ASSIGNMENT

MECHANICS

UNIT-1
Inertial frames; Review of Newton's Laws of Motion. Variable mass system.
Q1 (a) Show that length of a rod is Galilean invariant. (b) Show that law of conservation of linear
momentum is a Galilean invariant. (c) Show that motion of one projectile as seen from another projectile
will always be a straight line till any one of them reaches the ground. (Assume that they are fired from same
point).

Q2 (a) A train is moving towards east with the speed of 36Km/hr. A person sitting in the observes a car
coming from north with the speed of 72 Km/hr. What is the actual speed of car?

(b) Coordinate axes of two frames S and S’ are parallel to each other’s respective axes initially. S’ frames
starts moving with uniform velocity 5i-5j+5k m/s. A particle initially at (2,3,4) m in S-frame starts moving
with uniform acceleration 2i+3j-2k m/s2 with respect to S-frame. Find the position vector of particle as
observed from S’- frame at t=4s.

Q3 Two persons A and B, each of mass m are standing at the two extremes of a railroad car of
mass M resting on a smooth track. The person on left jumps to the left with a horizontal speed u with respect
to the state of the car before the jump. Thereafter, the other person B jumps to the right, again with the same
horizontal speed u with respect to the state of the car before his jump. Find the velocity of the car after both
the persons have jumped off.

m
m

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Compiled by Dr.Kulvinder Singh (Associate Professor Deen Dayal Upadhyaya college, University of Delhi). Disclaimer: Questions are purely for
teaching purpose. Questions are taken from various educational sources. No commercial aspect is attached with this assignment.
Q4 A rocket with initial mass M0 and initial velocity V0 in space of uniform gravitational field ‘g’ acting in
opposite direction to direction of motion, is burning fuel at constant rate. β Exhaust gases are ejecting out
with speed ‘u’ with respect to rocket. Show that expression for velocity of rocket at time t is

 1 
V0 + 2.303u log 10   − gt
1 − t 

Q5 A vehicle of mass M0 is moving without friction with speed v0. Suddenly, rain starts falling vertically
(relative to the road) such that per unit time, mass b falls on the vehicle, comes to rest relative to it, and stays
within it. Determine the vehicle's velocity as a function of time, up to a time it can contain all the falling
water.

Q6 A raindrop of mass M0, starting from rest, starts falling under the influence of gravity. Assume that as
the raindrop falls, it accumulates mass at a rate proportional to its instantaneous momentum dM/dt = bMv,
where M is the instantaneous mass of the drop, v its instantaneous velocity and b is a constant. Derive a
differential equation for the raindrop's instantaneous acceleration in terms of b, g (g is acceleration due to
gravity) and the drop's instantaneous velocity. Solve this equation to determine the drop's velocity as a
function of time.

Q7 A rocket set for vertical firing weighs 50 kg and contains 450 kg of fuel. It can have a maximum exhaust
velocity of 2 km/s. What should be its minimum rate of fuel consumption

(a) (i) to just lift off the launching pad? (ii) to give it an initial acceleration of 20 m/s2?
(b) What will be the speed of the rocket when the rate of consumption of fuel is 10 kg/s after whole
of the fuel is consumed? (Take g = 9.8m/s2)

Centre of mass, Dynamics of System of Particles, Work-Energy

Q8A block of mass M = 4 kg with a semi-circular track of radius R A

= 5 m rests on a horizontal frictionless surface. A uniform cylinder m R

of radius r = 1m and mass m = 6kg is released from rest at the top
point A (see Figure). The cylinder slips on the semi-circular
B M
frictionless track. How far has the block moved when the cylinder
reached the bottom (point B) of the track? How fast is the block
moving when the cylinder reaches the bottom of the track? (
2 = 1.4 )

Q9 A projectile is fired at a speed of 100 m/s at an angle of 37 above horizontal. At the highest point the
projectile breaks into two parts of mass ratio 1 : 3, the lighter coming to rest. Find the distance from the
launching point to the point where the heavier piece lands.

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Compiled by Dr.Kulvinder Singh (Associate Professor Deen Dayal Upadhyaya college, University of Delhi). Disclaimer: Questions are purely for
teaching purpose. Questions are taken from various educational sources. No commercial aspect is attached with this assignment.
 Q10 A circular plate of uniform thickness has a diameter of 56 cm. A circular
portion of diameter 42 cm is removed from one edge of the plate as shown in
Figure. Find the distance of centre of mass of the remaining portion. O
A
O O
2 1

Q11 Find the z-coordinate of centre of mass of a uniform solid hemisphere of radius R = 8m and mass M
with centre of sphere at origin and the flat of the hemisphere in the x, y plane.
z

r
R
y

Q12 A plank of mass m1 with a uniform sphere of mass m2 placed on it rests on a smooth horizontal plane.
A constant horizontal force F is applied to the plank. With what accelerations will the plank and the centre
of the sphere move provided there is no sliding between the plank and the sphere?

Q13 The pulley shown in figure has a moment of inertia I and radius of gyration k about its axis and its radius is R.
Find the acceleration of the centre of mass of the system consisting of pulley and two blocks. Assume that the string
is light and does not slip on the pulley.

R
I

Q14 A block of mass M slides down an inclined plane of angle θ. Find the speed
of the block after it has descended a vertical height h using Work-Energy Theorem.
Assume it starts at rest and coefficient of friction is μ between the block and the
plane.

Q15 Find the work done in moving a particle in the force field F = 3x 2𝑖̂ + (2xz − y)𝑗̂ + z𝑘̂
(i) along the straight line from (0,0,0) to (2,1,3),
(ii) along the space curve x = 2t2, y = t, z = 4t2 − t, from t = 0 to t = 1.
Is the work done independent of the path? Explain.
Q16 A particle of mass m moves under a conservative force with potential energy V(x) = - (1/2)ax2+(1/4)bx4,
where a and b are positive constants. Find the position of stable equilibrium and the period of small
oscillations about it.

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Compiled by Dr.Kulvinder Singh (Associate Professor Deen Dayal Upadhyaya college, University of Delhi). Disclaimer: Questions are purely for
teaching purpose. Questions are taken from various educational sources. No commercial aspect is attached with this assignment.
Q17 Two blocks of masses M and m are resting one on top of the other. The coefficient of friction between
the two blocks is μs. The lower block rests on a frictionless table. A force of magnitude F is applied as shown.
What is the maximum value of F for which the upper block can be pushed such that the two blocks move
together without slipping? What is the corresponding value if instead the lower block is pushed?

Collisions: Elastic (1-D and 2-D) and inelastic collisions. Centre of Mass and
Laboratory frames.
Q18 A particle falls from a height h upon a fixed horizontal plane and rebounds. If e is the coefficient of
1+ e2 
restitution, show the total distance travelled before rebounding has stopped is 
h .

1−e
2

Q19 A mass 'm' moves with a velocity 'v' and collides inelastically with another identical mass. After collision
v
the Ist mass moves with velocity in a direction perpendicular to the initial direction of motion. Find the
3
speed of the 2nd mass after collision

v At rest
m m

Before collision After collision

Q20 A ball falls vertically onto a floor, with momentum P and then bounces repeatedly. The coefficient of
1+ e 
restitution is e. Show that the total momentum imparted by the ball to the floor is P  1 − e 
 

Q21 A particle strikes a horizontal frictionless floor with a speed u, at an angle  with the vertical and
rebounds with a speed v, at an angle  with the vertical. The coefficient of restitution between the particle and
the floor is e. Find (i) the magnitude of v and (ii) angle  in terms of  .

Q22 Show that when a body of mass m collides elastically and obliquely with another body of same mass in
rest position, they scatter at an angle of 900 with each other in Lab-frame.

Q23 A body ‘A’ of mass 200g collides elastically and obliquely with another body ‘B’ of same mass in rest.
If scattering angle in C-M frame is 600, find the angles of deviation of both bodies in Lab-frame.

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Compiled by Dr.Kulvinder Singh (Associate Professor Deen Dayal Upadhyaya college, University of Delhi). Disclaimer: Questions are purely for
teaching purpose. Questions are taken from various educational sources. No commercial aspect is attached with this assignment.