Addis Ababa University

Department of Physics
Phys 1011 Worksheet II
Conceptual Questions
1. (a) If the momentum of a single point object is equal to zero, must the object’s kinetic
energy also be zero? (b) If the momentum of a pair of point objects is equal to zero,
must the kinetic energy of those objects also be zero? (c) If the kinetic energy of a pair
of point objects is equal to zero, must the momentum of those objects also be zero?
Explain your reasoning in each case.
2. In a completely inelastic collision between two objects, where the objects stick together
after the collision, is it possible for the final kinetic energy of the system to be zero? If
so, give an example in which this would occur. If the final kinetic energy is zero, what
must the initial momentum of the system be? Is the initial kinetic energy of the system
zero? Explain.
3. A machine gun is fired at a steel plate. Is the average force on the plate from the bullet
impact greater if the bullets bounce off or if they are squashed and stick to the plate?
Explain.
4. You put a bottle of soft drink in a refrigerator and leave it until its temperature has
dropped 10.0 K. What is its temperature change in (a) ℉ and (b) ℃?
5. It is well known that a potato bakes faster if a large nail is stuck through it. Why? Does
an aluminum nail work better than a steel one? Why or why not?
6. Steel train rails are laid in 12.0-m-long segments placed end to end. The rails are laid on
a winter day when their temperature is -9.0 ℃. How much space must be left between
adjacent rails if they are just to touch on a summer day when their temperature is 33.0
℃?
7. An ideal gas expands while the pressure is kept constant. During this process, does heat
flow into the gas or out of the gas? Justify your answer.
8. An object is moving with SHM of amplitude A on the end of a spring. If the amplitude is
doubled, what happens to the total distance the object travels in one period? What
happens to the period? What happens to the maximum speed of the object? Discuss
how these answers are related.
9. If a pendulum clock is taken to a mountaintop, does it gain or lose time, assuming it is
correct at a lower elevation? Explain.
10. What should you do to the length of the string of a simple pendulum to (a) double its
frequency; (b) double its period; (c) double its angular frequency?
11. Two metal spheres are hanging from nylon threads. When you bring the spheres close
to each other, they tend to attract. Based on this information alone, discuss all the
possible ways that the spheres could be charged. Is it possible that after the spheres
touch, they will cling together? Explain.
12. A point charge of mass m and charge Q and another point charge of mass m but charge
2Q are released on a frictionless table. If the charge Q has an initial acceleration a0 ,
what will be the acceleration of 2Q : a0 , 2a0 , 4a0 , a0 /2, or a0 /4? Explain.
13. Good conductors of electricity, such as metals, are typically good conductors of heat;
insulators, such as wood, are typically poor conductors of heat. Explain why there is a

1
 relationship between conduction of electricity and conduction of heat in these
materials.
14. Lightning occurs when there is a flow of electric charge (principally electrons) between
the ground and a thundercloud. The maximum rate of charge flow in a lightning bolt is
about 20,000 C/s; this lasts for 100 𝜇s or less. How much charge flows between the
ground and the cloud in this time? How many electrons flow during this time?
15. A proton is placed in a uniform electric field and then released. Then an electron is
placed at this same point and released. Do these two particles experience the same
force? The same acceleration? Do they move in the same direction when released?
16. Two protons are released from rest when they are 0.750 nm apart. (a) What is the
maximum speed they will reach? When does this speed occur? (b) What is the
maximum acceleration they will achieve? When does this acceleration occur?
17. Which way do electric field lines point, from high to low potential or from low to high?
Explain.
18. A uniform electric field is directed due east. Point B is 2.00 m west of point A, point C is
2.00 m east of point A, and point D is 2.00 m south of A. For each point, B, C, and D, is
the potential at that point larger, smaller, or the same as at point A? Give the reasoning
behind your answers.
19. A cylindrical rod has resistance R. If we triple its length and diameter, what is its
resistance, in terms of R?
20. In which 120-V light bulb does the filament have greater resistance: a 60-W bulb or a
120-W bulb? If the two bulbs are connected to a 120-V line in series, through which bulb
will there be the greater voltage drop? What if they are connected in parallel? Explain
your reasoning.

2
 Problems
1. Two identical 0.900-kg masses are pressed against opposite ends of a light spring of
force constant 1.75 N/cm, compressing the spring by 20.0 cm from its normal length.
Find the speed of each mass when it has moved free of the spring on a frictionless,
horizontal table.
2. A 15.0-kg block is attached to a very
light horizontal spring of force
constant 500.0 N/m and is resting
on a frictionless horizontal table.
Suddenly it is struck by a 3.00-kg
stone traveling horizontally at 8.00
m/s to the right, whereupon the
stone rebounds at 2.00 m/s
horizontally to the left. Find the
maximum distance that the block
will compress the spring after the
collision.

3. A 5.00-kg chunk of ice is sliding at 12.0 m/s on the floor of an ice-covered valley when it
collides with and sticks to another 5.00-kg chunk of ice that is initially at rest (see the
diagram). Since the valley is icy, there is no friction. After the collision, how high above
the valley floor will the combined chunks go?

4. Three odd-shaped blocks of chocolate have the following masses and center-of-mass
coordinates: (1) 0.300 kg, (10.200 m, 0.300 m); (2) 0.400 kg, (10.100 m, -0.400 m); (3)
0.200 kg, (-0.300 m, 0.600 m). Find the coordinates of the center of mass of the system
of three chocolate blocks.
5. One thermometer is calibrated in degrees Celsius, and another in degrees Fahrenheit. At
what temperature is the reading on the thermometer calibrated in degrees Celsius three
times the reading on the other thermometer?
6. A piece of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) sitting in a classroom has a temperature of
approximately –79 °C.
a. What is this temperature in kelvins?
b. What is this temperature in degrees Fahrenheit?
7. A 2.0 kg metal object with a temperature of 90 °C is submerged in 1.0 kg of water at 20
°C. The water-metal system reaches equilibrium at 32 °C. What is the specific heat of the
metal?
8. You are given a sample of metal and asked to determine its specific heat. You weigh the
sample and find that its weight is 28.4 N. You carefully add 1.25 x 104 J of heat energy to

3
 the sample and find that its temperature rises18.0oC. What is the sample’s specific
heat?
9. A 200 g piece of copper at a temperature of 450 K and a 100 g piece of aluminum at a
temperature of 200 K are dropped into an insulated bucket containing 500 g of water at
280 K. What is the equilibrium temperature of the mixture?
10. A 15.0-g bullet traveling horizontally at 865 m/s passes through a tank containing 13.5
kg of water and emerges with a speed of 534 m/s. What is the maximum temperature
increase that the water could have as a result of this event?
11. How much heat is required to convert 12.0 g of ice at -10.0oC to steam at 100.0oC.
Express your answer in joules, calories, and Btu.
12. An insulated beaker with negligible mass contains 0.250 kg of water at a temperature of
75.0oC. How many kilograms of ice at a temperature of -20.0oC must be dropped into
the water to make the final temperature of the system at 40.0oC?
13. The displacement of an oscillating object as a function of time is shown below. What are
(a) the frequency; (b) the amplitude; (c) the period; (d) the angular frequency of this
motion?

14. When a body of unknown mass is attached to an ideal spring with force constant 120
N/m, it is found to vibrate with a frequency of 6.00 Hz. Find (a) the period of the motion;
(b) the angular frequency; (c) the mass of the body.
15. An object is undergoing SHM with period 0.900 s and amplitude 0.320 m. At t = 0, the
object is at x = 0.320 m and is instantaneously at rest. Calculate the time it takes the
object to go (a) from x = 0.320 m to x = 0.160 m and (b) from x = 0.160 m to x = 0.

16. A 1.50-kg mass on a spring has displacement as a function of time given by the equation

𝑥(𝑡) = (7.40 𝑐𝑚)cos [(4.16 𝑠 −1 )𝑡 − 2.42].

Find (a) the time for one complete vibration; (b) the force constant of the spring; (c) the
maximum speed of the mass; (d) the maximum force on the mass; (e) the position,
speed, and acceleration of the mass at t = 1.00 s; (f) the force on the mass at that time.
17. A small block is attached to an ideal spring and is moving in SHM on a horizontal,
frictionless surface. The amplitude of the motion is 0.250 m and the period is 3.20 s.
What are the speed and acceleration of the block when x = 0.160 m?
18. A mass is oscillating with amplitude A at the end of a spring. How far (in terms of A) is
this mass from the equilibrium position of the spring when the elastic potential energy
equals the kinetic energy?

4
19. Two small plastic spheres are given positive electrical charges. When they are 15.0 cm
apart, the repulsive force between them has magnitude 0.220 N. What is the charge on
each sphere (a) if the two charges are equal and (b) if one sphere has four times the
charge of the other?
20. Two point charges are placed on the -axis as follows: Charge 𝑞1 = 4.00 𝑛𝐶 is located at
𝑥 = 0.200 𝑚, and charge 𝑞2 = 5.00 𝑛𝐶 is at 𝑥 = −0.300 𝑚. What are the
magnitude and direction of the total force exerted by these two charges on a negative
point charge 𝑞3 = −6.00 𝑛𝐶 that is placed at the origin?

21. Four point charges are placed at each

corner of a square with side length a. The
charges all have the same magnitude q.
Two of the charges are positive and two
are negative, as shown in the diagram. (a)
What is the direction of the net electric
field at the center of the square due to the
four charges, and what is its magnitude in
terms of q and a? (b) Calculate the electric
potential at the center of the square.

22. Two point charges show in the

diagram are separated by 25.0
cm. Find the net electric field
these charges produce at (a)
point A and (b) point B. (c)
What would be the magnitude
and direction of the electric
force this combination of
charges would produce on a
proton placed at A?

23. The two charges q1 and q2 shown in

the diagram have equal magnitudes.
What is the direction of the net
electric field due to these two
charges at points A (midway between
the charges), B, and C if (a) both
charges are negative, (b) both
charges are positive, (c) q1 is positive
and q2 is negative.

5
24. A point charge 𝑞1 = 2.40 𝜇𝐶 is held stationary at the origin. A second point charge 𝑞2 =
−4.30 𝜇𝐶 moves from the point 𝑥 = 0.150 𝑚, 𝑦 = 0 to the point 𝑥 = 0.250 𝑚, 𝑦 =
0.250 𝑚. How much work is done by the electric force on 𝑞2 ?
25. A charge of 28.0 𝑛𝐶 is placed in a uniform electric field that is directed vertically upward
and has a magnitude of4.00 × 104 𝑉/𝑚. What work is done by the electric force when
the charge moves (a) 0.450 𝑚 to the right; (b) 0.670 𝑚 upward; (c) 2.60 𝑚 at an angle
of 45.00 downward from the horizontal?
26. A small particle has charge -5.00 𝜇C and mass 2.00 x 10-4 kg. It moves from point A,
where the electric potential is VA = +200 V, to point B, where the electric potential is VB
= +800 V. The electric force is the only force acting on the particle. The particle has
speed 5.00 m/s at point A. What is its speed at point B? Is it moving faster or slower at B
than at A? Explain.
27. A uniform electric field has magnitude E and is directed in the negative x-direction. The
potential difference between point a (at x = 0.60 m) and point b (at x = 0.90 m) is 240 V.
(a) Which point, a or b, is at the higher potential? (b) Calculate the value of E. (c) A
negative point charge q = −0.200 𝜇C is moved from b to a. Calculate the work done on
the point charge by the electric field.
28. A silver wire 2.6 mm in diameter transfers a charge of 420 C in 80 min. Silver contains
5.8 × 1028 free electrons per cubic meter. (a) What is the current in the wire? (b) What
is the magnitude of the drift velocity of the electrons in the wire?

29. When switch S in the diagram is open, the

voltmeter V of the battery reads 3.08 V. When
the switch is closed, the voltmeter reading drops
to 2.97 V, and the ammeter A reads 1.65 A. Find
the emf, the internal resistance of the battery,
and the circuit resistance R.

31. In the circuit show in the diagram, find (a) the

rate of conversion of internal (chemical) energy to
electrical energy within the battery; (b) the rate of
dissipation of electrical energy in the battery;
(c) the rate of dissipation of electrical
energy in the external resistor.

6
 32. Find the emfs 𝜀1 and 𝜀2 in the circuit
shown, and find the potential
difference of point b relative to point a.

33. The magnitude of the magnetic force on a particle with charge –2e moving with speed v =
1.0 x 105 m/s is 3.0 x 10–18 N. What is the magnitude of the magnetic field component
perpendicular to the direction of motion of the particle?
34. An electron with a speed of 4.0 x 105 m/s enters a uniform magnetic field of magnitude
0.040 T at an angle of 35° to the magnetic field lines. The electron will follow a helical path.
a) Determine the radius of the helical path. b) How far forward will the electron have moved
after completing one circle?
35. A straight wire of length 2.00 m carries a current of 24.0 A. It is placed on a horizontal
tabletop in a uniform horizontal magnetic field. The wire makes an angle of 30.0° with the
magnetic field lines. If the magnitude of the force on the wire is 0.500 N, what is the
magnitude of the magnetic field?
36. A circular coil with a radius of 10.0 cm has 100 turns of wire and carries a current, I = 100
mA. It is free to rotate in a region with a constant horizontal magnetic field, b = 0.0100 T,
directed in the positive x- axis. If the unit normal vector to the plane of the coil makes an
angle of 30.0° with the horizontal, what is the magnitude of the net magnetic torque acting
on the coil?

37. A 0.360-m-long metal bar is pulled to the left by

an applied force F. The bar rides on parallel metal
rails connected through a 45.0 Ω resistor, as
shown in the diagram, so the apparatus makes a
complete circuit. The circuit is in a uniform
0.650-T magnetic field that is directed out of the
plane of the figure. At the instant when the bar is
moving to the left at 5.90 m s, (a) is the induced
current in the circuit clockwise or
counterclockwise and (b) what is the rate at
which the applied force is doing work on the bar?