A physical-science survey is four disciplines wearing one course code, and breadth is exactly what makes it difficult. The Physical Universe, 17th Edition by Konrad Krauskopf moves from motion and energy through the atom and the periodic table into the Earth, the solar system and cosmology, rarely spending more than a chapter anywhere. The result is an exam that samples widely and shallowly, so the students who struggle are usually the ones who studied one unit deeply and let the previous three fade rather than keeping all of them at recall level.
Why this test bank helps
When a course covers this much ground, the useful question is not whether you can solve a hard problem but whether you can still remember how a half-life works six weeks after that chapter ended. Every item here comes with a written rationale that restates the underlying idea compactly — the definition, the relationship, the reason the numbers behave that way — so revisiting an earlier unit takes minutes rather than an evening. That is what makes a survey course manageable in the run-up to a cumulative final.
What’s inside
- Questions grouped by chapter across all four subject areas the book covers.
- Definition-level items, conceptual questions and short calculations that keep units explicit.
- A written rationale under every question, compact enough to serve as a review note in its own right.
- Balanced weighting so the astronomy and earth-science chapters get the same attention as the physics ones.
- One organized PDF, ready to download as soon as checkout completes.
Topics covered
- Motion, force and energy — Newton’s laws, momentum, work, power and conservation principles.
- Matter and heat — states of matter, temperature and heat transfer, the gas laws and thermodynamics.
- Electricity, magnetism and waves — current and circuits, magnetic fields, sound, and the electromagnetic spectrum.
- The atom and quantum ideas — atomic structure, spectral lines, wave-particle duality and relativity.
- The nucleus — radioactivity, half-life, fission and fusion, and nuclear energy.
- Chemistry of the elements — the periodic table, bonding, reactions, solutions and organic compounds.
- The Earth — minerals and rocks, plate tectonics, erosion, the atmosphere, oceans and climate.
- The universe — the solar system, stellar evolution, galaxies and cosmological models.
Who it’s for
Students taking a one- or two-semester physical science survey from this edition, most often as a general-education laboratory science requirement, and pre-service teachers who need working knowledge across physics, chemistry, astronomy and geology rather than depth in one.
How to use it (the right way)
Use the questions as spaced review rather than as pre-exam cramming: work the current chapter, then add a short block from a unit you finished a month ago. Read the rationale for every item you miss and write the key relationship on a single running sheet you revisit before the final. This is a study aid. Use it in line with your institution’s academic-integrity policy — as preparation and self-testing, never as a substitute for coursework and never as material taken into a graded assessment.
Sample question (shows the format — your download contains the full set)
Q. A sample contains 16 g of a radioactive isotope whose half-life is 5 days. How much of the original isotope remains after 15 days?
- A. 8 g
- B. 4 g
- C. 2 g
- D. 1 g
Answer: C. Fifteen days is three half-lives, and each one halves what is left: 16 g becomes 8 g, then 4 g, then 2 g. A stops after one half-life and B after two, which is the error of counting elapsed time rather than completed intervals. D corresponds to four half-lives, or 20 days. The wider point is that decay is exponential, so a fixed fraction disappears in each interval rather than a fixed mass.
Edition & format
- Matches: The Physical Universe, 17th Edition, by Konrad Krauskopf (ISBN 9781260150520).
- Format: Digital PDF, delivered instantly after checkout.
- Access: Lifetime — re-download from your account whenever you need it.
Chapter order and the data in the earth-science and astronomy units are revised between editions. Please confirm the edition and ISBN above match your assigned book before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the current edition? This set is prepared for the 17th Edition, ISBN 9781260150520. Other editions renumber chapters and update the data, so their question sets are listed separately.
How do I receive it? The download appears on your order confirmation page and in your account the moment checkout completes. Nothing is posted and there is no processing delay.
Do all the questions include rationales? Yes — each item is followed by a short written explanation, which doubles as a review note for a cumulative exam.
Is using a test bank allowed? Treated as a study aid it is like any other practice resource. Follow your institution’s academic-integrity policy, and never take the material into a graded assessment.
More titles for this course are in Physics & Astronomy Test Banks.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.