Cracking the SAT Physics Subject Test

and speed are maximized. ...

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Despite these similarities, there is one important difference. Simple harmonic motion results from a restoring force that has a ...

Chapter 8 Comprehensive Drill See Chapter 17 for solutions. Characteristics of simple harmonic motion include which of the foll ...

(C) (D) (E) A student measures the maximum speed of a block undergoing simple harmonic oscillations of amplitude A on the end o ...

A block of mass m = 4 kg on a frictionless, horizontal table is attached to one end of a spring of force constant k = 400 N/m a ...

(B) (C) T (D) T (E) 2T A simple pendulum of length L and mass m swings about the vertical equilibrium position (θ = 0) with a m ...

Key Terms simple harmonic motion Hooke’s law spring (or force) constant equilibrium position restoring force ideal (or linear) s ...

Summary When a spring is stretched or compressed horizontally, a force is created as the spring tries to return to its equilibri ...

Chapter 9 Electric Forces and Fields Perhaps not surprisingly, you do not need to know a lot of chemistry for the SAT Physics Su ...

ELECTRIC CHARGE Protons and neutrons form the nucleus of the atom (and are referred to collectively as nucleons), while the elec ...

be added or subtracted only in lumps of size e. For this reason we say that charge is quantized. To remind us of the quantized n ...

COULOMB’S LAW The electric force between two charged particles obeys the same mathematical law as the gravitational force betwee ...

Since one of these forces points to the left and one points to the right, calling FE negative is problematic. They both can’t fe ...

each another. Repulsion is shown by vectors pointing away from each other. Simple, right? Superposition Consider three point cha ...

The fact that electric forces can be added in this way is known as superposition. It’s also worth noting that this is true for a ...

If the two positive charges on the bottom side of the square in the previous example were removed, what would be the net electr ...

It is clear from the diagram on the left that F 1 y = F 1 sin 45° and F 2 y = F 2 sin 45°. Also, the magnitude of F 1 equals tha ...

THE ELECTRIC FIELD Objects on Earth (and those in orbit) experience a gravitational force directed toward the earth’s center. Fo ...

We can think of the space surrounding the earth as permeated by a gravitational field that’s created by the earth. Any mass that ...