MP02: Motion Diagrams

Velocity and Acceleration of a Power Ball

Learning Goal: To understand the distinction between velocity and acceleration with the use of motion diagrams.
In common usage, velocity and acceleration both can imply having considerable speed. In physics, they are sharply
defined concepts that are not at all synonymous. Distinguishing clearly between them is a prerequisite to
understanding motion. Moreover, an easy way to study motion is to draw a motion diagram, in which the position of
the object in motion is sketched at several equally spaced instants of time, and these sketches (or snapshots) are
combined into one single picture.
In this problem, we make use of these concepts to study the motion of a power ball. This discussion assumes that we
have already agreed on a coordinate system from which to measure the position
of objects as a function of time. Let

and

(also called the position vector)

be velocity and acceleration, respectively.

Harvaran Ghai
Consider the motion of a power ball that is dropped on the floor and bounces back. In the following questions, you
will describe its motion at various points in its fall in terms of its velocity and acceleration.
Part A
You drop a power ball on the floor. The motion diagram of the ball is sketched in the figure
the magnitude of the velocity of the ball is increasing, decreasing, or not changing.
increasing

. Indicate whether

decreasing
not changing
Correct

While the ball is in free fall, the magnitude of its velocity is increasing, so the ball is accelerating.
Part B

Since the length of is directly proportional to the length of

, the vector connecting each dot to the next could
represent velocity vectors as well as position vectors, as shown in the figure here
. Indicate whether the velocity
and acceleration of the ball are, respectively, positive (upward), negative, or zero.
Use P, N, and Z for positive (upward), negative, and zero, respectively. Separate the letters for velocity and
acceleration with a comma.
N,N
Correct

Part C
Now, consider the motion of the power ball once it bounces upward. Its motion diagram is shown in the figure here
. Indicate whether the magnitude of the velocity of the ball is increasing, decreasing, or not changing.
increasing
decreasing
not changing
Correct

Since the magnitude of the velocity of the ball is decreasing, the ball must be accelerating (specifically, slowing
down).
Part D
The next figure
shows the velocity vectors corresponding to the upward motion of the power ball. Indicate
whether its velocity and acceleration, respectively, are positive (upward), negative, or zero.
Use P, N, and Z for positive (upward), negative, and zero, respectively. Separate the letters for velocity and
acceleration with a comma.
P,N
Correct

Part E
The power ball has now reached its highest point above the ground and starts to descend again. The motion diagram
representing the velocity vectors is the same as that after the initial release, as shown in the figure of Part B. Indicate
whether the velocity and acceleration of the ball at its highest point are positive (upward), negative, or zero.
Use P, N, and Z for positive (upward), negative, and zero, respectively. Separate the letters for velocity and
acceleration with a comma.
Z,N
Correct

These examples should show you that the velocity and acceleration can have opposite or similar signs or that one of
them can be zero while the other has either sign. Try hard to think carefully about them as distinct physical
quantities when working with kinematics.

Motion of Two Rockets

LearningGoal:Tolearntouseimagesofanobjectinmotiontodeterminevelocityandacceleration.
Twotoyrocketsaretravelinginthesamedirection(takentobethexaxis).Adiagramisshownofatimeexposure
imagewhereastroboscopehasilluminatedtherocketsattheuniformtimeintervalsindicated.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Atwhattime(s)dotherocketshavethesamevelocity?
attime

only

attime

only

attimes

and

atsomeinstantintimebetween

and

atnotimeshowninthefigure
Correct

Part B
Atwhattime(s)dotherocketshavethesamexposition?
attime

only

attime

only

attimes

and

atsomeinstantintimebetween

and

atnotimeshowninthefigure
Correct

Part C
Atwhattime(s)dothetworocketshavethesameacceleration?
attime

only

attime

only

attimes

and

atsomeinstantintimebetween

and

atnotimeshowninthefigure
Correct

Part D
ThemotionoftherocketlabeledAisanexampleofmotionwithuniform(i.e.,constant)__________.
andnonzero
acceleration
velocity
displacement
time
Correct

Part E
ThemotionoftherocketlabeledBisanexampleofmotionwithuniform(i.e.,constant)__________.
andnonzero
acceleration
velocity
displacement
time
Correct

Part F
Atwhattime(s)isrocketAaheadofrocketB?
before
after
before

only
only
andafter

between
and
atnotime(s)showninthe
figure
Correct

PSS 1.1: (Almost) a Dozen Diagrams

LearningGoal:TopracticeProblemSolvingStrategy1.1forconstructingmotiondiagrams.
Acaristravelingwithconstantvelocityalongahighway.Thedrivernoticesheislateforworksohestompsdown
onthegaspedalandthecarbeginstoaccelerate.Thecarhasjustachieveddoubleitsinitialvelocitywhenthedriver
spotsapolicemanbehindhimandappliesthebrakes.Thecarthendecelerates,comingtorestatastoplightahead.
Inthisproblem,youwillbeaskedseveralquestionsrelatedtoconstructionofamotiondiagramforthissituation
andafewothers.

Harvaran Ghai
Representthemovingobjectasaparticle.Makesimplifyingassumptionswheninterpretingtheproblem
statement.
MODEL:

VISUALIZE:

Acompletemotiondiagramconsistsof:

Thepositionoftheobjectineachframeofthefilm,shownasadot.Usefiveorsixdotstomakethemotion
clearbutwithoutovercrowdingthepicture.Morecomplexmotionsmayneedmoredots.

Theaveragevelocityvectors,foundbyconnectingeachdotinthemotiondiagramtothenextwithavector
arrow.Thereisonevelocityvectorlinkingeachsetoftwopositiondots.Labeltherowofvelocityvectors
.

Theaverageaccelerationvectors,foundusingTacticsBox1.3.Thereisoneaccelerationvectorlinking
eachsetoftwovelocityvectors.Eachaccelerationvectorisdrawnatthedotbetweenthetwovelocity
vectorsitlinks.Use toindicateapointatwhichtheaccelerationiszero.Labeltherowofacceleration
vectors .

Model
Itisappropriatetousetheparticlemodelforthecar.Youshouldalsomakesomesimplifyingassumptions.
Part A
Whichofthefollowingsimplifyingassumptionsisitreasonabletomakeinthisproblem?
A. Duringeachofthethreedifferentstagesofitsmotion,thecarismovingwithconstant(possiblyzero)
acceleration.
B. Duringeachofthethreedifferentstagesofitsmotion,thecarismovingwithconstant(possiblyzero)
velocity.
C. Thehighwayisstraight(i.e.,therearenocurves).
D. Thehighwayislevel(i.e.,therearenohillsorvalleys).
Enterthelettersofallthecorrectanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.Forexample,ifyou
thinkthatassumptionsCandDarereasonable,enterCD.
ACD
Correct

Visualize
Nowdrawamotiondiagram,includingalltheelementslistedintheproblemsolvingstrategy.Useyourdiagramto
answerthefollowingquestions.
Ininterpretingthediagramsthatfollow,assumethatthecarismovinginastraightlinetotheright.
Refertothissetofmotiondiagrams

inansweringthefollowing.

Part B
Whichofthediagramsbestdescribesthepositionandthevelocityofthecarbeforethedrivernoticesheislate?
A
B
C
Correct

Part C
Whichofthediagramsbestdescribesthepositionandthevelocityofthecarafterthedriverhitsthegas,butbefore
henoticesthepoliceman?
A
B
C
Correct

Part D
Whichofthediagramsbestdescribesthepositionandthevelocityofthecarafterthedrivernoticesthepoliceman?
A
B
C
Correct

Part E
Whichofthesediagrams
problemintroduction?

mostaccuratelydepictstheaccelerationofthecarduringtheeventsdescribedinthe

Assumethatthecarisinitiallymovingtotheright.
A
B
C
Correct

Nowlet'suseourresultsforthecarandapplythemtosomeotherproblems.Considerthesethreesituations:

Atrainhasitsbrakesreleasedandpullsoutofthestation,slowlypickingupspeed.
Asledisgivenaquickpushalongahorizontalsurface;thesledcomestoastopaftercoveringsome
distance.

Amotorcycleismovingalongastraighthighwayat105km/h(thelegalspeedlimitinmanystates).

Part F
Ofthethreesituationsdescribed,whichobjectcorrespondstothepositionandvelocitydiagramshownhere?
thetrain
thesled

the
motorcycle
Correct

Notethatthediagramshownisnotacompletemotiondiagram;itlacksthevectorrepresentingtheaccelerationof
theobject.
Part G
Ofthethreesituationsdescribed,whichobjectcorrespondstothemotiondiagramshownhere?
thetrain

thesled
the
motorcycle
Correct

Letusnowconsideranotherscenario.Acarandatruckaremovingatthesamevelocityalongastraighthighway.
Bothdriversapplythebrakesatthesamemoment.Thecarandtruckbothcometoastop.Thecartakeslesstimeto
stopthanthetruck.
Refertothemotiondiagramsshownhere

inansweringthefollowing.

Assumethatbothcarsaremovingtotheright.
Part H
Whichofthethreediagramsshownbestdescribesthemotionofthecarandtruckafterthebrakeshavebeen
applied?
A
B
C
Correct

Part I
Diagram(B)isincorrectbecause,accordingtoit:
Thecarandtruckmoveindifferentdirections.
Thecarismovingatconstantvelocity.
Thetruckisspeedingup.
Thecarandthetruckhavethesame
acceleration.
Correct

Part J
Diagram(C)isincorrectbecause,accordingtoit:
Thecarandtruckmoveindifferentdirections.
Thecarismovingatconstantvelocity.
Thetruckisspeedingup.
Thecarandthetruckhavethesame
acceleration.
Correct

MP04: Using Motion Diagrams

Curved Motion Diagram
Themotiondiagramshownhere representsapendulumreleasedfromrestatanangleof45 fromthevertical.
Thedotsinthemotiondiagramrepresentthepositionsofthependulumbobatelevenmomentsseparatedbyequal
timeintervals.Thegreenarrowsrepresenttheaveragevelocitybetweenadjacentdots.Alsogivenisa"compass
rose"ofdirectionsinwhichthedifferentdirectionsarelabeledwiththelettersofthealphabet.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthedirectionoftheaccelerationofthependulumbobatmoment5?
Entertheletterofthearrowwiththisdirectionfromthecompassroseinthefigure.TypeZiftheacceleration
vectorhaszerolength.
A
Correct

Part B
Whatisthedirectionoftheaccelerationofthependulumbobatmoments0and10?
Enterthelettersofthearrowswiththesedirectionsfromthecompassroseinthefigure,separatedby
commas.TypeZiftheaccelerationvectorhaszerolength.
directionsatmoment0,moment10=D,F
Correct

Part C
Inwhichofthefollowingotherscenarioscouldthemotionreasonablyberepresentedbythemotiondiagraminthe
introduction?
A. Aweightplacedontherimofabicyclewheelthatisbeingheldoffthegroundsoitcanrotatefreely
B. Anairplanepullingoutofadive
C. Aracecarroundingaturn
D. Amarblereleasedpartwayuptheinsidesurfaceofasmoothlyroundedbowl
Enterthelettersofallpossiblecorrectscenariosinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.
AD
Correct

Part D
Assumethatthediagramintheproblemintroductionrepresentsthemotionofaballtiedontheendofastringthat
is,apendulum.Alsoassumethattheintervalbetweeneachtimestepinthediagramis0.10s.Thetotaltimeittakes
forthispendulumtoswingbackandforth,alsocalledtheperiodofthependulum,isthenapproximately2s.
Aninterestingfactaboutthependulumisthatitsperiodisessentiallyindependentoftheweightoftheball(or
whateverotherobjectisused).Itdependsonlyonthelengthofthestring(withlongerperiodforlongerstrings)and
thestrengthoftheforceofgravity(whichisessentiallyconstantoverthesurfaceoftheearth).
Basedonobservationorcomparisonwithotherreallifependula,estimatethelength ofthestringneededforthe
pendulumtohaveaperiodof2s.
Express inmeters.Afactorof3errorisallowedineitherdirection.
=1.0
Correct

Physicscanoftenseemtobeascienceofverypreciseanswers.However,havingasolidgraspofthefundamental
conceptsallowsaphysicisttomakereasonablyaccurateestimateslikethisoneveryquickly.Evenifyouwere
ultimatelylookingforamorepreciseanswer,aninitialestimategivesyouawayofcheckingwhethertheresultofa
longcalculationisreasonable.

Average Velocity from a Position vs. Time Graph

LearningGoal:Tolearntoreadandinterpolateonagraphofpositionversustimeandtochangeunits.

Inthisproblemyoumustfindtheaveragevelocityfromagraphof
indicatetheaveragevelocityoverthetimeintervalfrom to .Thus
intervalfrom1to3s.

.Wewillusethenotation

to

istheaveragevelocityoverthetime

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Findtheaveragevelocityoverthetimeintervalfrom0to1second.
Answertothenearestinteger.

=0
Correct

Part B
Findtheaveragevelocityoverthetimeintervalfrom1to3seconds.
Answertothenearestinteger.

=20
Correct

Part C
Nowthatyouhave

and

,find

Giveyouranswertothreesignificantfigures.

=13.3
Correct

Notethat

isnotequaltothesimplearithmeticaverageof

and

fortimeintervalsofdifferentlength.Youwouldhavetodoubletheweightgivento
intervaltwiceaslong.

,becausetheyareaverages
becauseitisforan

Part D
Findtheaveragevelocityoverthetimeintervalfrom1to5seconds.Youwillneedtointerpolatetofindtheposition
attime
.Donotsimplyeyeballthepositionoryouwilllikelynotbeabletoobtainthesolutiontothedesired
accuracy.
Roundyouranswertotwosignificantfigures.

=6.7
Correct

Part E
Obtainingthisanswerrequiredsomeinterpolationonthegraph.Nowseeifyoucanexpressthisresultintermsof
kilometersperhour.
Expressyouranswertothenearestinteger.

=24
Correct

Part F
Findtheaveragevelocityoverthetimeintervalfrom2.5to6.0seconds.
Expressyouranswertotwosignificantfigures.

Correct

=8.6

Running and Walking

TimandRickbothcanrunatspeed andwalkatspeed
distance
half.

,with

.Theysetofftogetheronajourneyof

.Rickwalkshalfofthedistanceandrunstheotherhalf.Timwalkshalfofthetimeandrunstheother

Harvaran Ghai
Part A

HowlongdoesittakeRicktocoverthedistance

ExpressthetimetakenbyRickintermsof ,
=
Correct

,and

Part B
FindRick'saveragespeedforcoveringthedistance
ExpressRick'saveragespeedintermsof ,

=
Correct

,and

Part C
HowlongdoesittakeTimtocoverthedistance?
ExpressthetimetakenbyTimintermsof ,
=
Correct

,and

Part D
Whocoversthedistance morequickly?
Thinklogically,butwithoutusingthedetailedanswersinthepreviousparts.
Rick
Tim
Neither.Theycoverthedistanceinthesameamountof
time.
Correct

Part E
Intermsofgivenquantities,bywhatamountoftime, ,doesTimbeatRick?
Itwillhelpyoucheckyouranswerifyousimplifyitalgebraicallyandcheckthespecialcase
Expressthedifferenceintime,
=
Correct

Part F

intermsof ,

,and

Inthespecialcasethat

Correct

,whatwouldbeTim'smarginofvictory

Graph of v(t) for a Sports Car

Thegraph
questions.

showsthevelocity ofasportscarasafunctionoftime .Usethegraphtoanswerthefollowing

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Findthemaximumvelocity
ofthecar.
Expressyouranswerinmeterspersecondtothenearestinteger.

=55
Correct

Part B
Duringwhichtimeintervalistheaccelerationpositive?
Indicatethemostcompleteanswer.
to
to
to
to
Correct

to

Part C
Findthemaximumacceleration
ofthecar.
Expressyouranswerinmeterspersecondsquaredtothenearestinteger.

=30
Correct

Part D
Findtheminimummagnitudeoftheacceleration
ofthecar.
Expressyouranswerinmeterspersecondsquaredtothenearestinteger.

=0
Correct

Part E
Findthedistance traveledbythecarbetween0and2s.
Expressyouranswerinmeterstothenearestinteger.
=55
Correct

Rearending Drag Racer

Todemonstratethetremendousaccelerationofatopfueldragracer,youattempttorunyourcarintothebackofa
dragsterthatis"burningout"attheredlightbeforethestartofarace.(Burningoutmeansspinningthetiresathigh
speedtoheatthetreadandmaketherubbersticky.)
Youdriveataconstantspeedof towardthestoppeddragster,notslowingdowninthefaceoftheimminent
collision.Thedragsterdriverseesyoucomingbutwaitsuntilthelastinstanttoputdownthehammer,accelerating
fromthestartinglineatconstantacceleration, .Letthetimeatwhichthedragsterstartstoacceleratebe

Harvaran Ghai

Part A

Whatis
,thelongesttimeafterthedragsterbeginstoacceleratethatyoucanpossiblyrunintothebackofthe
dragsterifyoucontinueatyourinitialvelocity?

=
Correct

Part B
Assumingthatthedragsterhasstartedatthelastinstantpossible(soyourfrontbumperalmosthitstherearofthe
dragsterat

),findyourdistancefromthedragsterwhenhestarted.Ifyoucalculatepositionsonthewayto

thissolution,choosecoordinatessothatthepositionofthedragcaris0at
.Rememberthatyouaresolvingfor
adistance(whichisamagnitude,andcanneverbenegative),notaposition(whichcanbenegative).

=
Correct

Part C
Findnumericalvaluesfor

and

insecondsandmetersforthe(reasonable)values

and
.
Separateyourtwonumericalanswersbycommas,andgiveyouranswertotwosignificantfigures.

,
Correct

=0.54,7.2s,m

(26.8m/s)

Thebluecurveshowshowthecar,initiallyat
acceleratingdragcar(red)at

,continuesatconstantvelocity(blue)andjustbarelytouchesthe

Motion of a Shadow

Asmallsourceoflight islocatedatadistance fromaverticalwall.Anopaqueobjectwithaheightof

movestowardthewallwithconstantvelocity ofmagnitude .Attime

,theobjectislocatedatthesource .

Part A

Harvaran Ghai

Findanexpressionfor ,themagnitudeofthevelocity ofthetopoftheobject'sshadow,attime .

Expressthespeedofthetopoftheobject'sshadowintermsof , , ,and .

 =
Correct

Rocket Height
Arocket,initiallyatrestontheground,acceleratesstraightupwardfromrestwithconstantnetacceleration ,until
time ,whenthefuelisexhausted.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Findthemaximumheight

thattherocketreaches(neglectingairresistance).

Expressthemaximumheightintermsof , ,and/or .Notethatinthisproblem, isapositivenumber

equaltothemagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity.
=a*t1*((a*t1)/g)(.5g((a*t1)/g)2)+(.5(t1)2*a)
Correct

Part B
Iftherocket'snetaccelerationis

for

Expressyouranswernumericallyinmeters,using

,whatisthemaximumheighttherocketwillreach?
.

=1470m
Correct

A Flower Pot Falling Past a Window

Asyoulookoutofyourdormwindow,aflowerpotsuddenlyfallspast.Thepotisvisibleforatime ,andthe
verticallengthofyourwindowis .Takedowntobethepositivedirection,sothatdownwardvelocitiesare
positiveandtheaccelerationduetogravityisthepositivequantity .
Assumethattheflowerpotwasdroppedbysomeoneontheflooraboveyou(ratherthanthrowndownward).

Part A
Fromwhatheight abovethebottomofyourwindowwastheflowerpotdropped?

Harvaran Ghai

Expressyouranswerintermsof

, ,and .

=
Correct

Part B
Ifthebottomofyourwindowisaheight abovetheground,whatisthevelocity
ofthepotasithitsthe
ground?Youmayintroducethenewvariable ,thespeedatthebottomofthewindow,definedby

.
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables

=
Correct

, ,

,and .

Resolving Vector Components with Trigonometry

Oftenavectorisspecifiedbyamagnitudeandadirection;forexample,aropewithtension

exertsaforceof

magnitude inadirection35degreesnorthofeast.Thisisagoodwaytothinkofvectors;however,tocalculate
resultswithvectors,itisbesttoselectacoordinatesystemandmanipulatethecomponentsofthevectorsinthat
coordinatesystem.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A

Findthecomponentsofthevectorwithlength andangle withrespecttothexaxisasshown,named .Don't

forgetthatwhenmultiplyingtwofactors,youmustincludeamultiplicationsymbol;also,thecosandsinfunctions
musthaveparenthesesaroundtheirarguments.Forexample,avectormighttaketheformp*sin(Q),m*cos(N).
Writethecomponentsintheformx,y.
=
Correct

Part B
Findthecomponentsofthevectorwithlength andangle withrespecttothexaxisasshown,named .
Writethecomponentsintheformx,y.
=
Correct

Noticethatvectors

and havethesameformdespitetheirplacementwithrespecttotheyaxisonthedrawing.

Part C
Findthecomponentsofthevectorwithlength andangle asshown,named .
Expressyouranswerintermsof and .Writethecomponentsintheformx,y.
=
Correct

Tracking a Plane
Aradarstation,locatedattheoriginofxzplane,asshowninthefigure

,detectsanairplanecomingstraightat

thestationfromtheeast.Atfirstobservation(pointA),thepositionoftheairplanerelativetotheoriginis
positionvector

hasamagnitudeof360

trackedforanother123

andislocatedatexactly40

.The

abovethehorizon.Theairplaneis

intheverticaleastwestplanefor5.0 ,untilithaspasseddirectlyoverthestation

andreachedpointB.ThepositionofpointBrelativetotheoriginis
(themagnitudeof
is880 ).The
contactpointsareshowninthediagram,wherethexaxisrepresentsthegroundandthepositivezdirectionis
upward.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A

Definethedisplacementoftheairplanewhiletheradarwastrackingit:
componentsof

.Whatarethe

Express
inmetersasanorderedpair,separatingthexandzcomponentswithacomma,totwo
significantfigures.

=1100,26
Correct

Two Forces Acting at a Point

Twoforces,

and

,actatapoint.

negativexaxisinthesecondquadrant.
negativexaxisinthethirdquadrant.

hasamagnitudeof9.80 andisdirectedatanangleof60.0 abovethe

hasamagnitudeof6.40 andisdirectedatanangleof53.2 belowthe

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthexcomponentoftheresultantforce?
Expressyouranswerinnewtons.
8.73
Correct

Part B
Whatistheycomponentoftheresultantforce?
Expressyouranswerinnewtons.
3.36
Correct

Part C
Whatisthemagnitudeoftheresultantforce?
Expressyouranswerinnewtons.
9.36
Correct

A Push or a Pull?
LearningGoal:Tounderstandtheconceptofforceasapushorapullandtobecomefamiliarwitheverydayforces.
Aforcecanbesimplydefinedasapushorapullexertedbyoneobjectuponanother.
Althoughsuchadefinitionmaynotsoundtooscientific,itdoescapturethreeessentialpropertiesofforces:

Eachforceiscreatedbysomeobject.
Eachforceactsuponsomeotherobject.

Theactionofaforcecanbevisualizedasapushorapull.

Sinceeachforceiscreatedbyoneobjectandactsuponanother,forcesmustbedescribedasinteractions.The
properwordsdescribingtheforceinteractionbetweenobjectsAandBmaybeanyofthefollowing:

"ObjectAactsuponobjectBwithforce ."

"ObjectAexertsforce uponobjectB."

"Force isappliedtoobjectBbyobjectA."

"Force duetoobjectAisactinguponobjectB."

Oneofthebiggestmistakesyoumaymakeistothinkofaforceas"somethinganobjecthas."Infact,atleasttwo
objectsarealwaysrequiredforaforcetoexist.
Eachforcehasadirection:Forcesarevectors.Themainresultofsuchinteractionsisthattheobjectsinvolved
changetheirvelocities:Forcescauseacceleration.However,inthisproblem,wewillnotconcernourselveswith
accelerationnotyet.

Harvaran Ghai
Somecommontypesofforcesthatyouwillbedealingwithincludethegravitationalforce(weight),theforceof
tension,theforceoffriction,andthenormalforce.
Itissometimesconvenienttoclassifyforcesaseithercontactforcesbetweentwoobjectsthataretouchingoras
longrangeforcesbetweentwoobjectsthataresomedistanceapart.Contactforcesincludetension,friction,andthe
normalforce.Longrangeforcesincludegravityandelectromagneticforces.Notethatsuchadistinctionisuseful
butnotreallyfundamental:Forinstance,onamicroscopicscaletheforceoffrictionisreallyanelectromagnetic
force.
Inthisproblem,youwillidentifythetypesofforcesactingonobjectsinvarioussituations.
First,considerabookrestingonahorizontaltable.
Part A
Whichobjectexertsadownwardforceonthebook?
thebookitself
theearth
thesurfaceofthe
table
Correct

Part B
Thedownwardforceactingonthebookis__________.
acontactforce
alongrange
force
Correct

Part C
Whatisthedownwardforceactingonthebookcalled?
tension
normalforce
weight
friction
Correct

Part D
Whichobjectexertsanupwardforceonthebook?
thebookitself
theearth
thesurfaceofthe
table
Correct

Part E
Theupwardforceactingonthebookis__________.
acontactforce
alongrange
force
Correct

Part F
Whatistheupwardforceactingonthebookcalled?
tension
normalforce
weight
friction

Correct

Nowconsideradifferentsituation.Astringisattachedtoaheavyblock.Thestringisusedtopulltheblocktothe
rightalongaroughhorizontaltable.
Part G
Whichobjectexertsaforceontheblockthatisdirectedtowardtheright?
theblockitself
theearth
thesurfaceofthe
table
thestring
Correct

Part H
Theforceactingontheblockanddirectedtotherightis__________.
acontactforce
alongrange
force
Correct

Toexertatensionforce,thestringmustbeconnectedto(i.e.,touching)theblock.
Part I
Whatistheforceactingontheblockanddirectedtotherightcalled?
tension
normalforce
weight
friction
Correct

Part J
Whichobjectexertsaforceontheblockthatisdirectedtowardtheleft?
theblockitself
theearth
thesurfaceofthe
table
thestring
Correct

Part K
Theforceactingontheblockanddirectedtotheleftis__________.
acontactforce
alongrange
force
Correct

Part L
Whatistheforceactingontheblockanddirectedtotheleftcalled?
tension
normalforce
weight
friction
Correct

Nowconsideraslightlydifferentsituation.Thesameblockisplacedonthesameroughtable.However,thistime,
thestringisdisconnectedandtheblockisgivenaquickpushtotheright.Theblockslidestotherightand
eventuallystops.Thefollowingquestionsrefertothemotionoftheblockafteritispushedbutbeforeitstops.
Part M
Howmanyforcesareactingontheblockinthehorizontaldirection?
0
1
2
3
Correct

Oncethepushhascommenced,thereisnoforceactingtotheright:Theblockismovingtotherightbecauseitwas
givenavelocityinthisdirectionbysomeforcethatisnolongerappliedtotheblock(probably,thenormalforce
exertedbyastudent'shandorsomespringlauncher).
Oncethecontactwiththelaunchingobjecthasbeenlost,theonlyhorizontalforceactingontheblockisdirectedto
theleftwhichiswhytheblockeventuallystops.
Part N
Whatistheforceactingontheblockthatisdirectedtotheleftcalled?
tension
normalforce

weight
friction
Correct

Theforceoffrictiondoesnotdisappearaslongastheblockismoving.Oncetheblockstops,fricionbecomeszero
(assumingthetableisperfectlyhorizontal).

Free-Body Diagrams: Introduction

LearningGoal:Tolearntodrawfreebodydiagramsforvariousreallifesituations.
Imaginethatyouaregivenadescriptionofareallifesituationandareaskedtoanalyzethemotionoftheobjects
involved.Frequently,thatanalysiswouldinvolvefindingtheaccelerationoftheobjects.That,inturn,requiresthat
youfindthenetforce.
Tofindthenetforce,youmustfirstidentifyalloftheforcesinvolvedandthenaddthemasvectors.Sucha
procedureisnotalwaystrivial.Itishelpfultoreplacethesketchofthesituationbythedrawingoftheobject
(representedasaparticle)andalltheforcesappliedtoit.Suchadrawingiscalledafreebodydiagram.This
problemwillwalkyouthroughseveralexamplesoffreebodydiagramsandwilldemonstratesomeofthepossible
pitfalls.
Hereisthegeneralstrategyfordrawingfreebodydiagrams:
Identifytheobjectofinterest.Thismaynotalwaysbeeasy:Asketchofthesituationmaycontainmany
objects,eachofwhichhasadifferentsetofforcesactingonit.Includingforcesactingondifferent
objectsinthesamediagramwillleadtoconfusionandawrongsolution.
Drawtheobjectasadot.Drawandclearlylabelalltheforcesactingontheobjectofinterest.The
forcesshouldbeshownasvectorsoriginatingfromthedotrepresentingtheobjectofinterest.Thereare
twopossibledifficultieshere:omittingsomeforcesanddrawingtheforcesthateitherdon'texistatall
orareappliedtootherobjects.Toavoidthesetwopitfalls,rememberthateveryforcemustbeapplied
totheobjectofinterestbysomeotherobjector,assomeliketosay,"everyforcemusthaveasource."

Oncealloftheforcesaredrawn,drawthecoordinatesystem.Theoriginshouldcoincidewiththedot
representingtheobjectofinterestandtheaxesshouldbechosensothatthesubsequentcalculationsof
vectorcomponentsoftheforceswillberelativelysimple.Thatis,asmanyforcesaspossiblemustbe
eitherparallelorperpendiculartooneoftheaxes.

Harvaran Ghai
Itshouldcomeasgoodnewsthat,eventhoughreallifecanpresentuswithawidevarietyofsituations,wewillbe
mostlydealingwithaverysmallnumberofforces.Herearetheprincipalonesofinterest:

Weight,ortheforceduetogravity.Weightactsoneveryobjectandisdirectedstraightdownunlessweare
consideringaprobleminvolvingthenonflatearth(e.g.,satellites).
Normalforce.Thenormalforceexistsbetweentwosurfacesthatarepressedagainsteachother;itisalways
perpendiculartothesurfaces.

Forceoftension.Tensionexistsinstrings,springs,andotherobjectsoffinitelength.Itisdirectedalongthe
stringoraspring.Keepinmindthataspringcanbeeithercompressedorstretchedwhereasastringcan
onlybestretched.

Forceoffriction.Africtionforceexistsbetweentwosurfacesthateithermoveorhaveatendencytomove
relativetoeachother.Sometimes,theforceofairdrag,similarinsomewaystotheforceoffriction,may
comeintoplay.Theseforcesaredirectedsothattheyresisttherelativemotionofthesurfaces.Keepin
mindthattosimplifyproblemsyouoftenassumefrictionisnegligibleonsmoothsurfaces.Inaddition,the
wordfrictioncommonlyreferstoresistiveforcesotherthanairdragthatarecausedbycontactbetween
surfacessoyoucanignoreairdraginproblemsunlessyouaretoldtoconsideritseffects.

Thefollowingexamplesshouldhelpyoulearntodrawfreebodydiagrams.Wewillstartwithrelativelysimple
situationsinwhichtheobjectofinterestiseitherexplicitlysuggestedorfairlyobvious.
Part A
Ahockeypuckslidesalongahorizontal,smoothicysurfaceataconstantvelocityasshown.
diagramforthepuck.Whichofthefollowingforcesareactingonthepuck?
A. weight
B. friction
C. forceofvelocity
D. forceofpush
E. normalforce

Drawafreebody

F. airdrag
G. acceleration
Typetheletterscorrespondingtoallthecorrectanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlyanswersCandDarecorrect,typeCD.
AE
Correct

Thereisnosuchthingas"theforceofvelocity."Ifthepuckisnotbeingpushed,therearenohorizontalforces
actingonit.Ofcourse,somehorizontalforcemusthaveactedonitbefore,toimpartthevelocityhowever,inthe
situationdescribed,nosuch"forceofpush"exists.Also,theairdraginsuchcasesisassumedtobenegligible.
Finally,theword"smooth"usuallyimpliesnegligiblesurfacefriction.Yourfreebodydiagramshouldlooklikethe

oneshownhere.
Part B
Considerablockpulledbyahorizontalropealongahorizontalsurfaceataconstantvelocityasshown. The
tensionintheropeisnonzero.Drawafreebodydiagramfortheblock.Whichofthefollowingforcesareactingon
theblock?
A. weight
B. friction
C. forceofvelocity
D. forceoftension
E. normalforce
F. airdrag
G. acceleration

Typetheletterscorrespondingtoallthecorrectanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlyanswersCandDarecorrect,typeCD.

ABDE
Correct

Becausethevelocityisconstant,theremustbeaforceoffrictionopposingtheforceoftension.Sincetheblockis
moving,itiskineticfriction.Yourfreebodydiagramshouldlooklikethatshownhere.

ConsiderthefollowingsituationinpartsCF.
Ablockisrestingonaslopeasshown.

Part C
Whichofthefollowingforcesareactingontheblock?
A. weight
B. kineticfriction

C. staticfriction
D. forceofpush
E. normalforce
Typetheletterscorrespondingtoallthecorrectanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlyanswersCandDarecorrect,typeCD.
ACE
Correct

Part D
Whatisthedirectionoftheforceduetogravityactingontheblock?
verticallyupward
verticallydownward
perpendiculartotheslope

upwardalongtheslope
downwardalongtheslope
Correct

Part E
Whatisthedirectionofthenormalforceactingontheblock?
verticallyupward

verticallydownward
perpendiculartotheslope
upwardalongtheslope
downwardalongtheslope
Correct

Part F
Drawthefreebodydiagramfortheblock.Whatisthedirectionoftheforceoffrictionactingontheblock?
verticallyupward

verticallydownward
perpendiculartotheslope
upwardalongtheslope
downwardalongtheslope
Correct

Withoutfriction,theblockwouldslidedowntheslope;sotheforceofstaticfrictionmustopposesuchamotionand
bedirectedupwardalongtheslope.Yourfreebodydiagramshouldlooklikethatshownhere.

Nowconsiderablockslidinguparoughslopeafterhavingbeengivenaquickpushasshown.
Part G
Whichofthefollowingforcesareactingontheblock?
A. weight
B. kineticfriction

C. staticfriction
D. forceofpush
E. normalforce
F. theforceofvelocity
Typetheletterscorrespondingtoallthecorrectanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlyanswersCandDarecorrect,typeCD.
ABE
Correct

Theword"rough"impliesthepresenceoffriction.Sincetheblockisinmotion,itiskineticfriction.Onceagain,
thereisnosuchthingas"theforceofvelocity."However,itseemsatemptingchoicetosomestudentssincethe
blockisgoingup.
Part H
Drawthefreebodydiagramfortheblock.Whatisthedirectionoftheforceoffrictionactingontheblock?
verticallyupward
verticallydownward
perpendiculartotheslope
upwardalongtheslope
downwardalongtheslope
Correct

Theforceofkineticfrictionopposestheupwardmotionoftheblock.Yourfreebodydiagramshouldlooklikethe

oneshownhere.
Part I
Nowconsiderablockbeingpushedupasmoothslope.Theforcepushingtheblockisparalleltotheslope.
Whichofthefollowingforcesareactingontheblock?
A. weight
B. kineticfriction
C. staticfriction
D. forceofpush
E. normalforce
Typetheletterscorrespondingtoallthecorrectanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlyanswersCandDarecorrect,typeCD.
ADE
Correct

Yourfreebodydiagramshouldlookliketheoneshownhere.

bythepalmofthehandofthepersonpushingtheblock.

Theforceofpushisthenormalforceexerted,possibly,

Inalltheprevioussituationsjustdescribed,theobjectofinterestwasexplicitlygiven.Letusconsiderasituation
wherechoosingtheobjectsforwhichtodrawthefreebodydiagramsisuptoyou.
Twoblocksofmasses and areconnectedbyalightstringthatgoesoveralightfrictionlesspulley.Theblock
ofmass isslidingtotherightonaroughhorizontalsurfaceofalabtable.
Part J
Tosolvefortheaccelerationoftheblocks,youwillhavetodrawthefreebodydiagramsforwhichobjects?
A. theblockofmass
B. theblockofmass
C. theconnectingstring
D. thepulley
E. thetable
F. theearth
Typetheletterscorrespondingtoallthecorrectanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlyanswersCandDarecorrect,typeCD.
AB
Correct

Part K
Drawthefreebodydiagramfortheblockofmass
none
one
two

.Howmanyforcesareexertedonthisblock?

three
four
Correct

Yourfreebodydiagramshouldlooklikethatshownhere.

Part L
Drawthefreebodydiagramfortheblockofmass
none
one
two
three
four
Correct

.Howmanyforcesareexertedonthisblock?

Yourfreebodydiagramshouldlooklikethatshownhere.

Understanding Newton's Laws

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Anobjectcannotremainatrestunlesswhichofthefollowingholds?
Thenetforceactingonitiszero.
Thenetforceactingonitisconstantand
nonzero.
Therearenoforcesatallactingonit.
Thereisonlyoneforceactingonit.
Correct

Ifthereisanetforceactingonabody,regardlessofwhetheritisaconstantforce,thebodyaccelerates.Ifthebody
isatrestandthenetforceactingonitiszero,thenitwillremainatrest.Thenetforcecouldbezeroeitherbecause
therearenoforcesactingonthebodyatallorbecauseseveralforcesareactingonthebodybuttheyallcancelout.
Part B
Ifablockismovingtotheleftataconstantvelocity,whatcanoneconclude?
Thereisexactlyoneforceappliedtotheblock.
Thenetforceappliedtotheblockisdirectedtothe
left.
Thenetforceappliedtotheblockiszero.
Theremustbenoforcesatallappliedtotheblock.
Correct

Ifthereisanetforceactingonabody,regardlessofwhetherthebodyisalreadymoving,thebodyaccelerates.Ifa
bodyismovingwithconstantvelocity,thenitisnotacceleratingandthenetforceactingonitiszero.Thenetforce
couldbezeroeitherbecausetherearenoforcesactingonthebodyatallorbecauseseveralforcesareactingonthe
bodybuttheyallcancelout.
Part C
Ablockofmass
isacteduponbytwoforces:
yousayabouttheblock'smotion?
Itmustbemovingtotheleft.

(directedtotheleft)and

(directedtotheright).Whatcan

Itmustbemovingtotheright.
Itmustbeatrest.
Itcouldbemovingtotheleft,movingtotheright,orbeinstantaneouslyat
rest.
Correct

Theaccelerationofanobjecttellsyounothingaboutitsvelocitythedirectionandspeedatwhichitismoving.In
thiscase,thenetforceon(andthereforetheaccelerationof)theblockistotheright,buttheblockcouldbemoving
left,right,orinanyotherdirection.
Part D
Amassiveblockisbeingpulledalongahorizontalfrictionlesssurfacebyaconstanthorizontalforce.Theblock
mustbe__________.
continuouslychangingdirection
movingatconstantvelocity
movingwithaconstantnonzeroacceleration
movingwithcontinuouslyincreasing
acceleration
Correct

Sincethereisanetforceacting,thebodydoesnotmoveataconstantvelocity,butitacceleratesinstead.However,
theforceactingonthebodyisconstant.Hence,accordingtoNewton's2ndlawofmotion,theaccelerationofthe
bodyisalsoconstant.
Part E
Twoforces,ofmagnitude
and
,areappliedtoanobject.Therelativedirectionoftheforcesisunknown.
Thenetforceactingontheobject__________.
A. cannotbeequalto
B. cannotbeequalto
C. cannotbedirectedthesamewayastheforceof

D. mustbegreaterthan
Enterthelettersofallthecorrectanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.Forexample,ifyou
thinkonlythelastoptioniscorrect,enterD.
A
Correct

Conceptual Questions on Newton's 1st and 2nd Laws

LearningGoal:TounderstandthemeaningandthebasicapplicationsofNewton's1stand2ndlaws.
Inthisproblem,youaregivenadiagram representingthemotionofanobjectamotiondiagram.Thedots
representtheobject'spositionatmomentsseparatedbyequalintervalsoftime.Thedotsareconnectedbyarrows
representingtheobject'saveragevelocityduringthecorrespondingtimeinterval.
Yourgoalistousethismotiondiagramtodeterminethedirectionofthenetforceactingontheobject.Youwill
thendeterminewhichforcediagramsandwhichsituationsmaycorrespondtosuchamotion.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
WhatisthedirectionofthenetforceactingontheobjectatpositionA?
upward
downward
totheleft
totheright
Thenetforceis
zero.

Correct

ThevelocityvectorsconnectingpositionAtotheadjacentpositionsappeartohavethesamemagnitudeand
direction.Therefore,theaccelerationiszeroandsoisthenetforce.
Part B
WhatisthedirectionofthenetforceactingontheobjectatpositionB?
upward
downward
totheleft
totheright
Thenetforceis
zero.
Correct

Thevelocityisdirectedtotheright;however,itisdecreasing.Therefore,theaccelerationisdirectedtotheleftand
soisthenetforce.
Part C
WhatisthedirectionofthenetforceactingontheobjectatpositionC?
upward
downward
totheleft
totheright
Thenetforceis
zero.
Correct

Thehorizontalcomponentofthevelocitydoesnotchange.Theverticalcomponentofthevelocityincreases.
Therefore,theaccelerationandthenetforcearedirectedstraightdownward.
Thenextfourquestionsarerelatedtotheforcediagramsnumbered1to6. Thesediagramsrepresenttheforces
actingonamovingobject.Thenumbernexttoeacharrowrepresentsthemagnitudeoftheforceinnewtons.
Part D
WhichofthesediagramsmaypossiblycorrespondtothesituationatpointAonthemotiondiagram?
Type,inincreasingorder,thenumberscorrespondingtothecorrectdiagrams.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlydiagrams3and4arecorrect,type34.
6
Correct

Part E

WhichofthesediagramsmaypossiblycorrespondtothesituationatpointBonthemotiondiagram?
Type,inincreasingorder,thenumberscorrespondingtothecorrectdiagrams.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlydiagrams3and4arecorrect,type34.
35
Correct

Part F
WhichofthesediagramsmaypossiblycorrespondtothesituationatpointConthemotiondiagram?
Type,inincreasingorder,thenumberscorrespondingtothecorrectdiagrams.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlydiagrams3and4arecorrect,type34.
24
Correct

Part G
Whichofthesediagramscorrespondtoasituationwherethemovingobject(notnecessarilytheoneshowninthe
motiondiagram)ischangingitsvelocity?
Type,inincreasingorder,thenumberscorrespondingtothecorrectdiagrams.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlydiagrams3and4arecorrect,type34.
12345
Correct

Considerthefollowingsituations:
A. Acarismovingalongastraightroadataconstantspeed.
B. Acarismovingalongastraightroadwhileslowingdown.
C. Acarismovingalongastraightroadwhilespeedingup.
D. Ahockeypuckslidesalongasmooth(i.e.,frictionless)icysurface.
E. Ahockeypuckslidesalongaroughconcretesurface.
F. Acockroachisspeedingupfromrest.
G. Arockisthrownhorizontally;airresistanceisnegligible.
H. Arockisthrownhorizontally;airresistanceissubstantial.
I.

Arockisdroppedvertically;airresistanceisnegligible.

J.

Arockisdroppedvertically;airresistanceissubstantial.

Part H
WhichofthesesituationsdescribethemotionshowninthemotiondiagramatpointA?
Typetheletterscorrespondingtoalltherightanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlysituationsCandDarecorrect,typeCD.
AD
Correct

Part I
WhichofthesesituationsdescribethemotionshowninthemotiondiagramatpointB?
Typetheletterscorrespondingtoalltherightanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlysituationsCandDarecorrect,typeCD.
BE
Correct

Part J
WhichofthesesituationsdescribethemotionshowninthemotiondiagramatpointC?
Typetheletterscorrespondingtoalltherightanswersinalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.For
instance,ifyouthinkthatonlysituationsCandDarecorrect,typeCD.
G
Correct

A World-Class Sprinter
Worldclasssprinterscanaccelerateoutofthestartingblockswithanaccelerationthatisnearlyhorizontalandhas
magnitude

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Howmuchhorizontalforce mustasprinterofmass54.0
acceleration?
Expressyouranswerinnewtons.

exertonthestartingblockstoproducethis

=810
Correct

Part B
Whichbodyexertstheforcethatpropelsthesprinter,theblocksorthesprinter?
theblocks
thesprinter
Correct

Tostartmovingforward,sprinterspushbackwardonthestartingblockswiththeirfeet.Asareaction,theblocks
pushforwardontheirfeetwithaforceofthesamemagnitude.Thisexternalforceacceleratesthesprinterforward.

Block on an Incline
Ablockliesonaplaneraisedanangle fromthehorizontal.Threeforcesactupontheblock:
gravity; ,thenormalforce;and
blockfromsliding .

,theforceoffriction.Thecoefficientoffrictionislargeenoughtopreventthe

Part A
Considercoordinatesystema,withthexaxisalongtheplane.Whichforcesliealongtheaxes?
only
only
only
and
and
and
and
Correct

,theforceof

and

Part B
Whichforcesliealongtheaxesofthecoordinatesystemb,inwhichtheyaxisisvertical?

Harvaran Ghai

only
only
only
and
and
and
and
Correct

and

Nowyouaregoingtoignorethegeneralrule(actually,astrongsuggestion)thatyoushouldpickthecoordinate
systemwiththemostvectors,especiallyunknownones,alongthecoordinateaxes.Youwillfindthenormalforce,
,usingverticalcoordinatesystemb.Inthesecoordinatesyouwillfindthemagnitude
andyequations,eachmultipliedbyatrigonometricfunction.

appearinginboththex

Part C
Becausetheblockisnotmoving,thesumoftheycomponentsoftheforcesactingontheblockmustbezero.Find
anexpressionforthesumoftheycomponentsoftheforcesactingontheblock,usingcoordinatesystemb.
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables

,and .

Correct

Part D
Becausetheblockisnotmoving,thesumofthexcomponentsoftheforcesactingontheblockmustbezero.Find
anexpressionforthesumofthexcomponentsoftheforcesactingontheblock,usingcoordinatesystemb.
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables

,and .

Correct

Part E
Tofindthemagnitudeofthenormalforce,youmustexpress

intermsof

equationsyoufoundinthetwopreviousparts,findanexpressionfor
=
Correct

since

involving

isanunknown.Usingthe
and butnot

Congratulationsonworkingthisthrough.Nowrealizethatincoordinatesystema,whichisalignedwiththeplane,
theycoordinateequationis
for

,whichleadsimmediatelytotheresultobtainedhere

CONCLUSION:Athoughtfulexaminationofwhichcoordinatesystemtochoosecansavealotofalgebra.

Hanging Chandelier
Achandelierwithmass isattachedtotheceilingofalargeconcerthallbytwocables.Becausetheceilingis
coveredwithintricatearchitecturaldecorations(notindicatedinthefigure,whichusesahumblerdepiction),the
workerswhohungthechandeliercouldn'tattachthecablestotheceilingdirectlyabovethechandelier.Instead,they
attachedthecablestotheceilingnearthewalls.Cable1hastension
Cable2hastension

andmakesanangleof withtheceiling.

andmakesanangleof withtheceiling.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Findanexpressionfor

,thetensionincable1,thatdoesnotdependon

Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables
accelerationduetogravity .
=
Correct

, ,and ,aswellasthemagnitudeofthe

Problem 5.11

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Anastronaut'sweightonearthis805 .WhatishisweightonMars,where
309N
Correct

Problem 5.12
Awomanhasamassof

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Whatisherweightonearth?
539N
Correct

Part B
Whatishermassonthemoon,where
55.0kg
Correct

Part C
Whatisherweightonthemoon?
89.1N
Correct

Problem 5.14
Thefigureshowsthevelocitygraphofa

passengerinanelevator.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthepassenger'sapparentweightat
1040N
Correct

Part B
Att= ?
735N
Correct

Part C
Att= ?
585N
Correct

Pushing a Chair along the Floor

Achairofweight120 liesatopahorizontalfloor;thefloorisnotfrictionless.Youpushonthechairwithaforce
of =35.0 directedatanangleof41.0 belowthehorizontalandthechairslidesalongthefloor.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
UsingNewton'slaws,calculate ,themagnitudeofthenormalforcethatthefloorexertsonthechair.
Expressyouranswerinnewtons.
=143
Correct

Board Pulled Out from under a Box

Asmallboxofmass issittingonaboardofmass andlength .Theboardrestsonafrictionless
horizontalsurface.Thecoefficientofstaticfrictionbetweentheboardandtheboxis .Thecoefficientofkinetic
frictionbetweentheboardandtheboxis,asusual,lessthan .
Throughouttheproblem,use forthemagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity.Inthehints,use
magnitudeofthefrictionforcebetweentheboardandthebox.

forthe

Harvaran Ghai

Part A

Find
,theconstantforcewiththeleastmagnitudethatmustbeappliedtotheboardinordertopulltheboard
outfromunderthethebox(whichwillthenfalloffoftheoppositeendoftheboard).
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables
answer.

=
Correct

, ,and .Donotinclude

inyour

Friction Force on a Dancer on a Drawbridge

Adancerisstandingononelegonadrawbridgethatisabouttoopen.Thecoefficientsofstaticandkineticfriction
betweenthedrawbridgeandthedancer'sfootare

and

,respectively. representsthenormalforceexertedon

thedancerbythebridge,and representsthegravitationalforceexertedonthedancer,asshowninthedrawing
.Forallthequestions,wecanassumethatthebridgeisaperfectlyflatsurfaceandlacksthecurvature
characteristicofmostbridges.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Beforethedrawbridgestartstoopen,itisperfectlylevelwiththeground.Thedancerisstandingstillononeleg.
Whatisthexcomponentofthefrictionforce,

Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables ,

,and/or

=0
Correct

Thisshowsaveryimportantpoint.Whenyouarenottoldthatanobjectisslippingoronthevergeofslipping,then
thefrictionforceisdeterminedusingNewton'slawsofmotioninconjunctionwiththeobservedmotionandtheother
forcesontheobject.Underthesecircumstancesthefrictionforceislimitedby or butisotherwisenot
necessarilyrelatedto or .
Part B

Thedrawbridgethenstartstoriseandthedancercontinuestostandononeleg.Thedrawbridgestopsjustatthe

pointwherethedancerisonthevergeofslipping.Whatisthemagnitude
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables ,
inyouranswer.
=

Correct

ofthefrictionalforcenow?

,and/or

.Theangle shouldnotappear

Part C
Then,becausethebridgeisoldandpoorlydesigned,itfallsalittlebitandthenjerks.Thiscausesthepersontostart
toslidedownthebridgeataconstantspeed.Whatisthemagnitude

ofthefrictionalforcenow?

Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables ,
inyouranswer.

,and/or

.Theangle shouldnotappear

Correct

Part D
Thebridgestartstocomebackdownagain.Thedancerstopssliding.However,againbecauseoftheageanddesign
ofthebridgeitnevermakesitallthewaydown;ratheritstopshalfametershort.Thishalfametercorrespondsto
anangle

degree(seethediagram,whichhastheangleexaggerated).Whatistheforceoffriction

Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables , ,
=
Correct

,and/or

now?

Skydiving
Askydiverofmass80.0

(includingparachute)jumpsoffaplaneandbeginsherdescent.

Throughoutthisproblemuse9.80

forthemagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Atthebeginningofherfall,doestheskydiverhaveanacceleration?
No;theskydiverfallsatconstantspeed.
Yesandheraccelerationisdirectedupward.
Yesandheraccelerationisdirected
downward.
Correct

ThisError! Hyperlink reference not valid.showstheskydiver(nottoscale)withherposition,

speed,andaccelerationgraphedasfunctionsoftime.Youcanseehowheraccelerationdropstozeroovertime,
givingconstantspeedafteralongtime.

Part B
Atsomepointduringherfreefall,theskydiverreachesherterminalspeed.Whatisthemagnitudeofthedragforce
duetoairresistancethatactsontheskydiverwhenshehasreachedterminalspeed?
Expressyouranswerinnewtons.

=784
Correct

Part C
Foranobjectfallingthroughairatahighspeed ,thedragforceactingonitduetoairresistancecanbeexpressed
as

,
wherethecoefficient

dependsontheshapeandsizeofthefallingobjectandonthedensityofair.Forahuman

body,thenumericalvaluefor
Usingthisvaluefor

isabout0.250

,whatistheterminalspeed

.
oftheskydiver?

Expressyouanswerinmeterspersecond.

=56.0
Correct

Recreationalskydiverscancontroltheirterminalspeedtosomeextentbychangingtheirbodyposture.When
orientedinaheadfirstdive,askydivercanreachspeedsofabout54meterspersecond(120milesperhour).For
maximumdragandstability,skydiversoftenwillorientthemselves"bellyfirst."Inthisposition,theirterminal
speedistypicallyaround45meterspersecond(100milesperhour).
Part D
Whentheskydiverdescendstoacertainheightfromtheground,shedeploysherparachutetoensureasafelanding.
(Usuallytheparachuteisdeployedwhentheskydiverreachesanaltitudeofabout900
afterdeployingtheparachute,doestheskydiverhaveanonzeroacceleration?
No;theskydiverkeepsfallingatconstant
speed.
Yesandheraccelerationisdirecteddownward.
Yesandheraccelerationisdirectedupward.
Correct

Part E

3000 .)Immediately

Whentheparachuteisfullyopen,theeffectivedragcoefficientoftheskydiverplusparachuteincreasesto
60.0
.Whatisthedragforce
Expressyouranswerinnewtons.

actingontheskydiverimmediatelyaftershehasopenedtheparachute?

=1.88105
Correct

Part F
Whatistheterminalspeed
oftheskydiverwhentheparachuteisopened?
Expressyouranswerinmeterspersecond.

=3.61
Correct

Atypical"student"parachuteforrecreationalskydivinghasadragcoefficientthatgivesaterminalspeedforlanding
ofabout2meterspersecond(5milesperhour).Ifthisseemsslowbasedonvideoorreallifeskydiversyouhave
seen,thatmaybebecausetheskydiversyousawwereusinghighperformanceparachutes;theseofferthesky
diversmoremaneuverabilityintheairbutincreasetheterminalspeedupto4meterspersecond(10milesperhour).

An Object Accelerating on a Ramp

LearningGoal:Understandthattheaccelerationvectorisinthedirectionofthechangeofthevelocityvector.
Inonedimensional(straightline)motion,accelerationisaccompaniedbyachangeinspeed,andtheaccelerationis
alwaysparallel(orantiparallel)tothevelocity.
Whenmotioncanoccurintwodimensions(e.g.isconfinedtoatabletopbutcanlieanywhereinthexyplane),the
definitionofaccelerationis

inthelimit

Inpicturingthisvectorderivativeyoucanthinkofthederivativeofavectorasaninstantaneousquantitybythinking
ofthevelocityofthetipofthearrowasthevectorchangesintime.Alternatively,youcan(forsmall
approximatetheaccelerationas

.
Obviouslythedifferencebetween
inthesamedirection,

willbeparallelto

and

isanothervectorthatcanlieinanydirection.Ifitislongerbut
.Ontheotherhand,if

hasthesamemagnitudeas

butisinaslightlydifferentdirection,then
inbothmagnitudeanddirection,hence

willbeperpendicularto .Ingeneral,
canhaveanydirectionrelativeto

candifferfrom
.

Thisproblemcontainsseveralexamplesofthis.Consideranobjectslidingonafrictionlessrampasdepictedhere.
Theobjectisalreadymovingalongtheramptowardposition2whenitisatposition1.Thefollowingquestions
concernthedirectionoftheobject'saccelerationvector, .Inthisproblem,youshouldfindthedirectionofthe
accelerationvectorbydrawingthevelocityvectorattwopointsneartothepositionyouareaskedabout.Notethat
sincetheobjectmovesalongthetrack,itsvelocityvectoratapointwillbetangenttothetrackatthatpoint.The
accelerationvectorwillpointinthesamedirectionasthevectordifferenceofthetwovelocities.(Thisisaresultof
theequation

givenabove.)

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whichdirectionbestapproximatesthedirectionof whentheobjectisatposition1?
straightup
downwardtotheleft
downwardtothe
right
straightdown
Correct

Part B
Whichdirectionbestapproximatesthedirectionof whentheobjectisatposition2?
straightup
upwardtotheright

straightdown
downwardtothe
left
Correct

Eventhoughtheaccelerationisdirectedstraightup,thisdoesnotmeanthattheobjectismovingstraightup.
Part C
Whichdirectionbestapproximatesthedirectionof whentheobjectisatposition3?
upwardtotheright
totheright
straightdown
downwardtothe
right
Correct

Problem 6.3
Aparticle'strajectoryisdescribedby

and

,where isins.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatistheparticle'sspeedatt
2.00m/s
Correct

Part B
Whatistheparticle'sspeedat =4.50 ?
12.6m/s
Correct

Part C
Whatistheparticle'sdirectionofmotion,measuredfromthexaxis,at
270 counterclockwisefromthe+xaxis
Correct

0?

Part D
Whatistheparticle'sdirectionofmotion,measuredfromthexaxis,at =4.50 ?
11.4 counterclockwisefromthe+xaxis
Correct

Projectile Motion Tutorial

LearningGoal:Understandhowtoapplytheequationsfor1dimensionalmotiontotheyandxdirections
separatelyinordertoderivestandardformulaefortherangeandheightofaprojectile.

Aprojectileisfiredfromgroundlevelattime
,atanangle withrespecttothehorizontal.Ithasaninitial
speed .Inthisproblemweareassumingthatthegroundislevel.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Findthetime
Express
=
Correct

ittakestheprojectiletoreachitsmaximumheight.

intermsof

, ,and (themagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity).

Part B
Find

,thetimeatwhichtheprojectilehitstheground.

Expressthetimeintermsof
=
Correct

, ,and .

Part C
Find

,themaximumheightattainedbytheprojectile.

Expressthemaximumheightintermsof

=
Correct

, ,and .

Part D
Findthetotaldistance (oftencalledtherange)traveledinthexdirection;inotherwords,findwheretheprojectile
lands.
Expresstherangeintermsof

=
Correct

, ,and .

Theactualformulafor

islessimportantthanhowitisobtained:

1.
2.

Considerthexandymotionseparately.
Findthetimeofflightfromtheymotion

3.

Findthexpositionattheendoftheflightthisistherange.

Ifyourememberthesesteps,youcandealwithmanyvariantsofthebasicproblem,suchas:acannononahillthat
fireshorizontally(i.e.thesecondhalfofthetrajectory),aprojectilethatlandsonahill,oraprojectilethatmusthita
movingtarget.

Horizontal Cannon on a Cliff

Acannonballisfiredhorizontallyfromthetopofacliff.Thecannonisatheight
ballisfiredwithinitialhorizontalspeed .

abovegroundlevel,andthe

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Assumethatthecannonisfiredat

andthatthecannonballhitsthegroundattime

positionofthecannonballatthetime

Expresstheypositionofthecannonballintermsof
answer.

Correct

.Whatisthey

.Thequantities

and shouldnotappearinyour

Part B
Giventhattheprojectilelandsadistance
Expresstheinitialspeedintermsof
=
Correct

fromthecliff,asshown,findtheinitialspeedoftheprojectile,
, ,and

Part C
Whatistheypositionofthecannonballwhenitisadistance
Expressthepositionofthecannonballintermsof

=
Correct

only.

fromthehill?

Problem 6.13
Aboattakes3.70

totravel15.0

downariver,then5.30

toreturn.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Howfastistheriverflowing?
0.612km/h
Correct

Crossing a River

Aswimmerwantstocrossariver,frompointAtopointB.Thedistance

distance

(fromCtoB)is150

swimmermakesanangleof
thefigure.

(fromAtoC)is200

,andthespeed ofthecurrentintheriveris5
(0.785

,the

.Supposethatthe

)withrespecttothelinefromAtoC,asindicatedin

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
ToswimdirectlyfromAtoB,whatspeed ,relativetothewater,shouldtheswimmerhave?
Expresstheswimmer'sspeednumerically,tothreesignificantfigures,inunitsofkilometersperhour.
=4.04
Correct

Anotherwaytodothisproblem,withoutusinganykinematics,wouldbetoaddtheswimmer'sandriver'svelocities
vectorially,andsettheanglethatthisvectormakeswithACortheriverbankequaltothatwhichABmakeswith
thesame.

Speed of a Bullet
Abulletisshotthroughtwocardboarddisksattachedadistance
,asshown.

aparttoashaftturningwitharotationalperiod

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Deriveaformulaforthebulletspeed intermsof , ,andameasuredangle betweenthepositionoftheholein
thefirstdiskandthatoftheholeinthesecond.Ifrequired,use ,notitsnumericequivalent.Bothoftheholeslieat
thesameradialdistancefromtheshaft. measurestheangulardisplacementbetweenthetwoholes;forinstance,
meansthattheholesareinalineand
meansthatwhenoneholeisup,theotherisdown.Assumethat
thebulletmusttravelthroughthesetofdiskswithinasinglerevolution.
=
Correct

Direction of Acceleration of Pendulum

LearningGoal:Tounderstandthatthedirectionofaccelerationisinthedirectionofthechangeofthevelocity,
whichisunrelatedtothedirectionofthevelocity.
Thependulumshownmakesafullswingfrom
to
.Ignorefrictionandassumethatthestringis
massless.Theeightlabeledarrowsrepresentdirectionstobereferredtowhenansweringthefollowingquestions.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whichofthefollowingisatruestatementabouttheaccelerationofthependulumbob, .
isequaltotheaccelerationduetogravity.
isequaltotheinstantaneousrateofchangein
velocity.
isperpendiculartothebob'strajectory.
istangenttothebob'strajectory.
Correct

Part B
Whatisthedirectionof whenthependulumisatposition1?
Entertheletterofthearrowparallelto .
H
Correct

Part C
Whatisthedirectionof atthemomentthependulumpassesposition2?
Entertheletterofthearrowthatbestapproximatesthedirectionof .
C
Correct

Weknowthatfortheobjecttobetravelinginacircle,somecomponentofitsaccelerationmustbepointingradially
inward.
Part D
Whatisthedirectionof whenthependulumreachesposition3?
Givetheletterofthearrowthatbestapproximatesthedirectionof .
F
Correct

Part E
Asthependulumapproachesorrecedesfromwhichposition(s)istheaccelerationvector almostparalleltothe
velocityvector .
position2only
positions1and2
positions2and3
positions1and3
Correct

Banked Frictionless Curve, and Flat Curve with Friction

Acarofmass travelingatspeed entersabankedturncoveredwithice.Theroadisbankedatanangle ,and
thereisnofrictionbetweentheroadandthecar'stires.Acrosssectionofthecurveisshowninthediagram.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatistheradius oftheturn(assumingthecarcontinuesinuniformcircularmotionaroundtheturn)?
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables
accelerationduetogravity .
=
Correct

, , ,aswellasthemagnitudeofthe

Part B
Now,supposethatthecurveislevel(
)andthattheicehasmelted,sothatthereisacoefficientofstatic
friction betweentheroadandthecar'stires.Whatis
,theminimumvalueofthecoefficientofstaticfriction
betweenthetiresandtheroadrequiredtopreventthecarfromslipping?Assumethatthecar'sspeedisstill and
thattheradiusofthecurveisgivenby .

Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables , ,
accelerationduetogravity .

=
Correct

,aswellasthemagnitudeofthe

At the Test Track

Youwanttotestthegripofthetiresonyournewracecar.Youdecidetotaketheracecartoasmalltesttrackto
experimentallydeterminethecoefficientoffriction.Theracetrackconsistsofaflat,circularroadwitharadiusof45

.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.showstheresultofdrivingthecararoundthetrackat

variousspeeds.

Part A
Whatis ,thecoefficientofstaticfrictionbetweenthetiresandthetrack?
Expressyouranswertotwosignificantfigures.
=0.95
Correct

Harvaran Ghai

Conical Pendulum I

Abobofmass

issuspendedfromafixedpointwithamasslessstringoflength (i.e.,itisapendulum).You

aretoinvestigatethemotioninwhichthestringmovesinaconewithhalfangle .

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whattangentialspeed, ,mustthebobhavesothatitmovesinahorizontalcirclewiththestringalwaysmakingan
angle fromthevertical?
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables
gravity .
=
Correct

, ,and ,aswellastheaccelerationdueto

Part B
Howlongdoesittakethebobtomakeonefullrevolution(onecompletetriparoundthecircle)?
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables
gravity .

, ,and ,aswellastheaccelerationdueto

Correct

Problem 7.18
Part A
Whatistheaccelerationduetogravityofthesunatthedistanceoftheearth'sorbit?

Harvaran Ghai

6.00103
Correct

Problem 7.19
Thepassengersinarollercoastercarfeel50%heavierthantheirtrueweightasthecargoesthroughadipwitha
40.0 radiusofcurvature.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthecar'sspeedatthebottomofthedip?
14.0
Correct

Problem 7.23
Acarspeedsupasitturnsfromtravelingduesouthtoheadingdueeast.Whenexactlyhalfwayaroundthecurve,the
car'saccelerationis3.40

,40.0 northofeast.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A

Whatistheradialcomponentoftheaccelerationatthatpoint?
3.39
Correct

Part B
Whatisthetangentialcomponentoftheaccelerationatthatpoint?
0.296
Correct

A Satellite in Orbit
Asatelliteusedinacellulartelephonenetworkhasamassof1850
700

andisinacircularorbitataheightof

abovethesurfaceoftheearth.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthegravitationalforce

onthesatellite?

Takethegravitationalconstanttobe =6.671011
andtheradiusoftheEarthtobe =6.38106 .

,themassoftheearthtobe

Expressyouranswerinnewtons.

=1.47104
Correct

Part B
Whatfractionisthisofthesatellite'sweightatthesurfaceoftheearth?
Takethefreefallaccelerationatthesurfaceoftheearthtobe =9.80
0.811
Correct

=5.971024

Althoughitiseasytofindtheweightofthesatelliteusingtheconstantaccelerationduetogravity,itisinstructional
toconsidertheweightcalculatedusingthelawofgravitation:

.Dividingthegravitationalforceon

thesatellite
by ,wefindthattheratiooftheforcesduetotheearth'sgravityissimply
thesquareoftheratiooftheearth'sradiustothesumoftheearth'sradiusandtheheightoftheorbitofthesatellite
abovetheearth,
.Thiswillalsobethefractionoftheweightof,say,anastronautinanorbitatthe
samealtitude.Noticethatanastronaut'sweightisneverzero.Whenpeoplespeakof"weightlessness"inspace,what
theyreallymeanis"freefall."

Gravitational Acceleration inside a Planet

Considerasphericalplanetofuniformdensity .Thedistancefromtheplanet'scentertoitssurface(i.e.,the
planet'sradius)is .Anobjectislocatedadistance fromthecenteroftheplanet,where
locatedinsideoftheplanet.)

.(Theobjectis

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Findanexpressionforthemagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity,

,insidetheplanet.

Expresstheaccelerationduetogravityintermsof , , ,and ,theuniversalgravitationalconstant.

=
Correct

Part B
Rewriteyourresultfor
functionofR.

intermsof

Expressyouranswerintermsof

=
Correct

,thegravitationalaccelerationatthesurfaceoftheplanet,timesa

, ,and

Noticethat increaseslinearlywith ,ratherthanbeingproportionalto

centeroftheplanet,asrequiredbysymmetry.

.Thisassuresthatitiszeroatthe

Part C
Findanumericalvaluefor

,theaveragedensityoftheearthinkilogramspercubicmeter.Use

theradiusoftheearth,
Calculateyouranswertofoursignificantdigits.

=5497

,andavalueof atthesurfaceof

for

Correct

Newton's 3rd Law Discussed

LearningGoal:TounderstandNewton's3rdlaw,whichstatesthataphysicalinteractionalwaysgeneratesapairof
forcesonthetwointeractingbodies.
InPrincipia,Newtonwrote:
Toeveryactionthereisalwaysopposedanequalreaction:or,themutualactionsoftwobodiesuponeachotherare
alwaysequal,anddirectedtocontraryparts.
(translationbyCajori)
Thephraseafterthecolon(oftenomittedfromtextbooks)makesitclearthatthisisastatementaboutthenatureof
force.Thecentralideaisthatphysicalinteractions(e.g.,duetogravity,bodiestouching,orelectricforces)cause
forcestoarisebetweenpairsofbodies.Eachpairwiseinteractionproducesapairofoppositeforces,oneactingon
eachbody.Insummary,eachphysicalinteractionbetweentwobodiesgeneratesapairofforces.Whateverthe
physicalcauseoftheinteraction,theforceonbodyAfrombodyBisequalinmagnitudeandoppositeindirectionto
theforceonbodyBfrombodyA.
Incidentally,Newtonstatesthattheword"action"denotesboth(a)theforceduetoaninteractionand(b)the
changesinmomentumthatitimpartstothetwointeractingbodies.Ifyouhaven'tlearnedaboutmomentum,don't
worry;fornowthisisjustastatementabouttheoriginofforces.
Markeachofthefollowingstatementsastrueorfalse.Ifastatementrefersto"twobodies"interactingviasome
force,youarenottoassumethatthesetwobodieshavethesamemass.

Part A
Everyforcehasoneandonlyone3rdlawpairforce.
true
false
Correct

Part B
Thetwoforcesineachpairactinoppositedirections.
true
false
Correct

Part C

Harvaran Ghai

Thetwoforcesineachpaircaneitherbothactonthesamebodyortheycanactondifferentbodies.
true
false
Correct

Part D
Thetwoforcesineachpairmayhavedifferentphysicalorigins(forinstance,oneoftheforcescouldbedueto
gravity,anditspairforcecouldbeduetofrictionorelectriccharge).
true
false
Correct

Part E
Thetwoforcesofa3rdlawpairalwaysactondifferentbodies.
true
false
Correct

Part F
Giventhattwobodiesinteractviasomeforce,theaccelerationsofthesetwobodieshavethesamemagnitudebut
oppositedirections.(Assumenootherforcesactoneitherbody.)
true
false
Correct

Newton's3rdlawcanbesummarixedasfollows:Aphysicalinteraction(e.g.,gravity)operatesbetweentwo
interactingbodiesandgeneratesapairofoppositeforces,oneoneachbody.Itoffersyouawaytotestforreal
forces(i.e.,thosethatbelongontheforcesideof
)thereshouldbea3rdlawpairforceoperatingon
someotherbodyforeachrealforcethatactsonthebodywhoseaccelerationisunderconsideration.
Part G
AccordingtoNewton's3rdlaw,theforceonthe(smaller)moonduetothe(larger)earthis
greaterinmagnitudeandantiparalleltotheforceontheearthduetothemoon.
greaterinmagnitudeandparalleltotheforceontheearthduetothemoon.
equalinmagnitudebutantiparalleltotheforceontheearthduetothemoon.
equalinmagnitudeandparalleltotheforceontheearthduetothemoon.
smallerinmagnitudeandantiparalleltotheforceontheearthduetothe
moon.

smallerinmagnitudeandparalleltotheforceontheearthduetothemoon.
Correct

A Book on a Table
Abookweighing5Nrestsontopofatable.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Adownwardforceofmagnitude5Nisexertedonthebookbytheforceof
thetable
gravity .
inertia
Correct

Part B
Anupwardforceofmagnitude_____isexertedonthe_____bythetable.
5N/book
Correct

Part C
DothedownwardforceinPartAandtheupwardforceinPartBconstitutea3rdlawpair?
yes
no

Correct

Part D
ThereactiontotheforceinPartAisaforceofmagnitude_____,exertedonthe_____bythe_____.Itsdirectionis
_____.
5N/earth/book/upward
Correct

Part E
ThereactiontotheforceinPartBisaforceofmagnitude_____,exertedonthe_____bythe_____.Itsdirectionis
_____.
5N/table/book/downward
Correct

Part F
WhichofNewton'slawsdictatesthattheforcesinPartsAandBareequalandopposite?
Newton's1stor2ndlaw
Newton's3rdlaw
Correct

Sincethebookisatrest,thenetforceonitmustbezero(1stor2ndlaw).Thismeansthattheforceexertedonitby
theearthmustbeequalandoppositetotheforceexertedonitbythetable.
Part G
WhichofNewton'slawsdictatesthattheforcesinPartsBandEareequalandopposite?
Newton's1stor2ndlaw
Newton's3rdlaw
Correct

Block on an Incline Adjacent to a Wall

Awedgewithaninclinationofangle restsnexttoawall.Ablockofmass isslidingdowntheplane,asshown.
Thereisnofrictionbetweenthewedgeandtheblockorbetweenthewedgeandthehorizontalsurface.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Findthemagnitude,
Express

=
Correct

,ofthesumofallforcesactingontheblock.

intermsof and

,alongwithanynecessaryconstants.

Part B
Findthemagnitude,
Express

=
Correct

,oftheforcethatthewallexertsonthewedge.

intermsof and

,alongwithanynecessaryconstants.

YouranswertoPartBcouldbeexpressedaseither
as getsverysmalloras approaches90degrees(

or

.Ineitherform,weseethat

radians),thecontactforcebetweenthewallandthewedge

goestozero.Thisiswhatweshouldexpect;inthefirstlimit( small),theblockisacceleratingveryslowly,andall
horizontalforcesaresmall.Inthesecondlimit( about90degrees),theblocksimplyfallsverticallyandexertsno
horizontalforceonthewedge.

PSS 8.1: Dashing up the Slope

LearningGoal:TopracticeProblemSolvingStrategy8.1forproblemsinvolvingthedynamicsofaninteracting
systemsofobjects.
Agirlofmass
iswalkingupaslipperyslopewhilepullingasledofunknownmass;theslopemakesanangle
withthehorizontal.Thecoefficientofstaticfrictionbetweenthegirl'sbootsandtheslopeis ;thefriction
betweenthesledandtheslopeisnegligible.Itturnsoutthatthegirlcanpullthesleduptheslopewithacceleration
upto withoutslippingdowntheslope.Findthemassofthesled
.Assumethattheropeconnectingthegirland
theslediskeptparalleltotheslopeatalltimes.

Harvaran Ghai
MODEL:

Identifywhichobjectsaresystemsandwhicharepartoftheenvironment.Makesimplifyingassumptions.

VISUALIZE:

Pictorialrepresentation:Showimportantpointsinthemotionwithasketch.Youmaywanttogiveeach
systemaseparatecoordinatesystem.Definesymbolsandidentifywhatyouaretryingtofind.Include
accelerationconstraintsaspartofthepictorialmodel.
Physicalrepresentation:Identifyallforcesactingoneachsystemandallactionreactionpairs.Drawa
separatefreebodydiagramforeachsystem.Connecttheforcevectorsofactionreactionpairswithdotted

lines.Usesubscriptlabelstodistinguishforces,suchas and ,thatactindependentlyonmorethanone

system.
SOLVE:

UseNewton's2ndand3rdlaws:

WritetheequationsofNewton's2ndlawforeachsystemusingtheforceinformationfromthefreebody
diagrams.
Equatethemagnitudesofactionreactionpairs.

Includetheaccelerationconstraints,thefrictionmodel,andotherquantitativeinformationrelevanttothe
problem.

Solvefortheacceleration,thenusekinematicstofindvelocitesandpositions.

ASSESS:

Checkthatyourresulthasthecorrectunits,isreasonable,andanswersthequestion.

Model
Startbymakingsimplifyingassumptionsappropriateforthesituation.
Part A
Whichofthefollowingobjectsqualifyassystemsinthisproblem?
A. theslope
B. thegirl

C. theearth
D. thesled
E. theair
Listalphabeticallyalltheletterscorrespondingtothesystems.Donotusecommas.Forinstance,ifyouthink
theslopeandsledqualifyassystems,typeAD.
BD
Correct

Theslope,theearth,andtheairallqualifyaspartoftheenvironment.Theyeachexertexternalforcesonthetwo
systems(thesledandthegirl).Unlikeforthetwosystems,however,itisnotimportanttokeeptrackofalltheforces
actingonelementsoftheenvironment.
Part B
Whichofthefollowingsimplifyingassumptionsarereasonable?
A. Theairresistanceactingonthegirlisnegligible.
B. Theairresistanceactingonthegirlequalstheforceoffrictionactingonher.
C. Theairresistanceactingonthesledisnegligible.
D. Thenormalforceactingonthesledisnegligible.
E. Theweightofthesledisaconstant.
F. Theweightofthesledincreasesasthesledaccelerates.
Listalphabeticallyalltheletterscorrespondingtoreasonableassumptions.Donotusecommas.Forinstance,
ifyouthinkAandBarereasonable,typeAB.
ACE
Correct

Part C
Whichofthefollowingsimplifyingassumptionsarereasonable?
A. Theropeconnectingthesledandthegirlismassless.
B. Theropeconnectingthesledandthegirlisunstretchable.
C. Thetensionintheropeconnectingthesledandthegirliszero.
D. Thesledhasthesameaccelerationasthegirl.
E. Thesledhasgreateraccelerationthanthegirl.
F. Thesledhassmalleraccelerationthanthegirl.
Listalphabeticallyalltheletterscorrespondingtoreasonableassumptions.Donotusecommas.Forinstance,
ifyouthinkAandBarereasonable,typeAB.
ABD
Correct

Visualize
Nowdrawasketchthatincludesthefreebodydiagramsforeachsystemandtheappropriatecoordinatesystem.Use
yoursketchtoanswerthefollowingquestions.
Forallquestions,assumethattheslopeanglesdownhilltotheleft:

Part D
Whichfreebodydiagramforthegirliscorrect?Notethattheforcesarenotlabeled;however,theyshouldbe
labeledonyourdiagram.Youarelookingforthecorrectnumberofforcesinthecorrectdirections.Don'tworry
aboutrelativemagnitudesatthispoint.

a
b
c
d
e
Correct

Part E
Whichfreebodydiagramfortheslediscorrect?Notethattheforcesarenotlabeled;however,theyshouldbe
labeledonyourdiagram.Youarelookingforthecorrectnumberofforcesinthecorrectdirections.Don'tworry
aboutrelativemagnitudesatthispoint.

a
b
c
d
e
Correct

Part F
Whichofthesecoordinatesystemsismostconvenientforsolvingthisproblem?(Thesamecoordinatesystemis
appropriateforboththesledandthegirl.)

a
b
c
d

Correct

Part G
Youshouldhaveidentifiedthepairsofactionreactionforcesonyourfreebodydiagrams.Whichofthefollowing
pairsofforcesformactionreactionpairs,accordingtoNewton's3rdlaw?
A. Theweightofthegirlandthenormalforceonthegirl
B. Theweightofthesledandthenormalforceonthesled
C. Theweightofthegirlandtheweightofthesled
D. Theforceoffrictiononthegirlandthetensionofthestring
E. Theweightofthesledandthetensionofthestring
F. Theweightofthesledandthegravitationalforceappliedbythesledtotheearth
Listalphabeticallyalltheletterscorrespondingtotheactionreactionpairsinthisproblem.Donotuse
commas.Forinstance,ifyouthinkAandBarebothvalidactionreactionpairs,typeAB.
F
Correct

AnactionreactionpairbetweenobjectsAandBisalwaysapairofforces
and
.Inoursituation,if
weassumethatthegirlandthesledactdirectlyoneachother(areasonableassumptionsincethemassofthestring
isnegligible),thentheforces"girlonthesled"and"sledonthegirl"wouldformanactionreactionpair.
Eachoftheotherforcesmentionedinthisquestiondoeshaveareactionforce,ofcourse.However,theobjectson
whichsuchreactionforcesareactingarepartoftheenvironment:Forinstance,thereactionforcetotheweightof
thegirlisthegravitationalforceappliedbythegirltotheearth,whichispartoftheenvironment.

Therearemanyvariationsonhowyoumightdrawgoodpictorialandphysicalrepresentationsforthisproblem.

Hereisoneexample.

Solve
Nowusetheinformationandtheinsightsthatyouhaveaccumulatedtoconstructthenecessarymathematical
expressionsandtoderivethesolution.
Part H
Findthemassofthesled
.
Expressthesled'smassintermsofthegivenquantitiesand ,themagnitudeoftheaccelerationdueto
gravity.

=
Correct

Assess
Whenyouworkonaproblemonyourown,withoutthecomputerprovidedfeedback,onlyyoucanassesswhether
youranswerseemsright.Thefollowingquestionswillhelpyoupracticetheskillsnecessaryforsuchanassessment.
Part I
Intuitively,whatwouldhappeniftherewereverylittle(orno)staticfrictionbetweenthegirlandtheslope?

Verylittleforcewouldberequiredtopullaheavysleduptheslope.
Thegirlwouldslipdowntheslopeandneverbeabletopullthesledup.
Thegirlwouldbeabletopullthesleduptheslopewithaverylarge
acceleration.
Thegirlwouldbeabletopullthesleduponlyatconstantvelocity.
Correct

If isveryclosetoorequaltozero,theformulayouderivedintheSolvesectionwouldgiveanegativevaluefor
themassofthesled.Sincethemassofthesledmustbepositive,suchananswersimplymeansthattheformulais
notapplicable:Thegirlwouldnotbeabletopullthesleduptheslope,nomatterhowsmallthemassofthesled.
Part J
Intuitively,whatwouldhappenifthe"slope"werehorizontalandthemassofthesledwereequaltothemassofthe
girl?
Thegirlwouldbeabletopullthesledwithaccelerationgreaterthan .
Thegirlwouldslipalongthesurfaceandnotbeabletopullthesled.
Thegirlwouldbeabletopullthesledwithuptosomemaximumaccelerationthatdependsonthefriction
betweenherandtheslope.
Thegirlwouldbeabletopullthesledonlyatconstantvelocity.
Correct

Iftheslopeishorizontal,

and

.Yourformulathenbecomes

and,if

,itfollowsthatthemaximumaccelerationis

Part K
Whichofthefollowingexpressionshavethedimensionsofmass?
A.
B.

C.

D.

E.
Listalphabeticallyalltheletterscorrespondingtoexpressionswiththecorrectdimensions.Donotuse
commas.Forinstance,ifyouthinkAandBhavethecorrectdimensions,typeAB.
ACE
Correct

Notethattrigonometricfunctionsandthecoefficientofstaticfrictionaredimensionless:Theydonotaffectthe
dimensionorunitsofthefinalanswer.

Pulling Three Blocks

Threeidenticalblocksconnectedbyidealstringsarebeingpulledalongahorizontalfrictionlesssurfacebya
horizontalforce .
blockhasmass .

ThemagnitudeofthetensioninthestringbetweenblocksBandCis .Assumethateach

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Whatisthemagnitude oftheforce?
Expressthemagnitudeoftheforceintermsof .
=
Correct

Kinetic Friction in a Block-and-Pulley System

Considerthesystemshowninthefigure .BlockAhasweight
andblockBhasweight
.OnceblockBis
setintodownwardmotion,itdescendsataconstantspeed.Assumethatthemassandfrictionofthepulleyare
negligible.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Calculatethecoefficientofkineticfriction betweenblockAandthetabletop.
=
Correct

Part B
Acat,alsoofweight
,fallsasleepontopofblockA.IfblockBisnowsetintodownwardmotion,whatisthe
magnitudeofitsacceleration?
=
Correct

Two Masses, a Pulley, and an Inclined Plane

Block1,ofmass ,isconnectedoveranideal(masslessandfrictionless)pulleytoblock2,ofmass ,as
shown.Assumethattheblocksaccelerateasshownwithanaccelerationofmagnitude andthatthecoefficientof
kineticfrictionbetweenblock2andtheplaneis .

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Findtheratioofthemasses

Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables , ,and ,aswellasthemagnitudeofthe

accelerationduetogravity .

=
Correct

The Impulse-Momentum Theorem

LearningGoal:Tolearnabouttheimpulsemomentumtheoremanditsapplicationsinsomecommoncases.
Usingtheconceptofmomentum,Newton'ssecondlawcanberewrittenas

,(1)

where

isthenetforce

actingontheobject,and

istherateatwhichtheobject'smomentumischanging.

Iftheobjectisobservedduringanintervaloftimebetweentimes and ,thenintegrationofbothsidesofequation

(1)gives

.(2)

Therightsideofequation(2)issimplythechangeintheobject'smomentum

.Theleftsideiscalledthe

impulseofthenetforceandisdenotedby .Thenequation(2)canberewrittenas

.
Thisequationisknownastheimpulsemomentumtheorem.Itstatesthatthechangeinanobject'smomentumis
equaltotheimpulseofthenetforceactingontheobject.Inthecaseofaconstantnetforce
directionofmotion,theimpulsemomentumtheoremcanbewrittenas

actingalongthe

.(3)
Here , ,and arethecomponentsofthecorrespondingvectorquantitiesalongthechosencoordinateaxis.If
themotioninquestionistwodimensional,itisoftenusefultoapplyequation(3)tothexandycomponentsof
motionseparately.

Harvaran Ghai
Thefollowingquestionswillhelpyoulearntoapplytheimpulsemomentumtheoremtothecasesofconstantand
varyingforceactingalongthedirectionofmotion.First,letusconsideraparticleofmass movingalongthex
axis.Thenetforce isactingontheparticlealongthexaxis. isaconstantforce.
Part A
Theparticlestartsfromrestat
that

.Whatisthemagnitude ofthemomentumoftheparticleattime ?Assume

Expressyouranswerintermsofanyorallof
=
Correct

Part B

, ,and .

Theparticlestartsfromrestat

.Whatisthemagnitude ofthevelocityoftheparticleattime ?Assumethat

.
Expressyouranswerintermsofanyorallof
=
Correct

, ,and .

Part C
Theparticlehasmomentumofmagnitude
secondslater?

atacertaininstant.Whatis

Expressyouranswerintermsofanyorallof
=
Correct

, ,and

,themagnitudeofitsmomentum

Part D
Theparticlehasmomentumofmagnitude
secondslater?

atacertaininstant.Whatis

Expressyouranswerintermsofanyorallof
=
Correct

, ,and

,themagnitudeofitsvelocity

Letusnowconsiderseveraltwodimensionalsituations.
Aparticleofmass

ismovinginthepositivexdirectionatspeed .Afteracertainconstantforceisappliedtothe

particle,itmovesinthepositiveydirectionatspeed

Part E
Findthemagnitudeoftheimpulse deliveredtotheparticle.
Expressyouranswerintermsof and .Usethreesignificantfiguresinthenumericalcoefficient.
=
Correct

Part F
Whichofthevectorsbelowbestrepresentsthedirectionoftheimpulsevector ?

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Correct

Part G

Whatistheangle betweenthepositiveyaxisandthevector asshowninthefigure?

26.6degrees
30degrees
60degrees
63.4degrees

Correct

Part H
Ifthemagnitudeofthenetforceactingontheparticleis ,howlongdoesittaketheparticletoacquireitsfinal
velocity,

inthepositiveydirection?

Expressyouranswerintermsof
=
Correct

, ,and .Ifyouuseanumericalcoefficient,usethreesignificantfigures.

Sofar,wehaveconsideredonlythesituationinwhichthemagnitudeofthenetforceactingontheparticlewas
eitherirrelevanttothesolutionorwasconsideredconstant.Letusnowconsideranexampleofavaryingforce
actingonaparticle.
Part I
Aparticleofmass

kilogramsisatrestat

seconds.Avaryingforce

isactingontheparticlebetween
speed oftheparticleat

seconds.

secondsand

seconds.Findthe

Expressyouranswerinmeterspersecondtothreesignificantfigures.
=43
Correct

Problem 9.11
A500 airtrackglidercollideswithaspringatoneendofthetrack.Thefigure
andtheforceexertedonthegliderbythespring.

showstheglider'svelocity

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Howlongisthegliderincontactwiththespring?
0.167s
Correct

Filling the Boat

Aboatofmass250

iscoasting,withitsengineinneutral,throughthewateratspeed3.00

rain.Therainisfallingvertically,anditaccumulatesintheboatattherateof10.0

whenitstartsto

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthespeedoftheboataftertime2.00 haspassed?Assumethatthewaterresistanceisnegligible.
Expressyouranswerinmeterspersecond.
2.78
Correct

Part B
Nowassumethattheboatissubjecttoadragforce duetowaterresistance.Isthecomponentofthetotal
momentumofthesystemparalleltothedirectionofmotionstillconserved?
yes
no
Correct

Theboatissubjecttoanexternalforce,thedragforceduetowaterresistance,andthereforeitsmomentumisnot
conserved.
Part C
Thedragisproportionaltothesquareofthespeedoftheboat,intheform
.Whatistheaccelerationof
theboatjustaftertherainstarts?Takethepositive axisalongthedirectionofmotion.
Expressyouranswerinmeterspersecondpersecond.
1.80102
Correct

PSS 9.1: Tools of the Trade

LearningGoal:TopracticeProblemSolvingStrategy9.1forproblemsinvolvingconservationofmomentum.
Anastronautperformsmaintenanceworkoutsideherspaceshipwhenthetetherconnectinghertothespaceship
breaks.Theastronautfindsherselfatrestrelativetothespaceship,atadistance fromit.Togetbacktotheship,
shedecidestosacrificeherfavoritewrenchandhurlsitdirectlyawayfromthespaceshipataspeed relativetothe
spaceship.Whatisthedistance betweenthespaceshipandthewrenchbythetimetheastronautreachesthe
spaceship?
Themassoftheastronautis

;themassofthewrenchis

Harvaran Ghai
MODEL:

Clearlydefinethesystem.

Ifpossible,chooseasystemthatisisolated(
)orwithinwhichtheinteractionsaresufficiently
shortandintensethatyoucanignoreexternalforcesforthedurationoftheinteraction(theimpulse
approximation).Momentumisconserved.

Ifitisnotpossibletochooseanisolatedsystem,trytodividetheproblemintopartssuchthatmomentumis
conservedduringonesegmentofthemotion.Othersegmentsofthemotioncanbeanalyzedusing
Newton'slawsor,asyou'lllearninChapters10and11,conservationofenergy.

Drawabeforeandafterpictorialrepresentation.Definesymbolsthatwillbeusedintheproblem,list
knownvalues,andidentifywhatyouaretryingtofind.
VISUALIZE:

Themathematicalrepresentationisbasedonthelawofconservationofmomentum:
form,thisis
SOLVE:

.Incomponent

ASSESS:

Checkifyourresulthasthecorrectunits,isreasonable,andanswersthequestion.

Model
Westartbychoosingtheobjectsthatwouldmakeupthesystem.Inthiscase,itispossibletoidentifythesystem
thatisisolated.
Part A
Inadditiontotheastronaut,whichofthefollowingarecomponentsofthesystemthatshouldbedefinedtosolvethe
problem?
A. thespaceship
B. thewrench
C. theearth
Entertheletter(s)ofthecorrectanswer(s)inalphabeticalorder.Donotusecommas.Forexample,ifyou
thinkthesystemconsistsofalltheobjectslisted,enterABC.
B
Correct

Part B
Whichofthefollowingreasonsbestexplainswhytheastronaut+wrenchcanbeconsideredanisolatedsystem?
Themassofthewrenchismuchsmallerthanthatofthe
astronaut.
Theforcethattheastronautexertsonthewrenchisverysmall.
Theforcethattheastronautexertsonthewrenchisverylarge.
Theforcethatthespaceshipexertsonthewrenchisverysmall.
Theforcethatthespaceshipexertsonthewrenchisverylarge.
Correct

Visualize
Nowdrawabeforeandafterpictorialrepresentationincludingalltheelementslistedintheproblemsolving
strategy.Besurethatyoursketchisclearandincludesallnecessarysymbols,bothknownandunknown.Bythetime
theastronautreachesthespaceship,thewrenchwillhavecoveredacertaindistance;onyourpictorial
representation,labelthisdistance

Part C
Afterthewrenchisthrown,theastronautandthewrenchmove
inoppositedirections.
inthesamedirection.
inperpendicular
directions.
Correct

Part D
Whichstatementabout

,and

iscorrect?

Correct

Hereisanexampleofwhatagoodbeforeandafterpictorialrepresentationmightlooklikeforthisproblem.

Solve
Nowusetheinformationandtheinsightsthatyouhaveaccumulatedtoconstructthenecessarymathematical
expressionsandtoderivethesolution.
Part E
Findthefinaldistance betweenthespaceshipandthewrench.
Expressthedistanceintermsofthegivenvariables.Youmayormaynotuseallofthem.

 =
Correct

Assess
Whenyouworkonaproblemonyourown,withoutthecomputerprovidedfeedback,onlyyoucanassesswhether
youranswerseemsright.Thefollowingquestionswillhelpyoupracticetheskillsnecessaryforsuchanassessment.
Part F
Intuitively,whichofthefollowingstatementsarecorrect?
A. Forrealisticvaluesofthequantitiesinvolved,itispossiblethat
.
B. Iftheastronautthrewaspacepeninsteadofawrench,thepenwouldtravelfurtherthanthewrenchwould
inthetimeittakestheastronauttoreachtheship.(Assumethespacepenweighslessthanthewrench).
C. Iftheastronautweremoremassive,thewrenchwouldtravelfurtherinthetimeittakestheastronautto
reachtheship.
Typetheletterscorrespondingtothecorrectanswers.Donotusecommas.Forinstance,ifyouthinkthat
onlyexpressionsCandDhavetheunitsofdistance,typeCD.
BC
Correct

couldonlybezeroif
.Asyoucanseefromyouranswer,thiswouldonlyhappenifthemassofthe
astronautwerezero,whichisobviouslyunrealistic.
Part G
Whichofthefollowingmathematicalexpressionshavetheunitsofdistance,where
A.
B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

and

aredistances?

Typetheletterscorrespondingtothecorrectanswers.Donotusecommas.Forinstance,ifyouthinkthat
onlyexpressionsCandDhavetheunitsofdistance,typeCD.
ABE
Correct

Colliding Cars
Inthisproblemwewillconsiderthecollisionoftwocarsinitiallymovingatrightangles.Weassumethatafterthe
collisionthecarssticktogetherandtraveloffasasingleunit.Thecollisionisthereforecompletelyinelastic.
Twocarsofmasses and collideatanintersection.Beforethecollision,car1wastravelingeastwardata
speedof ,andcar2wastravelingnorthwardataspeedof . Afterthecollision,thetwocarssticktogether
andtraveloffinthedirectionshown.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
First,findthemagnitudeof ,thatis,thespeed ofthetwocarunitafterthecollision.
Express intermsof , ,andthecars'initialspeeds and .
=
Correct

Part B
Findthetangentoftheangle .

Expressyouranswerintermsofthemomentaofthetwocars,

=
Correct

and

Part C
Supposethatafterthecollision,
;inotherwords, is
Themagnitudesofthemomentaofthecarswere
equal.
Themassesofthecarswereequal.

.Thismeansthatbeforethecollision:

Thevelocitiesofthecarswereequal.
Correct

Collision at an Angle
Twocars,bothofmass ,collideandsticktogether.Priortothecollision,onecarhadbeentravelingnorthat
speed

,whilethesecondwastravelingatspeed atanangle southofeast(asindicatedinthefigure).Afterthe

collision,thetwocarsystemtravelsatspeed

atanangle eastofnorth.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Findthespeed

ofthejoinedcarsafterthecollision.

Expressyouranswerintermsof and .

Correct

Part B
Whatistheangle withrespecttonorthmadebythevelocityvectorofthetwocarsafterthecollision?
Expressyouranswerintermsof .Youranswershouldcontainaninversetrigonometricfunction.
=
Correct

A Girl on a Trampoline
Agirlofmass
second.Atheight
Forthisproblem,use

kilogramsspringsfromatrampolinewithaninitialupwardvelocityof
metersabovethetrampoline,thegirlgrabsaboxofmass

kilograms.

meterspersecondpersecondforthemagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity.

Part A
Whatisthespeed
ofthegirlimmediatelybeforeshegrabsthebox?
Expressyouranswernumericallyinmeterspersecond.

=4.98
Correct

metersper

Harvaran Ghai

Part B
Whatisthespeed
ofthegirlimmediatelyaftershegrabsthebox?
Expressyouranswernumericallyinmeterspersecond.

=3.98
Correct

Part C
Isthis"collision"elasticorinelastic?
elastic
inelastic
Correct

Ininelasticcollisions,someofthesystem'skineticenergyislost.Inthiscasethekineticenergylostisconvertedto
heatenergyinthegirl'smusclesasshegrabsthebox,andsoundenergy.
Part D
Whatisthemaximumheight
thatthegirl(withbox)reaches?Measure
trampoline.
Expressyouranswernumericallyinmeters.

withrespecttothetopofthe

=2.81
Correct

Circling Ball
Aballofmass isattachedtoastringoflength .Itisbeingswunginaverticalcirclewithenoughspeedsothat
thestringremainstautthroughouttheball'smotion. Assumethattheballtravelsfreelyinthisverticalcircle
withnegligiblelossoftotalmechanicalenergy.Toavoidconfusion,taketheupwarddirectiontobepositive
throughouttheproblem.Atthetopandbottomoftheverticalcircle,labeltheball'sspeeds and ,andlabelthe
correspondingtensionsinthestring

and

and

havemagnitudes

and

Harvaran Ghai

Part A

Find
,thedifferencebetweenthemagnitudeofthetensioninthestringatthebottomrelativetothatatthe
topofthecircle.
Expressthedifferenceintensionintermsof and .Thequantities and shouldnotappearinyourfinal
answer.

=
Correct

Themethodoutlinedinthehintsisreallytheonlypracticalwaytodothisproblem.Ifdoneproperly,findingthe
differencebetweenthetensions,

,canbeaccomplishedfairlysimplyandelegantly.

Bungee Jumping
Kate,abungeejumper,wantstojumpofftheedgeofabridgethatspansariverbelow.Katehasamass

,andthe

surfaceofthebridgeisaheight abovethewater.Thebungeecord,whichhaslength whenunstretched,willfirst

straightenandthenstretchasKatefalls.
Assumethefollowing:

Thebungeecordbehavesasanidealspringonceitbeginstostretch,withspringconstant .
Katedoesn'tactuallyjumpbutsimplystepsofftheedgeofthebridgeandfallsstraightdownward.

Kate'sheightisnegligiblecomparedtothelengthofthebungeecord.Hence,shecanbetreatedasa
pointparticle.

Use forthemagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
HowfarbelowthebridgewillKateeventuallybehanging,onceshestopsoscillatingandcomesfinallytorest?
Assumethatshedoesn'ttouchthewater.
Expressthedistanceintermsofquantitiesgivenintheproblemintroduction.
=
Correct

Part B
IfKatejusttouchesthesurfaceoftheriveronherfirstdownwardtrip(i.e.,beforethefirstbounce),whatisthe
springconstant ?Ignorealldissipativeforces.
Express intermsof , ,
=
Correct

,and .

Dancing Balls
Fourballs,eachofmass ,areconnectedbyfouridenticalrelaxedspringswithspringconstant .Theballsare
simultaneouslygivenequalinitialspeeds directedawayfromthecenterofsymmetryofthesystem.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Astheballsreachtheirmaximumdisplacement,theirkineticenergyreaches__________.
amaximum
zero
neitheramaximumnor
zero
Correct

Part B
Usegeometrytofind ,thedistanceeachofthespringshasstretchedfromitsequilibriumposition.(Itmayhelpto
drawtheinitialandthefinalstatesofthesystem.)
Expressyouranswerintermsof ,themaximumdisplacementofeachballfromitsinitialposition.
=

Correct

Part C
Findthemaximumdisplacement ofanyoneoftheballsfromitsinitialposition.
Express intermsofsomeorallofthegivenquantities , ,and
=
Correct

Elastic Collision in One Dimension

Block1,ofmass ,movesacrossafrictionlesssurfacewithspeed .Itcollideselasticallywithblock2,ofmass
,whichisatrest(
). Afterthecollision,block1moveswithspeed ,whileblock2moveswith
speed .Assumethat
,sothatafterthecollision,thetwoobjectsmoveoffinthedirectionofthefirst
objectbeforethecollision.

Part A
Thiscollisioniselastic.Whatquantities,ifany,areconservedinthiscollision?
kineticenergyonly
momentumonly
kineticenergyand
momentum
Correct

Part B
Whatisthefinalspeed ofblock1?
Express intermsof , ,and .
=
Correct

Part C
Whatisthefinalspeed ofblock2?
Express intermsof , ,and .
=
Correct

Sinking the 9-Ball

Harvaran Ghai

Jeanetteisplayingina9ballpooltournament.Shewillwinifshesinksthe9ballfromthefinalrack,sosheneeds
tolineuphershotprecisely.Boththecueballandthe9ballhavemass ,andthecueballishitataninitialspeed
of .Jeanettecarefullyhitsthecueballintothe9balloffcenter,sothatwhentheballscollide,theymoveaway
fromeachotheratthesameangle fromthedirectioninwhichthecueballwasoriginallytraveling(seefigure).
Furthermore,afterthecollision,thecueballmovesawayatspeed ,whilethe9ballmovesatspeed .
Forthepurposesofthisproblem,assumethatthecollisionisperfectlyelastic,neglectfriction,andignorethe
spinningoftheballs.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Findtheangle thatthe9balltravelsawayfromthehorizontal,asshowninthefigure.
Expressyouranswerindegreestothreesignificantfigures.
=45.0
Correct

Notethattheanglebetweenthefinalvelocitiesofthetwoballsis
.Itturnsoutthatinanyelastic
collisionbetweentwoobjectsofequalmass,oneofwhichisinitiallyatrest,theanglebetweenthefinalvelocitiesof
thetwoobjectswillbeninetydegrees.

Energy in a Spring Graphing Question

Atoycarisheldatrestagainstacompressedspring,asshowninthefigure.
acrosstheroom.Let

Whenreleased,thecarslides

betheinitialpositionofthecar.Assumethatfrictionisnegligible.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Sketchagraphofthetotalenergyofthespringandcarsystem.Thereisnoscalegiven,soyourgraphshouldsimply
reflectthequalitativeshapeoftheenergyvs.timeplot.HORIZONTALLINE

Correct

Part B
Sketchaplotoftheelasticpotentialenergyofthespringfromthepointatwhichthecarisreleasedtothe
equilibriumpositionofthespring.Makeyourgraphconsistentwiththegivenplotoftotalenergy(thegrayline
giveninthegraphingwindow).4POINTSGRADUALLYSLOPINGDOWN

Correct

Part C
Sketchagraphofthecar'skineticenergyfromthemomentitisreleaseduntilitpassestheequilibriumpositionof
thespring.Yourgraphshouldbeconsistentwiththegivenplotsoftotalenergy(graylineingraphingwindow)and
potentialenergy(grayparabolaingraphingwindow).5POINTSGRADUALLYSLOPINGUPOPPOSITEOF
GIVEN

Correct

Graphing Gravitational Potential Energy

A1.00

ballisthrowndirectlyupwardwithaninitialspeedof16.0

Agraphoftheball'sgravitationalpotentialenergyvs.height,
,foranarbitraryinitialvelocityisgiveninPart
A.Thezeropointofgravitationalpotentialenergyislocatedattheheightatwhichtheballleavesthethrower's
hand.
Forthisproblem,take

astheaccelerationduetogravity.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Drawalineonthegraphrepresentingthetotalenergy oftheball.HORIZONTALLINEAT126

Correct

Part B
Usingthegraph,determinethemaximumheightreachedbytheball.
Expressyouranswertoonedecimalplace.
12.8
Correct

Theballreachesitsmaximumheightwhenitsvelocity(andthereforekineticenergy)iszero,soallofitsenergyis
potential.Thisoccursattheheightatwhichthetotalenergyandpotentialenergygraphsintersect.
Part C
Drawanewgravitationalpotentialenergyvs.heightgraphtorepresentthegravitationalpotentialenergyiftheball
hadamassof2.00
reference.
Take

.Thegraphfora1.00

ballwithanarbitraryinitialvelocityisprovidedagainasa

astheaccelerationduetogravity.(100,5)(150,7.5)

Correct

Foraballwithtwicethemass,youshouldexpecttheplotofpotentialenergyvs.heighttohavetwicetheslope.

Understanding Work and Kinetic Energy

LearningGoal:TolearnabouttheWorkEnergyTheoremanditsbasicapplications.
Inthisproblem,youwilllearnabouttherelationshipbetweentheworkdoneonanobjectandthekineticenergyof
thatobject.
Thekineticenergy ofanobjectofmass movingataspeed isdefinedas
.Itseemsreasonable
tosaythatthespeedofanobjectand,therefore,itskineticenergycanbechangedbyperformingworkonthe
object.Inthisproblem,wewillexplorethemathematicalrelationshipbetweentheworkdoneonanobjectandthe
changeinthekineticenergyofthatobject.

Harvaran Ghai

First,letusconsiderasledofmass beingpulledbyaconstant,horizontalforceofmagnitude alongarough,

horizontalsurface.Thesledisspeedingup.
Part A
Howmanyforcesareactingonthesled?
one
two
three
four
Correct

Part B
Theworkdoneonthesledbytheforceofgravityis__________.
zero
negative
positive
Correct

Part C
Theworkdoneonthesledbythenormalforceis__________.
zero
negative
positive
Correct

Part D
Theworkdoneonthesledbythepullingforceis__________.
zero
negative
positive
Correct

Part E
Theworkdoneonthesledbytheforceoffrictionis__________.
zero
negative
positive

Correct

Part F
Thenetworkdoneonthesledis__________.
zero
negative
positive
Correct

Part G
Inthesituationdescribed,thekineticenergyofthesled__________.
remains
constant
decreases
increases
Correct

Letusnowconsiderthesituationquantitatively.Letthemassofthesledbe
actingonthesledbe

andthemagnitudeofthenetforce

.Thesledstartsfromrest.

Consideranintervaloftimeduringwhichthesledcoversadistance andthespeedofthesledincreasesfrom to
.Wewillusethisinformationtofindtherelationshipbetweentheworkdonebythenetforce(otherwiseknown
asthenetwork)andthechangeinthekineticenergyofthesled.
Part H
Findthenetforce
actingonthesled.
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables

=
Correct

, , ,and

Part I
Findthenetwork

doneonthesled.

Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables

=
Correct

and .

Part J
Use
tofindthenetwork
doneonthesled.
Expressyouranswerintermsofsomeorallofthevariables

=
Correct

, ,and

Youranswercanalsoberewrittenas

or
,
where

and

are,respectively,theinitialandthefinalkineticenergiesofthesled.Finally,onecanwrite
.

ThisformulaisknownastheWorkEnergyTheorem.Thecalculationsdoneinthisproblemillustratethe
applicabilityofthistheoreminaparticlarcase;however,theyshouldnotbeinterpretedasaproofofthistheorem.
Nevertheless,itcanbeshownthattheWorkEnergyTheoremisapplicableinallsituations,includingthose
involvingnonconstantforcesorforcesactingatanangletothedisplacementoftheobject.Thistheoremisquite
usefulinsolvingproblems,asillustratedbythefollowingexample.
HereisasimpleapplicationoftheWorkEnergyTheorem.
Part K
Acarofmass

acceleratesfromspeed tospeed

whilegoingupaslopethatmakesanangle withthe

horizontal.Thecoefficientofstaticfrictionis ,andtheaccelerationduetogravityis .Findthetotalwork

doneonthecarbytheexternalforces.
Expressyouranswerintermsofthegivenquantities.Youmayormaynotuseallofthem.
=
Correct

Work Done by a Spring

Consideraspring,withspringconstant ,oneendofwhichisattachedtoawall.
unstretched,withtheunconstrainedendofthespringatposition

Thespringisinitially

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Thespringisnowcompressedsothattheunconstrainedendmovesfrom

to

.Usingtheworkintegral

,
findtheworkdonebythespringasitiscompressed.
Expresstheworkdonebythespringintermsof and .
=
Correct

Work from a Constant Force

LearningGoal:Tounderstandhowtocomputetheworkdonebyaconstantforceactingonaparticlethatmovesin
astraightline.

Inthisproblem,youwillcalculatetheworkdonebyaconstantforce.Aforceisconsideredconstantif
independentof .ThisisthemostfrequentlyencounteredsituationinelementaryNewtonianmechanics.

is

Harvaran Ghai

Part A

ConsideraparticlemovinginastraightlinefrominitialpointBtofinalpointA,acteduponbyaconstantforce

Theforce(thinkofitasafield,havingamagnitudeanddirectionateveryposition )isindicatedbyaseries
ofidenticalvectorspointingtotheleft,paralleltothehorizontalaxis.Thevectorsareallidenticalonlybecausethe
forceisconstantalongthepath.Themagnitudeoftheforceis ,andthedisplacementvectorfrompointBtopoint
Ais (ofmagnitude ,makingandangle (radians)withthepositivexaxis).Find

,theworkthattheforce

performsontheparticleasitmovesfrompointBtopointA.
Expresstheworkintermsof , ,and .Remembertouseradians,notdegrees,foranyanglesthatappear
inyouranswer.

=
Correct

Thisresultisworthremembering!Theworkdonebyaconstantforceofmagnitude ,whichactsatanangleof
withrespecttothedirectionofmotionalongastraightpathoflength ,is

.Thisequation

correctlygivesthesigninthisproblem.Since istheanglewithrespecttothepositivexaxis(inradians),
;hence

Part B
Nowconsiderthesameforce actingonaparticlethattravelsfrompointAtopointB.
vector nowpointsintheoppositedirectionasitdidinPartA.Findthework
Expressyouranswerintermsof , ,and .

Thedisplacement

doneby inthiscase.


=
Correct

The Work Done in Pulling a Supertanker

Twotugboatspulladisabledsupertanker.Eachtugexertsaconstantforceof1.60106 ,oneatanangle14.0
westofnorth,andtheotheratanangle14.0 eastofnorth,astheypullthetankeradistance0.890
north.

towardthe

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthetotalworkdonebythetwotugboatsonthesupertanker?
Expressyouranswerinjoules.
2.76109
Correct

Work on a Sliding Block

Ablockofweight sitsonafrictionlessinclinedplane,whichmakesanangle withrespecttothehorizontal,as
shown.

Part A

Aforceofmagnitude ,appliedparalleltotheincline,pullstheblockuptheplaneatconstantspeed.

Harvaran Ghai

Theblockmovesadistance uptheincline.Theblockdoesnotstopaftermovingthisdistancebutcontinuesto
movewithconstantspeed.Whatisthetotalwork
doneontheblockbyallforces?(Includeonlytheworkdone
aftertheblockhasstartedmoving,nottheworkneededtostarttheblockmovingfromrest.)
Expressyouranswerintermsofgivenquantities.

=0
Correct

Part B
Whatis
,theworkdoneontheblockbytheforceofgravityastheblockmovesadistance uptheincline?
Expresstheworkdonebygravityintermsoftheweight andanyotherquantitiesgivenintheproblem
introduction.

=
Correct

Part C
Whatis

,theworkdoneontheblockbytheappliedforce astheblockmovesadistance uptheincline?

Expressyouranswerintermsof andothergivenquantities.

=
Correct

Part D
Whatis
,theworkdoneontheblockbythenormalforceastheblockmovesadistance uptheinclined
plane?
Expressyouranswerintermsofgivenquantities.

=0
Correct

Potential Energy Graphs and Motion

LearningGoal:Tobeabletointerpretpotentialenergydiagramsandpredictthecorrespondingmotionofa
particle.
Potentialenergydiagramsforaparticleareusefulinpredictingthemotionofthatparticle.Thesediagramsallow
onetodeterminethedirectionoftheforceactingontheparticleatanypoint,thepointsofstableandunstable
equilibrium,theparticle'skineticenergy,etc.

Considerthepotentialenergydiagramshown. Thecurverepresentsthevalueofpotentialenergy asa

functionoftheparticle'scoordinate .Thehorizontallineabovethecurverepresentstheconstantvalueofthetotal
energyoftheparticle .Thetotalenergy isthesumofkinetic(

)andpotential( )energiesoftheparticle.

Thekeyideaininterpretingthegraphcanbeexpressedintheequation

where
isthexcomponentofthenetforceasfunctionoftheparticle'scoordinate .Notethenegativesign:It
meansthatthexcomponentofthenetforceisnegativewhenthederivativeispositiveandviceversa.Forinstance,
iftheparticleismovingtotheright,anditspotentialenergyisincreasing,thenetforcewouldbepullingtheparticle
totheleft.
Ifyouarestillhavingtroublevisualizingthis,considerthefollowing:Ifamassiveparticleisincreasingits
gravitationalpotentialenergy(thatis,movingupward),theforceofgravityispullingintheoppositedirection(that
is,downward).
Ifthexcomponentofthenetforceiszero,theparticleissaidtobeinequilibrium.Therearetwokindsof
equilibrium:

Stableequilibriummeansthatsmalldeviationsfromtheequilibriumpointcreateanetforcethat
acceleratestheparticlebacktowardtheequilibriumpoint(thinkofaballrollingbetweentwohills).
Unstableequilibriummeansthatsmalldeviationsfromtheequilibriumpointcreateanetforcethat
acceleratestheparticlefurtherawayfromtheequilibriumpoint(thinkofaballontopofahill).

Inansweringthefollowingquestions,wewillassumethatthereisasinglevaryingforce actingontheparticle
alongthexaxis.Therefore,wewillusethetermforceinsteadofthecumbersomexcomponentofthenetforce.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
TheforceactingontheparticleatpointAis__________.
directedtothe
right
directedtotheleft
equaltozero
Correct

ConsiderthegraphintheregionofpointA.Iftheparticleismovingtotheright,itwouldbe"climbingthehill,"and
theforcewould"pullitdown,"thatis,pulltheparticlebacktotheleft.Another,moreabstractwayofthinking
aboutthisistosaythattheslopeofthegraphatpointAispositive;therefore,thedirectionof isnegative.
Part B
TheforceactingontheparticleatpointCis__________.
directedtothe
right
directedtotheleft
equaltozero
Correct

Part C
TheforceactingontheparticleatpointBis__________.
directedtothe
right
directedtotheleft
equaltozero
Correct

Theslopeofthegraphiszero;therefore,thederivative
Part D
TheaccelerationoftheparticleatpointBis__________.
directedtothe
right
directedtotheleft
equaltozero
Correct

,and

Ifthenetforceiszero,soistheacceleration.Theparticleissaidtobeinastateofequilibrium.
Part E
IftheparticleislocatedslightlytotheleftofpointB,itsaccelerationis__________.
directedtothe
right
directedtotheleft
equaltozero
Correct

Part F
IftheparticleislocatedslightlytotherightofpointB,itsaccelerationis__________.
directedtothe
right
directedtotheleft
equaltozero
Correct

Asyoucansee,smalldeviationsfromequilibriumatpointBcauseaforcethatacceleratestheparticlefurtheraway;
hencetheparticleisinunstableequilibrium.
Part G
Namealllabeledpointsonthegraphcorrespondingtounstableequilibrium.
Listyourchoicesalphabetically,withnocommasorspaces;forinstance,ifyouchoosepointsB,D,andE,
typeyouranswerasBDE.
BF
Correct

Part H
Namealllabeledpointsonthegraphcorrespondingtostableequilibrium.
Listyourchoicesalphabetically,withnocommasorspaces;forinstance,ifyouchoosepointsB,D,andE,
typeyouranswerasBDE.
DH
Correct

Part I
Namealllabeledpointsonthegraphwheretheaccelerationoftheparticleiszero.
Listyourchoicesalphabetically,withnocommasorspaces;forinstance,ifyouchoosepointsB,D,andE,
typeyouranswerasBDE.
BDFH
Correct

Youranswer,ofcourse,includesthelocationsofbothstableandunstableequilibrium.
Part J
Namealllabeledpointssuchthatwhenaparticleisreleasedfromrestthere,itwouldacceleratetotheleft.
Listyourchoicesalphabetically,withnocommasorspaces;forinstance,ifyouchoosepointsB,D,andE,
typeyouranswerasBDE.
AE
Correct

Part K
ConsiderpointsA,E,andG.Ofthesethreepoints,whichonecorrespondstothegreatestmagnitudeofacceleration
oftheparticle?
A
E
G
Correct

Kineticenergy
Ifthetotalenergy oftheparticleisknown,onecanalsousethegraphof
kineticenergyoftheparticlesince

todrawconclusionsaboutthe

.
Asareminder,onthisgraph,thetotalenergy isshownbythehorizontalline.
Part L
Whatpointonthegraphcorrespondstothemaximumkineticenergyofthemovingparticle?
D
Correct

Itmakessensethatthekineticenergyoftheparticleismaximumatoneofthe(force)equilibriumpoints.For
example,thinkofapendulum(whichhasonlyoneforceequilibriumpointattheverybottom).
Part M
Atwhatpointonthegraphdoestheparticlehavethelowestspeed?
B
Correct

Asyoucansee,manydifferentconclusionscanbemadeabouttheparticle'smotionmerelybylookingatthegraph.
Itishelpfultounderstandthecharacterofmotionqualitativelybeforeyouattemptquantitativeproblems.This
problemshouldproveusefulinimprovingsuchanunderstanding.

Potential Energy Calculations

LearningGoal:Tounderstandtherelationshipbetweentheforceandthepotentialenergychangesassociatedwith
thatforceandtobeabletocalculatethechangesinpotentialenergyasdefiniteintegrals.
Imaginethataconservativeforcefieldisdefinedinacertainregionofspace.Doesthissoundtooabstract?Well,
thinkofagravitationalfield(theonethatmakesapplesfalldownandkeepstheplanetsorbiting)oranelectrostatic
fieldexistingaroundanyelectricallychargedobject.
Ifaparticleismovinginsuchafield,itschangeinpotentialenergydoesnotdependontheparticle'spathandis
determinedonlybytheparticle'sinitialandfinalpositions.Recallthat,ingeneral,thecomponentofthenetforce
actingonaparticleequalsthenegativederivativeofthepotentialenergyfunctionalongthecorrespondingaxis:

.
Therefore,thechangeinpotentialenergycanbefoundastheintegral

where

isthechangeinpotentialenergyforaparticlemovingfrompoint1topoint2, isthenetforceacting

ontheparticleatagivenpointofitspath,and

isasmalldisplacementoftheparticlealongitspathfrom1to2.

Evaluatingsuchanintegralinageneralcasecanbeatediousandlengthytask.However,twocircumstancesmakeit
easier:
1. Becausetheresultispathindependent,itisalwayspossibletoconsiderthemoststraightforwardwayto
reachpoint2frompoint1.
2. Themostcommonrealworldfieldsarerathersimplydefined.

Inthisproblem,youwillpracticecalculatingthechangeinpotentialenergyforaparticlemovinginthreecommon
forcefields.
Notethat,intheequationsfortheforces, istheunitvectorinthexdirection, istheunitvectorintheydirection,
and istheunitvectorintheradialdirectionincaseofasphericallysymmetricalforcefield.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Considerauniformgravitationalfield(afairapproximationnearthesurfaceofaplanet).Find

,
where

and
Expressyouranswerintermsof

Correct

, ,

,and .

Part B
ConsidertheforceexertedbyaspringthatobeysHooke'slaw.Find

,
where

,
andthespringconstant ispositive.
Expressyouranswerintermsof ,

Correct

,and

Part C
Finally,considerthegravitationalforcegeneratedbyasphericallysymmetricalmassiveobject.Themagnitudeand
directionofsuchaforcearegivenbyNewton'slawofgravity:

,
where

; ,

,and

areconstants;and

.Find

Expressyouranswerintermsof ,

Correct

, ,and .

Asyoucansee,thechangeinpotentialenergyoftheparticlecanbefoundbyintegratingtheforcealongthe
particle'spath.However,thismethod,aswementionedbefore,doeshaveanimportantrestriction:Itcanonlybe
appliedtoaconservativeforcefield.Forconservativeforcessuchasgravityortensiontheworkdoneonthe
particledoesnotdependontheparticle'spath,andthepotentialenergyisthefunctionoftheparticle'sposition.
Incaseofanonconservativeforcesuchasafrictionalormagneticforcethepotentialenergycannolongerbe
definedasafunctionoftheparticle'sposition,andthemethodthatyouusedinthisproblemwouldnotbe
applicable.

A Mass-Spring System with Recoil and Friction

Anobjectofmass istravelingonahorizontalsurface.Thereisacoefficientofkineticfriction betweenthe
objectandthesurface.Theobjecthasspeed whenitreaches

andencountersaspring.Theobjectcompresses

thespring,stops,andthenrecoilsandtravelsintheoppositedirection.Whentheobjectreaches
trip,itstops.

onitsreturn

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Find ,thespringconstant.
Express intermsof ,
=
Correct

, ,and .

Dragging a Board
Auniformboardoflength andmass liesnearaboundarythatseparatestworegions.Inregion1,thecoefficient
ofkineticfrictionbetweentheboardandthesurfaceis ,andinregion2,thecoefficientis .Thepositive
directionisshowninthefigure.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A

Findthenetwork donebyfrictioninpullingtheboarddirectlyfromregion1toregion2.Assumethattheboard
movesatconstantvelocity.
Expressthenetworkintermsof
=
Correct

, , ,

,and

Thisanswermakessensebecauseitisasiftheboardspenthalfitstimeinregion1,andhalfinregion2,whichon
average,itinfactdid.
Part B
Whatisthetotalworkdonebytheexternalforceinpullingtheboardfromregion1toregion2?(Again,assumethat
theboardmovesatconstantvelocity.)
Expressyouranswerintermsof

=
Correct

, , ,

,and

Drag on a Skydiver
Askydiverofmass jumpsfromahotairballoonandfallsadistance beforereachingaterminalvelocityof
magnitude .Assumethatthemagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravityis .

Part A

Harvaran Ghai

Whatisthework

doneontheskydiver,overthedistance ,bythedragforceoftheair?

Expresstheworkintermsof , ,

=
Correct

,andthemagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity .

Part B
Findthepower suppliedbythedragforceaftertheskydiverhasreachedterminalvelocity .
Expressthepowerintermsofquantitiesgivenintheproblemintroduction.
=
Correct

Power Dissipation Puts a Drag on Racing

Thedominantformofdragexperiencedbyvehicles(bikes,cars,planes,etc.)atoperatingspeedsiscalledform
drag.Itincreasesquadraticallywithvelocity(essentiallybecausetheamountofairyourunintoincreaseswith and
sodoestheamountofforceyoumustexertoneachsmallvolumeofair).Thus
,
where isthecrosssectionalareaofthevehicleand

iscalledthecoefficientofdrag.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Consideravehiclemovingwithconstantvelocity .Findthepowerdissipatedbyformdrag.
Expressyouranswerintermsof
=
Correct

, ,andspeed .

Part B
Acertaincarhasanenginethatprovidesamaximumpower .Supposethatthemaximumspeedofthecar, ,is
limitedbyadragforceproportionaltothesquareofthespeed(asinthepreviouspart).Thecarengineisnow
modified,sothatthenewpower
Assumethefollowing:

is10percentgreaterthantheoriginalpower(

Thetopspeedislimitedbyairdrag.
Themagnitudeoftheforceofairdragatthesespeedsisproportionaltothesquareofthespeed.

Bywhatpercentage,
,isthetopspeedofthecarincreased?
Expressthepercentincreaseintopspeednumericallytotwosignificantfigures.

Correct

=3.2%

You'llnotethatyouranswerisveryclosetoonethirdofthepercentagebywhichthepowerwasincreased.This
dependenceofsmallchangesoneachother,whenthequantitiesarerelatedbyproportionalitiesofexponents,is
commoninphysicsandoftenmakesausefulshortcutforestimations.

Energy of a Spacecraft
Veryfarfromearth(at
),aspacecrafthasrunoutoffuelanditskineticenergyiszero.Ifonlythe
gravitationalforceoftheearthweretoactonit(i.e.,neglecttheforcesfromthesunandothersolarsystemobjects),
thespacecraftwouldeventuallycrashintotheearth.Themassoftheearthis
anditsradiusis .Neglectair
resistancethroughoutthisproblem,sincethespacecraftisprimarilymovingthroughthenearvacuumofspace.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Findthespeed ofthespacecraftwhenitcrashesintotheearth.
Expressthespeedintermsof
=
Correct

,andtheuniversalgravitationalconstant .

Part B
Nowfindthespacecraft'sspeedwhenitsdistancefromthecenteroftheearthis
Expressthespeedintermsof and .
=
Correct

Orbiting Satellite

,where

Asatelliteofmass
density .(
constant.

isinacircularorbitofradius

aroundasphericalplanetofradius

ismeasuredfromthecenteroftheplanet,notitssurface.)Use

madeofamaterialwith

fortheuniversalgravitational

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Findthekineticenergyofthissatellite,

Expressthesatellite'skineticenergyintermsof ,
=
Correct

, ,

,and .

Part B
Find ,thegravitationalpotentialenergyofthesatellite.Takethegravitationalpotentialenergytobezeroforan
objectinfinitelyfarawayfromtheplanet.
Expressthesatellite'sgravitationalpotentialenergyintermsof
=
Correct

, ,

Part C
Whatistheratioofthekineticenergyofthissatellitetoitspotentialenergy?
Express

intermsofparametersgivenintheintroduction.

,and .

 =0.500
Correct

Theresultofthisproblemmaybeexpressedas

where

istheexponentoftheforcelaw(i.e.

).Thisisaspecicalcaseofageneralandpowerfultheroemofadvancedclassical
mechanicsknownastheVirialTheorem.Thetheoremappliestotheaverageofthekineticandpotentialenergiesof
ofanyoneormultipleobjectsmovingoveranyclosed(oralmostclosed)paththatreturnsveryclosetoitself
providedthatallobjectsinteractviapotentialswiththesamepowerlawdependenceontheirseparation.Thusit
appliestostarsinagalaxy,ormassestiedtogetherwithsprings(where

sincetheforcelawis

).

Problem 12.28
Thespaceshuttleisina250

highcircularorbit.Itneedstoreacha700

HubbleSpaceTelescopeforrepairs.Theshuttle'smassis8.00104

highcircularorbittocatchthe

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Howmuchenergyisrequiredtoboostittotheneworbit?
1.531011J
Correct

An Exhausted Bicyclist
Anexhaustedbicyclistpedalssomewhaterratically,sothattheangularvelocityofhistiresfollowstheequation

,
where representstime(measuredinseconds).

Harvaran Ghai
Part A

Thereisaspotofpaintonthefronttireofthebicycle.Takethepositionofthespotattime

tobeatangle

radianswithrespecttoanaxisparalleltotheground(andperpendiculartotheaxisofrotationofthetire)and
measurepositiveanglesinthedirectionofthetire'srotation.Whatangulardisplacement hasthespotofpaint
undergonebetweentime0and2seconds?
Expressyouranswerinradians.
=0.793
Correct

Part B
Expresstheangulardisplacementundergonebythespotofpaintat

secondsindegrees.

=45.5
Correct

Part C
Whatdistance hasthespotofpaintmovedin2secondsiftheradiusofthetireis50centimeters?
Expressyouranswerincentimeters.
=39.7
Correct

Part D
Whichoneofthefollowingstatementsdescribesthemotionofthespotofpaintat
seconds?
Theangularaccelerationofthespotofpaintisconstantandthemagnitudeoftheangularspeedisdecreasing.
Theangularaccelerationofthespotofpaintisconstantandthemagnitudeoftheangularspeedisincreasing.
Theangularaccelerationofthespotofpaintispositiveandthemagnitudeoftheangularspeedisdecreasing.
Theangularaccelerationofthespotofpaintispositiveandthemagnitudeoftheangularspeedisincreasing.
Theangularaccelerationofthespotofpaintisnegativeandthemagnitudeoftheangularspeedis
decreasing.
Theangularaccelerationofthespotofpaintisnegativeandthemagnitudeoftheangularspeedisincreasing.
Correct

A Spinning Grinding Wheel

Attime

agrindingwheelhasanangularvelocityof23.0

32.0
433

.Ithasaconstantangularaccelerationof

untilacircuitbreakertripsattime =1.90 .Fromthenon,thewheelturnsthroughanangleof

asitcoaststoastopatconstantangulardeceleration.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Throughwhattotalangledidthewheelturnbetween
Expressyouranswerinradians.

andthetimeitstopped?

534
Correct

Part B
Atwhattimedoesthewheelstop?
Expressyouranswerinseconds.
12.2
Correct

Part C
Whatwasthewheel'sangularaccelerationasitsloweddown?
Expressyouranswerinradianspersecondpersecond.
8.11
Correct

Finding Torque
Aforce ofmagnitude ,makinganangle withthexaxis,isappliedtoaparticlelocatedatpointA,atCartesian
coordinates(0,0)inthefigure.Thevector andthefourreferencepoints(i.e.,A,B,C,andD)alllieinthexy
plane.RotationaxesADlieparalleltothezaxisandpassthrougheachrespectivereferencepoint.

Thetorque ofaforce actingonaparticlehavingapositionvector withrespecttoareferencepoint(thus

pointsfromthereferencepointtothepointatwhichtheforceacts)isequaltothecrossproductof and ,
.Themagnitudeofthetorqueis

,where istheanglebetween and ;thedirectionof

isperpendiculartoboth and .Forthisproblem

;negativetorqueaboutareferencepointcorresponds

toclockwiserotation.Youmustexpress intermsof , ,and/or whenenteringyouranswers.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Whatisthetorque duetoforce aboutthepointA?
ExpressthetorqueaboutpointAatCartesiancoordinates(0,0).
=0
Correct

Part B
Whatisthetorque

duetoforce aboutthepointB?(BisthepointatCartesiancoordinates(0, ),locateda

distance fromtheoriginalongtheyaxis.)
ExpressthetorqueaboutpointBintermsof , , , ,and/orothergivencoordinatedata.
=
Correct

Part C
Whatisthetorque
alongthexaxis?

aboutthepointC,locatedatapositiongivenbyCartesiancoordinates( ,0),adistance

ExpressthetorqueaboutpointCintermsof , , , ,and/orothergivencoordinatedata.
=
Correct

Part D
Whatisthetorque
axis?

aboutthepointD,locatedatadistance fromtheoriginandmakinganangle withthex

ExpressthetorqueaboutpointDintermsof , , , ,and/orothergivencoordinatedata.
=
Correct

Notethatthecrossproduct

whichsimplifiesto

canalsobeexpressedasathirdorderdeterminant

when and lieinthexyplane.

Pivoted Rod with Unequal Masses

Athinrodofmass andlength isallowedtopivotfreelyaboutitscenter,asshowninthediagram.A
smallsphereofmass isattachedtotheleftendoftherod,andasmallsphereofmass isattachedtotheright
end.Thespheresaresmallenoughthattheycanbeconsideredpointparticles.Thegravitationalforceacts
downward,withthemagnitudeofthegravitationalaccelerationequalto .

Part A

Harvaran Ghai

Whatisthemomentofinertia ofthisassemblyabouttheaxisthroughwhichitispivoted?
Expressthemomentofinertiaintermsof
=
Correct

,and .Remember,thelengthoftherodis

,not .

Part B
Supposetherodisheldatresthorizontallyandthenreleased.(Throughouttheremainderofthisproblem,your
answermayincludethesymbol ,themomentofinertiaoftheassembly,whetherornotyouhaveansweredthe
firstpartcorrectly.)
Whatistheangularacceleration oftherodimmediatelyafteritisreleased?
Takethecounterclockwisedirectiontobepositive.Express intermsofsomeorallofthevariables

, , ,and .
=
Correct

Pulling a String to Accelerate a Wheel

Abicyclewheelismountedonafixed,frictionlessaxle,asshown

.Amasslessstringiswoundaroundthe

wheel'srim,andaconstanthorizontalforce ofmagnitude startspullingthestringfromthetopofthewheel

startingattime

whenthewheelisnotrotating.Supposethatatsomelatertime thestringhasbeenpulled

throughadistance .Thewheelhasmomentofinertia
,where isadimensionlessnumberlessthan1,
isthewheel'smass,and isitsradius.Assumethatthestringdoesnotsliponthewheel.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A

Find ,theangularaccelerationofthewheel,whichresultsfrom pullingthestringtotheleft.Usethestandard

conventionthatcounterclockwiseangularaccelerationsarepositive.
Expresstheangularacceleration, ,intermsof , ,
=
Correct

,and (butnot

).

Part B

Theforce pullingthestringisconstant;thereforethemagnitudeoftheangularacceleration ofthewheelis

constantforthisconfiguration.
Findthemagnitudeoftheangularvelocity ofthewheelwhenthestringhasbeenpulledadistance .
Notethattherearetwowaystofindanexpressionfor ;theseexpressionslookverydifferentbutareequivalent.
Expresstheangularvelocity ofthewheelintermsofthedisplacement ,themagnitude oftheapplied
force,andthemomentofinertiaofthewheel ,ifyou'vefoundsuchasolution.Otherwise,followingthe
hintsforthispartshouldleadyoutoexpresstheangularvelocity ofthewheelintermsofthedisplacement
,thewheel'sradius ,and .
=
Correct

Thissolutioncanbeobtainedfromtheequationsofrotationalmotionandtheequationsofmotionwithconstant
acceleration.Analternateapproachistocalculatetheworkdoneoverthedisplacement bytheforce andequate
thisworktotheincreaseinrotationalkineticenergyofrotationofthewheel
Part C
Find ,thespeedofthestringafterithasbeenpulledby overadistance .
Expressthespeedofthestringintermsof , , ,and
=
Correct

;donotinclude , ,or

inyouranswer.

Notethatthisisthespeedthatanobjectofmass

(whichislessthan

)wouldattainifpulledadistance bya

forcewithconstantmagnitude .

A Bar Suspended by Two Vertical Strings

Arigid,uniform,horizontalbarofmass

andlength issupportedbytwoidenticalmasslessstrings.

Both

stringsarevertical.StringAisattachedatadistance
fromtheleftendofthebarandisconnectedtothe
ceiling;stringBisattachedtotheleftendofthebarandisconnectedtothefloor.Asmallblockofmass is
supportedagainstgravitybythebaratadistance fromtheleftendofthebar,asshowninthefigure.
Throughoutthisproblempositivetorqueisthatwhichspinsanobjectcounterclockwise.Use forthemagnitudeof
theaccelerationduetogravity.

Harvaran Ghai

Part A
Find

,thetensioninstringA.

ExpressthetensioninstringAintermsof ,
=
Correct

Part B
Find

,themagnitudeofthetensioninstringB.

, , ,

,and .

ExpressthemagnitudeofthetensioninstringBintermsof
=
Correct

,and .

Part C
Ifthebarandblockaretooheavythestringsmaybreak.Whichofthetwoidenticalstringswillbreakfirst?
string
A
stringB
Correct

Part D
Ifthemassoftheblockistoolargeandtheblockistooclosetotheleftendofthebar(nearstringB)thenthe
horizontalbarmaybecomeunstable(i.e.,thebarmaynolongerremainhorizontal).
Whatisthesmallestpossiblevalueof suchthatthebarremainsstable(callit
Expressyouranswerfor

intermsof

=
Correct

)?

, ,and .

Part E
Notethatsince
,ascomputedinthepreviouspart,isnotnecessarilypositive.If
stablenomatterwheretheblockofmass isplacedonit.
Assumingthat

, ,and areheldfixed,whatisthemaximumblockmass

stable?Inotherwords,whatisthemaximumblockmasssuchthat
Answerintermsof

=
Correct

, ,and .

A Person Standing on a Leaning Ladder

,thebarwillbe

forwhichthebarwillalwaysbe
?

Auniformladderwithmass

andlength restsagainstasmoothwall.

Adoityourselfenthusiastofmass

standsontheladderadistance fromthebottom(measuredalongtheladder).Theladdermakesanangle with

theground.Thereisnofrictionbetweenthewallandtheladder,butthereisafrictionalforceofmagnitude
betweenthefloorandtheladder. isthemagnitudeofthenormalforceexertedbythewallontheladder,and
isthemagnitudeofthenormalforceexertedbythegroundontheladder.Throughouttheproblem,consider
counterclockwisetorquestobepositive.Noneofyouranswersshouldinvolve (i.e.,simplifyyourtrigfunctions).

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatistheminimumcoeffecientofstaticfriction
ladderdoesnotslip?
Express

=
Correct

intermsof

requiredbetweentheladderandthegroundsothatthe

, , ,and .

Part B
Supposethattheactualcoefficentoffrictionisoneandahalftimesaslargeasthevalueof
theladder?

.Underthesecircumstances,whatisthemagnitudeoftheforceoffriction thatthefloorappliesto

Expressyouranswerintermsof
and .
=
Correct

.Thatis,

, , , ,and .Remembertopayattentiontotherelationofforce

A Rolling Hollow Sphere

Ahollowsphericalshellwithmass1.80
thehorizontal.

rollswithoutslippingdownaslopethatmakesanangleof39.0 with

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Findthemagnitudeoftheacceleration

ofthecenterofmassofthesphericalshell.

Takethefreefallaccelerationtobe =9.80

=3.70
Correct

Part B
Findthemagnitudeofthefrictionalforceactingonthesphericalshell.
Takethefreefallaccelerationtobe =9.80

=4.44
Correct

Thefrictionalforcekeepsthesphericalshellstucktothesurfaceoftheslope,sothatthereisnoslippingasitrolls
down.Iftherewerenofriction,theshellwouldsimplyslidedowntheslope,asarectangularboxmightdoonan
inclined(frictionless)surface.
Part C
Findtheminimumcoefficientoffriction neededtopreventthesphericalshellfromslippingasitrollsdownthe
slope.
=0.324
Correct

Weight and Wheel

Considerabicyclewheelthatinitiallyisnotrotating.Ablockofmass

isattachedtothewheelandisallowedto

falladistance .Assumethatthewheelhasamomentofinertia aboutitsrotationaxis.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Considerthecasethatthestringtiedtotheblockisattachedtotheoutsideofthewheel,ataradius

.Find

,theangularspeedofthewheelaftertheblockhasfallenadistance ,forthiscase.

Express

intermsof

, , ,

=
Correct

,and .

Part B
Nowconsiderthecasethatthestringtiedtotheblockiswrappedaroundasmallerinsideaxleofthewheelofradius

.Find

Express
=
Correct

,theangularspeedofthewheelaftertheblockhasfallenadistance ,forthiscase.

intermsof

, , ,

,and .

Part C
Whichofthefollowingdescribestherelationshipbetween

Correct

and

Thisisrelatedtowhygearsarefoundontheinsideratherthantheoutsideofawheel.

Record and Turntable

LearningGoal:Tounderstandhowtouseconservationofangularmomentumtosolveproblemsinvolving
collisionsofrotatingbodies.
Consideraturntabletobeacirculardiskofmomentofinertia rotatingataconstantangularvelocity
aroundanaxisthroughthecenterandperpendiculartotheplaneofthedisk(thedisk's"primaryaxisofsymmetry").
Theaxisofthediskisverticalandthediskissupportedbyfrictionlessbearings.Themotoroftheturntableisoff,so
thereisnoexternaltorquebeingappliedtotheaxis.
Anotherdisk(arecord)isdroppedontothefirstsuchthatitlandscoaxially(theaxescoincide).Themomentof
inertiaoftherecordis .Theinitialangularvelocityoftheseconddiskiszero.
Thereisfrictionbetweenthetwodisks.
Afterthis"rotationalcollision,"thediskswilleventuallyrotatewiththesameangularvelocity.

Part A
Whatisthefinalangularvelocity,
Express
=
Correct

Part B

intermsof , ,and

Harvaran Ghai
,ofthetwodisks?
.

Becauseoffriction,rotationalkineticenergyisnotconservedwhilethedisks'surfacesslipovereachother.Whatis
thefinalrotationalkineticenergy,

,ofthetwospinningdisks?

Expressthefinalkineticenergyintermsof , ,andtheinitialkineticenergy
angularvelocitiesshouldappearinyouranswer.
=
Correct

ofthetwodisksystem.No

Someoftheenergywasconvertedintoheatandsoundasthefrictionalforce,torqueacted,stoppingrelativemotion.
Part C
Assumethattheturntabledecceleratedduringtime beforereachingthefinalangularvelocity( isthetime
intervalbetweenthemomentwhenthetopdiskisdroppedandthetimethatthedisksbegintospinatthesame
angularvelocity).Whatwastheaveragetorque,

,actingonthebottomdiskduetofrictionwiththerecord?

Expressthetorqueintermsof ,

=
Correct

,and

Problem 13.87
Duringmostofitslifetime,astarmaintainsanequilibriumsizeinwhichtheinwardforceofgravityoneachatomis
balancedbyanoutwardpressureforceduetotheheatofthenuclearreactionsinthecore.Butafterallthehydrogen
"fuel"isconsumedbynuclearfusion,thepressureforcedropsandthestarundergoesagravitationalcollapseuntilit
becomesaneutronstar.Inaneutronstar,theelectronsandprotonsoftheatomsaresqueezedtogetherbygravity
untiltheyfuseintoneutrons.Neutronstarsspinveryrapidlyandemitintensepulsesofradioandlightwaves,one
pulseperrotation.These"pulsingstars"werediscoveredinthe1960sandarecalledpulsars.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Astarwiththemass
andsize
ofoursunrotatesonceevery34.0days.
Afterundergoinggravitationalcollapse,thestarformsapulsarthatisobservedbyastronomerstoemitradiopulses
every0.100 .Bytreatingtheneutronstarasasolidsphere,deduceitsradius.
6.46104m
Correct

Part B
Whatisthespeedofapointontheequatoroftheneutronstar?Youranswerwillbesomewhattoolargebecausea
starcannotbeaccuratelymodeledasasolidsphere.
4.06106m/s
Correct

Analyzing Simple Harmonic Motion

ThisError! Hyperlink reference not valid.showstwomassesonsprings,eachaccompaniedbya
graphofitspositionversustime.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisanexpressionfor
,thepositionofmassIasafunctionoftime?Assumethatpositionismeasuredin
metersandtimeismeasuredinseconds.
Expressyouranswerasafunctionof .Expressnumericalconstantstothreesignificantfigures.

=
Correct

Part B
Whatis
,thepositionofmassIIasafunctionoftime?Assumethatpositionismeasuredinmetersandtimeis
measuredinseconds.
Expressyouranswerasafunctionof .Expressnumericalconstantstothreesignificantfigures.

=
Correct

Harmonic Oscillator Acceleration

LearningGoal:Tounderstandtheapplicationofthegeneralharmonicequationtofindingtheaccelerationofa
springoscillatorasafunctionoftime.
Oneendofaspringwithspringconstant isattachedtothewall.Theotherendisattachedtoablockofmass .
Theblockrestsonafrictionlesshorizontalsurface.Theequilibriumpositionoftheleftsideoftheblockisdefined
tobe

.Thelengthoftherelaxedspringis .

Theblockisslowlypulledfromitsequilibriumpositiontosomeposition
theblockisreleasedwithzeroinitialvelocity.
Thegoalofthisproblemistodeterminetheaccelerationoftheblock
and
.

alongthexaxis.Attime

asafunctionoftimeintermsof ,

Itisknownthatageneralsolutionforthepositionofaharmonicoscillatoris
,
where , ,and areconstants.

Yourtask,therefore,istodeterminethevaluesof , ,and intermsof ,

connectionbetween

and

,and

andthenusethe

tofindtheacceleration.

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
CombineNewton's2ndlawandHooke'slawforaspringtofindtheaccelerationoftheblock
time.
Expressyouranswerintermsof ,

=
Correct

,andthecoordinateoftheblock

asafunctionof

Thenegativesignintheanswerisimportant:Itindicatesthattherestoringforce(thetensionofthespring)isalways
directedoppositetotheblock'sdisplacement.Whentheblockispulledtotherightfromtheequilibriumposition,
therestoringforceispullingback,thatis,totheleftandviceversa.
Part B
Usingthefactthataccelerationisthesecondderivativeofposition,findtheaccelerationoftheblock
functionoftime.
Expressyouranswerintermsof , ,and

asa


=
Correct

Part C
Findtheangularfrequency .
Expressyouranswerintermsof and
=
Correct

Notethattheangularfrequency and,therefore,theperiodofoscillations dependonlyontheintrinsicphysical

characteristicsofthesystem( and
amplitudeofthemotion.

).Frequencyandperioddonotdependontheinitialconditionsorthe

Energy of Harmonic Oscillators

LearningGoal:Tolearntoapplythelawofconservationofenergytotheanalysisofharmonicoscillators.
Systemsinsimpleharmonicmotion,orharmonicoscillators,obeythelawofconservationofenergyjustlikeall
othersystemsdo.Usingenergyconsiderations,onecananalyzemanyaspectsofmotionoftheoscillator.Suchan
analysiscanbesimplifiedifoneassumesthatmechanicalenergyisnotdissipated.Inotherwords,
,
where isthetotalmechanicalenergyofthesystem,

isthekineticenergy,and isthepotentialenergy.

Harvaran Ghai
Asyouknow,acommonexampleofaharmonicoscillatorisamassattachedtoaspring.Inthisproblem,wewill
considerahorizontallymovingblockattachedtoaspring.Notethat,sincethegravitationalpotentialenergyisnot
changinginthiscase,itcanbeexcludedfromthecalculations.
Forsuchasystem,thepotentialenergyisstoredinthespringandisgivenby

,
where istheforceconstantofthespringand isthedistancefromtheequilibriumposition.
Thekineticenergyofthesystemis,asalways,

,
where

isthemassoftheblockand isthespeedoftheblock.

Wewillalsoassumethattherearenoresistiveforces;thatis,

Consideraharmonicoscillatoratfourdifferentmoments,labeledA,B,C,andD,asshowninthefigure
Assumethattheforceconstant ,themassoftheblock,
thefollowingquestions.

,andtheamplitudeofvibrations, ,aregiven.Answer

Part A
Whichmomentcorrespondstothemaximumpotentialenergyofthesystem?
A
B

C
D
Correct

Part B
Whichmomentcorrespondstotheminimumkineticenergyofthesystem?
A
B
C
D
Correct

Whentheblockisdisplacedadistance fromequilibrium,thespringisstretched(orcompressed)themost,andthe
blockismomentarilyatrest.Therefore,themaximumpotentialenergyis
course,

.Recallthat

.Atthatmoment,of

.Therefore,

.
Ingeneral,themechanicalenergyofaharmonicoscillatorequalsitspotentialenergyatthemaximumorminimum
displacement.
Part C
Considertheblockintheprocessofoscillating.
attheequilibriumposition.
attheamplitudedisplacement.
Ifthekineticenergyoftheblockisincreasing,theblockmust
be

movingtotheright.
movingtotheleft.
movingawayfrom
equilibrium.
movingtowardequilibrium.

Correct

Part D
Whichmomentcorrespondstothemaximumkineticenergyofthesystem?
A
B

C
D
Correct

Part E
Whichmomentcorrespondstotheminimumpotentialenergyofthesystem?
A
B
C
D
Correct

Whentheblockisattheequilibriumposition,thespringisnotstretched(orcompressed)atall.Atthatmoment,of
course,

.Meanwhile,theblockisatitsmaximumspeed(

thenbewrittenas

.Recallthat

andthat

.
Recallingwhatwefoundoutbefore,

,
wecannowconcludethat

,
or

.
Part F
Atwhichmomentis
A
B

).Themaximumkineticenergycan
attheequilibriumposition.Therefore,

C
D
Correct

Part G
Findthekineticenergy

oftheblockatthemomentlabeledB.

Expressyouranswerintermsof and .
=
Correct

Energy of a Spring
Anobjectofmass

attachedtoaspringofforceconstant oscillateswithsimpleharmonicmotion.Themaximum

displacementfromequilibriumis andthetotalmechanicalenergyofthesystemis .

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthesystem'spotentialenergywhenitskineticenergyisequalto

Correct

Part B
Whatistheobject'svelocitywhenitspotentialenergyis

Correct

Gravity on Another Planet

Afterlandingonanunfamiliarplanet,aspaceexplorerconstructsasimplependulumoflength55.0
explorerfindsthatthependulumcompletes108fullswingcyclesinatimeof136 .

.The

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthevalueoftheaccelerationofgravityonthisplanet?
Expressyouranswerinmeterspersecondpersecond.

=13.7
Correct

136/1082pi/ansans*0.55

The Fish Scale

Thescaleofaspringbalancereadingfrom0to205 hasalengthof13.5
thespringoscillatesverticallyatafrequencyof2.95

Part A
Ignoringthemassofthespring,whatisthemass
Expressyouranswerinkilograms.

.Afishhangingfromthebottomof

Harvaran Ghai
ofthefish?

=4.42
Correct

Vertical Mass-and-Spring Oscillator

Ablockofmass isattachedtotheendofanidealspring.Duetotheweightoftheblock,theblockremainsatrest
whenthespringisstretchedadistance fromitsequilibriumlength.
constant .

Thespringhasanunknownspring

Harvaran Ghai
Part A
Whatisthespringconstant ?
Expressthespringconstantintermsofgivenquantitiesand ,themagnitudeoftheaccelerationdueto
gravity.
=
Correct

Part B
Supposethattheblockgetsbumpedandundergoesasmallverticaldisplacement.Findtheresultingangular
frequency oftheblock'soscillationaboutitsequilibriumposition.
Expressthefrequencyintermsofgivenquantitiesand ,themagnitudeoftheaccelerationduetogravity.
=
Correct

Itmayseemthatthisresultforthefrequencydoesnotdependoneitherthemassoftheblockorthespringconstant,
whichmightmakelittlesense.However,theseparametersarewhatwoulddeterminetheextension ofthespring
whentheblockishanging:

Onewayofthinkingaboutthisproblemistoconsiderboth and asunknowns.Bymeasuring and (bothfairly

simplemeasurements),andknowingthemass,youcandeterminethevalueofthespringconstantandthe
accelerationduetogravityexperimentally.