A very small but non-zero value
A negative value
41Who discovered the electron?
Ernest Rutherford
J.J. Thomson
Niels Bohr
John Dalton
42The famous quote "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world" is related to the principle of the lever by which ancient scientist?
Plato
Archimedes
Aristotle
Pythagoras
43What is a light-year a unit of?
Time
Distance
Speed
Brightness
44Who discovered X-rays?
Marie Curie
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
Henri Becquerel
Albert Einstein
45Whose experiments, such as the Magdeburg hemispheres, first demonstrated the existence of atmospheric pressure?
Blaise Pascal
Otto von Guericke
Evangelista Torricelli
Robert Boyle
46Which of the following is a renewable energy source?
Coal
Solar energy
Natural gas
Petroleum
47The loudness of a sound primarily depends on what property of the sound wave?
Frequency
Amplitude
Wavelength
Speed
48Which scientist proposed the "heliocentric model," suggesting the Sun is the center of the universe?
Ptolemy
Nicolaus Copernicus
Tycho Brahe
Johannes Kepler
49What is the phenomenon called when light bends as it passes from one medium to another?
Reflection
Refraction
Diffraction
Scattering
50Who discovered the neutron?
Ernest Rutherford
James Chadwick
J.J. Thomson
Niels Bohr
51What is the unit of power?
Joule
Watt
Newton
Volt
52What do Kepler's three laws of planetary motion describe?
The evolution of stars
The laws governing the motion of planets around the Sun
The laws governing the motion of satellites around planets
The formation of galaxies
53"Schrödinger's cat" is a famous thought experiment that attempts to illustrate which concept in quantum mechanics?
Conservation of energy
Superposition and the role of measurement
Relativistic effects
Black hole evaporation
54When white light passes through a prism, it separates into different colors. What is this phenomenon called?
Interference of light
Dispersion of light
Diffraction of light
Polarization of light
55Which of the following is NOT a fundamental state of matter?
Solid
Light state
Liquid
Gas
56Which scientist invented the telephone? (Though controversial, he is generally credited.)
Thomas Edison
Alexander Graham Bell
Nikola Tesla
Guglielmo Marconi
57What does the Big Bang theory describe about the universe?
The ultimate fate of the universe
The origin and early evolution of the universe
The formation of black holes
The formation of planets
58The unit of pressure, Pascal (Pa), is equal to what?
Newton/meter (N/m)
Newton/square meter (N/m²)
Joule/second (J/s)
Kilogram/cubic meter (kg/m³)
59What did the famous Michelson-Morley experiment attempt to detect?
Gravitational waves
Luminiferous aether
Neutrinos
Dark matter
60The photoelectric effect refers to the emission of what particles from the surface of a material when light shines on it?
Protons
Electrons
Neutrons
Photons
61Which physicist made important contributions to Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) and is known for his Feynman diagrams?
Paul Dirac
Richard Feynman
Murray Gell-Mann
Steven Weinberg
62What happens to the density of water when it freezes?
Increases
Decreases
Stays the same
Increases then decreases
63Who systematically formulated the "Law of Universal Gravitation"?
Galileo Galilei
Isaac Newton
Johannes Kepler
Albert Einstein
64Which of the following phenomena can be explained by the wave nature of light but is difficult to explain with its particle nature?
Photoelectric effect
Diffraction of light
Compton scattering
Black-body radiation
65What is the unit of electric charge?
Ampere
Coulomb
Volt
Farad
66Which scientist improved the telescope and used it to make many important astronomical observations, such as the craters on the Moon and the moons of Jupiter?
Nicolaus Copernicus
Galileo Galilei
Johannes Kepler
Isaac Newton
67The first law of thermodynamics primarily expresses the conservation of what?
Momentum
Energy
Mass
Charge
68When two or more waves meet in space, they superimpose on each other. This phenomenon is called?
Diffraction
Interference
Refraction
Reflection
69According to relativity, what happens to the mass of an object as its speed approaches the speed of light?
Decreases
Increases
Stays the same
Becomes zero
70What are the two poles of a magnet usually called?
Positive and negative poles
North (N) and South (S) poles
Upper and lower poles
Attraction and repulsion poles
71One of the early proponents of "atomism," who believed that all matter is composed of indivisible atoms, was which ancient Greek philosopher?
Socrates
Democritus
Plato
Aristotle
72Which of the following instruments is used to measure electric current?
Voltmeter
Ammeter
Ohmmeter
Thermometer
73The pitch of a sound primarily depends on what property of the sound wave?
Amplitude
Frequency
Wave speed
Waveform
74Which scientist discovered the phenomenon of natural radioactivity?
Marie Curie
Henri Becquerel
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
Ernest Rutherford
75An object in motion will stay in motion, and an object at rest will stay at rest, unless acted upon by an external force. This is which of Newton's laws?
First Law (Law of Inertia)
Second Law (F=ma)
Third Law (Action-Reaction)
Law of Universal Gravitation
76What does a "quantum leap" (or quantum jump) refer to?
Continuous change in a particle's velocity
The discontinuous jump of an electron from one energy level to another in an atom
The fission of an atomic nucleus
A change in the speed of light
77Which of the following colors of light has the shortest wavelength?
Red
Violet
Green
Yellow
78Which scientist is considered the "father of experimental physics" and conducted pioneering research on electromagnetic induction and electrolysis?
Isaac Newton
Michael Faraday
James Joule
André-Marie Ampère
79Nuclear fusion is the primary energy source for which type of celestial body?
Planets
Stars (like the Sun)
Comets
Asteroids
80"Entropy" is an important concept in thermodynamics. It is generally understood as a measure of what?
The energy of a system
The disorder or randomness of a system
The temperature of a system
The pressure of a system
81Which of the following phenomena proved that the Earth is round? (Ancient observation method)
The alternation of day and night
The hull of a distant ship disappearing before its mast
The change of seasons
The phases of the Moon
82What is the unit of voltage?
Ampere
Volt
Ohm
Watt
83Which scientist proposed the Pauli Exclusion Principle, stating that two identical fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state?
Erwin Schrödinger
Wolfgang Pauli
Werner Heisenberg
Paul Dirac
84Why does our breath turn into "white fog" in winter?
Because the exhaled carbon dioxide turns solid
Because the exhaled water vapor condenses into tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the cold air
Because dust in the air is exhaled
Because saliva turns white at low temperatures
85What are the two fundamental postulates of "Special Relativity"?
Conservation of energy and conservation of momentum
The principle of relativity and the principle of the constancy of the speed of light
The uncertainty principle and wave-particle duality
The law of universal gravitation and Newton's laws of motion
86Which of the following forces is the weakest of the four fundamental interactions in nature?
Strong interaction
Gravity
Weak interaction
Electromagnetic force
87Which scientist first experimentally verified the existence of electromagnetic waves?
James Clerk Maxwell
Heinrich Hertz
Michael Faraday
Nikola Tesla
88Why can you drink a beverage using a straw?
Because your mouth has suction power
Because atmospheric pressure pushes the beverage into the straw and your mouth
Because the beverage has buoyancy
Because of capillary action
89Who proposed the "quark" model to explain the internal structure of hadrons?
Richard Feynman
Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig (independently)
Steven Weinberg
Abdus Salam
90Which of the following phenomena is caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on Earth?
Earthquakes
Tides
Volcanic eruptions
Auroras
91What principle of light does "fiber optic communication" utilize to transmit signals?
Diffraction
Total internal reflection
Dispersion
Polarization
92Which scientist is hailed as the "father of alternating current (AC)"?
Thomas Edison
Nikola Tesla
Alessandro Volta
George Westinghouse
93Density refers to what property of an object per unit volume?
Weight
Mass
Force
Energy
94"Dark matter" and "dark energy" are believed to constitute the majority of the universe. What are their main characteristics?
They emit light and are easily detectable
They do not emit light (or very little) and are difficult to detect directly, but have gravitational effects
They exist only in black holes
They are antimatter
95Which of the following phenomena does NOT directly involve Newton's laws of motion?
A car accelerating
Radioactive decay
A rocket launching
Planetary revolution (approximate description)
96What does "Brownian motion" refer to?
The regular motion of planets
The random movement of microscopic particles suspended in a fluid
The directional movement of electrons in a conductor
The straight-line propagation of light
97Which scientist received the Nobel Prize in Physics for explaining the photoelectric effect, rather than for relativity?
Max Planck
Albert Einstein
Niels Bohr
Werner Heisenberg
98Why does the sky often appear red or orange at sunrise and sunset?
Because the air temperature is lower
Because longer wavelength red and orange light from the sun is more likely to penetrate the thick atmosphere to reach our eyes
Because the atmosphere is filled with red dust
Because Earth's rotation speed slows down
99"Quantum entanglement" is a peculiar quantum phenomenon. What does it describe?
Particles always appear in pairs
A special connection exists between two or more quantum particles, such that measuring the state of one particle instantaneously affects the state of the other(s), even if they are far apart
Particles spontaneously split into smaller particles
All particles have the same electric charge
100Which of the following scientists is NOT primarily a contributor to classical physics? (i.e., their main contributions are in quantum or relativistic fields)
Isaac Newton
Erwin Schrödinger
Galileo Galilei
James Clerk Maxwell