Homework 6

Quinn Ngo
October 5, 2016
Problem 1. A small ball around a horizontal circle at height y inside the cone shown in the figure above.
Find an expression for the balls speed in terms of a, h, y, and g, or a subset thereof.

Using Newtons second law, we obtain the equations

mv 2
R

(1)

N cos = mg.

(2)

N sin =
and
By dividing equation (1) by equation (2), we obtain
tan =

v2
.
Rg

Solving for v, we get

v=
In this scenario, R =

Rg tan .

ay
h
and tan = . Substituting these values into equation (3) gives us
h
a
s
 ay   h 
v= g
= gy.
h
a

(3)

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PHYS 151

Problem 2. Mass m1 on the frictionless table of the figure above is connected by a string through a hole in
the table to a hanging mass m2 . With what speed must m1 rotate in a circle of radius r if m2 is to remain
hanging at rest?
Using Newtons second law, we obtain the equations
T = m2 g
T =

m1 v
r

Thus
m2 g =

(1)
2

(2)

m1 v 2
.
r

Isolating v, we get
r
v=

m2 rg
m1

Problem 3. A small bead can slide without friction on a circular hoop that is in a vertical plane and has a
radius of r = 0.100 m. The hoop rotates at a constant rate of 4.00 rev/s about a vertical diameter, as shown.
a) Find the angle at which the bead is in vertical equilibrium.
Newtons second law gives us the equations
N cos = mg
N sin =

mv
R

(1)
2

(2)

Note that here, R = r sin . Consequently, v 2 = (R)2 = 2 r2 sin2 . Substituting these into equation
(2) and simplifying gives us
N = m 2 r
(3)
By dividing equation (1) by equation (4), we get
cos =
Thus
1

= cos

g
2 r

g
2
(8) (0.100)

(4)


= 81.07 .

b) Is it possible for the bead to ride at the same elevation as the center of the hoop?
No, because there will be no normal force, and consequently, no centripetal force.
c) What will happen if the hoop rotates at 1.00 rev/s?
The bead will fall off of the hoop, because there will not be enough centripetal force to keep it on the
hoop.

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PHYS 151

Problem 4. Consider a wet, banked roadway turn, where there is a coefficient of static friction of 0.30 and
a coefficient of kinetic friction of 0.25 between the tires and the roadway. The radius of the curve is R = 50
m. An automobile is driving along the bank.
a) If the banking angle is = 25 , what is the maximum speed the automobile can have before sliding up
the banking?

Newtons second law gives us

mv 2
R
N cos = mg + fs sin

fs cos + N sin =

(1)
(2)

The automobile will begin to slip when fs is at its maximum, so we have

fs = s N.
By substituting this into equations (1) and (2) and performing some algebra, we get the equations
mv 2
R
N (cos s sin ) = mg
N (s cos + sin ) =

Diving (3) by (4) yields

s


s cos + sin
v = gR
cos s sin
s


(.30) cos 25 + sin 25
= (9.81)(50)
cos 25 (.30) sin 25
= 20.90 m/s
3

(3)
(4)

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PHYS 151

b) What is the minimum speed the automobile can have before sliding down the bank?

mv 2
R
N cos + fs sin = mg

N sin fs cos =

(1)
(2)

The automobile will begin to slip when fs is at its maximum, so we have

fs = s N.
By substituting this into equations (1) and (2) and performing some algebra, we get the equations
mv 2
R
N (cos + s sin ) = mg

N (sin s cos ) =

Dividing (3) by (4) yields

s


sin s cos
v = gR
cos + s sin
s


sin 25 (0.30) cos 25
= (9.81)(50)
cos 25 + (0.30) sin 25


= 8.46 m/s

(3)
(4)

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PHYS 151

Problem 5. As you travel every day to campus, the road makes a large turn that is approximately an arc of
a circle. You notice the warning sign at the start of the turn, asking for a maximum speed of 55 mi/hr. You
also notice that in the curved portion the road is level; that is, not banked at all. On a dry day with very
little traffic, you enter the turn at a constant speed of 80 mi/hr and feel the car may skid if you do not slow
quickly. You conclude that your speed is at the limit of safety for this curve and you slow down. However,
you remember reading that on dry pavement new tires have an average coefficient of static friction of about
0.76, while under the worst winter driving conditions, you may encounter wet ice for which the coefficient of
static friction can be as low as 0.20. Wet ice is not unheard of on this road, so you ask yourself whether the
speed limit for the turn on the roadside warning sign is for the worst-case scenario.
a) Estimate the radius of the curve from your 80 mi/hr experience in the dry turn.
We have
F = fs =

mv 2
.
R

Since fsmax = s N , and N = mg, we have

s mg =

mv 2
.
R

We have v = 80 mph = 35.76 m/s, s = .76, so

R=

v2
(35.7632)2
=
= 171.5 m.
s g
(.76)(9.81)

b) Use this estimate to find the maximum speed limit in the turn under the worst wet-ice conditions.
How does this compare with the speed limit on the sign? Is the sign misleading drivers?
Using the same formula as in part (a), we have
p
p
v = Rs g = (171.5)(.20)(9.81) = 18.3435 m/s = 41.033 mph.
No, it is common knowledge that drivers should drive well below the speed limit in particularly bad
wet-ice conditions.
c) On a rainy day, the coefficient of static friction would be about 0.37. What is the maximum safe speed
for the turn when the road is wet. Does your answer help you understand the maximum-speed sign?
Using the same formula as in part (a), we have
p
p
v = Rs g = (171.5)(.37)(9.81) = 24.9498 m/s = 55.8 mph.
Yes, my answer is very close to the speed limit, which indicates that speed limits account for rainfall.

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PHYS 151

Problem 6. A small lock with a mass of 0.0900 kg is attached to a cord passing through a hole in a
frictionless horizontal surface. The block is originally revolving at a distance of 0.40 m from the hole with a
speed of 0.70 m/s. The cord is then pulled from below, shortening the radius of the circle in which the block
revolves to 0.10 m. At this new distance, the speed of the block is observed to be 2.80 m/s.
a) What is the tension in the cord in the original situation when the block has v = 0.70 m/s?
Newtons second law gives us
T =

(.09000)(.7)2
mv 2
=
= .1103 N.
R
.4

b) What is the tension in the cord in the final situation when the block has speed v = 2.80 m/s?
Newtons second law gives us
T =

(.09000)(2.8)2
mv 2
=
= 7.056 N.
R
.1

c) How much work was done by the person who pulled on the cord?

W = KE =

1
1
1
mvf2 mvi2 = (.09000)(2.82 .72 ) = .3308 J.
2
2
2

Problem 7. An object is attracted toward the origin with a force given by Fx = k/x2 . (Gravitational and
electrical forces have this distance dependence, as we will see).
a) Calculate the work done by the force Fx when the object moves in the x-direction from x1 to x2 . If
x2 > x1 , is the work done by Fx positive or negative?
Z

x2

x1

If x2 > x1 , then

 x2


k
k
1
1
dx
=
=
k

.
x2
x x1
x2
x1

x2

F (x) dx =

W =

x1

1
1
1
1
<
, so

< 0. Hence the work done by Fx is negative (so long as k is

x2
x1
x2
x1

negative).
b) The only other force acting on the object is the force that you exert with your hand to cause the object
to move slowly (i.e. constant speed) from x1 to x2 . How much work do you do? If x2 > x1 , is the
work you do positive or negative.
Since the object moves at a constant speed, we know that the sum of the forces acting upon it, we
know that the sum of the forces must be 0. Hence we know that the work done by my hand is
Z

x2

W =

x2

F (x) dx =
x1

x1

k
dx = k
x2

1
1

x1
x2


,

which is positive for x2 > x1 (as long as k is positive).

c) Explain the similarities and differences between your answers to parts (a) and (b).
The answers in parts (a) and (b) had the same magnitude, but different signs, which indicate that one
force was contributing energy toward the system while the other was taking energy away.

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PHYS 151

Problem 8. On a winter day in Maine, a warehouse worker is shoving boxes up a rough plank inclined at
an angle above the horizontal. The plank is partially covered with ice, with more ice near the bottom
of the plank than near the top, so that the coefficient of friction increases with the distance x along the
plank: = Ax, where A is a positive constant and the bottom of the plank is at x = 0. (For this plank the
coefficients of kinetic and static friction are equal: k = s = .) The worker shoves a box up the plank so
that it leaves the bottom of the plank moving at speed v0 . Show that when the box first comes to rest, it
will remain at rest if
3g sin2
.
v02
A cos
Let x1 be the distance box is from its initial point when it first comes to rest. We can express the total
work done as


Z x1
Z x1
A
W =
F (x) dx =
(mg sin + mAgx cos ) dx = mg x1 sin + x21 cos .
2
0
0
We also have

1
W = KE = 0 mv02 .
2

Equating out two formulas, we have



A
1
g x1 sin + x21 cos = v02 .
2
2
This in a quadratic in x1 , so using the quadratic formula, we get
q
g sin + g 2 sin2 + Agv02 cos
x1 =
.
Ag cos
From Newtons second law, we have
f mg sin = 0.
Since
f mg cos = Ax1 mg cos ,
we get the inequality
Ax1 mg cos mg sin 0.
We substitute our value for x1 and get
g sin +

q
g 2 sin2 + Agv12 cos
Ag cos

Simplifying yields
v02

3g sin2
,
A cos

as desired.

sin
.
A cos