SPH3U December 2014 Exam Practice Problems

Constants and formulae (These will be provided):

v v 2 v1

v
a av

t
t
t
v

d
t

d d 2 d 1

f b f 2 f1

v f

v = 332 m/s + 0.6T

Speed of light:
c = 3.0 108 m/s

T
f1 L2 d 2

1
f2
L1 d1
T2

1
f

f2

f 1v s
v s vo

2
1

Prefixes: (You should know the prefixes that are in bold type)
giga (G)

mega
(M)

kilo (k)

hecto (h)

deca
(da)

deci (d)

centi (c)

milli
(m)

micro
()

nano (n)

pico (p)

109

106

103

102

101

10-1

10-2

10-3

10-6

10-9

10-12

Measurement, Unit Conversions, Significant Figures

1. Gabes family car has an unconventional speedometer, displaying speed in metres per second. If Gabe
goes for a joyride and drives 13.5 m/s, how fast is he going in km/h? (48.6 km/h)

2. Asha discovers a mysterious new radioactive element and names it Calvinebertsium, observing that it
loses 0.00350 kg of mass every week. Express this number in terms of micrograms/minute (g/min).
(347 g/min)

Waves and Sound Unit

3. Anna Maria falls through the ice on a cold winter day (-5 C) and 400 m away from her sled dog
team. Meanwhile, Jessica finds herself menaced by a Great White Loan shark while swimming in the
Gulf of Mexico (30 C), 400 m away from Lauren the lifeguard. If both of them call for help, who
will be heard first (by the sled dog team, or by the lifeguard), and how much faster will the cry arrive
(in seconds)? (Jessica, by 0.073 s)

4. Riley sings a note while sitting on a float in the annual Chanukah/Santa Claus parade, with perfect
pitch, at 400 Hz, and Vince hears it as a 420 Hz note. Assuming the speed of sound is 344 m/s, how
fast is the float moving, and is he moving away or towards Vince? (16.4 m/s, moving towards)

5. Maude discovers an open-ended pipe that is 75 cm long, and, after beating off Cara and Cassandra for
possession of it, decides that it would be perfect for making a wind instrument. Assuming a speed of
sound of 344 m/s, what are the wavelengths and frequencies of the first 3 resonant modes for the
tube? Sketch the resulting standing wave for each resonant mode. (1.5 m, 229 Hz; 0.75 m, 459 Hz;
0.5 m, 688 Hz)

Kinematics (Motion) Unit

6. Elliot tests out his prototype stealth longboard, increasing speed smoothly from a stop to 15 m/s in
just 10 s. (a) Sketch a velocity-time graph, and use this to also sketch position-time and accelerationtime graphs, and a motion map for his motion. Find values for and label on your graphs the
following: initial and final velocities, initial and final positions, and acceleration (0 m/s, 15 m/s
[fwd], 0 m, 75 m [fwd], 1.5 m/s 2 [fwd]) . (b) Find his displacement by using your velocity-time
graph. (displacement is 75 m [fwd])

7. Quinnton and Quincy discover one of Elliots abandoned earlier ideas, a stealth wheelchair, and are
later observed slowing down smoothly from 15 m/s to 5 m/s at 2 m/s 2. (a) How long does it take for
them to reach their final velocity? (5 s) (b) Draw velocity-time, position-time and acceleration-time
graphs for their motion, assuming that the position at which they begin slowing is the origin. (b) Find
their displacement while slowing down by using your velocity-time graph. (displacement is 50 m
[fwd])

8. A white mouse, starting 30 m [N] of its hole (the origin) scampers toward its hole at a constant
velocity of 2.0 m/s [S]. A black cat, starting 60 m [N] of the hole, starts running at exactly the same
time at a constant velocity of 5.0 m/s [S]. Using the mouse hole as the origin, sketch the position-time
graphs and the velocity-time graphs for this wildlife drama (draw the position-time graphs for both
cat and mouse coming all the way back to the hole). Use the velocity-time graph to determine the
mouses displacement when the cat reaches the hole. (24 m [S])