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DYNAMICS
1 A metal ball is dropped into a tall cylinder of oil. The ball initially accelerates but soon reaches a
terminal velocity.
a (i) Draw a free body diagram showing forces acting on the metal ball bearing.
(ii) Explain why it first accelerates but then reaches terminal velocity. (5)
b Describe how the metal ball reaches terminal velocity. (5)
c The diagram shows the speed–time graphs for two falling balls through air.
i Determine the terminal velocity of the plastic ball.
ii Both balls are of the same size and shape but the metal ball has a greater mass. Explain, in terms of
Newton’s laws of motion and the forces involved, why the plastic ball reaches a constant velocity
but the metal ball does not.
iii Explain why both balls have the same initial acceleration. [10]
d Diagram below shows a man who is just supporting the weight of a box. Two of the forces acting are
shown in the diagram. According to Newton’s third law, each of these forces is paired with another
force.
For (i) the weight of the box and
(ii) the force of the ground on the man, state:
1 the body that the other force acts upon
2 the direction of the other force
3 the type of force involved. (5)
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2 A car starts to move along a straight, level road. For the first 10s, the driver maintains a constant
acceleration of 1.5 m s−2. The mass of the car is 1.1 × 103 kg.
(a) Calculate the driving force provided by the wheels, when:
i. the force opposing motion is negligible
ii. the total force opposing the motion of the car is 600 N. [4]
(b) Calculate the distance travelled by the car in the first 10s. [4]
(c) A car of mass 1200 kg accelerates from rest to a speed of 8.0 m s−1 in a time of 2.0 s
i. Calculate the forward driving force acting on the car while it is accelerating. Assume that, at low
speeds, all frictional forces are negligible. [2]
ii. At high speeds the resistive frictional force F produced by air on a body moving with velocity v is
given by the equation F = bv2 where b is a constant.
1 Determine the value of b for the car at top speed of 50 m s−1.
2 Sketch a graph showing how the value of F varies with v over the range 0 to 50 m s−1 and use
your graph to describe what happens to the acceleration of the car during this time.[4]
(d) i Explain what is meant by the mass of a body and the weight of a body. [2]
ii State and explain one situation in which the weight of a body changes while its mass remains
constant. [2]
(e)
Diagram above shows a ball projected from a point A which is 8m above the horizontal ground. The
ball was projected with velocity u at an angle θ above the horizontal. The ball mones freely until
it strikes the ground at B. The velocity of the ball just before striking the ground was 2u.
i. Considering energy content, deduce the value of u
ii. If the time to reach the point B is 2s, find θ [7]
3(a) A cricket bat strikes a ball of mass 0.16 kg travelling towards it. The ball initially hits the bat at a
speed of 25 m s−1 and returns along the same path with the same speed. The time of impact is
0.0030 s.
i. Determine the change in momentum of the cricket ball. [2]
ii. Determine the force exerted by the bat on the ball. [2]
iii. Describe how the law of conservation of energy and momentum apply to this impact and
state whether the impact is elastic or inelastic. [6]
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(b) State what is meant by:
i a perfectly elastic collision
ii a completely inelastic collision. [5]
(c) i State the principle of conservation of momentum.
ii Two snooker balls of masses m1 and m2, initially travelling with velocities u1 and u2 in the same
direction, collide elastically. After collision they travel with velocities v1 and v2 in one direction.
Show that –( u1 - u2) = (v1 - v2).
iii Express v2 in terms of m1, m2, u1 and u2 only. [5]
(d) A stationary uranium nucleus disintegrates, emitting an alpha-particle of mass 6.65 × 10-27 kg and
another nucleus X of mass 3.89 × 10−25 kg.
i Explain why the alpha-particle α and nucleus X must be emitted in exactly opposite directions.
ii Using the symbols Vα and Vx to represent velocities of the alpha particle α and the nucleus X, write
an equation for the conservation of momentum in this disintegration.
Vx
iii Using your answer to ii, calculate the ratio after the disintegration. [5]
Vα
4(a) A football of mass 0.42 kg is moving horizontally at 10 m s–1 towards a footballer’s boot, which
then kicks it. The figure below shows how the force between the boot and the ball varies with time
while they are in contact.
(i) Give the significance of the area enclosed by the line on a force–time graph when a force acts on a
body for a short time.
(ii) Estimate the area, stating an appropriate unit.
(iii) Calculate the speed of the ball after it has been kicked, assuming that it returns along the same
horizontal line it followed when approaching the boot. [6]
(b) An arrow of mass 0.25 kg is fired horizontally towards an apple of mass 0.10 kg which is hanging
on a string. The horizontal velocity of the arrow as it enters the apple is 30 m s−1. The apple was
initially at rest and the arrow sticks in the apple.
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i Calculate the horizontal velocity of the apple and arrow immediately after the impact. [2]
ii Calculate the change in momentum of the arrow during the impact. [2]
iii Calculate the change in total kinetic energy of the arrow and apple during the impact. [2]
iv An identical arrow is fired at the centre of a stationary ball of mass 0.25 kg. The collision is perfectly
elastic.
Describe what happens and state the relative speed of separation of the arrow and the ball.
[2]
(c)(i) State two quantities that are conserved in an elastic collision. [2]
(ii) A machine gun fires bullets of mass 0.014 kg at a speed of 640 m s−1.
1 Calculate the momentum of the bullet as it leaves the gun and momentum of gun.
2 Explain why a soldier holding the machine gun experiences a force when the gun is firing.
3 The maximum steady horizontal force that a soldier can exert on the gun is 140 N.
Calculate the maximum number of bullets that the gun can fire in one second. [8]
(iii) State how the force acting on a body is related to the change in momentum of the body. (1)