Problem Set
Physics for Engineers (Phy120)
1. Two blocks are connected by a massless string that is passing over a massless frictionless
pulley. Block 1 of mass M=10kg is on a frictionless surface that makes an angle a=30° with
the horizontal. Block 2 of mass m=5kg is on a frictionless surface that makes an angle ß=
45° with the horizontal. Calculate the tension in the string and the acceleration of the
blocks
2. A ball rolls off the top of a 1.5 m tall table with a horizontal velocity of 2.0 ms-1. Calculate how
far the ball will travel from the table before it hits the floor.
3. You throw a stone horizontally at a speed of 5.0 m/s from the top of a cliff that is 78.4 m high
. a. How long does it take the stone to reach the bottom of the cliff? b. How far from the base
of the cliff does the stone hit the ground? c. What are the horizontal and vertical components
of the stone’s velocity just before it hits the ground?
4. A 12 kg disk with a diameter of 1.5 m is spinning at an angular speed of 25 rad/s.
(a) What is the moment inertia of the solid disk? And what is the rotational kinetic energy of
the disk?
5. A projectile is shot off a cliff 70.0 m high at an angle of 35o above the horizontal. It has an initial
velocity of 26.0 m/s. What is the projectile’s speed just before it hits the ground? (let y = 0 at the base
of the cliff).
6. A 10.0 kg mass is dropped from a tall building. During the first second of the fall, what was the average
power exerted by gravity? What was the average power exerted by gravity during the first 5.00
seconds of the fall?
7. An angry mob lynches a physics teacher after receiving their grades. They throw the physics teacher
off a tall building. They throw the physics teacher straight down with a velocity of 20 m/s. The teacher
falls for 3.0 seconds before landing on a stack of empty card board boxes. How high was he thrown
from?
8. A person taps his finger repeatedly. Their finger travels 2.5 cm before making contact with the table
top. The finger tapping noise is heard once every 0.20 seconds. What is the impact speed of the finger
with the table?