College Physics: A Strategic Approach, 3e (Knight)
Chapter 1 Representing Motion
1.1 Conceptual Questions
1) In the product A ∙ B ∙ C, A has 5 significant figures, B has 2 significant figures, and C has 3
significant figures. How many significant figures does the product have?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
E) 10
2) In the quotient , A has 5 significant figures, B has 2 significant figures, and C has 3
significant figures. How many significant figures does the quotient have?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 0
E) 1
3) In the sum A + B + C, A is accurate to 5 decimal places, B is accurate to 2 decimal places, and
C is accurate to 3 decimal places. What is the correct number of decimal places in the sum?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
E) 10
4) In the difference A – B – C, A is accurate to 5 decimal places, B is accurate to 2 decimal places,
and C is accurate to 3 decimal places. What is the correct number of decimal places in the
difference?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
E) 0
5) How many significant figures are in the number 0.0037010?
A) four
B) five
C) six
D) seven
E) eight
6) How many significant figures are in the number 0.010?
A) four
B) three
C) two
D) one
7) How many significant figures are in the number 120.070?
A) six
B) five
C) four
D) three
8) The number of significant figures in 10001 is
A) two.
B) three.
C) five.
D) six.
9) The number of significant figures in 0.01500 is
A) two.
B) three.
C) four.
D) five.
10) The number of significant figures in 0.040 is
A) one.
B) two.
C) three.
D) four.
11) Which of the following numbers has 4 significant figures; which has 5 significant figures?
(a) 3001
(b) 0.00370
(c) 4774.00
(d) 29.290
12) In a parallel universe, the quantity π has the value 3.14049… . Express π in that universe to
(a) four significant figures
(b) five significant figures.
13) The metric system is preferred over the British system in science for the following main
reason.
A) The metric system is more precise than the British system.
B) Metric quantities can be defined more accurately than the quantities in the British system.
C) Metric quantities are natural whereas British quantities are invented.
D) Conversions between metric quantities are especially easy because they are all related by
factors of ten.
14) A reasonable estimate for the mass of a typical female college student is
A) 20 kg.
B) 50 kg.
C) 150 kg.
D) 200 kg.
15) A reasonable estimate for the height of an ordinary adult male is
A) 50 cm.
B) 70 cm.
C) 200 cm.
D) 300 cm.
16) A reasonable estimate for the mass of a typical new-born baby is
A) 1 kg.
B) 3 kg.
C) 10 kg.
D) 20 kg.
17) A reasonable estimate for the height of the walls in an ordinary American home is
A) 10 m.
B) 8 m.
C) 2.5 m.
D) 1.5 m.
18) A reasonable estimate for the duration of a typical physics lecture is
A) 600 s.
B) 1000 s.
C) 3500 s.
D) 10,000 s.
19) A reasonable estimate for the mass of an ordinary passenger car is
A) 100 kg
B) 1000 kg
C) 5000 kg
D) 10,000 kg
1.2 Problems
1) What is the product of 12.56 and 2.12 expressed to the correct number of significant figures?
A) 27
B) 26.6
C) 26.23
D) 26.627
2) What is the quotient of 2.43 ÷ 4.561 expressed to the correct number of significant figures?
A) 5.3278 ×
B) 5.328 ×
C) 5.33 ×
D) 5.3 ×
3) What is expressed to the correct number of significant figures?
A) 0.91
B) 0.911
C) 0.9108
D) 0.9
4) What is 0.2052/3, to the correct number of significant figures?
A) 0.348
B) 0.35
C) 0.3
D) 0.3477
5) Add and and express your answer in milligrams (mg) to the correct number of
significant figures.
A) 4.64 × 107 mg
B) 4.64 × 104 mg
C) 4.64 × 105 mg
D) 4.64 × 106 mg
6
6) What is expressed to the correct number of significant figures?
7) The length and width of a rectangle are 1.125 m and 0.606 m, respectively. Multiplying, your
calculator gives the product as 0.68175. Rounding properly to the correct number of significant
figures, the area of the rectangle should be written as
A) 0.68 m2
B) 0.682 m2
C) 0.6818 m2
D) 0.68175 m2
8) What is the sum of 2.67 + 1.976 + 2.1 expressed to the correct number of significant figures?
A) 6.7
B) 6.75
C) 6.746
D) 6.7460
9) Express the sum of 420.77, 13.821, and 2317.8 to the correct number of significant figures.
10) What is the difference between 103.5 and 102.24 expressed to the correct number of
significant figures?
A) 1.3
B) 1.26
C) 1.260
11) What is the sum of 1.53 + 2.786 + 3.3 expressed to the correct number of significant figures?
A) 7
B) 7.6
C) 7.62
D) 7.616
E) 7.6160
12) Express the result of the following calculation to the proper number of significant figures:
50.19 – 7966 × 10-3.
13) What is the result, expressed to the proper number of significant figures, of adding 23.4 to
91.237 and then subtracting 23.4?
A) 91.237
B) 91.2
C) 91.3
D) 91.0
E) 91
14) Express the result of the following calculation, in scientific notation, to the proper number of
significant figures: + 19
15) Add the following lengths, each obtained from a different measuring instrument, and round
the answer to the proper number of significant figures: 20.02 m, 5.91 m, 0.0097 m, and 2.467 m.
16) The last page of a book is numbered 764. The book is 3.0 cm thick, not including its covers.
What is the average thickness (in centimeters) of a page in the book, rounded to the proper
number of significant figures?
A) 0.0039 cm
B) 0.072 cm
C) 0.0079 cm
D) 0.00393 cm
E) 0.00785 cm
17) The length and width of a rectangle are 1.125 m and 0.606 m, respectively. You calculate the
rectangle’s perimeter by adding these numbers and multiplying by two. Your calculator’s display
reads 3.462. To the correct number of significant figures, the perimeter should be written as
A) 3.5 m.
B) 3.46 m.
C) 3.462 m.
D) 3.4620 m.
18) A rectangular garden measures 15 m long and 13.70 m wide. What is the length of a diagonal
from one corner of the garden to the other?
A) 18 m
B) 19 m
C) 20 m
D) 4.1 × 102 m
19) If a circle has a radius of 1.109 m, what is its area expressed to the correct number of
significant figures?
A) 3.86 m2
B) 3.863 m2
C) 3.864 m2
D) 3.8638 m2
E) 3.86379 m2
20) A train travels at a constant speed of 60.4 mi/h for 101.5 min. What distance does the train
cover expressed to the correct number of significant figures?
A) 100 mi
B) 102 mi
C) 102.2 mi
D) 102.18 mi
E) 102.181 mi
21) A dog has three puppies. Spot weighs 12 ounces. Rascal weighs 9.5 ounces. Socks weighs
10.2 ounces. What is the total weight of the litter expressed to the correct number of significant
figures?
A) 31.7 ounces
B) 31 ounces
C) 32 ounces
D) 30 ounces
E) 31.70 ounces
22) A traveler has about $536 in his checking account, about $2107 in his savings account and
exactly $7.62 in his wallet. To the greatest precision warranted, how much money does this
shopper have?
A) $2651
B) $2,650
C) $2,650.6
D) $2,650.62
E) $2,650.620
23) To get to her physics class, Alice walks 0.25 mi to the bus stop. She takes the bus 1.2 mi to
the train station. She takes the train 13 mi and walks the remaining 0.17 mi to her class. How far
is her commute expressed to the correct number of significant figures?
A) 14.6 mi
B) 10 mi
C) 15 mi
D) 14.62 mi
E) 14.620 mi
24) What is 56 + written with the correct number of significant figures?
A) 62.8
B) 62.812
C) 62.81
D) 63
E) 62.8123846
25) Using a digital balance the mass of a certain piece of wood is read as 12.946 g. Thinking in
terms of accuracy and significant figures, what value would you record on your data sheet if the
balance is accurate to one-tenth of a gram?
A) 12.9 g
B) 12.95 g
C) 13 g
D) 13.0 g
26) Which of the following numbers is the smallest?
A) 15 × 10-3
B) 0.15 × 100
C) 0.00015 × 103
D) 0.00000015 × 106
27) Which one of the following numbers is equivalent to the number 0.0001776?
A) 1.776 × 10-4
B) 17.76 × 10-3
C) 1776 × 10-5
D) 177.6 × 10-7
28) Write out the number 8.42 × 10-5 in full with a decimal point and correct number of zeros.
A) 0.00000842
B) 0.0000842
C) 0.000842
D) 0.00842
29) What is the result of the calculation (0.410 + 0.021) × (2.20 × 103)?
A) 880
B) 946
C) 948
30) Express (2.2 × 106)-1/2 in scientific notation.
A) 6.7 × 10-4
B) 1.5 × 103
C) 1.5 × 10-5
D) 1.5 × 104
31) Express the number 13.5 gigameters in meters without using scientific notation.
A) 135,000 m
B) 135,000,000 m
C) 135,000,000,000 m
D) 13,500,000,000 m
32) A volume of 100 mL is equivalent to which one of the following volumes?
A) 1 kL
B) 10-6 μL
C) 0.1 L
D) 0.01 ML
33) The volume of a 10-mL test tube is equivalent to which one of the following quantities?
A) 0.01 L
B) 0.001 kL
C) 0.1 L
D) 1 × 10-6 L
E) 0.001 ML
34) The number 0.00325 × 10-8 cm can be expressed in millimeters as
A) 3.25 × 10-12 mm.
B) 3.25 × 10-11 mm.
C) 3.25 × 10-10 mm.
D) 3.25 × 10-9 mm.
35) An area of 1.00 × 102 cm2 is how many square meters?
A) 1.00 m2
B) 1.00 × 102 m2
C) 1.00 × 10-2 m2
D) 1.00 × 104 m2
E) 1.00 × 10-3 m2
36) The prefix yotta (Y) signifies a multiple of 1024. How many yottameters are there in a
gigameter?
37) Express the sum 1.00 kg + 1531 g + 2.54 × 104 mg in kilograms with the correct number of
significant figures.
A) 2.56 kg
B) 27.9 kg
C) 2.53 kg
D) 2.79 kg
38) The quantity 0.00325 × 10-8 cm is equivalent to
A) 3.25 × 10-12 mm
B) 3.25 × 10-11 mm
C) 3.25 × 10-10 mm
D) 3.25 × 10-9 mm
E) 3.25 × 10-8 mm
39) A weight lifter can bench press How many milligrams is this?
A) 1.71 × 108 mg
B) 1.71 × 109 mg
C) 1.71 × 107 mg
D) 1.71 × 106 mg
40) How many nanoseconds does it take for a computer to perform one calculation if it performs
calculations per second?
A) 15 ns
B) 67 ns
C) 11 ns
D) 65 ns