Up and Down
The Up and Down Concept Builder is comprised of eight problems and three different activity levels. The problems are all multi-part, multi-answer problems. The Up and Down Concept Builder is quite simple. In the first activity (
Magnitude and Direction), students compare the magnitude and direction of the velocity and acceleratoin at three locations in the trajectory of the object. In the second activity (
Vector Diagram), students are given a set of velocity (v) and acceleration (a) vectors at one location in the trajecotry and must identify the correct velocity and acceleration vectors at three other locations. There are six answer options to choose from; three of them are perfect matches for the identified locations and the other three are selected at random from a bank of wrong answers. In the third activity, students identify the numerical value of the velocity and accceleration at 1-second intervals during the path of the object.
Teachers are encouraged to either do the activity or view the questions (below) to make a judgement about the suitability of the various activities in this Concept Builder for their classes. The Questions in the Concept Builder are displayed below. In some instances, specifics of the question (especially in the second activity) could not be displayed since some of the answer options are randomly seclected and vary from one student's experience to anothers.
The Physics Classroom grants teachers and other users the right to print these questions for private use. Users are also granted the right to copy the text and modify it for their own use. However, this document should not be uploaded to other servers for distribution to and/or display by others. The Physics Classroom website should remain the only website or server from which the document is distributed or displayed. We also provide a PDF that teachers can use under the same conditions. We have included a link to the PDF near the bottom of this page.
Up and Down
Activity 1: Magnitude and Direction
Question Group 1:
Question 1:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Identify the direction of 
the vertical velocity and acceleration vectors at the indicated locations.
Question 2:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Identify the direction of the vertical velocity and acceleration vectors at the indicated locations.
Question 3:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Identify the direction of the vertical velocity and acceleration vectors at the indicated locations.
Question Group 2:
Question 4:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Identify the direction of the vertical velocity and 
acceleration vectors at the indicated locations.
Question 5:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Identify the direction of the vertical velocity and acceleration vectors at the indicated locations.
Question 6:
A ball is thrown upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Identify the direction of the vertical velocity and acceleration vectors at the indicated locations.
Question Group 3:
Question 7:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Rank the three indicated locations based on increasing ball speed and acceleration (magnitude only), beginning with the smallest.
Question 8:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Rank the three indicated locations based on increasing ball speed and acceleration (magnitude only), beginning with the smallest.
Question 9:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Rank the three indicated locations based on increasing ball speed and acceleration (magnitude only), beginning with the smallest.
Question Group 4:
Question 10:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Rank the three indicated locations based on increasing ball speed and acceleration (magnitude only), beginning with the smallest.
Question 11:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Rank the three indicated locations based on increasing ball speed and acceleration (magnitude only), beginning with the smallest.
Question 12:
A ball is launched upward from the ground. The diagram shows the location of the ball at 1-second intervals. Rank the three indicated locations based on increasing ball speed and acceleration (magnitude only), beginning with the smallest.
Activity 2 – Vector Diagrams
Question Group 5 (uses 7-point trajectory)
Question 13
A ball is launched upward from the ground. Its location at 1-second intervals is shown. A set of velocity and acceleration vectors is shown for location A. Match three of the six provided vector combinations to locations B, C, and G.
(Images are selected at random from the selection shown after Question 18.)
Question 14
A ball is launched upward from the ground. Its location at 1-second intervals is shown. A set of velocity and acceleration vectors is shown for location C. Match three of the six provided vector combinations to locations A, E, and F.
(Images are selected at random from the selection shown after Question 18.)
Question 15
A ball is launched upward from the ground. Its location at 1-second intervals is shown. A set of velocity and acceleration vectors is shown for location E. Match three of the six provided vector combinations to locations B, C, and G.
(Images are selected at random from the selection shown after Question 18.)
Question Group 6 (uses 9-point trajectory)
Question 16
A ball is launched upward from the ground. Its location at 1-second intervals is shown. A set of velocity and acceleration vectors is shown for location E. Match three of the six provided vector combinations to locations B, C, and G.
(Images are selected at random from the selection shown after Question 18.)
Question 17
A ball is launched upward from the ground. Its location at 1-second intervals is shown. A set of velocity and acceleration vectors is shown for location E. Match three of the six provided vector combinations to locations B, C, and G.
(Images are selected at random from the selection shown after Question 18.)
Question 18
A ball is launched upward from the ground. Its location at 1-second intervals is shown. A set of velocity and acceleration vectors is shown for location E. Match three of the six provided vector combinations to locations B, C, and G.
(Images are selected at random from the selection shown after Question 18.)
The given vector diagram and the various answer options are chosen at random from these choices:
Activity 3 – Velocity Components
Question Group 7 (Uses the 7-point trajectory)
Question 19
A ball is launched upward from the ground at 29.4 m/s (or 30 m/s if student picks g = 10m/s/s as the preferred g value). Its location at 1-second intervals is shown. Determine the vertical velocity and acceleration; tap and table cells to toggle between possible answers..
Question Group 8 (Uses the 9-point trajectory)
Question 20
A ball is launched upward from the ground at 39.2 m/s (or 40 m/s if student picks g = 10m/s/s as the preferred g value). Its location at 1-second intervals is shown. Determine the vertical velocity and acceleration; tap and table cells to toggle between possible answers..
