Physics 20 – Unit 1 Test
“Introduction to Physics”
1. Which of the following length measurements are equivalent? (2 marks)
a) 5 687nm b)568.7km
c) 0.000 568 7dag
d) 0.000 0568 7dm
2. Which of the following is a more precise measurement, the length of a car measured
to the nearest meter or to the nearest millimeter? Explain your answer. (3 marks)
3. State the number of significant digits in each of the following measurements. (1 mark
each)
a) 3 809 m
b) 9.013 m
c) 0.0045m
d) 789 000 km
4. Which of the following measurements contains zeros that are not significant?
Explain why. (2 marks)
a) 3.050  10 5 km
b) 0.0053 m
c) 45.020 cm
d) 101.20 g
5. Express the following measurements in scientific notation: (1 mark each)
a) 142 000 s
b) 0.008 09 kg
c) 501 000 000 nm
6. Perform the following operations. Be sure to round to the appropriate number of
significant digits. BE AWARE OF UNITS!!!! (2 marks each)
a) 2.0  10 6 m 5.0  10 5 m
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b) 12  10 5 m / 4.00  10 2 s
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c) 5.06  10 2 m  8.124km
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d) 10.8  10 4 m  2.6  10 3 m
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e) 3.7  10 5 m 5.00  10 4 m
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7. What is parallax? Describe a situation when this would happen. (2 marks)
8. If I am travelling down highway 16 (with a speed limit of 110 km/h) at a speed of
35.0 m/s am I speeding? (3 marks)
9. Sound travels at a speed of 332 m/s. How far will a sound wave travel In 2.00
minutes? (3 marks)
10. If speed of light is 3.00  10 8 m/s, calculate the value of one light year. (Hint: a light
year is the distance light can travel in 1 year). Give your answer, to the correct
number of significant digits, in both scientific notation and “regular number” form.
(4 marks)
11. A sphereical tank 40.0 meters in diameter is full of water. If the density of water is
approximately 1.00  103 kg / m 3 and the volume of a sphere can be found using the
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formula V  r 3 what is the approximate mass of the tank? (3 marks)
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12. A hummingbirds wings beat approximately 1500 times per minute. How many beats
is this per second? (2 marks)
Bonus – What common office supply belonging to Dwight Schrute does Jim Halpert
off of The Office mould into a Jell-O Cake?