Physics 121.

6 2007/2008
Assignment 6 - Solutions

1. Chapter 6, Problem 8. Consider a conical pendulum
(Fig. 6.3) with an 80.0 kg bob on a 10.0 m wire making an
angle of =5.00 with the vertical. Determine (a) the
horizontal and vertical components of the force exerted by
the wire on the pendulum and (b) the radial acceleration o
the bob. [In addition: (c) How long does the bob take to
make one complete circle.]
f
Solution:
(a) For the conical pendulum, the forces acting on the bob are the
weight and the tension in the wire.

FBD of forces on bob at one instant in its motion.
mg
T

x
y
a
c
T
x
T
y
The acceleration is the centripetal acceleration
toward the centre of the circle of motion, which is
horizontal. The horizontal and vertical
components of the tension force are T
x
and T
y
.

= = =
r
v
m ma T F
c x x
2

= = 0 mg T F
y y

From N 784 ) m/s kg)(9.80 0 . 80 (
2
= = = mg T
y
Therefore since
N 68.6 ) N)tan(5.00 784 ( tan tan = = = =
y x
y
x
T T
T
T
(b) The radial acceleration is from
2
m/s 857 . 0
kg 80.0
N) 6 . 68 (
= = =
m
T
a
x
c

(c) The radius of the circle is m 0.872 ) m)sin(5.00 0 . 10 ( sin = = = L r .
The time to complete one circuit is the period T.
T
r
v
2
= so
s 34 . 6
m/s 0.857
m 872 . 0
2 2
4
4 1 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
= = =
=
=

= =

c
c
c
a
r
T
a
r
T
T
r
r T
r
r
v
a

- 1 -
Assignment 6 - Solutions
2. Chapter 6, Problem 16. One end of cord is
fixed and a small 0.500 kg object is attached
to the other end, where it swings in a section
of a vertical circle of radius 2.00 m as shown
in Figure 6.9. When =20.0, the speed of
the object is 8.00 m/s
2
. At this instant find
(a) the tension in the string, (b) the tangential
and radial components of the acceleration,
and (c) the total acceleration. (d) Is your
answer changed if the object is swinging up
instead of down? Explain.
Solution:
An FBD of the forces on the object at the position
where =20.0 is shown at right.
T
mg

x
y
a
a
r
a
t

a
(a) Choosing the coordinate system as shown, we know that
the component of the acceleration in the +y direction is the
centripetal acceleration a
c
. Therefore:

= =
t x
ma mg F sin

= = = =
R
v
m ma ma mg T F
c r y
2
cos
From :
N 6 . 20
) 0 . 20 cos( ) m/s 80 . 9 (
m) 00 . 2 (
) m/s (8.00
kg) 500 . 0 (
cos
2
2 2
2
=

+ =

+ = g
r
v
m T


(b) The radial component of the acceleration is, from ,
2 2
m/s 0 . 32 ) 0 . 20 cos( ) m/s 80 . 9 (
kg) (0.500
N) 6 . 20 (
cos
cos
= = =

g
m
T
m
mg T
a
c

The tangential component of the acceleration is, from ,
2 2
m/s 35 . 3 ) 0 . 20 sin( ) m/s 80 . 9 ( sin = = = g a
t


(c) The total acceleration is
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
m/s 2 . 32 ) m/s 35 . 3 ( ) m/s 0 . 32 ( = + = + =
t r
a a a
At an angle given by, = = = 98 . 5
m/s 0 . 32
m/s 35 . 3
tan
2
2
a
r
t
a
a
a
down from a radius towards
the centre.

(d) If the object is swinging up instead of down the speed is the same so a
c
is the same.
Also the FBD is the same so a
t
is also the same.
- 2 -
Assignment 6 - Solutions
3. Chapter 6, Problem 22. A student stands in an elevator that is continuously
accelerating upward with acceleration a. Her backpack is sitting on the floor next
to one wall. The width of the elevator car is L. The student gives her backpack a
quick kick at t =0, imparting to it a [initial] speed v and making it slide across the
elevator floor. At time t, the backpack hits the opposite wall. Find [an expression
for] the coefficient of kinetic friction
k
between the backpack and the elevator
floor. [Hint: Be sure to analyse this problem from the point of view of an inertial
reference frame. In such a frame the acceleration of the backpack will have two
components, in the vertical and horizontal directions.]
Solution:
In an inertial frame of reference fixed to the
Earth:
a
x
y
mg
n
f
k
Elevator
Backpack
a a
y
= since the backpack moves up with the
elevator.
FBD of forces on backpack:

= =
x k x
ma f F

= = = ma ma mg n F
y y

And we know that:
n f
k k
=

Now consider motion of the backpack:
t =0
t
x
y
L
t t a
v v v
L x x
x
xf xi
f i
= =
= =
= =
?,
? ,
, 0

So:
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
) ( 2
t
vt L
a
t a vt L
t a t v x x
x
x
x xi i f

=
+ =
+ + =


Now we can combine these equations to solve
for
k
.
From : ) ( g a m mg ma n + = + =
So: ) ( g a m n f
k k k
+ = =
Then becomes:
x k
ma g a m = + ) (
) (
) ( 2
) ( 2
) (
2
2
g a t
L vt
t
vt L
a g a
k
x k
+

= = +

- 3 -
Assignment 6 - Solutions
4. Assume a soft ball and a baseball have the same mass and that the soft ball has a
diameter that is 1.5 times larger than the baseball. Both are dropped from the
same height at the same time. If we do not ignore air resistance which ball will
reach the ground first?
(A) The baseball.
(B) The soft ball.
(C) Both will reach the ground at the same time.
(D) It is impossible to say without knowing the densities of the two balls.
(E) There is no way to determine the answer even if we had more information
since we have only learned about motion ignoring air resistance.
Solution:
Since at the terminal velocity the drag force is equal to the weight:
A D
mg
v mg Av D
T T

2
2
1
2
= =
Since both balls have the same mass the one with the smaller cross-sectional area A will
have the larger terminal velocity and so is likely to reach the ground first.
A will be smaller for the baseball since its diameter is smaller.
Therefore answer is A.


5. Chapter 6, Problem 30. The mass of a sports car is 1200 kg. The shape of the
body is such that the aerodynamic drag coefficient is 0.250 and the frontal area is
2.20 m
2
. Ignoring all other types of friction, calculate the initial acceleration the
car has if it has been travelling at 100 km/h and is now shifted to neutral and
allowed to coast. [Use 1.20 kg/m
3
as the density of air at about 20C.]
Solution:
If the only friction is that with the air then the net horizontal force on the car is the drag
force , where a is the magnitude of the cars acceleration, which in the opposite
direction to its motion.
ma R =
Therefore:
m
Av D
a
ma Av D R
2
2
1
2
2

=
= =

m/s 7.8 2
s 3600
h 1
km 1
m 1000
km/h 100 =

= v
2
2 2 2
m/s 213 . 0
kg) 1200 ( 2
m/s) 8 . 27 )( m 20 . 2 )( kg/m 20 . 1 )( 250 . 0 (
= = a


- 4 -
Assignment 6 - Solutions
6. Chapter 7, Problem 4. A raindrop of mass 3.35 10
5
kg falls vertically at
constant speed under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Model the drop
as a particle. As it falls 100 m, what is the work done on the raindrop (a) by the
gravitational force and (b) by air resistance? [You may assume that the raindrop is
falling at its terminal velocity for the full 100 m.]
Solution:
We assume the raindrop is falling at its terminal velocity so its acceleration is zero.
FBD of forces on raindrop:
mg
R
r
Since a =0
R mg = 0 R = mg

(a)

J 10 28 . 3
m)(1) 100 )( m/s kg)(9.80 10 35 . 3 (
) 0 cos( ) (
2
2 5
gravity

=
=
= r mg W
(b)
J 10 28 . 3
) 1 )( m 100 )( m/s kg)(9.80 10 35 . 3 (
) 180 cos(
) 180 cos(
2
2 5
resistance air

=
=
=
=
r mg
r R W



7. If the scalar product of two vectors A and B is AB =0. We can conclude that
(A) either A =0 or B =0.
(B) A points in the opposite direction to B.
(C) A is perpendicular to B.
(D) either A =0 or B =0 or A is perpendicular to B.
(E) A points in the same direction to B.
Solution:
Since AB =ABcos , it will be zero if either A =0, or B =0, or =90 or 270 (i.e A
and B are perpendicular.
Therefore answer is D.

- 5 -
Assignment 6 - Solutions
8. Chapter 7, Problem 8. Find the scalar
product of the vectors in Figure P7.8.
x
y
32.8 N
17.3 cm/s
132
118

A
B
Solution:
From the diagram the angle between the vectors is
=270 118 132 =20
AB =ABcos
=(32.8 N)(17.3 cm/s) cos(20)
=533 Ncm/s
=533 Ncm/s (1 m/100 cm)
=5.33 Nm/s
=5.33 J /s




9. Chapter 7, Problem 10. For , and ,
find .
k j i A

3 + = k j i B

+ + = k j C

2 =
) ( B A C
Solution:
k j i k j i k j i B A

6

4 )

( )

3 ( = + + + =
So
16
18 1
) 6 )( 3 ( ) 1 )( 2 ( ) 4 )( 0 (
)

6

4 ( )

2 ( ) (
=
+ =
+ + =
= k j i k j B A C

- 6 -
Assignment 6 - Solutions
10. Chapter 7, Problem 12. The force acting on a particle is F
x
=(8x 16) N, where
x is in meters. (a) Make a plot of this force versus x from x =0 to x =3.00 m. (b)
From your graph, find the net work done by this force on the particle as it moves
from x =0 to x =3.00 m.
Solution:
(a) Plot:

x (m)
F
x
(N)
1 2 3
10
20
0
+10
W
1
W
2
(0 m, 16 N)
(3 m, 8 N)
F
x
=(8x 16) N
(b) Net work done by this force is the area under the F
x
verses x curve.
That area is the area
2 1
W W W + =
J 16 m) 2 )( N 16 (
2
1
1
= = W
J 4 m) 1 )( N 8 (
2
1
2
+ = = W
Therefore Total Work is J 12 J 4 J 16
2 1
= + = + = W W W

- 7 -
Assignment 6 - Solutions
11. The force on an object moving along the x-axis varies as shown in the graph.
What is the work done by this force as the object moves from x =0 to x =x
1
?
(A) F
1
x
1

x
F
x
x
1
F
1
0
(B) 2F
1
x
1

(C) F
1
x
1

(D) F
1
x
1
2

(E) 0
Solution:
Work done by this force is the area under t
F
he
x
verses x curve =area of the shaded
triangle in the figure =
1 1
2
1
F x .
Therefore answer is C.
- 8 -