Physics I: 501 Practice Problems For Dummies (+ Free Online Practice)
Overview
Overcome your study inertia and polish your knowledge of physics
Physics I: 501 Practice Problems For Dummies gives you 501 opportunities to practice solving problems from all the major topics covered you Physics I class—in the book and online! Get extra help with tricky subjects, solidify what you’ve already learned, and get in-depth walk-throughs for every problem with this useful book. These practice problems and detailed answer explanations will help you succeed in this tough-but-required class, no matter what your skill level. Thanks to Dummies, you have a resource to help you put key concepts into practice.
- Work through practice problems on all Physics I topics covered in school classes
- Step through detailed solutions to build your understanding
- Access practice questions online to study anywhere, any time
- Improve your grade and up your study game with practice, practice, practice
The material presented in Physics I: 501 Practice Problems For Dummies is an excellent resource for students, as well as parents and tutors looking to help supplement Physics I instruction.
Physics I: 501 Practice Problems For Dummies (9781119883715) was previously published as Physics I Practice Problems For Dummies (9781118853153). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.
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physics i: 501 practice problems for dummies (+ free online practice)
CHEAT SHEET
Solving physics problems correctly is a lot easier when you have a couple tricks under your belt. In fact, you can greatly improve your odds of getting the right answer if you make sure that what you calculated is plausible in the real world. Another trick is to draw your own visual when one isn’t provided for you — no artistic ability required.
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Articles from
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Physics
Using physics, you can compare the acceleration due to gravity of two different revolving objects. For example, you can compare one planet to another, based on their respective masses and radii.
Here are some practice questions that illustrate this concept.
Practice questions
Researchers at NASA load a 100-kilogram package onto a rocket on Earth.
Physics
In physics, you can calculate how gravity and air resistance affect the vertical velocity of a flying object. For example, if you want a ball to stay in the air for a certain amount of time, you can calculate how fast it has to be moving when you throw it.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
A bottle rocket fires straight up off the ground, landing 2.
In physics, if an object is pushed down a slope, the slope's angle of inclination affects the object's acceleration. For example, when you push a sled down an ice-covered hill, you can calculate the hill's angle of inclination given the sled's mass and acceleration.
Weight is the gravitational force that Earth exerts on an object.
In physics, it's useful to know how to calculate angles in radians. But first, you need to convert those angles from degrees to radians. The following practice questions walk you through the conversion process.
Practice questions
You cut a cake into 8 equal pieces. What is the angle, in radians, of the pointed end of each piece of cake?
Using physics, you can calculate the angular acceleration of an object in circular motion. For example, you can find the angular acceleration of a car's front passenger-side tire as the car accelerates.
Here are three problems for you to practice finding angular acceleration.
Practice questions
When you switch your room fan from medium to high speed, the blades accelerate at 1.
Physics
In physics, you can combine angular velocity with radian measurement to calculate the distance and speed of a moving object. For example, you can calculate the angular speed of a car as it travels along a curve.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
The moon rotates once on its axis in about 27 days.
In physics, when a force is applied to an object and that object is displaced, work is done on the object. You can calculate how much work is done given the mass of the object and the distance it travels.
This can come in handy the next time you have to rearrange the books on your library shelf: by calculating how much work you do, you can justify more frequent coffee breaks!
When you push an object on a slope, you can use physics to calculate the amount of force that is applied. For example, you can calculate how much force someone applies to push a sled down a snow-covered hill.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
Use the following information to answer the questions: A father pushes a sled carrying his child down a 200-meter-high hill with a 32-degree slope.
Using physics, you can find the centripetal acceleration of objects as they move in a circle. For example, you can calculate the acceleration of a ferry boat making a turn at a constant speed.
Here are three practice questions to help you with this concept.
Practice questions
A ferry boat makes a 180-degree turn in 12 minutes.
Using physics, you can calculate the centripetal force of objects that are moving in a circle. The following examples show you how the centripetal force on a revolving object is affected by the object's mass, speed, and distance from the center.
Practice questions
You sit on a stool, stick your legs straight out in front of you, and spin around.
Physics
Using physics, you can show that when two objects collide, their total momentum is conserved. For example, you can calculate how two objects colliding will result in an increase in total mass but a decrease in velocity.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
What quantity is always conserved during elastic collisions but never during inelastic ones?
Using physics, you can solve problems involving constant angular speed. For example, you can calculate how quickly a child is moving on a merry-go-round given how long it takes for her to travel around from one side to the other.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
The second hand on a clock is 0.
Physics
Using physics, you can show how mass and volume are related to density. You can also calculate the specific gravity of a material, such as gasoline, if you know its density.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
You make a cake that has a mass of 300 grams and fits in a cake pan that is 30 by 10 by 6.
Using physics, you can determine how pressure is affected by depth. For example, when swimming, you can calculate the change in water pressure when you change your diving depth.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
The pressure at the top of a pipe full of water is 101 pascals.
Physics
Using physics, you can calculate how much work is done when a force is applied in the opposite direction of an object's motion. For example, if you are moving a crate, you can calculate how much work gravity does as you lift the crate off the ground.
When dealing with calculations where the force has a component opposite to the direction of motion, make sure you remember to include minus signs where appropriate!
In physics, free-body diagrams help you understand how Newton's laws of motion describe how objects move when forces are applied to them. Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
Use the following force diagram of a mass hanging from a pulley by a massless rope to answer Questions 1 to 3.
Using physics, you can see how friction affects objects traveling on flat surfaces. For example, you can use the coefficient of friction to calculate the minimum allowable size of the curve in a road before a car starts to skid at a certain speed.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
What is the maximum speed that a 1,500-kilogram car can maintain without slipping when driving along a section of frictionless road with a radius of curvature of 25 meters?
Physics
Using physics, you can apply Newton's laws of motion to describe how friction affects the way objects move on an incline. Free-body diagrams are also useful in describing the forces that are at work.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
A 5-kilogram crate is placed on a 42-degree ramp and immediately begins to slide.
Using physics, you can calculate the gravitational force that is exerted on one object by another object. For example, given the weight of, and distance between, two objects, you can calculate how large the force of gravity is between them.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
The gravitational force between objects A and B is 4 newtons.
Physics
Because physics describes reality, your solutions to any physics problems you tackle should be able to describe reality, too. You can avoid many mistakes by checking that your answers have the following properties:
They have the right units. If a problem asks you to find a speed and you get 5 kilograms, you know you made a mistake somewhere.
Physics
In physics, you can relate an object's mass, velocity, and kinetic energy. For example, if two birds of different masses are flying at the same speed, you can calculate how much more kinetic energy the heavier one uses than the lighter one.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
Two birds, a sparrow and a cardinal, fly east with the same speed.
In physics, you can find an object's mechanical energy by adding its kinetic energy and its potential energy. For example, you can use the conservation-of-mechanical-energy formula to find the velocity of a cart at different locations on a rollercoaster.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
A particle has 37.
Using physics, you can see how normal force and gravity act on an object as it moves around a curve. This is useful if, for example, you want to find the maximum allowable speed of a car before it starts to slip off a curved road.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
What is the critical speed that a 1,500-kilogram car must maintain to avoid slipping while driving along a section of frictionless road with a radius of curvature of 25 meters and an inclination of 10 degrees?
In physics, you can use orbital distance to determine how long it takes for an object to revolve around another one. For example, you can calculate how long it takes Mars to travel around the Sun, given its distance from the Sun, in astronomical units.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
Earth is located 1 a.
Using physics, you can calculate the orbital speed and radius of an object as it revolves around another one. For example, given the orbital speed of a satellite around Earth, you can calculate the satellite's orbital radius.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
A satellite orbits Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometers above the planet's surface.
Physics
Solving physics problems correctly is a lot easier when you have a couple tricks under your belt. In fact, you can greatly improve your odds of getting the right answer if you make sure that what you calculated is plausible in the real world. Another trick is to draw your own visual when one isn’t provided for you — no artistic ability required.
Physics
When solving physics problems, you’ll often encounter unit prefixes that you need to know. You also need to be familiar with common unit symbols and their corresponding SI units. The following tables list some of the typical prefixes and symbols that you may see.
Commonly Used Unit Prefixes in Physics Probl
Physics
Using physics, you can apply Pascal's Principle to determine how hydraulic systems function. For example, you can calculate how the size of a piston affects the pressure of another piston in the same system.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
In a hydraulic system, a piston with a cross-sectional area of 21 square centimeters pushes on an incompressible liquid with a force of 38 newtons.
Physics
Using physics, you can apply Bernoulli's equation to calculate the speed of water. For example, if you know that a dam contains a hole below water level to release a certain amount of water, you can calculate the speed of the water coming out of the hole.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
A dam holds back the water in a lake.
Physics
In physics, force problems typically ask you to predict what will happen when you apply force to an object, and usually there’s no handy illustration to help you visualize what’s being described. Fortunately, you can create your own diagram so you can better picture what a question is asking you. Follow this seven-step method to solve force problems:
Draw each of the objects you’re interested in.
In physics, you can use torque to solve rotational motion problems. For example, you can calculate how much torque is produced by opening a jar of pickles.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
Torque always points in the direction of what other quantity?
How much torque is produced by opening a jar of pickles if the lid on the jar has a radius of 3.
In physics, you can calculate the trajectory of an object using the velocity-displacement formula. For example, given the mass and initial velocity of a Frisbee and the air resistance exerted on it, you can find the maximum height the Frisbee can reach.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
A baseball is thrown into the air, landing several meters away.
Using physics, you can show the relationship between velocity and power. For example, you can calculate the velocity of a car using the velocity form of the power equation.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
The product of force and what quantity is equivalent to power?
At what velocity is a car moving at the instant its engine is using 2,000 watts to exert 100 newtons of force on the car's wheels?
Physics
Using physics, you can calculate how fast two objects will move after an inelastic collision. For example, you can calculate how fast a skater moves after catching a snowball.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
Object A rams into object B at a speed of 3 meters per second in a perfectly inelastic collision.
In physics, you can use the vertical-loop velocity equation to determine the speed needed to go around a vertical loop. You can also use it to determine the diameter of, for example, a rollercoaster loop.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
A 20-gram mouse is running in a stationary, vertical wheel of diameter 15 centimeters.
Using physics, you can determine how the flow rate of a liquid is affected by cross-sectional area. For example, using the equation of continuity, given the flow rate and cross-sectional area of the opening to a water hose, you can calculate the speed at which the water exits the hose.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Physics
Using Archimedes' principle, you can calculate the volume of an object by determining how much water it displaces. For example, you can calculate the mass of a piece of wood based on how deeply it is submerged in water.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
A block of wood with the dimensions 0.
In physics, you can relate the work done on an object and the change in the object's kinetic energy. For example, if two people push identical shopping carts, but one person does more work, you can calculate how much faster their cart will go than the other.
Here are some practice questions that you can try.
Practice questions
Sam and Eric race each other while each is pushing a 12-kilogram shopping cart from rest, but Sam performs three times the amount of work as Eric.
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