Physics
Study Guide for Quiz 1
About the Quiz:
 Quizzes are cumulative. This means any topics covered in class can appear as a question.
 The quizzes in this course will typically be on topics covered since the last quiz/test or most
recently in the course. What this means for quiz 1 is that you can expect to see questions
relating to the labs, position-time graphs, and vocabulary.
o Velocity-time graphs will not be on the quiz.
 For math related problems, I expect to see work that supports your answers. I can and will track
your work to give partial credit for incorrect solutions or full credit to complete solutions. Work
that is illegible cannot be used to support any answer, and it will not be scored.
 For short answer & open ended questions, I expect you to justify your answers. I want to know
how you know what you know.
 Use our website to revisit old assignments, handouts, answer keys, etc.
Graphs (in general):
 See the “Graphing Guidelines” handout posted under “general class resources” on our website.
 Everything must be labeled! Graphs don’t do us much good if we can’t’ tell what we are
analyzing.
o This means titles on both axes, units, and a graph title.
o If two separate lines exist on the same plot, then they too must be labeled as well.
 When asked the question, “What type of graph is this?,” you need only to remember what the
purpose of a graph is. We are able to compare any two things. These things are labeled on the
axes of our graphs, and typically you state the dependent variable before the independent
variable.
o Know the difference between a dependent and independent variable.
 You should be able to both analyze and produce x-t graphs.
Position vs. Time graphs:
 Used to determine the position of something at any given time along a designated interval.
o This is where the sentences that we wrote on homework 3 (best fit lines) come into
play. It answers the question, “How do these two things relate to one another?” Revisit
that assignment, read my personalized feedback, correct your mistakes, and use it as a
resource to help you study.
 Best-fit lines
o These are intended to model the behavior of either a positive or negative correlation.
o Lines, by definition, are straight and extend to infinity. Your lines should as well.
 This is directed toward those of you who are drawing line segments, connecting
the dots, or free handing your best fit lines. These will all be marked incorrect
on tests/quizzes.
 Describing the motion
o This is by far the most prominent topic that we have worked with; therefore, it is
deserving of much attention during your studying.

o
The sentences from homework 3 (best fit lines) get us off to a good start, but
they are formatted to describe only the velocity. As we progressed, we learned
that there is much more to be said about motion than simply velocity.
Homework 5 (x-t graph practice) does an excellent job of directing our attention
to these other areas.
 You should be able to link these concepts back to specific things that
you did during the buggy lab and/or graph matching lab.
Know what to say about the motion. Here are some questions that I have asked each of
you to answer at one point or another:
 Where did (object) start? How do you know?
 Where did (object) stop? How do you know?
 How long was (object) in motion? How do you know?
 What was the velocity of (object)? How do you know?
 Note that since velocity indicates direction, you could also use this to
state the direction of motion
 Was the motion of (object) constant or changing? How do you know?
Vocabulary:
 See the PowerPoint on our website titled “Units of Measurement” and the fill-in-the-blank class
handout on “Topics Covered Thus Far.”