AC HPAT Physics Study Guide
Questions and Actual Answers 2025-
2026 Updated.
Distance - Answer · Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object
has covered" during its motion.
Displacement - Answer · Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of
place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.
Position - Answer · Position is a place where someone or something is located or has been
put. In physics, position is usually a number on an axis. ... Position is a vector, because direction
matters. But distance is a scalar. Distance is how far you've traveled.
Speed - Answer · Speed is the distance traveled per unit of time. It is how fast an object is
moving. Speed is the scalar quantity that is the magnitude of the velocity vector. It doesn't have
a direction.
Acceleration - Answer · Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with time.
Instantenous velocity - Answer · Instantaneous velocity is the velocity of an object in motion
at a specific point in time. This is determined similarly to average velocity, but we narrow the
period of time so that it approaches zero. If an object has a standard velocity over a period of
time, its average and instantaneous velocities may be the same.
A force - Answer a force is any interaction that, when unopposed, will change the motion of
an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (which includes to begin
moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a push
or a pull
Net force - Answer · Net force is the vector sum of forces acting on a particle or body. The
net force is a single force that replaces the effect of the original forces on the particle's motion.
It gives the particle the same acceleration as all those actual forces together as described by the
Newton's second law of motion.
Uniform vs. non-uniform motion - Answer · Difference between uniform and non-uniform
, What is the difference between constant, instantaneous, and average speed? - Answer ·
constant speed is where the speed is the same throughout and instantaneous speed is speed
given at any moment and average speed is a total distance traveled divided by the amount of
time it took to travel it.
Newtons Laws - Answer Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in
uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an
external force. The second law states that the acceleration of an object is dependent upon two
variables - the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object.
The third law states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
Coefficient of friction - Answer · A coefficient of friction is a value that shows the relationship
between two objects and the normal reaction between the objects that are involved. ... The
coefficient of friction depends on the objects that are causing friction. The value is usually
between 0 and 1 but can be greater than 1.
Torque - Answer Torque is a measure of the force that can cause an object to rotate about an
axis. Just as force is what causes an object to accelerate in linear kinematics, torque is what
causes an object to acquire angular acceleration. Torque is a vector quantity
Mechanical advantage - Answer · Mechanical advantage is the ratio of the force produced by
a machine to the force applied to it, used in assessing the performance of a machine.
Input vs output force - Answer · The difference between the two is very simple to
understand: Input Force represents the amount of force that you put into another object.
Output Force represents the force that a specific object has as a result of the input force.
Gravitational force - Answer · The gravitational force is a force that attracts any two objects
with mass. ... In fact, every object, including you, is pulling on every other object in the entire
universe! This is called Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation.
Friction - Answer · Friction is a force that holds back the movement of a sliding object. That's
it. Friction is just that simple. You will find friction everywhere that objects come into contact
with each other.
Normal force - Answer · The normal force is the support force exerted upon an object that is
in contact with another stable object. For example, if a book is resting upon a surface, then the
Questions and Actual Answers 2025-
2026 Updated.
Distance - Answer · Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object
has covered" during its motion.
Displacement - Answer · Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of
place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.
Position - Answer · Position is a place where someone or something is located or has been
put. In physics, position is usually a number on an axis. ... Position is a vector, because direction
matters. But distance is a scalar. Distance is how far you've traveled.
Speed - Answer · Speed is the distance traveled per unit of time. It is how fast an object is
moving. Speed is the scalar quantity that is the magnitude of the velocity vector. It doesn't have
a direction.
Acceleration - Answer · Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with time.
Instantenous velocity - Answer · Instantaneous velocity is the velocity of an object in motion
at a specific point in time. This is determined similarly to average velocity, but we narrow the
period of time so that it approaches zero. If an object has a standard velocity over a period of
time, its average and instantaneous velocities may be the same.
A force - Answer a force is any interaction that, when unopposed, will change the motion of
an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (which includes to begin
moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a push
or a pull
Net force - Answer · Net force is the vector sum of forces acting on a particle or body. The
net force is a single force that replaces the effect of the original forces on the particle's motion.
It gives the particle the same acceleration as all those actual forces together as described by the
Newton's second law of motion.
Uniform vs. non-uniform motion - Answer · Difference between uniform and non-uniform
, What is the difference between constant, instantaneous, and average speed? - Answer ·
constant speed is where the speed is the same throughout and instantaneous speed is speed
given at any moment and average speed is a total distance traveled divided by the amount of
time it took to travel it.
Newtons Laws - Answer Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in
uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an
external force. The second law states that the acceleration of an object is dependent upon two
variables - the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object.
The third law states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
Coefficient of friction - Answer · A coefficient of friction is a value that shows the relationship
between two objects and the normal reaction between the objects that are involved. ... The
coefficient of friction depends on the objects that are causing friction. The value is usually
between 0 and 1 but can be greater than 1.
Torque - Answer Torque is a measure of the force that can cause an object to rotate about an
axis. Just as force is what causes an object to accelerate in linear kinematics, torque is what
causes an object to acquire angular acceleration. Torque is a vector quantity
Mechanical advantage - Answer · Mechanical advantage is the ratio of the force produced by
a machine to the force applied to it, used in assessing the performance of a machine.
Input vs output force - Answer · The difference between the two is very simple to
understand: Input Force represents the amount of force that you put into another object.
Output Force represents the force that a specific object has as a result of the input force.
Gravitational force - Answer · The gravitational force is a force that attracts any two objects
with mass. ... In fact, every object, including you, is pulling on every other object in the entire
universe! This is called Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation.
Friction - Answer · Friction is a force that holds back the movement of a sliding object. That's
it. Friction is just that simple. You will find friction everywhere that objects come into contact
with each other.
Normal force - Answer · The normal force is the support force exerted upon an object that is
in contact with another stable object. For example, if a book is resting upon a surface, then the
