Physics 201, Concepts of Physics
HW #1 due week of Oct 2, 2012

(1) In addition to the law of conservation of momentum, what other information is needed in order to conclude that kinetic energy is also conserved?
a. Momentum (the "quantity of motion") is mass times velocity
b. Forces only act locally
c. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction
d. Objects possess inertia
e. All of the above
f. None of the above

(2) Faraday discovered that which of the following causes the electric field to change?:
a. the motion of charges
b. the presence of a magnetic field
c. a changing magnetic field
d. current going through a loop
e. all of the above
f. none of the above

(3) Thomas Kuhn famously believed that
a. normal science is boring
b. to be a scientific theory, something must be falsifiable
c. science is a socially constructed enterprise
d. one can only discuss past scientific theories in the context of the beliefs of the time
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
g. a and c
h. b and c
i. c and d
j. e and f

(4) True or false:
i- Waves have positions
ii- Waves carry energy
iii- For a wave to move, it is necessary for the medium in which it travels to move as well.
iv- The mass of a ball is a type of field.

(5) Explain in a brief paragraph why we believe that Galileo's and Newton's belief that "objects in motion continue in motion" is a "better" law of physics than the Aristotelian predecessor, even though this is not what we see happening in the "real world."