| Step | Derivation/Formula | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | [katex]PE_{\text{initial}} = KE_{\text{final}} + PE_{\text{spring, final}}[/katex] | Apply the law of conservation of energy. Initially, the climber has potential energy due to gravity, which gets converted into kinetic energy and the potential energy of the spring (the rope) when the climber is momentarily at rest. |
| 2 | [katex]mg(h + x) = \frac{1}{2}kx^2[/katex] | Express the potential energy due to height ([katex]mgh[/katex]) and potential energy stored in the stretched spring ([katex]\frac{1}{2}kx^2[/katex]), where [katex]m[/katex] is mass, [katex]g[/katex] is acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2), [katex]h[/katex] is the original fall distance, and [katex]x[/katex] is the additional stretch in the rope. |
| 3 | [katex]84.4 \times 9.8 \times (0.627 + x) = \frac{1}{2} \times 1340 \times x^2[/katex] | Substitute the values [katex]m = 84.4\,kg[/katex], [katex]g = 9.8\,m/s^2[/katex], [katex]k = 1340\,N/m[/katex], and [katex]h = 0.627\,m[/katex] into the energy equation. |
| 4 | Solve for [katex]x[/katex] | Simplify and rearrange the equation introduced in Step 3 to form a quadratic equation in the standard form [katex]ax^2 + bx + c = 0[/katex]. Solve the quadratic using the formula [katex]x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 – 4ac}}{2a}[/katex]. |
| 5 | [katex]670x^2 – 825.712x – 515.7308 = 0[/katex] | Perform the calculation to get the quadratic equation: [katex]670x^2 – 825.712x – 515.7308 = 0[/katex]. |
| 7 | [katex]x \approx 1.688\,m[/katex] or [katex]x \approx -0.456\,m[/katex] | Calculate the roots, by graphing or using the quadratic formula. Note the negative root (approximately -0.456 m) is not physically meaningful since stretch can’t be negative. |
| 8 | [katex]x \approx \boxed{ 1.688\,m} [/katex] | The feasible physical solution is that the rope stretches about 1.688 meters when it brings the climber to rest. |
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 projectile of mass 0.750 kg is shot straight up with an initial speed of 18.0 m/s.
A student is designing an experiment to find the spring constant \( k \) of a spring using only a set of known masses and a stopwatch. Which procedure would work?
Two boxes are tied together by a string and are sitting at rest on a frictionless surface. Between the two boxes is a massless compressed spring. The string trying the two boxes is then cut and the spring expands, pushing the boxes apart. The box on the left has four times the mass of the box on the right.
A spring in a pogo-stick is compressed \( 12 \) \( \text{cm} \) when a \( 40. \) \( \text{kg} \) girl stands on it. What is the spring constant for the pogo-stick spring?
A \(2,000 \, \text{kg}\) car collides with a stationary \(1,000 \, \text{kg}\) car. Afterwards, they slide \(6 \, \text{m}\) before coming to a stop. The coefficient of friction between the tires and the road is \(0.7\). Find the initial velocity of the \(2,000 \, \text{kg}\) car before the collision?
A box of mass \( 20 \) \( \text{kg} \) moves to the right on a horizontal frictionless surface with a speed of \( 4.0 \) \( \text{m/s} \). The box collides with and remains attached to one end of a spring of negligible mass whose other end is fixed to a wall. After the collision, the spring compresses a maximum distance of \( 0.50 \) \( \text{m} \), and the box then oscillates back and forth.

A bullet (mass: \(0.05 \, \text{kg}\)) is fired horizontally (\(v = 200 \, \text{m/s}\)) at a block (mass: \(1.3 \, \text{kg}\)) initially at rest on a frictionless surface. The block is attached to a spring (\(k = 2500 \, \text{N/m}\)). The bullet becomes embedded. Calculate:
Jill does twice as much work as Jack does and in half the time. Jill’s power output is

The box in the diagram is sliding to the right across a horizontal table, under the influence of the forces shown. Which force(s) is doing negative work on the box?
A theme park ride consists of a large vertical wheel of radius \( R \) that rotates counterclockwise on a horizontal axle through its center. The cars on the wheel move at a constant speed \( v \). Points \( A \) and \( D \) represent the position of a car at the highest and lowest point of the ride, respectively. While passing point \( A \), a student releases a small rock of mass \( m \), which falls to the ground without hitting anything. Which of the following best represents the kinetic energy of the rock when it is at the same height as point \( D \)?
1.688 m
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?