Questions from Modern Physics

Q: What are the units of volume? Suppose another student tells you

What are the units of volume? Suppose another student tells you that a cylinder of radius r and height h has volume given by pr3h. Explain why this cannot be right.

Q: Three archers each fire four arrows at a target. Joe’s four

Three archers each fire four arrows at a target. Joe’s four arrows hit at points 10 cm above, 10 cm below, 10 cm to the left, and 10 cm to the right of the center of the target. All four of Moe’s arro...

Q: Is the vector (

Is the vector (

Q: A circular racetrack has a radius of 500 m. What is

A circular racetrack has a radius of 500 m. What is the displacement of a bicyclist when she travels around the track from the north side to the south side? When she makes one complete circle around t...

Q: A package falls out of an airplane that is flying in a

A package falls out of an airplane that is flying in a straight line at a constant altitude and speed. If you ignore air resistance, what would be the path of the package as observed by the pilot? As...

Q: An automobile is traveling west. Can it have a velocity toward

An automobile is traveling west. Can it have a velocity toward the west and at the same time have an acceleration toward the east? Under what circumstances?

Q: The “direction of time” is said to proceed from past

The “direction of time” is said to proceed from past to future. Does this mean that time is a vector quantity? Explain.

Q: Air traffic controllers give instructions called “vectors” to tell airline

Air traffic controllers give instructions called “vectors” to tell airline pilots in which direction they are to fly. If these are the only instructions given, is the name “vector” used correctly? Why...

Q: Can you find a vector quantity that has a magnitude of zero

Can you find a vector quantity that has a magnitude of zero but components that are not zero? Explain. Can the magnitude of a vector be less than the magnitude of any of its components? Explain.

Q: Under constant acceleration the average velocity of a particle is half the

Under constant acceleration the average velocity of a particle is half the sum of its initial and final velocities. Is this still true if the acceleration is not constant? Explain.