Conceptual Physics

Conceptual Physics

Final Review

Vocabulary

accuracy
precision
dependentvariable
independentvariable
experiment
hypothesis
model
observation
scientific law
scientific theory
unit
standard
x-axis
y-axis
slope
scalar
vector
magnitude
relative
frame of reference
distance
time
direction
position
rate
instantaneous speed
average speed
displacement
velocity
acceleration
free fall
vector
scalar quantity
vector quantity
satellite
projectile
resultant
parabolic path
horizontal component
vertical component
range
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
lever
machine
mechanical advantage
pulley
inclined plane
centripetal force
centrifugal force
temperature
thermal energy
heat
conduction
convection
radiation
conductor
insulator
solid
liquid
gas
condensation
evaporation
sublimation
boiling/vaporization
freezing
melting
kinetic theory of matter
thermal equilibrium
charge
electrical force
electrically polarized
electrostatics
grounding
semiconductor
superconductor
conduction
conductor
electric field
induction
insulator
static electricity
Coulomb's law
electric potential
electrical potential energy
voltage
Electric current
potential difference
electric resistance
electromagnet
magnetic domain
magnetic field
magnetic pole
magnetism
magnet
ampere
voltage source
circuit
electrical power
Ohm's law
parallel circuit
series circuit
alternating current
ammeter
direct current
electric motor
electromagnetic induction
Faraday’s law
generator
voltmeter
schematic (circuit) diagram
oscillation
vibration
period
frequency
natural frequency
wave
medium
reflection
refraction
interference
transverse wave
rest position
crest
trough
wavelength
amplitude
longitudinal wave
compression wave
compression
rarefaction
sound
intensity
loudness
volume
pitch
resonance
forced vibration
Doppler effect
beats
standing wave
node
anti-node
electromagnetic radiation
electromagnetic spectrum
polarization
reflection
angle of incidence
normal line
angle ofreflection
refraction
angle of refraction
index of refraction

Chapter 2

Why is motion considered relative, and what does that mean?
Define speed. What is the difference between instantaneous and average speed?
What is the equation for speed? What are some possible units for speed?
Differentiate between speed and velocity.
Define constant velocity. When does an object have constant velocity?
Define acceleration. What is the equation for acceleration?
How are velocity and acceleration related?
Give an example of an object traveling at a constant velocity and accelerating.
What are the three ways an object can accelerate?
If an object travels at the same speed and the same direction, is the object accelerating?
What is free fall and how does it relate to gravity?
If an object is in free fall, its ______is constant.
What is the value for the acceleration due to gravity?
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?
If you throw a ball straight up, what is the ball’s instantaneous speed at the top of its path?
If you throw a ball straight up, what is the ball’s acceleration at the top of its path?
How do you calculate the time an object will take to travel a given distance in freefall?
How do you calculate the distance an object travels while in freefall?

Chapter 3

29. What is a scalar? Give three examples of scalar quantities.

What is a vector? Give three examples of vector quantities.
Explain how to determine the resultant of two vectors (a) in opposite directions (b) in the same direction, and (c) perpendicular to each other.
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.
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.
Define projectile. Give some examples of projectiles.
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.
How are a projectile’s horizontal velocity and vertical velocity related?
Which component (horizontal or vertical) of a projectile's velocity does not change if we ignore the air ?
At what point in it's flight does a projectile have its minimum resultant speed?
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?
Identify the relationship of different launch angles with a projectiles range (the horizontal distance traveled.)
What is the vertical speed of a horizontally launched projectile two seconds after it is launched?
Explain how a satellite orbiting the earth is actually just “falling around the earth.”
About how fast does an object need to travel horizontally in order to orbit the earth?

Chapters 4-6

What did Galileo say about inertia? What experiment did he demonstrate to describe inertia?
What is inertia?
What is Newton’s first law of motion? Does it apply to objects at rest, moving objects, or both?
Once an object is moving through frictionless space, how much force is needed to keep it going?
How is mass related to inertia?
How do you calculate weight?
What is the difference between mass and weight?
What is the difference between mass and volume?
Your mass is 59 Kg, calculate your weight on earth and moon? Would you weigh more on the earth or on the moon?
What is friction?
What is meant by net force? Draw and label the free body diagram of the four forces.
How do you calculate the net force of two objects acting in the same direction?
How do you calculate the net force of two objects acting in opposite directions?
What is equilibrium and how does one achieve equilibrium?
An object weighs 25 N on the earth. A second object weighs 25 N on the moon. Which has the greater mass?
What produces acceleration?
How is acceleration related to net force?
How is acceleration related to mass?
If an object moves with a constant velocity, what is the acceleration of the object? What is the net force acting on the object?
What is terminal velocity? How is it achieved? What is the acceleration of the object that has reached terminal velocity?
In the absence of air resistance, which will hit the ground first if dropped from the same height, a feather or a brick?
In the presence of air resistance, which will hit the ground first if dropped from the same height, a feather or a brick?
A constant force applied to a constant mass produces a constant ______.
If an object moves with a constant velocity (______acceleration), how is the applied force related to the force of friction?
What is pressure?
How is pressure related to force?
How is pressure related to area?
A woman hangs from a bar using both of her arms. If she weighs 3000 N, how much force does each arm support?
Forces always occur in ______.
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.
A bug splatters against the windshield of a moving car. Compare the deceleration of the bug to the deceleration of the car.
What propels a rocket in the vacuum of space?
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?
How much (in Newton’s) does a 55 kg box of books weigh?
A person weighs 300 N. What is the mass of the person?
If you push with 25 N on a 5 kg box across a frictionless surface, how fast will the box accelerate?
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?
A certain net force gives a 10 kg object an acceleration of 9 m/s2. What acceleration would the same force give a 30 kg object?

Chapters 7

Distinguish between mass and momentum. Which is inertia and which is inertia in motion?
Which has the greater mass, a heavy truck at rest or a rolling skateboard?
Distinguish between impact and impulse. Which designates a force and which multiplies force and time?
When the force of impact on an object is extended in time, does the impulse increase or decrease?
Distinguish between impulse and momentum. Which is force times time and which is inertia in motion?
Does impulse equal momentum, or a change in momentum?
For a constant force, suppose the duration of impact on an object is doubled.
How much is the impulse increased?
How much is the resulting change in momentum increased?
In a car crash, why is it advantageous for an occupant to extend the time during which the collision takes place?
If the time of impact in a collision is extended by four times, how much does the force of impact change?
Why is it advantageous for a boxer to ride with a punch? Why should he avoid moving into an oncoming punch?
You are standing on a skateboard.
When you throw a ball, do you experience an impulse?
Do you experience an impulse when you catch a ball of the same speed?
Do you experience an impulse when you catch it and then throw it out again?
Which impulse is greatest?
Why is more impulse delivered during a collision when bouncing occurs than during one when it doesn’t?
In terms of momentum conservation, why dies a cannon recoil when fired?
What does it mean to say that momentum is conserved?
Distinguish between an elastic and an inelastic collision.
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?
Is momentum conserved for colliding objects that are moving at angles to one another? Explain.
What is the momentum of an 66 lbs bowling ball rolling at 2 m/sec?
If the bowling ball rolls into a pillow and stops in 0.5 sec, calculate the average force it exerts on the pillow.
What average force does the pillow exert on the ball?
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.

Chapter 8

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?
Work is required to lift a barbell. How many times more work is required to lift the barbell three times as high?
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?
How many joules of work are done on an object when a force of 10 N pushes it a distance of 10 m?
How is power increased?
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?
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?
What are the two main forms of mechanical energy?
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?
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?
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?
What will be the kinetic energy of an arrow having a potential energy of 50 J after it is shot from a bow?
What does it mean to say that in any system, the total energy score stays the same?
In what sense is energy from coal actually solar energy?
How does the amount of work done on an automobile by its engine relate to the energy content of the gasoline?
In what two ways can a machine alter an input force?
What does it mean to say that a machine has a certain mechanical advantage?
Draw and describe each of the six simple machines. Be sure to include effort force and distance as well as resistance force and distance. Categorize them as lever or inclined plane
Can a machine increase the amount of energy available.
What is the maximum efficiency possible for each type of simple machine?

Chapter Nine – Circular Motion

What is the difference between a rotation and a revolution?
Does a child on a merry-go-round revolve or rotate around the merry-go-round’s axis? Do the wheels on a bicycle revolve or rotate around the axle?
What is the difference between linear speed and rotational speed?
How are linear speed and tangential speed related?
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?
Does the force that holds the riders on the carnival ride in Figure 9.1 act toward or away from the center?
Explain why there is no actual centrifugal force. Hint: Think Newton's third law and inertia

Chapters 21, 22, 23, and 24 - Heat

Why are there negative numbers on the Celsius temperature scale but no negative numbers on the Kelvin temperature scale?
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.
Why can’t you determine if you are running a high temperature by touching your own forehead?
Which has a greater amount of internal energy, a titanic iceberg or a cup of hot tea? Explain.
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?
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”)
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?
Melting ice causes the temperature of the surrounding air to ______? Explain how your answer can be true.
It is possible to boil water in a paper cup. Use the heating curve of water to help explain how this is possible.
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?
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.
Heat cannot readily escape a thermos bottle, so hot things inside stay hot. Will cold things inside a thermos bottle likewise stay cold? Explain.
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?

Chapters 32 & 33 - Electrostatics and Electric Fields

In terms of attraction and repulsion, how do negative particles affect negative particles? How do negatives affect positives?
What happens to electrons in any charging process?
Give an example of something charged by friction.
Give an example of something charged by simple contact.
Give an example of temporarily charging an object by induction.
What occurs when we “ground” an object?
What are two purposes of a lightning rod? Which is the primary purpose?
How does an electrically polarized object differ from an electrically chargedobject?
If you rub an inflated balloon against your hair and place it against a door, by what mechanism does it stick? Explain.
What is electrostatic discharge?
How can you charge an object negatively by using a positively charged object?
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?
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?)
Why are metal-spiked shoes not a good idea for golfers on a stormy day?
How does one coulomb of charge compare with the charge of a singleelectron?
How much energy is given to each coulomb of charge that flows through a 1.5-volt battery?
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?
If youput 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?
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)?
Give two examples of common force fields.
How is the magnitude of an electric field shown around a charged particle?
How is the direction of an electric field shown relative to a charged particle?
Why is there no electric field in the middle of a charged spherical conductor?
Why is it safe to be in a car when it is struck by lightning?
Explain why the charge distribution on a conducting surface is not always uniform. Draw two examples of non-uniform charge distribution.
What is the electric field inside each of the conductors you drew in the previous question? Why?
Sketch the electric field surrounding two electrons that are 2 cm apart.
Describe how a charged particle would gain electrical potential energy.
Compare and contrast electrical potential energy and electric potential.
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.
Briefly explain how the plates of a capacitor have the opposite charge.

Chapters 34, 35, 36, and 37