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Tutorial 2 A

The document is a physics problem set that contains 5 problems related to classical mechanics. Problem 1 involves finding the path and angular momentum of a particle with a position vector that is a combination of two constant vectors. Problem 2 examines the motion of a simple pendulum, deriving its equation of motion and finding its time period for small oscillations. Problem 3 asks how the time period of periodic motion depends on energy for different powers in a potential of the form V(x) = Kx^2n. Problem 4 involves obtaining the phase portraits for motion in a tanh potential. Problem 5 examines a particle moving toward x=0 under a potential V(x) = -A|x|^n and asks for which values of n

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110 views2 pages

Tutorial 2 A

The document is a physics problem set that contains 5 problems related to classical mechanics. Problem 1 involves finding the path and angular momentum of a particle with a position vector that is a combination of two constant vectors. Problem 2 examines the motion of a simple pendulum, deriving its equation of motion and finding its time period for small oscillations. Problem 3 asks how the time period of periodic motion depends on energy for different powers in a potential of the form V(x) = Kx^2n. Problem 4 involves obtaining the phase portraits for motion in a tanh potential. Problem 5 examines a particle moving toward x=0 under a potential V(x) = -A|x|^n and asks for which values of n

Uploaded by

veadesh suresh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MADRAS

PH101 Physics I Problem Set 2 Nov 2022

1. The position vector of a particle of mass m is found to be given by ~r =


~a cos ωt + ~b sin ωt, where t denotes the time and ~a and ~b are constant non-
collinear vectors.

(a) What is the path of the particle, in general?


(b) Find the angular momentum of the particle about the origin, and show
that it is a constant.

2. The simple pendulum consists of a light


rod of length l suspended from a point O, with O
a heavy bob of mass m attached to its other
end. The instantaneous angular displacement
of the bob from the vertical is θ. The total l θ
energy of the pendulum is given by
1
E = T + V = ml2 θ̇2 + mgl(1 − cos θ) .
2 m

(a) Write down the equation of motion of the pendulum.


(b) In the small amplitude approximation (sin θ ≈ θ), verifypthat the
motion is simple harmonic, with a time period equal to 2π l/g.
(c) Identify the points of stable and unstable equilibrium in the (θ, θ̇)
plane.
(d) Obtain the phase portrait of the system, sketching typical phase tra-
jectories corresponding to (i) 0 < E  2mgl, (ii) mgl < E < 2mgl,
(iii) E = 2mgl, (iv) E > 2mgl.
What kinds of motion do the trajectories with E < 2mgl and E >
2mgl represent, in physical terms?
(e) Use the general formula for the time period to find the time period in
the case E = 2mgl. Give a physical reason for your answer.
(f) Given that θ = 0 at t = 0, find the solution θ(t) corresponding to a
total energy equal to 2mgl.

3. Consider a potential
V (x) = Kx2n (1)

1
where K > 0 and n is a positive integer. Find how the time period of
periodic motion depends on the energy E for all positive integral values of
n. Can you come to this conclusion just by using dimensional analysis?

4. Obtain the phase portraits for the following potentials in appropriate units
for motion of a particle with unit mass:

V (x) = tanh x (2)

Find the stable minima, and find the time period of small oscillations.

5. Heading to zero A particle moves toward x = 0 under the influence of a


potential V (x) = −A|x|n , where A > 0 and n > 0. The particle has barely
enough energy to reach x = 0. For what values of n will it reach x = 0 in
a finite time?

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