CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR EXERCISE 2

The net force on the chopping block is given by F
net = F
1 + F
2 and, according to Newtons
second law, F
net = m
a, where m is the mass of the block and
a is its acceleration. Thus

a = F
net /m. Carry out the vector addition in unit vector notation:
F
net = (F1x + F2x ) + (F1y + F2y ) .

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 6

The net force on the asteroid is the sum of the three forces of the astronauts: F
net =
F
1 + F
2 + F
3 . Carry out the vector sum in unit vector notation. Use
F
1 = (F1 cos 30 ) + (F1 sin 30 ) ,
F
2 = F2 ,
and

F
3 = (F3 cos 60 ) (F3 sin 60 ) ,

where F1 = 32 N, F2 = 55 N, and F3 = 41 N.
According to Newtons second law the acceleration of the asteroid is given by


a = F
net /m,
where m is its mass. Once you have found
a in unit vector notation use a = a2x + a2y to
nd its magnitude and tan = ay /ax to nd the angle it makes with the positive x axis.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR EXERCISE 12

Remember that the mass of an object is an intrinsic property of the object and does not
change if the object is moved to a place where the acceleration due to gravity is dierent.
The weight, on the other hand, is given by mg and depends on the value of g at the position
of the object.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR EXERCISE 16

The force of the elevator oor on the passenger is just right to give the passenger the same
acceleration as the elevator. If up is positive, the net force on the passenger is Fnet = N mg,
where N is the magnitude of the force of the oor and m is the mass of the passenger.
According to Newtons second law Fnet = ma, where a is the acceleration of the passenger
(and elevator). Thus N = m(g + a).
The maximum force occurs when the elevator has its maximum upward acceleration. The
minimum force occurs when the elevator has its maximum downward acceleration. According
to Newtons third law the force of the passenger on the oor has the same magnitude as the
force of the oor on the passenger but it is in the opposite direction.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR EXERCISE 22

Since you know the initial speed and the stopping distance you can calculate the acceleration
of the persons upper torso. Either solve x = v0 t + 12 at2 and 0 = v0 + at simultaneously or
else use 2ax = v02 . Once a value has been found for a use F = ma to calculate the force.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 26

The horizontal component of the net force on the refrigerator is F cos and, according to
Newtons second law, the acceleration of the refrigerator is
a=

F
cos ,
m

where F is the magnitude of the applied force and m is the mass of the refrigerator.
At the end of time t the speed of the refrigerator is
v = at =

Ft
cos .
m

Find the ratio of this quantity to the speed for = 0 (cos = 1).
Use v 2 = v02 + 2ax to show that after the refrigerator has gone a distance x its speed is


2F x
cos .
v = 2ax =
m
Find the ratio of this quantity to the speed for = 0.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 34

Because one of masses is not given you cannot nd the acceleration of the four penguins by
considering them as a single object. You must resort to solving the four Newtons second
law equations, one for each penguin.
Take the axis to be positive to the right and label the tension forces of the cords T1 , T2 , T3 ,
and T4 , from left to right. You have been given T2 and T4 . Similarly, label the masses of the
penguins m1 , m2 , m3 , and m4 , again from left to right. Write down the Newtons second
law equations:
T1 = m1 a ,
T2 T1 = m2 a ,
T3 T2 = m3 a ,
and
T4 T3 = m4 a .
Systematically eliminate T1 , T3 , and a until you are left with a single equation in a single
unknown, namely m2 . Solve for this quantity. You should get
m2 =

(m1 + m3 + m4 )T2 m1 T4
.
T4 T2

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 36

Think of the blocks as a single object with mass m1 + m2 + m3 , being pulled by the force
T3 . Use Newtons second law to compute the acceleration. To nd the tension forces, use
the second law equations for the individual blocks.
(a) Take the axis to be positive to the right and write the horizontal component of Newtons
second law:
T3 = (m1 + m2 + m3 )a .
Solve for a.
(b) and (c) The horizontal component of Newtons second law for block 3 is
T3 T2 = m3 a .
Solve for T2 . The horizontal component of Newtons second law for block 2 is
T2 T1 = m2 a .
Solve for T1 .
You can check your solution by solving the second law equation for block 1 (T1 = m1 a).

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 40

Draw separate free-body diagrams for the man and for the sandbag. If T is the magnitude
of the tension force of the rope, then Newtons second law for the sandbag is
T ms g = ms a ,
where ms is the mass of the sandbag and a is its acceleration. Up was chosen to be the
positive direction. Newtons second law for the man is
mm g T = mm a ,
where mm is the mass of the man and down was chosen to be the positive direction. Notice
that, in each case, the positive direction was chosen to be the direction of the acceleration.
The sandbag and the man have the same acceleration (in both magnitude and sign) so the
same symbol is used in the two second law equations. The magnitude of the tension force is
also the same. The pulley simply causes the direction to be upward for both the man and
the sandbag.
Use one of the second law equations to eliminate T from the other, then solve the resulting
equation for a. Use v 2 = v02 + 2ay to nd the speed after the man has accelerated through
a distance y.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 44

(a) Assume that the cord is not slack and the two boxes have accelerations of the same
magnitude. For the pen box (on the horizontal surface) take the x axis to be horizontal and
positive to the right. The horizontal component of Newtons second law for this box is
F + T = Ma ,
where T is the tension force of the cord, M is the mass of the box, and a is its acceleration.
For the pencil box (on the incline) take the x axis to be parallel to the incline and positive
down the incline. Newtons second law for this box gives
mg sin T = ma ,
where m is the mass of the box and is the angle of the incline. Notice that the two x axes
were chosen so the same symbol could be used for the accelerations. Also note that the cord
pulls to the right on the pen box and pulls upward on the pencil box.
Use one of the second law equations to eliminate a from the other, then solve the resulting
equation for T . Be sure you nd an algebraic expression for T before substituting numerical
values.
(b) When F has the greatest value for which the cord is taut, T = 0 and the boxes have
accelerations with the same magnitudes. Set T = 0 in the expression you found for T in
part (a), then solve for F . If the value of F is greater than the result you nd here, then the
acceleration of the pen box is greater in magnitude than the acceleration of the pencil box
and the cord is slack.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 48

The acceleration is parallel to the canal so the force of the water must be such that the
perpendicular component of the total force vanishes and the parallel component leads to
the given acceleration. Use Newtons second law to nd the components of the force of the
water.
Draw a free-body diagram for the barge. Label the force of the rope FR and the force of the
water FW . You do not know the direction of this force but you suspect it is somewhere in
the third quadrant, roughly opposite the force of the rope. Use R to label the angle between
the rope and the forward direction. Take the forward direction to be the positive x axis and
take the y axis to be across the canal. Write Newtons second law in component form. The
x component is
FR cos R + FW x = ma
and the y component is
FR sin R + FW y = 0 .
Solve for FW x and FW y . Then calculate the magnitude of the force and the angle it makes
with the canal.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 50

(a) Suppose the man pulls downward on the rope with a force of magnitude F . The rope
then pulls upward on his hand with a force of the same magnitude. The tension force of
the rope is F so, in addition, the rope pulls upward on the chair with force F . You want to
calculate the value of F so the acceleration of the man and chair is 0.
Draw a free-body diagram for the man and chair, considered as a single object. The total
force of the rope is 2F , upward; the weight is mg, downward. Take the positive direction to
be upward and write the vertical component of Newtons second law:
2F mg = ma .
Set a = 0 and solve for F .
2

(b) Now set a equal to 1.30 m/s and solve for F .

(c) and (d) If the person on the ground pulls down with a force of magnitude F , the force
of the rope on the chair and man is F , upward. 2F is replaced by F in the second law
equations.
(e), (f), (g), and (h) Now, consider the pulley. The rope is pulling down on it and the ceiling
is pulling up. Since the pulley does not accelerate the vector sum of these forces must vanish.
Solve for the force of the ceiling on the pulley. According to Newtons third law, the force
of the pulley on the ceiling has the same magnitude but is in the opposite direction.
Draw a free-body diagram for the pulley. If F is the tension force of the rope, then the force
of the rope on the pulley is 2F . It is downward. Use Fc to label the force of the ceiling.
Since the pulley is massless there is no force of gravity. Write Newtons second law:
Fc 2F = 0 .
Calculate Fc for each of the four cases.

CHAPTER 5

HINT FOR PROBLEM 56

Draw a free-body diagram for the lamp. There are two forces on it: the tension force T of
the cord, up, and the force of gravity mg, down. Here m is the mass of the lamp. If up is
taken as the positive direction, then Newtons second law for the lamp is
T mg = ma ,
where a is the acceleration of the lamp. The acceleration of the lamp is the same as the
acceleration of the elevator.
2

In part (a) set T equal to 89 N and a equal to +24 m/s , then solve for m. Note that the
2
acceleration is upward, so it is positive. In part (b) again set a equal to +2.4 m/s , then
solve for T Actually, you should be able to tell the value for the tension force without doing
any arithmetic.