Grade 11 · Practice problems

What Physics Is & How We Do It

50 written problems across two levels — 32 foundational · 18 advanced. Work through them on paper, then reveal every answer to check. These are not graded and are counted separately from adaptive practice.

Foundational

1. FoundationalIdentify the independent and dependent variables: a team tests how the range of a launched ball depends on launch angle.

2. FoundationalRewrite as a testable hypothesis: 'Heavier objects fall faster.'

3. FoundationalIs 'the universe is beautiful' a scientific hypothesis? Explain.

4. FoundationalA student measures how the current in a wire changes with voltage, keeping the wire and temperature the same. Name all three variable types.

5. FoundationalWhy is 'ghosts cause cold spots' hard to treat as science?

6. FoundationalIn science, does calling something a 'theory' make it less certain than a 'law'? Explain.

7. FoundationalGive the correct order of the scientific method starting from an observation.

8. FoundationalIn an experiment on how drop height affects a ball's bounce height, name the independent and dependent variables.

9. FoundationalIs 'aliens built the pyramids' a testable scientific hypothesis? Explain.

10. FoundationalA student changes both the temperature and the pressure of a gas at once and measures its volume. What is the flaw?

11. FoundationalGive the SI base unit and symbol for length, mass, and time.

12. FoundationalRewrite as a testable hypothesis: 'sugar makes children hyperactive.'

13. FoundationalWhen testing how light affects plant growth, is 'type of soil' an independent, dependent, or controlled variable?

14. FoundationalCorrect this statement: 'evolution is just a theory, so it's only a guess.'

15. FoundationalPut the scientific method in order, starting from an observation.

16. FoundationalDistinguish a hypothesis from a conclusion.

17. FoundationalWhy is measurement so central to physics?

18. FoundationalIdentify the independent and dependent variables: how the current in a bulb depends on the voltage across it.

19. FoundationalIn a drug trial, some patients receive a sugar pill. What is that group called, and why is it used?

20. FoundationalName one scientific law and one scientific theory.

21. FoundationalWhy must a scientific result be repeatable by other people?

22. FoundationalA student concludes 'my plant grew because I talked to it' but also watered and lit it more. What's wrong with the conclusion?

23. FoundationalIn an experiment on how ramp height affects how far a toy car rolls, name the independent and dependent variables.

24. FoundationalA ruler is worn so that its zero end actually starts $2\ \text{mm}$ in. Is the resulting error random or systematic?

25. FoundationalGive the SI base unit and symbol for temperature and for electric current.

26. FoundationalIs 'a lucky charm improves exam scores' a testable hypothesis, and how would you test it?

27. FoundationalAmong children, shoe size and reading ability are strongly correlated. Does having bigger feet cause better reading? Identify the lurking variable.

28. FoundationalWhy does averaging many repeated readings reduce random error but not systematic error?

29. FoundationalDefine a placebo and explain why a drug trial uses one.

30. FoundationalState the difference between a blind and a double-blind experiment.

31. FoundationalWhy do scientists treat a distant planet as a 'point mass' when calculating its orbit?

32. FoundationalA single lab reports a surprising result. Why is that not enough to establish it as accepted science?

Advanced

33. AdvancedClassify each as a law or a theory: (a) $F = ma$ , (b) the theory of evolution, (c) $v = f\lambda$ .

34. AdvancedClassify each as a law or a theory: (a) Boyle's law, (b) the atomic theory.

35. AdvancedEstimate the number of breaths a person takes in a lifetime (order of magnitude). Assume ~15 breaths per minute and an 80-year life.

36. AdvancedIn an experiment, a graph of y against x² is a straight line through the origin with slope 3.0. Write the relationship between y and x.

37. AdvancedWhen the quantity x in an experiment is doubled, the measured y increases by a factor of 8. What is the likely relationship between y and x?

38. AdvancedEstimate how many times a human heart beats in an average 80-year lifetime (order of magnitude).

39. AdvancedEstimate the number of seconds in a year (order of magnitude).

40. AdvancedEstimate the total volume of water a person drinks in an 80-year lifetime, assuming about $2\ \text{L}$ per day.

41. AdvancedA car tyre has radius $0.30\ \text{m}$ . Estimate how many times it rotates over a $100\ \text{km}$ trip.

42. AdvancedEstimate the mass of air in a classroom measuring $10\ \text{m}\times8\ \text{m}\times3\ \text{m}$ , taking the air density as $1.2\ \text{kg/m}^3$ .

43. AdvancedA graph of distance against time is a straight line through the origin with slope $2.0\ \text{m/s}$ . Write the relationship and state the speed.

44. AdvancedFor a pendulum, a graph of $T^2$ against length $L$ turns out to be a straight line through the origin. What does this reveal about how the period $T$ depends on $L$ ?

45. AdvancedIf every length of a cube is tripled, by what factor do its surface area and its volume increase?

46. AdvancedEstimate how many heartbeats occur during a 2-hour film, taking a resting rate of about $70$ beats per minute.

47. AdvancedFour repeated timings give $5.1, 5.2, 5.0, 5.3\ \text{s}$ . Is the spread more likely random or systematic, and how would you reduce it?

48. AdvancedEstimate the number of grains of rice needed to fill a $1\ \text{L}$ jar, taking one grain as about $0.02\ \text{mL}$ .

49. AdvancedOne hypothesis predicts a new planet at a precise position; a rival idea merely 'fits all past data'. If the planet is found exactly there, which idea gains more support, and why?

50. AdvancedNewton's mechanics is still used to design bridges even though relativity is 'more correct'. Explain this using the idea of a domain of validity.