TASK OF FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS 1

1.

A motorist drives along a straight road at a constant speed of 15.0 m/s. Just as she passes a
parked motorcycle police officer, the officer starts to accelerate at 2.00 m/s 2 to overtake her.
Assuming the officer maintains this acceleration, (a) determine the time it takes the police
officer to reach the motorist. Also find (b) the speed and (c) the total displacement of the
officer as he overtakes the motorist.

2.

A test rocket is fired vertically upward from a well. A catapult gives it an initial velocity of 80.0
m/s at ground level. Subsequently, its engines fire and it accelerates upward at 4.00 m/s 2 until
it reaches an altitude of 1000 m. At that point its engines fail, and the rocket goes into free fall,
with an acceleration of -9.80 m/s2. (a) How long is the rocket in motion above the ground? (b)
What is its maximum altitude? (c) What is its velocity just before it collides with the Earth?
(Hint: Consider the motion while the engine is operating separate from the free-fall motion.)

3.

Each of the displacement vectors A and B shown in Figure P3.15 has a magnitude of 3.00 m.
Find graphically (a) A + B, (b) A B, (c) B A, (d) A 2B. Report all angles counterclockwise
from the positive x axis.

4.

The helicopter view in Figure P3.37 shows two people pulling on a stubborn mule. Find (a) the
single force that is equivalent to the two forces shown and (b) the force that a third person
would have to exert on the mule to make the resultant force equal to zero. The forces are
measured in units of newtons.

5.

An astronaut on a strange planet finds that she can jump a maximum horizontal distance of
15.0 m if her initial speed is 3.00 m/s. What is the free-fall acceleration on the planet?

6.

The orbit of the Moon about the Earth is approximately circular, with a mean radius of 3.84x108
m. It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to complete one revolution about the Earth. Find (a) the
mean orbital speed of the Moon and (b) its centripetal acceleration.

7.

Figure P4.33 shows the total acceleration and velocity of a particle moving clockwise in a circle
of radius 2.50 m at a given instant of time. At this instant, find (a) the radial acceleration, (b)
the speed of the particle, and (c) its tangential acceleration.