PHYS 1P21/1P91 Test 2 Solutions 23 May 2013

1. A car travelling at 80 km/h runs out of gas while travelling up a 5◦ slope. How far will it coast
before it stops? [3 points]

Solution: First let’s convert the speed to m/s:

km 1000 m 1h
80 × × = 22.2 m/s
h 1 km 3600 s
Draw a free-body diagram and you will see that the acceleration of the car as it coasts up the slope is

ax = g sin 5◦

where we take the x-axis aligned with the slope. Using the kinematics equation

(vx )2f − (vx )2i = 2ax ∆x

and solving for the displacement ∆x, we obtain

(vx )2f − (vx )2i

∆x =
2ax
Inserting the given values, we obtain

(0)2 − (22.2)2
∆x =
2 (9.80 × sin 5◦ )
∆x = 289 m

2. King Arthur’s knights use a catapult to launch a rock from the top of the castle wall, 12 m above
the ground. The rock is launched at a speed of 25 m/s and an angle of 30◦ above the horizontal. How far
from the castle wall does the rock hit the ground? [5 points]

Solution: Strategy: Separate the motion into components as usual. Determine the time of the motion
using the y-component of the motion. Then determine the displacement in the x-direction.
Set up a coördinate system so that the ground level is at y = 0 and the top of the castle wall is at
y = 12; that is, “up” is positive.
 In the y-direction, the relevant kinematics equation is
1
yf = yi + (vy )i ∆t + ay (∆t)2
2
1
0 = 12 + (25 sin 30◦ ) ∆t + (−9.8) (∆t)2
2
2
0 = 4.9 (∆t) − 12.5∆t − 12
p
12.5 ± (−12.5)2 − 4(4.9)(−12)
∆t =
2(4.9)
p
12.5 ± 12.52 + 4(4.9)(12)
∆t =
√ 9.8
12.5 ± 391.45
∆t =
9.8
12.5 ± 19.78
∆t =
9.8
The negative solution to the previous equation is not relevant (it represents the time at which the rock
would have to have been thrown (with the right velocity) from ground level so that it would reach the top
of the wall at t = 0 and reproduce the rest of the motion), so
12.5 + 19.78
∆t =
9.8
∆t = 3.29 s

The rock lands a distance ∆x from the base of the wall, where

xf = xi + (vx )i ∆t
xf − xi = (vx )i ∆t
∆x = (vx )i ∆t
∆x = 25 cos 30◦ (3.29)
∆x = 71 m

The rock hits the ground 71 m from the base of the castle wall.

3. Briefly explain how each phenomenon can be explained using Newton’s first law. [8 points]
(a) You are a passenger in a car that suddenly stops, and you feel as if you are thrown forward.
(b) You are a passenger in a car that turns sharply to the left, and you feel as if you are thrown to the
right.
(c) A marble sits in a child’s wagon that is intially at rest. Basil starts the wagon moving forward, and
he sees that the marble rolls towards the back of the wagon.
(d) Describe and explain any different example of Newton’s first law.

Solution:
 (a) From the perspective of an observer to the side of the car, you have a tendency to continue on in
a straight line at a constant speed (according to Newton’s first law of motion), even as the car is slowing
down. The seatbelt slows you down. From your perspective, you feel as if there is a force pushing you
forward relative to the car, but the actual force on you pulls you back, slowing you down, and preventing
you from continuing on in a straight line at a constant speed.

(b) From the perspective of an observer to the side of the car, you have a tendency to continue on in
a straight line at a constant speed (according to Newton’s first law of motion), even as the car turns to
the left. From your perspective, you feel as if there is a force pushing you “outwards,” to the right, but
the actual force on you pulls you to the left, towards the centre of the circle that the car turns in. The car
door and the seat belt prevent you from continuing on in a straight line at a constant speed.

(c) According to Newton’s first law, the marble will remain at rest unless there is a net force acting
on it. When the wagon is pulled, it accelerates forward. However, the frictional force between the bed of
the wagon and the marble is small, so the forward acceleration of the marble is also small. An observer
standing near the wagon will see that the marble moves forward, but not as fast as the wagon; therefore,
from the perspective of an observer sitting in the wagon, the marble will appear to move backward and
hits the back of the wagon. An outside observer sees the marble and wagon both moving forward, but the
back of the wagon moves faster, and so catches up to the marble and hits it.

4. Alice is on an elevator.
(a) Draw a free-body diagram of Alice if the elevator accelerates upward. [3 points]
(b) Draw a free-body diagram of Alice if the elevator accelerates downward. [3 points]

Both free-body diagrams are the same, and contain just two forces: The weight of Alice in the downward
direction, and the normal force of the floor on Alice in the upward direction.
Although the cable pulls the elevator, it doesn’t act directly on Alice, so it doesn’t appear on a free-body
diagram of Alice.

5. A 2000-kg car pushes a 100-kg barbecue at a constant speed in a regrettable incident. The car exerts
a force of magnitude FCB on the barbecue, and the barbecue exerts a force of magnitude FBC on the car.
Which force has the greater magnitude, or are they equal? Explain. [3 points]

Whether the speed is constant or not is irrelevant; because the objects are in contact, the magnitude of
the force that the car exerts on the barbecue is the same as the magnitude of the force that the barbecue
exerts on the car, as described by Newton’s third law of motion.