MIDTERM DRILLS
General Physics 2: SHM & Fluid
Mechanics
SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION
1. A 0.12 kg body undergoes simple harmonic motion of
amplitude 8.5 cm and period 0.20 s. (a) What is the
magnitude of the maximum force acting on it? (b) If the
oscillations are produced by a spring, what is the spring
5 minutes
constant?
[Ans. 10 N;1.2 x102 N/m]
SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION
2. In an engine, a piston oscillates with simple harmonic
motion so that its position varies according to the expression:
x=(5.00 cm) cos (4.00s-1t)
where x is in centimeters and t is in seconds. At t = 0s, find
(a) the position of the particle, [5.00cm] 5 minutes
(b) its velocity [0]
(c) its acceleration. [-80 cm/s2]
(d) Find the period & amplitude of the motion.
[ 1.57 s| 5.00 cm]
SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION
3. A 200-g block is attached to a horizontal spring and
executes simple harmonic motion with a period of 0.250 s.
The total energy of the system is 2.00 J. Find
(a) the force constant of the spring and
(b) the amplitude of the motion. 5 minutes
[126 N/m; 0.178 m]
SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION
4. A 50.0-g object connected to a spring with a force
constant of 35.0 N/m oscillates on a horizontal,
frictionless surface with an amplitude of 4.00 cm. Find
(a) the total energy of the system and (b) the speed of
the object when the position is 1.00 cm. Find (c) the
kinetic energy and (d) the potential energy when the
position is 3.00 cm. 5 minutes
[28.0 mJ; 1.02 m/s; 12.2 mJ; 15.8 mJ]
SIMPLE PENDULUM
5. A “seconds pendulum” is one that moves through its
equilibrium position once each second. (The period of
the pendulum is precisely 2 s.) The length of a seconds
pendulum is 0.9927 m at Tokyo, Japan, and 0.9942 m
at Cambridge, England. What is the ratio of the free-fall
accelerations at these two locations?
5 minutes
[gE/gT=1.00015 or gT/gE=0.9985]
FLUID STATICS
6. (a) Calculate the absolute pressure at an ocean depth
of 1000 m. Assume the density of seawater is 1024
kg/m3 and the air above exerts a pressure of 101.3 kPa.
(b) At this depth, what force must the frame around a
circular submarine porthole having a diameter of 30.0
cm exert to counterbalance the force exerted by the
water? 5 minutes
[1.01 x 107 Pa; 7.09 x 105 N]
FLUID STATICS
7. A tall cylinder with a cross-sectional area 12.0 cm2 is
partially filled with mercury; the surface of the mercury is
5.00 cm above the bottom of the cylinder. Water is slowly
poured in on top of the mercury, and the two fluids don’t
mix. What volume of water must be added to double the
gauge pressure at the bottom of the cylinder? (816 cm3)
5 minutes
#density of Hg=13.6 g/cm 3
BUOYANCY
8. A hollow plastic sphere is held below the surface of a
freshwater lake by a cord anchored to the bottom of the
lake. The sphere has a volume of 0.65 m3 and the tension
in the cord is 900 N. (a) Calculate the buoyant force
exerted by the water on the sphere. (b) What is the mass
of the sphere? (6.37 x 103 N; 558 kg)
5 minutes
BUOYANCY
9. A solid aluminum ingot weighs 89 N in air. (a) What is
its volume? (b) The ingot is suspended from a rope and
totally immersed in water. What is the tension in the rope
(the apparent weight of the ingot in water)?
#density of Al=2.7x103kg/m3
5 minutes
(3.36 x 10-3 m3 or 3.4 L; 56 N)
FLUID DYNAMICS
10. A sealed tank containing seawater to a
height of 11.0 m also contains air above the water
at a gauge pressure of 3.00 atm. Water flows out
from the bottom through a small hole. How fast is
this water moving? (28.4 m/s)
5 minutes
FLUID DYNAMICS
11. A stream of water flows steadily from a kitchen
faucet. At the faucet, the diameter of the stream is 0.960
cm. The stream fills a 125-cm3 container in 16.3 s. Find
the diameter of the stream 13.0 cm below the opening
of the faucet. (0.247 cm)
5 minutes
FLUID DYNAMICS
12. An airplane is cruising at an altitude of 10 km. The
pressure outside the craft is 0.287 atm; within the
passenger compartment, the pressure is 1.00 atm and the
temperature is 20°C. A small leak occurs in one of the
window seals in the passenger compartment. Model the
air as an ideal fluid to find the speed of the stream of air
flowing through the leak. (347 m/s) 5 minutes
