Follow-up to multiple choice test corrections

Those of you who have attended my workshops know that, in Jacobs Physics, test corrections are one of the two most important components of the course. Sometimes, though, even the test corrections need correction.

Instead of assigning another round of “correction corrections,” I tend to just give the whole class a quiz when I find consistent misunderstandings. For example, consider the two multiple choice questions below. These were originally AAPT Physics Bowl questions, I believe…

1. A 2 kg object initially moving with a constant velocity is subjected to a force of magnitude F in the direction of motion. A graph of F as a function of time t is shown. What is the increase, if any, in the velocity of the object during the time the force is applied?

(A) 0 m/s

(B) 2.0 m/s

(C) 3.0 m/s

(D) 4.0 m/s

(E) 6.0 m/s

2. A deliveryman moves 10 cartons from the sidewalk, along a 10-meter ramp to a loading dock, which is 1.5 meters above the sidewalk. If each carton has a mass of 25 kg, what is the total work done by the deliveryman on the cartons to move them to the loading dock?

(A) 2500 J

(B) 3750 J

(C) 10 000 J

(D) 25 000 J

(E) 37 500 J

Many students showed an iffy grasp of these two questions on their test corrections. So, I posted to our class folder early last night. I noted that we would take a follow-up quiz today on these problems. I wrote the quiz to address specifically the mistakes that I had repeatedly seen on the first attempt at corrections. Here’s the quiz:

1. (a) What’s wrong with the statement “Work is done both up and to the right in order to move the boxes up the incline?”

(b) What is the direction of the force necessary to carry one box up the incline at constant speed? Justify your answer. Your justification should include a free body diagram.

2. (a) Explain why the average force during the time interval t = 1 s to t = 5 s is NOT 1.0 N.

(b) How do you get impulse from this graph WITHOUT trying to find an average force?