OLLEGE PREP PHYSICS QUESTIONS OF
THE DAY
CHAPTER ONE
September 2, 2008 : If I hang a sign with a weight of 1000 grams and
support it with two wires, each at 45 degree angles with the horizontal,
what will the tension in each wire be?
September 3, 2008: How can I determine the mass of an unknown
object tied to a pulley system with only a protractor, a calculator and a
mind that should be registered as a lethal physics weapon?
September 4, 2008: In physics, m/sec is the most commonly used unit of
velocity. What would a speed limit of 55 miles per hour be in m/sec?
1609 m = 1mile
September 8, 2008: Loyola’s swimming pool is 25 yards long, 15 yards
wide and has an average depth of 6 feet. How many pounds of water are
in the pool? Density of water 1 g/ ml. 1 ml = 1 cubic centimeter. 1 kg =
2.2 lbs. 2.54 cm = 1 inch. 1 m = 1.09 yds.
September 12, 2008: Can you use units of measure to figure out why it
makes sense that the formula for distance is velocity times time not
velocity divided by time?
CHAPTER TWO
September 15, 2008: A vector has magnitude and direction while a
scalar has only magnitude. Velocity is a vector. Speed is a scalar. Does a
bike going around a turn at 20 mph have a constant velocity? Constant
speed? Both or neither?
September 17, 2008: What is the difference between velocity and
acceleration? If object A has a greater velocity than object B, does it
necessarily have a greater acceleration? What does the unit m/sec2
mean?
September 22, 2008: Can I use the basic kinematic equations to solve a
multitude of problems? Will be coin dropped from the top of the
Empire State Building kill me? 381 meters tall
September 23, 2008: What can I tell about the motion of an object by
analyzing the basic motion graphs?
September 29, 2008: In analyzing the three graphs for the lab report, I
should be able to:
1. fully interpret the shape of each graph
2. comment on the significance of slopes of each graph
3. relate the graphs to each other
4. fully discuss where -9.8 comes up and why
5. show an understanding of why some values are negative
October 1 , 2008: The gravitational acceleration constant on planet
Earth at sea level is 9.8 m/sec2. What does that mean about an object
going downwards? Going upwards? Is acceleration due to gravity 9.8
m/sec2 or - 9.8 m/sec2 ? I’m so confused. How do I know what to do?
October 3, 2008: How can we use our lethal physics minds to figure out
the initial velocity of a ball shot out of the marble launcher?
8.7, 8.9
CHAPTER THREE
October 8, 2008: Vertical and horizontal motion are independent of
each other, what does that mean?
Dx = vxt
ay = ∆ vy / t
Dy = vyot + ½ ay t2
vfy 2 = voy 2 + 2aydy
dy = ½( vy0 + vyf ) t
October 9, 2008: How could I use physics to prove I was innocent of
speeding in a reckless driving case?
October 14, 2008: How can we use physics do estimate another value for
the initial velocity of the marble launcher?
October 17, 2008: A ball is shot at 35 degrees at 9 m/sec. How long in
the air? How high does it go? How far does it go?
Vx = Vo cos Θ
Vyo = Vo sin Θ
October 17, 2008: What is the horizontal range formula? When can I or
can’t I use this formula?
R = Vo2 sin( 2Θ ) / g
g = acceleration due to gravity
October 29, 2008: Can we make the ultimate physics shot with the
marble launcher?
October 30, 2008: If I shoot a bullet horizontally at the same instant I
drop a bullet, which one hits the ground first? What is in the air longer:
a major league home run or a little league pop up hit to the same
height?
If I am driving in a car on cruise control and I throw a ball straight up
in the air, where does the ball land? Assume no air resistance.
CHAPTER FOUR
November 3, 2008: If an object has a constant velocity, what will we be
able to say about the presences of forces? What will the presence of a
constant unbalanced force do to the velocity of an object? From these
answers, we should be able to discover Newton’s First Law.
November 4, 2008: Newton’s Second Law says the acceleration of an
object is directly proportionate to the applied force and inversely
proportionate to the mass of the object. Translate this into English.
Does Newton’s Third Law mean equal and opposite forces,
accelerations, or both?
November 6, 2008: The return of SOHCAHTOA and forces. If I push a
lawnmower of a certain mass with a certain force at a certain angle and
there is a certain amount of friction acting against the lawnmower, what
will the acceleration be?
November 7, 2008: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation states the
force of attraction between any two objects is directly proportionate to
the product of their masses and inversely proportionate to the square of
the distance between them. What in the name of @#$(%*^&#@*! Does
that mean?
November 10, 2008: What is the normal force? When is it equal to the weight force?
What is the relationship between normal force and weight force in an elevator ride?
November 12, 2008: When I push a still lawnmower, what is greater, the
force of my arms on the mower or the force of the mower on my arms?
If these forces are equal, would they cancel each other out? If so, how
come the mower and I move?
November 17, 2008: What is the physics of skydiving? How did special
agent Johnny Utah use immense physics knowledge to catch the bad guy
in the skydiving scene of point break?
November 19, 2008: How do I determine the amount of friction acting
against an object? When would force of friction equal the forwards
forces on an object?
November 20, 2008: Why is pulling an object easier than pushing it?
December 1, 2008: How can I analyze motion on an incline plane? How
fast would I be going while coasting down the Oregon Ridge hill on a
bike?
December 5, 2008: How can I determine the mass of an unknown object
using only an incline plane with a pulley, a ruler, fishing wire, a lab cart
that is known to be 500 grams and a physics minds so dangerous that it
has been registered as a lethal weapon in most states?
CHAPTER FIVE
December 11, 2008: In what direction is the velocity pointed
for an object spinning in a circle? In what direction must the
centripetal force be pointed for it to keep moving in that
circle? How can we use the centripetal force formula to
determine whether an object will stay in circular motion, fly
out of the circle or fall into the circle? How does that crazy
amusement park ride work where you stick to the walls?
December 18, 2008: Twirly thing lab
Mass of ball
in kg
# of washers mass of washers Fw washers
In kg
in N
Stay the same for the whole experiment
radius of spin Time for 20 spins
in m
in sec
Velocity
in m/sec
Fc
mv2/ r
6 -8 different radii
January 5, 2009: What conclusions can we draw from
the fun with twirly thing lab?
January 6, 2009: How can we use our brilliant physics minds
to figure out the roller coaster loop-de-loop?
January 7, 2009: Why do I have different feelings of
“heaviness” as I ride a bike/ski over hills and through dips?
How can I calculate the normal force on me at these locations?
January 8, 2009: How can I determine minimum safe speed for
a roller coaster loop? Maximum speed for going over a bump?
January 9, 2009: What is the Earth’s orbital velocity? Mass of
Sun is 2 X 1030 kg. Earth is 1.5 x 1011 m from the Sun. Force of
Gravity = G m1m2 / d2.
G = 6.67 X 10-11
January 12, 2009: How can we use the amazing funderstanding
roller coaster to funderstand vertical circular motion?
CHAPTER SIX
January 26, 2009: Work equals force times distance and
kinetic energy equals ½ mass times velocity squared. Change in
kinetic energy is equal to work done. If I triple the velocity of
my car, what happens to my braking distance?
Ratio of Speed to Stopping Distance
§ 46.2-880. Tables of speed and stopping distances.
All courts shall take notice of the following tables of speed and stopping distances of
motor vehicles, which shall not raise a presumption, in actions in which inquiry thereon is
pertinent to the issues:
SPEED IN
AVERAGE STOPPING DISTANCES
TOTAL STOPPING
DISTANCES
Average
Driver
Reaction
Time
(3/4
seconds)
(In Feet)
Automobiles
(In Feet)
Trucks
(In Feet)
Miles
per
Hour
Feet per
Second
Automobile
Brakes
(In Feet)
Truck
Brakes
(Brakes on
All Wheels
(In Feet)
10
14.67
5
7
11
16
18
15
22.0
12
17
16
28
33
20
29.34
21
30
22
43
52
25
36.62
32
47
27
59
74
30
44.0
47
67
33
80
100
35
51.3
63
92
38
101
130
40
58.7
82
120
44
126
164
45
66.0
104
152
50
154
202
50
73.3
128
187
55
183
242
55
80.7
155
227
61
216
288
60
88.0
185
270
66
251
336
65
95.3
217
316
71
288
387
70
102.6
252
367
77
329
444
75
109.9
289
422
82
371
504
80
117.2
328
480
88
416
568
90
132.0
425
607
99
524
706
100
146.6
514
750
109
623
859
The courts shall further take notice that such tables are the result of experiments made
with motor vehicles, unloaded except for the driver, equipped with four-wheel brakes, in
good condition, on dry, hard, approximately level stretches of highway free from loose
material.
(Code 1950, § 46-212.2; 1956, c. 600; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-195; 1989, c. 727.)
January 27, 2009: If I double the height of a roller coaster,
what will happen to the speed of that roller coaster at the
bottom of the hill?
January 30, 2009: If we are to believe the web site, what is the
Kingda Ka’s velocity at the top of the hill assuming there is no
friction? How much work is done by friction on the Kingda Ka
as it ascends the hill?
CHAPTER SEVEN
February 11, 2009: How can we use the vernier software to
determine the relationship between mass, change in velocity,
force and time?
February 17, 2009: How does Mr. Cucuzzella use the impulsemomentum theory to try to stay healthy while running?
February 18, 2009: Matt Heacock hits Terrence Garvin at the
one inch line. Does Garvin score a touchdown?
February 19, 2009: How can we use conservation of
momentum to determine what will happen in a collision?
February 20, 2009: How can I determine the mass of a large
marble with a ramp, a ruler, knowledge of a small marble’s
mass and a world of physics formulas at our fingertips?
February 23, 2009: A northbound SUV hits an east bound
Prius. They lock up and move together. At what velocity and
angle do they move?
February 24, 2009: Hitting a lab cart with which side of the
magic physics mallet will have a greater affect on the cart’s
motion?
February 26, 2009: A ???? ton north bound car hits a ??? ton
east bound car. They lock up after the collision and move off
with an initial velocity of ??? mph at an angle of ??? degrees
north of east. What was each car’s velocity upon impact?
February 27, 2009: A ????? ton east bound car moving at ????
mph hits a ???? ton stationary car. The stationary car moves
off at ???? mph at ???? degrees south of east. What is the
moving car’s velocity and direction after the collision?
CHAPTER 11
March 5, 2009: Since we passed Chemistry, I should not have
to reteach density. Unit for density in physics is kg / cubic
meter. Understand why water’s density is 1000 kg/ cubic
meter.
A man lays on a bed of nails. Optical illusion, superhuman
pain tolerance, or physics at its finest?
March 6, 2009: If you think that air does not exert a pressure
on objects, try to pick up the soda at the front of the room?
What can we learn about water pressure by observing “peeing
water bottles”?
March 10, 2009: How can we use the pressure/height formula?
Why are water towers shaped the way they are?
The velocity of a fluid times the cross sectional area through
which it flows remains constant. Wow, sounds deep. Relate this
to a flowing stream or river.
March 11, 2009: What is the buoyant force? Why does it exist?
March 12, 2009: How can we use Bernoulli’s principle to
explain airplane flight, curve balls, slices and a multitude of
other things?
March 13, 2009:
Collect the following data for our lab
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weight of golf ball in air ( convert from N to g)
Weight of golf ball in water ( convert from N to g)
Difference between lines # 1 and # 2
Mass of beaker of water in grams
Mass of beaker of water with golf ball suspended in it in
grams
6. Difference between lines # 4 and # 5
7. Volume of golfball in cubic centimeters ( use internet )
March 17, 2009: Archimedes’ Principle states that the buoyant
force on an object is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid.
How does this relate to our results from Friday?
March 18, 2009: What is greater: the buoyant force on a boat
in fresh water or the buoyant force on the same boat in salt
water?
What weighs more: a bath tub filled with water or a bath tub
filled with water and rubber duckies?
March 19, 2009: As we revisit another Mythbusters episode,
how many helium filled balloons would it take to lift a small
child?
March 20, 2009: How can determine the mass of a wood block
using a bucket of water, a ruler, knowledge of water’s density
and Archimedes’ Principle, and a lethal physics mind?
March 25, 2009: Pascal’s Principle states any changes in
pressure at any point in an enclosed fluid are transmitted
undiminished to all points in the fluid and in all directions.
What in the name of #$%*@!#$!! Does that mean? Does that
have anything to do with how the hydraulic lift worked? Or
does this mean the Pascal was on crack?
March 30, 2009 Why do curve balls curve and slices slice?
CHAPTER TWELVE
April 7, 2009: What is the difference
between heat and temperature? What
energy changes are involved in the
various phase changes? How can this
explain the science of sweating and
other things?
April 21, 2009: When I put a hot object near a cold object, heat
will flow until they have equal temperatures or heat contents?
After we have reached thermal equilibrium, what was equal:
the object’s change in temperature, change in heat content or
both?
What does specific heat mean? How can we use the formula Q
= m ∆ T C to solve many problems?
April 22, 2009: How can we use phase changes formulas to
figure out many things? How much ice is required to reduce
the temperature of soda and air in a cooler from 25 C to 5 C?
May 12, 2008: Objects expand when
heated. ∆ L = Lo * ∆ T
* coefficient of expansion. The math
will be easy. Let’s make sure we
understand the concept.