Typical Problems from Previous Midterm Tests

With Key Solution

Notes to students
o The Mid-term Test constitutes 20% of the whole mark of PHY136H5F.
o It consists of eight equallyvalued (10 marks each) numerical problems.
o The exam consists of 9 pages, including the cover page.

ax 2 bx c 0 x1, 2

v v0 at

Useful Formulas
1 / 2a [ b b 2 4ac ]

1
x x0 (v v0 )t
2

g 9.8 m / s 2

r
r
F

m
a

1
x x0 v0 t at 2
2

f sMAX s FN

v 2 v02 2a( x x0 )

f k k FN

F kx

[10](1) A daring 510 N swimmer dives off a cliff with a running horizontal
leap, as shown in Figure. What must her
minimum speed be just as she leaves
the top of the cliff so that she will miss
the ledge at the bottom, which is 1.75 m
wide and 9.00 m below the top of the
cliff?

Solution:

v0 1.29 m / s
[10](2) A player kicks a football at an angle of 40.0 from the horizontal,
with an initial speed of 12.0 m/s. A second player standing at a distance of
30.0 m from the first (in the direction of the kick) starts running to meet the
ball at the instant it is kicked. How fast must he run in order to catch the
ball just before it hits the ground?

Solution:

x 994 m/s
[10](3) A physics professor did daredevil stunts in his
spare time. His last stunt was an attempt to jump
across a river on a motorcycle. (See Figure). The
takeoff ramp was inclined at 53.0, the river was 40.0
m wide, and the far bank was 15.0 m lower than the
top of the ramp. The river itself was 100 m below the
ramp. You can ignore air resistance.
[5](a) What should his speed have been at the top
of the ramp for him to have just made it to
the edge of the far bank?
[5](b) If his speed was only half the value found
in (a), where did he land?
Solution:
(a)
(b)
bank.

0 178 m/s
He lands in the river 28.4 m from the near

[10](4) A light spring having a spring constant of 125 N/m is used to pull a
9.50 kg sled on a horizontal frictionless ice rink. The coefficient of kinetic
friction between the sled and the ice is 0.200. If the sled has an acceleration
of 2.00 m/s2, by how much does the spring stretch if it pulls on the sled:
[5](a) horizontally, or
[5](b) at 30.0 above the horizontal?
Solution:
(a)
(b)

x 301 cm

x 321 cm

[10](5) Block A in the Figure weighs 1.20 N and block B weighs 3.60 N. The coefficient of
kinetic friction between all surfaces is 0.300. Find the magnitude of the horizontal force F
necessary to drag block B to the left at a constant speed of 2.50 cm/s
[4](a) if A rests on B and moves with it (Figure a);
[4](b) if A is held at rest by a string (Figure b).
[2](c) In part (a), what is the friction force on block A?
Figure a

Figure b

Solution:
(a)

F 144 N

F 180 N

(b)
(c) The friction force on A is zero.
[10] (6) In Fig., a slab of mass m1 = 40 kg rests on a frictionless floor, and a block of mass
m2 = 10 kg rests on top of the slab. Between block and slab, the coefficient of static friction is
0.60, and the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.40. A horizontal force of magnitude 100 N
begins to pull directly on the block, as shown. What are the resulting accelerations of
[5](a) the block and
F
[5](b) the slab?
m2

=0

Block

m1

Slab

Solution:

(a) ablock 6.1 m / s 2 to the left

(b) aslab 0.98 m / s 2 to the left
[10] (7) As shown, blocks A and B have weights of 44 N and 22
N, respectively.
[5](a) Determine the minimum weight of block C to keep A
from sliding if s between A and the table is 0.20.
[5](b) Block C suddenly is lifted off A. What is the
acceleration of block A if k between A and the table is
0.15?
Solution:
(a) The least weight for C is 66 N.

(b)

a 2.3 m / s 2

P
[10] (8) A 225-kg crate rests on a surface that is inclined above the
horizontal at an angle of = 20.0O. A horizontal force P magnitude =
535 N and parallel to the ground (not the incline) is required to start the
crate moving down the incline. What is the coefficient of static friction
between the crate and the incline?

s 0.665
Solution: