The Experts at Dummies - Physics I: 501 Practice Problems For Dummies (+ Free Online Practice)

Physics I: 501 Practice Problems For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS WORK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES, WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS OR PROMOTIONAL STATEMENTS FOR THIS WORK. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS ENDORSE THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES THE ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A SPECIALIST WHERE APPROPRIATE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies .

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022935115

ISBN 978-1-119-88371-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-88372-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-88373-9 (ebk)

Whether you want some extra practice for your college or high school physics class, you want to refresh your memory about a course you took long ago, or youre simply curious about the way the universe works, youve found the right book. After all, the best way to learn physics is to do physics, and the hundreds of problems in this book give you plenty of opportunity to do physics. You can practice as much as you like and become a pro at figuring out the right way to start out all sorts of problems that youd expect to see in the first semester of a one-year physics course.

Why doesnt the moon crash into the earth? How is it possible to sleep on a bed of nails? Why does the water level in your glass stay the same when the ice melts? By working through the many problems in this book, youll be better able to explain these and other mysteries of the universe to your friends.

The Physics I practice problems in this book are divided into 15 chapters, beginning with foundational practice (such as calculating displacement and working with vectors); moving on to forces, energy, and momentum; and wrapping up with thermodynamics. Some of the questions require you to reference a diagram, but that instruction is always clear within the questions.

contains the solutions to all of the practice problems, as well as detailed explanations that help you understand how to come up with the correct answer. If you get a particular question wrong, though, dont just read the answer explanation and move on. Instead, try solving the question again because you know that now you wont make the same mistake that got you to the original wrong answer in the first place. (After all, sometimes knowing what not to do is a great start in discovering what to do.)

Whatever you do, stay positive. The harder questions in this book arent meant to discourage you. Rather, theyre meant to prove to you just how well you can understand the many challenging concepts presented in a typical Physics I class.

This workbook is divided into two main parts: the questions and the answers.

The questions in this book cover the following topics:

• Math basics: To learn physics, you need to know a little bit of math. (Just a little!) checks your knowledge of basic algebra, trigonometry, units, and significant digits.
• Kinematics: The basic quantities you use to describe motion are displacement, velocity, and acceleration. In deals with the two-dimensional case.
• Forces: Newtons laws relate forces and motion. questions you on friction and gravitational force.
• Angular motion: The linear quantities you use to describe motion and forces have angular analogues. deals with torque, angular momentum, and rotational kinetic energy.
• Energy and momentum: You can discover a lot about the world around you by studying conserved quantities such as energy and momentum. focuses on momentum and collisions.
• Simple harmonic motion: Periodic motion occurs repeatedly in nature, which is why has you practice working with springs and pendula.
• Liquids, gases, and thermodynamics: Dealing with macroscopic properties is often easier than keeping track of the motion of each molecule. gets you applying the laws of thermodynamics to heat engines, heat pumps, and other situations.