Name _____________________________________

PHYSU 121: Principles of Physics I Test 1 9/26/2008

Dr. R. A. Di Dio / Chestnut Hill College

I. Kinematics Graphs
1. Sketch a velocity time-graph that shows an object...
a) Standing still
b) Moving towards the origin at constant velocity
c) Reversing direction
d) Increasing speed at a steady rate

2. A velocity vs. time graph for an object moving along the x-axis is shown in the figure below.
a) Plot a graph of the acceleration versus time.
b) Determine the average acceleration of the object in the time interval 0.0 s to 3.0 s.

15

10

5
v (m/s)

0
0 1 2 3 4
-5
t (s)
-10

-15

3. For the graph of x vs. t below,

a) Sketch the shape of the corresponding v vs. t and a vs. t graphs.
b) Describe in words how you would have to walk to create these x(t) graphs.
c) Describe the nature of the motion (rest, constant velocity or constant acceleration; moving
toward or away from the origin).
x (m)

t (s)

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 Name _____________________________________

II. Multiple Choice: Choose the answer that is closest to the correct answer. Explain your selection

___ 1. Which of the following is not a vector?

A) Displacement B) Force C) Distance D) Velocity E) Acceleration

___ 2. A woman is driving an auto in a straight line at constant speed. What can be said about the
acceleration of the auto?
A) It is zero. B) It varies with time. C) It is 9.8m/s2. D) It is 4.9 m/s2. E) It varies proportionally
with time.

___ 3. Car A travels south at 25 m/s. Car B travels west at 25 m/s. Which answer is correct?
A) Their velocities are the same. B) Their speeds are the same. C) Car A's speed is greater than
Car B's velocity. D) Car B's speed is greater than Car A's velocity.

___ 4. A car is moving at 10 m/s and its acceleration is zero. How long will it take to stop?
A) It will never stop, but will speed up. B) It will never stop. It will move at 10 m/s as long as its
acceleration is zero C) It will stop in 10 s. D) It will stop in 98 s.

III. Problems
Note: Include units for all answers and show your work for all questions.

1. Initially, a car had a speed of 20 m/s in the forward direction at a certain time, and 12 s later its
speed was 6 m/s in the opposite direction. What were the magnitude and direction of the
average acceleration of the boat during this time interval?

4
2. A particle moves in 1-D according to x(t ) = 2t −
3
, where x is in meters and t in seconds
t
a) Determine the average velocity from t = 1 to t=2 sec
b) Determine the instantaneous velocity at t =1.5 sec
c) Determine the average acceleration from t = 1 to t=2 sec

3. When a driver brings a car top a stop by braking as hard as possible, the Stopping Distance is
the sum of a Reaction Distance (the distance traveled during a driver’s reaction time) and a
Braking Distance. If a car is traveling at 30 m/s and the driver’s reaction time is 0.75 s and the
total Stopping Distance is 67.5 m, determine
a) The acceleration of the car during braking
b) Total Braking time

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