Physics 1101

Final Examination Review Problems

You should attempt the problems below prior to coming to class for the final lab. In fact, your instructor may
ask you to solve the problems on the board during the review session. There is no substitute for your diligence
and participation in this process. If you do nothing but watch someone else solve the problems, you will not
learn much from the review. If you at least seriously attempt the problems, you will learn something.
As you know, one problem on the final examination concerns graphical analysis of data. Here are some
equations for you to practice putting in the proper form to make a straight line graph. For each equation, show
how to rewrite the equation to make a straight line graph of some function of y versus some function of x.
Identify what represents the slope and what represents the vertical intercept.
EXAMPLE: y2 - a = bx(1/2); Rewrite as y2 = a + bx(1/2). Plot y2 on the vertical axis and x(1/2) on the horizontal
axis. The slope is then b and the vertical intercept is a. Review the introduction in the PHYS 1101 manual for
help.
TRY THESE: (1) y = [c + dx(1/3)]2; (2) y = ae(kx) (3) y= kxn (determine k and n)
(4) (y2 + b)(1/2) = ax
1. As an object is heated, it normally expands, thereby increasing its volume V. Since its mass m remains
constant, its density d usually decreases. A physics student measured this effect by measuring the density of a
material as a function of temperature T. She found the results shown below.
T (oC)
50.0
100.0
150.0
200.0
250.0
d (g/cm3)

4.975

4.935

4.913

4.878

4.853

The equation that she knows properly describes the effect is d = d o(1- T), where do and are constants. Plot a
straight-line graph of the appropriate variables and use it to find values (with units) for do and .
2. In an experiment using an inclined track with a dynamics cart, the computer failed, and the student had to
record the distance the cart traveled in a certain time interval. If the cart traveled 35.0 cm in 3.5 s, find its
acceleration and the tension in the string connecting the cart to the accelerating (hanging) mass.
3. Two cubes having identical volumes are cemented together to form a composite material. Each cube is 2.60
cm on a side. If the total mass of the composite material is determined to be 152.6 grams and one of the cubes is
made from a material whose density is 2.70 g/cm 3, find the density of the other material. Neglect the mass of the
cement.

4. Two-dimensional collisions may be studied by using an air table (similar to an air hockey game)
instead of the method we used. Suppose a 40-gram air puck traveling to the east with speed 10 cm/s
collides with and sticks to a 60-gram air puck traveling south with speed 15 cm/s. Find the velocity
(magnitude and direction with respect to east) of the combined mass after the collision.
5. In the computer-based experiment concerning rotational motion, the acceleration of a point on the rim of the
large steel disk, is 8.0 cm/s2. What is the angular acceleration of the pulley about which the string is wound?
The radius of the pulley is 1.25 cm and the radius of the steel disk is 6.0 cm.