Study Guide

C164: Introduction to Physics

How to Use This Study Guide
This study guide is designed to work in conjunction with your course textbook and
related chapter activities. Once you have completed all of the course readings and
activities, use this study guide as a review tool before taking your assessments. To
begin, you must enroll in Mastering Physics.
To complete the chapter review questions, provide a response to each question that
sufficiently answers the question and will be useful in your review before taking
your assessments. Answer these questions thoroughly in your own words to best
utilize your study guide. Use the recorded videos and Conceptual Physics e-text in
VitalSource as resources. Likewise, there are some questions that encourage you to
utilize our list of physics equations and to read through our series of example
problems with detailed step-by-step solutions. If you find a question that you cannot
answer, please reach out to your course mentor for additional clarification and
support.

Nature and Process of Science

1. How are the scientific method and the process of science used to solve
problems?
2. Complete the following chart by describing each component of the scientific
method:
Term
observati
on
question
hypothes
is
predictio
n
experime
nt
conclusio
n

Description

3. How can we tell if a hypothesis is scientific or not?

4. Complete the following chart by differentiating between the following terms:

Term
fact
hypothe
sis
theory
law

Description

5. Why is evidence such a crucial part of the process of scientific inquiry?

6. Define controlled experiment and scientific model.
7. How are controlled experiments and scientific models used within science?
8. Why is physics considered to be a foundation for other sciences?
9. Complete the following chart by describing the relationship between physics
and these other scientific disciplines:
Scientific
Discipline
biology
chemistry
geology
astronomy

Relationship to Physics

10.Define inverse and direct relationships and explain the difference between
the two.
11.Complete the following chart of these simple geometrical calculations (use
the Equation Sheet & Appendix A in the e-text as a reference):
Measurement
circumference of a circle with a radius of 2 cm
area of a circle a radius of 2 cm
area of a square with a side length of 2 cm
area of a rectangle with a length of 2 cm and a
width of 0.5 cm
volume of a cube a side length of 2 cm
volume of a sphere a radius of 2 cm

Answer

Forces and Motion

1. Fill out the following chart by providing a description and example for each of
Newtons Laws:
Law
Newtons First
Law

Description

Example

Newtons Second
Law
Newtons Third
Law
2. Fill out the following chart by providing a definition for each term:
Term
distance
speed
velocity
accelerati
on
free fall

Definition

3. Differentiate between a scalar and a vector then provide an example of each.

Refer to Mastering Physics for similar practice problems to the next three
questions.
4. Solve the following equilibrium problem using Newtons First Law:
Two teams (team A and B) are competing in a tug-o-war. Team A is pulling
with a force of
15000N and Team B with a force
of 15200N. Draw a force diagram and calculate the net force on the rope. If
each team member weighs 100N and there are 5 members per team, what is
the acceleration of the rope?
5. Draw a free-body diagram and calculate the net force on an object for the
following problem:
A 150kg swimmer pushes off a 2000kg boat with a force of 120N. How much
does the boat accelerate, ignoring water resistance?
6.

Solve the following motion problem using Newtons Second Law:

Saturn has a mass of 5.6836x1026kg and a radius of 30,000km. How much
does a 120kg person weigh on Saturn? How much does the same person
weigh on the surface of the earth? The radius of the earth is 6,371km and has
a mass of 5.9x1024kg

Energy and Momentum

1. Fill out this chart by providing a definition for each term:
Term

momentum
impulse
conservation of
momentum
force

Definition

work
power
energy
potential energy
kinetic energy
conservation of energy
Refer to Mastering Physics for similar practice problems to the next five questions.
2. A baseball player pops a ball straight up leaving his bat at 20 m/s. Use
conservation of energy to calculate the maximum height the ball reaches.
3. A rollercoaster reaches a maximum height of 75m and low point of 5m above
the ground. What is the maximum speed of the rollercoaster if it was nearly
at rest at its highest point?
4. A cannon ball is fired straight upwards and reaches a maximum height of
2000m. Using conservation of energy, what is the speed of the ball when it
leaves the cannon?
5. A 120kg football player running at 8m/s to the right collides head on with a
100kg player running at 6m/s to the left. If the two players experience an
inelastic collision, what direction and velocity do they travel at after the
collision?
6. A billiard ball weighs approximately 160g. A cue ball initially has a speed of
3m/s when it strikes the 8 ball. After the collision the cue ball is at rest.
a. What is the speed of the ball after the collision?
b. What would the speed of the cue ball be after the collision if the 8 ball
were moving at 2 m/s after the collision?
c. If the cue ball has a mass of 160g and the 8 ball has a mass of 170g, if
after the collision the cue ball is at rest, what is the speed of the 8 ball?

Rotational Motion
1. Fill out this chart by providing a definition for each term:
Term

tangential speed
rotational speed
rotational inertia
torque
centripetal force
angular momentum
law of conservation of angular
momentum

Definition

Refer to Mastering Physics for similar practice problems to the next five questions.
2. A car speedometer reads speed as being proportional to the rotational speed
of its wheels. If larger wheels are used, will the speedometer reading be high,
low, or no different?
3. If torque equals the length of the lever arm times the force applied, what is
the torque on a wrench with a length of 0.25 m if a 50N force is applied?
4. Calculate the force in a horizontal string that whirls a 2.5-kg mass in a circle
of radius 2.3 m when it moves at 2.9 m/s on a frictionless surface.
5. Angular momentum equals the mass of an object times the tangential
velocity times the radius. Calculate the angular momentum of the person if
the force of friction that keeps a 95-kg person sitting on the edge of a
horizontal rotating platform when the person sits 1.7 m from the center of the
platform and has a tangential speed of 3.6 m/s .
6. A 40 kg mass is attached to a frictionless pulley. What is the length of rope
required needed for a 20kg mass to keep the larger mass from falling to the
ground? (Hint: You will need to use the acceleration due to gravity and use
torque.)

Gravity
1. Explain gravitational force and what happens to it when there is a change in
mass and/or distance.
2. How is gravity an example of an inverse-square law?
3. Two objects are brought close enough together to experience a gravitational
force. If one of the object's mass is doubled and the distance between the
two objects is reduced to 1/6th of its original distance, by what factor would
the gravity change?

Electrostatics
1. For Coulombs Law:
a. Present the equation.
b. Explain what happens to the electrical force between two charged objects
when the charges on those objects and/or the distance between them is
increased.
c. Explain ways that objects can become electrically charged.
2. Two charges with charges of +2 and -4 are separated by a distance, d. How
much is the force increased if the distance is reduced to 1/8d?
3. Which group of charges would experience the greater force, (a) two charges
with charges of -2 and +3 separated by a distance of 1/6d or (b) two charges
of -4 and -6 separated by a distance of 2d?

4. Fill out this chart by providing a definition for each term:

Term

Definition

electric field
electric potential energy
electric potential
Refer to Mastering Physics for similar practice problems to the next two questions.
5. The charge of an electron can be denoted by the symbol e and a proton by
+e. If an atom has 10 protons it has a charge of 10e. How many electrons
must if have to be neutral? If 3 electrons are stripped from the atom, what is
the charge of the atom? Why cant one remove protons from the atom?

6. Consider an electron directly in between two protons so that all 3 particles

are in a line. If one of the protons is 1 nm from the electron and the other
proton is 2 nm from the electron, what is the net force on the electron?

Electric Currents
1. What condition is necessary in order to cause charge to flow?
2. What is electrical resistance?
a. What are characteristics of wires that have a large electrical resistance?
3. For Ohms Law:
a. Explain what happens to the electrical current in a circuit when the voltage or
resistance of the circuit is increased.
4. What is the difference between direct current and alternating current?
a. Name one producer of direct current and one producer of alternating current.
5. For parallel and series circuits:
a. Draw an example of a simple parallel circuit and then a simple series circuit.
b. For the simple series circuit, which resistors have the most current passing
through them? Which resistors have the largest voltage drop across them?
c. Calculate the total resistance of the simple series circuit that you drew.
d. For the simple parallel circuit, which resistors have the most current passing
through them? Which resistors have the largest voltage drop across them?
Refer to Mastering Physics for similar practice problems to the next two questions.
6. For a series circuit with a 9 V power source and three resistors of 100 ohms, 300
ohms, and 50 ohms calculate the current using Ohm's Law, V = IR, where V is
voltage, I is current, and R is resistance.
7. For a parallel circuit with a 9 V power source and three separate branches, the
first branch with a 3 ohm resistor, the second with a 5 ohm resistor, and the third

branch with a 6 ohm resistor, calculate the total resistance for the circuit, then
the current using Ohm's Law, V = IR, where V is voltage, I is current, and R is
resistance.

Magnetic Forces and Fields

1. What creates a magnetic force?
2. How would someone create a strong bar magnet?
3. How would someone create a strong electromagnet?
4. For electromagnetic induction:
a. Explain how electromagnetic induction takes place.
b. If you were inducing a voltage in a coil of wire via electromagnetic
induction, how would you induce the largest possible voltage?
5. Complete the following chart by explaining how each of the following
electrical devices works and what it does:
Electrical Device
capacitor
resistor
transformer
generator
motor
fuse
diode

Operation and Functions

6. An ideal transformer has 50 turns in its primary and 250 turns in its
secondary. 12 V ac is connected to the primary. Which of the following gives
the correct voltage available at the secondary coil?

Waves and Harmonic Motion

1. For the concept of simple harmonic motion:
a. What is simple harmonic motion?
b. Give an example of something that oscillates with simple harmonic
motion.
c. How can you change the period of that objects oscillation?
2. Fill out this chart by providing a definition for each term associated with
waves:
Term

wave

Definition

amplitude
wavelength
frequency
period
wave speed
3. Describe the difference between a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave.
a. Give examples of each.
4. What is wave interference? What is the difference between constructive
interference and destructive interference?
5. What is a standing wave?
6. Describe how the Doppler Effect explains the change in pitch of a fire-engine
siren and the movement of a galaxy.
7. Explain the difference between a bow wave and a shock wave.
8. Explore the Pendulum Lab from PhET, and describe pendulum behavior.
a. How does a pendulum's mass affect its behavior?
b. How does a pendulum's length affect its behavior?
c. How does friction affect a pendulum's behavior?
d. How does gravity affect a pendulum? How does this differ on the moon, on
earth, and on Jupiter?
9. Explore the Mass Spring Lab from PhET, and describe harmonic motion in this
context.
a. How does the amount of mass on the end of the spring affect its behavior?
b. How does the softness or hardness of the spring affect its behavior?
c. How does friction affect the spring's behavior?
d. How does gravity affect the spring's behavior? How does this differ on the
moon, on earth, and on Jupiter?
10.Which of the following will give the shorter period?
1. A 5 kg block attached to a spring as compared to a 2.5 kg block attached
to a spring
2. A weight attached to a 5-foot string as compared to a weight attached to a
2-foot string
3. Both of these
4. Neither of these
11.A skipper on a boat notices wave crests passing his anchor chain every 5 s.
He estimates the distance between wave crests to be 15 m. What is the wave
speed?

Sound
1. For sound, explain the following:

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

What determines its pitch?

What determines its speed?
reflection of sound waves
refraction of sound waves
interference of sound waves

Electromagnetic Spectrum
1. What is an electromagnetic wave?
2. Complete the following chart by describing each type of electromagnetic
wave that is located on the electromagnetic spectrum:
Electromagnetic Wave Type
gamma rays
x-rays
ultraviolet
visible light
infrared
microwaves
radio waves

Description

3. What characteristics do all electromagnetic waves share?

4. How do electromagnetic waves differ from one another?

Light and Optics

1. Complete the following chart by explaining the following concepts of light
waves:
Wave Concept
transparent materials
opaque materials
scattering
reflection
refraction
total internal reflection
dispersion
diffraction
interference
polarization

Description

Differentiating Light Waves and Sound Waves

Using Chapters 19, 20, 26, 28, fill out the following table to check your
understanding.
Question

Sound

What type of wave is it (transverse or

longitudinal)?
What creates this wave?
Which travels faster?
Through what materials does it travel?
Through what materials does it travel
fastest?
What characteristics vary with frequency?
What characteristics vary with amplitude?
Does it reflect? If so, from what surfaces?
Does it refract? If so, in what materials?
Does it undergo Doppler effect? If so, under
what conditions?
Does it diffract? If so, under what
conditions?
Does it experience wave interference? If so,
what is a situation where this wave
interference is observed?
Does it experience polarization? If so, what
is a situation where this wave polarization
is observed?

Temperature and Heat

1. Fill out this chart by providing a definition for each term:
Term

temperature
heat
internal energy
specific heat capacity

Definition

Light

2. In what direction does heat naturally flow?

3. For the concept of specific heat capacity:
What materials have a high specific heat capacity?
What observations can one make to measure the heat capacity of a material?
Solve problems using specific heat capacity.
Refer to Mastering Physics for similar practice problems to the next three
questions.
4. A 50g block of aluminum is heated from 25 C to 90C. If the specific heat
capacity of aluminum is 0.9 J/gC, how much energy was added to the
aluminum block if Heat = mass x specific heat capacity x change in
temperature?
5. If the aluminum block in Question #4 was immediately dropped into 50g of
water at 25C and a specific heat capacity of 4.2 J/gC, what is the final
temperature of the water?
6. What is the final temperature of the total volume of water if 50g of water at
an initial of temperature 50C is mixed with 80g of water at an initital
temperature of 25C? (Hint: Use the heat equation from Question #4 and
apply the law of conservation of energy.)

Laws of Thermodynamics
1. For the first law of thermodynamics:
a. Define the first law of thermodynamics.
b. Give an example of how this law applies in real life.
2. For the second the second law of thermodynamics:
a. Define the second law of thermodynamics.
b. Give an example of how this law applies in real life.
3. For entropy:
a. Define the concept of entropy.
b. Give an example of a system with a small amount of entropy.
c. Give an example of a system with a large amount of entropy.
4. For each of the following devices, explain how it works and how the laws of
thermodynamics apply:
a. heat engine
b. air conditioner/refrigerator

Quantum Mechanics
1. Why was the photoelectric effect experiment important in understanding
light?

2. For light:
a. Which properties demonstrate its wave nature?
b. Which properties demonstrate its particle nature?
3. For the uncertainty principle:
a. Present the equation.
b. Explain the meaning of the equation
c. Give examples of where this equation applies in real life.
4. Using the equation for the uncertainty principle, determine the change in
momentum for a particle with an uncertainty in position of 5. Express your
answer in terms of Planck's constant and pi.
5. The diameter of a uranium atom is 230 pm. What is the uncertainty in the
momentum of an electron in a Uranium atom? If the diameter of a hydrogen
atom is 120 pm, what is the uncertainty in the momentum of an electron in a
hydrogen atom?

Solid State Physics

1. For the concept of giant magnetoresistance:
a. Define giant magnetoresistance.
b. How is giant magnetoresistance different from magnetoresistance?
c. How does giant magnetoresistance depend on electron spin?
d. Give an example of an application of giant magnetoresistance in everyday
life.
2. What is a semiconductor?
3. How does a transistor work?