Properties of Matter MCQs 2026

The elastic potential energy stored in a stretched wire is given by

1. A half the product of stress, strain, and volume ✓
2. B mass times gravity times height ✓
3. C half mass times velocity squared ✓
4. D force times distance only ✓

A substance that shows continuous, slow, permanent deformation under a constant load over a long time is said to undergo

1. A elastic recovery ✓
2. B fracture ✓
3. C resonance ✓
4. D creep ✓

Repeated cyclic loading and unloading that causes a material to weaken and eventually fail, even below its ultimate stress, is called

1. A creep ✓
2. B plasticity ✓
3. C fatigue ✓
4. D buoyancy ✓

The point beyond the elastic limit at which a material begins to undergo permanent (plastic) deformation is called the

1. A breaking point ✓
2. B yield point ✓
3. C neutral point ✓
4. D freezing point ✓

The three common states of matter, distinguished by the arrangement and energy of their particles, are

1. A solid, liquid, and gas ✓
2. B solid, plasma, and gas only ✓
3. C liquid, vapor, and plasma only ✓
4. D crystal, amorphous, and liquid ✓

In a solid, unlike in a liquid or gas, the particles are

1. A free to move throughout the container ✓
2. B far apart and randomly arranged ✓
3. C tightly packed in a fixed, ordered arrangement ✓
4. D able to flow easily ✓

An amorphous solid, unlike a crystalline solid, has

1. A a perfectly ordered atomic lattice ✓
2. B a sharp, fixed melting point ✓
3. C planes of cleavage ✓
4. D no long-range ordered atomic structure ✓

Gases are highly compressible compared to solids and liquids mainly because

1. A gas molecules are heavier ✓
2. B gas molecules have large spaces between them ✓
3. C gas molecules do not move ✓
4. D gases have very high density ✓

The shear modulus (modulus of rigidity) of a material relates

1. A shear stress to shear strain ✓
2. B volumetric stress to volumetric strain ✓
3. C longitudinal stress to longitudinal strain ✓
4. D pressure to volume only ✓

For most materials, the value of Poisson's ratio typically lies between

1. A -10 and 0 ✓
2. B 5 and 10 ✓
3. C 2 and 5 ✓
4. D 0 and 0.5 ✓

A perfectly rigid body is one that

1. A breaks under the slightest force ✓
2. B has zero mass ✓
3. C does not undergo any deformation under any applied force ✓
4. D flows like a liquid ✓

The branch of physics dealing with the deformation of solids under applied forces is called

1. A thermodynamics ✓
2. B fluid mechanics ✓
3. C elasticity ✓
4. D optics ✓

Hooke's law states that, within the elastic limit,

1. A stress is inversely proportional to strain ✓
2. B strain is independent of stress ✓
3. C stress equals strain ✓
4. D stress is directly proportional to strain ✓

Stress is defined as

1. A the fractional change in dimension ✓
2. B force applied per unit area ✓
3. C energy stored per unit volume ✓
4. D change in volume per unit pressure ✓

Strain is defined as

1. A the ratio of change in dimension to the original dimension ✓
2. B force per unit area ✓
3. C energy per unit mass ✓
4. D mass per unit volume ✓

The ratio of longitudinal stress to longitudinal strain, within the elastic limit, is called

1. A bulk modulus ✓
2. B shear modulus ✓
3. C Young's modulus ✓
4. D Poisson's ratio ✓

The SI unit of the modulus of elasticity is the same as that of

1. A pressure (pascal) ✓
2. B force ✓
3. C energy ✓
4. D power ✓

The instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure is called a

1. A thermometer ✓
2. B hygrometer ✓
3. C barometer ✓
4. D manometer ✓

Density is defined as

1. A mass per unit volume ✓
2. B weight per unit area ✓
3. C volume per unit mass ✓
4. D force per unit area ✓

The density of pure water at 4 degrees Celsius is taken as

1. A 1 kg/m^3 ✓
2. B 1000 kg/m^3 ✓
3. C 100 kg/m^3 ✓
4. D 10,000 kg/m^3 ✓

Specific gravity (relative density) of a substance is the ratio of its density to the density of

1. A air at STP ✓
2. B mercury ✓
3. C any reference liquid at random ✓
4. D water at 4 degrees Celsius ✓

In streamline (laminar) flow of a fluid, the velocity at any given point

1. A changes randomly with time ✓
2. B is always zero ✓
3. C remains constant over time ✓
4. D reverses direction periodically ✓

Turbulent flow is characterized by

1. A smooth, orderly layers of fluid ✓
2. B irregular, chaotic fluid motion with eddies ✓
3. C zero velocity throughout ✓
4. D constant velocity at every point ✓

According to Bernoulli's principle, as the speed of a moving fluid increases, its pressure

1. A decreases ✓
2. B increases ✓
3. C remains the same ✓
4. D becomes infinite ✓

The Reynolds number is used to predict whether a fluid flow will be

1. A compressible or incompressible ✓
2. B elastic or plastic ✓
3. C hot or cold ✓
4. D laminar or turbulent ✓

Terminal velocity of a small sphere falling through a viscous fluid is reached when

1. A the sphere stops permanently ✓
2. B viscosity becomes zero ✓
3. C the net force on the sphere becomes zero and it moves at constant velocity ✓
4. D gravity becomes zero ✓

Stokes' law relates the viscous drag force on a small sphere moving through a fluid to its

1. A mass and temperature only ✓
2. B radius, velocity, and the fluid's viscosity ✓
3. C surface tension only ✓
4. D density of the sphere only ✓

Archimedes' principle states that a body submerged in a fluid experiences an upward buoyant force equal to

1. A the weight of the fluid it displaces ✓
2. B its own weight ✓
3. C the pressure at that depth ✓
4. D the density of the fluid ✓

The SI unit of pressure is the

1. A newton ✓
2. B pascal ✓
3. C joule ✓
4. D watt ✓

Pressure is defined as

1. A force multiplied by area ✓
2. B force applied per unit area ✓
3. C mass per unit volume ✓
4. D energy per unit time ✓

Hydraulic lifts and hydraulic brakes work on the principle of

1. A Archimedes' principle ✓
2. B Bernoulli's principle ✓
3. C surface tension ✓
4. D Pascal's law ✓

Pascal's law states that pressure applied to an enclosed, incompressible fluid is

1. A absorbed entirely by the container walls ✓
2. B reduced with distance from the source ✓
3. C transmitted equally and undiminished in all directions ✓
4. D only transmitted in the direction of the applied force ✓

The maximum stress a material can withstand without undergoing permanent deformation is called the

1. A breaking stress ✓
2. B yield point ✓
3. C ultimate stress ✓
4. D elastic limit ✓

A material that returns exactly to its original shape after the deforming force is removed is called

1. A plastic ✓
2. B perfectly elastic ✓
3. C ductile ✓
4. D brittle ✓

Materials such as glass, which break with little or no plastic deformation, are called

1. A ductile ✓
2. B malleable ✓
3. C brittle ✓
4. D elastic ✓

Materials such as copper and gold, which can be drawn into thin wires, are called

1. A ductile ✓
2. B brittle ✓
3. C rigid ✓
4. D fluid ✓

The bulk modulus of a substance relates

1. A shear stress to shear strain ✓
2. B volumetric stress to volumetric strain ✓
3. C longitudinal stress to longitudinal strain ✓
4. D tensile force to elongation only ✓

The reciprocal of the bulk modulus of a substance is called its

1. A elasticity ✓
2. B rigidity ✓
3. C Poisson's ratio ✓
4. D compressibility ✓

Poisson's ratio is defined as the ratio of

1. A stress to strain ✓
2. B volume to mass ✓
3. C lateral strain to longitudinal strain ✓
4. D shear stress to normal stress ✓

The property of a fluid that measures its resistance to flow is called

1. A viscosity ✓
2. B density ✓
3. C surface tension ✓
4. D elasticity ✓

The SI unit of the coefficient of viscosity is the

1. A newton ✓
2. B joule ✓
3. C watt ✓
4. D pascal-second (Pa.s) ✓

As the temperature of a liquid increases, its viscosity generally

1. A increases ✓
2. B decreases ✓
3. C remains unchanged ✓
4. D becomes infinite ✓

As the temperature of a gas increases, its viscosity generally

1. A decreases ✓
2. B becomes zero ✓
3. C increases ✓
4. D remains unchanged ✓

The property due to which the free surface of a liquid behaves like a stretched elastic membrane is called

1. A surface tension ✓
2. B viscosity ✓
3. C capillarity ✓
4. D compressibility ✓

The SI unit of surface tension is

1. A pascal ✓
2. B joule per cubic meter ✓
3. C newton meter ✓
4. D newton per meter (N/m) ✓

The rise or fall of a liquid in a narrow tube due to surface tension is called

1. A buoyancy ✓
2. B capillarity ✓
3. C viscosity ✓
4. D diffusion ✓

Water wets glass because the force of adhesion between water and glass is

1. A equal to cohesion ✓
2. B zero ✓
3. C greater than the force of cohesion between water molecules ✓
4. D much smaller than cohesion ✓

Mercury does not wet glass because

1. A mercury has no surface tension ✓
2. B mercury is a metal ✓
3. C mercury is denser than glass ✓
4. D the cohesive force between mercury molecules exceeds its adhesive force with glass ✓

A body floats in a liquid when

1. A the weight of the body equals the weight of the fluid it displaces ✓
2. B its density is greater than the fluid's density ✓
3. C it has zero volume ✓
4. D the buoyant force is always greater than its weight regardless of density ✓

Atmospheric pressure at sea level is approximately

1. A 1 pascal ✓
2. B 100 pascal ✓
3. C 1013 pascal ✓
4. D 1.013x10^5 pascal ✓