2008 F=ma Exam Solutions

1. ( )
2. End

Start

Displacement is the distance from the start to end. so use the Pythagorean theorem to find the
diagonal on the bottom face = √ √ and apply again to the triangle with the hypotenuse as

the displacement, a side as one leg, and the bottom diagonal as another leg for √ ( √ )
√ m

3. The position graph is a downward sloping line, so velocity is constant and is just the slope of the
line, so taking the points (0,4) and (2,0), the slope is -2 m/s.
4. Find the area under the curve by dividing into sections. For example: ( ) ( )( ) ( )
( )( ) ( )( ) 6.5 m
5. Acceleration is constant when velocity is a straight line and is positive when v is increasing, 0
when v is constant, and negative when v is decreasing, so we expect a positive constant line
from 0 to 1s, zero from 1 to 1/2 s, and a negative constant from ½ to 3s.
6. Using projectile equations, ( ) and . At the maximum height,
( ) ( )

( ) ( ) ( )
Maximum range occurs when sin is maximized or equal to 1, at
( ( )) √ √
Therefore . At
7. Initial momentum = final momentum = ( ) ( ) ( )
8. The radius is ( )( ) . The normal

force is provided by the centripetal force, so ( )( )

9. Statement I is false because mass is initially traveling in the positive X direction so the sum of
the horizontal velocities later on cannot be 0.
Statement II is false because is the sum of the momentum in the y direction
while is the momentum in the x direction
Statement III is true because the only initial movement is in the positive x direction and no
movement in the y direction, so the sum of the momentum in the y direction is zero.
Statement IV is false because momentum is added using velocities in two different directions
Statement V is true because the initial momentum is only in the x direction and is and the
final velocity in the x direction is and so the sum of the final x direction momentum is
equal to the initial momentum. III and V are true
10. Friction is affecting movement, so The
only variables are the force and acceleration, so the data should yield a straight line plot.
Graphing shows this indeed, so the mass is equal to the slope of this line, so select any two data
points to calculate the slope
11. With the value of the mass, select one data point of F and a to plug into the equation to solve
for ( ) ( )
12. The moment of inertia for the disk is The disk is rotating at the same angular velocity,
however the moment of inertia changes because the disk is rotating about an axis parallel to the
center, so by the Parallel axis theorem, The initial energy was
( )
13. The maximum potential energy is equal to the maximum kinetic energy, so for the initial
conditions,

The new spring has a spring constant

( )

√
14. The initial energy, E, has angular velocity and inertia so The angular velocity is
increased to but angular momentum is constant however the inertia changes, so
. So the new energy is ( )
15. We want to sum the torques to be zero to maximize the mass of the carpenter. The center of
mass of the table is at 1.5m, so we choose the right leg as the pivot point. Equating the torques,
50(g)(1.5)=mg(.5) and m = 150 kg.
16. ( ) . The spring force is negative because
the ball is above the equilibrium position (F= -kx)
17. When the box
accelerates up, the mass is given the same acceleration and is stretched further to and due
 to upward motion, we are given the equation
The distance the mass moved is
18. Let M be the mass of the ring, m the mass of the particle, and r the distance from the particle to
the ring. By conservation of energy, the initial gravitational potential energy is equal to the sum
of the kinetic energy and the gravitational potential energy of the ring and particle system or
, and since

√ The linear mass density is equal to the mass of the ring divided by the length or

and substitute to get √ √ and we are told the linear

mass density is to remain the same, and we can see that the velocity of the particle only
depends on the linear mass density of the ring, so as it is unchanged, the new velocity is still
19. Power equals work over time, so we have Since the work at 2t0 is half the initial work,
the kinetic energy must be doubled, so if and are the respective velocities, then
( ) √ . Power is also equal to force times velocity, so
√ √
20. Use logic to solve this equation. Note that the acceleration due to gravity affects the distance
moved, so is eliminated as g is not part of the equation and E is eliminated because of
extreme sagging. For the remaining choices note that only choice D has h in the denominator. h
is the vertical thickness, so the greater h is, the less the distance the end moves, so E is the
correct answer.
21. Choice A is true for both cases, the two body case is trivial, but the three body case is also true
because the velocity of the third particle is the linear combination of the other two particles (try
solving the momentum equation for the third velocity). Choice B is true for the two body case
but false for the three body case because for 2 bodies, you have 2 equations (energy and
momentum) for 2 unknowns and for 3 bodies you have 3 unknowns and 2 equations.
22. Linear momentum is conserved, so ( ) where is the initial
velocity of the bullet and bob. For minimum velocity, at the top of the loop, tension would be
( )
zero, so gravity provides the centripetal force or ( ) Energy
is conserved and the initial kinetic energy is equal to the potential and kinetic energy at the top
( )
of the loop, so ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )√
( ) ( ) ( )
23. Keplers Third Law states that the square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the
semi major axis or . Density is mass over volume or M/R^3 in this case, so the planets
with the same density would yield identical periods for satellites in circular orbit just above the
surface of the planet.
24. The time interval for each bounce is given by Each succeeding velocity is

multiplied by r, so we have The common ratio is r so the sum of this

geometric series is

25. The gravitational force provides the centripetal force, so .

The total energy of the second satellite is the sum of the potential and kinetic energies or
( ) and substitute to get = constant. Energy is conserved, so the
minimum distance, and the new velocity, is introduced to give .
Angular momentum is conserved, so . Plug this back in to get

( )
This factors to
( )( ) with roots so we take the minimum value