Mechanics Practice Questions: Test Your Knowledge | LearnByTeaching.ai
These 40 practice questions cover the core areas of classical mechanics, from kinematics and Newton's laws through energy methods and rotational dynamics. Use them to test your problem-solving skills and identify which concepts need additional practice before exams.
40 questions total
Kinematics and Motion
Covers displacement, velocity, acceleration, projectile motion, and motion in one and two dimensions.
An object is thrown straight up with an initial velocity of 20 m/s. Ignoring air resistance, what is its velocity at the highest point?
A car accelerates from rest at 3 m/s^2 for 8 seconds. What distance does it travel?
A ball is launched horizontally from a cliff at 15 m/s. Ignoring air resistance, what is its horizontal velocity after 3 seconds?
Two objects are dropped from the same height. Object A has twice the mass of Object B. In the absence of air resistance, which hits the ground first?
A projectile is launched at 30 degrees above the horizontal. Compared to one launched at 60 degrees with the same speed, the 30-degree projectile will have:
On a velocity vs. time graph, the area under the curve represents:
A boat crosses a 200 m wide river at 4 m/s perpendicular to the current, while the current flows at 3 m/s. How long does it take to cross?
The instantaneous velocity of an object is defined as:
An object moving in a circle at constant speed has:
A car traveling at 30 m/s brakes with a deceleration of 5 m/s^2. How far does it travel before stopping?
Newton's Laws and Forces
Covers Newton's three laws, free-body diagrams, friction, normal force, tension, and applications to common force problems.
Newton's First Law states that an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by:
A 10 kg box is pushed across a floor with a horizontal force of 50 N. If the kinetic friction coefficient is 0.3, what is the acceleration?
According to Newton's Third Law, when you push on a wall with 100 N of force, the wall pushes back on you with:
A 5 kg block is on a frictionless 30-degree inclined plane. What is the acceleration of the block down the plane?
Two blocks (3 kg and 5 kg) are connected by a massless string on a frictionless surface. A 40 N force pulls the 5 kg block. What is the tension in the string?
Static friction differs from kinetic friction in that static friction:
An elevator accelerates upward at 2 m/s^2. A 60 kg person inside feels an apparent weight of:
In a free-body diagram, which of the following is NOT a force that should be drawn?
A 1,000 kg car rounds a flat curve of radius 50 m at 20 m/s. What friction force is needed to keep it on the road?
When a skydiver reaches terminal velocity, the net force on them is:
Work, Energy, and Momentum
Covers work-energy theorem, kinetic and potential energy, conservation of energy, impulse-momentum theorem, and collisions.
The work done by a force is zero when:
A 2 kg ball falls from a height of 10 m. What is its speed just before hitting the ground? (Neglect air resistance, g = 9.8 m/s^2)
If an object's kinetic energy doubles, its speed increases by a factor of:
A spring with spring constant k = 200 N/m is compressed 0.1 m. What potential energy is stored in the spring?
In a perfectly inelastic collision, which quantity is conserved?
The impulse-momentum theorem states that impulse equals:
A 50 kg person climbs a 5 m ladder in 10 seconds. What power do they exert against gravity?
A roller coaster car at the top of a 20 m hill has a speed of 5 m/s. What is its speed at the bottom of the hill? (Neglect friction)
Two objects with equal mass undergo a head-on elastic collision. Object 1 is moving and Object 2 is stationary. After the collision:
Conservative forces have the property that:
Rotational Dynamics
Covers torque, moment of inertia, angular momentum, rotational kinematics, and rolling motion.
Torque is defined as:
The moment of inertia of an object depends on:
Angular momentum is conserved when:
A uniform disk and a uniform ring of equal mass and radius roll down the same incline without slipping. Which reaches the bottom first?
The rotational analog of Newton's second law (F = ma) is:
A wrench is used to tighten a bolt. To maximize torque, you should:
The condition 'rolling without slipping' means:
A spinning figure skater pulls their arms in, reducing their moment of inertia by half. Their angular velocity:
The total kinetic energy of a rolling object (without slipping) is:
Two identical stars orbit their common center of mass. If the distance between them decreases, their orbital period:
Scoring Guide
Total possible: 40
Study Recommendations
- Practice drawing free-body diagrams for every force problem — this single skill prevents more errors than any other in mechanics.
- Use energy conservation as a check on Newton's law solutions whenever possible, and learn to recognize when each approach is more efficient.
- Build strong connections between linear and rotational analogs (force/torque, mass/moment of inertia, momentum/angular momentum) to leverage your linear mechanics knowledge.
- Work problems involving multiple concepts together (e.g., projectile motion with energy, collisions with rotation) to develop the ability to select and combine approaches.
- Solve problems before looking at solutions — struggling with the setup is where real learning happens in mechanics.
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