MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Department of Physics Physics 8.

01 Fall 2001

50-MINUTE EXAM 2 SOLUTIONS

Monday, October 22, 2001

FAMILY (LAST) NAME

GIVEN (FIRST) NAME

STUDENT ID NUMBER R01 MW 1:00 MW 2:00 MW 3:00 MW 1:00 MW 2:00 MW 2:00 MW 3:00 MW 4:00 MW 1:00 MW 2:00 MW 3:00 TR 1:00 TR 2:00 TR 3:00 TR 10:00 TR 11:00 TR 12:00 TR 9:00 TR 10:00 TR 11:00 TR 2:00 TR 3:00 TR 11:00 TR 12:00 TR 1:00 TR 3:00 Jason Seely Wit Busza Brian Patt Bruno Coppi Bruno Coppi Brian Patt Vishesh Khemani Vishesh Khemani Michael Feld Michael Feld Michael Feld Norbert Schulz Norbert Schulz Sekazi Mtingwa Jerey Bowers Jerey Bowers Yoav Bergner Ali Nayeri Ali Nayeri Yoav Bergner Ronak Bhatt Ronak Bhatt Hugh Manini Hugh Manini Sekazi Mtingwa James McBride

Your class (check one) =

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. SHOW ALL WORK. All work is to be done in this booklet. Extra blank pages are provided. 2. FORMULA SHEETS are in the back of this exam. You may tear them o. 3. This is a closed book exam. CALCULATORS, BOOKS, and NOTES are NOT ALLOWED. 4. For full credit, all answers must be expressed in terms of the GIVEN VARIABLES, unless otherwise stated. 5. Do all FOUR (4) problems. 6. PRINT your NAME on each page of this booklet which you use for your solutions. 7. Exams will be COLLECTED 5 minutes before the hour.

R02 R03 R04 R05 R06 R07 R08 R09 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15 R16 R17 R18 R19 R20 R21 R22 R23 R24 R25 R26

Problem 1 2 3 4 TOTAL

Maximum 30 30 25 15 100

Score

Grader

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

Problem 1: Peters Elevator Ride (30 points ) Each part is worth 5 points. Please mark your answers by circling them. For these multiple choice questions you need not show your work, and there will be no partial credit. Peter, who has a mass of 80 kg, steps into an elevator and travels from the 4th to the 3rd oor, a total vertical distance of 4 m. Peters trip in the elevator begins with the elevator at rest on the 4th oor, and ends after the elevator has come to rest on the 3rd oor. In the following questions, we seek answers that apply in the frame of reference of the building. Take g = 10 m/s2 . a) During the trip described above, how much work does the force of gravity do on Peter? (i) 3200 J (ii) 3200 J (iii) 3.2 106 J (iv) 3.2 106 J (v) zero

b) During this trip, Peters gravitational potential energy changes by how much? (A positive number indicates an increase; a negative number indicates a decrease.) (i) 3200 J (ii) 3200 J (iii) 3.2 106 J (iv) 3.2 106 J (v) zero

c) How much work does the elevator oor do on Peter during the trip? (i) 3200 J (ii) 3200 J (iii) 3.2 106 J (iv) 3.2 106 J (v) zero

d) When the elevator is midway between the oors, its downward speed is 1 m/s. From the time that the elevator begins at rest to this half-way point, how much work does gravity do on Peter? (i) 1600 J (ii) 1600 J (iii) 1640 J (iv) 1640 J 6 (v) 1560 J (vi) 1560 J (vii) 1.60 10 J (viii) 1.60 106 J (ix) 1.64 106 J (x) 1.64 106 J (xi) 1.56 106 J (xii) 1.56 106 J (xiii) zero e) Continue thinking about the situation described in part (d). From the time that the elevator begins at rest to this half-way point, how much work does the elevator oor do on Peter? (i) 1600 J (ii) 1600 J (iii) 1640 J (iv) 1640 J 6 (vi) 1560 J (vii) 1.60 10 J (viii) 1.60 106 J (v) 1560 J (ix) 1.64 106 J (x) 1.64 106 J (xi) 1.56 106 J (xii) 1.56 106 J (xiii) zero f) Suppose now that Peter is carrying a briefcase, with a mass of 5 kg. From the time that the elevator begins at rest on the 4th oor to the time it comes to rest again on the 3rd oor, how much work does Peter do on the briefcase? (i) 200 J (ii) 200 J (iii) 2 105 J 2 (iv) 2 105 J (v) zero

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

Problem 2: Collisions on a frictionless track (30 points )

An initially stationary block of mass MA slides downward on a curved track. The net change in its height is denoted by h, with h > 0. The track levels o, as shown in the diagram, so that the block is sliding on a horizontal section when it collides with a stationary cart of mass MB . Take the acceleration of gravity as g (g > 0), and assume that friction is negligible in all stages of this problem. (a) (6 points ) What is the speed v1 of the block just before the collision? (b) (6 points ) If the block sticks to the cart, what is the speed v2 of the block/cart system immediately after the collision? (c) (9 points ) The moving block/cart system then collides with a stationary cart of mass MC . Suppose that this collision is perfectly elastic (i.e., kinetic energy is conserved). Let v3 denote the x-component of the velocity of the block/cart system immediately after the collision, and let v4 denote the x-component of the velocity of the single cart after the collision. Write down one equation or a set of equations that could be solved to determine v3 in terms of MA , MB , MC , and v2 . You need not solve these equations. (d) (9 points ) Another way to analyze the collision discussed in part (c) is to work in the center-of-mass or zero-momentum reference frame the reference frame in which the center of mass is at rest, and the total momentum is zero. What is the velocity of this frame relative to the laboratory frame (the frame in which the track is at rest), and what are the velocities of each object, before the collision, when measured in this frame? You may express your answer in terms of MA , MB , MC , and v2 .

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

Problem 3: A suitcase placed on a conveyor belt (25 points ) A suitcase of mass M is placed on a level conveyor belt at an airport. The coecient of static friction between the suitcase and the conveyor belt is s , and the coecient of kinetic friction is k , with k < s . The conveyor belt moves with constant speed u, and at time t = 0 the suitcase is placed on the conveyor with speed v = 0. (a) (6 points ) At t = 0, what is the total force F acting on the suitcase? (b) (6 points ) How long does the suitcase take to reach the speed of the conveyor belt (i.e. at what time t does v (t) = u)? (c) (7 points ) What is the work done by friction on the suitcase during this time? Be sure that you give the sign as well as the magnitude. (d) (6 points ) After the suitcase reaches the speed of the conveyor belt, what is the force of friction that acts on it? Answer: (a) The normal force upward cancels the force of gravity downward, so the total force acting on the suitcase at t = 0 is equal to the force of friction. Since the suitcase has zero velocity and the conveyor belt is moving, there is a nonzero relative velocity between the suitcase and the conveyor belt, and hence the friction is kinetic. So

|F| = k N = k M g .

The direction opposes the relative motion. Since the velocity of the suitcase relative to the conveyor belt is in the negative x-direction, the force on the suitcase is in the positive x-direction . (b) Since the total force is in the x-direction and is constant, vx (t) = ax t = 8 Fx t. M

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

Thus, the time t at which the speed reaches u is given by Fx t=u M = t= M u. Fx

If one substitutes Fx = k M g , one nds that t= u . k g

(c) To nd the work done by friction, start by noting that the suitcase moves in the positive x-direction, which is the same direction as the force, so the work is positive. Since Fx is constant, the work done on the suitcase is W = Fx , where is the distance traveled. Since the acceleration is uniform, = Combining the equations, 1 1 2 2 Fx t = (k M g )2 2M 2M u k g
2

1 Fx 2 1 a x t2 = t . 2 2M

W =

1 M u2 . 2

Alternatively, one could have seen that W = 1 M u2 from the work-energy theorem, 2 1 2 since 2 M u is the increase in kinetic energy of the suitcase. Friction always acts to oppose the relative motion of two surfaces. In this case that means that friction causes the suitcase to accelerate in the direction of its motion, so its kinetic energy increases and the work done by friction is positive. (d) Once the suitcase reaches the speed of the conveyor belt, there is no relative motion between the suitcase and the conveyor belt, so the relevant frictional force is that of static friction. Static friction will exert whatever force is necessary to prevent the surfaces from slipping, up to a maximum magnitude of s |N|, where N is the normal force. In this case no horizontal force is necessary to keep the suitcase moving with the conveyor belt, so the force of friction will be zero .

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

Problem 4: Raining on a brick wall (15 points ) A brick wall has the shape of a rectangular slab, with height h, width w, and length , as shown in the diagram. Assume that rain falls straight downward on the wall at a constant speed v , and that the amount of rain in the air per unit volume is . (In SI units, would be measured in kg/m3 .) The wall has mass M , and the acceleration of gravity is denoted by g , with g > 0. a) (5 points ) If the rain falls straight downward, what is the rate R (mass per unit time) at which water strikes the top surface? b) (6 points ) If the rain collects on the top surface and then runs o the side with negligible velocity, what force F does the rainwater exert on the top surface of the brick wall? (When asked for a vector, you should always make sure that you have specied the direction as well as the magnitude.) c) (4 points ) Under the circumstances described in parts (a) and (b), what is the normal force N that the ground exerts on the wall?

10

8.01 Exam 2 Solutions, Fall 2001 Name

Solution to Problem 3 by Prof. Alan Guth; other solutions by Prof. Wit Busza. 11