2022, Question 1 · Short Answer · 7 points · about 13 minutes

Spring and hanging block energy bar charts

Explain in terms of forces why a hanging block first speeds up and then stops, derive how far it falls before stopping, and fill in an energy bar chart for the case with friction.

This exam had five free-response questions in 1 hour and 30 minutes: Questions 1, 4 and 5 were short questions worth 7 points each with about 13 minutes suggested, and Questions 2 and 3 were long questions worth 12 points each with about 25 minutes suggested. The current exam has 4 free-response questions in 95 minutes. The skills these questions practice still count.

1 Read the question

The question is College Board's, from the 2022 exam. It starts on page 4 of the PDF. College Board no longer posts this exam, so it opens from the copy of College Board's PDF that the Internet Archive saved on May 15, 2025.

Open Question 1 (PDF, page 4)

2 Write your answer

Answer each part the way you would on the exam, in full sentences, with your work shown. Your writing saves as you type.

3 Score it

Score your answer against College Board's scoring guidelines, one point at a time. Give yourself a point only when your answer says what the guideline asks for.

Scoring guidelines (PDF, page 2) What the exam readers saw (Chief Reader report)

Question, scoring guidelines and Chief Reader report: College Board, from the Internet Archive. The title and summary are ours.