High School Physics : High School Physics

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for High School Physics

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Net Force

Miguel pushes a box with  of force to the left. His sister Alexis pushes with  of force to the right. What is the net force on the box?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We need to look at the net force, which is the sum of the other forces:

Since Alexis and Miguel are pushing with the same value but in opposite directions, make one of these forces negative:

Therefore, the net force upon the object is .

Example Question #11 : Calculating Force

A dog bites down on a chew toy with  of force. What is the force of the chew toy on the dog?

Possible Answers:

We need more information to solve

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use Newton's third law to solve this question. The force of the dog on the chew toy is equal in magnitude, but opposite of direction, to the force of the chew toy acting on the dog.

That means that .

Using our given values for find the force of the chew toy.

Example Question #11 : Net Force

Screen_shot_2013-12-27_at_1.15.43_am

If the mass of the object is  and , what is the normal force on the object?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The normal force is always perpendicular to the surface upon which the object is moving, and is pointed away from said surface. That means we are looking for the value for Z in the diagram.

Observe that Z and Y are equal, but opposite forces.

If we can solve for Y, then we can find Z.

We can use our understanding of trigonometry to find an equation for Y.

If we plug in  for the angle, we see:

Since we are solving for Y, we can multiply both sides by W.

Now that we know an equation for Y, we can return to our original equation to solve for Z.

From here, we can use Newton's second law to find the value of W, the total force of gravity.

Substitute this into our equation for Z.

Now we can solve for Z using the values given in the question for the angle, mass, and gravity.

Example Question #12 : Net Force

Screen_shot_2013-12-27_at_1.15.43_am

If the mass of the object is  and , what is the normal force on the object?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The normal force is always perpendicular to the surface upon which the object is moving, and is pointed away from said surface. That means we are looking for the value for Z in the diagram.

Observe that Z and Y are equal, but opposite forces.

If we can solve for Y, then we can find Z.

We can use our understanding of trigonometry to find an equation for Y.

If we plug in  for the angle, we see:

Since we are solving for Y, we can multiply both sides by W.

Now that we know an equation for Y, we can return to our original equation to solve for Z.

From here, we can use Newton's second law to find the value of W, the total force of gravity.

Substitute this into our equation for Z.

Now we can solve for Z using the values given in the question for the angle, mass, and gravity.

Example Question #13 : Calculating Force

The force acting upon a crate is . If the mass of the crate is , what is the acceleration?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

For this problem use Newton's second law:

We are given the total force and the mass, allowing us to solve for the acceleration.

Example Question #16 : Calculating Force

Two dogs pull on a bone. One pulls with  of force to the right and one pulls with  of force to the left. What is the net force on the bone?

Possible Answers:

We must know the mass of the bone to solve

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Force is a vector quantity, meaning that both magnitude and direction are important factors. Net force is calculated by summing all of the forces acting on an object.

For this question, we will assign "to the right" as the positive direction and "to the left" as the negative direction. Under these conditions, we can add the given forces to find the net force.

This means that it has a net force of  to the left.

Example Question #571 : High School Physics

Screen_shot_2013-12-27_at_1.15.43_am

Which of the following represents the force due to friction?

Possible Answers:

Y

Z

V

X

P

Correct answer:

V

Explanation:

The force due to friction will always be parallel to the surface upon which the object is traveling. It will come directly from the center of the object, and be pointed in the opposite direction to the motion of the object.

In this diagram, V is pointed parallel to the surface and opposite to the direction of motion.

Example Question #572 : High School Physics

Screen_shot_2013-12-27_at_1.15.43_am

Which of the following represents the force due to gravity?

Possible Answers:

Z

V

X

W

Y

Correct answer:

W

Explanation:

Remember, in a force diagram, forces come from the center of the object. The force of gravity will always be straight down from the center of the object.

In this diagram, W is pointed directly downward.

Example Question #573 : High School Physics

Screen_shot_2013-12-27_at_1.15.43_am

What is the value of angle within the triangle made by X, W, and Y?

Possible Answers:

More information is needed

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When working in an inclined plane, when we break our force due to gravity into components, the angle at the top that triangle will be equal to the angle of the inclined plane.

In the diagram, the total force due to gravity is given by WX represents the horizontal component, and is parallel to the surface of the plane. Y represents the vertical component, and is perpendicular to the surface of the plane. X and Y thus create a right angle, with W as the hypotenuse. By turning this triangle such that the right angle aligns with the right angle of the inclined plane (between Q and P), we can see that W aligns with the incline surface and Y aligns with the base, P. Based on these alignments, the angle between W and Y must be equal to the angle between the surface and P; thus, .

Example Question #574 : High School Physics

Screen_shot_2013-12-27_at_1.15.43_am

Which of the following represents the normal force?

Possible Answers:

-W

Q

Z

X

V

Correct answer:

Z

Explanation:

The normal force is always perpendicular to the surface on which the object is placed, and is pointed away from said surface.

In this diagram, Z is the only force that is perpendicular to the surface and in the upward direction. This force must counteract the vertical force of gravity, which will be perpendicular to the surface in the downward direction (Y).

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors