Force and Motion Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. A ball moves around a circular track at constant speed. Which statement correctly describes its motion?
Its velocity is constant because its speed is constant.
Its velocity changes direction, and the net force points toward the circle’s center.
No net force acts because the ball is not speeding up.
Its acceleration points outward from the circle’s center.
2. A car stops suddenly, and an unrestrained passenger continues moving forward. Which principle best explains this motion?
The passenger experiences no forces while inside the car.
Inertia makes the passenger’s body tend to continue its previous motion.
The car’s backward motion pushes the passenger forward.
The passenger’s mass temporarily decreases during braking.
3. A skydiver is falling at terminal velocity. What is true about the forces on the skydiver?
Gravity has stopped acting on the skydiver.
Upward air resistance equals downward weight, so the net force is zero.
Air resistance is zero because the speed is constant.
The skydiver’s speed is zero because the forces are balanced.
4. A runner travels 100 meters east in 20 seconds along a straight path. What is the runner’s average velocity?
5 m/s, with no direction
2,000 m/s east
20 m/s east
5 m/s east
5. A bicycle starts from rest and reaches 12 m/s in 3 seconds with constant acceleration. What is its acceleration?
4 m/s²
3 m/s²
9 m/s²
36 m/s²
6. What distinguishes velocity from speed?
Velocity includes direction, while speed does not.
Velocity applies only to accelerating objects.
Speed includes direction, while velocity does not.
Speed is measured in meters, while velocity is measured in meters per second.
7. A book rests motionless on a horizontal table. Which statement best describes the vertical forces on the book?
The book has weight but no upward force acting on it.
The upward normal force is larger than the book’s weight.
The upward normal force and downward weight are equal, so the vertical net force is zero.
The two forces cancel the book’s mass rather than its net force.
8. Two empty carts are pushed with equal force, but one has more mass. Why does the heavier cart accelerate less?
Heavier objects experience no net force.
Greater mass means greater inertia, so the same force produces less acceleration.
Mass reduces the applied force before it reaches the cart.
Greater mass always creates enough friction to cancel the push.
9. A crate is sliding to the right across a level floor and slowing down. In which direction does kinetic friction act on the crate?
Upward, opposite the crate’s weight
To the right, in the direction of motion
To the left, opposite the sliding motion
Downward, adding to the crate’s weight
10. The same constant net force is applied separately to a 2 kg cart and a 4 kg cart. How do their accelerations compare?
Both carts have the same acceleration because the force is the same.
The 4 kg cart accelerates twice as much as the 2 kg cart.
The 2 kg cart accelerates twice as much as the 4 kg cart.
The 2 kg cart accelerates four times as much as the 4 kg cart.
11. A 2 kg object experiences a net force of 6 N. What is its acceleration?
2 m/s²
12 m/s²
8 m/s²
3 m/s²
12. An astronaut takes the same tool from Earth to the Moon. How do the tool’s mass and weight compare?
Its mass stays the same, but its weight decreases.
Its mass decreases, but its weight stays the same.
Both its mass and weight stay the same.
Both its mass and weight decrease.
13. An object’s velocity changes uniformly from 5 m/s in the positive direction to 5 m/s in the negative direction over 2 seconds. What is its average acceleration?
5 m/s² in the negative direction
10 m/s² in the negative direction
Zero acceleration because the initial and final speeds are equal
5 m/s² in the positive direction
14. A hockey puck slides in a straight line at constant velocity on a nearly frictionless surface. What can you conclude about the net force on it?
A backward net force balances its motion.
A constant forward net force acts on it.
The net force increases with its speed.
The net force is zero.
15. A person pushes horizontally on a rigid wall with a force of 80 N, but the wall does not move. What force does the wall exert on the person?
No force, because the wall does not move
Less than 80 N in the opposite direction
80 N in the same direction as the person’s push
80 N in the opposite direction to the person’s push
16. A swimmer pushes water backward with a force of 60 N. According to Newton’s third law, what force does the water exert on the swimmer?
A force smaller than 60 N, directed forward
A force of 60 N, directed backward
A force of 60 N, directed forward
A force larger than 60 N, directed forward