Physics 101 Exam I

October 9, 1997

Dr. Thornton

 

Choose the answer that corresponds to the best response. Each question only has one answer. Please read all the answers before choosing your best response. I recommend that you go through the exam first and circle your answer on the question sheet and then at the end fill out the bubble sheet with a #2 lead pencil. Write your name and the course number on the answer bubble sheet. Write in your student ID number and fill in the dots for that number at the top of the sheet. YOU MUST WRITE OUT AND SIGN THE PLEDGE ON THE BACK OF THE BUBBLE SHEET. THIS IS A PLEDGED EXAM. You may only use a calculator and the one sheet of paper that you brought into the lecture room.

THE BEST CORRECT ANSWER BELOW IS MARKED WITH AN ASTERISK. 

1. Which of the following can be measured scientifically?

    1. The beauty of a painting.
    2. The age of a rock.*
    3. Religious beliefs
    4. Value of a sale item
    5. Meaning of a poem.

 

2. Laws of nature can be characterized by saying that they

    1. arise from repeated observation and testing.
    2. represent our best understanding of how the universe works in certain circumstances.
    3. are subject to change based upon additional observations.
    4. are subject to change.
    5. all the above.*

 

3. A theory is

    1. an educated guess.
    2. a statement that describes how a system will behave
    3. a precise mathematical equation
    4. based on many observations and experiments
    5. a tested hypothesis*

 

4. Which is not an example of pseudoscience?

    1. astronomy and evolution*
    2. reincarnation and evolution
    3. astrology and creationism
    4. evolution and extrasensory perception
    5. extrasensory perception and psychology

 

5. In nature, if one variable decreases as another variable increases, the relationship between the variables may be

    1. vectors
    2. inverse*
    3. direct
    4. scalars
    5. squared

 

6. Which of the following defines a kilogram?

    1. wave crests of light
    2. mass of an alloy kept in a vault in Paris*
    3. length of a rod of iridium and platinum
    4. radiation from a krypton atom
    5. distance divided by time

 

7. What is the approximate distance between Montreal and Quebec if the distance between them is 250 km?

    1. 500 miles
    2. 1.55 x 103 miles
    3. 200 miles
    4. 150 miles*
    5. 100 miles

 

8. The Ptolemaic theory of the universe includes

    1. an unmoving Earth at the center*
    2. an unmoving Sun at the center
    3. elliptical orbits
    4. stationary planets
    5. galaxies with solar systems

 

9. To resolve the conflict between the Copernican and the Ptolemaic theories of the universe, astronomers of the Middle Ages needed

    1. telescopes*
    2. religious freedom
    3. more time
    4. patrons
    5. a quadrant

 

10. Galileo is responsible for the invention or improvement of the

    1. telescope
    2. pendulum clock
    3. thermometer
    4. proportional compass
    5. all of the above*

 

11. The path taken by an object thrown upward at an angle of 450 to the Earth's surface is

    1. a circle
    2. a parabola*
    3. a straight line
    4. a hyperbola
    5. an ellipse

 

12. To calculate the gravitational force between two objects you do not need to know the

    1. acceleration of both objects*
    2. mass of the first object
    3. mass of the second object
    4. gravitational constant
    5. distance between the two objects

 

13. Uniform circular motion involves

    1. change in motion but not change in speed
    2. change in speed and direction
    3. change in direction but not change in speed*
    4. change in speed but not change in motion
    5. no changes

 

14-15. The next two problems refer to this statement. A runner starting from rest

accelerates down the straightaway at the constant acceleration of 1.4 m/s2.

 

14. How long does it take the runner to complete the 100 m dash?

    1. 143 s
    2. 12 s*
    3. 71 s
    4. 8.4 s
    5. 20 s

 

15. How fast is the runner going after 5 s?

    1. 2 m/s
    2. 3 m/s
    3. 4 m/s
    4. 5 m/s
    5. 7 m/s*

 

16. A truck can accelerate from a full stop to 60 miles per hour in about 10 s. How much force is needed to do this if the truck's mass is 1500 kg?

    1. 12.5 N
    2. 4000 N*
    3. 9000 N
    4. 1550 N
    5. 5 N

 

17. A rocket sitting on a launch pad demonstrates which of Newton's laws of motion?

    1. first law of motion*
    2. second law of motion
    3. third law of motion
    4. first and third law of motion*
    5. all three laws of motion

 

18. What has to happen for an object to maintain a circular path?

    1. a fictitious force accelerates the system
    2. centripetal force is inverted
    3. the mass of the object must be greater than its weight
    4. a force must continue to act on the object*
    5. a force must repel the object

 

19. Newton's three laws of motion include the idea that

    1. for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction*
    2. the less massive an object, the more force is required to overcome inertia
    3. every object falls differently
    4. the acceleration produced on a body by a force is inversely proportional to the amount of force applied to the body
    5. there is no gravity in space

 

20. According to Newton's first law of motion, what is the action predicted for an object moving at a constant speed in a straight line?

    1. drop to the ground
    2. stay in orbit
    3. rise to the stratosphere
    4. remain at rest
    5. move in a straight line*

 

21. Which equation would be used to compute a stable orbital velocity for any satellite?

    1. v2 = GM/r*
    2. 2p (r/v)
    3. F = ma
    4. mv2/r = M/r2
    5. F = vG

 

22-25. The following statement applies to Problems 22-25. A golf ball is hit off a cliff in the horizontal direction. Its speed is 30 m/s. It hits the ground 4 s later.

 

22. What is the acceleration of the golf ball while it is in flight?

    1. a(horizontal) = 0, a(vertical) = 0
    2. a(horizontal) = 9.8 m/s2 away from the cliff, a(vertical) = 9.8 m/s2 down
    3. a(horizontal) = 9.8 m/s2 away from the cliff, a(vertical) = 9.8 m/s2 up
    4. a(horizontal) = 9.8 m/s2 down, a(vertical) = 0
    5. a(horizontal) = 0, a(vertical) = 9.8 m/s2 down *

 

23. How far from the base of the cliff does the golf ball land along the ground?

    1. 0 m
    2. 30 m
    3. 60 m
    4. 90 m
    5. 120 m*

 

24. How high is the cliff?

    1. 120 m
    2. 91 m
    3. 78 m*
    4. 44 m
    5. 20 m

 

25. What is the velocity of the golf ball just before it hits the ground?

    1. 30 m/s along the ground away from the cliff.
    2. 39 m/s along the ground.
    3. 49 m/s down
    4. 49 m/s horizontally along the ground away from the cliff
    5. 30 m/s horizontally along the ground away from the cliff and 39 m/s down.*