• 42 questions

NES Physics Practice Tests

Unofficial physics questions for NES Physics, test 308, from kinematics to the nucleus, most of them worked problems.

In 1909 an experiment balanced tiny charged oil drops between two metal plates. What did it measure?

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Exam mode: 42 questions, 63 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with Pearson, which owns the National Evaluation Series. Bank checked October 12, 2026.

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All 42 questions

Nature of science 6

  • A balance reads 0.20 g with nothing on its pan, and a student uses it without zeroing it. Why will repeating each weighing five times and averaging not fix the results? Wikipedia, "Observational error". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0001
  • A student measures the period T of a simple pendulum for several lengths L and wants a graph that is a straight line through the origin. Which should she plot? Wikipedia, "Pendulum". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0001
  • Clocks on GPS satellites run fast by about 38.6 microseconds a day compared with clocks on the ground. Which theory is used to correct them? Wikipedia, "Error analysis for the Global Positioning System". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0002
  • In 1909 an experiment balanced tiny charged oil drops between two metal plates. What did it measure? Wikipedia, "Oil drop experiment". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0002
  • In a free-fall lab a student measures g as 9.5 m/s². The accepted value is 9.8 m/s². What is the percent error of the measurement? Wikipedia, "Approximation error". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0001
  • Seismic S waves from a large earthquake are not recorded on the far side of Earth. What does this shadow zone tell geologists about Earth's interior? Wikipedia, "S wave". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0002
Show all 42 questions (36 more)

Mechanics 12

  • A 0.20 kg cart moving at 3.0 m/s catches up with a 0.40 kg cart moving the same way at 1.5 m/s and couples to it. How fast do the joined carts move? Wikipedia, "Inelastic collision". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0005
  • A 0.40 kg block on a spring of stiffness 90 N/m sits on a frictionless table. It is pulled 0.20 m from equilibrium and released. What is its greatest speed? Wikipedia, "Simple harmonic motion". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0006
  • A 2.0 kg block slides from rest down a ramp that drops 5.0 m and reaches the bottom at 8.0 m/s. Taking g = 9.8 m/s², how much mechanical energy was lost to friction? Wikipedia, "Work (physics)". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0005
  • A 1,200 kg elevator car is pulled upward by its cable with a tension of 13,800 N. Taking g = 9.8 m/s², what is the acceleration of the car? Wikipedia, "Newton's laws of motion". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0004
  • A cyclist moving at 4.0 m/s speeds up at a constant 1.5 m/s² while covering 30 m. What is her speed at the end of that stretch? Wikipedia, "Equations of motion". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0003
  • A garden hose held level 1.8 m above a lawn sends out water at 5.0 m/s. Taking g = 10 m/s² and ignoring air resistance, how far along the ground from the nozzle does the water land? Wikipedia, "Projectile motion". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0003
  • A playground merry-go-round with a moment of inertia of 300 kg·m² turns freely at 1.2 rad/s. A child standing beside it steps onto the rim, which raises the total moment of inertia to 450 kg·m². With no outside torque, what is the new angular speed? Wikipedia, "Angular momentum". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0006
  • A satellite in a circular orbit of radius r around a planet moves at speed v. At what speed would it move in a circular orbit of radius 4r? Wikipedia, "Circular orbit". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0004
  • A sled rests on a snowy slope. The coefficient of static friction between the sled and the snow is 0.25. What is the steepest slope angle at which the sled can stay at rest? Wikipedia, "Friction". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0004
  • A stone on a string 0.80 m long is whirled in a horizontal circle at a steady 2.0 revolutions per second. What is its acceleration? Wikipedia, "Centripetal force". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0003
  • A worker pushes down with 80 N on the long end of a crowbar, 1.2 m from the pivot. The short end, 0.15 m from the pivot, presses up on a stone. How large is the force on the stone? Wikipedia, "Torque". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0006
  • The force on a 2.0 kg cart at rest rises evenly from zero to 12 N and falls evenly back to zero, all within 0.50 s. How fast is the cart moving afterward? Wikipedia, "Impulse (physics)". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0005

Electricity and magnetism 9

  • A battery with an electromotive force of 9.0 V and an internal resistance of 0.50 Ω is connected to a 4.0 Ω lamp. What is the voltage across the lamp? Wikipedia, "Internal resistance". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0009
  • A heater is rated 1,200 W when connected to 120 V. What is its resistance while it runs? Wikipedia, "Electric power". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0009
  • A light copper ring hangs from a thread around the north pole of a bar magnet. The magnet is pulled quickly out of the ring. Which way does the ring move at first? Wikipedia, "Lenz's law". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0008
  • A positively charged rod is held near, but not touching, the top of a neutral gold-leaf electroscope. What happens to the charge in the electroscope? Wikipedia, "Electrostatic induction". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0007
  • An electron moving at constant speed enters a uniform magnetic field at right angles to the field lines. What path does it follow inside the field? Wikipedia, "Lorentz force". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0008
  • An ideal transformer steps 240 V down to 12 V and supplies 5.0 A to a lamp. What current flows in its primary coil? Wikipedia, "Transformer". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0008
  • Currents of 5.0 A and 2.0 A flow into a junction of four wires. A third wire carries 3.0 A out of the junction. What is the current in the fourth wire? Wikipedia, "Kirchhoff's circuit laws". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0009
  • Moving a charge of +4.0 μC from point A to point B takes 6.0 × 10⁻⁴ J of work against the electric field. What is the potential difference between A and B? Wikipedia, "Voltage". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0007
  • Two small charged spheres attract each other with a force of 0.090 N when their centers are 0.20 m apart. What is the force when they are moved to 0.60 m apart? Wikipedia, "Coulomb's law". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0007

Waves 6

  • A pipe 0.50 m long has one end closed and the other open. The speed of sound is 340 m/s. What is the lowest frequency at which the air in it resonates? Wikipedia, "Acoustic resonance". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0010
  • A sound has an intensity level of 60 dB. Its intensity is then made 100 times greater. What is the new level? Wikipedia, "Decibel". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0010
  • An object stands 20 cm in front of a thin diverging lens whose focal length is −30 cm. Where is the image, and what kind is it? Wikipedia, "Lens". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0011
  • Diamond has a refractive index of 2.42. What is the critical angle for light inside a diamond that meets a surface with air (n = 1.00)? Wikipedia, "Total internal reflection". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0011
  • Light of frequency 8.0 × 10¹⁴ Hz falls on a metal whose threshold frequency is 5.0 × 10¹⁴ Hz. Taking h = 6.6 × 10⁻³⁴ J·s, what is the greatest kinetic energy of an emitted electron? Wikipedia, "Photoelectric effect". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0011
  • Ocean waves pass the end of a pier. Their crests are 12 m apart, and one crest arrives every 4.0 s. How fast are the waves moving? Wikipedia, "Wavelength". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0010

Modern physics 9

  • A cup holding 0.35 kg of water at 90 °C is poured into a jug holding 0.15 kg of water at 10 °C. If no heat escapes, what temperature does the mixture reach? Wikipedia, "Specific heat capacity". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0012
  • A gas in a cylinder is compressed: 300 J of work is done on the gas, and during the compression 120 J of heat flows out of it. By how much does the gas's internal energy change? Wikipedia, "First law of thermodynamics". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0012
  • A nitrogen-14 nucleus, which has 7 protons, absorbs an alpha particle and gives off a proton. Which nucleus is left? Wikipedia, "Nuclear transmutation". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0014
  • A spaceship passes Earth at 0.80c. A light on the ship flashes for 3.0 s as timed by the crew. How long does the flash last as timed by observers on Earth? Wikipedia, "Time dilation". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0013
  • An inventor claims to have an engine that runs between reservoirs at 400 K and 300 K and turns 40% of the heat it takes in into work. How should the claim be judged? Wikipedia, "Carnot heat engine". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0012
  • In 1900 Max Planck explained the spectrum of black-body radiation with a new assumption. What was it? Wikipedia, "Planck constant". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0013
  • In the Bohr model the energy levels of hydrogen are Eₙ = −13.6 eV ÷ n². Which of these transitions emits the photon with the most energy? Wikipedia, "Bohr model". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0013
  • Protons repel one another electrically. What holds the protons and neutrons of a nucleus together? Wikipedia, "Nuclear force". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0014
  • What fraction of the nuclei in a radioactive sample has decayed after four half-lives? Wikipedia, "Half-life". Outline: NES Physics (308) framework, competency 0014

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test framework for NES Physics, test 308, read 2026-10-12 on the National Evaluation Series site (https://www.nestest.com/static/docs/NES_Framework_308.pdf; test page https://www.nestest.com/test/308): Nature of Science (competencies 0001 to 0002, 14%), Mechanics (0003 to 0006, 28%), Electricity and Magnetism (0007 to 0009, 22%), Waves (0010 to 0011, 14%) and Modern Physics (0012 to 0014, 22%). The bank holds 3 questions for each of the 14 competencies. 33 are problems worked in the explanation and computed a second time; each question names the Wikipedia article that states the law or fact it uses, read 2026-10-12. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

These NES Physics practice tests draw on 42 questions of our own, three for each competency of test 308. They are unofficial and not affiliated with Pearson, which owns the National Evaluation Series.

Read the full guide

The five domains of test 308

By the framework read October 12, 2026, NES Physics weights Nature of Science 14%, Mechanics 28%, Electricity and Magnetism 22%, Waves 14%, and Modern Physics 22%, which takes in thermal and nuclear physics. The bank holds 6, 12, 9, 6 and 9 questions.

Timing

Exam mode keeps the real test's pace of a minute and a half a question: 42 questions in 63 minutes.

How the answers are checked

Worked answers show the arithmetic, using constants printed in the question. Each explanation also names the Wikipedia article that states the law it uses, from Coulomb's law to the Carnot engine.

  • The real test supplies an on-screen calculator and a constants sheet. Here each question prints the constants it needs.
  • Estimate before you compute. A cyclist at 106 m/s is a sign that a square root was skipped.

Questions and answers

Are these NES Physics practice tests the real exam?

No. The 42 questions are our own, each written to one competency of the 308 framework. No real question, study guide sample or item of the paid practice test was used, and a result here predicts nothing about the real one.

How many questions are on the NES Physics test?

150, all multiple choice, with 3 hours and 45 minutes to answer them. The appointment is booked for 4 hours, because a 15-minute tutorial and nondisclosure agreement come first.

What is the passing score for NES Physics?

A national benchmark of 220 is shown on the test page, with links to the passing scores of Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, since a state may set its own.

Is NES Physics 323 the same test as 308?

No. Physics 323 is a redeveloped test first given April 14, 2025: 100 multiple-choice questions on four domains in 2 hours and 30 minutes. The 308 on this page remains available. Your state credentialing agency decides which one counts.

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