Chapter 1

Physics and Measurement

Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following products of ratios gives the conversion factor to convert
⎛ mi ⎞ ⎛m⎞
miles per hour ⎜ ⎟ to meters per second ⎜ ⎟ ?
⎝ h ⎠ ⎝ s ⎠
5280 f 12 in 1 in 1 m 1 h
a. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
mi f 2.54 cm 100 cm 3600 s
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 100 cm 1 h
b. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
mi f 1 in 1 m 3600 s
1 mi 1 f 1 in 100 cm 3600 s
c. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 1 m 1 h
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 1 m 1 h
d. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
mi f 1 in 100 cm 3600 s
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 1 m 3600 s
e. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
mi f 1 in 100 cm 1 h

2. The density of an object is defined as:

a. the volume occupied by each unit of mass.
b. the amount of mass for each unit of volume.
c. the weight of each unit of volume.
d. the amount of the substance that has unit volume and unit mass.
e. the amount of the substance that contains as many particles as 12 grams of
the carbon-12 isotope.

3. If you drove day and night without stopping for one year without exceeding the
legal highway speed limit in the United States, the maximum number of miles
you could drive would be closest to:
a. 8700.
b. 300 000.
c. 500 000.
d. 1 000 000.
e. 32 000 000.

1
 Physics and Measurement 2

1 2
4. The term ρv occurs in Bernoulli’s equation in Chapter 15, with ρ being the
2
density of a fluid and v its speed. The dimensions of this term are
a. M -1L5 T 2
b. MLT 2
c. ML-1T -2
d. M -1L9 T -2
e. M -1L3 T -2

5. Which of the following quantities has the same dimensions as kinetic energy,
1
mv 2 ?
2
Note: [a] = [ g] = LT -2 ; [ h] = L and [v] = LT -1 .
a. ma
b. mvx
c. mvt
d. mgh
e. mgt

6. The quantity with the same units as force times time, Ft , with dimensions
MLT -1 is
a. mv
b. mvr
c. mv 2 r
d. ma
mv 2
e.
r

7. The equation for the change of position of a train starting at x = 0 m is given by

1
x = at 2 + bt 3 . The dimensions of b are
2
a. T -3
b. LT -3
c. LT -2
d. LT -1
e. L-1T -1
 Physics and Measurement 3

8. One mole of the carbon-12 isotope contains 6.022 × 10 23 atoms. What volume in
m 3 would be needed to store one mole of cube-shaped children’s blocks 2.00 cm
long on each side?
a. 4.8 × 10 18
b. 1.2 × 10 22
c. 6.0 × 10 23
d. 1.2 × 10 24
e. 4.8 × 10 24

9. Which of the following products of ratios gives the conversion factors to convert
⎛ m⎞ ⎛ mi ⎞
meters per second ⎜ ⎟ to miles per hour ⎜ ⎟ ?
⎝ s⎠ ⎝ h ⎠
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 100 cm 3600 s
a. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
mi f 1 in 1 m 1 h
5280 f 12 in 1 in 1 m 1 h
b. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
mi f 2.54 cm 100 cm 3600 s
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 100 cm 1 h
c. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
mi f 1 in 1 m 3600 s
1 mi 1 f 1 in 100 cm 3600 s
d. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 1 m 1 h
1 mi 1 f 1 in 1 m 3600 s
e. ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 100 cm 1 h

10. One U.S. fluid gallon contains a volume of 231 cubic inches. How many liters of
gasoline would you have to buy in Canada to fill a 14 gallon tank? (Note:
1 L = 10 +3 cm 3 .)
a. 53
b. 21
c. 14
d. 8
e. 4
 Physics and Measurement 4

11. At the end of a year, a motor cat company announces that sales of a pickup are
down 43 % for the year. If sales continue to decrease by 43 % in each succeeding
year, how long will it take for sales to decrease to zero?
a. 1 year
b. 2 years
c. 3 years
d. 4 years
e. More than five years

12. John and Linda are arguing about the definition of density, John says the density
of an object is proportional to its mass. Linda says the object’s mass is
proportional to its density and to its volume. Which one, if either, is correct?
a. They are both wrong.
b. John is correct, but Linda is wrong.
c. John is wrong, but Linda is correct.
d. They are both correct.
e. They are free to redefine density as they wish.

13. Spike claims that dimensional analysis shows that the correct expression for
mt
change in velocity, v f − v i , is v f − v i = , where m is mass, t is time, and F is
F
the magnitude of force. Carla says that can’t be true because the dimensions of
⎡ML ⎤
force are ⎢ . Which one, if either, is correct?
⎣ T 2 ⎥⎦
⎡ML ⎤
a. Spike, because [v] = ⎢ .
⎣ T ⎥⎦
⎡ T2 ⎤
b. Spike, because [v] = ⎢ ⎥.
⎣L⎦
⎡L ⎤
c. Carla, because [ v] = ⎢ ⎥.
⎣T⎦
⎡ L ⎤
d. Carla, because [ v] = ⎢ .
⎣MT ⎥⎦
⎡ T2 ⎤
e. Spike, because the dimensions of force are [F ] = ⎢ ⎥.
⎣ML ⎦
 Physics and Measurement 5

⎡ML ⎤
14. Which one of the quantities below has dimensions equal to ⎢ ?
⎣ T 2 ⎥⎦
a. mv
b. mv 2
mv 2
c.
r
d. mrv
mv 2
e.
r2
15. The standard exam page is 8.5 inches by 11.0 inches. Its area in cm2 is
a. 15.
b. 37.
c. 94.
d. 237.
e. 603.

16. A standard exam page is 8.5 inches by 11.0 inches. An exam that is 2.0 mm thick
has a volume of
a. 1.9 ×10 4 mm 3 .
b. 4.7 ×10 4 mm 3 .
c. 1.2 ×10 5 mm 3 .
d. 3.1×10 5 mm 3 .
e. 3.1×10 3 mm 3 .

17. Which quantity can be converted from the English system to the metric system
by the conversion factor
5280 f 12 in 2.54 cm 1 m 1 h
⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ?
mi f 1 in 100 cm 3600 s
a. feet per second
b. feet per hour
c. miles per second
d. miles per hour
e. miles per minute

18. The answer to a question is [MLT -1 ] . The question is “What are the dimensions
of

a. mr?”
b. mvr?”
c. ma?”
d. mat?”
mv 2
e. ?”
r
 Physics and Measurement 6

19. A problem may be solved more easily when alternative representations are used.
The best strategy is to formulate representations in an order that assists in
understanding the physical principles involved. Of the orders given below, the
one that will work best most often is

a. pictorial representation, mathematical representation, tabular

representation, mental representation.
b. pictorial representation, mental representation, mathematical
representation, tabular representation.
c. mathematical representation, pictorial representation, tabular
representation, mental representation.
d. mathematical representation, tabular representation, mental representation,
pictorial representation.
e. mental representation, pictorial representation, tabular representation,
mathematical representation.

20. If each frame of a motion picture film is 35 cm high, and 24 frames go by in a

second, estimate how many frames are needed to show a two hour long movie.

a. 1400
b. 25 000
c. 50 000
d. 170 000
e. This cannot be determined without knowing how many reels were used.

Open-Ended Problems
21. The standard kilogram is a platinum-iridium cylinder 39 mm in height and
39 mm in diameter. What is the density of the material?

22. A 2.00 m by 3.00 m plate of aluminum has a mass of 324 kg. What is the thickness
of the plate? (The density of aluminum is 2.70 × 103 kg/m3.)

23. What is the mass of air in a room that measures 5.0 m × 8.0 m × 3.0 m? (The
density of air is 1/800 that of water).

24. The basic function of a carburetor of an automobile is to atomize the gasoline and
mix it with air to promote rapid combustion. As an example, assume that 30 cm3
of gasoline is atomized into N spherical droplets, each with a radius of
2.0 × 10 -5 m. What is the total surface area of these N spherical droplets?
 Physics and Measurement 7

Chapter 1
Physics and Measurement

1. d
2. b
3. c
4. c
5. d
6. a
7. b
8. a
9. d
10. a
11. e
12. d
13. c
14. c
15. e
16. c
17. d
18. d
19. e
20. d
21. 21 475 kg/m3
22. 2.00 cm
23. 150 kg
24. 45 000 cm2
Physics and Measurement 8