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:
-
All the information given in the problem with correct units (This may include
a diagram)
-
A statement of what quantity you are trying to find.
-
State explicitly what physics principle you are using to solve the problem
-
Solve for the unknown quantity in symbols explicitly before numberic calculations
-
Then substitute numbers with units and calculate the numeric answer
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
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 0 (Measurement, Estimation, and Units)
- Use base SI units and various conversion factors. For example, compute
the number of seconds in an hour, day, or year.
- Analyze the units and dimensions of equations; use units in numerical
calculations.
- Make order of magnitude calculations.
Chapter 1 (Concepts of Motion)
- Be able to state, use, and differentiate the definitions of position,
distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration.
- To learn to analyze the motion of an object by using motion diagrams as
a tool.
- To learn to identify velocity and acceleration vectors (both direction
and relative magnitude) at different points in an objects motion.
- To recognize the relationship between the velocity and acceleration vectors
when an object is speeding up, slowing down, curving, or at a turning point.
- To understand and use the basic ideas of the particle model.
- To gain experience with vectors and graphical vector addition and subtraction.
- To begin the process of learning to analyze problem statements and to
translate the information into other representations.
Chapter 2 (Vectors & Coordinate Systems)
- Explain the difference between vectors and scalars, giving examples of
each
- To add and subtract vectors both graphically and using components.
- To be able to decompose a vector into it's components and to reassemble
vector components into a magnitude and direction. .
- To recognize and be able to use the basic unit vectors..
- be able to express vectors in two and three dimensions in terms of Cartesian
unit vectors i,j,k.
- To be able to work with tilted coordinate systems.
- To understand and use proper significant figures
Chapter 3 (Kinematics: The Mathematics of Motion)
- To obtain a clear understanding of the concepts of position, velocity,
and acceleration in one dimension and the relationships between them.
- To learn to translate kinematic information between verbal, pictorial,
graphical, and algebraic representations.
- To learn the basic ideas of calculus (differentiation and integration)
and to utilize these ideas both symbolically and graphically.
- To solve kinematic problems and to interpret the results
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:
- area & circumference of a circle
- area & volume for cube & sphere
You are expected to know the following conversions (rules of thumb):
- yard => meters
- miles => km
- inches => cm
- kg => lb
- quarts => liters
You also need the following numbers to know to aid in visualization and estimation:
- your height and weight/mass in English and SI units
- The size of your hand
- The number of people who live in the Orlando Metropolitan Area
- The number of people in the US
- The distance from LA to New York
- The distance from Orlando to Miami
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 2001 - 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 in Spring 2001 Test 1 came a week later so it does contain material
beyond what has been covered in class so far.
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 the day physics 121 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?