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Phys 1210 
Phys 1210: Sample Exam Questions

Answers are at the bottom of this page!

Exam 3 Sample Questions

Exam 2 Sample Questions

Exam 1 Sample Questions

Ch. 26 & 27 Light & Color

Exam 3 Sample Questions
Chapters 19-21 Waves & Sound
Ch. 22, 23 Electricity
Ch. 24 Magnetism



1. You dip your finger repeatedly into water, making waves. If you dip your finger ______ frequently, the wave’s wavelength will ______.

(a) more, decrease          (b) more, increase          (c) less, decrease          (d) less, stay the same

2. The distance between adjacent crests of a wave is a measure of a wave’s
(a) frequency.
(b) wavelength.
(c) amplitude.
(d) period.
(e) velocity.

3. The property of a sound wave that is closely related to its pitch is 
a. wavelength. 
b. speed. 
c. frequency. 
d. amplitude. 

4. Which of the following is true
a. Sound waves have different speeds in vacuum for different frequencies. 
b. Sound waves are transverse waves. 
c. Sound waves require a medium for propagation. 
d. None of the preceding. 

5. The amplitude of a particular wave is 1 meter. The "top" to "bottom" distance of the disturbance is: 
a. 0.5 m 
b. 1 m 
c. 2 m 
d. none of these

6. Unlike a transverse wave, a longitudinal wave has no
a.  amplitude.
b.  frequency or wavelength.
c.  speed.
d.  (b) and (c)
e.   none of the above

7. A skipper on a boat notices wave crests passing the anchor chain every 5 seconds. 
     The skipper estimates the distance between crests to be 15 m. 
     What is the speed of the water waves? 

8. What is the wavelength of a sound wave with a frequency of 14,000 Hz? 
      (speed of sound is 340 m/s)

9. What is the period of a frequency of 14,000 Hz? 
       (speed of sound is 340 m/s)

10. A certain type of bird beats its wings back and forth 22 times within 15 seconds. 
      What is the frequency of this motion?

11. Protons and electrons
(a)  repel each other
(b)  attract each other
(c)  both (a) and (b)
(d)  do not interact
(e)   not enough information given

12. What is the resistance of a 12 amp leaf blower designed to operate off of a 110 V voltage source?

13. Electric current
(a) depends only on the voltage.
(b) can pass only through good insulators.
(c) is the amount of charge flow per unit time at any given point in a circuit.
(d) is the voltage supplied by a circuit’s battery.

14. Electric potential
(a) is the amount of charge in a device.
(b) can pass only through good insulators.
(c) is the voltage supplied by a circuit’s battery.
(d) is the amount of charge flow per unit time.

15. Rub your hair with a balloon and the balloon will be come negatively charge. Your hair will now be
(a)     negatively charged because it also gained electrons.
(b)     positively charged because it gained protons.
(c)     negatively charged because it lost protons.
(d)     positively charged because it lost electrons.

16. When we say that an toaster "uses up electricity," we really are saying that
(a) currents disappears inside of the appliance.
(b) electric charges are used up inside the appliance.
(c) the voltage is lowered.
(d) electrons are taken out of the circuit and put into the appliance.
(e) electron kinetic energy is converted into heat energy.

17. Materials such as iron or nickel that are used to make permanent magnets are called
(a)  north poles.
(b)  electromagnets.
(c)  ferromagnetic.
(d)  good electrical insulators.

18. Which statement concerning magnets is false?
(a)  Magnets attract iron.
(b)  The magnetic force is either attractive or repulsive.
(c)  The concept of a magnetic field applies to all magnets.
(d)  Magnetic domains can be found in ferromagnetic materials.
(e)   All the previous are true

Ch. 26 & 27 Light & Color

19. A light wave in the visible EM spectrum has a wavelength of 600 nm (600 x 10-9 m). 
Calculate the frequency of this light.

20. An electromagnetic wave has
a. a magnetic component
b. an electrical component
c. both of the above
d. none of the above

21.  Lightning strikes the ground 5 km (5000 meters) away from you. 
How long will it take the light to travel to your eyes?  

22. An electromagnetic wave has
a. electrons
b. matter
c. both of the above
d. none of the above

23. If you double the frequency of a light wave, its wavelength will be
(a)     doubled.  (b) halved.  (c) quadrupled.  (d) quartered

24. Which of the following types of electromagnetic waves has the greatest frequency?
(a)     microwaves
(b)     visible light waves
(c)     ultraviolet waves
(d)     infrared waves

25. When yellow (red + green) is taken out of white light, the color that remains is
(a)     cyan.
(b)     yellow.
(c)     green
(d)     red.
(e)     blue.

26. The color of an opaque object is the same as the light that 
(a) is transmitted by the object.
(b) is absorbed by the object.
(c) is reflected by the object.
(d) shines on the object.

Sample Exam 3 and Light & Color Solutions below

 

Exam 2 Sample Questions
Chapters 9-10 Gravity, & Projectile Motion
Chapters 11-14 Properties of Matter
Chapters 15-17 Temperature & Heat

1. Evaluate the following statement: The Earth is constantly falling toward the Sun.
A. False, the Earth orbits the Sun, it isn't falling.
B. True, as the Earth falls in, the sun is also falling away.
C. True, the Earth is falling into orbit around the Sun.
D. True, but a repulsive force keeps the Earth from colliding with the Sun.

2. Neglect air resistance. A ball tossed across the room follows a parabolic path. 
Its motion consists of a constant downward acceleration combined with:
(a) an equal horizontal acceleration.
(b) an equal acceleration upward.
(c) a constant horizontal velocity.
(d) an acceleration always perpendicular to its path.
(e) a constantly increasing velocity.

3. What is the weight of a 5.00 kg mass on Mars?  
(The mass of Mars is 6.44 x 1023 kg and its radius is 3.39 x 106 m. G = 6.67 x 10-11 Nm2/kg2)

4. How many atoms does a water molecule have? How many different elements are in a water molecule?
(a) two … two
(b) two … three
(c) three … two
(d) three … three

5. A seawater aquarium contains 1.15 m3 of water, what is the mass of the seawater? 
(Density of seawater equals 1030 kg/m3)

6. Density is a measure of 
(a) how much space an object occupies.
(b) The extent of a surface.
(c) The compactness of matter in a certain space.
(d) How much matter an object has.

7. You are packing up your winter clothes into a storage container. As you pack more and more 
clothes into the container, the container as a whole
(a) gains mass while its volume stays the same and its density increases.
(b) gains volume while its mass stays the same and its density decreases.
(c) gains mass and volume, while its density stays the same.
(d) gains mass while its volume stays the same and its density decreases.
(e) gains volume while its mass stays the same and its density increases.

8. Buoyancy occurs because as the depth in a fluid increases, the fluid's 
a. pressure decreases.
b. pressure increases.
c. density decreases.
d. density increases. 

9. What is the buoyant force acting on a 10 ton ship floating on the ocean?
a. less than 10 tons
b. 10 tons
c. more than 10 tons
d. depends on the density of the salt water

10. Joe runs off of a pool's elevated platform at a speed of 5 m/s. 
The platform has a vertical height of 5 meters. 
How much time will elapse as Joe flies/falls through the air before he hits the water below?

11. The temperature of a substance is a relative measure of the
(a)  average kinetic energy of its molecules.
(b)  arrangement of it molecules.
(c)  bonding between the molecules.
(d)  chemical identity of its molecules.

12. A change of phase takes place at a constant 
a. pressure     b. volume    c. temperature   d. heat   e. none of these 

13. When water freezes
(a) its phase changes.
(b) its temperature changes.
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) it will gain heat from its surroundings.

14.     The reason why the white-hot sparks striking your skin from a 4th-of-July-type sparkler don’t harm you is because
(a) they have a low temperature.
(b) the energy per molecule is very low.
(c) though the energy per molecule is high, the total energy transferred in low.
(d) though the total energy transferred is high, the energy per molecule is very low. 

15. Bridges have gaps built into them for the purpose of
(a)     conservation of energy.
(b)     pressure differences.
(c)     the first law of thermodynamics.
(d)     thermal expansion.
(e)     None of these

16. The Sun's energy is transmitted to Earth by means of 
a. conduction.   b. convection.   c. radiation.   d. all of these.   e. none of these. 

17. A metal spoon can transfer heat from a hot pot of chili to your hand by means of 
a. conduction.   b. convection.   c. radiation.   d. all of these.   e. none of these. 

18. How much heat do you have to add to 2.0 kg (2000 grams) of water to raise its temperature from 10 0C to 30 0C?  (specific heat capacity of water is 1 cal/ g 0C)

Bonus: You measure a sick child’s temperature to be 101.5°F. Before you call a European doctor, you need to convert this accurately to degree Celsius. What is the child’s temperature in °C?

 

Sample Exam 2 Solutions below

 

Exam 1 Sample Questions

1. What distance will a bicycle travel in 8.50 seconds if it is moving with an average velocity of 15.0 m/s?

2. You drop a rock over a cliff and you measure the time it takes to reach the bottom of the cliff 
to be 1.8 seconds. Assuming no air resistance, how fast will the rock be moving just before 
it hits the bottom?

3. For question #2 above, how high is the cliff ?

4.. A ship has a mass of 250,000 kg. As it leaves port, the net force on the boat is 125,000 N. 
What is the ship’s acceleration?

5. What is the acceleration of a bicycle as it changes its speed 
from 1.00 m/s to 10.00 m/s during a time of 4.00 s?

6. How much does a 8.5 kg bowling ball weigh in newtons?

7.  Joey is pulling on a wagon with a force of 100. N to the left and Suzy is pulling on the same wagon 
with a force of 15 N to the right. What is the net force on the object?
(a)  115 N, left.                (b) 85 N, left.         (c) 115 N to the right.                (d) 85 N, right.

8.  If an object has weight will it also always have mass? 
When an object has mass will it also always have weight?
(a) yes; yes      (b) no; no       (c) yes; no     (d) no; yes

9. An roller bladder glides across a gym floor. If friction and air resistance can be neglected, 
the net force required to keep the roller bladder gliding at constant velocity is
(a) 0 N.      (b) the weight of the skater.    (c) proportional to the mass of the skater.    (d) none of these

10.  A block of wood and a wadded up piece of paper were dropped together at the same time in class. 
The block of wood reached the ground
(a) before the wad of paper.
(b) after the wad of paper.
(c) at the same time as the wad of paper.

11. A cannon shoots a cannonball. Consider the action force to be the cannon pushing against the cannonball. The reaction force is
(a) the weight of the cannonball.
(b) the air resistance against the cannonball.
(c) the cannonball’s push back on the cannon.
(d) the cannon moving backwards.
(e) the cannonball moving forward.

12. An airplane flies with considerable momentum. If on the second part of its journey the airplane 
flies at the same speed but is now emptied of its cargo such that its total mass is halved, 
its momentum will now be 
(a) unchanged.   (b) halved.   (c) zero.   (d) doubled.

13. You must quickly decrease the speed of your car to prevent it from hitting a ball that just rolled out into the street. What will happen to the casserole sitting on the seat next to you if it is not secured properly?
(a) It will stay at rest, because the car’s brakes did not act on the dish.
(b)  It will not stay at rest, because the car’s brakes forced it to change its motion.
(c)  It will continue to move forward, until the car’s brakes force it to change its motion.
(d) It will continue to move forward, until an unbalanced force changes its motion.

14. In a tug-of-war between a 150 kg sumo wrestler and a 45 kg ballerina, 
who exerts the larger force on the other?
(a) the sumo wrestler
(b) the ballerina
(c) they exert the same force on each other

15. An unbalanced (net) force acting on an object will cause a change in an object's velocity such that
(a) the object will slow down.
(b) the object will speed up.
(c)  the object will change its velocity in the direction of the force.
(d) the object will change its direction, but not necessarily its speed.

16. A 20.0 kg mass is at rest on a table top. 
Calculate the work required to lift the mass up a vertical height of 1.3 m. 

17. As the kinetic energy of a swinging simple pendulum decreases, 
the ____________ of the pendulum increases. 
a. mechanical energy   b. potential energy   c. total energy    d. horsepower 

18. The 1.0 kg bob of a simple pendulum hangs 5.0 m above the floor. 
Its maximum velocity during its swing is 3.0 m/s. What is its kinetic energy at its maximum height? 

19. Which of the following is a unit of power? 
a. joule     b. newton     c. watt    d. calorie   e. kilogram 

20. How much power is expended when a force of 2 N moves an object 1.5 meters in 2 seconds?

21.  A steel ball is raised off the floor. To determine its increase in potential energy, 
you would need to know all but one of the following. Which of the following is not needed?
(a) the change in vertical position
(b) the time required for the change in vertical position
(c) the mass of the ball
(d)  the acceleration due to gravity

22.  Spider Man has just climbed up the side of a building 75 meters above the ground. 
Spider Man has a mass of 75 kg. What is his potential energy with respect to the street below? 

23.  A 4 kg web, thrown by Spider Man, has a speed of 15 m/s. What is its kinetic energy?

24. An object moving on a circular path at a constant speed is said to be accelerating because
(a)   the direction of the velocity is changing.
(b)   the magnitude of the velocity is changing.
(c)   the magnitude of the speed is changing.
(d) the magnitude of the acceleration itself is changing.

Sample Exam 1 Solutions below!

 

 

 

Sample Exam 3 Solutions
Chapters 19-21 Waves & Sound

Ch. 22-24 Electricity & Magnetism
Chapters 26-28 Light & Color

1. You dip your finger repeatedly into water, making waves. If you dip your finger ______ frequently, 
the wave’s wavelength will ______.
(a) more, decrease 

2. The distance between adjacent crests of a wave is a measure of a wave’s
(b) wavelength.

3. The property of a sound wave that is closely related to its pitch is 
c. frequency. 

4. Which of the following is true
c. Sound waves require a medium for propagation. 

5. The amplitude of a particular wave is 1 meter. The "top" to "bottom" distance of the disturbance is: 
c. 2 m 

6. Unlike a transverse wave, a longitudinal wave has no
(e)   none of the above

7. A skipper on a boat notices wave crests passing the anchor chain every 5 seconds. 
The skipper estimates the distance between crests to be 15 m. What is the speed of the water waves? 
wave speed = wavelength x frequency = (15 m) x (1cycle / 5 seconds) = 3m/s

8. What is the wavelength of a sound wave with a frequency of 14,000 Hz? 
(speed of sound is 340 m/s)
wave speed = wavelength x frequency 
wavelength = wave speed / frequency = (340 m/s) / (14,000 Hz) = 0.024 m

9. What is the period of a frequency of 14,000 Hz? 
(speed of sound is 340 m/s)
P = 1/f = 1 / (14,000 Hz) = 0.00007 seconds

10. A certain type of bird beats its wings back and forth 22 times within 14 seconds. 
      What is the frequency of this motion?
f = cycle/time = 22 / 14 s = 1.6 Hz

11. Protons and electrons
(b)  attract each other

12. What is the resistance of a 12 amp leaf blower designed to operate off of a 110 V voltage source?
v = current x resistance
110 V = 12 amp x resistance
resistance = 9.2 ohms

13. Electric current
(c) is the amount of charge flow per unit time at any given point in a circuit.

14. Electric potential
(c) is the voltage supplied by a circuit’s battery.

15. Rub your hair with a balloon and the balloon will be come negatively charge. 
Your hair will now be
(d)     positively charged because it lost electrons.

16. When we say that an toaster "uses up electricity," we really are saying that
(e) electron kinetic energy is converted into heat energy.

17. Materials such as iron or nickel that are used to make permanent magnets are called
(c)  ferromagnetic.

18. Which statement concerning magnets is false?
(e)   All the previous are true

19. A light wave in the visible EM spectrum has a wavelength of 600 nm (600 x 10-9 m). 
Calculate the frequency of this light.
wave speed = wavelength x frequency
frequency = 3 x 108 m/s / 600 x 10-9
frequency = 5 x 1014 Hz

20. An electromagnetic wave has
c. both of the above

21.  Lightning strikes the ground 5 km (5000 meters) away from you. 
How long will it take the light to travel to your eyes?  
speed = distance / time
time = distance / speed 
time = 5000 meters / 3 x 108 m/s
time = 1.7 x 10-5 seconds

22. An electromagnetic wave has
d. none of the above

23. If you double the frequency of a light wave, its wavelength will be
 (b) halved.  

24. Which of the following types of electromagnetic waves has the greatest frequency?
(c)     ultraviolet waves

25. When yellow (red + green) is taken out of white light, the color that remains is
(e)     blue.

26. The color of an opaque object is the same as the light that 
(c) is reflected by the object.

 

Sample Exam 2 Solutions

Chapters 9, 10 Gravity, & Projectile Motion
Chapters 11-14 Properties of Matter

Charter 15-17 Temperature & Heat; 

1. Evaluate the following statement: The Earth is constantly falling toward the Sun.
C. True, the Earth is falling into orbit around the Sun.

2. Neglect air resistance. A ball tossed across the room follows a parabolic path. 
Its motion consists of a constant downward acceleration combined with:
(c) a constant horizontal velocity.

3. What is the weight of a 5.00 kg mass on Mars?  
(The mass of Mars is 6.44 x 1023 kg and its radius is 3.39 x 106 m. G = 6.67 x 10-11 Nm2/kg2
weight  =  force due to gravity =  G m1 m2 / r2 = 18.7 N
weight  = (6.67 x 10-11 Nm2/kg2) x (5.00kg) x (6.44 x 1023 kg) / (3.39 x 106 m)^2 = 18.7 N
weight  = 18.7 N

4. How many atoms does a water molecule have? 
How many different elements are in a water molecule?
(c)  three … two

5. A seawater aquarium contains 1.15 m3 of water, what is the mass of the seawater?
(Density of seawater equals 1030 kg/m3
Density = mass/volume
 mass = density x volume
           = 1030 kg/m3 x  1.15 m3 = 1180 kg 

6. Density is a measure of 
(c) The compactness of matter in a certain amount of space.

7. You are packing up your winter clothes into a storage container. 
As you pack more and more clothes into the container,
the container as a whole 
(a) gains mass while its volume stays the same and its density increases.

8. Buoyancy occurs because as the depth in a fluid increases, the fluid's 
b. pressure increases.

9. What is the buoyant force acting on a 10 ton ship floating on the ocean?
b. 10 tons

10. Joe runs off of a pool’s elevated platform at a speed of 5 m/s. 
The platform has a vertical height of 5 meters. 
How much time will elapse as Joe flies/falls through the air before he hits the water below?
distance an object falls  = 1/2 acceleration due to gravity x time2
 rearranging to solve for time:
time = square root (2 x distance /
acceleration due to gravity) 
          = square root (2 x 5 m / 10 m/s2)
time = 1.0 seconds

11. The temperature of a substance is a relative measure of the
(a)  average kinetic energy of its molecules.

12. A change of phase takes place at a constant 
c. temperature 

13. When water freezes
(a) its phase changes.

14.     The reason why the white-hot sparks striking your skin from a 4th-of-July-type sparkler 
don’t harm you is because
(c) though the energy per molecule is high, the total energy transferred in low.

15. Bridges have gaps built into them for the purpose of
(d) thermal expansion.

16. The Sun's energy is transmitted to Earth by means of 
c. radiation. 

17. A metal spoon can transfer heat from a hot pot of chili to your hand by means of 
a. conduction.

18. How much heat do you have to add to 2.0 kg (2000 grams) of water to raise its temperature 
from 10 0C to 30 0C?  (specific heat capacity of water is 1 cal/ g 0C)
H = (2000 g) x (1 cal/ g 0C) x (200C) = 40,000 cal

Bonus: You measure a sick child’s temperature to be 101.5°F. Before you call a European doctor, 
you need to convert this accurately to degree Celsius. What is the child’s temperature in °C?
°C = 5/9 (°F-32) = 5/9 (101.5-32) = 38.6°C

 

Sample Exam 1 Solutions

1. What distance will a bicycle travel in 8.50 seconds if it is moving with an average velocity of 15.0 m/s?
speed = d/t

d = speed x time = (15.0 m/s)(8.50 s)

d = 128 meters

2. You drop a rock over a cliff and you measure the time it takes to reach the bottom of the cliff 
to be 1.80 seconds. Assuming no air resistance, how fast will the rock be moving just before 
it hits the bottom?
v = gt
   = (9.8
m/s2)(1.8 s)
   = 18 m/s

3. For question #2 above, how high is the cliff ?
d = 1/2 gt2
d = 1/2
(9.8 m/s2)(1.8 s)2
d = 16 meters

4.. A ship has a mass of 250,000 kg. As it leaves port, the net force on the boat is 125,000 N. 
What is the ship’s acceleration?
F = ma
a = F/m = (125,000 N)/(250,000 kg)

a = 0.50 m/s2

5. What is the acceleration of a bicycle as it changes its speed from 1.00 m/s to 10.00 m/s 
during a time of 4.00 s?
a = Dv/t 
a = (10.00 m/s - 1.00 m/s)/(4.00s)
a = 2.25 m/s2

6. How much does a 8.5 kg bowling ball weigh in newtons?
w = mg
   = (8.5 kg)
(9.8 m/s2
)
   = 83 newtons

7.  Joey is pulling on a wagon with a force of 100 N to the left and Suzy is pulling on the same wagon 
with a force of 15 N to the right. What is the net force on the object?  (b) 85 N, left. 

8.  If an object has weight will it also always have mass? 
     When an object has mass will it also always have weight?
(c) yes; no   

9. An roller bladder glides across a gym floor. If friction and air resistance can be neglected, 
the net force required to keep the roller bladder gliding at constant velocity is (a) 0 N.    

10.  A block of wood and a wadded up piece of paper were dropped together at the same time in class. 
The block of wood reached the ground (c) at the same time as the wad of paper.

11. A cannon shoots a cannonball. Consider the action force to be the cannon pushing against the cannonball. The reaction force is  (c) the cannonball’s push back on the cannon.

12. An airplane flies with considerable momentum. If on the second part of its journey the airplane 
flies at the same speed but is now emptied of its cargo such that its total mass is halved, its momentum will now be   (b) halved. 

13. You must quickly decrease the speed of your car to prevent it from hitting a ball that just rolled out into the street. What will happen to the casserole sitting on the seat next to you if it is not secured properly?
(d) It will continue to move forward, until an unbalanced force changes its motion.

14. In a tug-of-war between a 150 kg sumo wrestler and a 45 kg ballerina, 
who exerts the larger force on the other? (c) they exert the same force on each other

15. An unbalanced (net) force acting on an object will cause a change in an object's velocity such that
(c)  the object will change its velocity in the direction of the force.

16. A 20.0 kg mass is at rest on a table top. 
Calculate the work required to lift the mass up a vertical height of 1.3 m.  
Work = Force x distance (Note: Force = mg = 20.0 kg x 10 m/s2 = 200 N)
Work = 200 N x 1.3 m = 260 J

17. As the kinetic energy of a swinging simple pendulum decreases, 
the ____________ of the pendulum increases. 
b. potential energy 

18. The 1.0 kg bob of a simple pendulum hangs 5.0 m above the floor. 
Its maximum velocity during its swing is 3.0 m/s. What is its kinetic energy at its maximum height?  
At its maximum swing height, the velocity of the "bob" will be zero. ... so its KE at this point will also be zero!

19. Which of the following is a unit of power? 
c. watt 

20. How much power is expended when a force of 2 N moves an object 1.5 meters in 2 seconds?
Power = Work / time 
     Work = Force x distance = 2 N x 1.5 m = 3 J
Power = (3 J) / (2 seconds) = 1.5 watts

21.  A steel ball is raised off the floor. To determine its increase in potential energy, 
you would need to know all but one of the following. Which of the following is not needed?
(b) the time required for the change in vertical position

22.  Spider Man has just climbed up the side of a building 75 meters above the ground. 
Spider Man has a mass of 75 kg. What is his potential energy with respect to the street below? 
PE = weight x height = mass x g x height
PE = (75kg) x (10m/s^2) x (75 m)
= 56,000 J    (2 significant figures)

23. A 4 kg spider web, thrown by Spider Man, has a speed of 15 m/s. 
What is its kinetic energy? 450 J

24. An object moving on a circular path at a constant speed is said to be accelerating because
(a) the direction of the velocity is changing.