Lecture 5 Gravity, 1D problems

Review:
Yesterday, for free fall under gravity we found:

1000 m

t t

ay = g
vy = v0y - gt
y = y0 + v0 y t 1 g t2 2

t v t

a t

a t

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Problem:
The pilot of a hovering helicopter drops a lead brick from a height of 1000 m. How long does it take to reach the ground and how fast is it moving when it gets there? (neglect air resistance)

The pilot of a hovering helicopter drops a lead brick from a height of 1000 m. How long does it take to reach the ground First choose coordinate system. Origin and y-direction. 1000 m Next write down position equation: 1000 m

y = y 0 + v 0y t
Note that v0y = 0.

1 2 gt 2

y = y0
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1 2 gt 2

y y=0
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1 y= y0 - gt2 2
Solve for time t when y = 0 given that y0 = 1000 m.

and how fast is it moving when it gets there?

1 gt 2

= y0 - y
Y0=1000 m

v y = voy + at v y = 0 m / s 9.81 m / s 2 14.3 s v y = 140 m / s

y y=0
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Y0=1000 m

2( y 0 - y) t2 = g
t= 2 y0 g =

t=

2(y0 - y) g

2 1000 m 9 .81 m s 2

= 14 . 3 s

y y=0
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Another Useful Formula

v = v0 + at
Solving for t:
t= v v0 a

1 x = x0 + v0 t + at 2 2

and how fast is it moving when it gets there? Alternatively, we can get this directly using:

Plugging in for t:

v v0 1 v v0 x = x0 + v0 + a a 2 a 2 2 2a( x x0 ) = 2v0v 2v0 + v2 2v0v + v0

2

2 2 v y - v 0 y = 2 a( y - y 0 )
Solve for vy:

y0 = 1000 m

v 2 v 0 = 2 a(x x 0 )
Relates v and x independent of t
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v y = 2( g ) y0 = 140 m / s
y=0

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Gravity facts:
g does not depend on the nature of the material! Galileo (1564-1642) figured this out. Major advance in deducing non-intuitive physics Things dont usually fall at the same rate! Nominally, g = 9.81 m/s2 At the equator g = 9.78 m/s2 At the North pole g = 9.83 m/s2 Lots on gravity in 1302 next semester

ICQ. Motion in One Dimension

When throwing a ball straight up, which of the following is true about its velocity v and its acceleration a at the highest point in its path?

(a) v = 0 and a = 0. (b) v 0, but a = 0. (c) v = 0, but a 0.

UIUC

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ICQ. Motion in One Dimension: Solution

(a) v = 0 and a = 0 (b) v 0, but a = 0 (c) v = 0, but a 0.
x Going up, ball has positive velocity. Coming down, it has negative velocity. At the top the velocity is momentarily zero. Since the velocity is continually changing there must be some acceleration. In fact the acceleration is caused by gravity (g = 9.81 m/s2). The answer is (c) v = 0, but a 0. v t t a t

Strategy for Problem Solving

Bring the problem into focus READ THE QUESTION What is happening? What is wanted? What is relevant? What is not? What approach will I use? What outside information needed? Give a "Physics Description" of the event Draw a diagram including all the given information What is the general physics principle you will use to solve the problem? Plan the Solution Write down the equations that describe the problem Sort out the quantities you know and those you dont Are there enough equations? Number of equations=number of unknowns
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Strategy for Problem Solving

Execute your Plan Use Algebra, usually simultaneous equations, to get the desired quantity in terms of known quantities Plug in numbers and calculate answer Check and Evaluate Is the solution technique clear and logical? Are all questions answered? Correct units and dimensions? Is the answer reasonable and does it agree with your expectations? Have you written out your solution step by step so it is easily readable by your grader or anybody else? Read the Competent Problem Solver

Police car and speeder

A police car is at rest when a speeder passes going at a constant velocity of 40m/s. After one second, the police car starts in pursuit with an acceleration a = 2g. How long until it catches the speeder? What is happening:- Two cars are racing in one dimension with different velocities and accelerations. We are given the initial conditions. We need to find when they are at the same x position. x caught vs=40m/s Physical situation Define x=0 as the initial position of the police car. It starts 1 sec after the speeder passes Draw a distance-time diagram ap=2g 1s t

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Police car and speeder

Method- we will use our equations for velocity and acceleration to calculate the position of each car as a function of time and set the two positions equal to find the time For the first second the speeder is moving at constant velocity, the police car is stationary x x S = x0 s + v S t + 1 2 a s t 2 vs=40m/s

Police car and speeder

Now the police car starts and accelerates at 2g. Restart the clock and write the equations for the two cars

x S = x1 S + v S t
caught

x P = x1 P + v 0 P t +
1 aPt 2 2

1 1 aP t 2 = 0 + 0 + aP t 2 2 2

x0 s = 0m , v S = 40 m / s, a s = 0 m s 2 After 1 sec x1s = 40 m / s 1s = 40 m , x1P = 0 m

40m 1s ap=2g t

When the police car catches the speeder xs=xp

x1 s + v s t =

After 1 second the speeder is at xs=40m the police car at xp=0

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1 a P t 2 v S t x1 s = 0 2
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Police car and speeder

Quadratic equation, solution

Homework
Do problems, Chapter 2, #49, 62, 76 Read Chapter 3, sections 1-3

1 2 at vs t x1s = 0 2 1 2 9.8t 2 40t 40 = 0 2 t = 2.04 2.87 s = 4.9 s

Therefore the total elapsed time is t = 4.9s + 1s = 5.9 s Check reasonable? Alternatively if we start time when the speeder passes the cop, we can write

vS t =

1 aP (t 1s )2 2

Check yourselves that this gives the same answer!

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