HESI A2 › § Physics
Free HESI A2 Physics Practice Questions
The HESI A2 Physics subtest runs to 25 scored questions in 50 minutes, which is twice the per-question time the science subtests give you, because the questions carry more calculation. It covers motion, Newton's laws, energy and momentum, waves and sound, light and optics, and basic electricity. Not every nursing program requires Physics, so check your own program before you spend time here.
The seven questions below are original, written by RedRubric and mapped to the published HESI A2 physics outline, not lifted from any real HESI form. Each one comes with a full rationale so you see the formula the question turns on and where the trap answers come from, worked through step by step.
Two identical neutral metal spheres are touched together. Before contact, sphere A carried a charge of -8 units from earlier friction, and sphere B was neutral. After they touch and are separated, with the charge splitting evenly, what charge does each sphere carry?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Correct answer: D, -4 units on each sphere
Touching identical conductors shares their total charge equally between them, so -8 units split between two spheres gives -4 units on each.
A step-down transformer has 200 turns on its primary coil and 50 turns on its secondary coil. The primary coil is plugged into a 120 V outlet. Using Vp / Vs = Np / Ns, what voltage is produced across the secondary coil?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Correct answer: D, 30 V
Rearranging Vp / Vs = Np / Ns gives Vs = Vp * (Ns / Np) = 120 * (50 / 200) = 30 V, a lower voltage than the primary because the secondary coil has fewer turns.
A nurse claps once in a large, empty gymnasium and hears the echo return 1.0 second later. If the speed of sound in air is 340 m/s, how far away is the wall that reflected the sound?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Correct answer: D, 170 m
The clap's sound must travel to the wall and back within 1.0 s, so the distance to the wall is (v * t) / 2, or (340 m/s * 1.0 s) / 2 = 170 m.
Two delivery robots leave a hospital supply room at the same instant, each traveling at a steady 2 m/s. One heads toward a ward on the north side of the building, and the other heads toward a ward on the south side. Why do the two robots have different velocities despite having identical speeds?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Correct answer: D, Velocity includes a direction, and the two robots are traveling in different directions, so their velocities differ even though their speeds match
Velocity is a vector, a speed reported together with a direction. Two objects can share an identical speed and still carry different velocities if they are moving in different directions, exactly as with the two robots here. Mass and acceleration play no role in this comparison.
Two points sit on the same spinning centrifuge rotor, both completing the same number of rotations per minute. Point A sits 0.3 m from the axis, and point B sits 0.6 m from the axis, twice as far out. Why does point B move at a higher linear speed than point A?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Correct answer: C, At the same rotation rate, a point farther from the axis traces a larger circle in the same time, so it covers more distance and moves faster
Every point on a rigid, spinning rotor completes the same number of rotations in the same time. A point farther from the axis must trace a larger circle to complete that same rotation, so it covers more distance in that time and therefore moves at a higher linear speed, following v = r * omega.
A ball is launched horizontally at 29.4 m/s from a ledge 78.4 meters high. First use h = 1/2 * g * t^2 to find the fall time, then v = g * t for the vertical velocity at landing, and combine the components with (v total)^2 = (v horizontal)^2 + (v vertical)^2. What is the ball's total speed just before it lands?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Correct answer: C, 49 m/s
Solving h = 1/2 * g * t^2 gives a fall time of 4 seconds, so the vertical velocity at landing is v = g * t = 9.8 * 4 = 39.2 m/s. Combining that with the constant 29.4 m/s horizontal speed gives a total landing speed of 49 m/s.
An empty wheelchair with a mass of 15 kg is rolling at 3 m/s across a clinic floor when it strikes a stationary 10 kg trash cart, and the wheelchair's front wheels catch the cart so both move off together as a single unit immediately afterward. Using conservation of momentum, what is their shared speed right after they join?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Correct answer: B, 1.8 m/s
Momentum before the collision is m1 * v1 + m2 * v2 = (15 * 3) + (10 * 0) = 45 kg*m/s. With a combined mass of 25 kg afterward, the shared speed is v_f = 45 / 25 = 1.8 m/s. Assuming the wheelchair's speed simply carries over unchanged gives the wrong 3 m/s. Averaging the two starting speeds directly, (3 + 0) / 2, gives the wrong 1.5 m/s. Dividing the total momentum by only the trash cart's mass, 45 / 10, gives the wrong 4.5 m/s.
That is seven of hundreds.
Open the full physics drill: hundreds more questions across every content area, plus full-length timed mock exams, with every attempt scored into a proficiency band.
Practise all HESI A2 physicsquestions →What the HESI physics subtest covers, and how many questions.
What’s on the HESI A2 physics subtest
The HESI A2 Physics subtest is 30 questions in 50 minutes, of which 25 are scored. It spans 5 content areas.
- Motion. Describe motion with speed, velocity and acceleration, and track an object thrown through the air.
- Forces and Newton’s Laws. Apply Newton’s three laws, account for friction, and handle objects turning in a circle.
- Energy and Momentum. Work with kinetic and potential energy, conserve momentum through impulse, and weigh gravity.
- Waves, Sound and Light. Read waves and sound, follow light as it reflects and refracts, and form images with lenses.
- Electricity and Magnetism. Start from atomic charge, work through voltage, current and resistance, and link magnetism to electricity.
What students ask about HESI physics.
HESI A2 physics questions, answered.
How many questions are on the HESI A2 Physics subtest?
The Physics subtest is 25 scored questions with a 50 minute time limit, which is a more generous pace than the other science subtests because the questions involve more calculation. Some forms add a few unscored pilot items, so treat every question as if it counts, and confirm the exact figure with your own testing site.
Does every nursing program require the HESI A2 Physics subtest?
No. Physics is one of the least commonly required HESI A2 subtests, and many programs never include it. Check your specific program's admission requirements before you invest study time here, since programs choose which subtests apply to their applicants.
Are these real HESI A2 questions?
No. Every question here is original, written by the RedRubric editors and mapped to the published HESI A2 physics outline. None are drawn from an actual HESI form, so treat them as rehearsal for the reasoning and the formulas, not a leak of the exam.