NEWTON’S LAWS SAMPLE PROBLEMS

1. Alight rope is attached to a block with mass 4.00 kg that rests on a frictionless, horizontal
surface. The horizontal rope passes over a frictionless, massless pulley, and a block with
mass m is suspended from the other end. When the blocks are released, the tension in the
rope is 10.0 N. (a) Draw two free-body diagrams, one for the 4.00-kg block and one for
the block with mass m. (b) What is the acceleration of either block? (c) Find the mass m
of the hanging block. (d) How does the tension compare to the weight of the hanging
block?

2. Consider the system shown in Fig. E5.34. Block A weighs 45.0 N and block B weighs
25.0 N. Once block B is set into downward motion, it descends at a constant speed. (a)
Calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction between block A and the tabletop. (b) A cat,
also of weight 45.0 N, falls asleep on top of block A. If block B is now set into downward
motion, what is its acceleration (magnitude and direction)?
3. Two crates connected by a rope lie on a horizontal surface (Fig. E5.35). Crate A has mass
mA and crate B has mass mB. The coefficient of kinetic friction between each crate and
the surface is µk. The crates are pulled to the right at constant velocity by a horizontal
force. In terms of mA, mB, and µk, calculate (a) the magnitude of the force and (b) the
tension in the rope connecting the blocks. Include the free-body diagram or diagrams you
used to determine each answer.

4. Two ropes are connected to a steel cable that supports a hanging weight as shown in Fig.
P5.57. (a) Draw a free-body diagram showing all of the forces acting at the knot that
connects the two ropes to the steel cable. Based on your force diagram, which of the two
ropes will have the greater tension? (b) If the maximum tension either rope can sustain
without breaking is 5000 N, determine the maximum value of the hanging weight that
these ropes can safely support. You can ignore the weight of the ropes and the steel cable.
5. A50.0-kg stunt pilot who has been diving her airplane vertically pulls out of the dive by
changing her course to a circle in a vertical plane. (a) If the plane’s speed at the lowest
point of the circle is 95.0m/s, what is the minimum radius of the circle for the
acceleration at this point not to exceed 4.00g? (b) What is the apparent weight of the pilot
at the lowest point of the pullout?

6. A bowling ball weighing 71.2 N is attached to the ceiling by a 3.80-m rope. The ball is
pulled to one side and released; it then swings back and forth as a pendulum. As the rope
swings through the vertical, the speed of the bowling ball is 4.20m/s. (a) What is the
acceleration of the bowling ball, in magnitude and direction, at this instant? (b) What is
the tension in the rope at this instant?
7. A 25.0-kg box of textbooks rests on a loading ramp that makes an angle with the
horizontal. The coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.25, and the coefficient of static friction
is 0.35. (a) As the angle is increased, find the minimum angle at which the box starts to
slip. (b) At this angle, find the acceleration once the box has begun to move. (c) At this
angle, how fast will the box be moving after it has slid 5.0 m along the loading ramp?

8. A 45.0-kg crate of tools rests on a horizontal floor. You exert a gradually increasing
horizontal push on it and observe that the crate just begins to move when your force
exceeds 313 N. After that you must reduce your push to 208 N to keep it moving at a
steady 25.0 cm>s. (a) What are the coefficients of static and kinetic friction between the
crate and the floor? (b) What push must you exert to give it an acceleration of 1.10 m/s²?
(c) Suppose you were performing the same experiment on this crate but were doing it on
the moon instead, where the acceleration due to gravity is 1.63m/s² (i) What magnitude
push would cause it to move? (ii) What would its acceleration be if you maintained the
push in part (b)?
9. A box of bananas weighing 40.0 N rests on a horizontal surface. The coefficient of static
friction between the box and the surface is 0.40, and the coefficient of kinetic friction is
0.20. (a) If no horizontal force is applied to the box and the box is at rest, how large is the
friction force exerted on the box? (b) What is the magnitude of the friction force if a
monkey applies a horizontal force of 6.0 N to the box and the box is initially at rest? (c)
What minimum horizontal force must the monkey apply to start the box in motion? (d)
What minimum horizontal force must the monkey apply to keep the box moving at
constant velocity once it has been started? (e) If the monkey applies a horizontal force of
18.0 N, what is the magnitude of the friction force and what is the box’s acceleration?

10. A75.0-kg wrecking ball hangs from a uniform heavy-duty chain having a mass of 26.0
kg. (a) Find the maximum and mini mum tension in the chain. (b) What is the tension at a
point three fourths of the way up from the bottom of the chain?
11. Find the tension in each cord in Fig. E5.7 if the weight of the suspended object is w.

12. A 1130-kg car is held in place by a light cable on a very smooth (frictionless) ramp, as
shown in Fig. E5.8. The cable makes an angle of 31.0° above the surface of the ramp, and
the ramp itself rises at 25.0° above the horizontal. (a) Draw a free-body diagram for the
car. (b) Find the tension in the cable. (c) How hard does the surface of the ramp push on
the car?
13. Two 25.0-N weights are suspended at opposite ends of a rope that passes over a light,
frictionless pulley. The pulley is attached to a chain that goes to the ceiling. (a) What is
the tension in the rope? (b) What is the tension in the chain?

14. In Fig. E5.2 each of the suspended blocks has weight w. The pulleys are frictionless and
the ropes have negligible weight. Calculate, in each case, the tension T in the rope in
terms of the weight w. In each case, include the free-body diagram or diagrams you used
to determine the answer.
15. 15.0-kg load of bricks hangs from one end of a rope that passes over a small, frictionless pulley.
A 28.0 kg counterweight is suspended from the other end of the rope, as shown in Fig. E5.15.
The system is released from rest. (a) Draw two free-body diagrams, one for the load of bricks
and one for the counterweight. (b) What is the magnitude of the upward acceleration of the
load of bricks? (c) What is the tension in the rope while the load is moving? How does the
tension compare to the weight of the load of bricks? To the weight of the counterweight?