NOTE – All quizzes and exams assume the WPA “official rules of pool.”


See also from Bob Jewett:

Online Versions

NOTE – Before taking the Pool Physics Quiz, you should be familiar with basic pool and pool physics terminology (e.g., tangent line, cut angle, squirt, swerve, throw, etc.) and the following acronyms: CB – cue ball,  OB – object ball, CIT – cut-induced throw,  SIT – spin-induced throw. See the Terminology resource page and Pool Physics resource page for help.

Pool Terminology Quiz

1 / 50

What is another name for “pool?”

2 / 50

What is under the playing-surface cloth of a good-quality pool table?

3 / 50

The standard regulation pro tournament pool table size is:

4 / 50

The spot on the table where the top ball of an 8-ball rack is placed is called the:

5 / 50

The part of the playing surface above head string is called the:

6 / 50

The fat part of a 2-piece cue, where you place your grip hand, is called the:

7 / 50

The formal name for the “rake” or “crutch” is:

8 / 50

The white plastic portion of the cue to which a tip is often attached is called the:

9 / 50

The abrasive substance applied to a tip to increase friction between the tip and cue ball is called:

10 / 50

On a lag shot, the goal is to leave the cue ball as close as possible to the:

11 / 50

Table “roll off” is cause by:

12 / 50

A thin piece of plastic or paper with holes used to help ensure a tight rack is called a:

13 / 50

Illegally racking with selected balls purposely placed in certain positions in the rack (other than what is required by the game rules) is called:

14 / 50

For a legal 8-ball rack, what requirements are there other than the 8 ball being in the center of the rack?

15 / 50

When the 9-ball 3-point breaking rule is in effect, what must be true for a break to be legal?

16 / 50

When two balls are said to be “frozen,” what is true?

17 / 50

In 8-ball, if the table is “open,” you are allowed to:

18 / 50

The formal name for a cue being “jacked up” is:

19 / 50

When the index finger of the bridge hand wraps around the cue, the bridge is called:

20 / 50

Which of the following is true about a “pendulum stroke?”

21 / 50

The “ghost ball” refers to the:

22 / 50

The angle between the aiming direction of the cue ball and object ball line to the pocket is called the:

23 / 50

When you don’t hit a shot with enough angle, the shot is said to be hit:

24 / 50

With a ½-ball hit, the center of the cue ball is aimed exactly at:

25 / 50

When an object ball is sitting right in front of a pocket, it is called:

26 / 50

A straight shot where the cue ball stops dead in place is called a:

27 / 50

With a stun shot at an angle, after hitting the object ball, the cue ball heads:

28 / 50

With a draw shot, the cue ball must:

29 / 50

With a slow follow shot at a medium cut angle, the cue ball (after hitting the object ball and curving forward)
heads along the:

30 / 50

With a break-out shot, the cue ball heads toward:

31 / 50

When attempting a break-out shot, a non-break-out ball that is easy to pocket after the shot is called:

32 / 50

A shot where the cue ball is deflected off one object ball to pocket another is called a:

33 / 50

A shot where an object ball gets pocketed by first deflecting off another object ball is called a:

34 / 50

A shot where an object ball is hit into a second object ball to pocket the second object ball is called a:

35 / 50

A “double hit” foul is where you hit:

36 / 50

After an opponent fouls, when you are allowed to place the cue ball anywhere you want on the table, you are said to
have:

37 / 50

When you miscue on a shot, it is a foul:

38 / 50

When sidespin is used to easily send the cue ball around the table off multiple cushions, it is called:

39 / 50

When sidespin is used to help hold up or slow down the cue ball off a cushion, it is called:

40 / 50

Another name for cue ball deflection is:

41 / 50

The terms cling, skid, and kick are used to refer to a shot where:

42 / 50

An LD shaft produces less:

43 / 50

When an object ball gets pushed off the line-of-centers direction the normal amount due to cue ball friction, the effect is called:

44 / 50

The type of sidespin that results in absolutely no throw is called:

45 / 50

When the cue ball hits a cushion before pocketing an object ball, the shot is called a:

46 / 50

When the object ball rebounds off a cushion before being pocketed, the shot is called a:

47 / 50

In a 9-ball break, the “wing ball” is:

48 / 50

With a common type of “two-way” shot, you typically:

49 / 50

A shot where you elevate the back of the cue a lot to make the cue ball’s path curve is called a:

50 / 50

For a jump shot to be legal, you must:

Your score is

The average score is 82%

0%

Pool Physics Quiz

1 / 50

What is the cut angle for a ½-ball hit?

2 / 50

What does stun mean?

3 / 50

For a stop shot (where the CB stops dead after hitting the OB), what must be true?

4 / 50

Which of the following conditions guarantee draw?

5 / 50

To draw the CB the largest possible distance on a long straight shot, what combination of things is required?

6 / 50

With a stun shot at an angle, after hitting the OB, the CB heads:

7 / 50

If you aim with a level cue for a center-ball hit and then jack up the cue, keeping the tip contact point at the same front-center point of the CB on its horizontal equator, what kind of spin will be imparted to the CB with the elevated hit?

8 / 50

If you hit a firm follow shot with lots of topspin with a slightly elevated cue, and with the CB fairly close to the OB, why does the shot get overcut, even with a seemingly accurate aim and hit?

9 / 50

The narrowest (or smallest) rolling-CB carom angle off an OB, for fixed CB and OB positions with a ½-ball hit, occurs with:

10 / 50

Besides being used to control the amount of topspin or bottom spin the CB has when it reaches the OB, why is a drag shot used?

11 / 50

When a ball rolls straight into a cushion with naturally rolling topspin, what type of spin does the ball have immediately after rebounding, assuming typical cloth and ball conditions?

12 / 50

Sidespin with a cut shot is used mostly to:

13 / 50

When aiming shots with sidespin, which three effects must be considered?

14 / 50

If you cut an OB to the left (with the CB hitting the right side of the OB) using right sidespin, the spin can be referred to as:

15 / 50

If you cut an OB to the right (with the CB hitting the left side of the OB) using right sidespin, the spin can be referred to as:

16 / 50

When sidespin is used to easily send the CB around the table off multiple cushions, it is called:

17 / 50

When sidespin is used to help hold up or slow down the CB off a cushion, it is called:

18 / 50

When cutting an OB frozen to a long rail with running sidespin and stun, what must be true to send the CB straight across the table to have the sidespin change the rebound angle off the opposite long rail instead of the first rail?

19 / 50

Another term sometimes used for CB deflection is:

20 / 50

The terms cling, skid, and kick are used to refer to a shot where:

21 / 50

An LD shaft produces less:

22 / 50

What shaft property is mostly responsible for reducing CB deflection?

23 / 50

When an OB gets pushed off the line-of-centers direction the normal amount due to CB friction, the effect is called:

24 / 50

If you replace an old and dirty cloth with new and slick cloth, net CB deflection (the net effect of squirt and swerve) will be:

25 / 50

The type of sidespin that results in absolutely no throw is called:

26 / 50

When a combination is frozen and lined up straight to the center of a pocket, and the CB is offline from the frozen balls, what type of hit will send the ball into the center of the pocket?

27 / 50

With a straight, slow stun shot, SIT is maximum with:

28 / 50

For a cut shot with no sidespin, CIT is maximum with:

29 / 50

Stun shot CIT is maximum close to a:

30 / 50

What effect does backspin or topspin have on CIT for a cut shot in comparison to a stun shot, where the CB speed at the OB is the same in the comparison?

31 / 50

With a ½-ball hit stun shot, what happens to the amount of throw if you add lots of inside spin?

32 / 50

With a ½-ball hit stun shot, what happens to the amount of throw if you increase shot speed?

33 / 50

With a ½-ball hit stun shot, if you use less than gearing outside spin (but still have some outside spin), the OB:

34 / 50

With a ½-ball hit, if you use more than gearing outside spin, the OB:

35 / 50

If you cut a slow stun shot to the right (with the CB hitting the left side of the OB), what type of sidespin is imparted to the OB?

36 / 50

What is the main cause of cling/skid/kick?

37 / 50

With a frozen combination lined up to the center of a pocket, if you send the 1st OB to the right relative to the frozen line, which way will the 2nd OB throw?

38 / 50

With a frozen combination, if you hit the 1st OB perfectly square in-line with the combo with bottom spin, what will happen to the 1st OB after the hit?

39 / 50

If there is a gap between two OBs less than 1/4” (6 mm) wide, and you send the 1st OB at a small angle to the right relative to a line through the two OBs, which way will the 2nd OB go?

40 / 50

If there is a gap between two OBs greater than 1/2” (13 mm) wide, and you send the 1st OB at a small angle to the right relative to a line through the two OBs, which way will the 2nd OB go?

41 / 50

If the CB is heavier than the OB, which of the following will be true?

42 / 50

How does higher humidity affect how a table plays?

43 / 50

With a jump shot, if the CB hits the OB while airborne, what effect does this have on the resulting cut, assuming your line of aim points at the ideal ghost-ball position?

44 / 50

What is the primary reason the CB hops after hitting the 1 ball during a typical fast-speed 9-ball break shot?

45 / 50

With a kick shot coming into a cushion at a 45° angle, what type of spin should be used to have the CB rebound at the steepest angle possible (most perpendicular to the rail)?

46 / 50

If you are hitting a center-ball, square-hit bank shot with the OB very close to the cushion, where the angle into the rail is large enough to prevent a double-kiss, what effect does speed have on the shot?

47 / 50

How do you need to adjust your aim for an outside-cut (a back-cut) bank compared to a square-hit bank  with the OB in the same position?

48 / 50

How do you need to adjust your aim for an inside-cut (a cross-over) bank compared to a square-hit bank  with the OB in the same position?

49 / 50

If you bank an OB straight into a rail with right sidespin on the CB, which way will the OB rebound off the rail?

50 / 50

If you replace an old and dirty cloth with new and slick cloth, kick and bank shots will tend to go:

Your score is

The average score is 66%

0%


Here are answer demonstrations for the Pool Physics Quiz questions:


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