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AP Physics C

Multiple Choice

Dynamics
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1 A ball moves horizontally with an initial velocity

v1, as shown above. It is then struck by a tennis
racket. After leaving the racket, the ball moves
vertically with a velocity v2, which is smaller in
magnitude than v1. Which of the following
vectors best represents the direction of the
average force that the stick exerts on the ball?

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2 A satellite is orbiting the Earth. If FE is the

magnitude of the force exerted by the Earth on the
satellite and FS is the magnitude of the force
exerted by the satellite on the Earth, then which of
the following is true?

A FE is much greater than FS.

B FE is slightly greater than FS.

C FE is equal to FS.

D FE is slightly greater than FS

E FE is much greater than FS

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3 An object released from rest at time t = 0 slides

down a frictionless incline 2 meters during the
first 2 seconds. The distance traveled by the
object during the time interval from t = 2 second
to t = 3 seconds is approximately,

A 2.5 m

B 4.5 m

C 9m

D 11 m

E 13 m
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4 A marble of mass m moves along a path with a

speed defined by the function v = bt2 + c, where t
is time and b and c are constants. What is the
magnitude F of the net force on the particle at
time t = t1?

A bt12 + c

B 3mbt1 + 2c

C mbt1

D mbt1 + c

E 2mbt1
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5 A force F is exerted by a broom handle on the

head of the broom, which has a mass m. The
handle is at an angle ( to the horizontal, as shown
above. The work done by the force on the head of
the broom as it moves a distance d across a
horizontal floor is

A Fd sinθ

B Fd cosθ

C Fm cosθ

D Fm tanθ

E Fmd sinθ
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6 A body’s position as it moves on a straight path is

given by the equation x = 2t3 3t2 + 4t, where x is
in meters and t is in seconds. The net force on the
body is equal to zero when t is equal to

A zero

B 1/2 s

C 3s

D 4/5 s

E 5s
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7 The parabola below is a graph of speed v as a

function of time t for an object. Which of the
following graphs best represents the magnitude
F of the net force exerted on the object as a
function of time t? V

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8 A descending box of mass 500 kg is uniformly

decelerated to rest over a distance of 4 m by a
rope in which the tension is 6000 N. The speed vi
of the elevator at the beginning of the 4 m descent
is most nearly

A 4 m/s

B 10 m/s

C 12 m/s

D 16 m/s

E 22 m/s
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9 When the frictionless system shown below is

accelerated by an applied force of magnitude Fa,
the tension in the string between the blocks is
(A) 2 Fa (B) Fa (C) (3/5) Fa (D) (2/5) Fa
(E) 3 Fa

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10 Two 0.5 kilogram blocks are connected by a string

that passes over a frictionless pulley, as shown
below. The blocks are initially held at rest. If a third
block with a mass of 0.25 kilograms is added on
top of one of the 0.5 kilogram blocks as shown and
the objects are released, the magnitude of the
acceleration of the 0.25 kilogram object is most
nearly

A 10.0 m/s2

B 6.0 m/s2

C 4.0 m/s2

D 2.0 m/s2

E 1.0 m/s2
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11 A 50 newton weight is suspended by two strings

as shown below. The tension T in the slanted
string is

A 50 N

B 100 N

C 150 N

D 200 N

E 250 N
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12 A rubber band ball of mass m is attached to a string

of length R as shown below. The ball is released
from rest from position X where the string is
horizontal, swings through position Y where the
string is vertical, and reaches position Z where the
string is again horizontal. What are the directions of
the acceleration vectors of the ball at positions Y
and Z?

Position Y Position Z

A Downward Downward
B Downward To the right
C Upward Downward
D Upward To the left
E To the right To the left
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13 As shown below, two blocks are pushed along a

horizontal frictionless surface by a 30 newton
force to the right. The force that the 4kilogram
block exerts on the 6kilogram block is

A 8 newtons to the left

B 8 newtons to the right

C 10 newtons to the left

D 12 newtons to the left

E 12 newtons to the right

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14 A mass m moves on a curved path from point X to

point Y. Which of the following diagrams indicates
a possible combination of the net force F on the
mass, and the velocity v and acceleration a of the
mass at the location shown?

A B C D E
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15 Two identical massless springs are hung from the

ceiling. The springs suspend a block of mass 2.4
kg, as shown below. When the block is in
equilibrium, each spring is stretched an additional
0.3 meters. The force constant of each spring is
most nearly:

(A) 40 N/m (B) 48 N/m (C) 60 N/m

(D) 80 N/m (E) 96 N/m

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16 A 10 kilogram block lies on an inclined plane.

The incline is 8 meters wide and 6 meters tall.
The coefficient of friction between the plane and
the block is 0.3. The magnitude of the force F
necessary to move the block up the plane with
constant speed is most nearly

A 64 N

B 76 N

C 82 N

D 90 N

E 108 N
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17 A figure of a dancer on a music box moves

counterclockwise at constant speed around the
path shown above. The path is such that the
lengths of its segments, WX, XY, YZ, and ZW, are
equal. Arcs WX and YZ are semicircles. Which of
the following best represents the magnitude of the
dancer's acceleration as a function of time t
during one trip around the path, beginning at
point W ?

A B C

D E
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18 A ball is released from rest at time t = 0 and falls in

the presence of air, which exerts a resistant force.
The acceleration a of the ball is given by a = g - bv,
where v is the object's velocity and b is a constant.
If limiting cases for large and small values of t are
considered, which of the following is a possible
expression for the speed of the object as an
explicit function of time?

A v = g(1-e-bt)/b

B V = (geht)/b

C v = gt - bt2

D v = (g + a)t/b

E v = v0+ gt, v0 ≠ 0
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19 As shown above, a block of mass m is pulled

across a rough surface by a force F exerted at
an angle Θ with the horizontal. The frictional
force on the block exerted by the surface has
magnitude f.
What is the acceleration of the block?

A F/m

B FcosΘ /m

C (F-f)/m

D (FcosΘ-f)/m

E (FsinΘ-mg)/m
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20 As shown above, a block of mass m is pulled

across a rough surface by a force F exerted at an
angle Θ with the horizontal. The frictional force
on the block exerted by the surface has
magnitude f.
What is the coefficient of friction between the
block and the surface?

A f/mg

B mg/f

C (mg-FcosΘ)/f

D f/(mg-FcosΘ)

E f/(mg-FsinΘ)
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21 A 10 kg object moves according to the function: x=

3t2-4t+7. Which of the following represents the net
force that acts on the object?

A 52 N

B 60N

C 67 N

D 78 N

E 84 N
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Questions 22-25

The system above consists of three blocks, m1, m2 and m3 where m1 and
m2 are attached to a virtually massless cord and m3 sits on top of m1.
The system is attached to a massless pulley and accelerates downward.
There is no friction between the surface and m1 however there is friction
between the m1 and m3. The coefficient of kinetic friction is µ however
the coefficient of static friction is not given. Block m3 does not slide off
of block m1.

22 Find the acceleration of m2

A m1g/(m2+m3)

B (m1+m2+m3)/m2g

C m2g/(m1+m2+m3)

D (m1+m3)g/m2

E (m1+m3)/m2g
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23 What coefficient of static friction must there be in

order for m3 not to slide off of block m1?

A m2/(m1+m2+m3)

B m1/(m2+m3)

C (m1+m3)/m2

D (m1+m2+m3)/m2

E m3/(m1+m2+m3)
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24 Find the acceleration of block m3.

A µg(m1+m2+m3)/m3

B µm3g/m1

C µg
D µg(m1+m3)/m2

E µgm3/(m1+m2+m3)
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25 What is the acceleration of block m2?

A (m2-µm3)g/(m1+m2)

B m2g/µ(m1+m3)

C (m1+m2+m3)µ/3m1g

D (m1+m3) µg

E (m1+m3)g/µ(m1+m2+m3)
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26 A ball of mass m falls in the presence of air

resistance. The resistive force is represented by
F=bv2 where b is a constant and v represents the
ball’s velocity. The acceleration of the ball is
most nearly

A (mg)/v

B b-g

C (g-bv2)/m

D (bv+g)/m
E bvg
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27 A rubber band ball is suspended by two strings

of unequal lengths. Which of the following is true
about T1 and T2 in the strings?

A T 1< T 2

B T 1> T 2
T1 T2
C T 1= T 2

D T1- T2=mg

E (T1+T2)sinѲ=mg
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28 Questions 28-30
A 60 newton force is pushing a 5 kg box is being
pushed up an incline at a 53° angle (cos53°=0.6,
sin53°=0.8). The coefficient of kinetic friction is
0.5.
Which diagram best represents the block’s weight
W, normal force Fn and the friction force Fr on the
block?

A B C

A
B
DE
C

D E
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29 The normal force on the block is

A 10 N

B 20 N

C 30 N

D 40 N

E 50 N
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30 Calculate the block’s acceleration as it moves up

the incline

A 0.5 m/s2

B 1.0 m/s2

C 2.9 m/s2

D 3.5 m/s2

E 4.2 m/s2
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31 A truck of mass 5m collides head on with a car of

mass 3m. FT represents the force the truck
applies to the car. FC represents the force the car
applies to the truck. Which of the following is
true?

A F T> F C

B FT<FC

C FT=FC

D 3FT=5FC

E 5FT=3Fc
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32 A car is traveling with velocity v and sees a kid

playing with a ball in the street. The driver slams
on the brakes with a force F and stops in time for
the kid to move away safely. If the car was
traveling twice as fast how much force would be
required to stop at the same spot?

A F/4

B F/2

C F

D 2F

E 4F
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33 A 30 kg block and 10 kg block are set up

on an incline plane using a pulley system
(Friction is not negligible). The 30 kg block
accelerates downward while the 10 kg
block is accelerating up the incline. The
acceleration is equal to 2m/s2

Determine the tension in the string.

A 200 N

B 210 N

C 220 N

D 230 N

E 240 N
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34 A 30 kg block and 10 kg block are set up on an

incline plane using a pulley system (Friction is not
negligible). The 30 kg block accelerates downward
while the 10 kg block is accelerating up the incline.
The acceleration is equal to 2m/s2
Determine the friction force acting on the 10 kg
block.

A 75 N

B 100 N

C 140 N

D 160 N

E 175 N
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