IB Physics Review
Day 1 Review
Read all key terms. Underline all words you are unfamiliar with. Then go back and create a flash card for each
term. Use the term in a sentence, define it, or draw a picture for the term.
Vocabulary
1. accuracy
2. precision
3. dependent variable
4. independent variable
5. experiment
6. hypothesis
7. model
8. observation
9. scientific law
10. scientific theory
11. unit
12. standard
13. x-axis
14. y-axis
15. slope
16. scalar
17. vector
18. magnitude
19. relative
20. frame of reference
21. distance
22. time
23. direction
24. position
25. rate
26. instantaneous speed
27. average speed
28. displacement
29. velocity
30. acceleration
31. free fall
32. vector
33. scalar quantity
34. vector quantity
35. satellite
36. projectile
37. resultant
38. parabolic path
39. horizontal component
40. vertical component
41. range
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
inertia
mass
force
net force
balanced forces
friction
static equilibrium
dynamic equilibrium
gravity
weight
Newton's 1st Law of
motion
Newton's 2nd Law of
motion
Newton's 3rd Law of
motion
air resistance
weightlessness
terminal velocity
normal force
fluid
action force
reaction force
momentum
impulse
elastic collision
inelastic collision
system
law of conservation of
momentum
energy
kinetic energy
potential energy
gravitational potential
energy
work
mechanical energy
law of conservation of
energy
efficiency
fulcrum
77. lever
78. machine
79. mechanical advantage
80. pulley
81. inclined plane
82. centripetal force
83. centrifugal force
84. temperature
85. thermal energy
86. heat
87. conduction
88. convection
89. radiation
90. conductor
91. insulator
92. solid
93. liquid
94. gas
95. condensation
96. evaporation
97. sublimation
98. boiling/vaporization
99. freezing
100.
melting
101. kinetic theory of
matter
102.
thermal equilibrium
103. charge
104.
electrical force
105. electrically polarized
106. electrostatics
107. grounding
108. semiconductor
109. superconductor
110. conduction
111. conductor
112. electric field
113. electroscope
114. induction
115. insulator
116. static electricity
117. Coulomb's law
118. capacitor
119. electric potential
120. electrical potential
energy
121. voltage
122. Electric current
123. potential difference
124. electric resistance
125. ampere
126. voltage source
127. circuit
128. electrical power
129. Ohm's law
130. parallel circuit
131. series circuit
132. alternating current
133. ammeter
134. direct current
135. electric motor
136. electromagnetic
induction
137. generator
138. transformer
139. voltmeter
140. schematic (circuit)
diagram
141. oscillation
142. vibration
143. pendulum
144. period
145. frequency
146. natural frequency
147. wave
148. medium
149. reflection
150. refraction
151. interference
152. transverse wave
153. rest position
154. crest
155. trough
156. wavelength
157. amplitude
158. longitudinal wave
159. compression wave
160. compression
161. rarefaction
162. sound
163. intensity
164. pitch
165. resonance
166. forced vibration
167. Doppler effect
168. standing wave
169. node
170. anti-node
171. electromagnetic
radiation
172. electromagnetic
spectrum
173. photon
174. opaque
175. translucent
176. transparent
177. light
178. pigment
179. retina
180. cone
181. rod
182. polarization
183. reflection
184. angle of incidence
185. normal line
186. angle of reflection
187. refraction
188. angle of refraction
189. index of refraction
190. total internal
reflection
191. critical angle
192. diffraction
193. concave
194. convex
Kinematics
1. Why is motion considered relative, and what does that mean?
2. Define speed. What is the difference between instantaneous and average speed?
3. What is the equation for speed? What are some possible units for speed?
4. Differentiate between speed and velocity.
5. Define constant velocity. When does an object have constant velocity?
6. Define acceleration. What is the equation for acceleration?
7. How are velocity and acceleration related?
8. Give an example of an object traveling at a constant velocity and accelerating.
9. What are the three ways an object can accelerate?
10. If an object travels at the same speed and the same direction, is the object accelerating?
11. What is free fall and how does it relate to gravity?
12. If an object is in free fall, its _____________________ is constant.
13. What is the value for the acceleration due to gravity?
14. If a ball is thrown up at 10 m/s, what will be the speed of the ball when it’s caught back at the original
point of the throw?
15. If you throw a ball straight up, what is the ball’s instantaneous speed at the top of its path?
16. If you throw a ball straight up, what is the ball’s acceleration at the top of its path?
17. How do you calculate the time an object will take to travel a given distance in freefall?
18. How do you calculate the distance an object travels while in freefall?
Day 2 IB Physics Review
Vectors and Projectile Motion
29. What is a scalar? Give three examples of scalar quantities.
30. What is a vector? Give three examples of vector quantities.
31. Explain how to determine the resultant of two vectors (a) in opposite directions (b) in the same direction,
and (c) perpendicular to each other.
32. What is the maximum resultant for a 5-unit vector and a 2-unit vector? the minimum resultant?
Draw each set of vectors and the resultant.
33. What is the resultant velocity of a boat going across a river the boat's velocimeter reads 4 m/s West and
the river is flowing 3 m/s South? Draw your solution and then use the Pythagorean Theorem to verify the
magnitude.
34. Define projectile. Give some examples of projectiles.
35. Draw the path of a projectile. Label the horizontal and vertical velocities at a point going up, at a point
going down, and at the top of the path.
36. How are a projectile’s horizontal velocity and vertical velocity related?
37. Which component (horizontal or vertical) of a projectile's velocity does not change if we ignore the air ?
38. At what point in it's flight does a projectile have its minimum resultant speed?
39. Find the resultant speed of a projectile with a horizontal speed of 5 m/s and a vertical speed of 30 m/s.
How long will this projectile stay in the air?
40. Identify the relationship of different launch angles with a projectiles range (the horizontal distance
traveled.)
41. What is the vertical speed of a horizontally launched projectile two seconds after it is launched?
42. Explain how a satellite orbiting the earth is actually just “falling around the earth.”
Newton’s Laws
43. What is inertia?
44. What is Newton’s first law of motion? Does it apply to objects at rest, moving objects, or both?
45. Once an object is moving through frictionless space, how much force is needed to keep it going?
46. How is mass related to inertia?
47. How do you calculate weight?
48. What is the difference between mass and weight?
49. What is the difference between mass and volume?
50. Your mass is 59 Kg, calculate your weight on earth and moon? Would you weigh more on the earth or on the
moon?
51. What is friction?
52. What is meant by net force? Draw and label the free body diagram of the four forces.
53. How do you calculate the net force of two objects acting in the same direction?
54. How do you calculate the net force of two objects acting in opposite directions?
55. What is equilibrium and how does one achieve equilibrium?
56. An object weighs 25 N on the earth. A second object weighs 25 N on the moon. Which has the greater
mass?
57. What produces acceleration?
58. How is acceleration related to net force?
59. How is acceleration related to mass?
60. If an object moves with a constant velocity, what is the acceleration of the object? What is the net force
acting on the object?
61. What is terminal velocity? How is it achieved? What is the acceleration of the object that has reached
terminal velocity?
62. In the absence of air resistance, which will hit the ground first if dropped from the same height, a feather
or a brick?
63. In the presence of air resistance, which will hit the ground first if dropped from the same height, a
feather or a brick?
64. A constant force applied to a constant mass produces a constant ___________________________.
65. If an object moves with a constant velocity (_______________ acceleration), how is the applied force
related to the force of friction?
66. A woman hangs from a bar using both of her arms. If she weighs 3000 N, how much force does each arm
support?
67. Forces always occur in _________________.
68. A bug splatters against the windshield of a moving car. Compare the force of the bug on the car to the
force of the car on the bug.
69. A bug splatters against the windshield of a moving car. Compare the deceleration of the bug to the
deceleration of the car.
70. What propels a rocket in the vacuum of space?
71. Two people pull on a rope in a tug-of-war. Each pulls with 600 N of force. What is the tension in the rope?
72. How much (in Newton’s) does a 55 kg box of books weigh?
73. A person weighs 300 N. What is the mass of the person?
74. If you push with 25 N on a 5 kg box across a frictionless surface, how fast will the box accelerate?
75. If you push with 25 N on a 5 kg box and there is a 10 N force of friction, how fast will the box accelerate?
76. A certain net force gives a 10 kg object an acceleration of 9 m/s 2. What acceleration would the same force
give a 30 kg object?
Day 3 IB Physics Review
Impulse Momentum Theorum
77. Distinguish between mass and momentum. Which is inertia and which is inertia in motion?
78. Which has the greater mass, a heavy truck at rest or a rolling skateboard?
79. Distinguish between impact and impulse. Which designates a force and which multiplies force and time?
80. When the force of impact on an object is extended in time, does the impulse increase or decrease?
81. Distinguish between impulse and momentum. Which is force times time and which is inertia in motion?
82. Does impulse equal momentum, or a change in momentum?
83. For a constant force, suppose the duration of impact on an object is doubled.
a. How much is the impulse increased?
b. How much is the resulting change in momentum increased?
84. In a car crash, why is it advantageous for an occupant to extend the time during which the collision takes
place?
85. If the time of impact in a collision is extended by four times, how much does the force of impact change?
86. Why is it advantageous for a boxer to ride with a punch? Why should he avoid moving into an oncoming
punch?
87. You are standing on a skateboard.
a. When you throw a ball, do you experience an impulse?
b. Do you experience an impulse when you catch a ball of the same speed?
c. Do you experience an impulse when you catch it and then throw it out again?
d. Which impulse is greatest?
88. Why is more impulse delivered during a collision when bouncing occurs than during one when it doesn’t?
89. In terms of momentum conservation, why dies a cannon recoil when fired?
90. What does it mean to say that momentum is conserved?
91. Distinguish between an elastic and an inelastic collision.
92. Imagine that you are hovering next to the space shuttle in earth orbit. Your buddy of equal mass, who is
moving at 4 km/hr with respect to the shuttle, bumps into you. If he holds onto you, how fast do you both
move with respect to the ship?
93. Is momentum conserved for colliding objects that are moving at angles to one another? Explain.
94. What is the momentum of an 66 lbs bowling ball rolling at 2 m/sec?
a. If the bowling ball rolls into a pillow and stops in 0.5 sec, calculate the average force it exerts on
the pillow.
b. What average force does the pillow exert on the ball?
95. What is the momentum of a 100 lbs carton that slides at 4 m/sec across an icy surface? The sliding carton
skids onto a rough surface and stops in 3 sec. Calculate the force of friction it encounters.
Energy
96. A force sets an object in motion. When the force is multiplied by the time of its application, we call the
quantity impulse, which changes the momentum of that object. What do we call the quantity
(force)(distance) and what quantity can this change?
97. Work is required to lift a barbell. How many times more work is required to lift the barbell three times as
high?
98. Which requires more work, lifting a 10 kg load a vertical distance of 2 m or lifting a 5 kg load a vertical
distance of 4 m?
99. How many joules of work are done on an object when a force of 10 N pushes it a distance of 10 m?
100. How is power increased?
101. In which situation is more power required: Slowly lifting a book bag full of books up the stairs or quickly
lifting the same book bag full of books up the same stairs?
102. How much power is required to do 100 J of work on an object in a time of 0.5 sec? How much power is
required if the same work is done in 1 sec?
103. What are the two main forms of mechanical energy?
104. If you do 100 J of work to elevate a bucket of water, what is the gravitational potential energy relative
to its starting position? What would the gravitational potential energy be if the bucket were raised twice
as high?
105. A boulder is raised above the ground so that its potential energy relative to the ground is 200 J. Then it
is dropped. What is its kinetic energy just before it hits the ground?
106. Suppose an automobile has 2000 J of kinetic energy. When it moves at twice the speed, what will be its
kinetic energy? What’s its kinetic energy at three times the speed?
107. What will be the kinetic energy of an arrow having a potential energy of 50 J after it is shot from a bow?
108. What does it mean to say that in any system, the total energy score stays the same?
109. In what sense is energy from coal actually solar energy?
110. How does the amount of work done on an automobile by its engine relate to the energy content of the
gasoline?
111. When you whirl a can at the end of a string in a circular path, what is the direction of the force that acts
on the can? What causes that force?
112. Does the force that holds the riders on the carnival ride in Figure 9.1 act toward or away from the center?
113. Explain why there is no actual centrifugal force. Hint: Think Newton's third law and inertia
Day 4 IB Physics Review
Heat and Thermodynamics
114. Why are there negative numbers on the Celsius temperature scale but no negative numbers on the Kelvin
temperature scale?
115. When you touch a cold surface, does cold travel from the surface to your hand or does thermal energy
travel from your hand to the surface? Explain.
116. Why can’t you determine if you are running a high temperature by touching your own forehead?
117. Which has a greater amount of internal energy, a titanic iceberg or a cup of hot tea? Explain.
118. When you step out of a swimming pool on a hot, dry day in the Southwest, you feel quite chilly, while you
don’t feel as chilly here in the humid Southeast. Why?
119. The human body can maintain its customary temperature of 37 ºC on a day when the temperature is above
40 ºC. How is this done? (more detailed than just “sweat”)
120. A great amount of water vapor changes state to become liquid water droplets in the clouds that form a
thunderstorm. Is this a release of energy or absorbing of energy?
121. Melting ice causes the temperature of the surrounding air to ____________? Explain how your answer can
be true.
122. It is possible to boil water in a paper cup. Use the heating curve of water to help explain how this is
possible.
123. Why is it that you can safely hold your bare hand in a hot oven for a few seconds, but if you momentarily
touch the metal insides you’ll burn yourself?
124. Turn an incandescent lamp on and off quickly while you are standing near it. You feel its heat but find
that when you touch the bulb, it is not hot. Explain why you felt the heat from it.
125. Heat cannot readily escape a thermos bottle, so hot things inside stay hot. Will cold things inside a
thermos bottle likewise stay cold? Explain.
126. Your friend is holding the bottom of a large test tube filled with water. Strangely, your friend decides to
place the top half of the test tube over a flame and boil the water in the top half of the tube. Why should
you not be real worried about your friend’s hand being burnt?
Waves
127. Draw and label a transverse wave.
128. Draw and label a longitudinal wave.
129. Compare and contrast transverse and longitudinal waves.
130. Distinguish between the period and the frequency of a vibration or a wave. How do they relate to one
another?
131. Does the medium in which a wave travels move along with the wave itself? Defend your answer with an
example.
132. How does the speed of a wave relate to its frequency and wavelength?
133. As the frequency of sound is increased, does the wavelength increase or decrease? Give a mathematical
example.
134. How far, in terms of wavelength, does a wave travel in one period?
135. What is the period of a pendulum?
136. If you triple the frequency of a vibrating object, what will happen to its period?
137. While watching ocean waves at the dock of the bay, Otis notices that 10 waves pass beneath him in 30
seconds. He also notices that the crests of successive waves exactly coincide with the posts of the dock
that are 5 meters apart. What are the period, frequency, wavelength, and speed of the ocean waves?
138. What types of materials can transmit sound waves? Where does sound travel faster?
139. What happens to the speed of sound in air as the air temperature increases?
140. When a wave source moves toward a receiver, does the receiver encounter an increase in wave frequency,
wave speed, or both?
141. Would it be correct to say that the Doppler effect is the apparent change in the speed of a wave due to
motion of the source?
142. Distinguish between constructive interference and destructive interference.
143. Is interference a property of only some types of waves or of all types of waves?
144. How can you observe interference in sound waves?
145. What is the beat frequency of two tuning forks, one has a frequency of 440 Hz and the other a
frequency of 443 Hz?
146. What causes the refraction of a wave?
147. What happens when a wave is reflected?
148. What causes the diffraction of a wave?
149. Where on a standing wave would you measure the amplitude of the wave?
150. Where on a standing wave is the node?
151. Describe what happens when an object is forced to vibrate at its natural frequency?
152. Use resonance to explain the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940.
Day 5 IB Physics Review
Chapters 32 & 33 - Electrostatics and Electric Fields
153. In terms of attraction and repulsion, how do negative particles affect negative particles? How do
negatives affect positives?
154. What happens to electrons in any charging process?
155. Give an example of something charged by friction.
156. Give an example of something charged by simple contact.
157. Give an example of temporarily charging an object by induction.
158. What occurs when we “ground” an object?
159. How does an electrically polarized object differ from an electrically charged object?
160. If you rub an inflated balloon against your hair and place it against a door, by what mechanism does it
stick? Explain.
161. What is electrostatic discharge?
162. How can you charge an object negatively by using a positively charged object?
163. How does the magnitude of electrical force between a pair of charged objects change when the objects
are moved twice as far apart? Three times as far apart?
164. How does the magnitude of electric force compare between a pair of charged particles when they are
brought to half their original distance of separation? To one- quarter their original distance? To four times
their original distance? (What law guides your answers?)
165. How does one coulomb of charge compare with the charge of a single electron?
166. How much energy is given to each coulomb of charge that flows through a 1.5-volt battery?
167. We do not feel the gravitational forces between ourselves and the objects around us because these
forces are extremely small. Electrical forces, in comparison, are extremely huge. Since we and the objects
around us are composed of charged particles, why don’t we usually feel electrical forces?
168. If you put in 10 joules of work to push 1 coulomb of charge against an electric field, what will be its
voltage with respect to its starting position?
169. What is the voltage at the location of a 0.0001 C charge that has an electric potential energy of 0.5 J
(both measured relative to the same reference point)?
170. Give two examples of common force fields.
171. How is the magnitude of an electric field shown around a charged particle?
172. How is the direction of an electric field shown relative to a charged particle?
173. Why is there no electric field in the middle of a charged spherical conductor?
174. Why is it safe to be in a car when it is struck by lightning?
175. Explain why the charge distribution on a conducting surface is not always uniform. Draw two examples of
non-uniform charge distribution.
176. What is the electric field inside each of the conductors you drew in the previous question? Why?
177.
Sketch the electric field surrounding two electrons that are 2 cm apart.
178. Describe how a charged particle would gain electrical potential energy.
179. Compare and contrast electrical potential energy and electric potential.
180. Would the electrical potential energy between two protons be similar to the gravitational potential
energy of a rock lifted above the earth’s surface? Explain.
181. What are the units for electrical potential or potential difference? What are the units for electric
current? What are the units for electrical resistance?
182. Define electric current.
183. Describe the motion of the electrons in a closed electric circuit.
184. Give at least two examples of a voltage source.
185. A wire’s electrical resistance depends on what three things?
186. Why are thick wires rather than thin wires usually used to carry large currents?
187. Why can a bird perch harmlessly on bare high voltage wires?
188. Why is the wingspan of birds a consideration in determining the spacing between parallel wires in a power
line?
189. What condition is necessary for the sustained flow of water in a pipe? What analogous condition is
necessary for the sustained flow of charge in a wire?
190. Will water flow more easily through a wide pipe or a narrow pipe? Will current flow more easily through a
thick wire or a thin wire?
191. True or false and explain: “electrons in a common battery driven circuit travel at about the speed of light”
192. True or false and explain: “the source of electrons in a circuit is the voltage source”
193. If electrons flow very slowly through a circuit, why does it not take a noticeably long time for a lamp to
glow when you turn on a distant switch?
Electric Circuits
194. What is an electric circuit?
195. If the voltage impressed across a circuit is held constant while the resistance doubles, what change
occurs in the current?
196. If the resistance of a circuit remains constant while the voltage across the circuit decreases to half its
former value, what change occurs in the current?
197. What is the effect on current in a wire if both the voltage across it and its resistance are doubled? If
both are halved?
198. Will the current in a light bulb connected to a 220 V source be greater or less than when the same bulb is
connected to a 110 V source?
199. A certain device in a 120 V circuit has a current rating of 20 A. What is the resistance of the device?
200. Will a lamp with a thick filament draw more current or less current than a lamp with a thin filament?
201. In a circuit of two lamps in series, if the current through one lamp is 1 A, what is the current through the
other lamp? Defend your answer.
202. If 6 V are impressed across the above circuit and the voltage across the first lamp is 2 V. what is the
voltage across the second lamp? Defend your answer.
203. What is a main shortcoming of a series circuit?
204. In a circuit of two lamps in parallel, if there are 6 V across one lamp. What is the voltage across the
other lamp?
205. How does the sum of the currents though the branches of a simple parallel circuit compare to the
current that flows through the voltage source?
206. Are automobile headlights wired with the rest of the car in parallel or in series? What is your evidence?
207. To connect a pair of resistors so their equivalent resistance will be more than the resistance of either
one, should you connect them in series or in parallel?
208. To connect a pair of resistors so their equivalent resistance will be less than the resistance of either one,
should you connect them in series or in parallel?
209. Consider a pair of flashlight bulbs connected to a battery. Will they glow brighter connected in series or
in parallel? Will the battery run down faster if they are connected in series or in parallel?
210. When a pair of identical resistors is connected in series, which of the following is the same for both
resistors: Voltage across each, power dissipated in each, current through each? Do any of your answers change
if the resistors are different from each other?
211. When a pair of identical resistors is connected in parallel, which of the following is the same for both
resistors: Voltage across each; power dissipated in each; current through each? Do any of your answers change
if the resistors are different from each other?