Physics 124A Practice-makes-perfect Quiz Chapter 3

These are the types of problems that you will see on the quizzes. Use this practice
quiz as a gauge for your understanding of physics. The answers are on the last
page. No peeking!

1.A baseball is hit upward and travels along a parabolic arc before it strikes the ground. Which
one of the following statements is necessarily true?
A) The acceleration of the ball decreases as the ball moves upward.
B) The velocity of the ball is zero when the ball is at the highest point in the arc.
C) The acceleration of the ball is zero when the ball is at the highest point in the arc.
D) The x-component of the velocity of the ball is the same throughout the ball's flight.
E) The velocity of the ball is a maximum when the ball is at the highest point in the arc.

Use the following to answer questions 2-5:

A tennis ball is thrown upward at an angle from point A. It follows a parabolic trajectory and
hits the ground at point D. At the instant shown, the ball is at point B. Point C represents the
highest position of the ball above the ground.

2. How do the x and y components of the velocity vector of the ball compare at the points B
and C?
A) The velocity components are non-zero at B and zero at C.
B) The x components are the same; the y component at C is zero.
C) The x components are the same; the y component has a larger magnitude at C than at B.
D) The x component is larger at C than at B; the y component at B points up while at C, it
points downward.
E) The x component is larger at B than at C; the y component at B points down while at C, it
points upward.

3. How do the x and y components of the velocity vector of the ball compare at the points A
and D?
A) The velocity components are non-zero at A and are zero at D.
B) The velocity components are the same in magnitude and direction at both points.
C) The velocity components have the same magnitudes at both points, but their directions
are reversed.
D) The velocity components have the same magnitudes at both points, but the directions of

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 the xcomponents are reversed.
E) The velocity components have the same magnitudes at both points, but the directions of
the ycomponents are reversed.

4. Which statement is true concerning the ball when it is at C, the highest point in its
trajectory?
A) The ball's velocity and acceleration are both zero.
B) The ball's velocity is perpendicular to its acceleration.
C) The ball's velocity is not zero, but its acceleration is zero.
D) The ball's velocity is zero, but its acceleration is not zero.
E) The horizontal and vertical components of the ball's velocity are equal.

5. At which point is the velocity vector changing most rapidly with time?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) It is changing at the same rate at all four points.

Use the following to answer questions 6-7:

A rock is kicked horizontally at a speed of 10 m/s from the edge of a cliff. The rock strikes the
ground 55 m from the foot of the cliff of height H as suggested in the figure. Neglect air
resistance.

6. How long is the rock in the air?

A) 1.0 s
B) 1.2 s
C) 3.4 s
D) 5.5 s
E) 11.2 s

7. What is the approximate value of H, the height of the cliff?

A) 27 m
B) 54 m
C) 150 m
D) 300 m
E) 730 m

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 8. A bullet is aimed at the "mark" on the wall a distance L away from the firing position.
Because of gravity, the bullet strikes the wall a distance y below the mark as suggested
in the figure.
Note: The drawing is not to scale.

If the distance L were half as large, and the bullet had the same initial velocity, how
would y be affected?
A) It will double.
B) It will be half as large.
C) It will be four times larger.
D) It will be one fourth as large.
E) It is not possible to determine unless numerical values are given for the distances.

9. A tennis ball is thrown from ground level with velocity vo directed 30 above the
horizontal. If it takes the ball 1.0 s to reach the top of its trajectory, what is the
magnitude of the initial velocity?
A) 4.9 m/s
B) 9.8 m/s
C) 11.3 m/s
D) 19.6 m/s
E) 34.4 m/s

Use the following to answer questions 10-11:

A projectile is fired at an angle of 60.0 above the horizontal with an initial speed of 30.0 m/s.

10. What is the magnitude of the horizontal component of the projectile's displacement at
the end of 2 s?
A) 30 m
B) 40 m
C) 10 m
D) 20 m
E) 50 m

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 11. How long does it take the projectile to reach the highest point in its trajectory?
A) 1.5 s
B) 2.7 s
C) 4.0 s
D) 6.2 s
E) 9.8 s

12. A physics student standing on the edge of a cliff throws a stone vertically downward with
an initial speed of 10 m/s. The instant before the stone hits the ground below, it is
traveling at a speed of 30 m/s. If the physics student were to throw the rock horizontally
outward from the cliff instead, with the same initial speed of 10 m/s, how fast would the
stone be traveling just before it hits the ground?
A) 10 m/s
B) 20 m/s
C) 30 m/s
D) 40 m/s
E) The height of the cliff must be specified to answer this question.

Answer Key

1. D
2. B
3. E
4. B
5. E
6. D
7. C
8. D
9. D
10. A
11. B
12. C