Projectile Motion Practice Test

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. Which of the following is a physical quantity that has a magnitude but no direction?
a. vector c. resultant
b. scalar d. frame of reference
____ 2. Identify the following quantities as scalar or vector: the speed of a snail, the time it takes to run a mile, the
free-fall acceleration.
a. vector, scalar, scalar c. vector, scalar, vector
b. scalar, scalar, vector d. scalar, vector, vector

____ 3. In the figure above, which diagram represents the vector subtraction C = A–B?
a. I c. III
b. II d. IV

____ 4. In a coordinate system, a vector is oriented at angle with respect to the x-axis. The y component of the
vector equals the vector’s magnitude multiplied by which trigonometric function?
a. cos  c. sin 
b. cot  d. tan 

____ 5. Find the resultant of these two vectors: 2.00  10 units due east and 4.00  10 units 30.0 north of west.
a. 300 units, 29.8 north of west c. 546 units, 59.3 north of west
b. 581 units, 20.1 north of east d. 248 units, 53.9 north of west

____ 6. Which of the following is not an example of projectile motion?

a. a volleyball served over a net c. a hot-air balloon drifting toward Earth
b. a baseball hit by a bat d. a long jumper in action
____ 7. Which of the following does not exhibit parabolic motion?
a. a frog jumping from land into water
b. a basketball thrown to a hoop
c. a flat piece of paper released from a window
d. a baseball thrown to home plate
 The figure above shows the path of a ball tossed from a building. Air resistance is ignored.

____ 8. In the figure above, the horizontal component of the ball’s velocity at A is
a. zero.
b. equal to the vertical component of the ball’s velocity at C.
c. equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the horizontal component of the ball’s
velocity at D.
d. equal to the horizontal component of its initial velocity.
____ 9. A jet moving at 500.0 km/h due east is in a region where the wind is moving at 120.0 km/h in a direction
30.00 north of east. What is the speed of the aircraft relative to the ground?
a. 620.2 km/h c. 588.7 km/h
b. 606.9 km/h d. 511.3 km/h

Problem

10. A duck waddles 2.5 m east and 6.0 m north. What are the magnitude and direction of the duck’s displacement
with respect to its original position?

11. A skateboarder rolls 25.0 m down a hill that descends at an angle of 20.0 with the horizontal. Find the
horizontal and vertical components of the skateboarder’s displacement.

12. What is the magnitude of the resultant displacement of a dog looking for its bone in the yard if the dog first
heads 55.0 north of west for 10.0 m and then turns and heads west for 5.00 m?

13. An hockey puck travels 2.00 m at 10.0 east of south before ricocheting 2.50 m at 75.0° north of east. What is
the puck’s resultant displacement?

14. A stone is thrown at an angle of 30.0 above the horizontal from the top edge of a cliff with an initial speed of
12 m/s. A stopwatch measures the stone’s trajectory time from the top of the cliff to the bottom at 5.60 s.
What is the height of the cliff? (Assume no air resistance and that a = g = 9.81 m/s .)
Projectile Motion Practice Test
Answer Section

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: I OBJ: 3-1.1

2. ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: II OBJ: 3-1.1
3. ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: I OBJ: 3-1.2
4. ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: I OBJ: 3-2.3
5. ANS: D
Given
d = 2.00  10 units east
d = 4.00  10 units 30.0 north of west

Solution
Measuring direction with respect to x = (east),

PTS: 1 DIF: IIIB OBJ: 3-2.4

6. ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: I OBJ: 3-3.1
7. ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: I OBJ: 3-3.2
8. ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: II OBJ: 3-3.2
9. ANS: B
Given
vpa = velocity of plane relative to the air = 500.0 km/h east
vag = velocity of air relative to the ground = 120.0 km/h 30.00° north of east
 Solution

PTS: 1 DIF: IIIB OBJ: 3-4.2

PROBLEM

10. ANS:
6.5 m at 67° north of east

Given
d = 2.5 m east
d = 6.0 m north

Solution

PTS: 1 DIF: IIIB OBJ: 3-2.2

11. ANS:
d = 23.5 m; d = 8.55 m

Given
d = 25.0 m,  = 20.0

Solution

PTS: 1 DIF: IIIB OBJ: 3-2.3

12. ANS:
 13.5 m

Given
d = 10.0 m at 55.0 north of west
d = 5.00 m west

d = 10.0 m  = 55.0
d = 5.0 m  = 0.0

Solution

PTS: 1 DIF: IIIB OBJ: 3-2.4

13. ANS:
1.09 m at 24 north of east

Given
d = 2.00 m  = 10.0 east of south
d = 2.50 m  = 75.0 north of east

Solution
 d = 1.09 m at 24° north of east

PTS: 1 DIF: IIIC OBJ: 3-2.4

14. ANS:
120 m

Given
v = 12 m/s at 30.0° above the horizontal
t = 5.60 s
g = 9.81 m/s

Solution

PTS: 1 DIF: IIIB OBJ: 3-3.3