Identify and resolve forces
Distinguish actual interactions from components of weight. Use ramp-aligned axes to find the downhill and perpendicular contributions.
AP Physics 1 · Unit 2, Part 1 · Forces
Inclined Planes Practice Problems
Resolve forces along and perpendicular to a ramp. Practice static and sliding situations, normal force, uphill motion, braking, angled cable pulls, and a ramp connected to a hanging load.
12 questions6 conceptual · 6 calculation
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What you’ll practice
Align the axes with the ramp
Relate force to ramp motion
Analyze a crate staying at rest, a package sliding, and a vehicle braking on a slope. Compare travel direction with acceleration direction.
Include changed support and connections
Calculate how an angled cable changes normal force. Combine a ramp block’s equation with a hanging load’s equation.
A question from this set
A crate remains at rest
A crate rests on a rough ramp with no rope or applied push. Which set lists the actual forces on the crate?
Try it in the practice setKey ideas
Weight stays vertical while the axes rotate
Resolve weight once
For a ramp angle θ, the weight components have magnitudes mg sin θ along the slope and mg cos θ into it. These are two representations of the same gravitational interaction.
Check other perpendicular forces
N = mg cos θ applies when other forces do not alter perpendicular balance. An angled cable pulling away from the ramp can reduce the normal force.
See the physics
Compare the ramp motion with your force model
Check your answer, then observe rest, uphill travel, or downhill sliding. Compare the calculated ramp components and support forces with numerical force values and the recorded motion.
Use a hint for a starting point or open a worked solution to follow the reasoning. Your progress saves in this browser, so you can return to unfinished questions.
Ready for inclined planes?
Begin with a conceptual question, then work through the calculations.