1st Balkan Physics Olympiad – 2019 BPO

July 14-18, Thessaloniki, Greece

Problem 1 - Gravitational Billiard

A point particle is moving in a homogeneous gravitational field close to the Earth surface in
a vertical plane limited from below by a parabola (as shown in the figure). Consider periodic
motion in a gravitational billiard. A periodic motion repeats itself indefinitely when friction
forces are absent. After reflection from the boundary the energy of the particle remains
unchanged.
a) Draw the periodic trajectories that touch the boundary in one, two and three distinct
points. [3x3 points]
b) Calculate the period for the first two cases. [One touching point - 6 points]
[Two touching points - 10 points]
The angle α between the tangent of the parabola y = ax2 + bx + c at an arbitrary point x0 and
the x-axis is given by tan α = 2ax0 + b.

Problem 2
Two identical bodies A and B lie on a smooth horizontal surface. The two bodies are
connected by a spring, with negligible mass, that obeys the Hooke’s Law, with spring
constant k and relaxed length L0. A third body C, is suspended to the body B, by means of
an ideal string (non-extensible and of negligible mass), passing over a smooth pulley P. The
three bodies have the same mass m. Initially, the three-body system is at rest and the spring
has its relaxed length. The system is accordingly released from rest.
a) Draw a free body diagram for each body after the system is released [3 points]
b) Calculate the minimum and maximum distance between the bodies A and B. Mind that
during the three-body motion, body B doesn’t hit on the pulley and body C doesn’t reach
the ground. [10 points]
c) Calculate the minimum value for the friction coefficient as well as the distance between
the bodies A and B, in order for the system to remain at rest when it is released. [6 points]
d) Calculate the value of the friction coefficient as well as the distance between the bodies A
and B in order for the system to move at constant speed. [6 points]

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 Α Β

Problem 3
A man stands at a point A in a field, at a distance l1  600 m from the road BC. In the field
his velocity is v1  1 m / s , while on the road BC it is v2  2 m / s . He can walk in the field along
AD and on the road along DC in order to reach the final destination C. The distance between
B and C is l2  800 m . Your final assignment is to find his route, so that he can reach the
destination in the least possible time and to determine the time elapsed. In order to do this,
you need to find the coordinate of the point D, i.e., the distance x  BD . We will lead you
through several steps in order to fulfill this assignment.

FIELD
l1

B D ROAD C
l2

x
a) Find the expression for the time t1 for the motion on the field (route AD) as a function
of x. [2 points]
b) Find the expression for the time t2 for the motion on the road (route DC) as a function
of x. [2 points]
c) Find the expression for the total time t as a function of x. [2 points]

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 d) Let your solutions for the total time t and the position x be t  t0 and x  x0 . Put these
solutions in your main expression for the total time. Using elementary algebraic
manipulations (squaring, etc.) you should get rid of all the square root(s) and
fraction(s) in your expression. [3 points]
e) Now, if the solution for x is a little bit different from the real solution x0 (in other
words, if we put the point D a little bit closer to B or to C), then the solution for t
would also be a little bit different from the real solution t0 . So, we need to try to
“shake” the solutions to see if they really are the correct solutions. To do this, we
suggest you to add small temporal and spatial displacements (perturbations) t and
x , i.e., instead of t0 and x0 put t0  t and x0  x in your main expression obtained
in the previous step. [3 points]
f) Rewrite the expression from the previous step neglecting all terms containing very
small products, such as t  t , t  x and x  x . [4 points]
g) Using the result from the previous step, express the ratio between small temporal
and spatial displacements t and x , i.e., express the quantity t / x . [3 points]
h) Your final job in this assignment is to calculate the route and the total time. To do
this, equate t / x to zero, and with the help of some previous steps you will be in
the position to proceed towards obtaining x0 and t0 . [6 points]

Problem 4
An electric circuit consists of four resistors and two switches (see the figure below). Let’s
denote the state of the switch with “0” if it is opened, and with “1” if it is closed (in the figure
both switches are opened but this may not be true for the initial state of the circuit). The
initial states of the switches are unknown. The resistance 𝑅AB between the two ends A and
B of the circuit is measured. Its initial resistance (state “𝛼” of the circuit) is 𝑅ABα = 240 Ω.
The switch K1’s state is reverted and the resistance of the circuit remains the same, 𝑅ABβ =
240 Ω. After that, the switch K2’s state is reverted and the resistance of the circuit becomes
𝑅ABγ = 400 Ω. Finally, the switch K1’s state is once again reverted and the resistance of the
circuit becomes 𝑅ABδ = 280 Ω.

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From the available experimental data, calculate the values of the resistances of the four
resistors in the circuit and the initial state of each of the two switches. Fill your answer in
the table below.

State of State of State of 𝑅ABi Value,

Resistor
the circuit K1 K2 Ω Ω
𝛼 240 𝑅1
𝛽 240 𝑅2
𝛾 400 𝑅3
𝛿 280 𝑅4

Initial states of K1, K2 [2 x 2,5 points]

Resistor values [4 x 5 points]