AFOQT Physical Science practice and strategy

Physical Science format and timing

Source: AFOQT Information Pamphlet (Form T, updated 1 Aug 2015), Tables 1–2. Physical Science is subtest 8 of 12, the first in Part B. The test has been computer-only (the E-AFOQT) since 2023; whether that changed any timing isn't published, so these are the Form T figures our timed sets use.

What Physical Science tests

Whether you know the governing principle and which way it runs. Our sets cover motion, forces, energy and momentum; waves, sound and light; heat; electricity and magnetism; SI units; atoms, the periodic table, bonds, reactions, states of matter, acids and bases; and the atmosphere, weather, astronomy and geology. No topic list is published, so that's our coverage. Most questions are recall plus one step, not long calculations.

The technique: principle, units, direction

1. Name the domain: mechanics, waves, heat, electricity, chemistry, or earth and space.
2. State the governing rule in one line: F = ma, density = mass ÷ volume, speed = distance ÷ time.
3. Check the units on every quantity and convert to SI (meters, kilograms, seconds) before you plug anything in.
4. Ask which way the relationship runs. If one quantity goes up, does the other rise or fall?
5. Eliminate options with the wrong units or an implausible size.
6. Can't recall the rule within 30 seconds? Eliminate and guess; wrong answers cost nothing.

Three worked examples

Example 1. A solid block has a mass of 40 g and a volume of 50 cm³. In fresh water (density 1.0 g/cm³), the block will
A. sink to the bottom · B. float with about 80% of its volume under water · C. float with about 20% under water · D. float entirely on top · E. hover at mid-depth

Principle: density = mass ÷ volume = 40 ÷ 50 = 0.8 g/cm³, less than water, so it floats. A floating object displaces its own weight of water: 40 g of water takes up 40 cm³, which is 80% of the block. Answer B. C flips the fraction; E describes an object exactly as dense as water.

Example 2. A 600 N cadet sits 2.0 m from the pivot of a seesaw. How far from the pivot, on the other side, must a 400 N cadet sit to balance it?
A. 1.3 m · B. 2.0 m · C. 2.7 m · D. 3.0 m · E. 5.0 m

Principle: a lever balances when force × distance is equal on both sides. 600 × 2.0 = 1,200, so the lighter cadet needs 1,200 ÷ 400 = 3.0 m (D). Direction check: the lighter person must sit farther out, which rules out A and B at a glance. A inverts the ratio.

Example 3. At a campsite high in the mountains, water boils at
A. exactly 100 °C, as everywhere · B. a higher temperature than at sea level · C. a temperature set by the size of the pot · D. a temperature set by how long it's heated · E. a lower temperature than at sea level

Principle: water boils when its vapor pressure matches the pressure of the air above it. Air pressure falls with altitude, so boiling starts at a lower temperature. Answer E. B runs the relationship backward, and A is the sea-level value, which holds only at standard sea-level pressure.

Common traps

• Mass versus weight. Mass stays the same everywhere; weight depends on gravity.
• Heat versus temperature. Heat is energy transferred; temperature measures the average motion of particles.
• Speed versus velocity, and distance versus displacement: velocity and displacement include direction.
• Series versus parallel. Resistances add in series; in parallel the total is less than the smallest branch.
• Physical versus chemical change. Melting and dissolving are physical; burning and rusting are chemical.
• Unit mismatch. Kilometers per hour in the question, meters per second in the formula.

Pacing plan: 20 in 10 minutes

Two questions a minute. A recall question can take 10 seconds; answer it and bank the time for the few with a calculation. Checkpoint: 10 answered at 5:00. If a rule won't come, eliminate by units and plausibility, guess and move on.

Composites: none in the published table

In the pamphlet's composite table, Physical Science feeds none of the seven composites: not Pilot, CSO, ABM, Academic Aptitude, Verbal, Quantitative or Situational Judgment. That makes it a lower study priority than subtests that do. If your time is short, put it into Math Knowledge and Table Reading first.

You still sit it, so answer all 20. The science you review also helps with Aviation Information, which leans on pressure, density and forces. Any composite we show is an estimate; norms aren't published.

Practice it here

Do the five questions above, then a timed Physical Science set: 20 questions on the 10-minute clock. Each explanation names the principle, so keep a short list of the rules you needed and review it before your next set. Our questions are original and checkable in standard high-school references.

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