Physics 121.

6 2007/2008
Assignment 4 - Solutions
1. Chapter 5, Problem 2. A force F
r
applied to an object of mass m
1
produces an
acceleration of 3.00 m/s
2
. The same force applied to a second object of mass m
2

produces an acceleration of 1.00 m/s
2
. (a) What is the value of the ratio m
1
/m
2
?
(b) If m
1
and m
2
are combined into one object, what is the acceleration under the
action of the force F
r
?
Solution:
With F
r
= F ,
1 1
a m F = with a
1
=3.00 m/s
2

and
2 2
a m F = with a
2
=1.00 m/s
2

(a)
From
1
1
a
F
m = and from
2
2
a
F
m =
So:
3
1
m/s 00 . 3
m/s 00 . 1
2
2
1
2
2
1
2
1
= = = =
a
a
a F
a F
m
m


(b)
What is a when ? a m m F ) (
2 1
+ =
Using and the result from (a): m
2
=3m
1

2 2
4
1
1 4
1
1 1 1 2 1 1 1
m/s 750 . 0 ) m/s 00 . 3 (
4 ) 3 ( ) (
= = =
= + = + =
a a
a m a m m a m m a m

- 1 -
Assignment 4 - Solutions
2. Chapter 5, Problem 6. A woman weighs 120 lb. Determine (a) her weight in
Newtons and (b) her mass in kilograms.
Solution:
(a) Using 1 lb =4.448 N
Her weight is: N 534
lb 1
N 4.448
lb 120 =

= W
(b) Assuming she is on the Earth where g =9.80 m/s
2
,
W =mg
kg 5 . 54
m/s 80 . 9
N 534
2
= = =
g
W
m

3. Chapter 5, Problem 14. Three forces acting on an object are given by
( )N

00 . 2

00 . 2
1
j i F + =
r
, ( )N

00 . 3

00 . 5
2
j i F =
r
, and N )

0 . 45 (
3
i F =
r
. The object
experiences an acceleration of magnitude 3.75 m/s
2
. (a) What is the direction of
the acceleration? (b) What is the mass of the object? (c) If the object is initially at
rest, what is its speed after 10.0 s? (d) What are the velocity components of the
object after 10.0 s?
Solution:
(a) Newtons 2
nd
Law:

= + + = a F F F F
r
r r r r
m
3 2 1

So direction of a is in direction of net force.
r
( ) ( ) ( )
N

) 00 . 1 (

) 0 . 42 (

0 . 45

00 . 3

00 . 5

00 . 2

00 . 2
j i
i j i j i F
+ =
+ + + =

r

So direction of acceleration is given by , the angle counter clockwise around
from the +x axis. Then:
=

= = 4 . 181
0 . 42
00 . 1
tan
x
y
F
F
(3
rd
quadrant) =181 to 3 sig. figs.
(b) ma m = =

a F
r
r

N 0 . 42 N) 00 . 1 ( N) 0 . 42 (
2 2 2 2
= + = + =
y x
F F F
r

So kg 2 . 11
m/s 3.75
N 0 . 42
2
= = =

a
m
F
r

(c) t t
i f
a a v v
r r r r
= + = since we know 0 =
i
v
r
. Therefore
f
v
r
is in same direction as a
r

which is in same direction as

F
r
.
So speed = m/s 5 . 37 ) s 0 . 10 )( m/s 75 . 3 (
2
= = = = at v
f f
v
r

(d) m/s 37.5 ) 4 . 181 cos( ) m/s 5 . 37 ( cos = = =
f xf
v v
m/s 0.893 ) 4 . 181 sin( ) m/s 5 . 37 ( sin = = =
f yf
v v
- 2 -
Assignment 4 - Solutions
4. Imagine you are standing on a cardboard box that is only just strong enough to
support your weight. What would happen to it if you tried to jump into the air?
The cardboard box would
(A) collapse.
(B) be unaffected.
(C) spring up as well.
(D) move sideways.
(E) None of these.
Solution:
When you try to jump into the air, you have to accelerate yourself vertically. To do this
your legs act like springs which act like the interaction between your body and the box.
Since there is an upward force on your body, F, giving you the
upward acceleration, there must be an equal an opposite
downward force on the box.
mg
F
a
+y
Considering an FBD of the forces on the body:
ma mg F
ma mg F F
y
+ =
= =

Thus F is greater than your weight.
Therefore the force downward on the box is greater than your
weight, and is therefore greater than the box can support.
Therefore the box will collapse.
Answer A.

- 3 -
Assignment 4 - Solutions
5. Chapter 5, Problem 20. A bag of cement of weight 325 N
hangs from three wires as shown in Figure P5.20. Two of
the wires make angles
1
=60.0 and
2
=25.0 with the
horizontal. Assuming the system is in equilibrium, find the
tensions T
1
, T
2
, and T
3
in the wires.


Solution:
Since the bag of cement is in equilibrium:
N 325
0
3
3
= =
= =

W T
W T F
y

W

2
T
1
T
2
T
3
A
x
y

2
Since the join at point A is in equilibrium:

= = 0 cos cos
1 1 2 2
T T F
x

= + = 0 sin sin
3 2 2 1 1
T T T F
y

From
2
1
1 2
cos
cos

T T =
and inserting into
[ ]
[ ]
2 1 1
3
1
3 2 1 1 1
3 2
2
1
1 1 1
tan cos sin
tan cos sin
sin
cos
cos
sin

+
=
= +
= +
T
T
T T
T T T

[ ]
N 296
) )tan(25.0 cos(60.0 ) sin(60.0
N 325
1
=
+
= T
Then
N 163
) 0 . 25 cos(
) 0 . 60 cos(
296
cos
cos
2
1
1 2
=

= =

T T
So T
1
=296 N, T
2
=163 N, T
3
=325 N.

- 4 -
Assignment 4 - Solutions
6. Chapter 5, Problem 24. Draw a free-body diagram of a block which slides down
a frictionless plane having an inclination of =15.0. The block starts from rest
at the top, and the length of the incline is 2.00 m. Find (a) the acceleration of the
block and (b) its speed when it reaches the bottom of the incline.
Solution:
FBD:



a
n
mg
x
y
Newtons 2
rd
Law:

mg
mg sin
mg cos

= = = ma ma mg F
x x
sin

= = = 0 cos
y y
ma mg n F
(a) So from first equation:
2
2
m/s 54 . 2
) 0 . 15 sin( ) m/s 80 . 9 (
sin
=
=
= g a

(b) ) ( 2
2 2
i f x xi xf
x x a v v + =
v
xi
=0 since block starts from rest, and let x
i
=0, so x
f
=2.00 m
m/s 19 . 3 m) 00 . 2 )( m/s 54 . 2 ( 2 2
2
= = =
f x xf
x a v
- 5 -
Assignment 4 - Solutions
7. Chapter 5, Problem 26. A 5.00-kg object placed on a frictionless, horizontal
table is connected to a cable that passes over a pulley and then is fastened to a
hanging 9.00-kg object, as in Figure P5.24. Draw free-body diagrams of both
objects. Find the acceleration of the two objects and the tension in the string.
[Assume the mass of the cable and the pulley are negligible and the pulley is
frictionless.]
Solution:
Since we can neglect the masses of the
cable and the pulley, and the pulley is
frictionless the tension at both ends of the
cable are the same (magnitude T).
m
1
=5.00 kg
m
2
=9.00 kg
T
T
Let us assume m
2
accelerates downward
with magnitude a. Since the two things are
connected by the cable the acceleration of
m
1
also has magnitude a, but is to the right.

FBD for m
1
:
a m a m T F
x
x 1 1
= = =

m
1
g
T
n
x
y
a

= = = 0
1 1 y y
a m g m n F





FBD for m
2
:
Note that I have chosen a different coordinate system from the one I
chose for the FBD for m
1
. It does not have to be the same for each
FBD. Here I choose +y to be downward, in the same direction as the
expected acceleration.
m
2
g
T
+y
a

= = = a m a m T g m F
y y 2 2 2




Inserting : , into : a m T
1
=
g
m m
m
a
a m m g m
a m a m g m
) (
) (
2 1
2
2 1 2
2 1 2
+
=
+ =
=

So:
2 2
m/s 30 . 6 ) m/s 80 . 9 (
) kg 00 . 9 kg (5.00
kg 00 . 9
=
+
= a
Then: N 5 . 31 ) m/s 30 . 6 )( kg 00 . 5 (
2
1
= = = a m T
- 6 -
Assignment 4 - Solutions
8. Chapter 5, Problem 28. Two objects are connected by a light string that passes
over a frictionless pulley, as in Figure P5.28. Draw free-body diagrams of both
objects. If the incline is frictionless and if m
1
=2.00 kg, m
2
=6.00 kg, and
=55.0, find (a) the accelerations of the objects, (b) the tension in the string,
and (c) the speed of each object 2.00 s after being released from rest.
Solution:
Since we can neglect the masses of the string and the
pulley, and the pulley is frictionless the tension at both
ends of the cable are the same (magnitude T). Let us
assume m
2
accelerates down the incline with magnitude a.
Since the two things are connected by the string the
acceleration of m
1
also has magnitude a upward.

m
2
T

m
1

FBD of m
1
:

= = a m g m T F
y 1 1

a
+y T

m
1
g





FBD of m
2
:

= = a m T g m F
x 2 2
sin
m
2
g
T


x

y

a

n

m
2
g
m
2
gcos
m
2
gsin

= = 0 cos
2
g m n F
y








From : g m a m T
1 1
+ =
Inserting into :
( )
( )
2 1
1 2
1 2 2 1
2 1 1 2
) sin (
sin
) ( sin
m m
g m m
a
g m g m a m m
a m g m a m g m
+

=
= +
= +

(a) So
( )
2 2
m/s 57 . 3 ) m/s 80 . 9 (
kg 00 . 6 kg 00 . 2
) kg 00 . 2 ) 0 . 55 sin( kg 00 . 6 (
=
+

= a
(b) So T N 7 . 26 ) m/s 80 . 9 m/s 57 . 3 )( kg 00 . 2 ( ) (
2 2
1
= + = + = g a m
(c) For m
1
: v m/s 7.14 s) 00 . 2 )( m/s 57 . 3 (
2
= = = + = at t a v
y yi yf
Therefore speed of both masses is 7.14 m/s.
- 7 -
Assignment 4 - Solutions
9. Is it possible to devise a technique to push on a table without the table pushing
back on you?
(A) Yes, if you and the table are out in space.
(B) Yes, if someone else pushes on the table at the same time.
(C) No.
(D) The question is flawed since a table never pushes in the first place.
(E) Yes, but by a technique different than those listed in options A and B.
Solution:
Newtons 3
rd
Law says there is always a reaction force. So the answer is C.
10. A 100 N weight hangs from the ceiling by a vertical rope (assume the mass of the
rope is negligible). Someone then pushes on the weight with a horizontal force to
hold the weight at rest so that the rope is at a bit of an angle with the vertical.
Compared to when the rope was hanging vertically, the tension in the rope is now
(A) increased.
(B) the same.
(C) decreased.
(D) zero.
(E) changed, but we do not have enough information to say if it has increased or
decreased.
Solution:
Initially:

mg
T
So T =mg since it is in equilibrium.

Now:

T
F
mg
T
F
mg
Since the mass is still in equilibrium, the three forces must add together to give zero. It is
clear from the triangle that the magnitude of T must now be greater than mg.
Therefore the answer is A.
- 8 -