Homework #2
Units 2, 3 and 4
Acceleration in 1 Dimension, Problem Solving using Equations of
Motion, Vectors and 2 Dimensional Motion
Problem 1
The velocity of a ball in the horizontal direction is given as the following
function: v(t) = 20 + 3t3 , where t is in seconds and the velocity is in
meters per second.
a) Find the acceleration in the horizontal direction, in meters per
square second, at t = 0.
b) Find the acceleration in the horizontal direction, in meters per
square second, at t = 3.2 s.
Problem 2
A car accelerates in the +x direction from rest with a constant
acceleration of a1 = 1.5 m/s2 for t1 = 20 s. At that point the driver notices
a tree limb that has fallen on the road and brakes hard with a constant
acceleration of a2 = -10 m/s2 .
a) Give an expression, in terms of
defined quantities, for the car's speed
just before the driver begins braking, v1 .
b) If the limb is on the road at a
distance of 550 meters from where the
car begins its initial acceleration, will the car hit the limb?
Problem 3
A ball is thrown from a rooftop with an initial downward velocity of
magnitude v0= 0.13 m/s. The rooftop is at height h= 10.2 meters above
the ground. Use a coordinate system where upwards is positive, as
indicated in the figure.
a) Find the vertical component of the final
velocity, 𝑣𝑣𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 , in meters per second, with
which the ball hits the ground.
b) If we wanted the ball's final speed to be
exactly 27.3 m/s, from what height, ℎ𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 , in
meters, would we need to throw it with the
same initial velocity?
Problem 4
Consider two vectors A and B, expressed in unit vector notation as
𝐴𝐴⃑ = 𝑎𝑎1 𝚤𝚤̂ + 𝑎𝑎2 𝚥𝚥̂ 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐵𝐵 = 𝑏𝑏1 𝚤𝚤̂ + 𝑏𝑏2 𝚥𝚥.̂
a) Write an expression for the vector sum 𝐴𝐴⃑ + 𝐵𝐵 in terms of quantities
shown in the expressions above. (You should only have 2 unit
vectors in your final answer)
b) Write an expression for the difference vector 𝐴𝐴⃑ − 𝐵𝐵 in terms of
quantities shown in the expressions above
Problem 5
⃑ and then 22m
Suppose you walk 15m to the left (-x direction, 𝐴𝐴)
straight up (+y direction, 𝐵𝐵).
a) How far are you, in meters, from your starting point? (ie the length
of 𝑅𝑅)
b) Determine the angle between 𝑅𝑅 and the +y axis.
Problem 6
A plane flies towards a ground-based radar dish. Radar locates the plane
at a distance 𝐷𝐷 = 10.3𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 from the dish, at an angle 𝜃𝜃 = 30. 2𝑜𝑜 above the
horizontal.
a) What is the plane’s horizontal distance, in meters, from the radar
dish?
b) What is the plane's vertical distance,
in meters, above the radar dish?
c) Write out the position vector, 𝐷𝐷,
in rectangular Cartesian unit-vector form using
the coordinate axes provided.
Problem 7
The position of a particle is given by the following expression:
a) What is the magnitude, in meters per second, of the velocity of the
particle at 𝑡𝑡 = 1.01𝑠𝑠?
b) What angle, in degrees, does the velocity of the particle make with
the x-axis at this time?
c) What is the magnitude, in meters per squared second, of the
particle’s acceleration?
Problem 8
A quarterback throws a football with an initial velocity 𝑣𝑣 = 12𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠 at
an angle 𝜃𝜃 = 60° above the horizontal. Assume the ball leaves the
quarterback’s hand at ground level and moves without air resistance.
Let the origin of the Cartesian coordinate system be the ball's initial
position.
a) Find the magnitude of the vertical
component of the football’s initial velocity.
b) Find the magnitude of the horizontal
component of the football’s initial velocity.
c) Find the total time the football is in the
Air.
Problem 9
An object rolls off a tabletop with a horizontal velocity 𝑣𝑣𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 4𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠.
The table is at a height 𝑦𝑦0 = 0.25𝑚𝑚, above the floor. Use a coordinate
system with its origin on the floor directly beneath the point where the
object rolls off the table, its horizontal x-axis lying directly beneath the
object's trajectory, and its vertical y-axis pointing up.
a) How long, in seconds, is the object falling before it hits the floor?
b) What's the horizontal distance, in meters, from the edge of the
tabletop to where the object lands?
c) What is the vertical component of velocity, in meters per second,
when the object hits the ground?
d) What is the magnitude of the velocity (its speed) when it hits the
floor?