PHYSICS I - MECHANICS
Problem Session-I
1. Physics and Measurement
2. Vectors
3. Motion in One Dimension
4. Two Dimensional Motion
5. The Laws of Motion
1. Physics and Measurements
1.1 Standards of Length, Mass and Time
The three fundamental physical quantities of mechanics are
Length meters (m)
Mass kilograms (kg)
Time seconds (s)
Temperature (Kelvin), electric current (Amapere), luminous intensity (candela), amount of substance (mole)
Prefixes
1) Express the following quantities using the prefixes.
(a) 3 X 10-4 m = 0.3 mm
(b) 5 X 10-5 s = 50 μs
(c) 72 X 102 g = 7.2 kg
(d) 2 x 109 Watt = 2 GW
1. Physics and Measurements
1.3 Density and Atomic Mass
The density ρ (Greek letter rho) of any substance is defined as its mass per unit volume:
Atomic mass units (u) 1 u=1.660 538 7 x 10-27 kg
2) A small cube of iron is observed under a microscope. The edge of the cube is 5.00 x10-6 cm long. Find
(a) the mass of the cube and
(b) the number of iron atoms in the cube. The atomic mass of iron is 55.9 u, and its density is 7.86 g/cm3.
3) What mass of a material with density ρ is required to make a hollow spherical shell having inner radius r1 and outer radius r2?
1. Physics and Measurements
1.4 Dimensional Analysis
4) Which of the following equations are dimensionally correct?
a) 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑥
b) y=(2 m) cos (kx), where k=2 m−1
𝐿 𝐿 𝐿 𝐿 𝐿2 1
= + 𝐿 ⇒ + This is incorrect 𝐿 = 𝐿𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝐿 ⇒𝐿=𝐿 This is correct.
𝑇 𝑇 𝑇2 𝑇 𝑇2 𝐿
5) Which of the following equations are dimensionally correct?
𝐿
1 𝐿 = 𝑇 2 = 𝐿𝑇 This is incorrect
𝑥 = 𝑣𝑡 2 𝑇
2
1 𝐿 𝐿 2
𝑥𝑓 = 𝑥𝑖 + 𝑣𝑥𝑖 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2 𝐿=𝐿+ 𝑇+ 𝑇 ⇒𝐿=𝐿 This is correct
2 𝑇 𝑇2
1. Physics and Measurements
1.5 Conversion of Units
6) A solid piece of lead has a mass of 23.94 g and a volume of 2.10 cm3. From these data, calculate the density of lead in SI units (kg/m3).
7) Suppose your hair grows at the rate 1/32 in. per day. Find the rate at which it grows in nanometers per second.
1. Physics and Measurements
1.7 Significant Figures
1. Non-zero digits are always significant. 4. Zeros used only for spacing the decimal point are not significant
24.7 meters 100
0.743 meter 0.00000566
714 meters
2. Zeros appearing between nonzero digits are significant.
7003 meters
40.79 meters
1.503 meters
3. Trailing zeros follow a non zero digit and are significant only if there is a decimal point.
0.00500 2.30 x 10-5 100.000
4.500 x 1012 0.03040
1. Physics and Measurements
1.7 Significant Figures
8) Carry out the following arithmetic operations:
(a) the sum of the measured values 756, 37.2, 0.83, and 2.5;
(b) The product 0.003 2 X 356.3;
(c) the product 5.620 X 𝜋.
9) A carpet is to be installed in a room whose length is measured to be
12.71 m and whose width is measured to be
3.46 m. Find the area of the room.
If you multiply 12.71 m by 3.46 m on your calculator,
you will see an answer of 43.976 6 m2.
3.46 m, so we should express our final answer as 44.0 m2.
2. Vectors
2.1 Coordinate Systems
Polar to Cartesian Coordinates
• Based on forming a right triangle from r and q
• x = r cos q
• y = r sin q
Cartesian to Polar Coordinates
• r is the hypotenuse and q an angle 10) If the rectangular coordinates of a point are given by (2, y)
y and its polar coordinates are (r, 30°), determine y and r.
tanq =
x
r = x2 + y 2
• q must be ccw from positive x axis for these equations to be
valid
2. Vectors
2.4 Components of a Vector and Unit Vectors
11) Vector 𝑨 is in the direction 34⁰ clockwise from the –y axis. The x-component of 𝑨 is
Ax=-16 m. (a) What is the y-component of 𝑨 ? (b) What is the magnitude of 𝑨 ?
12) Consider the two vectors A= 3𝐢Ƹ − 2𝐉መ and B = −𝐢Ƹ − 4𝐉መ .
Calculate (a) A + B, (b) A - B, (c) A + B , (d) A − B , and (e) the directions of A + B and A - B.
2. Vectors
2.4 Components of a Vector and Unit Vectors
መ Find
13) A vector is given by R = 2𝐢Ƹ + 𝐉መ + 3 𝐤.
(a) the magnitudes of the x, y, and z components,
(b) the magnitude of R, and
(c) the angles between R and the x, y, and z axes.
2. Vectors
2.5 Products of Vectors
i) Scalar Product
ii) Vector Product
𝑪 = 𝑨 𝑿 𝑩 ⇒ C = ABsin φ
𝑨 𝑿 𝑩 = −𝑩 𝑿 𝑨
𝑩 𝑿 𝑨 = −𝑨 𝑿 𝑩
2. Vectors
2.5 Products of Vectors
14) For the two vectors 𝑨 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑩 in figure
(a) find the scalar product 𝑨 · 𝑩
(b) find the magnitude and direction of the vector product 𝑨 𝑿 𝑩
3. Motion in One Dimesion
15) The position versus time for a certain particle moving along the x axis is
shown in Figure given below. Find the average velocity in the time intervals
(a) 2 s to 4 s, (b) 4 s to 7 s, (c) 0 to 8 s
(b)
(a)
(c)
16) A position-time graph for a particle moving along the x axis is shown in Figure given below.
(a) Find the average velocity in the time interval t = 1.50 s to t = 4.00 s.
(b) Determine the instantaneous velocity at t = 2.00 s by measuring the slope of the tangent line shown in the graph.
(c) At what value of t is the velocity zero?
3. Motion in One Dimesion
17) The graph in figure shows the velocity of a car plotted as a function of time.
(a) Find the instantaneous acceleration at t=3 s, at t=7 s and at t= 11s
(b) How far does the car go in the first 5 s? The first 9 s?
(a)
(b)
3. Motion in One Dimesion
18) A particle starts from rest and accelerates as shown in Figure. Determine (a) the particle’s speed at t
= 10.0 s and at t = 20.0 s, and (b) the distance traveled in the first 20.0 s.
3. Motion in One Dimesion
19) A particle moves along the x axis according to the equation
x = 2.00 + 3.00t - 1.00t2, where x is in meters and t is in seconds. At t = 3.00 s, find
(a) the position of the particle,
(b) its velocity, and
(c) its acceleration.
3. Motion in One Dimesion
20) The height of a helicopter above the ground is given by h= 3.00t3, where h is in meters and t is in seconds. After 2.00 s, the
helicopter releases a box. How long after its release does the box reach the ground?
4. Two Dimensional Motion
21) A particle initially located at the origin has an acceleration of a = 3.00𝐉መ m/s2 and an initial velocity of vi = 500𝐢Ƹ m/s. Find (a) the vector
position and velocity at any time t and (b) the coordinates and speed of the particle at t = 2.00 s.
4. Two Dimensional Motion
22) A long-jumper leaves the ground at an angle of 20.0° above the horizontal and at a speed of 11.0 m/s.
a) How far does he jump in the horizontal direction? (Assume his motion is equivalent to that of a particle.)
b) What is the maximum height reached?
4. Two Dimensional Motion
23) A motorcycle stunt rider rides off the edge of a cliff. Just at the edge his
velocity is horizontal, with magnitude 9.0 m/s. Find the motorcycle’s position,
distance from the edge of the cliff, and velocity 0.50 s after it leaves the edge of
the cliff.
4. Two Dimensional Motion
24) Figure, represents the total acceleration of a particle moving clockwise in a circle of radius 2.50 m at a certain instant of time. At this
instant, find
(a) the radial acceleration,
(b) the speed of the particle, and
(c) its tangential acceleration.
5. The Laws of Motion
5.3 Mass
✓ Mass is an inherent property of an object. 𝑚1 𝑎1 = 𝑚2 𝑎2
✓ Mass is independent of the object’s surroundings. 𝑚2 𝑎1
=
✓ Mass is a scalar quantity.
𝑚1 𝑎2
25) A force F applied to an object of mass m1 produces an acceleration of 3.00 m/s2. The same force applied to a second object of mass m2
produces an acceleration of 1.00 m/s2. (a) What is the value of the ratio m1/m2? (b) If m1 and m 2 are combined, find their acceleration under
the action of the force F.
5. The Laws of Motion
5.4 Newton’s Second Law
26) Two forces F1 and F2 act on a 5.00-kg object. If F1 = 20.0 N and F2 =15.0
N, find the accelerations in (a) and (b) of Figure.
5. The Laws of Motion
5.5 The Gravitational Force and Weight
The force that makes the body accelerate downward is its weight 𝑭𝒈 = 𝒘 = 𝑚𝒈
27) At the surface of Jupiter’s moon Io, the acceleration due to gravity is 1.81 m/s2. A watermelon weighs 44.0 N at the surface of the
earth. (a) What is the watermelon’s mass on the earth’s surface? (b) What are its mass and weight on the surface of Io?
The mass of the watermelon is constant, independent of its location. Its weight differs on earth and Jupiter’s moon. Use the information
about the watermelon’s weight on earth to calculate its mass:
𝑭𝒈 = 𝒘 = 𝑚𝒈
On Jupiter’s moon, m = 4.49 kg, the same as on earth. Thus the weight on Jupiter’s moon is