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Grade 11 · Science · Physics

11th grade Scalars and vectors worksheet

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Scalars and vectors

Grade 11 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

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Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. A boat travels 5 m/s in still water. It aims upstream to land directly opposite on a river 80 m wide with a 3 m/s current. How long is the crossing, Ari?

  2. A boat travels 13 m/s in still water. It aims upstream to land directly opposite on a river 312 m wide with a 5 m/s current. How long is the crossing, Bo?

  3. A 0.50 kg ball moving 6 m/s east hits a wall and rebounds at 4 m/s west. The contact lasts 0.020 s. What average force does the wall exert on the ball, Jun?

    • 250 N, pointing east
    • 150 N, pointing west
    • 250 N, pointing west
    • 50 N, pointing west
  4. A car goes round a bend at a steady 15 m/s, turning from east to north in 4.0 s. What is the size of its average acceleration, Kira?

    • 0 m/s², since the speed is steady
    • 7.5 m/s²
    • 3.75 m/s²
    • About 5.3 m/s²
  5. Using the graph, what are the runner's average speed and average velocity over the 20 s, Luz?

    • Average speed 1.5 m/s; average velocity 0.5 m/s
    • Average speed 2.5 m/s; average velocity 2.5 m/s
    • Average speed 0.5 m/s; average velocity 2.5 m/s
    • Average speed 2.5 m/s; average velocity 0.5 m/s
  6. Milo says two forces of equal size always add to twice that size. Agree or disagree?

    • Agree: adding two equal numbers always gives double, whatever the directions, so the sum is twice that size
    • Agree: that is true unless the forces are at right angles, when they cannot add at all
    • Disagree: two equal forces always cancel, because equal sizes mean equal and opposite
    • Disagree: that happens only for the same direction; at right angles the sum is about 1.4 times, and opposite forces give 0
  7. Read this first

    Drone positions (example data)

    Time (s)East (m)North (m)
    000
    103040
    20300
  8. A drone flies straight between the readings in the table. Noah says its average velocity over the 20 s is 4.5 m/s. Does the table support the claim?

    • No: it ends 30 m east of the start, so the average velocity is 1.5 m/s east; 4.5 m/s is its average speed
    • Yes: velocity and speed have the same size for a drone
    • No: it ends 30 m from the start, so its average velocity is 30 m/s east
    • Yes: it flew 50 m and then 40 m, which is 90 m in 20 s, so 4.5 m/s is its velocity
  9. Three tugboats pull a barge with equal 500 N forces, spaced 120° apart. Pia says the net force is 1,500 N. Agree or disagree?

    • Disagree: at 120° apart the three pulls cancel, so the net force is 0 N
    • Disagree: the net force is 500 N, since just one pull counts
    • Agree: three pulls of 500 N add to 1,500 N
    • Disagree: the net force is 1,000 N, since two pulls cancel and one is left
  10. Car A moves at 20 m/s east and car B at 15 m/s north. What is B's velocity relative to A, Ren?

    • 35 m/s, directed north of west
    • 25 m/s, directed 37° north of east
    • 5 m/s, directed north
    • 25 m/s, directed 37° north of west
  11. Tala must fly a plane due north over the ground. Its airspeed is 200 km/h, and a 40 km/h wind blows from the west. What heading and ground speed work?

    • Head due north; ground speed 200 km/h
    • Head 11.5° east of north; ground speed about 196 km/h
    • Head 11.5° west of north; ground speed 160 km/h
    • Head 11.5° west of north; ground speed about 196 km/h
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11th grade Scalars and vectors worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Scalars and vectors. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can find the net force of two forces at right angles (a right triangle), and the change in velocity when a ball rebounds or a car turns.
  • I can tell distance from displacement and average speed from average velocity on laps, circles and two-leg trips.
  • I can read an arrow grid with a scale in two directions, and tell equal, opposite and double vectors.
  • I can add velocities for boats, planes and relative motion, find a balancing force, and judge claims about vector sums.

Standard: supports HS-PS2-1

Words to know

scalar: A quantity with size only

vector: A quantity with size and direction

magnitude: The size of a vector, without its direction

displacement: Straight-line change in position, start to finish, with direction

velocity: Displacement per second; speed with a direction

net force: All the forces on an object added as vectors

resultant: The single vector equal to two or more vectors added

relative velocity: One object's velocity as seen from another: subtract their velocities

Common mistakes

Your child added the sizes of two vectors. Vectors that do not point the same way add by their directions, so the sum is shorter than the sizes added.

Your child subtracted the sizes. Only forces pulling opposite ways partly cancel; forces at right angles do not.

Your child subtracted the two speeds. Change in velocity uses the vectors, so reversing direction makes the change larger.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with scalars and vectors?

Your child added the sizes of two vectors. Vectors that do not point the same way add by their directions, so the sum is shorter than the sizes added.

Are these 11th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More physics

See all Physics

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