Chapter 2 Problems
Conceptual Problems
C.1 A toddler has become lost in the forest and her father is trying to retrieve her. He is currently located to the north of a large
tree and he hears her shouts coming from the south. Do we know from this information whether the toddler is north or south
of the tree?
Yes No
C.2 Assume Waterville is precisely 100 miles due east of Seattle. (a) With Seattle at the origin, draw a number line that shows
only the east-west positions of both cities, with east as positive. (b) Draw a different number line that shows the east-west
positions of the cities with Waterville at the origin, and east still positive.C.3 Julie is a citizen of Country A and she is describing the nearby geography: "Our capital is at the origin. Our famous beaches
are 200 km directly west of our capital. Country B's capital is 200 km directly east of our capital. Country B's largest mountain
is 700 km to the east of Country A's capital." (a) Draw the four geographical features on a number line from Julie's
perspective. (b) A citizen of Country B begs to differ. He believes that his capital is the origin. Draw the features on a number
line from his perspective.C.4 A long straight highway has markers along the side that represent the distance north (in miles) from the start of the highway.
In terms of displacement, is there any difference in moving (a) from the "3" marker to the "7" marker, or from "4" to "8"? (b)
From "1" to "3", or from "3" to "1"?
(a) Yes No
(b) Yes No
C.5 A diver is standing on a diving board that is 15 meters above the surface of the water. He jumps 0.50 meters straight up into
the air, dives into the water and goes 3.0 meters underwater before returning to the surface. (a) Assume that "up" is the
positive direction. What is the vertical displacement of the diver from when he is standing on the diving board to when he
emerges from underwater? (b) Now assume that "down" is the positive direction. Determine the displacement, as before.
(a) m
(b) m
C.6 Can a car with negative velocity move faster than a car with positive velocity? Explain.
Yes No
C.7 Two people drive their cars from Piscataway, New Jersey, to Perkasie, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles east, leaving at the
same time and using the same route. The first driver travels at a constant speed the whole trip. The second driver stops for a
while for doughnuts and coffee in Lambertville. They arrive in Perkasie at the same time. Do the cars have the same average
velocity? Explain.
Yes No
C.8 Elaine wants to return a video she rented at the video store, which is 5.0 kilometers away in the positive direction. It takes her
10 minutes to drive to the store, 1.0 minute to deposit the videotape, and 9.0 more minutes to drive home. What is her
average velocity for the entire trip?
m/s
C.9 An airplane starts out at the Tokyo Narita Airport (x = 0) destined for Bangkok, Thailand (x = 4603 km). After departing from
the gate, the plane has to wait ten minutes on the runway before taking off. When the plane is halfway to Bangkok, and
cruising at its top speed, which of these is greater: instantaneous velocity, or average velocity since leaving the gate?
i. Instantaneous velocity
ii. Average velocity
iii. They're the same
C.10The position versus time graph for a man
trapped on an island is shown. Is he traveling
at a constant velocity? Explain.
Yes No(^44) Copyright 2007 Kinetic Books Co. Chapter 2 Problems