Exam 4: Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity

A popular end for many cartoon characters is to fall into a "bottomless pit" in which the unfortunate character will fall forever. Consider the space shuttle in orbit around the Earth. Argue that there is a strong analogy between the cartoon "bottomless pit" and the orbital motion of the shuttle.

Do Things We Cannot Directly Detect Exist? In the early part of the 20th century, physicists experimentally discovered that a certain type of radioactive decay did not seem to conserve either energy or momentum. These experiments were "explained" by postulating the existence of an undetected (and potentially undetectable) particle, dubbed the neutrino, that carried away the missing energy and momentum. It was argued that neutrinos interacted so weakly with matter that they were extremely hard to detect. If you were a scientist at this time, how would you evaluate the reasonableness this solution given Occam's razor?

As long as an object is not gaining or losing mass, a net force on the object will cause a change in

Each of the following lists two facts. Which pair of facts can be used with Newton's version of Kepler's third law to determine the mass of the Sun?

Consider the elliptical orbit of a comet around the Sun. Where in its orbit is the comet moving the fastest?

Suppose it takes 6 seconds for a watermelon to fall to the ground after being dropped from a tall building. If there were no air resistance, so that the watermelon would fall with the acceleration of gravity, about how fast would it be going when it hit the ground?

When energy is converted from one form to another, a tiny amount is inevitably lost.

What is the difference between a bound orbit and an unbound orbit around the Sun?

The fact that Voyager 10 continues to speed out of the solar system, even though its rockets have no fuel, is an example of

Momentum is defined as ________.

If your mass is 60 kg on Earth, what would your mass be on the Moon?

Doubling the distance between two objects halves the gravitational force between them.

Gasoline is useful in cars because it has

Considering Einstein's famous equation, E = mc², which of the following statements is true?

A planet is orbiting a star. Which of the following statements is true for the acceleration and gravitational forces experienced by the star and the planet?

Suppose that two objects collide. Which of the following things is not the same both before and after the collision?

Suppose an object is moving in a straight line at 50 mi/hr. According to Newton's first law of motion, the object will

Suppose you are in an elevator that is traveling upward at constant speed. How does your weight compare to your normal weight on the ground?

The movement of a pool ball, after being struck by a cue, is an example of

According to the universal law of gravitation, the force due to gravity is