Physics Midterm Practice Test

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. Speed is
a. a measure of how fast something is moving.
b. always measured in terms of a unit of distance divided by a unit of time.
c. the distance covered per unit time.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
____ 2. A train travels 6 meters in the first second of travel, 6 meters again during the second second of travel, and 6
meters again during the third second. Its acceleration is
a. 0 m/s2.
b. 6 m/s2.
c. 12 m/s2.
d. 18 m/s2.
e. none of the above
____ 3. Suppose you take a trip that covers 180 km and takes 3 hours to make. Your average speed is
a. 30 km/h.
b. 60 km/h.
c. 180 km/h.
d. 360 km/h.
e. 540 km/h.
____ 4. In the absence of air friction, the horizontal component of a projectile's velocity doesn't change as the
projectile moves.
a. Sometimes true
b. Always true
c. Always false
____ 7. Compared to its mass on Earth, the mass of a 10-kg object on the moon is
a. the same.
b. more.
c. less.
____ 8. You would have the largest mass of gold if your chunk of gold weighed 1 N on
a. Earth.
b. Jupiter.
c. the moon.
____ 11. Forces always occur
a. as single quantities.
b. by themselves.
c. in pairs.
d. in triplets.
____ 13. The momentum change of an object is equal to the
a. impulse acting on it.
b. velocity change of the object.
c. force acting on it.
d. force acting on it times its velocity.
e. object's mass times the force acting on it.
____ 15. The unit of work is the
a. watt.
b. meter.
c. joule.
d. newton.
e. second.
____ 16. When a cars speed triples, its kinetic energy
a. remains the same.
b. triples.
c. increases by four times.
d. increases by nine times.
e. none of the above
____ 18. How many joules of work are done on a box when a force of 25 N pushes it 3 m?
a. 1 J
b. 3 J
c. 8 J
d. 25 J
e. 75 J
____ 19. Which of the following is NOT a unit of rotational speed?
a. Meters per second
b. Revolutions per minute
c. Revolutions per second
d. Rotations per second
e. Rotations per minute

True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.

____ 21. The rate at which distance is covered is called speed.

____ 22. The rate at which velocity changes with time is called acceleration.
____ 23. Momentum is defined as an object's mass times its velocity.
____ 24. The rate at which work is done is called energy.
____ 25. When you whirl a can on the end of a string, the centripetal force on the can is actually the pull of the string
on the can.

Problems

26. A bicycle travels 15 km in 30 minutes. What is its average speed?

27. How much time does a car with an acceleration of 5 m/s 2 take to increase 35 m/s?

30. What engine thrust (in newtons) is required for a rocket of mass 35 kg to leave the launching pad?

34. A 30-kg girl is on friction-free roller skates. The girl moves across the floor and hits a patch of water. The
coefficient of friction between the roller skates and the floor is 0.02. What is the girl's friction force?