SAT II Physics

How's your grasp of thermodynamics? Optics? Magnetics? If your answer is anywhere from "Great!" to "Fantastic!" then I'd recommend showing off that killer brain of yours with the SAT Physics Subject Test. This test is not part of the SAT Reasoning Test, the popular college admissions exam. Nope. This is one of the many SAT Subject Tests, exams designed to showcase your particular talents in all sorts of fields. And if your talents extend into the physical realm, then this exam can help you showcase it to your future alma mater.

Though some topics are taught in the grade 8 and grade 10 of your academic sdty yet they are believed to be hard on the SAT.

• SAT II Physics Home
• Contents
• Format
• What is tested on the test
• Scoring

I touched on this at the beginning, but truthfully, the one reason you'll want to take the SAT Physics Subject Test is to show off a complex Physics background if you're headed into a science-related field where these skills would be prized. A few science-related majors like Engineering or Aeronautics may even require the test.

This question comes from the College Board's free practice questions. The writers have ranked the questions from 1 to 5 where 1 is the least difficult. The question below is ranked as a 3.

• In a given process, 12 joules of heat is added to an ideal gas and the gas does 8 joules of work. Which of the following is true about the internal energy of the gas during this process?
• (A) It has increased by 20 joules.
• (B) It has increased by 4 joules.
• (C) It has not changed.
• (D) It has decreased by 4 joules.
• (E) It has decreased by 20 joules.
• Answer: Answer choice (B) is correct. It has increased by 4 joules. According to conservation of energy, as expressed by the first law of thermodynamics, adding 12 joules of heat to an ideal gas would increase the internal energy of the gas by 12 joules. However, the internal energy of the gas would decrease by 8 joules if that 8 joules is converted to work done by the gas. So the net change in the internal energy of the gas is 12 joules – 8 joules, which is a net increase of 4 joules.

The Physics Subject Test emphasizes relationships among physical concepts more than calculation or the use of formulas.