PHY 101 QUESTIONS

Relativity of Time and Length

1.) High-energy subatomic particles coming from space interact with atoms in the earth's upper atmosphere,
producing unstable particles called muons. A muon decays with a mean lifetime of 2.20 X 10s as measured in a
frame of reference in which it is at rest. If a muon is moving at 0.990c (about 2.97 X 108 m/s) relative to the earth,
what will you (an observer on earth) measure its mean lifetime to be?
2.) Mavis boards a spaceship, then zips past Stanley on earth at a relative speed of 0.600c. At the instant she passes,
both start timers. (a) At the instant when Stanley measures that Mavis has traveled 9.00 X 107 m past him. What
does Mavis's timer read? (b) At the instant when Mavis reads 0.400 s on her timer, what does Stanley read on
his?
3.) A spaceship flies past earth at a speed of 0.990c. A crew member on board the spaceship measures its length,
obtaining the value 400 m. What length do observers measure on earth?
4.) The two observers mentioned in question (3) above are 56.4 m apart on the earth. How far apart does the
spaceship crew measure them to be?

Vectors

1.) ⃗ is added to vector 𝐴, which two of the following choices must be true for the resultant vector to be
If vector 𝐵
equal to zero?
(a) 𝐴 and 𝐵⃗ are parallel and in the same direction
(b) 𝐴 and 𝐵⃗ are parallel and in the opposite direction
(c) 𝐴 and 𝐵⃗ have the same magnitude and in the opposite direction
(d) 𝐴 and 𝐵⃗ are perpendicular
2.) The magnitude of two vectors 𝐴 and 𝐵 ⃗ are A= 12 units and B= 8 units. Which of the following pairs of numbers
represent the largest and smallest possible values for the magnitude of resultant vector𝑅⃗ =𝐴+𝐵 ⃗?
a) 14.4 units, 4 units (b) 12 units 8 units (c) 20 units, 4 units (d) none of the above
3.) (a) What are the x- and y-components of vector D in Fig. 2a? The magnitude of the vector is D= 3.00 m and the
angle a= 450 (b) What are the x- and y-components of vector E in Fig. 2b? The magnitude of the vector is E =4.50
m and the angle B= 37.0°.

Dx (+) E y (-)
x β E x (+)
α
y
D E x
Dy (-)
y (b)
(a)
Fig. 2
4.) A cross-country skier skis 1.00 km north and then 2.00 km east on a horizontal snow field. (a) How far and in what
direction is she from the starting point? (b) What are the magnitude and direction of her resultant displacement?
5.) A car travels 20.0 km due north and then 35.0 km in a direction 60.0° west of north. Find the magnitude and
direction of the car’s resultant displacement.
6.) The three finalists in a contest are brought to the center of a large, flat field. Each is given a meter stick, a
compass, a calculator, a shovel, and (in a different order for each contestant) the following three displacements:
72.4 m, 32.0° east of north;
57.3 m, 36.0° south of west:
17.8 m straight south.
The three displacements lead to the point where the keys to a new Porsche are buried. Two contestants start
measuring immediately, but the winner first calculates where to go. What does she calculate?
7.) After an airplane takes off, it travels 10.4 km west, 8.7 km north and 2.1 km up. How far is it from the takeoff
point?
8.) Which of the following vectors is the magnitude of the vector equal to one of the components of the vectors? (a)
𝐴 = 2𝑖̂ +5𝑗̂ (b) 𝐵⃗ =−3𝑗̂ (c) 𝐶 =5𝑘̂
9.) Given the two displacements: 𝐷 ⃗ = (6𝑖̂ + 3𝑗̂ - 𝑘̂ )m and 𝐸⃗ = (4𝑖̂ - 5𝑗̂ + 8𝑘̂ )m, find the magnitude of the displacement
2𝐷⃗ - 𝐸⃗.
10.) A particle undergoes three consecutive displacements: ⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝑑1 = (15𝑖̂ + 30𝑗̂ +12𝑘̂ ) cm, ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑑2 = (23𝑖̂ -14𝑗̂ -5𝑘̂ ) cm and ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑑3 =
(-13𝑖̂ + 15𝑗̂) cm. Find the components of the resultant displacement and its magnitude.
11.) Find the scalar product 𝐴. 𝐵 ⃗ of the two vectors in Fig. 6. The magnitudes of the vectors are A = 4.00 and B= 5.00.
y
o
13 0 .0
B φ A
o
53.0
x
Fig. 6

12.) Find the angle between the two vectors: 𝐴 = 2𝑖̂ + 3𝑗̂ + 𝑘̂ and 𝐵 ⃗ = -4𝑖̂ + 2𝑗̂ - 𝑘̂
13.) Vector A has magnitude 6 units and is in the direction of the +x-axis. Vector B has magnitude 4 units and lies in
the xy-plane, making an angle of 30° with the +x-axis. Find the vector product A x B.
⃗ = 4i + 5k, find the scalar product 𝐴 · 𝐵
14.) For the two vectors 𝐴 = 3i + 2j and 𝐵 ⃗ and the vector product A x B.

Kinematics
1.) How far does a jogger run in 1.5 hours (5400 s) if his average speed is 2.22 m/s?
2.) A hiker goes from A to B with S1 = 2 km/h and returns with S2 = 4 km/h. Find Sav .
3.) A particle moves along the x axis. Its position varies with time according to the expression:
𝑥 = −4𝑡 + 2𝑡2, where x is in meters and t in seconds.
(a) Determine the displacement of the particle in the time intervals 𝑡=0 𝑡𝑜 𝑡=1 𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡=1 𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡=3 𝑠
(b) Calculate the average velocity during these two time intervals
(c) Find the instantaneous velocity of the particle at 𝑡=2.5 𝑠
1
4.) Given that: 𝑣(𝑡) = 2 𝛽𝑡2, what is a(𝑡) when t = 1 𝑠 and t = 3 𝑠
−𝑡 4 𝑡3
5.) Given (t in seconds, x in meters): (𝑡) = 4 + 3 + 𝑡2− 𝑡 + 1. Find:
(a) vav between t1 = 1 s and t2 = 3 s
𝑑
(b) v(t) (Hints: 𝑡 𝑛 =𝑛𝑡𝑛−1)
𝑑𝑡
(c) a(t)
6.) Suppose the velocity vx of a car at any time t is given by the equation: vx = 60 m/s + (0.50 m/s3)t2 (Note that the
units for the numbers 60 and 0.50 must be as shown to make the expression dimensionally consistent.) (a) Find
the change in velocity of the car in the time interval between t, = 10 s and t, = 3.0 s. (b) Find the average
acceleration in this time interval. (c) Find the instantaneous acceleration at time t, = 1.0 s by taking ∆t to be 0.1
s. (d) Derive an expression for the instantaneous acceleration at any time, and use it to find the acceleration at t
= 1.0 s and t= 3.0 s.
7.) A motorcyclist heading east through a small Iowa city accelerates after he passes the signpost marking the city
limits. His acceleration is a constant 4.0 m/s. At time t =0 he is 5.0 m east of the signpost, moving east at 15 m/s.
(a) Find his position and velocity at time t= 2.0 s. (b) Where is the motorcyclist when his velocity is 25 m/s?
8.) A jet lands on an aircraft carrier at 140 𝑚𝑖/ℎ (≈63 𝑚/𝑠).
(a) What is its constant acceleration if it stops in 2.0 𝑠 due to an arresting cable that snags the jet and brings it to
a stop?
(b) If the jet touches down at position 𝑥𝑖=0, what is its final position.
9.) How long does it take a car to travel 30 𝑚 if it accelerates from rest at a rate of 2.0 𝑚/𝑠2?
10.) A particle is at the coordinate position 𝑥𝑜=5 𝑚 at 𝑡=0 and moving with a velocity 𝑣𝑜=20 𝑚/𝑠. At 𝑡=10 𝑠 the particle
has a velocity 𝑣=2 𝑚/𝑠.
(a)What is the acceleration?
(b)How long is it before the particle returns to 𝑥=5 𝑚
11.) A particle is moving according to 𝑥=20𝑡2 𝑚. When 𝑡=2 𝑠
(a) find a(t)
(b) find v(t)
12.) A motorcycle accelerates from rest for 𝑡=2 𝑠 traveling 𝑥=20 𝑚 during that time. Find acceleration a.
13.) A car accelerates from 𝑣𝑜=5 𝑚/𝑠 to 𝑣=35 𝑚/𝑠 with 𝑎=3 𝑚/𝑠2 .
(a) How far will it go?
(b) How long will it take?
14.) The velocity of a particle moving along the x-axis varies according to the expression: 𝑣𝑥=40−5𝑡2 𝑚/𝑠 where 𝑡 is
seconds.
(a) Find the average acceleration in the time interval 𝑡=0 to 𝑡=2.0 𝑠
(b) Determine the instantaneous acceleration at 𝑡=2.0 s (using the derivative of velocity with respect to time
(𝑡+Δ𝑡))