COHASSET HIGH SCHOOL – INTRO PHYSICS
MCAS Student Practice Questions
UNIT 1 PART 1 - Motion and Forces
This study guide includes released questions from prior year’s MCAS physics test. These questions are available online at
the Massachusetts Department of Education. The website is given here http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/search/.
The questions include a number which indicates the year the question was used, the question number and the standard
it covers. EXAMPLE: 11-1 Std 1.7 This question was used 2011. It was question 1. It covers State Standard 1.7
1
2
3
4
5
6
Motion and Forces
Conservation of Energy and Momentum
Heat and Heat Transfer
Waves
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetic Radiation
Topic: Motion and Forces
Central Concept: Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation describe and predict the motion of most objects.
Grades 9-10:
1.1. Compare and contrast vector quantities (e.g., displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, and linear momentum) and
scalar quantities (e.g., distance, speed, energy, mass, and work).
1.2. Distinguish between displacement, distance, velocity, speed, and acceleration. Solve problems involving
displacement, distance, velocity, speed, and constant acceleration.
1.3. Create and interpret graphs of 1-dimensional motion, such as position vs. time, distance vs. time, speed vs. time,
velocity vs. time, and acceleration vs. time where acceleration is constant.
FORMULAS FROM MCAS FORMULA SHEET NEEDED FOR THESE STANDARDS
STANDARD 1.1
1.1. Compare and contrast vector quantities (e.g., displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, and
linear momentum) and scalar quantities (e.g., distance, speed, energy, mass, and work).
14-4 1.1
Which of the following examples includes a vector quantity?
A. A 10 kg object B. a truck that traveled 12.5 m C a 3.5 kg object moving 1.5 m/s D. a car moving northeast 90
km/hr
11 – 40 STD 1.1
Which of the following statements identifies the main difference between vector and scalar quantities?
A. only vectors have direction B. only scalars have magnitude C. Only scalars have units associated with them
D. only vectors a have units associated with them
10 – 5 STD 1.1
An elevator in an office building completed the following trips:
 1st floor to 8th floor
 8th floor to 4th floor
 4th floor to 13th floor
The distance between each floor of the office building is 3.0 m. Which table shows the total distance traveled and
displacement of the elevator?
9 – 16 STD 1.1
Which of the following is an example of a vector quantity?
A. a students walks 2.0 km north.
B. An object has a mass of 10.5 kg. C. A 1.0 kg object moves at 18 m/s.
D. A ball has an instantaneous speed of 15 m/s.
8 – 40 STD 1.1
Which of the following is a scalar quantity?
A. the mass of a brick B. the velocity of a falling tennis ball
C. the force required to lift a 10 kg mass D. the acceleration of a toy car over a 60 s period
7- 15 STD 1.1
Which of the following is a vector quantity?
A. mass B. force C. temperature D. kinetic energy
15-8 STD 1.1
Which of the following quantities is described by both a magnitude and a direction?
A. acceleration B. distance C. mass D. speed
STANDARD 1.2
1.2. Distinguish between displacement, distance, velocity, speed, and acceleration. Solve problems
involving displacement, distance, velocity, speed, and constant acceleration.
14-29 STD 1.2 A person runs 3 km north. One hour later, she runs 3 km south. Which of the following statements
describes the person’s complete trip?
A. The displacement is 3 km B. The distance traveled is 3 km
C. The distance traveled is greater than the displacement D. The displacement is greater than the distance traveled
11-6 STD 1.2 A student leaving school walks 2.5 km north and then walks 1.0 km south. What is the student’s
displacement?
A. 1.0 km south B. 1.5 km north C. 2.5 km north D. 3.5 km south
11 – 9 STD 1.2A racecar travels at an average speed of 80 m/s in a race. The total distance of the race is 640,000
m. How long does it take the racecar to finish the race?
A. 800 s B. 8,000 s C. 6,400,000 s D. 51,200,000 s
10 – 37 STD 1.2 Which of the following will always change when an object accelerates?
A. Mass B. potential energy C. velocity D. weight
10 - 40 STD 1.2 The table shows the time it takes four cars to go from 0 to 60 km/h.
Based on the information given, which of the following quantities can be compared for the four
cars?
A. average acceleration, B. instantaneous speed C. stopping distance D. stopping time
11 – 44 STD 1.2 A person is driving his car to a store. The store is 800 m north of the person’s starting point. After
traveling north 1200 m, the person realizes that he has passed the store. He turns the car around and drives back to the
store. Altogether, the trip to the store takes 100 s.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Determine the distance traveled by the car on this trip to the store. Show your calculations and include units in your
answer.
Calculate the average speed of the car on this trip. Show your calculations and include units in your answer.
Determine the displacement of the car for this trip. Include units in your answer.
Calculate the average velocity of the car upon arrival at the store. Show your calculations and include units in your answer.
9 – 14 STD 1.2 A car has an oil drip. As the car
moves, it drips oil at a regular rate, leaving a trail of
spots on the road.Which of the following diagrams of
the car’s trail of spots shows the car continuously
slowing down?
8- 25 STD 1.2 A bicycle rider is traveling at 7 m/s. During an 8 s period, the bicycle rider then slows down with a
constant acceleration to a speed of 3 m/s. How far does the bicycle rider travel during the 8 s?
A. 19 m B. 32 m C. 40 m D. 80 m
7 - 34 STD 1.2 How long will it take a car to accelerate from 20 m/s to 26 m/s at a rate of 1.4 m/s2?
A. 2.2 sec B. 2.7 sec C. 4.3 sec D. ? (This answer was lost in translation)
15-25 STD 1.2 A racecar completes 200 laps in 190 min on a circular path. The distance of each lap is 4.0 km. What is
the racecar’s average speed?
A. 0.0 km/min B. 1.1 km/min C. 1.3 km/min
D. 4.2 km/min
STANDARD 1.3
1.3. Create and interpret graphs of 1-dimensional motion, such as position vs. time, distance vs. time,
speed vs. time, velocity vs. time, and acceleration vs. time where acceleration is constant.
14-43 1.3 The graph represents the motion of a car.
Based on the graph, which of the following statements describes the motion of the car?
A. The car initially travels at a constant speed and then stops.
B. The car starts from rest and then travels at a constant speed.
C. The car starts from rest and then accelerates at a constant rate.
D. The car is initially moving and then accelerates at a constant rate.
11 – 31 STD 1.3
The graph below shows the distance an object traveled over time.
Which line segment represents the time interval during which the object was moving at a
positive constant speed?
A. segment W
B. segment X
C. segment Y
D. segment Z
10 – 42 STD 1.3 The graph below shows the speed of an object during a 10 s time interval.
In which of the following time intervals is the speed of the object decreasing?
A. between 0 and 2 seconds B. between 2 s and 4 s
C. between 6 s and 8 s D. between 8 s and 10 s
9 – 27 STD 1.3 The graph below shows velocity measurements made as a car moved
north for 25 s.
How far did the car move during the first 15 s of the trip?
A. 20 m B. 25 m C. 300 m D. 500 m
8 – 18 STD 1.3
The graph below illustrates the position and time for a dog that runs to catch a stick and then returns with it.
The dog caught the stick after 2 s. What was the dog’s average speed as he
returned with the stick?
A. His average return speed was 0.7 m/s.
B. His average return speed was 0.9 m/s.
C. His average return speed was 2 m/s.
D. His average return speed was 4 m/s.
8 – 22 STD 1.3 On the surface of the Moon, a ball is thrown straight up with an initial velocity. The ball has a constant
acceleration due to the Moon's gravity. On a graph of the ball’s velocity versus time, which of the following would
represent the ball at its highest point above the Moon's surface?
A. when the velocity is equal to 0 m/s
B. when the velocity is equal to 1.6 m/s
C. when the velocity has its greatest value
D. when the velocity has its most negative value
7 – 37 STD 1.3 The graph below relates velocity to time.
The graph would most likely apply to which of the following events?
A. A soccer ball that is at rest is suddenly kicked.
B. A ball is thrown upward and returns to the ground.
C. A person who is running at a constant speed decides to run
faster.
D. A car traveling at a constant speed applies its brakes and comes
to a stop.
15-1 STD 1.3
The graph below represents how a car’s position changes over time.
Which of the following statements best describes the motion of the car between time 1 and
time 2?
A. The car is stopped.
B. The car’s velocity is decreasing.
C. The car’s displacement stays the same.
D. The car is traveling at a constant speed.
15-37 STD 1.3 The graph to the right represents a car’s motion as it accelerates from rest.
Which of the following graphs best represents the relationship between the accelerating car’s position
time?
and
OPEN RESPONSE 2010
A student is conducting experiments with a block of wood. In experiment 1, the
student pulls the block of wood with a constant force of 10 N along a horizontal
surface. In experiment 2, the student pulls the same block of wood with a constant
force of 10 N. The type of surface is different from that used in experiment 1. The
results of experiments 1 and 2 are shown below.
a. Using information from the graphs, compare the surface in experiment 2
with the surface in experiment 1.
b. Determine both the magnitude of the force of friction and the net force on
the block that are required to achieve the results shown in the graph for
experiment 2. Include units in your answer.
c. Without changing the type of surface used when pulling the block of wood,
list one other change to experiment 1 that would produce the results of
experiment 2. Explain your reasoning with reference to the frictional force.