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Class C Lesson 8 Exercise

Use Scantron sheet to fill in answers of multiple-choice questions.

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1. A box of mass m slides down a frictionless inclined plane of length L and vertical height h. What is the
change in its gravitational potential energy?
(A) − mgL
(B) − mgh
(C) − mgL/h
(D) − mgh/L
(E) − mghL

2. A 4 kg box is pulled up a ramp of angle θ = 30 degrees and height = 5 m at a constant velocity. How
much work is done by the normal force?
(A) 160 J
(B) 80 J
(C) 40 J
(D) 20 J
(E) 0 J

3. A block of mass 3.5 kg slides down a frictionless inclined plane of length 6.4 m that makes an angle of
30 ° with the horizontal. If the block is released from rest at the top of the incline, what is its speed at
the bottom?
(A) 5.0 m/s
(B) 5.7 m/s
(C) 6.4 m/s
(D) 8.0 m/s
(E) 10 m/s

4. A block of mass m slides from rest down an inclined plane of length s and height h. If F is the
magnitude of the force of kinetic friction acting on the block as it slides, then the kinetic energy of the
block when it reaches the bottom of the incline will be equal to
(A) mgh
(B) mgh − Fh
(C) mgs − Fh
(D) mgh − Fs
(E) mgs − Fs

5. An astronaut drops a rock from the top of a crater on the Moon. When the rock is halfway down to
the bottom of the crater, its speed is what fraction of its final impact speed?
!
(A) "√$
!
(B) "
!
(C) $√$
!
(D) $
!
(E)
√$

Class C, Bellingham Academy

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6. The figure gives the potential energy function of a particle. The region having the highest magnitude
of the conservative force is
(A) AB
(B) BC
(C) CD
(D) EF
(E) GH

7. In the figure, a small, initially stationary block is released on a frictionless ramp at a height of 3.0 m.
Hill heights along the ramp are as shown in the figure. The hills have identical circular tops, and the
block does not fly off any hill. The hilltop where the normal force is least is
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) Cannot be determined

8. In the figure, a single frictionless roller-coaster car of mass m =800 kg tops the first hill with speed v0
=15.0 m/s at height h = 40.0 m. The speed of the car when it reaches point B is
(A) 75 m/s
(B) 25 m/s
(C) 35 m/s
(D) 45 m/s
(E) 65 m/s

Class C, Bellingham Academy

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9. The figure shows an 8.00 kg stone at rest on a spring. The spring is compressed 10.0 cm by the stone.
The stone is then pushed down an additional 30.0 cm and released. The maximum height measured
from the release point is
(A) 75 cm
(B) 55 cm
(C) 30 cm
(D) 80 cm
(E) 20 cm

10. In the figure, a block of mass m = 12 kg is released from rest on a frictionless incline of angle 𝜃 = 30o.
Below the block is a spring that can be compressed 2.0 cm by a force of 270 N. The block momentarily
stops when it compresses the spring by 5.5 cm. How far does the block move down the incline from its
initial rest position to this stopping point?
(A) 15 cm
(B) 55 cm
(C) 30 cm
(D) 20 cm
(E) 35 cm

11. Two children are playing a game in which they try to hit a small box on the floor with a marble fired
from a spring-loaded gun that is mounted on a table. The target box is horizontal distance D = 2.20 m
from the edge of the table as shown in the figure. Bobby compresses the spring 1.10 cm, but the center
of the marble falls 27.0 cm short of the center of the box. How far should Rhoda compress the spring to
score a direct hit? Assume that neither the spring nor the ball encounters friction in the gun.
(A) 0.15 cm
(B) 0.25 cm
(C) 1.25 cm
(D) 2.25 cm
(E) 2.00 cm

Class C, Bellingham Academy

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12. In the figure, a small block is sent through point A with a speed of 7.0 m/s. Its path is without friction
until it reaches the section of length L = 12 m, where the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.70. The
indicated heights are h1 = 6.0 m and h2 = 2.0 m. Does the block reach point D?
(A) Yes.
(B) No. less than L
(C) No. less than 1/3 of L
(D) No. less than 1/4 of L

13. A mass m is attached to a thin rod of length l so that it can freely spin in a vertical circle with period
T. The difference in the tensions in the rod when the mass is at the top and the bottom of the circle is
(A) 6𝑚𝑔$ 𝑇 $ /𝑙
(B) 4𝜋𝑚𝑔$ 𝑇 $ /𝑙
(C) 6𝑚𝑔
(D) 𝜋 $ 𝑚𝑙/𝑇 $
(E) 4𝜋𝑚𝑙/𝑇 $

14. A small bead is placed on the top of a frictionless glass sphere of diameter D as shown. The bead is
given a slight push and starts sliding down along the sphere. Find the speed v of the bead at the point at
which the bead leaves the sphere.

15. A block of mass m= 3.0 kg is moving on a horizontal surface towards a massless spring with spring
constant k= 80.0 N/m. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the block and the surface is μk= 0.50.
The block has a speed of 2.0 m/s when it first comes in contact with the spring. How far will the spring
be compressed?
(A) 0.19 m
(B) 0.24 m
(C) 0.39 m
(D) 0.40 m
(E) 0.61 m

Class C, Bellingham Academy

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Free Response Questions

1. A box of mass m is released from rest at point A, the top of a long, frictionless slide. Point A is at
height H above the level of points B and C. Although the slide is frictionless, the horizontal surface from
point B to C is not. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the box and this surface is μk, and the
horizontal distance between point B and C is x. Solve for the following in terms of given quantities and
the acceleration of gravity, g.
!
(a) Find the speed of the box when its height above point B is H.
$
(b) Find the speed of the box when it reaches point B.
(c) Determine the value of μk so that the box comes to rest at point C.
(d) Now assume that points B and C were not on the same horizontal level. In particular, assume
that the surface from B to C had a uniform upward slope so that point C was still at a horizontal
distance of x from B but now at a vertical height of y above B. Answer the question posed in part (c).

Class C, Bellingham Academy

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2. The diagram below shows a roller-coaster ride which contains a circular loop of radius r. A car (mass
m) begins at rest from point A and moves down the frictionless track from A to B where it then enters
the vertical loop (also frictionless), traveling once around the circle from B to C to D to E and back to B,
after which it travels along the flat portion of the track from B to F (which is not frictionless).
Solve for the following in terms of given quantities and the acceleration of gravity, g.
(a) Find the centripetal acceleration of the car when it is at point C.
(b) What is the minimum cut-off speed vc that the car must have at point D to make it around the
loop?
(c) What is the minimum height H necessary to ensure that the car makes it around the loop?
(d) If H = 6r and the coefficient of friction between the car and the flat portion of the track from B
to F is 0.5, how far along this flat portion of the track will the car travel before coming to rest at
point F?

Class C, Bellingham Academy

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3. A ball m = 3 kg has the potential energy function U(x) = 3( x − 1) − (x − 3)3 where x is measured in
meters and U in joules. The graph is a sketch of this potential energy function. The energies indicated on
the vertical axis are evenly spaced; that is, E3 − E2 = E2 − E1. The energy E1 is equal to U( x1), and the
energy E3 is equal to U(x3).
(a) Determine the numerical values of x1 and x3.
(b) Describe the motion of the particle if its total energy is E2.
(c) What is the particle’s speed at x = x1 if its total energy, E, equals 58 J?
(d) Sketch the graph of the particle’s acceleration as a function of x. Be sure to indicate x1 and x3 on
your graph.
!
(e) The particle is released from rest at x = $x1. Find its speed as it passes through x = x1.

Class C, Bellingham Academy

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4. A massless rigid rod of length L has a ball of mass m attached to one end. The other end is pivoted in
such a way that the ball will move in a vertical circle. First, assume that there is no friction at the pivot.
The system is launched downward from the horizontal position A with initial speed v0. The ball just
barely reaches point D and then stops.
(a) Derive an expression for v0 in terms of L, m, and g.
(b) What is the tension in the rod when the ball passes through B?

Class C, Bellingham Academy