PC1431 Tutorial 1

Question 1
A particle has a position vector given by
3.0
where
from

4.0

5.0

is in meters and t is in seconds. Find the average velocity and average acceleration
2.0s to
4.0s.

Question 2
An Engineering Physics student buys a plastic dart gun. Being a clever student, she decides to
do a quick calculation to find its maximum horizontal range. She shoots the gun straight up,
and it takes 5.0 seconds for the dart to land back in the barrel. What is the maximum
horizontal range of the gun? Ignore air resistance.

Question 3
At
0, a particle leaves the origin with a velocity of 5 ms in the positive-y direction. Its
acceleration is given by
3 2 ms . At the instant the particle reaches its
maximum y coordinate, how far is the particle from the origin?

Question 4
The yellow caution light in a traffic intersection should remain on long enough to allow a car
to stop before the intersection or to be able to pass through the intersection before the light
turns red.

Figure 1
An intersection is 25 m wide. If the speed limit of the road is 50 km/h, and the car can reduce
its speed at a rate of 5.0 m/s2, what is the minimum time for the yellow caution light be left
on so that any driver who obeys the speed limit can safely cross or stop in time?

Question 5
A particle leaves the origin at
It experiences an acceleration
its maximum x value?

0 with an initial velocity

3.6 ms along the x-axis.
. At time T does the particle reach
1.2 1.4

Question 6
A boy stands at the peak of a hill which slopes downwards uniformly at an angle as shown
in Figure 1. At what angle from the horizontal should he throw a rock so that it has the
greatest range, R? (Ans:
/4
/2)

Figure 2: Calculating the angle for maximum distance

Question 7
A car moving at 18.1 ms enters a curve that describes a quarter turn of radius 120 m from
A to B as shown in Figure 3. The driver gently applies the brakes, slowing the car down at a
constant rate of 0.65 ms . Just before emerging from the turn at B, what is the angle
between the acceleration vector and the direction of motion?

Figure 3: Turning a corner

Question 8
A small boat is headed for a harbour 32 km north-west of its current position when it is
suddenly engulfed in a heavy fog. The captain maintains a compass bearing of north-west and
a speed of 10 km/h relative to the water. Three hours later the fog lifts and the captain notes
that he is now exactly 4.0 km south of the harbour. Taking to be directed along east and to
be directed north, what is the velocity of the current during those three hours? (You may
assume that is a constant.)