2022 F = ma Exam A 1

AAPT UNITED STATES PHYSICS TEAM

AIP 2022

2022 F = ma Exam A

25 QUESTIONS - 75 MINUTES

INSTRUCTIONS
DO NOT OPEN THIS TEST UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO BEGIN

• Use g = 10 N/kg throughout this contest.

• You may write in this booklet of questions. However, you will not receive any credit for anything
written in this booklet. You may only use the scratch paper provided by the proctor.

• This test contains 25 multiple choice questions. Select the answer that provides the best response
to each question. Please be sure to use a No.2 pencil and completely fill the box corresponding
to your choice. If you change an answer, the previous mark must be completely erased. Only the
boxes preceded by numbers 1 through 25 are to be used on the answer sheet.

• All questions are equally weighted, but are not necessarily of the same level of difficulty.

• Correct answers will be awarded one point; incorrect answers or leaving an answer blank will be
awarded zero points. There is no additional penalty for incorrect answers.

• A hand-held calculator may be used. Its memory must be cleared of data and programs. You may
use only the basic functions found on a simple scientific calculator. Calculators may not be shared.
Cell phones may not be used during the exam or while the exam papers are present. You may not
use any tables, books, or collections of formulas.

• The question booklet, answer sheet and scratch paper will be collected at the end of this exam.

• In order to maintain exam security, do not communicate any information about the
questions (or their answers or solutions) on this contest until after February 25, 2022.

DO NOT OPEN THIS TEST UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO BEGIN

We acknowledge the following people for their contributions to this year’s exams (in alphabetical order):

Tengiz Bibilashvili, Abi Krishnan, Andrew Lin, Kris Lui, Kye Shi, Brian Skinner, Mike Winer and Kevin Zhou

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 2

1. A projectile is thrown upward with speed v. By the time its speed has decreased to v/2, it has risen a
height h. Neglecting air resistance, what is the maximum height reached by the projectile?

5h 4h 3h
(A) B (C) (D) 2h (E) 3h
4 3 2

We use the basic kinematic equation v 2 − vf2 = 2g∆y. The maximum height is v 2 /2g, while the height
reached by the time the speed falls to v/2 is h = (1 − 1/4)(v 2 /2g). Therefore, the maximum height is
4h/3.

2. A car is moving at 60 miles per hour (mph), when the driver notices an obstacle ahead. Hitting the
brakes, the driver decelerates at a constant rate, and manages to come to a stop just barely before hitting
the obstacle. If the car had instead been moving at 70 mph, and started decelerating at the same place
and at the same rate, with what speed would it have hit the obstacle?

(A) 10 mph
(B) 14 mph
(C) 28 mph
D 36 mph
(E) There is not enough information to decide.

For an object decelerating at a constant rate a over a distance d, the initial and final velocities, vf and vi ,
are related by vf2 = vi2 − 2ad. In the case where the car was traveling with an initial speed v1 = 60 mph,
this equation gives v12 = 2ad. In the case where the car was traveling
√ with an initial speed v2 = 70 mph,
2 2 2 2 2
this equation gives vf = v2 − 2ad. Thus, vf = v2 − v1 , or vf = 70 − 602 ≈ 36 mph.
2

3. Two blocks of mass m have an inelastic one-dimensional collision. Initially, the first block is moving with
speed 5 m/s, and the second is at rest. After the collision, the first block is moving with speed 2 m/s.
What percentage of the system’s original kinetic energy was lost during the collision?

(A) 16% (B) 42% C 48% (D) 52% (E) 84%

We must consider two cases: either the first block is traveling in the same direction as before, or in the
opposite direction. If it is traveling in the opposite direction, the other block must have speed 7 m/s by
momentum conservation, so the kinetic energy is higher than before the collision, which is impossible.
Therefore, the other block has speed 3 m/s, so the fraction of energy lost is (52 − 22 − 32 )/52 = 48%.

4. A mass on an ideal pendulum is released from rest at point I. It swings over to point II, at which point
the string suddenly breaks. Which of the following shows the trajectory of the mass?

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 3

I II

(E)
(D)
(A)
(C)
B

When the string breaks, the mass has zero velocity by energy conservation, so it just falls straight down.
Thus, the answer is (B).

5. A uniform solid ball with mass m = 1 kg and radius R = 10 cm rolls without slipping on a horizontal
plane, so that its center of mass has velocity v = 1 m/s. What is the ball’s total kinetic energy?

(A) 0.2 J (B) 0.5 J C 0.7 J (D) 1 J (E) 1.4 J

The translational kinetic energy is 12 mv 2 = 0.5 J. The rotational kinetic energy is 12 Iω 2 , where I = 25 mR2
is the moment of inertia of a uniform ball. Using ω = v/r gives a rotational kinetic energy of 51 mv 2 = 0.2 J,
for a total of 0.7 J.

6. A bob of mass m hangs from a rigid, massless rod, forming an ideal pendulum. The rod is held horizontally
and released from rest. What is its maximum tension during its swing?

3
(A) mg (B) mg (C) 2mg D 3mg (E) 4mg
2

The maximum tension occurs at the bottom of the swing. If the pendulum has length ℓ, then by energy
conservation,
mv 2
= mgℓ.
2
Thus, the centripetal acceleration at the bottom is

mv 2
= 2mg.
ℓ
The tension plus the weight together provide this centripetal acceleration, so the tension is 3mg.

7. The following graph shows the results of measurements of two physical quantities, y and x. What is the
following best describes the functional dependence of y on x? Below, A and B are positive constants.

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 4

y
100

10

1 x
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

(A) y = Ax + B (B) y = −Ax + B (C) y = A/xB (D) y = AeBx E y = Ae−Bx

The plot shows a linear relationship between x and log y, which means that y is an exponential in x. Since
y decreases as x increases, the asnwer must be (E).

8. A block of mass m is placed on a wedge of mass m, inclined at an angle θ to the horizontal.

m
θ

The coefficients of friction between the block and wedge, and the wedge and ground, are high enough for
both the block and the wedge to remain static. What is the magnitude of the friction force of the ground
on the wedge?

(A) mg sin θ (B) mg cos θ (C) mg sin θ cos θ (D) mg tan θ E 0

Gravity exerts a force mg downward on the block, which means that the wedge must exert a force mg
upward on the block. Thus, the block exerts a force mg downward on the wedge, and gravity also exerts
a force mg downward on the wedge. Since these forces have no horizontal components, no friction with
the ground is necessary to keep the wedge static.

9. A person is holding a massless rope, on which hangs a mass m, as shown at left. To pull the end of the
rope with constant upward velocity v, the person must exert a force Fv . To pull the end of the rope with
constant upward acceleration a, the person must exert a force Fa . Now the rope is wrapped around a
fixed, massless pulley, and the mass is doubled to 2m, as shown at right.

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 5

F F

m
2m

Compared to the original setup, how do the forces Fv and Fa needed to pull the end of the rope with a
given upward velocity and acceleration change? In both cases, ignore friction and air resistance.

A Fv stays the same, and Fa decreases.

(B) Both Fv and Fa stay the same.
(C) Fv stays the same, and Fa increases.
(D) Fv increases, and Fa stays the same.
(E) Both Fv and Fa increase.

To pull the rope with constant velocity, the forces on the mass must be balanced, which means Fv = mg
originally, and Fv = 2mg/2 = mg with the pulley, so Fv stays the same. In the original setup, the
acceleration of the mass must be a, so we have Fa = m(g + a). With the pulley, the acceleration
of the mass only needs to be a/2, and furthermore any extra force acting on it is doubled. We have
2m(g + a/2) = 2Fa , which means Fa = m(g + a/2), which is smaller than before.

10. The two ends of a uniform rod of length 2L are hung on massless strings of length L.

L L

2L

If the strings are attached to the ceiling, and the rod is pulled a small distance horizontally and released
as shown, what is the period of oscillation?
r r r r r
L 7L 4L 2L 7L
A 2π (B) 2π (C) 2π (D) 2π (E) 2π
g 6g 3g g 3g

The sum of the tension forces on this pendulum act exactly likep
the tension force on an ordinary pendulum
of length L. Thus, the period of oscillation must still be 2π L/g. (Unlike a physical pendulum, the
moment of inertia of the rod doesn’t matter, because it never rotates about its center.)

11. Two identical spherically symmetric planets, each of mass M , are somehow held at rest with respect to
each other. Each planet has radius R, and the distance between the centers of the planets is 4R. If a
rocket is launched from the surface of one planet with speed v, what is the minimum speed v so that the
rocket can reach the other planet?

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 6
r r r r r
2GM GM 3GM 2GM GM
(A) (B) (C) D (E)
R R 4R 3R 2R

The gravitational force vanishes at the midway point between the planets, so the rocket only needs to
have enough energy to get there. The initial and final gravitational potential energies are
GM m GM m 4 GM m 2GM m GM m
Ui = − − =− , Uf = − =− .
R 3R 3 R 2R R
Thus, the initial kinetic energy needed is
1 GM m
mv 2 = Uf − Ui =
2 3R
which implies r
2GM
v= .
3R

12. A pulley is constructed by attaching two concentric cylinders, with the larger cylinder having twice the
radius. Ropes are wrapped around both cylinders, a mass m is hung from each rope, and the system is
released from rest.

m m

Neglect the masses of the cylinders and ropes. Each mass experiences both a gravitational and a tension
force. If the net force experienced by the left mass is F1 , and the net force experienced by the right mass
is F2 , what is the ratio F2 /F1 ?

1 1
(A) (B) (C) 1 D 2 (E) 4
4 2

This unusual pulley is called a windlass. Since a = Rα and the right mass is wound around a cylinder of
twice the radius, the right mass has twice the acceleration. Since F = ma, we have F2 /F1 = 2.

13. Consider a laptop made of two identical uniform plates, each of mass m/2, connected by a hinge. The
hinge is locked when the screen makes an angle θ to the vertical, as shown, fixing the angle between the
two pieces.

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 7

Assuming the laptop does not slip, what is the minimum force that can be exerted on the top of the
laptop, in the plane of the page, to cause the bottom of the laptop to lift off the ground?

mg(1 − sin θ) mg(cos θ + sin θ) mg(1 − sin θ)

(A) (B) C
2 2 4
mg(1 + sin θ) mg(cos θ + sin θ)
(D) (E)
4 4

When the bottom of the laptop is about to lift off, the normal force is concentrated at the hinge, so we
take torques about that point. If the plates have length ℓ, the net torque due to gravity is (mg/2)(ℓ/2 −
(ℓ/2) sin θ), while the torque due to the applied force is F ℓ. Therefore, F = (mg/4)(1 − sin θ).

14. A small block is released from rest on the rim of a fixed, frictionless hemispherical bowl.

From the time the block is released, until it reaches the bottom of the bowl, which of the following is true?

I. The speed of the block never decreases.

II. The magnitude of the horizontal component of the velocity of the block never decreases.
III. The magnitude of the vertical component of the velocity of the block never decreases.

(A) Only I. (B) Only III. C I and II. (D) I and III. (E) I, II, and III.

Choice III isn’t true, because the vertical velocity starts at zero and ends at zero, so its magnitude must
increase and then decrease. Choice I is true because the block is never moving upward, so its potential
energy never increases. Choice II is true because the only horizontal force the block experiences is the
horizontal component of the normal force, which never points to the left.

15. An egg is launched with speed v from the ground, a distance d from a vertical wall.

h
v θ

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 8

If v is high enough for the egg to hit the wall, which of the following could describe the angle θ that
maximizes the height h at which the egg hits the wall?

v2 v2 gd gd v2
(A) sin θ = B tan θ = (C) sin 2θ = (D) cos θ = (E) sin 2θ =
gd gd 2v 2 v2 gd

This problem is meant to be solved with limiting cases. When v → ∞, we should have θ → 90◦ . This
rules out choices (A) and (E). When v 2 = gd, it is just barely possible to hit the wall at all, and the
projectile must be launched at θ = 45◦ to do this. This rules out choices (C) and (D), leaving choice (B).

16. A hexagonal pencil of uniform density lies at rest on a horizontal table. It is pushed horizontally with a
steadily increasing force halfway up its height, as shown.

What is the minimum value of the coefficient of static friction between the floor and pencil, so that the
pencil will eventually begin to roll?
√ √
1 1 3 3
(A) 0 (B) (C) D (E)
3 2 3 2

If the pencil is about to start rolling, the normal force on it will be concentrated at the far end of the
pencil. Taking torques about this point, the torque of the applied force √ must balance the torque due√to
gravity. If the pencil has side length r, then this implies mg(r/2) = F ( 3 r/2), which implies F = mg/√ 3.
For the pencil to be able to roll, the pencil must not be slipping at this point, which implies µs > 1/ 3.

17. A thin rod has a nonuniform density. It is mounted on an axle passing perpendicular to it, through its
center of mass, as shown, and is then rotated about the axle.

CM

The axle divides the rod into two parts, one on each side of it. Which of the following must be true, no
matter how the mass in the rod is distributed?

(A) The two parts have the same mass.

B The magnitudes of the momenta of the two parts are equal.
(C) The magnitudes of the angular momenta of the two parts, about the center of mass, are equal.
(D) The kinetic energies of the two parts are equal.
(E) At least two of the above are true.

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 9

For simplicity, let’s suppose the rod is made of discrete masses, though the reasoning is exactly the same
if the rod is continuous. By the definition of the center of mass, if ri is the distance of mass mi from the
center of mass, then X X
mi ri = mi ri .
i left i right

The total mass, momentum, angular momentum, and kinetic energy are
X X X X X X X
mi , m i vi = ω mi ri , mi vi ri = ω mi ri2 , mi vi2 /2 = (ω 2 /2) mi ri2 .
i i i i i i i

Only the momentum has the sum of the same form, so the magnitudes of the momenta are equal, and in
general none of the other quantities are equal. (Another easy way to tell that the momenta are equal is
that they must be opposite, because we know the total momentum of the rod is zero.)

18. A cylindrical piece of cork of density ρc , height hc , and cross-sectional area Ac is in a larger empty
cylindrical container of cross-sectional area Aw . Water of density ρw > ρc is slowly poured into the empty
container. What is the height of the water in the container when the cork starts to float?

hc ρc Ac hc ρc hc ρw hc ρc Ac hc ρc A2c
(A) B (C) (D) (E)
ρ w Aw ρw ρc ρw (Aw − Ac ) ρw A2w

We will show two alternative solutions.

Archimedes’ principle: The weight of the water displaced has to equal the weight of the cork for the cork
to start floating. If the height of the water in the container is H, then the weight of the displaced water is

ρw gAc H.

The weight of the cork is

ρc gAh.
Therefore, we require
ρc h
H= .
ρw
Energy: The cork will start floating once the potential energy increase from adding water with the cork
touching the bottom of the container is larger than the potential energy increase from the cork floating.
Suppose we add a volume of water ∆V to the container, when the water level is already H. The former
costs energy
Eno float = ρw ∆V gH.
The latter costs energy
Efloat = ρc Ac hg∆s = ρc ∆V gh,
where ∆s = ∆V /Ac is the rise in the cork’s height. Equating the two energies gives us the same result:
H = ρc h/ρw .

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 10

19. A toy elephant is standing on the bottom of a fish tank. The fish tank is filled with water to a depth of
10 cm, completely covering the toy. The elephant’s legs are perfectly polished, so that there is no water
between the bottom of the legs and the tank’s floor, and the total area of contact is 0.16 cm2 . The water
has density ρ = 103 kg/m3 , the toy has uniform density 2ρ, the atmospheric pressure is Patm = 105 Pa,
and the toy has total mass 120 g. What is the total hydrostatic force that the water exerts on the toy?

10 cm

A 1 N, down (B) 0.6 N, down (C) 0 N (D) 0.6 N, up (E) 1 N, up

If the elephant’s legs weren’t perfectly polished, then the buoyant force would be equal to the weight of
the water displaced. Since the elephant’s density is twice that as water, the force would be mg/2 = 0.6 N
upward.
However, since the elephant’s legs perfectly contact the floor, they experience no upward hydrostatic
pressure. Therefore, we should subtract an upward force ρgh + Patm A ≈ Patm A = 1.6 N, which means the
net hydrostatic force is 1 N downward.

20. A bead is threaded on a frictionless wire and launched horizontally from height h with speed v0 , as shown.
If the shape of the wire is steep, as in curve I, then the normal force from the wire on the bead will point
inward. If it is shallow, as in curve II, then the normal force will point outward.

v0

N
h
N

I II

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 11

There is exactly one possible shape of wire, shown as a dotted line, for which the normal force of the wire
on the bead is always equal to zero. What is the horizontal displacement d of the bead when it travels
along this wire?
r r r r r
4g 2h h h h
(A) v0 B v0 (C) v0 (D) v0 (E) v0
h g g 2g 4g

If the normal force always vanishes, then the bead is only experiencing gravity. In other words, it behaves
just p
like a projectile, and the corresponding shape of the
p wire is a parabola. The bead travels for a time
t = 2h/g, so the horizontal displacement is v0 t = v0 2h/g.

21. A cork floating in a cup filled with a viscous fluid is placed in an elevator. Below is a plot of the velocity v
of the elevator as a function of time t. Which of the following plots best describes the height h of the cork
in the cup as a function of time? Assume that the fluid is viscous enough to dampen all oscillations, that
the fluid does not slosh as the elevator accelerates, and that both the cork and fluid are incompressible.

h h h

(A) t (B) t (C) t

h h

(D) t E t

By Archimedes’ principle, the fraction submerged only depends on the ratio of densities between the cork
and the fluid, so the answer is (E).
The statement of Archimedes’ principle is that the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the water
displaced, and the cork floats when its weight equals the buoyant force. The elevator’s acceleration affects
the buoyant force and cork weight equally in the noninertial frame of the elevator (both forces are weights),
so the fraction submerged does not change.

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 12

22. A block of mass 2m is placed symmetrically on two identical wedges of mass m, as shown.

2m

θ θ
m m

All surfaces are frictionless, and the wedges have angle θ to the vertical. If the system is released from
rest, what is the downward acceleration of the block?

(A) g sin θ (B) g sin(2θ) (C) g cos θ (D) g cos(2θ) E g cos2 θ

If the block is moving down with speed v, then the wedges need to be moving with speed v tan θ. This
means the total kinetic energy is
1 1 1 2m 2
K = (2m)v 2 + 2 m(v tan θ)2 = v .
2 2 2 cos2 θ
This is the same energy as an object of mass meff = 2m/ cos2 θ would have alone. But when the block
moves down by an amount ∆h, a gravitational potential energy 2mg∆h = meff (g cos2 θ)∆h is released.
Thus, the acceleration is g cos2 θ.

23. For objects moving through air, the force of air resistance can be modeled as proportional to the speed
(“linear drag”) or proportional to the square of the speed (“quadratic drag”), depending on the circum-
stances. Two identical objects, A and B, are dropped from the same height h simultaneously, but object
A is given an initial horizontal velocity v. The objects hit the ground at times tA and tB . Accounting for
air resistance, which of the following is true?

(A) For both linear drag and quadratic drag, tA = tB .

(B) For linear drag, tA > tB , while for quadratic drag, tA = tB .
C For linear drag, tA = tB , while for quadratic drag, tA > tB .
(D) For both linear drag and quadratic drag, tA > tB .
(E) For both linear drag and quadratic drag, the answer depends on v and h.

For linear drag, the horizontal and vertical components of the motion are completely independent,

ax = −bvx , ay = −g − bvy

for some drag coefficient b. That means the time to hit the ground, which depends on the vertical motion,
is independent of the initial horizontal velocity, so tA = tB . On the other hand, for quadratic drag,

ay = −g − bvy |v|

which means the upward drag force is larger when the horizontal velocity is larger, so tA > tB .

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers

 2022 F = ma Exam A 13

24. A satellite is in orbit around a planet of mass M . q Its maximum distance from the center of the planet is
d, and at this point, it is traveling at a speed of 2 GM
1
d . What is the area of the satellite’s orbit?
r r r r r
8 2 4 1 2 1 2 2 8 1 2 2 2 2
(A) πd2 B πd (C) πd (D) πd (E) πd
15 15 7 7 3 3 7 7 3 3

This problem can be solved in many ways; we will show two alternative solutions.
Geometry: By conserving angular momentum and energy, we find that the distance of closest approach
to the planet is d/7. By the√basic geometrical properties of ellipses, the√semimajor axis is a = 4d/7 and
the semiminor axis is b = d/ 7. The area of an ellipse is πab = 4πd2 /7 7.
Kepler’s laws: By the vis-viva equation (or by the same steps as in the previous solution), the semimajor
64d3
axis is a = 4d/7. By Kepler’s third law, the period T obeys T 2 = 4π 2 343GM . Finally, by Kepler’s
√
second law, the satellite sweeps out area at a constant rate, which is initially dA/dt = vd/2 = 14 GM d.
Therefore,
dA 4πd2
A=T = √ .
dt 7 7

25. A cylinder is placed with its axis vertical, and a rubber band of mass m and tension T is wrapped
horizontally around it. What is the minimum coefficient of static friction µ between the rubber band and
the cylinder such that the band will not slide down the cylinder?

mg mg 4mg 2πmg 2m2 g 2

A (B) (C) (D) (E)
2πT T T T T2

Suppose the band has area A and normal force exerts a pressure P outward on the band. Imagine
expanding the band slightly, so its radius increases by a small amount ∆r. The volume enclosed by the
band increases by A∆r, whereas its length increases by 2π∆r. But because the band is in mechanical
equilibrium, the total work done
W = P A ∆r − T · 2π∆r
must be zero. Thus the outward pressure is
2πT
P =
A

Now, focus on any small patch of the band of area Ap . Because the band is uniform, the weight of this
patch is proportional to its area:
Ap
Fg = mg
A
The normal force on the patch is P Ap , so the force of static friction satisfies

Ap
Ff ≤ µ · 2πT
A
Thus static friction can balance gravity (Ff = Fg ) if
mg
µ≥ .
2πT

Copyright ©2022 American Association of Physics Teachers