Honors Physics Midterm
A baseball player bats a ball with a force of 1000 N. The reaction force that the ball exerts against the bat is... A. More than 1000 N. B. Less than 1000 N. C. 1000 N. D. Impossible to determine.
C.
A heavy truck and a small car rolling down a hill at the same speed are forced to stop in the same amount of time. Compared to the force that stops the car, the force needed to stop the truck is... A. Smaller B. The same C. Greater
C.
A man weighing over 800 N stands at rest on two bathroom scales so that his weight is distributed evenly over both scales. The reading on each scale is... A. 800 N B. 200 N C. 400 N D. None of these
C.
A rifle recoils while firing a bullet. The speed of the rifle's recoil is small because the... A. Force against the rifle is smaller than against the bullet. B. Momentum of the rifle is smaller. C. Rifle has much more mass than the bullet. D. Momentum is mainly concentrated in the bullet.
C.
Two tennis balls fall through the air from a tall building. One of them is filled with lead pellets. The ball to reach the ground first is the... A. Lead-filled ball B. Regular Ball C. Same for both
A.
When you stand at rest on a pair of bathroom scales, the readings on the scales will always... A. Add up to equal your weight B. Each equal your weight C. Each be half your weight
A.
Which of the following is a physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction? A. Vector B. Scalar C. Resultant D. Frame of Reference
A.
Which of the following is an example of a vector quantity? A. Velocity B. Temperature C. Volume D. Mass
A.
A 10-N falling object encounters 10 N of air resistance. The net force on the object is... A. 0 N. B. 10 N. C. 4 N. D. 6 N. E. None of these
A.
A 10-kg brick and a 1-kg book are dropped in a vacuum. The force of gravity in the 10-kg brick is... A. 10 times as much. B. One-tenth as much. C. The same as the force on the 1-kg book. D. Zero.
A.
A bullet is dropped into a river from a very high bridge. At the same time, another bullet is fired from a gun, straight down towards the water. Neglecting air resistance, the acceleration just before striking the water... A. Is the same for each bullet B. Depends on how high they started. C. Is greater for the dropped bullet. D. Is greater for the fired bullet. E. None of these.
A.
A clerk can lift containers a vertical distance of 1 meter or can roll them up a 2 meter-long ramp to the same elevation. With the ramp, the applied force required is about... A. Half as much B. Four times as much C. The same D. Twice as much
A.
A freight train rolls along a track with considerable momentum. If it rolls at the same speed but has twice as much, its momentum is... A. Doubled B. Unchanged C.Quadrupled D. Zero
A.
A job is done slowly, while an identical job is done quickly. Both jobs require the same amount of work, but different amounts of... A. Power B. Effort C. Energy D. None of these
A.
A karate expert executes a swift blow and breaks a cement block with her bare hands. The magnitude of the force experienced by her hand is... A. Identical to the force applied o the block. B. Zero C. Less than the force applied to the cement block. D. More than the force applied to the block. E. Impossible to predict without additional information.
A.
A kilogram is a measure of an object's... A. Mass B. Weight. C. Force. D. Size.
A.
A rocket becomes progressively easier to accelerate as it travels upward from the ground mainly because... A. The mass of the rocket decreases as fuel is burned. B. The applied force on the rocket increases as burning of fuel progresses. C. Gravity becomes weaker with increases distance.
A.
A vehicle that weighs 4000 N on the Earth is travelling in outer space at a speed of 200 m/s. The smallest constant force that must be applied to stop it in 20 seconds is... A. 4000 N. B. More than 4000 N. C. 40 N. D. 20 N. E. 400 N.
A.
A women carries a heavy box across a room at a constant speed. How much work does she do on the box while walking? A. None B. More information is needed about the distance C. More information is needed about the speed and the distance D. More information is needed about the weight, distance, and her speed E. More information is needed about the weight of the box
A.
An apple at rest weights 1 N. The net force on the apple when it is in free fall is.... A. 1 N. B. 9.8 N. C. 0 N. D. 0.1 N. E. None of these
A.
An astronaut, floating alone in outer space, throws a baseball. If the ball floats away at a speed of 20 meters per seconds, the astronaut will... A. Move in the opposite direction, but at a lower speed. B. Not move as stated in any of the above choices C. Move in the opposite direction but at a higher speed. D. Impossible to determine without additional information.
A.
An object is propelled along a straight-line path by a force. If the net force were doubled, the object's acceleration would be... A. Twice as much. B. The same. C. Half as much. D. Four times as much. E. None of these
A.
Disregarding air resistance, objects fall with constant... A. Acceleration B. Speed C. Distances each successive second. D. Velocity
A.
If an object is raised twice as high, its potential energy will be... A. Twice as much B. Half as much C. Four times as much D. Impossible t determine unless the time is given.
A.
If you drop an object, it will accelerate downward at a rate of 9.8 meters per second. If you instead throw it downwards, its acceleration( in the absence of air resistance) will be... A. Less than 9.8 meters per second. B. Greater than the speed it had when thrown upwards. C. 9.8 meters per second.
A.
In each second of fall, the distance a freely falling object will fall is... A. About 10 m. B. The same, but not 5 m or 10m. C. Increasing. D. About 5m E. None of these
A.
In science, a theory is... A. A synthesis of a large body of well-tested knowledge. B. Unchangeable C. Less than a fact D. An educated guess
A.
It is correct to say that impulse is equal to... A. The change in momentum it produces. B. Velocity multiplied by time. C. Momentum. D. The force multiplied by the distance the force acts.
A.
Suppose that a tiny gum made of a strong but very light material fires a bullet that is more massive than the gun itself. For such a weapon... A. The target would be safer than the shooter B. Conservation of momentum would not hold. C. Both conservation of energy and momentum would not hold. D. Recoil problems would be lessened. E. Conservation of energy would not hold.
A.
The newton is a unit of... A. Force B. Inertia C. Mass D. Density
A.
The two measurements necessary for calculating average speed are... A. Distance and Time B. Velocity and Time C. Velocity and Distance D. Acceleration and Time E. Distance and Acceleration
A.
Two objects of the same size, but unequal weights are dropped from a tall tower. Taking air resistance into consideration, the object to hit the ground first will be the... A. Heavier object. B. Lighter object. C. Both hit at the same time. D. Not enough information
A.
A 1-kg mass at the Earth's surface weights... A. 10.8 N. B. 9.8 N. C. 4.9 N. D. 1 N. E. None of these
B.
A ball rolling down an incline has its maximum kinetic energy at... A. The top B. The bottom C. Halfway down D. Three-quarters of the way down
B.
A feather and a coin will have equal accelerations when falling in a vacuum because... A. The force of gravity is the same for each in a vacuum. B. The force of gravity does not act in a vacuum. C. Their velocities are the same. D. The ratio of each object's weight to its mass is the same. E. None of these
B.
A sheet of paper can be withdrawn from under a container of milk without toppling it if the paper is jerked quickly. This best demonstrates that... A. Gravity tends to hold the milk carton secure B. The milk carton has inertia C. The milk carton has no acceleration D. There is an action-reaction pair of forces E. None of these
B.
After rolling halfway down an incline, a marble's kinetic energy is... A. Less than its potential energy B. The same as its potential energy C. Greater than its potential energy D. Impossible to determine
B.
An automobile and a baby carriage traveling at the same speed collide head-on. The impact force is... A. Greater on the baby carriage. B. The same for both. C. Greater on the automobile.
B.
An object that has kinetic energy must be... A.Falling B. Moving C. At rest D. At an elevated position E. None of these
B.
Compared t falling on a stone floor, a wine glass may not break when it falls on a carpeted floor because the... A. Carpeted floor provided a smaller impulse B. Stopping time is longer on the carpet. C. Stopping time is shorter on the carpet. D. Carpet provides a smaller impulse and a longer time.
B.
For an action force, there must be a reaction force that... A. Is slightly smaller in magnitude that the action force. B. Is exactly equal in magnitude. C. Always acts in the same direction. D. Is slightly larger in amplitude than the action force.
B.
Identify the following quantities as scalar or vector: the mass of an object, the number of leaves on a tree, wind velocity... A. Vector, Scalar, Scalar B. Scalar, Scalar, Vector C. Scalar, Vector, Scalar D. Vector, Scalar, Vector
B.
If an object moves with constant acceleration, its velocity must... A. Always decrease. B. Change by the same amount each second. C. Change by varying amounts depending on its speed. D. Be constant also
B.
If no external forces are acting on a moving object, it will... A. Continue moving at the same velocity. B. Continue moving at the same speed. C. Move slower and slower until it finally stops.
B.
If the mass of an object does not change, a constant net force on the object produces constant... A. Velocity. B. Acceleration. C. Both of these. D. Neither of these
B.
If you push an object twice as far while applying the same force, you do... A. The same amount of work B. Twice as much work C. Four times as much work. D. Half as much work
B.
Neglecting friction, a large block of ice and a small block of ice start sliding down an incline together. The heavier block will get to them bottom... A. At the same time as the light block. B. Before the light block. C. After the light block.
B.
Padded dashboards in cars are safer in an accident than nonpadded ones because an occupant... A. Increases momentum B. Increased time of impact. C. Decreased impulse D. Decreased time of impact
B.
Science and Technology are... A. Responsible for all the good in the world. B. Fundamentally different from each other. C. Really one and the same. D. Responsible for all the bad in the world.
B.
Science is a body of knowledge that... A. Condenses knowledge into testable laws. B. All of the above choices are correct. C. Describes order in nature D. Is an ongoing activity of humans E. None of the above choices are correct
B.
Strange as it may seem, it is just as hard to accelerate a car on a level surface on the moon as it is here on the Earth. This is because... A. The mass of the car is independent of gravity. B. The weight of the car is independent of gravity. C. Nonsense! A car is much more easily accelerated on the moon than on the Earth.
B.
The force of friction on a sliding object is 10 N. The applied force needed to maintain a constant velocity is... A. More than 10 N B. 10 N C. Less than 10 N
B.
The force of friction on a sliding object is 10 newtons. The applied force needed to maintain a constant velocity is... A. Less than 10 N. B. 10 N. C. More than 10 N.
B.
The scientist to first introduce the concept of inertia was... A. Copernicus B. Galileo C. Newton D. Aristotle
B.
Two billiard balls having the same mass and speed roll toward each other. What is their combined momentum after they meet? A. Twice the sum of their original momentum B. 0 C. Half the sum of their original momentums. D. Impossible to determine without additional information.
B.
Two objects have the same size and shape, but one is much heavier than the other. When they are dropped simultaneously from a tower, they reach the ground at the same time, but the heavier one has a greater... A. Speed B. Momentum C. Acceleration D. All of these E. None of these
B.
When a falling object has reached its terminal velocity, its acceleration is... A. Constant B. g. C. Zero.
B.
When a rocket ship accelerating in outer space runs out of fuel, it... A. Accelerates for a short time, slows down, and eventually stops. B. No longer accelerates. C. Accelerates for a short time, then slows down to a constant velocity.
B.
When a scientist is dishonest and reports false information, he or she... A. Like in so many other professions, will be excused by the scientific community. B. Gets no second chance in the scientific community.
B.
When you jump from an elevated position you usually bend your knees upon reaching the ground. By doing this you make the time of impact about 10 times as great as for a stiff-legged landing. In this way the average force your body experiences is... A. Less than 1/10 as great. B. About 1/10 as great. C. About 10 times as great. D. More than 1/10 as great.
B.
Which of the following is a physical quantity that has a magnitude but no direction? A. Vector B. Scalar C. Resultant D. Frame of Reference
B.
Your weight is... A. A property of mechanical equilibrium. B. The gravitational attraction force between you and the Earth. C. Equal to your mass. D. All of these
B.
A ball is thrown upwards and caught when it comes back down. In the presence of air resistance, the speed with which it is caught is always... A. Less than the speed it had when thrown upward. B. The same as the speed it had when thrown upward. C. More than the speed it had when thrown upwards. D. Impossible to determine
C.
A ball tossed vertically upward rises, reaches its highest point, and then falls back to its starting point. During this time the acceleration of the ball is always... A. Directed downward. B. Directed upward C. Opposite its velocity D. In the direction of motion
C.
An archer shoots an arrow. Consider the action force to be the bowstring against the arrow. The reaction to this force is the... A. Grip of the archer's hand on the bow. B. Friction of the ground against the archer's feet. C. Arrow's push against the bowstring. D. Air resistance against the bow. E. Combined weight of the arrow and bowstring.
C.
An object is pulled northward by a force of 10 N and at the same time another force of 15 N pulls it southward. the magnitude of the resultant force on the object is... A. 150 N. B. 25 N. C. 5 N. D. 0 N.
C.
Arnold Strongman and Suzie Small each pull very hard on opposite ends of a massless rope in a tug-of-war. The greater force on the rope is exerted by... A. Suzie, surprisingly. B. Arnold, of course. C. Both the same, interestingly enough.
C.
Consider drops of water that leak at a steady rate from a dripping faucet. As the drops fall they... A. Remain at a relatively fixed distance from one another. B. Get closer together. C. Get farther apart.
C.
Hang from a pair of gym rings and the upward support forces of the rings will always... A. Add up to equal your weight. B. Each be equal to your weight. C. Each be half your weight.
C.
If an object falling freely were somehow equipped with an odometer to measure the distance it travels, then the amount of distance it travels each succeeding second would be... A. Constant. B. Doubled. C. Greater than the second before D. Less and less each second.
C.
If an object's mass is decreasing while a constant force is applied to the object, the acceleration... A. Decreases. B. Remains the same. C. Increases
C.
If you find that twice as much work is needed to perform a task but it takes twice as much time, the amount of power required is... A. Twice as much B. Four times as much C. Unchanged D. Sixteen times as much
C.
If you push for a half hour or a whole hour against a stationary wall... A. Twice as much work is done during the half hour. B. Half as much work is done during the half hour. C. No work on the wall is done in either case. D. It is impossible to determine how much work is done.
C.
If your automobile runs out of fuel while you are driving, the engine stops but you do not come to an abrupt stop. The concept that most explains why is... A. Resistance B. Gravity C. Inertia D. Acceleration
C.
In science, facts... A. Mean very little B. Are absolute C. May change D. Are more important than theories
C.
Of the sciences known as physics, chemistry, and biology, the basic is... A. Biology B. Chemistry C. Physics D. None in particular, as each may be considered fundamental
C.
The easiest way for you to measure the distance between the Earth and the moon is to place in your line of sight to the moon a... A. Magnifying Glass B. Meter Stick C. Coin D. Telescope
C.
Two factors that greatly affect air resistance on falling objects are the... A. Size and weight of the object. B. Size and speed of the object. C. Size and mass of the object.
C.
When an automobile is braked to a stop, its kinetic energy is transformed to... A. Stopping energy B. Energy of rest C. Heat D. Potential energy E. Energy of motion
C.
Whenever the net force on an object is zero, its acceleration... A. Maybe less than zero. B. Maybe more than zero. C. Is zero.
C.
Whereas impulse involves the time that a force acts, work involves the... A. Time and distance that a force acts. B. Acceleration that a force produces C. Distance that a force acts.
C.
A ball is thrown upwards and returns to the same position. Compared with its original speed after release, its speed when it returns is about... A. Twice as much B. Four times as much C. Half as much. D. The same
D.
A car maintains a constant velocity of 100 km/hr for 10 seconds. During this interval its acceleration is... A. 110 km/hr. B. 1000 km/hr. C. Zero. D. 10 km/hr.
D.
A large and a small person wish to parachute at equal terminal velocities. The larger person will have to... A. Pull upward on the supporting strands to decrease the downward net force. B. Jump lightly. C. Jump first from the plane. D. Get a larger parachute.
D.
A package falls off a truck is moving at 30 m/s. Neglecting air resistance, the horizontal speed of the package just before it hits the ground is... A. Less than 30 m/s but larger than zero. B. Zero C. More than 30 m/s. D. About 30 m/s. E. More information is needed for an estimate.
D.
A piece of rope is pulled by two people in a tug-of-war. Each pulls with 400 N of force. What is the tension in the rope? A. 600 N. B. 800 N. C. Zero. D. 400 N. E. None of these
D.
A skydiver steps from a helicopter and falls for a few seconds until he reaches his terminal velocity. Thereafter, until he opens his parachute, his acceleration... A. Is zero. B. Increases. C. Decreases. D. Is constant. E. None of these
D.
A truly educated person is knowledgeable about... A. The arts B. Religion C. Science D. All of these
D.
An object in mechanical equilibrium is an object... A. Having no acceleration B. At rest C. Moving with constant velocity D. All of these
D.
Compared to the mass of a certain object on Earth, the mass of the same object on the moon is... A. Zero. B. One sixth as much. C. Six times as much D. The same
D.
Galileo's use of incline planes allowed him to effectively... A. Eliminate the acceleration of free fall. B. Eliminate friction. C. Increase the acceleration beyond that of free fall. D. Slow down the acceleration of free fall.
D.
If one object has twice as much mass as another object, it also has twice as much... A. Acceleration due to gravity B. Volume. C. Velocity. D. Inertia E. All of these
D.
The conservation of momentum is most clearly related to... A. Newton's 2nd law. B. Newton's 1st law. C. Newton's 4th law. D. Newton's 3rd law.
D.
The scientific method is most effective in... A. Discovering new things B. Making theories C. Making hypotheses D. Gaining, organizing, and applying new knowledge E. Performing experiments
D.
To catch a ball, a baseball player extends the hand forward before impact with the ball and them lets it ride backward in the direction of the ball's motion. Doing this reduces the force of impact on the player's hand principally because the... A. Relative velocity is less. B. Time of impact is decreased. C. Force of impact is reduced. D. Time of impact increased. E. None of these
D.
When a rock thrown straight upwards gets to the exact top of its path, its... A. Velocity is about 10 m/s and its acceleration is about 10 meters per second per second. B. Velocity is zero and its acceleration is zero. C. Velocity is about 10 m/s and its acceleration is zero. D. Velocity is zero and its acceleration is about 10 meters per second per second. E. None of these.
D.
Whereas Aristotle relied on logic in explaining nature, Galileo relied on, A. Mathematics B. Patterns C. Logic also D. Experiment
D.
Which has zero acceleration? An object... A. In mechanical equilibrium. B. Moving at constant velocity. C. At rest. D. All of these. E. None of these.
D.
While an object near the Earth's surface is in free fall, it's... A. Acceleration increases. B. Mass decreases. C. Mass increases. D. Velocity increases.
D.
A skydiver falls toward the Earth. The attraction of the Earth on the diver pulls the diver down. What is the reaction to this force? A. The attraction to the planets, stars, and every particle in the universe. B. Air resistance the diver encounters while falling. C. Water resistance that will soon act upward on the diver. D. All of these. E. None of these.
E.
