Study Information for Test 1

Contents

1. Some comments
2. What will be on the test
3. Equation sheet
4. Test format
5. Examples of questions

1. Some comments

On problems, it is important to show how you reasoned from the information given in the problem to your final answer.  The correct final answer with units is only worth 2-3 points.  The remainder of the points are given for the quality of your solution.  You need to include the following to receive full credit:
Extra credit will be given for checks made to see if the answer is reasonable
Be prepared to make reasonable estimations and state your assumptions when solving problems. Be aware of significant digits in your answers. (Keep lots of digits until the final calculation, then round to the appropriate precision.)
Here are some really good tips on test taking from Dr. Richard Felder's website at North Carolina State University.
If you have ANY questions while taking the test, please be sure to ask the instructor. The purpose of the test is not to give you trick problems to catch you in an error. The purpose is to give you an opportunity to "show what you know" !  The test problems are based completely on the reading, the lectures, and the homework.  If you understand the main ideas and how to apply them, you'll do well.
2. What will be on the test
(Items in blue/Items in black will not be covered on this test)

Be sure to carefully review your notes, especially when we do things that are not covered very well in the book. Looking over the individual class days linked to the calendar on the class website will also help refresh your memory. For this test, you should be able to do the following things:

Chapter 1 (Measurement, Estimation, and Units)

Chapter 2 (Concepts and Mathematics of Motion)

Chapter 3 (Vectors & Coordinate Systems)

 

Chapter 4 (Motion in two dimensions)

 3. Equation sheet
Equations:

You will need to know the following equations and under what conditions they can be applied:

You should also know formulas for:

You are expected to know the following conversions (rules of thumb):

You also need the following numbers to know to aid in visualization and estimation:

You will need to be able to derive specific equations you need from these equations listed above. You will also be given any constants and conversions you need. Unless told otherwise, you may use - 10 m/s2 for the acceleration due to gravity.

4. Test Format:

Full period on Friday, February 8, 2002
 
  Part I  
Group Problem using GOAL Protocol
25 points
Part II  
  Multiple Choice or short answer question, typically 4-5 parts 
           (no explanation required, but no partial credit either)		    20 points
  Estimation Problem    15 points
  Short Essay    10 points
  2 Problems based on Homework and Lecture – 15 points each    30 points 
Total
  100 points

 

5. Practice Tests

Test 1 from Spring 2002 - Solution P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, Group

Test 1 from Fall 2001 - - Solution P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, Group

You will need adobe acrobat reader (v. 4 or better) to access these webpages. Note that some tests contain material beyond what has been covered in class so far. Our class will cover only what has been done up to the class before the test.
 
 

6. Some Practice Questions

 
Short essay
This will require a single paragraph answer. Often a drawing or reference to equations will be helpful in your answer. Take care to be very thorough in your discussion.  For example, "Describe the motion of a ball that is thrown upward from ground level at a 30 degree angle at 20 m/s." You should be able to draw a picture, calculate initial velocity components, indicate the velocity at one second intervals, determine how long the object is in flight, how high it goes, where it lands, etc.
Describe a real physical situation where the average velocity is zero while
the average speed is not.
You are helping two friends from another physics class with a physics problem where a cart is pushed up a ramp. In examining the motion of the cart up the ramp, one friend says that the acceleration has to be negative because the cart is slowing down. The other friend says the acceleration can be positive or negative but it depends on the motion detector. What do you think and what would you say to your friends to convince them of your point of view?
 
In the figure below is shown a graph of the velocity of a young boy riding his bicycle as a function of time. Write a "story" describing the boy's actions that lead to this graph (keep it short!) and pose an end-of-chapter physics problem that could be solved using the graph.
Homework and Lecture problems
Take a close look at the problems you've been assigned for homework and the problems we have done in class, making sure you can do them all. You should have carefully written-out solutions for all of them. You might want to review the quizzes also.
1. The diagram below shows a strobe photograph of the motion of a small block sliding in a frictionless spherical bowl. The block is released at point A, slides down the surface to point E, then up to point I. Point E is the lowest point of the bowl.
A. Draw vectors on the diagram to show the direction of the velocity of the block at each of the points A-I. If the velocity is zero at any point, note that explicitly on the figure.
B. Draw a vector below to indicate the direction of the acceleration of the block at point
C. Explain how you know in which direction to draw the vector. If the acceleration is zero, state that explicitly and explain how you know it is zero.
 
2. A skier starts from rest at the top of a hill h m tall down a 30.0 degree ski slope with
an acceleration a.
a.) What is her speed at the bottom of the hill?
b.) If the hill was 250 m high and her acceleration down the slope was 4.00 m/s2, what was instantaneous speed at the bottom of the hill and her average speed down the slope?
c.) At the base of the hill, she continues horizontally for another 250 m before coming to a stop and ending her run. What is her total vector displacement from start to finish?