High School Physics : Forces

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for High School Physics

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Example Questions

Example Question #4 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

Two dogs are pulling on a bone in opposite directions. If the bone does not move, what conclusions can be drawn?

Possible Answers:

We need to know the mass of the bone to draw any conclusions

The dogs are pulling with equal force, but in opposite directions

The two forces are equal in size and going in the same direction

We need to know the weight of the dogs in order to draw any conclusions

We need to know the acceleration on the bone in order to draw any conclusions

Correct answer:

The dogs are pulling with equal force, but in opposite directions

Explanation:

If the bone does not move, then we know that the resultant acceleration on it is zero. That means that the net force must also equal zero. 

In other words, the sum of the two forces acting on the bone must be zero.

Since the forces are pulling in opposite directions, one force must be in the negative direction.

From here, it's simple manipulation to see that the forces are equal.

The forces are equal in size, but going in opposite directions.

Example Question #1 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

An ice skater skates on a frictionless surface with a velocity of . If no forces act upon him, what is his velocity after ?

Possible Answers:

We need to know the displacement of the skater in order to solve

We need to know the skater's mass in order to solve

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If no forces are acting upon the skater and he is on a frictionless surface, then that means he has no net acceleration.

Mathematically, we can see this relationship from Newton's second law:

Presumably the skier has mass, therefore the acceleration must be zero.

If an object moves with a velocity and there is no acceleration, then the velocity remains constant. His velocity after five second will be equal to his initial velocity.

Example Question #5 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

How much force is required to move a  filing cabinet ?

Possible Answers:

We need to know the coefficient of friction between the cabinet and the floor

We need to know the final velocity of the cabinet

Correct answer:

We need to know the coefficient of friction between the cabinet and the floor

Explanation:

There is insufficient information to solve. Force is the product of mass and acceleration. While we are given the mass, we are not given an acceleration.

If we assume that we are looking for the minimum force required to move the cabinet, then the force would be equal to the force of friction.

Substitute the equations for frictional force and Newton's second law.

Normal force is equal to the force of gravity.

The masses cancel out and we know the acceleration due to gravity is constant.

This equation is unsolvable as we do not know , the coefficient of friction between the cabinet and the floor. We cannot find the acceleration of the cabinet, meaning we cannot find the force.

Example Question #1 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

A car rounds a perfectly circular turn at a constant speed. This causes the acceleration to __________.

Possible Answers:

remain constant

become zero

increase

decrease

not be predictable

Correct answer:

remain constant

Explanation:

Acceleration results from a change in velocity. Despite the speed remaining constant, velocity is a vector quantity and will change if the car changes direction. In rounding the turn, there is a change in the direction of the velocity, but not in the magnitude. This change in direction causes a non-zero acceleration.

The acceleration will remain equal to the equation for centripetal acceleration:

As long as the magnitude of the velocity and the radius of the turn do not change, the acceleration will remain constant.

Example Question #11 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

An object moves forward with a constant velocity. What additional information do we need to know to determine the force acting upon the object?

Possible Answers:

The mass of the object

The force is 

The velocity of the object

The time the object is in motion

The distance the object travels

Correct answer:

The force is 

Explanation:

Force is given by the product of mass and acceleration. If an object has a constant velocity, then it has no acceleration.

If an object has no acceleration, then it must also have no net force.

No additional information is needed to solve this question.

Example Question #11 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

A box slides along the floor with a constant velocity. What is the net force on the box?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since the object is moving with a constant velocity, it has no acceleration. Acceleration is only produced by a change in the velocity.

If acceleration is zero, no force is produced. This conclusion comes from Newton's second law:

Since the acceleration is zero:

Example Question #12 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

A constant force acts on an object, causing it to accelerate along a track, when it suddenly breaks in half. What is the ratio of the initial acceleration of the object to the acceleration of one piece after it breaks if the force remains constant after the break?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Newton's second law states that:

We are told that the force on the object remains constant, even after it breaks in half. The mass of the broken piece will be equal to half the mass of the total object.

Using these values, we can set up equations for the initial and final accelerations.

If the force remains constant while the mass is cut in half, the acceleration of the object will double. The ratio of the new acceleration to the old acceleration will be 2:1. If the question asked for the ratio of the old acceleration to the new one, it would be 1:2.

Example Question #11 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

What force is required produce an acceleration of  on an object of mass ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Newton's second law states that:

We are given the mass of the object and the acceleration. Using these values, we can solve for the necessary force.


Example Question #13 : Forces

A car moves with a constant velocity of . What is the net force on the car?

Possible Answers:

We need to know the mass of the car in order to solve

We need to know the frictional forces in order to solve

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If an object is moving with constant velocity, then its acceleration must be zero.

We can then look at Newton's second law. If the acceleration is zero, then the net force must also be zero.

This means that the gravitational force and normal force cancel out, and the propulsion force of the car cancels out the force of friction. Forces may still be acting in respective directions, but the net sum of these forces is zero.

Example Question #11 : Understanding The Relationship Between Force And Acceleration

Two dogs pull on a  bone in opposite directions. If the first dog pulls with a force of  to the left and the other pulls with a force of  in the opposite direction, what will be the acceleration on the bone?

Possible Answers:

We need to know the masses of the dogs in order to solve

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First we need to find the net force, which will be equal to the sum of the forces on the bone.

Since the forces are going in opposite directions, we know that one force will be negative (since force is a vector). Conventionally, right is assigned a positive directional value. The force to the left will be negative.

From here we can use Newton's second law to expand the force and solve for the acceleration, using the mass of the bone.

 

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