Name ________________________________________________________ Per ______ Date________

Motion in 2D Practice Test

1. _____ A rock is launched at a 60 degree angle above the horizontal with initial speed v as shown
in the diagram below. The rock reaches maximum height h in the middle of the path, travels a
horizontal distance d when it impacts Earth, and has a total flight time of t. If another rock is
launched at the same angle, but with speed 2v, which of the following describe the maximum
height, flight time, horizontal distance, and impact speed?

Max Height Flight Time Horiz. Dist. Impact Speed

a) 2h 2t 2d 4v

b) 4h 2t 4d 2v

c) 2h 4t 4d 4v

d) 4h 4t 2d 2v

2. _____ A rock is thrown at an angle. Its trajectory is shown in the figure below. What is the
direction of the acceleration at point D?

a. Right
b. Down
c. Left
d. Up

3. _____ The diagram below shows four cannons firing shells with different masses at different
angles of elevation. The horizontal component of the shell’s velocity is the same in all four cases.
In which case will the shell have the greatest time of flight if air resistance is neglected?

a. Cannon A
b. Cannon B
c. Cannon C
d. Cannon D
e. Both Cannon B and C
 4. _____ A projectile is shot with an initial velocity v0 at angle θ as shown in the diagram below. At
point P, it reaches a maximum height. It lands below its firing height. Air resistance is negligible.
Which of the following accurately reflects the magnitude of the horizontal component of the
velocity, vertical component of the velocity, and acceleration of the projectile at point P?

Horizontal Vertical Acceleration

Component Component
a. 0 -g
b. 0 0 -g
c. -g
d. 0
e. 0 0

5. _____ A plane is going to drop a package of mass m to a group of people stranded on an island as
shown in the diagram to the right. It releases the package a distance D from the land at a height of
h. The plane travels at a constant horizontal speed of v0. How much time does it take the package
to reach the ground?

a. b. c. d. e.

6. ______ A ball is launched at a speed of 20 m/s at a 45 degree angle from the

top of a 50 m cliff. It lands a distance D from the base of the cliff at point P.
(See diagram to the right) If the ball is launched at the same speed but a larger
angle, how would this affect the impact speed of the ball when it returns to the
ground?
a. it would increase
b. it would decrease
c. it would remain the same
d. not enough information is known to answer the question
Next 3 Questions: A projectile is shot with an initial velocity v0 at an angle θ. At point P, it reaches a
maximum height h. It lands at point Q. Air resistance is negligible.

7. _____ What was the speed of the projectile at point Q?

a. 0 b. v0 c. d. e.

8. _____ What was the speed of the projectile at point P?

a. 0 b. v0 c. d. e.

9. _____ What is the time of flight of the projectile?

a. b. c. d. e.

10. _____ What angle above (in degrees) above would maximize the horizontal displacement x?

a. 30 b. 60 c. 45 d. 30 and/or 60 e. 30, 60, and/or 45

11. _____ A plane is flying horizontally and drops an object as shown by the below diagram. What is
the direction of the velocity of the object that was dropped relative to the plane?

a. Up
b. Down
c. Down and to the Right
d. Down and to the Left

12. _____ A cannonball is fired horizontally off a cliff. Which

of the following trajectories accurately represents the path
of the cannonball?
a. Path A
b. Path B
c. Path C
d. Path D
13. _____ Which of the following velocity vs. time graphs represents the vertical component of the
velocity of an object that was launched into the air at an angle that returns to the ground?

14. _____ A girl wishes to swim across a river to a point directly

opposite as shown. She can swim at 2 m/s in still water and the
river is flowing at 1 m/s. At what angle Ɵ, with respect to the
line joining the starting and finishing points should she swim?
a. 30 degrees
b. 45 degrees
c. 60 degrees
d. 63 degrees
e. 90 degrees

15. _____ Two identical spheres are slowly rolling towards each other on a fast
moving train. The train is moving to the right at a high speed. The spheres
have a small velocity with respect to the floor of the train. Sphere A moves
to the right with respect to the train floor while Sphere B moves to the left
with respect to the train floor. Each vector is drawn to scale. What is the
direction velocity of objects A and B to a stationary observer watching the
train pass by?

Sphere A Sphere B
a. Right Left
b. Right Right
c. Left Left
d. Right Zero

16. _____ An angled projectile is shown in the graph below. What does the downward vector
represent? What does the other vector (the one that is changing) represent?

a. Downward vector: vertical velocity Changing vector: acceleration

b. Downward vector: acceleration Changing vector: velocity
c. Downward vector: acceleration Changing vector: horizontal velocity
d. Downward vector: vertical velocity Change vector: acceleration
17. A stone is projected at a cliff of height h with an initial speed of 42.0 m/s directed at a 60 degree
angle above the horizontal. The stone strikes at A, 5.50 s after launching.

a. Find the height h of the cliff. _________________

b. Find the speed of the stone just before impact at A. __________________

c. Find the maximum height H, the stone reached above the ground. __________________

d. Sketch the horizontal and vertical components of the stone’s velocity until the impact occurs.
Clearly mark the impact time (ti) on your graph and properly label your velocity lines.
18. A block slides on a level table and follows the trajectory shown, falling 0.80 meters vertically and
striking a target on the floor that is a horizontal distance of 1.2 meters from the edge of the table.

a. Calculate the time from the instant it leaves the table to when it strikes the floor. ________

b. Calculate the speed of the block the instant it left the table. ________________

c. Calculate the speed of the block the moment it contacts the floor. ________________

d. Another block is dropped from the table height at the same time the above block slides off
the table. Explain how each answer above (parts a, b, and c) would change (increase,
decrease, or remain constant) for the dropped block as compared to the sliding block.

e. If air resistance was present in the above scenario, would your calculation from part b be
less or greater than the true value of the speed of the block when it left the table? Justify
your answer.
19. A boat travels at 4.2 m/s relative to the water as shown below. The river is flowing 2.8 m/s East.
The boat heads straight across the river to its destination. The river is 40 meters wide.

a. What is the speed of the boat relative to the shore? ____________

b. How much time does it take the boat to cross the river? ____________

c. The same boat wants to now travel back across the river (from North to South). The
captain of the boat wishes to cross the river in less than it took in part b. Is this possible or
not? If possible, describe the direction the boat would travel (relative to the shore) and the
amount of time it would take to cross the river as quickly as possible. If not possible,
explain why it is not possible. Assume the captain is OK with the boat landing at a
different location along the river (not directly back at Start shown above). The goal is
simply to cross from one side to the other as quickly as possible.
20. A jet fighter has a speed of 80 m/s and is diving at an angle of 30 degrees below the horizontal
when the pilot releases a radar decoy as shown in the figure. The horizontal distance between the
release point and where the decoy strikes the ground labeled d is 700 m. Determine how high the
release point was. ______________________