Physics Study Guide Midterm
Name____________________________________________________
1. You are driving into St. Louis, Missouri, and in the distance you see the
famous Gateway-to-the-West arch. This monument rises to a height of 200
m. You estimate your line of sight with the top of the arch to be 3.0 degrees
above the horizontal. Approximately how far (in kilometers) are you from
the base of the arch?
2. A highway is to be built between two towns, one of which lies 40.0 km south
and 75.0 km west of the other. What is the shortest length of highway that
can be built between the two towns, and at what angle would this highway be
directed with respect to due west?
3. A whale swims due east for a distance of 8.9km, turns around and goes due
west for 2.8km, and finally turns around again and heads 3.0km due east. (a)
What is the total distance traveled by the whale? (b) What are the
magnitude and direction of the displacement of the whale?
4. From her bedroom window a girl drops a water-filled balloon to the ground,
19.0m below. If the balloon is released from rest, how long is it in the air?
5. A wrecking ball is hanging at rest from a crane when suddenly the cable
breaks. The time it takes for the ball to fall halfway to the ground is 2.2s.
Find the time it takes for the ball to fall from rest all the way to the ground.
6. (a) What is the magnitude of the average acceleration of a skier who, starting
from rest, reaches a speed of 9.00m/s when going down a slope for 6.20
seconds? (b) How far does the skier travel in this time?
7. If a Guardian boy volleyball player jumped vertically at the net to hit a
volleyball horizontally at a speed of 12.44 m/s just over the net, will the ball
land in bounds or out? The length of a volleyball court is 9 meters long. The
height of a boys volleyball net is 2.43 meters.
8. Miss Shuey insulted Miss Fritz, who was standing 0.8 meters away from her.
Miss Fritz retaliated by throwing her chocolate milk shake horizontally at the
height of Miss Shuey’s eyes. Where will the milk shake come in contact with
Miss Shuey (at what height above the ground?) Miss Shuey’s eyes are located
1.63 meters above the ground. Miss Fritz threw the milk shake at a speed of
2.8 m/s.
9. Suppose the water at the top of Niagara Falls has a horizontal speed of 3.2
m/s just before it cascades over the edge of the falls. At what vertical
distance below the edge does the velocity vector of the water point
downward at an 64 degree angle below the horizontal?
10. Roland kicked a soccer ball off the top of the gym building with a speed of 26
m/s. When it strikes the ground, the soccer ball has a velocity that makes an
angle of 51 degrees with the horizontal. From what height above the ground
was the soccer ball kicked?
11. A diver runs horizontally with a speed of 1.86 m/s off a platform that is 8.0 m
above the water. What is his speed just before striking the water?
12. Toki whose mass is 1206g rests on a horizontal table. A student pushes Tiko
horizontally with a force of 9.0 N. The coefficients of static and kinetic
friction are 0.418 and 0.206, respectively. Will Toki move under the
influence of the force, and, if so, what will be Toki’s acceleration?
13. Mr. Mooi’s car (m = 1800kg) is parked on a road that rises 30 degrees above
the horizontal. What are the magnitudes of (a) the normal force and (b) the
static frictional force that the ground exerts on the tires? If Miss Shuey
pushes the car (when its in neutral) with a force of 4300 N will the car start
moving down the road and into a lake?
14. A 80kg volleyball player slides across the floor to dig a ball. The coefficient of
kinetic friction between the player and the floor is 0.34. (a) What is the
magnitude of the frictional force? (b) If the player comes to rest after 1.5s,
what was his initial velocity?
15. Andrew water skis around a curve whose radius is 80 m. Lester skis around
a curve, whose radius is 85 m, going 28 m/s. Andrew and Lester both
experience the same centripetal acceleration. How fast is Andrew going
around the curve?
16. A curve with a radius of 122 m is banked at an angle of 30 degrees. At what
speed can Esther drive around in under icy conditions where friction is
negligible?
17. Nayoon performs a yo-yo trick where she whips the yo-yo in a circle. She
gives the yo-yo a centripetal force of 0.032 N. The length of the yo-yo string
is 0.4 m and the mass of the yo-yo is 9.2 g. What is the speed of the yo-yo?
18. A satellite orbits around Mars at a distance of 2.64 x 10^8 m. Assume that
this distance is between the centers of Mars and the satellite and that the
mass of Mars is 6.4191 x 10^23 kg. Find the period for the satellite’s motion
around Mars. Express the answer in days.