Name: ____________________

SPH3U PRACTICE EXAM

Part A: MULTIPLE CHOICE - Write the appropriate letter on the line provided. [20]

_____1. Which of the following variables is a vector value?

a. distance d. time
b. speed e. change in speed
c. velocity

_____2. The term "uniform motion" means

a. acceleration is constant d. displacement is constant
b. speed is constant e. velocity is zero
c. velocity is constant

_____3. The slope of the best-fit straight line of a velocity-time graph will determine the
a. distance of the object d. acceleration of the object
b. speed of the object e. displacement of the object
c. velocity of the object

_____4. Abey is on her way to the Rideau Centre from her house. She walks 5 blocks west, 3 blocks south, 6 blocks
east, and 3 blocks north. Her displacement is
a. 1 block [E] d. 5 blocks [W]
b. 17 blocks e. 17 blocks [SE]
c. 6 blocks [E]

_____5. An object is thrown vertically upward at 25.0 m/s. If it experiences an acceleration due to gravity of 9.8 m/s2
[down], what is the object's velocity 3.0 s later?
a. 22.0 m/s [down] d. 4.4 m/s [down]
b. 22.0 m/s [up] e. zero (it has hit the ground)
c. 4.4 m/s [up]

_____6. The force of friction always acts in a direction exactly opposite to the
a. net force d. applied force
b. motion e. gravitational force
c. normal force

_____7. An object moving at a constant velocity must

a. have no force of friction acting on it d. eventually stop due to the force of gravity
b. have an unbalanced force acting on it e. have broken one of Newton’s laws
c. have all forces acting on it balanced

_____8. Newton's third law essentially states

a. acceleration only occurs if there is net force
b. objects won't move unless pushed
c. the acceleration of an object depends on its mass and the net force acting on it
d. forces always occur in pairs
e. objects which are moving tend to stay moving

_____9. How much force would you have to apply to support the weight of an average apple of mass 100 g?
a. 9800 N [up] d. 9.8 N [up]
b. 980 N [up] e. 0.98 N [up]
c. 98 N [up]
_____10. A hockey puck with a mass of 150 g is sliding south along the ice and slows at a rate of 1.2 m/s2. What is the
net force acting on the puck?
a. 180 N [N] d. 0.18 N [N]
b. 180 N [S] e. 0.18 N [S]
c. 18 N [N]

_____11. In which case below is work NOT being done?

a. pushing a car a distance of 0.5 m d. gliding to a stop on roller skates
b. playing a violin in an orchestra e. walking down a flight of stairs
c. pushing against an immovable wall

_____12. The law of conservation of energy says that

a. energy can be created but not destroyed d. energy cannot be created but can be destroyed
b. energy cannot be created or destroyed e. energy can only be burned
c. energy cannot be transformed

_____13. If a pencil falls off the edge of a desk, where does it have the most energy?
a. at the top of the desk d. it always has the same amount of energy
b. as it hits the floor e. it’s a pencil, it never has energy
c. ½ between the desk and the floor

_____14. In the diagram below, a 0.60-kg ball is about to fall to the step below. What is the gravitational potential
energy of the ball relative to the lower step?

a. 30.0 J d. 3.0 J
b. 29.4 J e. 58.8 J
c. 6.0 J

_____15. How much energy is required to lift a 45.00 lb. weight (20.45 kg) over your head to a height of 2.2 m ?
a. 45 J d. 22500 J
b. 440 J e. 75000 J
c. 490 J

_____ 16. If it is 28oC outside, what is the speed of sound outside?

a. 28 m/s d. 5500 m/s
b. 310 m/s e. 9300 m/s
c. 350 m/s

_____17. What is the wavelength of a sound wave that has a second resonant length of 24 cm in a closed column?
a. 6 cm d. 96 cm
b. 18 cm e. 240 cm
c. 32 cm

_____18. A bar magnet is placed on a flat surface, with its N-pole on the right. The magnetic field above and below the
bar magnet point:

a. upward d. from left to right

b. downward e. outward in all directions
c. from right to left
_____19. A transformer is used to transform the 220 V output from a European plug to 110 V for a North American hair
dryer. If the transformer has 48 primary turnings, how many secondary turnings does it have?
a. 12 d. 110
b. 24 e. 220
c. 48

_____20. A circuit has a 120-V source. If the current is 10.0 A, the resistance in the circuit must be
a. 10.0  d. 120.0 
b. 0.083  e. 12.0 
c. 1200 

Part B: Problems

1. A golf ball rolls up a steep hill. It is initially travelling at 17 m/s [N] and slows down with an acceleration of
-1.5 m/s2 [N]. Find its displacement after 2.0 seconds.

2. At work one night Alex tripped and threw a tray of sushi across the dining room. If he launched the tray with a
speed of 2.8 m/s [forward, [14o above the horizontal]] and from a height of 1.6 m above the floor, how far ahead
of him did the tray land on the floor?

3. A box of mass 2.4 kg is pushed along a tabletop resulting in an acceleration of 1.2 m/s2 [forward] against a
frictional force of 1.22 N. What is the applied force acting on the box?

4. What is the applied force required to lift a 5.0 kg weight to 1.8 m in height at a constant velocity?

5. Mike and his snowboard have a total mass of 68 kg. At one point during his ride down a frictionless hill, he is
12.0 m higher than the bottom of the hill and moving at a speed of 7.5 m/s. How fast will Mike be moving
when he reaches the bottom of the hill?

6. What is Yuyang’s power output if he has a mass of 60.0 kg and climbs up a 12.0-m rope in 10.0 s?

7. Jennie goes to a wishing well for good luck for her physics exam. She drops in a penny and it makes 2 cm
waves in the water, that move at a speed of 20 cm/s. Determine the period and frequency of the water waves.

8. What would be the first resonant length of a closed column if the air temperature in the column was 22oC, and
the frequency of the sound was 124 Hz ?

Load # Potential Current Resistance

9. Solve the following circuit: Difference (A) (Ohms)
(V)
1
2
3
4
Total
 PART C: Graphs/Diagrams

10. Hugh is out on his Friday morning run. He travels 3.0km [N] in 14 minutes at a constant velocity, stops for a
minute to rest and have some water, then turns and travels 3.0km [S] to get back home in 13 minutes, again at a
constant velocity. Sketch a position-time and velocity-time graph for his run

11. Draw a free-body diagram for each object.

a) A tennis ball while it is being hit forward and downward by the racket.
b) A tennis ball as it is fall over the net.
c) A runner moving forward at a constant velocity.
d) A soccer ball rolling across the grass and slowing down.

12. Assuming the cart was pulled up to point A, then left to fall (V1 = 0) determine the point on the roller coaster
diagram:
a) that has the most kinetic energy
b) that has the most gravitational energy (there are 2 points)
c) that has both types of energy (there’s more than one point)
d) that would be impossible to reach in real-life (the roller coaster couldn’t do this!)

13. Draw the wave that results from the interference of the two waves below.

14. Draw the magnetic field lines around each current-carrying wire.

a) b)

15. Determine the direction of rotation of each motor.

b)
a)