This document contains questions that have

been on the Unit 1 Exam in the past. Although

none of these are IDENTICAL to the questions
on your exam I tried my best to ensure that they
cover similar concepts to what you’ll be asked
to do.
- In some cases you’ll see words such as
“Base your answers to questions ___ and
___ …” Because I’ve cut items off the
document recently the numbers may no
longer match.
- For the purposes of the multiple choice
questions please call up + and down -. For
the written response questions you can make
your own decisions.
- Make sure your calculator is in degrees.
 1. A car traveling in a straight line at an initial speed of 8.0 meters per second
accelerates uniformly to a speed of 14 meters per second over a distance of
44 meters. What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the car?
a. 0.41 m/s2 b. 1.5 m/s2 c. 3.0 m/s2 d. 2.2 m/s2

Base your answers to questions 4 and 5 on the information below.

Rick can run a 5 km race in 20 minutes. The starting line and finish line are in the
same place.
2. What is his average speed?
a. 4.17 x 10-3 m/s b. 4.17 m/s c. 0.25 m/s d. 0 m/s

3. What is his average velocity?

a. 4.17 x 10-3 m/s b. 4.17 m/s c. 0.25 m/s d. 0 m/s

4. The graph shows the speed of a truck as it moves

along a straight, level road. Which of the following
describe a method to determine the distance d the
truck travels during the 10 s time interval shown?
Select two answers.
a. Multiply the average speed of 18 m/s by the 10 s
travel time.
b. Multiply half the initial speed of 30 m/s by the 10 s travel time.
c. Calculate the slope of the line in the graph to determine the acceleration a
and then use d=1/2at2, where t is the travel time.
d. Calculate the area under the line in the graph.
 Base your answers to questions 7 through 9 on the information and
graph below.
An object is thrown straight up with an initial velocity v0. The graph
represents the object’s vertical displacement as a function of time.
5. What is the total flight time of the object?
a. 2 s b. 4 s c. 6 s d. 8 s

6. At what time does the object reach its maximum height?

a. 2 s b. 4 s c. 6 s d. 8 s

7. The object’s initial velocity is approximately

a. 20 m/s b. 30 m/s c. 40 m/s d. 50 m/s

8. A lion is running at constant speed

toward a gazelle that is standing still,
as shown in the figure. After several
seconds, the gazelle notices the lion
and accelerates directly toward him,
hoping to pass the lion and force him
to reverse direction. As the gazelle
accelerates toward and past the lion,
the lion changes direction and
accelerates in pursuit of the gazelle.
The lion and the gazelle eventually
each reach constant but different
speeds. Which of the following sets
of graphs shows a reasonable
representation of the velocities of the
lion and
the
gazelle as
functions
of time?
9. A kitten sits in a lightweight basket near the edge of a table. A person
accidentally knocks the basket off the table. As the kitten and the basket
fall, the kitten rolls, turns, kicks, and catches the basket in its claws. The
basket lands on the floor with the kitten safely inside. If air resistance is
negligible, what is the acceleration of the kitten-basket system while the
kitten and basket are in midair?
a. The acceleration is directed downward with magnitude less than g
because the basket is light.
b. The acceleration is directed downward with magnitude equal to g
because the system is a projectile.
c. The acceleration fluctuates because of the rolling, turning, and kicking
motion of the kitten.
d. The acceleration cannot be determined without knowing how hard the
basket is pushed.

10.A diver initially moving horizontally with speed v dives off the edge of a
vertical cliff and lands in the water a distance d from the base of the cliff.
How far from the base of the cliff would the diver have landed if the diver
initially had been moving horizontally with speed 2v?
a. d b. 2d c. 4d d. 8d

Use the graph to the right as well as your

knowledge of physics to answer questions 20
and 21 below.
11.Which of the following is true at time t = 20
seconds?
a. Car Y is behind car X.
b. Car Y is passing car X.
c. Car Y is in front of car X.
d. Car X is accelerating faster than car Y.

12.From time t = 0 to time t = 40 seconds, the areas under both curves are
equal. Therefore, which of the following is true at time t = 40 seconds?
a. Car Y is behind car X. c. Car Y is passing car X.
b. Car Y is in front of car X. d. Car X is accelerating faster than car Y.
13.Can an object’s average velocity equal zero when the object’s speed is
greater than zero?
a. Yes, when the object moves in a straight line at a constant rate
b. Yes, when the object returns to its original position
c. No, it is impossible because they are always equal
d. No, it is impossible because the magnitude of the velocity is always
greater than the speed

14.A rock is dropped from a bridge. What happens to the magnitude of the
acceleration and the speed of the rock as it falls? [Neglect friction.]
a. Both acceleration and speed increase
b. Both acceleration and speed stay the same
c. Acceleration increases; speed decreases
d. Acceleration stays the same; speed increases

15.A baseball is thrown at an angle of 40° above the horizontal. The horizontal
component of the baseball’s initial velocity is 12 m/s. What is the
magnitude of the ball’s initial velocity?
a. 7.71 m/s b. 15.7 m/s c. 18.7 m/s d. 9.20 m/s

16.A ball is thrown horizontally at a speed of 24 meters per second from the top
of a cliff. If the ball hits the ground 4.0 seconds later, approximately how
high is the cliff?
a. 6.0 m b. 39 m c. 78 m d. 96 m

17.A golf ball is hit with an initial velocity of 50 m/s at an angle (θ). What is
the vertical velocity of the golf ball as it lands on the ground at the same
height it was launched?
a. (50 m/s) sin θ b. (50 m/s) cos θ c. –(50 m/s) sin θ d. –(50 m/s) cos θ
18.An arrow is shot straight up in the air. What are the correct signs on the
velocity vector during its motion from launch until just before hitting the
ground?
a. always negative c. positive then negative
b. always positive d. negative then position

19.Which quantities are scalar?

a. speed and time
b. distance and acceleration
c. velocity and displacement

20.A truck, initially at a speed of 22 meters per second, increases speed at a

constant rate of 2.4 meters per second2 for 3.2 seconds. What is the total
distance traveled by the truck during this 3.2-second time interval?
a. 12 m b. 58 m c. 70 m d. 83 m

21.The height of a 30-story building is approximately

a. 100 m b. 101 m c. 102 m d. 103 m

22.A 3.00-kilogram mass is thrown vertically upward with an initial speed of

9.80 meters per second. What is the maximum height this object will reach?
[Neglect friction.]
a. 1.00 m b. 4.90 m

b. 9.80 m d. 19.6 m

23.An airplane traveling north at 220. meters per

second encounters a 50.0-meter-per-second
crosswind from west to east, as represented in the
diagram. What is the resultant speed of the plane?
a. 170. m/s c. 270 m/s
b. 214 m/s d. 226 m/s
 24.Which diagram best represents the position of a ball, at equal time intervals,
as it falls freely from rest near Earth’s surface?
a. b. c. d.

25.Which combination of initial horizontal, (vH) results in the greatest

horizontal range for a projectile over level ground? [Neglect friction.]
a. b. c. d.

26.A car is moving with a constant velocity of 20 m/s. What total distance does
the car move in 2 minutes?

10. m b. 40. m c. 1200 m c. 2400 m

Base your answers to questions 40 through 41 on the graph below, which
represents the relationship between velocity and time for a car moving along a
straight line, and your knowledge of physics.
Determine the magnitude of the
average velocity of the car from t =
6.0 seconds to t = 10. seconds. [1]

27.Determine the magnitude of the

car’s acceleration during the
first 6.0 seconds. [1]

28.Identify the physical quantity

represented by the shaded area
of the graph. [1]
29.A person driving a car suddenly applies the brakes. The car takes 4 s to
come to rest while traveling 20 m at constant acceleration. Can the speed of
the car immediately before the brakes were applied be determined without
first determining the car’s acceleration?
a. Yes, by dividing the distance (20m) by the time (4s)
b. Yes, by determining the average speed while braking and doubling it
c. No, because the acceleration is needed to use standard equations such as
∆𝑥 = 𝑣0 𝑡 + 12𝑎𝑡 2
d. No, because the fundamental relationship that defines velocity contains
acceleration

30.The graph above shows the velocity versus time for an object moving in a
straight line. When does the
object again pass through its
initial position?
a. 1 s
b. Between1 and 2 s
c. 2 s
d. Between 2 and 3s

31.A target T lies flat on the ground 3 m from

the side of a building that is 10 m tall, as
shown above. A student rolls a ball off the
horizontal roof of the building in the
direction of the target. Air resistance is
negligible. The horizontal speed with which
the ball must leave the roof if it is to strike
the target is most nearly
a. 0.3 m/s c. 2 m/s
b. 4.2 m/s d. 3m/s
 32.A hunter shoots a deer at an angle of 53° to the ground with an initial
velocity of 60 m/s. At the instant the arrow is released, the deer runs away
from the hunter at a speed of 8 m/s.
a. How long is the arrow in the air for?

b. How far away is the deer when it is hit by the arrow?

c. How far away from the hunter was the deer when the arrow was fired?

(2006) A student wishing to determine experimentally the

acceleration due to gravity, g, has an apparatus that holds a
small steel sphere above a recording plate, as shown. When
the sphere is released, a timer automatically begins recording
the time of fall. The timer automatically stops when the sphere
strikes the recording plate. The student measures the time of fall for different
values of the distance D shown above and records the data in the table below.
These data points are also plotted on the graph.
 a. On the grid above, sketch the smooth curve that best represents the student’s
data.

The student can use these data for distance D and time t to produce a second graph
from which the acceleration g can be determined.
b. If only the variables D and t are used, what quantities should the student
graph in order to produce a linear relationship between the two quantities?

c. One the grid below, plot the data points for the quantities you have identified
in part b, and sketch a best-fit line through the points. Label your axes and
show the scale you have chosen for the graph.

d. Using the slope of your graph in part c, calculate the acceleration g in this
experiment.

e. State one way in which the student could improve the accuracy of the results
if the experiment were to be performed again. Explain why this would
improve the accuracy.
A ball is kicked with an initial velocity of 20 m/s at an angle of 37 degrees as
shown.
a. Explain in as much detail as
possible how you could
determine if the ball is able
to clear the fence in the
picture. NOTE: You do not
have to actually solve this
problem, just explain the steps needed to do so.

b. Explain what happens to the range, maximum height, and total flight time
if the launch angle is increased to 45°.
A car whose speed is 20 m/s passes a stationary motorcycle which immediately
gives chase with a constant acceleration of 2.4 m/s2.
a. How much time will it take for the motorcycle to catch the car?

b. How fast will it be going at that time?

On the grid provided construct a graph of the car’s velocity vs. time (solid line) as
well as the trucks velocity vs. time (dotted lines). Be sure to clearly label any
significant numerical values.
c.
A soccer ball is kicked at 25 m/s at an angle of 40 degrees.

a. Calculate the total time the ball is in the air if it hits the ground at the
same level it was kicked. [Show all work, including the equation and
substitution with units.]

b. Sketch the graphs of the component velocities vs. time from the time it
was kicked (t=0s) until it hits the ground.

After making an illegal U-turn on Genesee Street, an unknown JD student

accelerates from rest at a rate of 12 m/s2 in an effort to escape the police.

a. How fast will he be traveling after 3.75 seconds?

b. How much distance did he cover in that time

Describe an experiment that could be performed to determine the acceleration due
to gravity. Your description must include:
a. Materials Needed
b. Procedure and Measurements
c. Equations and Graphs
d. Error Sources

(2016) A student releases a block

of mass m from rest at the top of a
slide of height h1. The block
moves down the slide and off the
end of a table of height h2,
landing on the floor a horizontal
distance d from the edge of the
table. Friction and air resistance
are negligible. The overall height H of the setup is determined by the height of the
room. Therefore, if h1 is increased, h2 must decrease by the same amount so that
the sum h1 + h2 remains equal to H. The student wants to adjust h1 and h2 to make
d as large as possible.
a. Without using equations, explain why make h1 very small would cause d to be
small, even though h2 would be large.

b. Without using equations, explain why making h2 very small would cause d to be
small, even though h1 would be large.
12. A projectile is launched from the top of a cliff. The cliff is 30 m high, and the
projectile is launched from the cliff with a velocity of 35 m/s and at an angle of 30
degrees. Air resistance is negligible.
a. Calculate how fast the projectile is traveling right before it hits the ground.

a. Calculate the horizontal distance the projectile travels.