Practice Exam 1 Solutions
Sunday, September 22, 2024 4:07 PM
We know that displacement is the area underneath a velocity-time graph. We also know that anything
dropped falls with constant acceleration. So we can draw the v(t) graph for the dropped ball as follows:
We can see that from 1s to 2s has 3x the area as from 0s to 1s, so the distance travelled during the second
second is 3 x 5.0m or 15.0 m. We pick answer C.
The first thing to note is that this is a velocity-time graph. The graph is also always
positive, so we can eliminate answers A and C because the object never goes backwards.
The fact that the value of the graph increases means that the velocity gets larger, so it must
start out speeding up. Then when the value of the graph decreases the car is slowing down.
We pick answer B.
Since this is a position-time graph, the value of the graph represents where the objects is
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Since this is a position-time graph, the value of the graph represents where the objects is
and the slope of the graph represents its velocity. So we know that the object has a
constant speed and we must find the slope of the graph:
Δ𝑥 7m − (−5m) 12m
𝑣⃗ = ⎯⎯⎯= ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯= ⎯⎯⎯⎯ = 2 m/s
Δ𝑡 6s − 0 6s
We pick answer D.
These are position-time graphs, so the speed of the object is the magnitude (absolute value) of the graph.
Slowing down means the speed is getting closer to zero, so we pick the graph which gets less steep over
time. We pick answer D
As soon as the baseball leaves our hand it enters freefall, which means its acceleration will be -10 m/s/s
on the way up, at the highest point, and on the way back down. We can double check this by realizing that
if the acceleration was zero at the highest point the baseball would never come back down, and if it were
positive the ball would speed up in the upward direction. We pick answer B.
We are not told which direction the object is moving, so its velocity could be positive or negative. What
we do know is that an object speeds up if 𝑣⃗ and 𝑎⃗ point in opposite directions. This means that D must be
correct. C could be correct, but does not have to be correct. The object could have negative velocity and
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correct. C could be correct, but does not have to be correct. The object could have negative velocity and
positive acceleration. We pick answer D.
I like to add numbers to the vectors to make it easier to see the change from one to the next. We are
looking for Δ𝑣⃗ which points to the right, which means positive based on the way I assigned my numbers.
Using the numbers I made up, the Δ𝑣⃗ would be:
a. (+2) − (+2) = 0
b. (+2) − (+1) = +1
c. (+3) − (+4) = −1
d. (−3) − (−4) = +1
We pick answers B and D.
By holding my pen next to the graph I can see the slope at different points. It starts with a slope which is
basically 0 and the graph gets steeper and steeper over time. This means the slope is always increase.
Because the graph curves upwards we know the slope is also positive. We pick answer B.
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Because the graph curves upwards we know the slope is also positive. We pick answer B.
Since these are velocity-time graphs we need to figure out what is happening with the velocities of the
objects. Because all the arrows are the same lengths we know both objects are moving at constant
velocities. The orange object is moving to the left so its velocity is negative while the blue object is
moving to the right so its velocity is positive. This is enough to pick answer B.
This is a straight line so its equation has the form 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑏. Velocity is on the y-axis of our graph so we
replace 𝑦 with 𝑣. Time is on the x-axis so we replace 𝑥 with 𝑡. The y-intercept of the graph is +3 m/s so
that replaces the 𝑏. This is enough to pick answer D.
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We know that when the ball is in the air it is in freefall so it has a constant acceleration of -10 m/s/s. It
starts with a positive velocity which decreases as it goes up (smaller arrows on motion diagram, less
steep y(t) graph, decreasing value on v(t) graph) until it reaches a velocity of 0 at its highest point (no
arrow on motion diagram, flat y(t) graph, v(t) graph crosses the time axis). Then it speeds up in the
negative direction. From these representations we can see that the motion is symmetric: The ball spends
half the time going up and the other half of the time coming down.
Since we know the time and the slope of the v(t) graph we can find the initial velocity:
Δ𝑣 0−𝑣
𝑎 = ⎯⎯⎯= −10 m/s/s = ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Δ𝑡 2.5s − 0
−𝑣 = (−10m/s/s)(2.5s) = 25 m/s
We can then find the area underneath the v(t) graph to find the distance the ball travels on the way up:
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