AP PHYSICS 1 - SUMMER ASSIGNMENT
Introduction
Welcome to AP Physics 1!
This assignment is designed to check your understanding of some basic concepts from
measurement, algebra, and trigonometry. Understanding these topics will be essential for
success in physics, so if you have any questions or difficulty, please email me at
ssmith@bfhs.dfrcs.org.
The included problem set is due on the first full day of class. It will count as a homework
grade based on effort and accuracy.
Units and measurement
Please read chapter 1 of the textbook Physics by Wilson, Buffa, and Lou, paying attention
to the following:
• What are the seven base units of the SI system?
• What is the difference between a base unit and a derived unit?
• What are the prefixes of the SI system?
(note the most commonly used prefixes printed in blue in table 1.2)
• What does it mean for an equation to be dimensionally correct?
• How are measurements converted between different units of measurement
(e.g. g to kg, miles to km, m3 to cm3, m/s to km/hr)?
• Are there some numbers without uncertainty or error?
• What is the difference between precision and accuracy?
• How can significant figures help to convey the certainty of a measurement?
Mathematics
Please see appendices A, B, C, and D of the textbook Physics for an overview of the math
required. Be sure you understand the following topics:
• How is scientific notation used to represent large or small quantities?
• What are some techniques of solving a system of linear equations?
• How can one solve an equation in quadratic form?
• How are the sides and angles of a right triangle related?
• How are the sides and angles of a non-right triangle related?
• Given a graph of a linear function, how can the slope be determined?
• Given a graph of a linear function, how can the area between a line and the
horizontal axis be determined?
Problems
1.) Which of the following is not defined by an SI base unit?
(a) length
(b) mass
(c) weight
(d) time
2.) Which one of the following is the SI unit of mass?
(a) pound
(b) gram
(c) kilogram (d) ton.
3.) Can unit analysis tell you whether you have used the correct equation in solving a
problem? Explain.
4.) If x refers to distance, v0 and v to speeds = [distance/time], a to acceleration =
[distance / time2], and t to time, which of the following equations is dimensionally
correct?
(a) x = v0t + at3
(b) v2 = v02 + 2at
2
(c) x = at + vt
(d) v2 = v02 + 2ax.
5.) Newton’s second law of motion is expressed by the equation F = ma, where F
represents force, m is mass, and a is acceleration. (a) The SI unit of force is,
appropriately, called the newton (N). What are the units of the newton in terms of base
quantities? (b) An equation for force associated with uniform circular motion is
F = mv2 / r, where v is speed and r is the radius of the circular path. Does this equation
give the same units for the newton?
6.) Convert the following quantities:
(a) 452 m to km
(b) 8.25 x 10-9 MN to mN
(c) 52.5 cm2 to m2
(d) 3.0 x 108 m/s to km/h
(e) 5.000 x 103 mi to cm, given 1 mi ≈ 1609 m
(f) 13.6 g/cm3 to kg/m3
7.) Determine the number of significant figures in each of the following:
(a) 103.07
(b) 124.50
(c) 0.09916
(d) 5.408 x 105.
8.) Perform the following calculation, writing your answer with the correct units and
significant figures:
(15.437 kg ) ( 201.08 m /s )
4.080×10−5 s
9.) If a measured length is reported as 25.483 cm, could this length have been measured
with an ordinary meterstick whose smallest division is millimeters? Discuss in terms of
significant figures.
10.) The shortest distance between the bases in a baseball field is 90 ft. What is the
straight-line distance in meters between first base and third base?
11.) Solve these equations simultaneously:
2x – 3y = 7 and 3y + 5x = 7
12.) Solve the following equation for time t (starting at zero and measured in seconds) for
an upward thrown ball to reach a certain height: 4.9t2 + 10 – 30t = 0. How many
physically reasonable roots are there?
13.) A student wants to determine the distance of a small island from the lakeshore (see
diagram). He first draws a 50-m line parallel to the shore. Then, he goes to the ends of
the line and measures the angles of the lines of sight from the island relative to the line he
has drawn. The angles are 30° and 40°. How far is the island from the shore?
island
?
30°
40°
50 m
beach
14.) On an x-y Cartesian set of axes, a point is at x = -2.5 and y = -4.2. (a) What quadrant
is it in? (b) What is the angle between the -x-axis and the line drawn from the origin to
the given point? (Express the answer in degrees.)
y
15.) For the piecewise function depicted at right, find
(a) the slope at t = 1
(b) the slope at t = 3
(c) the slope at t = 4.3
(d) the area between the function and the t-axis
between t = 0 and t = 5
4
3
2
1
t
1
2
3
4
5