In Preparation of 1st Physics Exam

[quality101]

Thanks for the help you have shown me so far, it has been very much appreciated. I am preparing for my first Physics I exam and would like your opinion. We are allowed a single 4 x 6 index card to take to class and use on the test. We will also be provided formulas and conversion factor data. If this were your first test, what information would you put on that card?

This course is Trig based and I am fairly confident in my ability to use it on the test. There will most likely be questions regarding Order of Magnitude calculations, Conversion of Units, Motion in One Dimension with Constant Acceleration, Vectors and Two-Dimensional Motion, and Projectile Motion. Your recommendations please.

 

[Pyrrhus]

If you know Calculus, you won't need a support card, if you don't, you might want to put the constant acceleration equations in the card. Do you know your trig well? Cosine Law, Sine Law? Trig Identities?

 

[quality101]

To date the trig used in class has been very simple soh-cah-toa of right angle triangle solving for a leg of the triangle or for theta. I have had no trouble with these type of calculations. I'm sure we'll be getting into some higher trig calculations as we go forward.

My biggest problem has been setting up the problems in a reasonable time. Simple things like computing acceleration has somehow eluded me. If a rocket is accelerating at 30.0 m/s^2 for a period of 3.0 s what would its final velocity be if initial velocity was 100 m/s? Would it be 190 m/s or 370 m/s? I think I have been out of school too long...

 

[tyco05]

These type of questions are easily solved using the constant acceleration formulae.

$$v=u+at$$

$$v^2=u^2+2as$$

$$s=ut+\frac{1}{2}at^2$$

I'm sure there's more, but these are the main ones I can ever remember using.
The first one will solve your question, and it will be 190m/s.

 

[quality101]

Thanks again for the help.