Accelerated Physics First Semester Final Exam Practice
Note: This is not a definitive review. You should use your syllabus outline to
guide your studies.
1. Which statement about models is NOT correct?
a) Models give a limited description of reality.
b) Models help build hypotheses.
c) Models help guide experimental design.
d) Models often focus on more than one system at a time.
2. Repeated measurements of a quantity can reduce the effects of
A. both random and systematic errors.
B. only random errors.
C. only systematic errors.
D. neither random nor systematic errors.
3. Possible units for force are..
A. kg
B. kg m/s
C. Ns
D. kg m/s2
E. None of these
4. Calculate the following and express the answer in scientific notation with the
correct number of significant figures; 0.032 N / 0.118 N
a) 0.271
b) 0.0038
c) 2.7 x 10-1
d) 3.78 x 10-3
5. These values were obtained as the mass of a bar of metal; 8.83 g, 8.84 g,
8.82 g. The known mass is 10.68 g. The values are….
a) accurate
b) precise
d) neither accurate nor precise
c) both accurate and precise
6. A car that brakes when traveling at speed v along a horizontal road comes to
rest in a certain distance d. Assuming that the braking force remains constant
which one of the following graphs best shows how the stopping distance d
depends on the initial speed v?
7. The diagram shows a glider traveling on a friction-free linear air track.
Which one of the following graphs best represents the variation of velocity with
time as the glider bounces back and forth between the elastic buffers?
8. Two stones P and Q are thrown from the top of a cliff, one straight up and the
other straight down, at the same initial speed. Both eventually hit the ground.
If air resistance is negligible, what will be true of the speeds with which the
stones hit the ground?
A. Stone P hits the ground with the greater speed.
B. Stone Q hits the ground with the greater speed.
C. Both stones hit the ground with the same speed.
D. The comparative speeds of impact depend on the height of
the cliff.
9. A ball is thrown vertically upward. If air resistance is negligible, which one of
the diagrams below is the correct free-body force diagram showing the force(s)
on the ball when it is on the way up?
10. A car travels along a straight road. It first accelerates from rest, then travels
at a constant velocity, then decelerates to a stop. It then remains at rest. Which
graph below best represents the displacement s of the car as a function of time
t?
11. An iron cannon ball is projected horizontally from a cliff and lands on the
ground below, a certain distance from the base of the cliff. Air resistance is
negligible. If a more massive iron ball were to be projected at the same speed,
A. it would land at the same place.
B. it would land closer to the cliff.
C. it would land further away.
D. it would land either further away or closer to the cliff depending on the height
of the cliff and the speed of projection.
12. If the ball were projected off a cliff twice as high the speed at which it hits the
ground would be ____________ as much
A. twice
B. four times
C. √2 times
D. half
13. The diagram shows two balls P and Q at the same height above the ground.
Ball P is projected horizontally and at the same instant ball Q is allowed to fall
vertically.
Which one of the following statements is true?
A. Both balls hit the ground with the same velocity.
B. Both balls take the same time to reach the ground.
C. Both balls hit the ground with the same speed.
D. The balls have different accelerations whilst falling
14. A block of mass M is pushed along a horizontal, frictionless surface by a
force of magnitude F. The force makes an angle with the horizontal.
The magnitude of the acceleration of the block is
15. Two bodies P and Q on a frictionless horizontal surface are connected by a
light cord. The mass of P is greater than that of Q. A force F is applied to Q
as shown, accelerating the bodies to the right.
The magnitude of the force exerted by the connecting cord on body P will be
A. zero.
B. less than F but not zero.
C. equal to F.
D. greater than F.
16. A man pushes a car along a road. He exerts a force F on the car.
In this situation, what is the equal and opposite force to F (i.e. ‘reaction’ force)
as referred to in Newton’s third law?
A. The force exerted on the person by the car.
B. The force exerted on the person by the road.
C. The force of friction on the car by the road.
D. The force of gravity on the car by the earth.
E. There is no reaction force if the car moves in the direction of F.
17. When a car is moving at a speed v in a straight line the total force opposing
its motion is F. The product Fv is a measure of the
A. power developed by the car.
B. rate of change of momentum of the car.
C. work done by the car against the frictional forces.
D. rate of change of kinetic energy of the car.
18. An amusement park ride sometimes called ‘the fly’ is a large cylinder which
can rotate. A person stands against the wall, and after the cylinder is rotating
at a certain rate the floor drops away. The person remains ‘stuck’ in position
against the wall - like a fly.
Which one of the following is the correct free-body force diagram showing all the
forces acting on the person when the person is in the position shown above?
19. What is providing the centripetal force that keeps the person moving in a
circle?
A. Friction
B. Gravity
C. Normal
D. Centrifugal
20. If the ride was twice the radius but the person was moving at the same speed
what would happen to the centripetal force exerted on the person?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
It would increase to twice its previous amount
It would decrease to half its previous amount
It would increase to √2 its previous amount
It would decrease to √2 its previous amount
It wouldn’t change
21. A particle moves in a circular path of radius r. The magnitude of the force
acting on the particle is F. The work done by the force in one complete orbit
of the particle is
A. 2πFr.
B. F/ 2π
C. 2π / F
D. zero.
22. One block is dropped to the ground, while an identical block slides down a
slope to the ground, as shown in the figure. The blocks start from rest at the
same height and friction is negligible.
Which one of the following is true of the comparative speeds of the blocks when
they reach the ground, and the times they take to get there?
23. A car and a truck traveling with equal speeds in opposite directions collide
head-on. The truck is more massive than the car.
How will the momentum changes of the vehicles compare in the collision?
A. The car will have the greater momentum change.
B. The truck will have the greater momentum change.
C The car and truck will have equal but opposite momentum changes.
D. One cannot compare momentum changes for an inelastic collision such as
This
24. Two balls are thrown at a wall with identical speeds. Ball A hits the wall and
stops while ball B bounces back at the same speed it hit the wall. Which ball
exerts the greatest force of the wall?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Ball A because it is in contact with the wall for the greatest time.
Ball A because it must squash more than Ball B.
Ball B because it changes velocity by a greater amount.
Ball B because it is in contact with the wall for the least amount of time.
Both balls exert the same force on the wall.
25. If the Earth had twice its current radius and twice the mass, what would be
the value of g on its surface?
A. 4.9 m/s2
B. 9.8 m/s2
C. 19.6 m/s2
D. 39.2 m/s2
26. Two cars travelling at the same speed slam on their breaks and slide to a
stop. If Car B has twice the mass of Car A the stopping distance of Car B will
be…
A.
B.
C.
D.
Half as much as Car A because it has twice the friction force.
The same as Car A because speed is the deciding factor.
Twice as much as Car A because it has twice the inertia.
Four times as much as Car A because kinetic energy depends on the
square of the mass.
Answers
1. D
2. B
3. D
4. C
5. B
6. B
7. B
8. C
9. B
10. C
11. A
12. C
13. B
14. B
15. B
16. A
17. A
18. B
19. C
20. B
21. D
22. B
23. C
24. C
25. A
26. B