Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

SPH3U Unit 1 Review

____ 1. What is the velocity of the rolling ball shown in this position-time graph?

a. 3 m/s
b. 5 m/s
c. 8 m/s
d. 2 m/s
____ 2. Which of the following is an example of uniform velocity?
a. A car travels down a straight highway at a steady 95 km/h.
b. A horse trots around a circular track at a constant speed.
c. A truck travels a twisty highway ranging from 40 km/h to 70 km/h.
d. A skydiver jumps out of an airplane and falls to the ground with increasing speed.
____ 3. Which acceleration-time graph represents the same motion as this
position-time graph?

a. b.

c. d.
 Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

____ 4. Which equation would you use to determine the displacement of an object moving with uniform acceleration
given a value for acceleration?
a.
b.

c.

d.

____ 5. Which of the following vectors represents the vector 7.2 m [N 55° W]?
a. b. y
y
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 1 x
–1
–2 –1 1 2 3 4 5 x
–1
–2
–2
–3
–3
–4
–4

c. d. y
y 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1

–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 1 x –4 –3 –2 –1 1 2 x
–1 –1

–2

____ 6. A rabbit walks through a field for a displacement of 35 m [W] and then turns to run away from a snake and
heads 55 m [W 34° N]. What is the rabbit’s total displacement?
a. 77 m [W 25° N]
b. 66 m [W 17° N]
c. 81 m [W 18° N]
d. 86 m [W 21° N]

____ 7. If you launch a ball horizontally out of a window at the same time you drop a ball, which of the following
things will happen?
a. The ball launched horizontally will slow down.
b. Both balls will fall at the same rate.
c. The ball that was dropped will hit the ground first.
d. The ball that was launched horizontally will hit the ground first.
 Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Modified True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false. If false, change the identified word or phrase to make the statement true.

____ 1. Motion is a change in an object’s location as measured by a particular observer. ____________________

____ 2. The slope of a line describes its length. ____________________

____ 3. Run refers to the horizontal change between two points on a line. ____________________

____ 4. Displacement is an example of a scalar quantity. ____________________

____ 5. In a velocity-time graph, velocity is shown on the horizontal axis. ____________________

____ 6. The vector in red is equal to . ____________________

–1 1 2 3 4 5 6 x
–1
A
–2

–3

–4
B

Short Answer

1. What is the average velocity of a baseball that is hit and travels 90.0 m [W] in 2.3 s? Show your work and
explain each step.

2. Use the acceleration–time graph shown here to create a velocity–time graph for the same motion. Show your
work and explain each step.

3. Sarah is working on her physics homework and makes the following analysis:
“A student walks 50 m [E] of their house and then walks another 85 m [W]. The student has walked 50 m +
85 m = 135 m, so they must be a distance of 135 m from their house.”

Is Sarah’s analysis correct? If so, explain. If not, identify and correct her mistake. What visual tools could she
use to help her understand?

4. In your own words explain what it means when a velocity-time graph crosses zero. Does this affect the
acceleration at all? How does the position–time graph look at this point? Explain and provide an example.
 Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

5. A runner jogs along a path for a displacement of 530 m [S 28° E] and then runs back along the other side of
the path for a displacement of 620 m [N 28° W].
(a) Draw a scale diagram for the runner and determine his net displacement.
(b) Is a scale diagram necessary to determine the displacement of the runner in this problem? Is it possible to
determine his displacement without the use of trigonometry? Explain.

6. Sidney is working on a projectile problem and is looking for the maximum height. She has determined the
following values: The initial height of the projectile is 20 m; the final height is 0 m; the range is 40 m, and the
time of flight is 5.2 s. She reasons, “If the range is 40 m and the time of flight is 5.2 s, then the projectile
should reach its maximum height at 20 m, and to find this maximum height I should use half of the time of
flight 2.6 s, and plug this into the equation of my vertical position.”

Is Sidney correct in her reasoning? If so, explain. If not, what mistake did she make and how can she correct
it?

SPH3U Unit 1 Review

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ANS: A
2. ANS: A
3. ANS: B
4. ANS: B
5. ANS: B
6. ANS: D
7. ANS: B

MODIFIED TRUE/FALSE
1. ANS: T
2. ANS: F, steepness
3. ANS: T
4. ANS: F, vector
5. ANS: F, vertical

6. ANS: F,
 Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

SHORT ANSWER

1. ANS:
Given: = 90.0 m [W]; = 2.3 s
Required:

Analysis:

Solution:
Statement: The average velocity of the baseball is 39 m/s [W].

2. ANS:
Calculate the area under the graph for several time points. Since the line is horizontal, use the formula for the
area of a rectangle. The area under the graph is equivalent to the velocity at that time.
Time Acceleration Equation Velocity
t (s) 2
(m/s [W]) = (m/s [W])
0 2.6 0

=
1.0 2.6 2.6

=
2.0 2.6 5.2
=
3.0 2.6 7.8

=
4.0 2.6 10

=
5.0 2.6 13

=
 Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

Plot the data to create a velocity–time graph.

3. ANS:
No, Sarah’s analysis is not correct. She is confusing displacement with the total distance travelled by the
student, and not taking the direction the student walks into account. If we convert both distances to an
eastward direction the student walks . In order to visualize this
Sarah could draw a vector scale diagram and plot both vectors.

4. ANS:
Answers may vary. Sample answer: When a velocity-time graph crosses zero it means that the object has been
travelling in one direction, stops and then turns around in the opposite direction. This affect the acceleration.
The velocity of an object may initially be positive, but be experiencing a negative acceleration causing it to
slow down, stop, and change directions. At this point in time on the position-time graph, there should be a
maximum or a minimum, since the slope of the graph should change from positive to negative or vice versa.
An example of this would be a bungee jumper. They have an initial negative velocity, but the bungee provides
an upward acceleration. Eventually they will reach the lowest point of their travel, a minimum on the position
graph, and change direction travelling upward.

5. ANS:
y
500

400

300

200

100

–500–400–300–200–100 100 200 300 400 500 x

–200

–300

–400

–500

(a)
The net displacement of the runner is 9.0 m [N 28° W].
(b) No, a scale diagram is not necessary to determine the displacement of the runner in this problem because
he is only running in one direction and then back. Trigonometry is not necessary either since the direction of
his displacement can be determined from the directions given. Since he is only travelling in one direction, the
resulting distance he is from where he started is simply the difference between the two magnitudes of the
displacement vectors. The direction is either
 Name: _____________________ Date: _____________

[S 28° E] or [N 28° W] depending on which distance was longer. Since he ran further on the way back than
on his way going, the direction is [N 28° W]

6. ANS:
No, Sidney is not correct. The maximum height of a projectile is reached halfway through the range and time
of flight only when it is launched from the same height at which it lands. Instead she should realize that when
the projectile is at its maximum height that the vertical velocity is zero. So what she needs to do is use her
vertical velocity equation, set it to zero, and solve for time. This is the time in which the projectile reaches is
maximum height, which can then be used in the vertical position equation to determine what the maximum
height is.