Physics

Lockdown Day 1 Worksheet

Level 1 (“I’m ok with just passing Physics”) = questions 1, 2, 3

Level 2 (“I don’t want physics to lower my average”) = questions 4, 5

Level 3 (“I eat physics for breakfast”) = question 6

Full solutions at the end of the document - Warning: some may actually be correct

Question 1

Which of the following graphs represent uniform motion?

Acceleration
Position

Position

Velocity

Time Time Time Time

Graph 1 Graph 2 Graph 3 Graph 4

Question 2

A skateboarder is coasting along a flat road. She slows from 8.0 m/s to 4.0 m/s over a distance of 18 m.

How much time would it take her to travel this distance?

Question 3

Add the following vectors.

Vector A = 10 cm [E 20o S]

Vector B = 20 cm [W 50o N]

Express your answer in magnitude-

direction form
Question 4

The graph below illustrates the motion of a car over a 30 second time interval.
y

8
6
4
Velocity (m/s)

2
0 x
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
-2
-4
-6
-8

Time (s)

a) During which time interval is the car moving backward and with increasing speed?
b) During which time interval is the car moving forward and with decreasing speed?
c) During which time interval is the car moving backward and with decreasing speed?
d) During which time interval is the car moving forward and with increasing speed?
e) What is the car’s total displacement over the 30 s interval
f) What is the car’s total distance traveled over the 30 s interval

Question 5

Louise throws a measuring tape straight upwards with a velocity of 10 m/s to her father who is working on the
roof of their house. He tries to catch the tape as it rises but misses. He catches it on the way down when the
measuring tape is 3 m above the position from which Louis threw it.

What is the velocity of the measuring tape when caught by Louise’s father?

Question 6

The fastest land animal is the cheetah, (from the Sanskrit word "chita" meaning "spotted one”) which has been
recorded attaining a top speed of approximately 30 m/s (110 km/h). It takes the cheetah 2 s to accelerate
uniformly from rest to its top speed. Once it has attained its top speed it can maintain it for 10 seconds before
becoming exhausted and coming to an immediate halt. The typical prey of cheetahs is the wildebeest
(meaning "wild cattle" in Afrikaans - also known as a "gnu" from the Khoikhoi language which is likely a case of
onomatopoeia from the grunting noise that a wildebeest makes). A wildebeest can only run at 20 m/s, but it
can keep up this pace for one minute before becoming exhausted. It takes the wildebeest 4 s to accelerate
uniformly from rest to its top speed.

One fine day on the Serengeti Plain, a cheetah starts chasing a wildebeest that is grazing 80 m away. Assume
that both predator and prey start moving simultaneously and that they move along the same rectilinear
trajectory.

Does the cheetah to catch the gnu? Justify your response by means of appropriate work.
 SOLUTIONS
Question 1

Uniform motion means: - velocity is constant (could be zero) - acceleration is zero

Acceleration
Position

Position

Velocity
Time Time Time Time

Graph 1 Graph 2 Graph 3 Graph 4

Rate of change of position In this graph the slope is In this graph the In this graph the
(slope) NOT constant therefore velocity is constant acceleration is
= velocity the velocity is NOT constant but not
In this graph the slope is constant zero
constant therefore the
velocity is constant => UNIFORM
=> NON-UNIFORM MOTION
=> UNIFORM MOTION MOTION => NON-UNIFORM
MOTION

Question 2

Step 1: identify given and required quantities

V1 = 8.0 m/s V2 = 4.0 m/s Dd = 18 m Dt = ?

Step 2: select an appropriate formula

Step 3: substitute given values

!"#
18 = ! $
" Dt

Step 4: solve for required (unknown) quantity

Dt = 3 s

Question 3 (solution by component method)

x-component y-component
Vector A + 10 x cos 20 – 10 x sin 20
= 9.39 cm = -3.42
10 cm [ E 20o S ] + 10 x sin 70 – 10 x cos 70
Vector B – 20 x cos 50 + 20 x sin 50
20 cm [ W 50o N – 20 x sin 40 = -12.86 + 20 x cos 40 = 15.32
]
Resultant = -3.47 = 11.90

magnitude: #(−3.47)$ + (11.9)$ = 12.39 direction angle: tan-1 (11.90/3.47) = 73.7o

Resultant : 12.4 cm [W 74o N] or [N 16o W]

Question 4
y

8
6
sl
p o wi
4 gu ng
din
Velocity (m/s)

ee moving do
2 sp forward wn
0 x
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
sp moving
-2 ee wn
backward
di
ng do
-4 g
up win
sl o
-6
-8

Time (s)

moving forward = positive velocity (above x-axis) = 0 s to 14 s

moving backward = negative velocity (below x-axis) = 14 s to 30 s
increasing speed = sign of slope same as sign of function = 0 s to 6 s and 14 s to 20 s
decreasing speed = sign of slope opposite to sign of function = 10 s to 14 s and 22 s to 30 s

a) During which time interval is the car moving backward and with increasing speed?
= 14 s to 20 s

b) During which time interval is the car moving forward and with decreasing speed?
= 10 s to 14

c) During which time interval is the car moving backward and with decreasing speed?
= 22 s to 30 s

d) During which time interval is the car moving forward and with increasing speed?
= 0 s to 6 s

e) What is the car’s total displacement over the 30 s interval

= area between graph and x-axis taking sign (direction) into account

= 1st trapezoid (0 s to 14 s) + 2nd trapezoid (14 s to 30 s) = +36 m + –54 m = 18 m

f) What is the car’s total distance traveled over the 30 s interval

= area between graph and x-axis disregarding sign (direction)

= 1st trapezoid (0 s to 14 s)+ 2nd trapezoid (14 s to 30 s) = +36 m + 54 m = 90 m

Question 5

Step 1: identify given and required quantities

V1 = +10 m/s Dd = +3 m a = -9.81 m/s2 V2 = ?

Step 2: select an appropriate formula

Step 3: substitute given values

V22 – (+10)2 = 2(-9.81)(+3)

Step 4: solve for required (unknown) quantity

V2 = ±√41.41 = ±6.41 m/s

choose V2 = –6.41 m/s

Note that the velocity of the keys was +6.41 m/s when the father missed them on the way up.

Question 6

The cheetah catches the gnu if it reaches the same position at the same time as the gnu before becoming
exhausted (12 s after starting to chase the gnu).

1 - Use this formula to determine the positions during the acceleration phase for each animal:

Cheetah Gnu
d1 = 0 m v1 = 0 m/s a = 15 m/s2 d1 = 80 m v1 = 0 m/s a = 5 m/s2

2 - Make a table showing the positions of the animals as a function of time

Position (m) vs Time (s)

Time 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Accelerating Constant Speed (20 m/s)
Gnu 80 82.5 90 102.5 120 140 160 180
Accelerating Constant Speed (30 m/s)
Cheetah 0 7.5 30 60 90 120 150 180

The cheetah catches the gnu after 7 seconds, at a position 180 metres from where the cheetah started.