temperature, heat, and heat transfer. Chapter 14 questions you on the ideal gas law, and Chapter 15 gets you applying the laws of thermodynamics to heat engines, heat pumps, and other situations.
Part II: The Answers
Here’s where you can find detailed answer explanations for every question in this book. Find out how to set up and work through all the problems so that you arrive at the correct solution.
Beyond the Book
Your purchase of this book gives you so much more than just several hundred problems you can work on to improve your understanding of physics. It also comes with a free, one-year subscription to hundreds of practice questions online. Not only can you access this digital content anytime you want, on whichever device is available to you, but you can also track your progress and view personalized reports that show you which concepts you need to study the most.
What you’ll find
The online practice that comes free with this book offers you the same questions and answers that are available here along with hundreds more. And online, they’re in a multiple-choice format. What’s great about this format is that it allows you to zero in on the details that can make or break your solution. Sometimes one (or more) of the incorrect answer options is the result of a calculation error. When you catch yourself making such a common error, you’ll know not to take the same approach with similar problems on a graded test, when the right answers really count.
Of course, the real beauty of the online problems is the ability to customize your practice. In other words, you get to choose the types of problems and the number of problems you want to tackle. The online program tracks how many questions you answer correctly versus incorrectly so you can get an immediate sense of which topics need more of your attention.
This product also comes with an online Cheat Sheet that helps you increase your odds of performing well in your Physics I class. Check out the free Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/physics1practice. (No access code required. You can benefit from this info before you even register.)
How to register
To gain access to additional tests and practice online, all you have to do is register. Just follow these simple steps:
1. Find your PIN access code:
• Print-book users: If you purchased a print copy of this book, turn to the inside front cover of the book to find your access code.
• E-book users: If you purchased this book as an e-book, you can get your access code by registering your e-book at www.dummies.com/go/getaccess. Go to this website, find your book and click it, and answer the security questions to verify your purchase. You’ll receive an email with your access code.
2. Go to Dummies.com and click Activate Now.
3. Find your product (Physics I Practice Problems For Dummies) and then follow the on-screen prompts to activate your PIN.
Now you’re ready to go! You can come back to the program as often as you want – simply log on with the username and password you created during your initial login. No need to enter the access code a second time.
Where to Go for Additional Help
The solutions to the practice problems in this book are meant to walk you through how to get the right answers; they’re not meant to teach the material. If certain physics concepts are unfamiliar to you, you can find help at www.dummies.com. Just type “physics I” into the search box to turn up a wealth of physics-related articles.
If you need more detailed instruction, check out Physics I For Dummies, 2nd Edition; Physics I Workbook For Dummies, 2nd Edition; and Physics Essentials For Dummies, all written by Steven Holzner and published by Wiley.
Part I
The Questions
In this part …
You’ve probably heard the expression “practice makes perfect.” Well, working on hundreds of physics practice problems may not get you solving every physics problem perfectly every time, but it’ll definitely help you get more comfortable with the following topics:
✓ Reviewing math basics (Chapter 1)
✓ Solving one-dimensional (Chapter 2) and two-dimensional (Chapter 3) motion problems
✓ Working with forces (Chapters 4 and 5)
✓ Focusing on energy and momentum (Chapters 9 and 10)
✓ Understanding angular motion (Chapters 6, 7, and 11)
✓ Dealing with liquids (Chapter 8), gases (Chapter 14), and thermodynamics (Chapters 13 and 15)
Chapter 1
Reviewing Math Fundamentals and Physics Measurements
Physics explains how the world works. You can use physics to predict how objects move and interact. This process often involves some basic algebra and trigonometry. To check these predictions, you can make a measurement. Sometimes you need to convert units to compare different measurements.
The Problems You’ll Work On
Here are some of the things you’ll do in this chapter:
✓ Solving for an unknown variable with basic algebra
✓ Using basic trigonometry to determine side lengths and angles
✓ Converting between different types of units
✓ Writing numbers in scientific notation
✓ Understanding unit prefixes in the metric system
✓ Rounding to the correct number of significant digits
What to Watch Out For
Be