A hospital in Syracuse receives 160 mg of a medical isotope whose half-life is 6 hours. How much of the isotope is still undecayed 24 hours later?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Radioactive Half-Life". Framework section: Subarea I, Matter and Its Interactions, objective 0001
A muon lives 2.2 microseconds in the frame where it is at rest. Observers on the ground see the muon moving at 0.8 times the speed of light. What lifetime do they measure?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Time Dilation". Framework section: Subarea I, Matter and Its Interactions, objective 0002
A radium-226 nucleus has 88 protons. It decays by giving off an alpha particle. What are the atomic number and the mass number of the nucleus that is left?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Radioactivity". Framework section: Subarea I, Matter and Its Interactions, objective 0001
A sealed alpha source held near the skin does little harm, yet the same material is a serious hazard if it is swallowed. Which property of alpha particles explains the difference?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Radioactivity". Framework section: Subarea I, Matter and Its Interactions, objective 0001
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Matter and its interactions, continued
A student proposes an experiment that would fix an electron's position exactly and its momentum exactly in one measurement. Why can this not succeed, however good the equipment?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "The Uncertainty Principle". Framework section: Subarea I, Matter and Its Interactions, objective 0002
A weak violet beam knocks electrons out of a metal surface, and an intense red beam knocks out none. What happens when the red beam is made ten times more intense?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "The Photoelectric Effect". Framework section: Subarea I, Matter and Its Interactions, objective 0002
Hydrogen gas glowing in a discharge tube is viewed through a diffraction grating. Why does it show a few separate bright lines and not a continuous band of color?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Quantized Energy States". Framework section: Subarea I, Matter and Its Interactions, objective 0001
Motion and stability: forces and interactions 11
A 0.15 kg baseball moving at 40 m/s is caught and brought to rest in 0.02 s. What average force does the glove exert on the ball?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Impulse of Force". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0005
A 3 kg lab cart rolling at 4 m/s couples to a 1 kg cart that is at rest on a level track. How fast do the joined carts move just after they couple?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Momentum". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0005
A 10 kg box rests on a level loading dock. The coefficient of static friction is 0.4 and the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.3. Taking g as 10 m/s², what is the largest horizontal push the box can take without starting to move?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Friction". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0004
A curling stone released on smooth ice keeps gliding in a straight line long after the player lets go. Which statement accounts for this?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Newton's First Law". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0004
A ferry points due east and moves at 4 m/s through the water while the current carries it south at 3 m/s. What is the ferry's speed measured from the shore?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Basic Vector Operations". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0003
A golf ball is struck from level ground so that its velocity has a vertical part of 15 m/s and a horizontal part of 20 m/s. With g = 10 m/s² and no air resistance, how far from the tee does it come down?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Trajectories". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0003
A mechanic pushes with a force of 50 N at right angles to the handle of a wrench, 0.4 m from the bolt. How much torque does the push put on the bolt?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Torque". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0005
A motion sensor plots a cart's position against time as a straight line that rises from 2 m at t = 0 to 14 m at t = 4 s. What does the graph say about the cart's velocity?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Description of Motion in One Dimension". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0003
A student draws a free-body diagram for a 2 kg cart on a frictionless ramp tilted 30° above the horizontal. With g = 9.8 m/s², how large is the component of the cart's weight along the ramp?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Mass on Frictionless Incline". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0004
A subway train running at 20 m/s brakes at a steady 2 m/s² until it stops. How far does it travel while braking?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Linear Motion Explorer". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0003
Two skaters stand at rest on smooth ice, one of 70 kg and one of 35 kg. They push off each other. While they push, how do the forces on the two skaters compare?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Newton's Third Law". Framework section: Subarea II, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, objective 0004
Forces in fields and circuits 14
A 1.5 V cell drives a steady current of 0.003 A through a resistor. What is the resistance of the resistor?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Ohm's Law". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0009
A 9 V battery moves 0.5 C of charge through a circuit. How much electrical energy does the battery give to that charge?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Voltage". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0007
A 1,200 kg car rounds a flat curve of radius 60 m at a steady 15 m/s. How large a force, supplied by friction, must point toward the center of the curve?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Centripetal Force". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0006
A 1,500 W space heater is plugged into a 120 V outlet. How much current does it draw?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "DC Electric Power". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0009
A class tries four ways to light a small lamp that is wired to a coil. Which one produces no induced voltage in the coil?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Faraday's Law". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0008
A distant icy body takes 125 years to circle the Sun once. How large is the semimajor axis of its orbit, compared with Earth's?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Kepler's Laws". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0006
A long straight wire passes straight up through a hole in a level card and carries a steady current. Small compasses are set on the card around the wire. What shape do their needles trace?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Magnetic Field of Current". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0008
A single loop holds a 12 V battery and two resistors in series. A voltmeter reads 7.5 V across the first resistor. What does it read across the second?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Voltage Law". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0009
A test charge of +2 × 10⁻⁶ C feels an electric force of 0.006 N toward the east. What is the electric field at that point?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Electric Field". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0007
In a 0.5 T magnetic field, one electron moves at right angles to the field and a second moves at the same speed at 30° to it. How does the magnetic force on the second compare with the force on the first?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Magnetic Force". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0008
Newton's law of gravitation and Coulomb's law are both inverse-square laws. In which way do the two forces differ?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Gravity". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0006
The primary coil of an ideal transformer draws 2 A from a 120 V AC line. The secondary supplies a lamp at 24 V. How much power reaches the lamp, and what current does it carry?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Transformer". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0008
Resistors of 12 Ω and 6 Ω are joined side by side, and that pair is then joined end to end with a 4 Ω resistor. The network is put across 24 V. How much current passes through the 4 Ω resistor?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Resistor Combinations". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0009
Sphere A carries +2 μC and sphere B carries +6 μC. How does the electric force that A puts on B compare with the force that B puts on A?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Coulomb's Law". Framework section: Subarea III, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, objective 0007
Energy 7
A 60 kg skier starts from rest at the top of a slope 20 m high. Treat the snow as frictionless and take g as 10 m/s². How much kinetic energy does the skier have at the bottom?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Conservation Laws". Framework section: Subarea IV, Energy, objective 0010
A spring with a spring constant of 400 N/m is compressed 0.05 m. How much elastic potential energy does it store?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Elastic Potential Energy". Framework section: Subarea IV, Energy, objective 0010
A waiter carries a 30 N tray 8 m across a level floor at constant velocity. How much work does the upward force of the waiter's hand do on the tray?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Work, Energy and Power". Framework section: Subarea IV, Energy, objective 0010
An electric hoist raises a 200 N crate straight up at a steady 0.5 m/s. What power does the hoist deliver to the crate?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Power". Framework section: Subarea IV, Energy, objective 0010
An inventor claims an engine that draws heat from a boiler and turns all of it into work, sending no heat to cooler surroundings. Which principle rules the engine out?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Second Law of Thermodynamics". Framework section: Subarea IV, Energy, objective 0011
How much heat is needed to warm 500 g of water from 20 °C to 60 °C? The specific heat of water is 4.186 J per gram per °C.HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Specific Heat". Framework section: Subarea IV, Energy, objective 0011
In each cycle a steam turbine takes 1,000 J of heat from its boiler and gives up 700 J of heat to its condenser. Its internal energy is the same at the end of a cycle as at the start. How much work does it do per cycle?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "First Law of Thermodynamics". Framework section: Subarea IV, Energy, objective 0011
Waves and information transfer 11
A freight train sounds its horn as it passes a platform and then moves away. Compared with the pitch heard while the train came closer, what does a person on the platform hear once it has passed?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Doppler Effect". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0013
A guitar string 0.65 m long carries waves at 286 m/s. What is the frequency of its fundamental mode of vibration?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Vibrating String". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0013
A loudspeaker sends a sound wave across a room. Compared with the direction in which the wave travels, how does the air in its path move?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Transverse and Longitudinal Waves". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0012
A mass bobs on a spring in simple harmonic motion. The mass is replaced by one four times as heavy on the same spring. What happens to the period of the motion?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Simple Harmonic Motion Frequency". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0012
A narrow beam of white light enters a glass prism and leaves as a fan of colors, with blue bent more than red. What property of the glass spreads the colors apart?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Dispersion". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0014
A piano tuner sounds a 440 Hz fork together with a string and hears the loudness rise and fall 3 times each second. What can the frequency of the string be?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Beats". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0013
A simple pendulum is pulled 3° to one side and released, and its period is timed. It is then released from 6°. How does the second period compare with the first?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Simple Pendulum". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0012
A wireless router sends its signal on a carrier of 2.4 × 10⁹ Hz. The signal travels at 3.0 × 10⁸ m/s. How long is one wavelength of the carrier?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Traveling Wave Relationship". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0012
An optical fiber carries pulses of light around a bend without the light leaking out through the wall of the glass. Which condition keeps the light inside?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Total Internal Reflection". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0014
Light travels at 3.0 × 10⁸ m/s in a vacuum. How fast does it travel in a glass whose index of refraction is 1.5?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Index of Refraction". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0014
Two ideal polarizing filters are stacked so that the transmission direction of one is at right angles to that of the other. How much unpolarized light gets through the pair?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, "Crossed Polarizers". Framework section: Subarea V, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, objective 0013
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the five multiple-choice subareas of the Test Framework for Physics (822), December 2024, published on the NYSTCE site (https://www.nystce.nesinc.com/Content/Docs/NES_Framework_822.pdf, read 2026-10-14): I Matter and Its Interactions, objectives 0001 to 0002, 11%; II Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, 0003 to 0005, 17%; III Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions in Fields and Circuits, 0006 to 0009, 23%; IV Energy, 0010 to 0011, 12%; V Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, 0012 to 0014, 17%. The bank holds 7, 11, 14, 7 and 11, 50 in all. Every law and definition was read on 2026-10-14 in the HyperPhysics page of Georgia State University that the question names, and each numeric answer is worked out again from the numbers the question prints. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This NYSTCE physics practice test has 50 questions of our own on the five multiple-choice subareas of Physics (822). It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the New York State Education Department or Pearson.
Read the full guide
Which physics test this is
New York's test list shows two Physics tests. This page follows the newer one, Physics (822), and its framework of December 2024.
The five subareas
Matter and its interactions carries 11% of the score; forces and interactions 17%; forces in fields and circuits 23%; energy 12%; waves and information transfer 17%. The bank holds 7, 11, 14, 7 and 11 questions. Two open-response items carry the other 20% and are not marked here.
How answers are checked
Each numeric answer is worked out again from the numbers the question prints. Each question names the HyperPhysics page of Georgia State University where its law can be read.
The real test supplies an on-screen scientific calculator and pages of constants and formulas, so keep a calculator beside you here.
Questions and answers
Is there a study guide for the CST physics teaching test in NY?
The test's preparation page links the test framework, a profile of the Physics test, testing tips and the constants and formulas pages, all free. This page adds 50 practice questions with worked explanations. It is not an official study guide.
What score passes the NYSTCE Physics test?
The test's own page gives a passing score of 240 for Physics (822). That is a scaled score and not a count of questions, so exam mode here reports your number right and gives no verdict.
How many questions are on the NYSTCE Physics test?
Physics (822) has 100 selected-response items and 2 constructed-response items. The appointment is 4 hours 15 minutes, which includes 15 minutes for the tutorial and nondisclosure agreement.
Is the Physics CST (163) still given?
New York's test list marks the Physics CST (163) as for testing through August 9, 2026, and Physics (822) as for testing January 27, 2026 and after. Check the list before you register.