Chapter 3 Practice Test
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1. Which of the following is a physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction?
a. vector
c. resultant
b. scalar
d. frame of reference
2. Identify the following quantities as scalar or vector: the speed of a snail, the time it takes to run a mile, the
free-fall acceleration.
a. vector, scalar, scalar
c. vector, scalar, vector
b. scalar, scalar, vector
d. scalar, vector, vector
3. In the figure above, which diagram represents the vector subtraction C = A–B?
a. I
c. III
b. II
d. IV
4. A car travels down a road at a certain velocity, vcar. The driver slows down so that the car is traveling only
half as fast as before. Which of the following is the correct expression for the resulting velocity?
a. 2vcar
c. – vcar
b. vcar
d. –2vcar
5. A football player runs in one direction to catch a pass, then turns and runs twice as fast in the opposite
direction toward the goal line. Which of the following is a correct expression for the original velocity and the
resulting velocity?
a. –vplayer, –2vplayer
c. vplayer, –2vplayer
b. vplayer, 2vplayer
d. 2vplayer, –vplayer
6. Which of the following is the best coordinate system to analyze a painter climbing a ladder at an angle of 60°
to the ground?
a. x-axis: horizontal along the ground; y-axis: along the ladder
b. x-axis: along the ladder; y-axis: horizontal along the ground
c. x-axis: horizontal along the ground; y-axis: up and down
d. x-axis: along the ladder; y-axis: up and down
7. In a coordinate system, a vector is oriented at angle with respect to the x-axis. The x component of the
vector equals the vector’s magnitude multiplied by which trigonometric function?
a. cos 
b. cot 
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c. sin 
d. tan 
8. How many displacement vectors shown in the figure above have horizontal components?
a. 2
c. 4
b. 3
d. 5
9. Which of the following is the motion of objects moving in two dimensions under the influence of gravity?
a. horizontal velocity
c. vertical velocity
b. directrix
d. projectile motion
10. Which of the following is not an example of projectile motion?
a. a volleyball served over a net
c. a hot-air balloon drifting toward Earth
b. a baseball hit by a bat
d. a long jumper in action
11. What is the path of a projectile (in the absence of friction)?
a. a wavy line
b. a parabola
c. a hyperbola
d. Projectiles do not follow a predictable path.
12. Which of the following does not exhibit parabolic motion?
a. a frog jumping from land into water
b. a basketball thrown to a hoop
c. a flat piece of paper released from a window
d. a baseball thrown to home plate
The figure above shows the path of a ball tossed from a building. Air resistance is ignored.
____ 13. In the figure above, the magnitude of the ball’s velocity is least at location
a. A.
c. C.
b. B.
d. D.
____ 14. In the figure above, the horizontal component of the ball’s velocity at A is
a. zero.
b. equal to the vertical component of the ball’s velocity at C.
c. equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the horizontal component of the ball’s
velocity at D.
d. equal to the horizontal component of its initial velocity.
____ 15. In the figure above, at which point is the ball’s speed about equal to the speed at which it was tossed?
a. A
c. C
b. B
d. D
____ 16. A piece of chalk is dropped by a teacher walking at a speed of 1.5 m/s. From the teacher’s perspective, the
chalk appears to fall
a. straight down.
c. straight down and forward.
b. straight down and backward.
d. straight backward.
Problem
17. A jogger runs 10.0 blocks due east, 5.0 blocks due south, and another 2.0 blocks due east. Assume all blocks
are of equal size. Use the graphical method to find the magnitude of the jogger’s net displacement.
18. A plane flies from city A to city B. City B is 1540 km west and 1160 km south of city A. What is the total
displacement of the plane?
19. A string attached to an airborne kite was maintained at an angle of 40.0 with the ground. If 120 m of string
was reeled in to return the kite back to the ground, what was the horizontal displacement of the kite? (Assume
the kite string did not sag.)
20. A hiker walks 4.5 km at an angle of 45.0 north of west. Then the hiker walks 4.5 km south. What is the
magnitude of the hiker’s total displacement?
21. A stone is thrown at an angle of 30.0 above the horizontal from the top edge of a cliff with an initial speed of
12 m/s. A stopwatch measures the stone’s trajectory time from the top of the cliff to the bottom at 5.60 s.
What is the height of the cliff? (Assume no air resistance and that a = g = 9.81 m/s .)
22. A small airplane flies at a velocity of 145 km/h toward the south as observed by a person on the ground. The
airplane pilot measures an air velocity of 172 km/h south. What is the velocity of the wind that affects the
plane?
23. A fox sees a piece of carrion being thrown from a hawk’s nest and rushes to snatch it. The nest is 14.0 m high,
and the carrion is thrown with a horizontal velocity of 1.5 m/s. How far from the tree will the carrion land?
Chapter 3 Practice Test
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
ANS:
ANS:
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ANS:
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ANS:
ANS:
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ANS:
ANS:
A
B
D
B
C
C
A
C
D
C
B
C
B
D
C
A
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
I
II
I
II
II
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
II
II
II
I
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
OBJ:
3-1.1
3-1.1
3-1.2
3-1.3
3-1.3
3-2.1
3-2.3
3-2.3
3-3.1
3-3.1
3-3.2
3-3.2
3-3.2
3-3.2
3-3.2
3-4.1
PROBLEM
17. ANS:
13.0 blocks
Solution
Students should use graphical techniques. Their answers can be checked using the techniques presented in
Section 2.
PTS: 1
DIF: IIIA
18. ANS:
1930 km, 37.0° south of west
Given
d = 1540 km west
d = 1160 km south
Solution
OBJ: 3-1.2
PTS: 1
19. ANS:
92 m
DIF: IIIB
OBJ: 3-2.2
DIF: IIIA
OBJ: 3-2.3
Given
d = 120 m, = 40.0
Solution
PTS: 1
20. ANS:
3.5 km
Given
d = 4.5 km at 45.0° north of west
d = 4.5 km south
Solution
PTS: 1
21. ANS:
120 m
DIF: IIIB
OBJ: 3-2.4
Given
v = 12 m/s at 30.0° above the horizontal
t = 5.60 s
g = 9.81 m/s
Solution
PTS: 1
22. ANS:
27 km/h north
DIF: IIIB
OBJ: 3-3.3
Given
vpg = velocity of plane to ground = 145 km/h south
vpa = velocity of plane to air = 172 km/h south
Solution
PTS: 1
23. ANS:
DIF: IIIA
2.5 m from the tree.
OBJ: 3-4.2