The Physics Final Exam Consists of 100 Multiple Choice Questions Worth 100 Points

The Physics Final Exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions worth 100 points.

The exam counts for 20% of your FINAL course grade.

You will ABSOLUTELY need a calculator (your OWN – not a cell phone!)

A formula sheet will be provided for you, but you still need to understand how to select and use the appropriate equations.

If you complete this study guide – meaning you answer all questions, define all terms, work all problems, etc. – you will be well-prepared for the exam!

SP1. Students will analyze the relationships between force, mass, gravity, and the motion of objects.

a. Calculate average velocity, instantaneous velocity, and acceleration in a given frame of reference.

How fast is a car going if it travels 500 m in 25 s?

What is the acceleration of a car that has an initial velocity of 30 m/s north and slows to a stop in 10 s?

If a plane traveling a 100 m/s accelerates at 10 m/s2, how fast is the plane moving after it travels 2000 m?

How long does it take a ball dropped from a 75 m building to reach the ground below?

What is the acceleration of a car that starts from rest and reaches a speed of 30 m/s in 20 s?

b. Compare and contrast scalar and vector quantities.

How are scalar and vector quantities the same? Different?

List three examples of scalar quantities and three examples of vector quantities.

c. Compare graphically and algebraically the relationships among position, velocity, acceleration, and time

Sketch the position (distance) vs. time graph for an object falling toward the earth.

Sketch the velocity vs. time graph for an object falling toward the earth.

Sketch the position (distance) vs. time graph for an object traveling at a constant speed in the positive direction.

Sketch the velocity vs. time graph for an object traveling at a constant speed in the positive direction.

Sketch the position (distance) vs. time graph for an object traveling at a constant speed in the negative direction.

Sketch the velocity vs. time graph for an object traveling at a constant speed in the negative direction.

Sketch the velocity vs. time graph for an object with positive acceleration.

Sketch the velocity vs. time graph for an object with negative acceleration.

d. Measure and calculate the magnitude of frictional forces and Newton's three Laws of Motion.

Define inertia. How does that relate to Newton’s First Law of Motion?

What factor(s) affect(s) inertia?

What is the equation for Newton's Second Law of Motion? Be able to solve for either variable.

A small object with an initial velocity of 50 m/s hits a much larger object with a force of 5000 N. How hard does the larger object hit the smaller object?

How much force is required to bring a 10 kg object traveling at 20 m/s to a stop in a distance of 5 m?

A crate is at rest on an incline. If the angle of the incline decreases, how is the normal force acting on the crate affected?

If the mass of an object increases, what happens to the frictional force as it slides across a surface?

Distinguish between kinetic friction and static friction.

Describe Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

e. Measure and calculate the magnitude of gravitational forces.

Distinguish between mass and weight (How are they affected by gravity? How are they affected by distance from Earth?)

When objects interact via Newton's 3rd Law, why do we usually not consider their effect on Earth?

If two objects with different masses are separated by a distance, calculate the gravitational force between them.

How is the gravitational force affected if the distance between objects doubles?

How is the gravitational force affected if the mass of both objects triples?

f. Measure and calculate two-dimensional motion (projectile and circular) by using component vectors.

A baseball is thrown horizontally from the top of a 40 m building with a speed of 10 m/s. How long does it take to land?

If a ball is thrown horizontally with a speed of 10 m/s off a 50 m cliff, how far away from the base of the cliff will it land?

g. Measure and calculate centripetal force.

What is the force acting on a 10 kg object being spun on a 5.0 m rope at a speed of 20 m/s?

What provides the centripetal force of a satellite in orbit around the Earth?

h. Determine the conditions required to maintain a body in a state of static equilibrium.

Given a torque diagram and several forces, determine an unknown force.

How does increasing the radius of an applied force affect the torque?

SP2. Students will evaluate the significance of energy in understanding the structure of matter and the universe.

1. Relate the energy produced through fission and fusion by stars as a driving force in the universe.

Which process would release the greatest amount of energy in a nuclear reaction?

How were nearly all elements in the universe initially formed?

1. Explain how the instability of radioactive isotopes results in spontaneous nuclear reactions.

If a nuclide is bombarded with neutrons, how does it transmute?

How does a nuclide transmute via alpha and beta decay?

SP3. Students will evaluate the forms and transformations of energy.

1. Analyze, evaluate, and apply the principle of conservation of energy and measure the components of work-energy theorem by describing total energy in a closed system, identifying different types of potential energy, calculating kinetic energy given mass and velocity, relating transformations between potential and kinetic energy.

What effect does doubling the velocity of an object have on its kinetic energy?

What effect does tripling the height of an object have on its potential energy?

How fast is a 2500 kg car traveling with kinetic energy of 5,000,000 J?

What is the height of a 10 kg object with gravitational potential energy of 5000 J?

1. Explain the relationship between matter and energy.

What is the relationship between matter and energy?

1. Measure and calculate the vector nature of momentum.

If you have the masses and velocities of two objects, compare their momenta.

Determine the momentum of a 5 kg ball traveling at a velocity of 10 m/s.

How fast is an object traveling with a momentum of 50 kgm/s and a mass of 5 kg?

1. Compare and contrast elastic and inelastic collisions.

What is meant by conservation, as in “conservation of momentum”?

Distinguish between elastic and inelastic collisions.

In which type of collision(s) is momentum conserved/lost/gained?

In which type of collision(s) is kinetic energy conserved/lost/gained?

1. Demonstrate the factors required to produce a change in momentum.

Why do objects dropped on hard surfaces usually break, but objects dropped on soft surfaces usually do not break?

For an object coming to stop after hitting another object, what effect does increasing the time of impact have on the force experienced during the impact?

1. Analyze the relationship between temperature, internal energy, and work done in a physical system.

Given work (W) and heat (Q), calculate internal energy (ΔU).

1. Analyze and measure power.

Given mass (m), distance (d), and time (t), calculate and compare power (P) values.

What factors would cause an increase in power generated?

SP4. Students will analyze the properties and applications of waves.

1. Explain the processes that results in the production and energy transfer of electromagnetic waves.

How is frequency and wavelength affected as you go from radio waves to gamma rays?

What is the speed of ALL waves in the electromagnetic spectrum?

1. Experimentally determine the behavior of waves in various media in terms of reflection, refraction, and diffraction of waves.

Define reflection, refraction, and diffraction.

If a light wave strikes a smooth surface with an angle of incidence of 30 degrees, what is the angle of reflection?

What happens to a wave as it travels from air into water? Water into air?

1. Explain the relationship between the phenomena of interference and the principle of superposition.

Distinguish between constructive and destructive interference.

If two waves superimpose, draw the combined waveform (p399 Q87).

1. Demonstrate the transfer of energy through different mediums by mechanical waves.

How can two waves traveling through the same medium have different wavelengths?

Be able to measure and/or calculate amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period, and speed from a diagram or word problem.

1. Determine the location and nature of images formed by the reflection or refraction of light.

Given a ray diagram and/or word problem, object height (ho), object distance (do), and focal length (f) for concave and convex lenses and mirrors, determine the image distance (di) and/or magnification (M).

SP5. Students will evaluate relationships between electrical and magnetic forces.

1. Describe the transformation of mechanical energy into electrical energy and the transmission of electrical energy.

What device converts mechanical energy into electrical energy?

What device converts electrical energy into mechanical energy?

Why do power lines carry high voltage? How does it get “bumped down” to work in your home?

1. Determine the relationship among potential difference, current, and resistance in a direct current circuit.

Be able to calculate for either variable in Ohm’s Law.

What is the resistance of a bulb that draws 10 amps from a 220 volt circuit?

How much current does a device draw if it has a resistance of 60 ohms and is plugged in to a 120 volt wall outlet?

1. Determine equivalent resistances in series and parallel circuits.

Determine the equivalent resistance if 3 or more resistors are connected in series or parallel

What do you know about the current in a series and parallel circuit?

What do you know about the voltage in a series and parallel circuit?

Find the equivalent resistance (Req) of a complex circuit (p626 Q24)

1. Determine the relationship between moving electric charges and magnetic fields.

How can magnetism produce electricity? How can electricity produce magnetism?

How can the strength of an electromagnet be increased? Decreased?

SP6. The student will describe the corrections to Newtonian physics given by quantum mechanics and relativity when matter is very small, moving fast compared to the speed of light, or very large.

1. Explain light as a particle and as a wave.

How is light like both a particle and a wave?

1. Describe the Uncertainty Principle.

State the Uncertainty Principle.

1. Explain the differences in time, space, and mass measurements by two observers when one is in a frame of

reference moving at constant velocity parallel to one of the coordinate axes of the other observer's frame of reference if the constant velocity is greater than one tenth the speed of light.

As an object’s velocity approaches the speed of light, what happens to time, space, and mass?

1. Describe the gravitational field surrounding a large mass and its effect on a ray of light.

What quantity decreases as an object approaches the speed of light relative to earth?

What happens to light when it encounters the gravitational field of a very large mass in space?