Physics 111 Exam Questions and Correct Answers
What is the difference between a scalar and a vector?
A scalar has only magnitude, while a vector has both magnitude and direction.
Example:
Scalar: The car is going 60 mph (Magnitude = speed, No direction)
Vector: The car is going 60 mph NORTH (Magnitude = speed, Direction = North)
Magnitude is defined as the overall importance of something/ how strong something is.
Example: If the earthquake number 6.0+, the magnitude of that earthquake is very
strong/very significant.
What is the difference between total distance and total displacement?
Total distance is the total length of a path regardless of direction.
Total displacement is the shortest distance between point A to point B
For example: If I walked 5m east and 5m west,
Total distance is: 10m (5+5)
Total displacement is: 0m (5-5)
If an object is moving in a straight line with CONSTANT velocity, what is the
acceleration?
Zero
If the velocity is constant, that means it never changes it's speed
If it never changes speed, it never has to accelerate or slow down.
What does it mean when two cars are going at the same speed but different directions?
What is the difference between a scalar and a vector?
A scalar has only magnitude, while a vector has both magnitude and direction.
Example:
Scalar: The car is going 60 mph (Magnitude = speed, No direction)
Vector: The car is going 60 mph NORTH (Magnitude = speed, Direction = North)
Magnitude is defined as the overall importance of something/ how strong something is.
Example: If the earthquake number 6.0+, the magnitude of that earthquake is very
strong/very significant.
What is the difference between total distance and total displacement?
Total distance is the total length of a path regardless of direction.
Total displacement is the shortest distance between point A to point B
For example: If I walked 5m east and 5m west,
Total distance is: 10m (5+5)
Total displacement is: 0m (5-5)
If an object is moving in a straight line with CONSTANT velocity, what is the
acceleration?
Zero
If the velocity is constant, that means it never changes it's speed
If it never changes speed, it never has to accelerate or slow down.
What does it mean when two cars are going at the same speed but different directions?
