The Man’s
PSSA
Practice
What change could be made in the setup in
diagram 1 to increase the amount of force
necessary to move the block of wood?
Add mass or weight to the block, roughen the
surface of the table or the bottom of the block,
increase the surface area of the wood, etc.
Explain why round pencils in diagram 2
decrease the amount of force necessary to
move the block of wood.
Pencils reduce friction, the pencils roll
instead of slide, pencils serve as wheels.
Which diagram best represents the correct
reading for the same spring scale being used to
weigh a 200 g mass?
Choice 2
Which satellite would experience the
strongest pull of Earth’s gravity? State the
scientific principle that explains your answer.
A, b/c as it’s closer so the gravitational pull
is stronger; b/c as distance decreases, the
gravitational pull is stronger.
Motion for 500
Predict what might happen to satellite B if
the forces acting on it become unbalanced.
It will move into a new orbit.
It will crash into Earth.
It will escape from its orbit.
A student goes skateboarding a few times a week. The
student notices that she can go faster while skating on
some level surfaces than on others. She hypothesizes
that speed has something to do with the surface she is
skating on. The student wants to design an experiment
to test this hypothesis.
a Identify the independent (manipulated) variable in the
experiment.
Surface or surface material
b Identify the dependent (responding) variable in the
experiment.
Speed or skateboard speed
A student goes skateboarding a few times a week. The
student notices that she can go faster while skating on
some level surfaces than on others. She hypothesizes
that speed has something to do with the surface she is
skating on. The student wants to design an experiment
to test this hypothesis.
Identify two factors that will need to be held constant
in the experiment.
Same skateboard
Same person
Same wheels
Air temperature
Level surface
Wind speed
Wind direction
Equal push
Equal distance
Placement of person on the skateboard
What is the relationship between the mass of the
planets and the relative strength of their
gravitational pull?
As mass increases, the gravitational pull/force
increases OR it’s a direct relationship
Which 3 planets have less gravitational pull
than Earth?
Mercury, Mars, Pluto
Change to Materials
Effect this Change Will Have on the
Distance the Wooden Platform
Moves
Shorten the string to stretch the rubber band.
decrease
increase
remain the same
Use a wooden platform that has a greater
mass.
decrease
increase
remain the same
Remove the pencils from under the wooden
platform.
decrease
increase
remain the same
Use scissors to cut the string instead of
burning it with a match.
decrease
increase
remain the same