| Step | Derivation/Formula | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| (a) The minimum velocity needed to hit the spaceship. | ||
| 1 | Use the kinematic equation to find minimum initial velocity \( v_0 \) to reach height \( h = 1500 \, \text{m} \):
\( v^2 = v_0^2 – 2 g h \) |
At maximum height, final velocity \( v = 0 \). |
| 2 | Solve for \( v_0 \):
\( 0 = v_0^2 – 2 g h \) |
Rearranged equation to solve for \( v_0 \). |
| 3 | Substitute \( g = 9.8 \, \text{m/s}^2 \) and \( h = 1500 \, \text{m} \):
\( v_0 = \sqrt{2 \times 9.8 \times 1500} \) |
Calculated the minimum initial velocity. |
| (b) Time taken to reach maximum height when launched at 180 m/s. | ||
| 4 | Use the equation for velocity at maximum height \( v = v_0 – g t \):
At maximum height, \( v = 0 \). So: |
Set final velocity to zero to solve for time \( t \). |
| 5 | Solve for \( t \):
\( t = \dfrac{180}{9.8} \approx 18.37 \, \text{s} \) |
Calculated time to reach maximum height. |
| (c) Maximum height the rocket reaches when launched at 180 m/s. | ||
| 6 | Use the kinematic equation:
\( h_{\text{max}} = \dfrac{v_0^2}{2 g} \) |
Calculated maximum height using initial speed. |
| 7 | Compute \( h_{\text{max}} \):
\( h_{\text{max}} = \dfrac{32,400}{19.6} \approx 1,653.06 \, \text{m} \) |
Found the maximum height reached. |
| (d) Velocity and time of impact with the spacecraft. | ||
| 8 | Use vertical motion equation to find time \( t \) when \( y = 1500 \, \text{m} \):
\( y = v_0 t – \dfrac{1}{2} g t^2 \) |
Set up equation for position at impact height. |
| 9 | Rearrange into quadratic form:
\( -4.9 t^2 + 180 t – 1500 = 0 \) |
Prepared equation for quadratic formula. |
| 10 | Use quadratic formula \( t = \dfrac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 – 4 a c}}{2 a} \):
\( a = 4.9 \), \( b = -180 \), \( c = 1500 \) |
Calculated discriminant \( D \). |
| 11 | Solve for \( t \):
\( t = \dfrac{-(-180) \pm \sqrt{3,000}}{2 \times 4.9} \) |
Found two times when rocket is at \( 1500 \, \text{m} \). |
| 12 | Choose the most likely ascending time \( t = 12.78 \, \text{s} \) (on way up). | The rocket hits the spacecraft on its ascent. |
| 13 | Calculate velocity at impact:
\( v = v_0 – g t \) |
Determined velocity upon reaching the spacecraft. |
A Major Upgrade To Phy Is Coming Soon — Stay Tuned
We'll help clarify entire units in one hour or less — guaranteed.
A self paced course with videos, problems sets, and everything you need to get a 5. Trusted by over 15k students and over 200 schools.
A teacher walks the following path in \( 10 \) \( \text{s} \): \( 2 \) \( \text{m} \) south, \( 4 \) \( \text{m} \) east, \( 2 \) \( \text{m} \) north, \( 4 \) \( \text{m} \) west. What is the teacher’s average velocity?
An object is moving in the \( +x \) direction and begins to slow down. What must be true about its acceleration?
A rollercoaster leaves the station at rest. Its speed increases steadily for \( 6 \) \( \text{s} \) as it heads down the first drop. The ride then levels out and it moves at a constant speed for \( 4 \) \( \text{s} \) before hitting the brakes and stopping in \( 3 \) \( \text{s} \). Draw the velocity vs. time graph or explain it in terms of functions.
A girl, standing still, tosses a ball vertically upwards. One second later, she tosses up another ball at the same velocity. The balls collide \( 0.5 \) \( \text{s} \) after the second ball is tossed. With what velocity were they tossed? The acceleration due to gravity is \( 9.8 \) \( \text{m/s}^2 \).
A baseball is tossed from street level by a student straight up at a speed of \(25.3 \text{ m/s}\). After reaching maximum height, it is caught by another student on the roof of a building, \(17.4 \text{ m}\) above the street. How long did this take?
A car accelerates from rest with an acceleration of \( 3.5 \, \text{m/s}^2 \) for \( 10 \, \text{s} \). After this, it continues at a constant speed for an unknown amount of time. The driver notices a ramp \( 50 \, \text{m} \) ahead and takes \( 0.6 \, \text{s} \) to react. After reacting, the driver hits the brakes, which slow the car with an acceleration of \( 7.2 \, \text{m/s}^2 \). Unfortunately, the driver does not stop in time and goes off the \( 3 \, \text{m} \) high ramp that is angled at \( 27^\circ \).
You throw a rock straight up with an initial velocity of \( 5.0 \, \text{m/s} \).

The graph above shows velocity \( v \) versus time \( t \) for an object in linear motion. Which of the following is a possible graph of position (\( x \)) versus time (\( t \)) for this object?

A horizontal spring with spring constant 162 N/m is compressed 50 cm and used to launch a 3 kg box across a frictionless, horizontal surface. After the box travels some distance, the surface becomes rough. The coefficient of kinetic friction of the box on the rough surface is 0.2. Find the total distance the box travels before stopping.
Person A throws a ball horizontally from a cliff \( 20 \) \( \text{m} \) tall at \( 12 \) \( \text{m/s} \). Person B is running to the right on the ground and catches the ball at the same height it would’ve landed after running \( 15 \) \( \text{m} \). How fast was Person B running?
By continuing you (1) agree to our Terms of Use and Terms of Sale and (2) consent to sharing your IP and browser information used by this site’s security protocols as outlined in our Privacy Policy.
| Kinematics | Forces |
|---|---|
| \(\Delta x = v_i t + \frac{1}{2} at^2\) | \(F = ma\) |
| \(v = v_i + at\) | \(F_g = \frac{G m_1 m_2}{r^2}\) |
| \(v^2 = v_i^2 + 2a \Delta x\) | \(f = \mu N\) |
| \(\Delta x = \frac{v_i + v}{2} t\) | \(F_s =-kx\) |
| \(v^2 = v_f^2 \,-\, 2a \Delta x\) |
| Circular Motion | Energy |
|---|---|
| \(F_c = \frac{mv^2}{r}\) | \(KE = \frac{1}{2} mv^2\) |
| \(a_c = \frac{v^2}{r}\) | \(PE = mgh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{r}{g}}\) | \(KE_i + PE_i = KE_f + PE_f\) |
| \(W = Fd \cos\theta\) |
| Momentum | Torque and Rotations |
|---|---|
| \(p = mv\) | \(\tau = r \cdot F \cdot \sin(\theta)\) |
| \(J = \Delta p\) | \(I = \sum mr^2\) |
| \(p_i = p_f\) | \(L = I \cdot \omega\) |
| Simple Harmonic Motion | Fluids |
|---|---|
| \(F = -kx\) | \(P = \frac{F}{A}\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{l}{g}}\) | \(P_{\text{total}} = P_{\text{atm}} + \rho gh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{m}{k}}\) | \(Q = Av\) |
| \(x(t) = A \cos(\omega t + \phi)\) | \(F_b = \rho V g\) |
| \(a = -\omega^2 x\) | \(A_1v_1 = A_2v_2\) |
| Constant | Description |
|---|---|
| [katex]g[/katex] | Acceleration due to gravity, typically [katex]9.8 , \text{m/s}^2[/katex] on Earth’s surface |
| [katex]G[/katex] | Universal Gravitational Constant, [katex]6.674 \times 10^{-11} , \text{N} \cdot \text{m}^2/\text{kg}^2[/katex] |
| [katex]\mu_k[/katex] and [katex]\mu_s[/katex] | Coefficients of kinetic ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) and static ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) friction, dimensionless. Static friction ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) is usually greater than kinetic friction ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) as it resists the start of motion. |
| [katex]k[/katex] | Spring constant, in [katex]\text{N/m}[/katex] |
| [katex] M_E = 5.972 \times 10^{24} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Earth |
| [katex] M_M = 7.348 \times 10^{22} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Moon |
| [katex] M_M = 1.989 \times 10^{30} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Sun |
| Variable | SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]s[/katex] (Displacement) | [katex]\text{meters (m)}[/katex] |
| [katex]v[/katex] (Velocity) | [katex]\text{meters per second (m/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]a[/katex] (Acceleration) | [katex]\text{meters per second squared (m/s}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]t[/katex] (Time) | [katex]\text{seconds (s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]m[/katex] (Mass) | [katex]\text{kilograms (kg)}[/katex] |
| Variable | Derived SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]F[/katex] (Force) | [katex]\text{newtons (N)}[/katex] |
| [katex]E[/katex], [katex]PE[/katex], [katex]KE[/katex] (Energy, Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy) | [katex]\text{joules (J)}[/katex] |
| [katex]P[/katex] (Power) | [katex]\text{watts (W)}[/katex] |
| [katex]p[/katex] (Momentum) | [katex]\text{kilogram meters per second (kgm/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\omega[/katex] (Angular Velocity) | [katex]\text{radians per second (rad/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\tau[/katex] (Torque) | [katex]\text{newton meters (Nm)}[/katex] |
| [katex]I[/katex] (Moment of Inertia) | [katex]\text{kilogram meter squared (kgm}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]f[/katex] (Frequency) | [katex]\text{hertz (Hz)}[/katex] |
Metric Prefixes
Example of using unit analysis: Convert 5 kilometers to millimeters.
Start with the given measurement: [katex]\text{5 km}[/katex]
Use the conversion factors for kilometers to meters and meters to millimeters: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}}[/katex]
Perform the multiplication: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}} = 5 \times 10^3 \times 10^3 \, \text{mm}[/katex]
Simplify to get the final answer: [katex]\boxed{5 \times 10^6 \, \text{mm}}[/katex]
Prefix | Symbol | Power of Ten | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
Pico- | p | [katex]10^{-12}[/katex] | 0.000000000001 |
Nano- | n | [katex]10^{-9}[/katex] | 0.000000001 |
Micro- | µ | [katex]10^{-6}[/katex] | 0.000001 |
Milli- | m | [katex]10^{-3}[/katex] | 0.001 |
Centi- | c | [katex]10^{-2}[/katex] | 0.01 |
Deci- | d | [katex]10^{-1}[/katex] | 0.1 |
(Base unit) | – | [katex]10^{0}[/katex] | 1 |
Deca- or Deka- | da | [katex]10^{1}[/katex] | 10 |
Hecto- | h | [katex]10^{2}[/katex] | 100 |
Kilo- | k | [katex]10^{3}[/katex] | 1,000 |
Mega- | M | [katex]10^{6}[/katex] | 1,000,000 |
Giga- | G | [katex]10^{9}[/katex] | 1,000,000,000 |
Tera- | T | [katex]10^{12}[/katex] | 1,000,000,000,000 |
One price to unlock most advanced version of Phy across all our tools.
per month
Billed Monthly. Cancel Anytime.
We crafted THE Ultimate A.P Physics 1 Program so you can learn faster and score higher.
Try our free calculator to see what you need to get a 5 on the 2026 AP Physics 1 exam.
A quick explanation
Credits are used to grade your FRQs and GQs. Pro users get unlimited credits.
Submitting counts as 1 attempt.
Viewing answers or explanations count as a failed attempts.
Phy gives partial credit if needed
MCQs and GQs are are 1 point each. FRQs will state points for each part.
Phy customizes problem explanations based on what you struggle with. Just hit the explanation button to see.
Understand you mistakes quicker.
Phy automatically provides feedback so you can improve your responses.
10 Free Credits To Get You Started
By continuing you agree to nerd-notes.com Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and our usage of user data.
Feeling uneasy about your next physics test? We'll boost your grade in 3 lessons or less—guaranteed
NEW! PHY AI accurately solves all questions
🔥 Get up to 30% off Elite Physics Tutoring
🧠 NEW! Learn Physics From Scratch Self Paced Course
🎯 Need exam style practice questions?