Position & Motion
This chosen object or location is used to describe another object's position.
What is a reference point?
This quantity equals total distance divided by total time.
What is average speed?
This term means a push or pull.
What is a force?
This law says velocity stays unchanged unless a nonzero net force acts.
What is Newton's first law?
This attractive noncontact force acts between objects with mass.
What is gravity?
This term means a change in position over time compared with a reference point.
What is motion?
This quantity describes speed in a specific direction.
What is velocity?
This unit measures force.
What is a newton (N)?
This resistance to a change in velocity increases with mass.
What is inertia?
Name the two factors that determine gravitational force in the model studied.
What are the objects' masses and the distance between them?
A student sits on a moving bus. Describe the student's motion relative to the seat and to a road sign.
What is at rest relative to the seat and moving relative to the road sign?
A cyclist travels 72 m in 12 s. Find the average speed.
What is 6 m/s?
Forces of 90 N right and 65 N left act on one box. Give its net force.
What is 25 N right?
A 4 kg object experiences a net force of 12 N east. Find its acceleration.
What is 3 m/s squared east?
Predict how gravity changes if one object's mass increases while separation stays the same.
What is gravitational attraction increases?
A student walks 9 m east, then 4 m west. Give the distance and displacement.
What are 13 m of distance and 5 m east of displacement?
A car turns a corner at constant speed. Explain why it is accelerating.
What is its direction changes, so its velocity changes?
These two vertical forces balance on a book resting on a horizontal table.
What are gravity downward and the table's normal force upward?
A small cart and a large cart collide. Compare the forces they exert on each other.
What are equal-size forces in opposite directions, acting on different carts?
Predict how gravity changes when separation increases while both masses stay the same.
What is gravitational attraction decreases?
A student walks 18 m north, 6 m south, then 2 m north. Give the next movement needed for zero total displacement.
What is 14 m south?
A toy travels 15 m east and 15 m west in 10 s. Give its average speed and displacement.
What are 3 m/s and 0 m?
A ball moves right while its net force points left. Describe its initial change in motion and its acceleration direction.
What is it slows down initially and accelerates left?
Two carts experience equal net forces. One has three times the mass of the other. Compare their accelerations.
What is the heavier cart has one-third the acceleration of the lighter cart?
Two objects attract gravitationally; one has twice the mass. Compare their forces and their accelerations due to this interaction.
What are equal-size, opposite forces, with half as much acceleration for the object with twice the mass?