CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS: Test III – Linear Mechanics, Rotational Mechanics and
Dynamics, Earth & Space Science Tie-Ins.
PHY111, 201253
Test3.docx
This is an online, take-home test. You may use your textbook, your notes, and the online materials at
your disposal. I have chosen to make this test entirely in the “multiple choice” format. There are 75
questions, each one being worth 2/3 of a point (for a total of 50 points).
It is due by 8:30 am Friday morning (8/3) (at which time I will grade them). You will fill in the
“RESPONSE SHEET FOR TEST III” and email only that back to me.
1) TRUE/FALSE: “Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion can be used to describe any force acting on an
object.”
a. True
b. False
2) TRUE/FALSE: “Galileo Galilei showed that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects.”
a. True
b. False
3) TRUE/FALSE: “Objects need a force to maintain their motion.”
a. True
b. False
4) TRUE/FALSE: “Galileo’s Inertia experiments and the transformation from GPE to KE and
back again are closely related.”
a. True
b. False
5) TRUE/FALSE: “Hooke’s Law applies to objects or materials that stretch but not to those that
compress.”
a. True
b. False
6) TRUE/FALSE: “Hooke’s Law only applies to springs, which is why the elastic constant is
often referred to as the ‘spring constant’.”
a. True
b. False
7) TRUE/FALSE: “The coefficient of static friction between two touching materials is greater
than the coefficient of kinetic friction between those same two touching materials.”
a. True
b. False
For #’s 8 – 27, refer to the word bank and choose the most appropriate term: (fill in the answer sheet with the
corresponding letter)
A) reaction
F) elastic
K) mass
P) air-resistance
B) inelastic
G) velocity
L) center-of-mass
Q) decrease
C) displacement
H) inertia
M) frictional-forces
R) transfer
D) weight
I) net-force
N) friction
S) change
E) pull
J) terminal-velocity
O) push
T) balanced
8) [answer this one with #9, below—order of the two answers does not matter]
9) Forces are a ___ or a ___.
10) Forces are a way to ___ Energy.
11) Forces that are not balanced out will always cause a ___ in an object’s motion.
12) ___ cause(s) objects that are moving to slow down in the real world.
13) An object that is moving, when acted upon by an outside force in opposition to that motion,
will experience a(n) ___ in speed.
14) [answer this one with #15, below – order DOES matter, here—answer this one for the 1st blank]
15) The acceleration-due-to-gravity for any planet can be found by taking the ___ of a person on
that planet and dividing that amount by the person’s ___.
16) ___ is the tendency of an object to resist a change in its motion.
17) If an object is being acted upon by multiple forces, but it is neither speeding up, slowing down,
nor changing direction, then all forces acting on it must be ___.
18) [answer this one with #19, below – order DOES matter, here – answer this one for the 1st blank]
19) ___ is reached for a falling object when the object’s Weight is balanced by the ___ it is
experiencing.
20) If an object is not accelerating, then the ___ it is experiencing is zero.
21) ___’s function is to prevent slipping between surfaces.
22) For every action, there is an equal and opposite ___.
23) ___ is the straight-line distance between the end-point and the start-point of a motion-path.
24) Acceleration is defined as a change in an object’s ___ over time.
25) The point at which (or about which) all forces seem to act is called an object’s ___.
26) In a(n) ___ collision, the two objects may be considered one bigger, combined object after they
collide.
27) In a(n) ___ collision, the two objects are not attached to each other after they collide.
28) The S.I. unit of Force is the…
a. pound
b. kilogram
c. Newton
d. Joule
e. meter-per-second
29) The difference between mass and Weight is…
a. …mass is how much you weigh and Weight is how massive something is on the Earth.
b. …mass is how much matter something has and Weight is the Force due to gravity acting on
an object.
c. …mass changes depending on your surroundings but Weight does not.
d. …there is no difference between the words mass and Weight—they are synonymous.
e. …mass means how much something Weighs on the moon.
30) Units of Newtons, expressed in its base-units, is:
a. 1 N = 1 kg∙m/s
b. 1 N = 1 kg∙m/s2
c. 1 N = 2.2 lbs
d. 1 N = 9.8 kg
e. 1 N = 1 N
31) Inertia is defined as…
a. …the tendency of an object to resist a change in its motion.
b. …that which makes an object fall to the ground when a Normal force is no longer present.
c. …something being ‘inert’, as in not interacting with its surroundings.
d. …when action/reaction pairs are present.
e. …the tendency of an object to spontaneously begin to move even though no net-force is
acting upon it.
32) If an unbalanced force acts on an object, you can expect that the object…
a. …will experience some change in its velocity.
b. …will not move.
c. …will continue to move as it was originally.
d. …will seek out its place of origin.
e. …will experience some appreciable change in its mass.
33) Your weight equals your…
a. …mass divided by the net-Force acting on you.
b. …mass.
c. …mass multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity.
d. …centripetal acceleration due to gravity.
e. …mass times your speed.
34) Newton’s 1st Law of Motion most closely applies to…
a. …action/reaction forces.
b. …the concept of inertia.
c. …centripetal forces.
d. …net-force (overall Force applied equals the mass of the object times the over acceleration
experienced).
e. …situations involving objects in outer space, only.
35) Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion most closely applies to…
a. …action/reaction forces.
b. …the concept of inertia.
c. …centripetal forces.
d. …net-force (overall Force applied equals the mass of the object times the over acceleration
experienced).
e. …situations involving objects in outer space, only.
36) Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion most closely applies to…
a. …action/reaction forces.
b. …the concept of inertia.
c. …centripetal forces.
d. …net-force (overall Force applied equals the mass of the object times the over acceleration
experienced).
e. …situations involving objects in outer space, only.
37) You are driving home from the store with a bucket of fried chicken. You place it on the seat
next to you. Suddenly, you are forced to apply the brakes and swerve slightly. Even though it is
a dangerous move to do so, you almost instinctively reach out with your hand and steady the
bucket of Southern goodness. You acted this way because…
a. …you were hungry and needed quick chemical potential energy (stored in the form of
animal fat) to maintain your lightning-fast reflexes.
b. …you were aware (at least on some level) of the concept of inertia and didn’t want the
bucket to fall forward onto the carpet as the car slowed down.
c. …you were aware (at least on some level) of the concept of inertia and didn’t want the
bucket to fall backward into the seat as the car slowed down.
38) What is the momentum of a 2.0 kg mass moving at 4.5 m/s?
a. 9.0 kg∙m/s
b. 2.25 kg∙m/s
c. 0.444 kg∙m/s
d. 88.2 kg∙m/s
e. 4.35 m/s
39) From this list of units, which is a proper unit for momentum?
a. N
b. P
c. N∙s
d. N/s
e. kg∙m/s2
40) A force of 6.0 N acts on a 2.0 kg mass for 3.0 seconds. What will the change in momentum be?
a. 36.0 kg∙m/s
b. 6.0 kg∙m/s
c. 4.0 kg∙m/s
d. 18 kg∙m/s
e. 9 kg∙m/s
41) A force of 5.0 N acts on a 3.0 kg mass for 4.0 seconds. What will the change in velocity be?
a. 3.75 m/s
b. 6.67 m/s
c. 2.40 m/s
d. 20 m/s
e. 15 m/s
For #’s 42 and 43, refer to the motion graphs recorded during a vertical ball-toss experiment, below:
42) At approximately what time does the ball reach its peak?
a. 0.5 s
b. 0.7 s
c. 1.0 s
d. 1.4 s
e. 1.6 s
43) Between what times is the ball only under the effects of gravity (and some air resistance)?
a. 0.0 – 0.5 s
b. 0.5 – 0.7 s
c. 0.7 – 1.0 s
d. 1.0 – 1.4 s
e. both c and d
For #’s 44-46, refer to the frictional force vs. time graph, below:
44) What is the approximate magnitude of the force required in order to make the object start to
move?
a. 0 N
b. 5 N
c. 8 N
d. 4.5 N
e. none of these
45) What is the approximate magnitude of the maximum static frictional force?
a. 0 N
b. 5 N
c. 8 N
d. 4.5 N
e. none of these
46) What is the approximate magnitude of the kinetic frictional force?
a. 0 N
b. 5 N
c. 8 N
d. 4.5 N
e. none of these
47) The mass of the planet Mars is (6.37x1023) kg. The radius of Mars is (3.43x106) m. What is the
value of the Force due to gravity (Weight) for an insect that has a mass of 0.0003 kg?
a. 4.45 N
b. 0.0029 N
c. 0.001 N
d. 9.8 N
e. 0.0003 N
48) What is the gravitational force (in Newtons) between a 60 kg person and their 800 kg car when the
person stands 5.0 meters away from the center of the car?
a. 6.40x10-7 N
b. 1.28x10-7 N
c. 8.0x10-4 N
d. 1.03x10-4 N
e. 3.62x10-6 N
For #’s 49-52, refer to the graphic, below. Assume that a comet is moving from A to B to C, &tc.:
D
A
C
C
B
B
49) At which point is the comet moving at its fastest?
a. a
b. b
c. c
d. d
e. same speed at all points
50) At which point is the comet moving at its slowest?
a. a
b. b
c. c
d. d
e. same speed at all points
51) At which point is the comet speeding up?
a. a
b. b
c. c
d. d
e. same speed at all points
52) At which point is the comet slowing down?
a. a
b. b
c. c
d. d
e. same speed at all points
53) Which of the following individuals was responsible for setting forth the proper structure of the
solar system and first promoting the idea of a sun-centered (heliocentric) solar system?
a. Isaac Newton
b. Nicholas Copernicus
c. Tycho Brahe
d. Johannes Kepler
e. Galileo Galilei
54) Which of the following individuals was responsible for the largest number of observations, and
the most accurate observations of the planets obtained without a telescope?
a. Isaac Newton
b. Nicholas Copernicus
c. Tycho Brahe
d. Johannes Kepler
e. Galileo Galilei
55) Which of the following individuals was responsible for describing motion equations/laws for
how the planets moved in their orbits?
a. Isaac Newton
b. Nicholas Copernicus
c. Tycho Brahe
d. Johannes Kepler
e. Galileo Galilei
56) Which of the following individuals was responsible for promoting the use of the telescope and
taking the first observations of the moons of Jupiter, the moon, and noting sunspots?
a. Isaac Newton
b. Nicholas Copernicus
c. Tycho Brahe
d. Johannes Kepler
e. Galileo Galilei
57) Which of the following individuals was responsible for explaining the force law that governs the
motion of the planets, and in the process explained the orbits of comets and the tides caused by the
moon?
a. Isaac Newton
b. Nicholas Copernicus
c. Tycho Brahe
d. Johannes Kepler
e. Galileo Galilei
58) Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift was finally confirmed by…
a. fossils from the same reptile found on two continents
b. evidence supporting the idea of sea-floor spreading
c. continental coastlines that fit together
d. the formation of mountain ranges such as the Andes
59) Tectonic plates can include…
a. only asthenosphere
b. only oceanic crust
c. only continental crust
d. both oceanic and continental crust
60) The Pacific Ring of Fire is…
a. a mid-ocean ridge
b. a chain of volcanic islands
c. a zone of active volcanoes
d. a rift valley
61) The Himalaya Mountains were formed in a collision at a…
a. divergent boundary
b. convergent boundary
c. transform boundary
d. fracture zone
62) Frequent earthquakes in an area may indicate…
a. tectonic plate boundaries
b. sea-floor spreading
c. mantle convection
d. reversed polarity
63) Tectonic plates are blocks of…
a. magma
b. magnetic rock
c. asthenosphere
d. lithosphere
64) What occurs at a transform boundary?
a. Oceanic lithosphere collides with continental lithosphere.
b. Magma rises to the surface and forms a mid-ocean ridge.
c. Two plates slide past each other.
d. Two plates collide and crumple.
65) Folded mountains form…
a. when a state of isostasy occurs
b. when continents collide
c. when continents diverge
d. after huge earthquakes
66) What is subduction?
a. one plate collides with another
b. one plate destroys another
c. one plate goes beneath another
d. one plate divides another
67) A volcanic mountain is formed by…
a. the uplift of rock during continental plate collisions
b. rock layers that are bent and squeezed through magma pressure
c. the pressure of magma that does not erupt on the Earth’s surface
d. magma eruptions on Earth’s surface
68) What island is cut by a fissure breaking it into two parts?
a. Japan
b. Hawaii
c. Iceland
d. Grand Cayman
69) The rotating cloud of dust and gas (or “matter disk”) from which our solar system is thought to
have formed is called the…
a. solar nebula
b. gas giant
c. sun
d. nova
70) How much of the matter that was contained in the “matter disk” now makes up our sun?
a. 5%
b. about 98%
c. 25%
d. about 75%
71) Smaller bodies that orbit planets are usually called…
a. solar nebulas
b. moons
c. planetesimals
d. suns
For #72, refer to the graphic, below, depicting a view of the Moon as observed from the Earth’s surface:
72) In relation to the observer, where is the Sun located?
a. to the left
b. to the right
c. behind them
d. in front of them
73) The first astronomers thought that the stars, planets, and sun revolved around…
a. the sun
b. the Milky Way
c. the Earth
d. the moon
74) “Geocentric” means ________ and “heliocentric” means ________.
a. moon centered, earth centered
b. sun centered, earth centered
c. earth centered, sun centered
d. earth centered, moon centered
75) When considering the Big Bang Theory, return these scrambled events to their proper order:
a. large unstable stars form
b. all matter/energy/space-time are created at a singularity (single point)
c. protons & neutrons form
d. “quark soup”
e. unstable stars go supernova
f. stable galaxies begin to coalesce
Remember: ONLY turn in the completed Test III Response Sheet (separate file). See the beginning of
this test sheet to remind you of the submission requirements.