Physics 2101, Final Exam, Form A

December 11, 2007

Name: SOLUTIONS

Section: (Circle one)

1 (Rupnik, MWF 7:40am) 2 (Rupnik, MWF 9:40am)

3 (González, MWF 2:40pm)

4 (Pearson, TTh 9:10am) 5 (Pearson, TTh 12:10pm)

• Please turn OFF your cell phone and MP3 player!

• Feel free to detach, use and keep the formula sheet. No other reference material is
allowed during the exam. You may use scientific or graphing calculators.

• For the questions, no work needs to be shown (there is no partial credit).

• For the problems, please write as much as you can explaining to us your reasoning.
Lonely right answers will not receive full credit, lonely wrong answers will receive no
credit at all.

• Please carry units through your calculations when needed, lack of units will result in
a loss of points.

• GOOD LUCK!

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 Question 1 (6 pts)
A man pulls a crate of weight equal to 100 N from the bottom to the top of a frictionless
30◦ slope which is 5 m high, making the crate move with a constant speed.

(a) (2pts) What is the work done by gravity on the crate?

The work done by gravity is equal to minus the change in gravitational potential
energy, Wg = −∆Ug = −M gh = 100N × 5m = −500J. It is negative, since the
gravitational force points down, and the crate is moving upwards along the incline.
-500 J -250 J 0 250 J 500 J

(b) (1pt) What is the work done by the man on the crate?
Since the crate is moving with constant velocity, the work done by external forces
must be zero (work-energy theorem). The normal force does not do any work since
it is perpendicular to the crate’s motion. The work done by the man’s force must
then be equal to the work done by gravity, calculated above:
0 = Wg + Wm = −500J + Wm → Wm = +500J.
-500 J -250 J 0 250 J 500 J

(c) (1 pt) What is the work done by the normal force on the crate?
The normal force does not do any work since it is perpendicular to the crate’s motion.
-500 J -250 J 0 250 J 500 J

(d) (2 pts) If there were friction between the crate and the sloped surface, and the man
kept pulling up the crate with constant speed, the magnitude of the work done by
gravity on the crate would be...

larger than the same as smaller than

... the work calculated in (a).

Gravity’s work is always equal to minus the change in gravitational potential energy,
friction or not. If there were friction, the man’s work would have to be larger, to
compensate for both the work done by gravity and friction forces, since those are
both negative.

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 Question 2 (5 pts)
A steel ball of mass m is fastened to a massless cord of length L, forming a simple
pendulum, fixed at the far end. The ball is released from rest when the cord is horizontal.

(a) (2 pts) What is the speed of the ball as the ball moves through the lowest point at
the bottom?
p √ p p
2g/L 2gL gL/2 g/(2L)
Using conservation of energy between initial position at rest and final position at the
bottom oof the swing, we have:
∆KE + ∆U = 21 mv 2 − mgL = 0 → v 2 = 2gL

(b) (2 pts) What is the tension in the cord as the ball moves through the lowest point at
the bottom?
mg 2mg 3mg 0
At the bottom, the forces acting on the pendulum’s mass are gravity (down) and
tension (up); the net force is a radial force towards the center of the circle of radius
L (upwards). The centripetal force produces the radial acceleration, equal to a =
mv 2 /L = 2mg from above, so
T − mg = ma = mv 2 /L = 2mg → T = 3mg.

(c) (1 pt) The torque exerted by gravity on the pendulum about the attachment point
is largest when the cord is...
horizontal vertical at an angle of 45◦ gravity’s torque is constant
Gravity’s force is always vertical and pointing down, so the torque ~τ = F~ × ~r will be
maximum when the position vector ~r is horizontal: this happens when the cord is
horizontal.

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 Problem 1 (11 pts)
A steel ball of mass 0.5 kg is fastened to a massless cord that is 50cm long and fixed at
the far end, forming a simple pendulum. The ball is released when the cord is horizontal.
At the bottom of its path, the ball strikes a 3kg block initially at rest. Just after the
collision, which is inelastic, the block begins moving to the right with a speed of 0.5 m/s.

(a) (4 pts) What is the speed of the ball just before the collision?
Using conservation of energy between initial position at rest and final position at the
bottom oof the swing, we have:
√
∆KE + ∆U = 12 mv 2 − mgL = 0 → v = 2gL = 2 × 9.8m/s2 × 0.5m = 3.13 m/s
p

(b) (7 pts) What are the magnitude and direction of the steel ball’s velocity after the
collision?
The linear momentum is conserved in the collision. The initial momentum is that of
the pendulum’s mass mv0 , where v0 was calculated in part (a). The final momentum
is the sum of the momentum of the pendulum mass, mvf , and the block’s momentum,
M V , where V is given as 0.5 m/s:
mv0 = mvf + M V →
vf = (mv0 − M V )/m = v0 − (m/M )V = 3.13 m/s − (3kg/0.5kg)0.5m/s
vf = 0.13 m/s
Since we obtained a positive result, the pendulum’s mass is moving (slowly) towards
the right after collision.

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 Problem 2 (11 pts)
A mass m is connected with a massless cord to a pulley of mass M and radius R. The
pulley is a solid disk. The mass m is let go from rest, and it begins moving down, with the
cord unwrapping without slipping.

(a) (3pts) Draw above a free body diagram for the mass, and a free body diagram for
the pulley, labeling all the forces.

(b) (4 pts) Write an expression for the magnitude of the acceleration a of the mass m,
in terms of g, m, and M .
Newton’s law for the pulley and the mass, with a = αR and I = M R2 /2 (since the
pulley is a disk):
τ = Iα ⇒ T R = 21 M R2 (a/R) = 12 M Ra
F = ma ⇒ mg − T = ma
From the pulley equation, we obtain T = M a/2, and using this in the mass equation,
we obtain:
mg − M a/2 = ma ⇒ mg = (m + M/2)a ⇒ a = g/(1 + (M/2m))

(c) (4 pts) Write an expression for the angular momentum of the pulley L at a time t
after the mass m was released from rest, in terms of m, M, g, R and t.
The angular momentum is L = Iω. The pulley is rotating with a constant angular
acceleration α = a/R, so the angular velocity a time t after starting from rest is
ω = αt:

1 gt/R M Rgt
L = Iω = (M R2 /2)(at/R) = (M R2 ) =
2 1 + (M/2m) 2 + (M/m)

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 Question 3 (6 pts)
The figure shows three situations in which the same horizontal rod is supported by a
hinge on one wall at one end, and by a cord at its other end.

The forces on the rod are the hinge force at the left end of the rod (with horizontal and vertical
components Fh and Fv ), gravity mg at the center of the rod pointing down, and tension T at the
right end of the rod.
In equilibrium, the torque about any point is zero; the torque about the end of the rod is the
torque of the vertical component of the rod (clockwise, Fv L), and the torque of gravity (counter-
clockwise, mgL/2), so the hinge’s vertical force is Fv = mg/2, same in all cases.
The torque about the left end of the rod is mgL/2 clockwise from gravity, and T L cos θ coun-
terclockwise from tension, with θ = 50◦ in the first and third case, and 0◦ in the middle case. The
magnitude of tension is then T = mg/2 cos θ, smallest in the middle case, and equal in the first and
third cases.
The net horizontal force is zero, so the hinge’s horizontal force must be equal to the tension’s
horizontal component: it is zero in the middle case, and has equal magnitude in the first and third
cases, but it points to the right in the first case, and to the left in the third case.

(a) (2 pts) In which situation is the magnitude of the tension force on the cord the
largest?
(i) Tension in (1) is largest.
(ii) Tension in (2) is largest.
(iii) Tension in (3) is largest.
(iv) Tension in (1) and (3) tie, tension in (2) is smaller.
(v) Tension is the same in all.
(b) (2 pts) In which situation is the vertical force on the rod from the hinge the largest?
(i) Hinge vertical force in (1) is largest.
(ii) Hinge vertical force in (2) is largest.
(iii) Hinge vertical force in (3) is largest.
(iv) Hinge vertical force in (1) and (3) tie, hinge vertical force in (2) is smaller.
(v) Hinge vertical force is the same in all.
(c) (2 pts) In which situation is the magnitude of the horizontal force on the rod from
the hinge the smallest?
(i) Hinge horizontal force in (1) is smallest.
(ii) Hinge horizontal force in (2) is smallest.
(iii) Hinge horizontal force in (3) is smallest.
(iv) Hinge horizontal force in (1) and (3) tie, hinge horizontal force in (2) is smaller.
(v) Hinge horizontal force is the same in all.

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 Problem 3 (11pts)
Consider a star with a mass M = 2 × 1030 kg, about the mass of our Sun.

(a) (4 pts) What is the minimum radius the star can have for which the escape velocity
is below the speed of light, c = 3 × 108 m/s? (If the star is a black hole, such radius
is the radius of the “event horizon”).

p
The escape velocity is ve = 2GM/R, so if ve2 = 2GM/R ≤ c2 , we must have
R ≥ 2GM/c2 = 2 × 6.67 × 10−11 m3 /(kg s2 ) × 2 × 1030 kg/(3 × 108 m/s)2 = 2.96 km.

(b) (4 pts) What speed is needed for a shuttle orbiting the star in a circular orbit at a
radius of 100km from the center of the star?

In a circular orbit, the centripetal force is the gravitational force between the shut-
tle and the star, F = GmM/r2 , and it is equal to the mass times the centripetal
acceleration, F = ma = mv 2 /r, so we have
p
F = ma ⇒ GM m/r2 = mv 2 /r ⇒ v = GM/r
p
v = 6.67 × 10−11 m3 /(kg s2 ) × 2 × 1030 kg/(105 m) = 3.65 × 107 m/s.
This is 12% the speed of light, very fast!

(c) (3 pts) A probe begins to fall from the shuttle towards the star, in a straight linear
path towards the center of the star. As the probe approaches the star, does the
probe’s acceleration get larger or smaller, or is it constant? Explain your answer.

As the probe falls towards the star, the force producing the acceleration is the grav-
itational force from the planet, F = ma = GM m/r2 , so a = GM/r2 . As the probes
gets closer to the planet, the distance r decreases, so the acceleration will increase.

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 Question 4 (6 pts)
The figure shows a snapshot of a traveling wave, taken at t = 0. The wave is traveling
towards the right. The wave has amplitude ym = 2.5 cm and period T =10 s.

From the drawing, the wavelength is λ = 6 cm, and the wavenumber is k = 2π/λ.
The points on the string are moving up and down in simple harmonic motion, and at
t = 0, the points at the maximum and minimum amplitude will be momentarily at rest;
the ones between x = 0 and x = 1.5cm and between x = 4.5cm and x = 6cm will be
moving up; the ones between x = 1.5 cm and x = 4.5cm will be moving down.
At t=3T/4, the wave will have traveled a distance 3λ/4 = 4.5cm towards the right, so
the bottom peak will have moved from x = 1.5cm to x = 6cm, and there will be another
point at y = −ym a wavelength to the left, at x = 0cm. The string element at x = 0cm
was at y = 0 at t = 0, moved up to ym at t = T /4, down to zero at t = T /2, and down to
−ym at t = 3T /4.

(a) (1 pt) At t = 3T /4, which of the following points will be at y = −ym ?

x = 0 cm x = 1.5 cm x = 3 cm x = 4.5 cm

(b) (2 pts) At t = 0, which of the following points has an downwards transverse speed?

x = 0 cm x = 1.5 cm x = 3 cm x = 4.5 cm

(c) (1 pt) What is the wavenumber k of the traveling wave?

2π/(6cm) 2π 6 cm 2π/(12 cm)

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 Problem 4 (11pts)
A mass M is attached to a spring of spring constant k, and a smaller mass m is set on
top of the larger mass. The mass M is on a horizontal, frictionless surface, but there is
friction between the two blocks, with coefficients µk and µs . The spring-blocks system is set
into simple harmonic oscillations, by compressing the spring a distance xm and releasing
the system from rest.

(a) (3 pts) Derive an expression for the period T of the oscillations, in terms of k, M and
m.
We take as the masses M and m as a single system, the external forces are gravity,
(M +m)g, canceled by the normal force on M , and the spring force, producing
p simple
2
harmonic motion: F = −kx = (M + m)a = −(M + m)ω x, so ω = k/(M + m)
and
p p
T = 2π/ω = 2π/ k/(M + m) = 2π (M + m)/k.

(b) (4 pts) Assuming the block m does not slip, derive an expression for the maximum
force on the mass m, in terms of m, M, k and xm . (This is the friction force, pro-
ducing the oscillation of the mass m).
The acceleration of mass m is the same as that of the system M + m, and has a
maximum value am = ω 2 xm = kxm /(M + m); the maximum force on mass m will
then be
Fmax = mamax = mkxm /(M + m)

(c) (4 pts) Derive an expression for the amplitude of the oscillations that puts the smaller
block on the verge of slipping over the larger block, in terms of m, M, µs , k and g.
The friction force cannot be larger than fs,max = µs FN . The normal force on the
mass m is mg, so if the maximum force on mass m (from the previous answer) is
equal to the maximum possible static friction force, we have
Fmax = mamax = mkxm /(M + m) = µs mg, and
xm = µs (g/k)(M + m)/m.

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 Question 5 (5 pts)
A brass and a steel rod have equal lengths L0 at temperature T0 , and are glued as
shown in a bimetal strip. Brass has a larger coefficient of thermal expansion than steel.
When the temperature is increased, the brass will have a large length, Lb = L0 (1 +
αb ∆T ) than the steel, Ls = L0 (1 + αs ∆T ), so the strip will bend downwards, with the
brass arc longer than the steel arc.
The fractional change in length is ∆L/L0 = α∆T , independent of length or thickness.

(a) (3 pts) If the temperature is increased, the strip will ...

(i) elongate, but stay straight.
(ii) elongate and bend downwards.
(iii) elongate and bend upwards.
(iv) stay the same length.
(v) get shorter.

(b) (2 pts) If the strips are thicker, the fractional change in length ∆L/L0 for each strip
due to a change in temperature will ....
(i) be the same as when the strips are thinner.
(ii) be larger than when the strips are thinner.
(iii) be smaller than when the strips are thinner.
(iv) depend on the length of the strips.

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 Problem 5 (11pts)
25 grams of ice at −10◦ C are added to cool down 100 cm3 of soda. The soda is initially
at room temperature, 25◦ C. Assume the ice-soda system is insulated from the rest of the
world, and that the soda has the same properties as water.

(a) (2 pts) What would be the heat absorbed by the ice warming up to melting temper-
ature?

Q = mcice ∆T = 0.025kg × 2220J/(kg◦ ) × (0◦ − (−10◦ ) = +555J.

(b) (2 pts) What would be the heat the ice needs to absorb to completely melt?

Q = mLf usion = 0.025kg × 3.33 × 105 J/kg = +8, 325J.

(c) (2 pts) What is the heat that the soda releases to the system if it were to cool down
to freezing temperature?

The mass of the soda is M = ρV = 103 kg/m3 × 100(10−2 m)3 = 0.1kg.

Q = M cwater ∆T = 0.1kg × 4190J/(kg◦ ) × (0◦ − 25◦ ) = −10, 475J

(d) (3pts) What is the final temperature of the system?

∆Q = 0 = mcice (0◦ − (−10◦ ) + mL + mcwater (Tf − 0◦ ) + M cwater × (Tf − 25◦ )

0 = 555J + 8, 325J + cwater (M + m)Tf − 10, 475J
Tf = 1595J/(4190J/(kg◦ C)0.125kg) = 3.05◦ C

(e) (2 pts) Is the change of entropy in the ice+soda system positive, negative or zero?
Why?

Since we consider the soda+ice system as an isolated system, the entropy cannot
decrease, so the change in entropy can only be zero or larger than zero. The melting
of the ice is an irreversible process, so the entropy must increase: the change in
entropy is positive. Notice that the entropy of the soda decreases, since it gets
cooler, but the entropy of the ice increases by a larger amount.

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 Question 6 (6 pts)
In the pV diagram shown in the figure, the gas is taken from a to b keeping the
temperature constant, from b to c in an adiabatic process, and back from c to a in a
straight line. Fill in the table with 0 (zero), + (positive) or − (negative), indicating the
sign of the quantity in each process.

When the volume increases in a process, the work done by the gas is positive: this is
true for a → b and for b → c. The work done by the gas in the process c → a is negative.
The a → b process is isothermal, so the change in internal energy is zero, and ∆Eint =
0 = Q − W , so Q = W , and since Wab is positive, so is Qab . The b → c process is adaibatic,
so Qbc = 0. R
The change in entropy is given by ∆S = dQ/T = nRln(Vf /Vi ) + nCV ln(Tf /Ti ). In
the process a → b, temperature is constant and volume increases, so ∆Sab > 0. In the
adiabatic process b → c, there is no heat exchange, so ∆S = 0.

a→b b→c

Work done by the gas + +

Heat absorbed or released by the gas + 0

Change of Entropy + 0

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 Problem 6 (11pts)
In the pV diagram shown in the figure, a diatomic gas is taken from a to b keeping
the temperature constant, from b to c in an adiabatic process, and back from c to a in a
straight line. At point a, the temperature is 300K, the pressure is 50 kPa, and the volume
is 0.1m3 . At point b, the volume is 0.15 m3 . At point c, the volume is 0.3 m3 , and the
temperature is 227 K. Assume all the processes are reversible.

(a) (2 pts) How many moles are there in the gas?

pV = nRT ⇒
n = pa Va /(RTa ) = 5 × 104 Pa × 0.1m3 /(8.31(J/mol K) 300K) = 2.0mol.

(b) (4 pts) What are the work done by the gas, Wab , and the heat absorbed by the gas,
Qab , when taken from a to b?

From a to b, T is constant, so
Wab = nRTa ln(Vb /Va ) = 2mol × 8.31(J/mol K)) × 300K × ln(0.15/0.1)
Wab = +2.0kJ
Since T is constant, ∆Eint = 0 = Qab − Wab and Qab = +2.0kJ

(c) (3 pts) What are the work done by the gas, Wbc , and the heat absorbed by the gas,
Qbc , when taken from b to c?

From b to c, the process is adiabatic, so Qbc = 0. Since ∆Eint,bc = Qbc − Wbc , then
Wbc = −∆Eint,bc = −nCV ∆T = −n(5R/2)(Tc − Tb )
Wbc = −2mol × (5/2)8.31(J/(molK)) × (227K − 300K)
Wbc = +3.0kJ.

(d) (2 pts) Will the efficiency of this cycle be smaller, larger or equal to that of a Carnot
engine operating between the lowest and the highest temperature of this cycle? Why?

The efficiency of any heat engine is equal or smaller than that of a Carnot engine.
A Carnot engine has two adiabatic process, and two isothermal processes; so this is
not a Carnot engine, and its efficiency must be smaller.

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