Quiz | Calculating net force, using Newton’s first law of motion, using Newton’s second law of motion

1. The diagram to the right shows the forces acting on a rock.

The force of gravity exerts a downward force of 76 N. An upward force of 106 N is

also exerted on the rock. What is the net force acting on the rock?

A. 30 N upward
B. 76 N downward
C. 106 N upward
D. 182 N downward

2. Three forces are acting on the box below, as shown.

What is the net force acting on the box?

A. 4 N to the left
B. 20 N to the right
C. 4 N to the right
D. 20 N to the right

3. Four students push on a block of wood with the forces shown in the
diagram to the right. Assume no other forces act on the block.

The block slides horizontally. What is the net force acting on the block
of wood?

A. 3 N to the left
B. 8 N to the left
C. 11 N to the right
D. 25 N to the right
3N
4. The picture to the right shows a toy car at rest. Two forces are 3N
applied to the car, as shown in the diagram. Assume no other
forces act on the car.

Which statement correctly describes what will happen to the car?

A. The car will accelerate.
B. The car will move forward at a constant velocity.
C. The car will remain at rest.
D. The car will move forward with a constant acceleration.
 Use the diagram below to answer questions 5-6.
Two forces are applied to a truck, as shown in the diagram. The truck’s engine applies a 100 N force to the
right, while the combination of friction and air resistance apply a 60 N force to the left. Assume no other
forces act on the truck.

5. What is the net force acting on the truck? 100 N 60 N

A. 0 N
B. 160 N
C. 40 N
D. 6000 N

6. Which statement correctly describes the truck’s motion?

A. The truck will accelerate to the right.
B. The truck will move to the right at a constant velocity.
C. The truck will accelerate to the left.
D. The truck will move to the left at a constant velocity.

Use the information and diagram below to answer questions 7-8.

The forces acting on a skateboarder moving at a constant velocity along a sidewalk are shown in the figure.

7. Which of the following is the net force on the skateboarder?

A. 0 N
B. 70 N
C. 670 N
D. 1270 N
8. If these two forces continue to act on the skateboarder, what will
happen to his velocity?
A. His velocity will increase.
B. His velocity will decrease.
C. His velocity will immediately change to 0 m/s.
D. His velocity will stay the same.

9. An airplane in flight is acted on by four forces. Drag is air resistance, lift is the upward force provided by
the wings, thrust is the forward force provided by the plane’s engines, and weight is the downward force of
gravity acting on the plane.

For this plane to continue to fly directly forward at a

constant speed, which pair of forces must be equal?

A. lift and drag

B. drag and weight
C. thrust and drag
D. thrust and lift
Use the diagram below to answer questions 10-11.
The following drawing shows a water skier at different stages. Picture 1 shows the skier floating still in the
water. Picture 2 shows the skier being pulled out of the water as the boat begins to move. Picture 3 shows the
skier being pulled at a constant velocity. Picture 4
shows the skier letting go of the rope.

10. When does the water skier experience

acceleration (in any direction)?
A. Point 1 only
B. Points 1 and 3
C. Point 2 only
D. Points 2 and 4

11. Which statement correctly describes the net

force in Picture 3?

A. A net force is causing the skier to accelerate to the right.

B. A net force is causing the skier to accelerate to the left.
C. A net force is pulling the skier to the right at a constant velocity.
D. There is no net force acting on the skier.
Use the information and diagram below to answer questions 12-14.
A car is pulling a trailer. The car’s engine exerts a 6000 N force pulling the car to the left. In addition, the car
and the trailer each experience a 1000 N frictional force as they are being pulled, as shown. Assume no other
forces act on the car and trailer.

12. What is the magnitude of the net force on the car and trailer?
A. 2000 N
B. 4000 N
C. 5000 N
D. 8000 N

13. Which statement best describes the car and trailer’s motion?
A. They will move to the left at a constant velocity.
B. They will move to the left and their speed will decrease.
C. They will move to the left and their speed will increase.
D. They will remain at rest.

14. Together, the car and trailer have a mass of 2000 kg. If the net force acting on the car and trailer stays the
same as above, at what rate will the car and trailer accelerate?
A. 2 m/s2 B. 2000 m/s2 C. 0.5 m/s2 D. 3 m/s2

15. A 50-kg boulder is being pulled by a pack of dogs. The boulder is accelerating at a rate of 2 m/s2. What is
the net force acting on the boulder?
A. 0 N B. 100 N C. 25 N D. 250 N
16. Qwundre pushes with a net force of 20 N on a box that has a mass of 4 kg. What is the rate of acceleration
of the box?
A. 80 m/s2 B. 40 m/s2 C. 5 m/s2 D. 0 m/s2

17. Norman pushes Mr. D with a net force of 400 N, causing Mr. D to accelerate at a rate of 5 m/s2. What is Mr.
D’s mass?
A. 80 kg B. 2000 kg C. 90 kg D. 200 kg

18. A 200-kg sumo wrestler is shoved by his opponent. The push causes him to accelerate backward at 2 m/s2.
What is the net force that acted on the wrestler?
A. 0 N B. 40 N C. 100 N D. 400 N

19. The diagrams below show smooth blocks of wood being pushed across the same surface. The mass of the
block and amount of force applied are labeled in each diagram. In which diagram would the block of wood
have the greatest acceleration?

A B C D

20. What will be the acceleration of the box below?

A. 3 m/s2 to the right

B. 0.5 m/s2 to the right
C. 2 m/s2 to the left
D. 800 m/s2 to the right

Bonus: Write your answer at the bottom of your answer sheet and circle it. Each correct answer (with correct
units) is worth 1 bonus point (5%) on the quiz.

The speed-time graph below shows how a car’s speed changed during the first six seconds of a drive. The car
has a mass of 1000 kg.

1. Three seconds after the start of the drive (at time t = 3 s),
what was the net force acting on the car?

2. What was the net force acting on the car for the first two
seconds of the drive (from t = 0 s to t = 2 s)?