AP Physics C

Work and Energy

Algebra Based
Multiple Choice

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1 A student throws a ball upwards from the ground level where
gravitational potential energy is zero. At a height of 15 m, the ball
has a potential energy of 60 J, and is moving upwards with a
kinetic energy of 40 J. Ignoring air resistance, the maximum height
achieved by the ball is:

A 10 m

B 20 m

C 25 m

D 30 m

E 40 m
2 A box of mass m is lifted a vertical distance h in time t with a
constant velocity. The power supplied by the lifting force is
approximately:

A mght

C zero

E
3 A crate is lifted by a force F which is greater in magnitude than the
crate’s weight W. The change in kinetic energy of the crate during
this time is equal to the

A work done by the net force (F - W).

B work done by F.

C work done by W.

D the change in momentum of the rock before and after this

time.

E the change in the potential energy of the rock before and

after this time.
4 A constant force supplies an average power of 8 W to a box during
a certain time interval. If the box has an average speed of 4 m/s
and the force acts in the same direction as motion of the object, the
magnitude of the force is:

A 8N

B 6N

C 4N

D 2N

E 1N
5 A pencil is moved from point A to point B
along a curved path. The work done by
the gravitational force on the pencil
depends on which of the following:

A The velocity of the object as it moves between A and B.

B The positions of points A and B.

C The path taken between A and B.

D Both the positions of A and B and the path taken between

them.

E The nature of the external force that moves the object from
A to B.
6 A student lifts a mass m at constant speed to a height h in time t.
How much work is done by the student?

E
7 A 3.0 m long frictionless pendulum swings with a maximum angular
displacement of 10° from the vertical. At its lowest position, the
kinetic energy of the pendulum is 20.0 J. What is the potential
energy of the pendulum when the kinetic energy is 5.0 J?

A 3.3 J

B 5J

C 6.7 J

D 10 J

E 15 J
8 On top of a 300 m skyscraper, a 2 kg ball is thrown directly
downwards with an initial speed of 20 m/s. If the ball reaches the
ground with a speed of 60 m/s, the energy lost to friction is:

A 0J

B 1800 J

C 2300 J

D 2800 J

E 3300 J
9 A student pushes a box across a rough, flat surface at a constant
speed of 1 m/s. The box has a mass of 50 kg, and the coefficient of
sliding friction is 0.2. The power supplied by the student to the box
is:

A zero

B 5W

C 50 W

D 100 W

E 200 W
10 A ball of mass m is suspended at the end of a massless string of
length L as shown below. This pendulum is lifted to a 45° angle
with the vertical and released. At the low point of its swing, the
speed of the ball is:

E
11 A 5 kilogram block is pushed horizontally, at a constant speed of
3 m/s, across a rough surface with a coefficient of kinetic friction of
0.2 by a force F. The work that is done by the force in 20 s is:

A 200 J

B 400 J

C 600 J

D 800 J

E 1000 J
12 A spring gun with a spring constant k launches a ball of mass m off
a cliff of height h. If the velocity of the ball right before it hits the
ground is v, how much was the spring compressed?

A 0

E
13 A 10 kg block is lifted 5 m upward at a constant speed of 2 m/s.
What is the average power supplied?

A 200 W

B 120 W

C 20 W

D 25 W

E 50 W
14 A 2-kg mass accelerates for 10 m across a frictionless surface by a
40 N force as shown in the figure below. The work done over this
interval is:

A 120 J

B 200√3 J

C 120√3 J

D 400 J

E 200 J
15 The graph represents the force exerted on a particle, where F is in
N and x is in m. What is the work done by F on the object from
x = 0 to x = 4 m?

A 8J

B 10 J

C 15 J

D 16 J

E 20 J
16 The graph represents the force exerted on a particle, where F is in
N and x is in m. What is the work done by F on the object from
x = 0 to x = 6 m?

A 4J

B 6J

C 10 J

D 12.5 J

E 25 J
17 Which of the following is an accurate statement?

A Potential energy is always negative.

B Total energy is always positive.

C During simple harmonic motion, the kinetic energy is always

equal to the potential energy.

D Kinetic energy is never negative.

E None of these is true.

18 A stone is dropped from the edge of a cliff. Which of the following
graphs best represents the stone's kinetic energy KE as a function
of time t?

A B C

D E
19 A 4 kg ball is attached to a 1.5 m long string and whirled in a
horizontal circle at a constant speed 5 m/s. How much work is
done on the ball during one period?

A 9J

B 4.5 J

C zero

D 2J

E 8J
20 A ball swings from point 1 to point 3. Assuming that point 3 is 2 m
above the lowest point 2. What happens to the kinetic energy of
the ball when it moves from point 1 to point 2?

A increases

B decreases

C remains the same

D zero

E more information is required

21 A ball swings from point 1 to point 3. Assuming that point 3 is 2 m
above the lowest point 2. What is the velocity of the ball at the
lowest point 2?

A 2.2 m/s

B 3.5 m/s

C 4.7 m/s

D 5.1 m/s

E 6.3 m/s
22 A block with a mass of m slides at a constant velocity V0 on a
horizontal frictionless surface. The block collides with a spring and
comes to rest when the spring is compressed to the maximum
value. If the spring constant is k, what is the maximum
compression in the spring?

A B C

D E
23 A 500 kg roller coaster car starts from rest at point A and moves
down the curved track. Ignore any energy loss due to friction. Find
the speed of the car at the lowest point B.

A 10 m/s

B 20 m/s

C 30 m/s

D 40 m/s

E 50 m/s
24 A 500 kg roller coaster car starts from rest at point A and moves
down the curved track. Ignore any energy loss due to friction. Find
the speed of the car at the lowest point C.

A 10 m/s

B 20 m/s

C 30 m/s

D 40 m/s

E 50 m/s
25 Two projectiles A and B are launched from the ground with
velocities of 50 m/s at 60 ◌̊and 50 m/s at 30 ◌̊ with respect to the
horizontal. Assuming there is no air resistance involved, which
projectile has greater kinetic energy when it reaches the highest
point of its trajectory?

A projectile A

B projectile B

C They both have the same none zero kinetic energy.

D They both have zero kinetic energy at the highest point.

E More information is required.

26 An object with a mass of 2 kg is initially at rest at a position x = 0. A
non-constant force F is applied to the object over 6 m. What is the
total work done by F on the object at the end of 6 m?

A 200 J

B 150 J

C 170 J

D 190 J

E 180 J
27 An object with a mass of 2 kg is initially at rest at a position x = 0. A
non-constant force F is applied to the object over 6 m. What is the
velocity of the object at 6 m?

A 150 m/s

B 25 m/s

C 300 m/s

D 12 m/s

E 35 m/s
28 An object gains 150 J of kinetic energy after increasing its speed
from 5 m/s to 15 m/s. Which of the following choices best
represents the mass of the object?

A 0.5 kg

B 1.5 kg

C 2.2 kg

D 3.4 kg

E 5.6 kg
29 A block of mass m is at rest on the frictionless inclined plane with
an incline angle of θ. The block is just in a contact with the free end
of an unstretched spring with a spring constant k. If the block is
released from rest, what is the maximum compression in the
spring?

E
30 A box of mass M begins at rest at point 1 at a height of 6R, where
2R is the radius of the circular part of the track. The box slides
down the frictionless track and around the loop. What is the ratio
between the normal force on the box at point 2 to the box’s weight?

A 1:1

B 2:1

C 3:1

D 4:1

E 5:1
31 A ball of mass m is fastened to a string. The ball swings in a
vertical circle of radius r with the other end of the string held fixed.
Neglecting air resistance, the difference between the string’s
tension at the bottom of the circle and at the top of the circle is:

A mg

B 2 mg

C 3 mg

D 6 mg

E 9 mg
32 A system of two blocks is shown. Block A is placed on the surface of a rough
horizontal table and on one side is connected to a vertical wall by an
unstretched spring and the other is connected to block B by a light string. The
string passes over a frictionless and massless pulley. Block B is slowly moved
down until it reaches the equilibrium position. Which of the following is true?

A The total mechanical energy of the system is increased.

B The loss in potential energy of block B is equal to the work done by the
friction force on block A.
C The change in potential energy of block B is equal to the change in
potential energy of the spring.
D The change in potential energy of block B is greater than the change in
potential energy of the spring.
E The change in potential energy of block B is less than the change in
potential energy of the spring.
33 A crane can develop a 2.5 kW power output when lifting a metal
block up. How long will it take for the crane to lift a 250 kg block at
a constant speed to a height of 5 m above the ground?

A 5s

B 10 s

C 15 s

D 20 s

E 25 s
34 A small block is released from rest at the top of a frictionless
inclined plane. When the block reaches the bottom of the plane, it
enters onto a rough horizontal surface. How far does the block
slide on the horizontal section before it comes to rest?

E
35 Two blocks of masses 0.5 kg and 0.75 kg are connected with a
light string that passes over a frictionless and massless pulley.
What is the change in gravitational potential energy and change in
kinetic energy of the system, 2 s after it released from rest?

Change in Potential Energy Change in Kinetic Energy

A +10 J +10J

B -10 J -10 J

C +10 J -10 J

D -10 J +10 J

E 0J 0J
36 A 2500 kg car accelerates from rest at a constant rate of 2 m/s2.
What power is required to increase the car’s speed to 20 m/s?

A 10,000 W

B 25,000 W

C 30,000 W

D 35,000 W

E 50,000 W
37 A block of mass m is placed on the frictionless inclined plane with
an incline angle of θ. The block is just in a contact with the free end
on an unstretched spring with a spring constant k. If the block is
released from rest, which of the following is true when it moves
down the incline?

Work done by gravity on block Work done by spring on block

A Positive Positive

B Negative Negative

C Negative Positive

D Positive Negative

E Zero Zero
38 A constant force F = 100 N pushes a 5 kg box 10 m upward along
the inclined plane. Which of the following choices best represents
the work done by the force F on the box?

A 250 J

B 866 J

C 500 J

D 765 J

E 966 J
39 An external force is applied to a system of two blocks. Which of the
following is true if the blocks do not move with respect to each
other?

Work done by friction on block A Work done by friction on block B

A Positive Positive

B Negative Negative

C Positive Negative

D Negative Positive

E Zero Zero
40 A car is traveling on a level road with an initial velocity vo. If the
coefficient of kinetic friction between the road and the tires is µ,
what is the shortest distance the car can travel after the driver
locks the brakes?