Physics 121 - Mechanics

Homework 1
Evren Ataman, IZTECH Physics

Question 1
(a) Can an object have zero velocity and nonzero acceleration at the same time? Give examples. (Giancoli-7e-
C2-Q13)
(b) Can the velocity of an object be negative when its acceleration is positive? What about vice versa? If yes,
give examples in each case. (Giancoli-7e-C2-Q6)
(c) Is it possible for an object to be slowing down while its acceleration is increasing in magnitude or speeding
up while its acceleration is decreasing? In both cases, explain your reasoning. (Y&F-15e-C2-DQ5)
(d) Can you have zero displacement and nonzero average velocity? Zero displacement and nonzero velocity?
(Y&F-15e-C2-DQ9)
(e) Can an object with constant acceleration reverse its direction of travel? Can it reverse its direction twice?
In both cases, explain your reasoning. (Y&F-15e-C2-DQ3)
(f) When an object moves with constant velocity, does its average velocity during any time interval differ from
its instantaneous velocity at any instant? Explain. (Giancoli-7e-C2-Q2)

Question 2
A racing car starts from rest at t = 0 and reaches a final speed v at time t. If the acceleration of the car is
constant during this time, which of the following statements are true? (a) The car travels a distance vt. (b)
The average speed of the car is v/2. (c) The magnitude of the acceleration of the car is v/t. (d) The velocity
of the car remains constant. (e) None of statements (a) through (d) is true. (Serway-9e-C2-OQ2)

Question 3
The figure below shows a position-versus-time graph for the motion of objects A and B as they move along the
same axis.
(a) At the instant t = 1 s, is the speed of A greater than, less than, or equal to the speed of B? Explain.
(b) Do objects A and B ever have the same speed? If so, at what time or times? Explain. (Knight-3e-C2-CQ5)

Question 4
You’re driving along the highway at a steady speed of 60 mph when another driver decides to pass you. At the
moment when the front of her car is exactly even with the front of your car, and you turn your head to smile
at her, do the two cars have equal velocities? Explain. (Knight-3e-C2-CQ9)

Question 5
The figure below gives the acceleration a(t) of a Chihuahua as it chases a German shepherd along an axis. In
which of the time periods indicated does the Chihuahua move at constant speed? (R&H-10e-C2-Q2)

1
Question 6
The figure below shows four paths along which objects move from a starting point to a final point, all in the
same time interval. The paths pass over a grid of equally spaced straight lines. Rank the paths according to (a)
the average velocity of the objects and (b) the average speed of the objects, greatest first. (R&H-10e-C2-Q3)

Question 7
The figure below gives the velocity of a particle moving along an axis. Point 1 is at the highest point on the
curve; point 4 is at the lowest point; and points 2 and 6 are at the same height. What is the direction of
travel at (a) time t = 0 and (b) point 4? (c) At which of the six numbered points does the particle reverse
its direction of travel? (d) Rank the six points according to the magnitude of the acceleration, greatest first.
(R&H-10e-C2-Q5)

Question 8
A person walks first at a constant speed of 5.00 m/s along a straight line from point A to point B and then
back along the line from B to A at a constant speed of 3.00 m/s. (a) What is her average speed over the entire
trip? (b) What is her average velocity over the entire trip? (Serway-9e-C2-P3)

Question 9
The position of a particle moving along an x axis is given by x = 12t2 − 2t3 , where x is in meters and t is in
seconds. (R&H-10e-C2-P18)
Determine (a) the position, (b) the velocity, and (c) the acceleration of the particle at t = 3.0 s.
(d) What is the maximum positive coordinate reached by the particle and (e) at what time is it reached?
(f) What is the maximum positive velocity reached by the particle and (g) at what time is it reached?
(h) What is the acceleration of the particle at the instant the particle is not moving (other than at t = 0)?
(i) Determine the average velocity of the particle between t = 0 and t = 3 s.

Question 10
A car moves along an x axis through a distance of 900 m, starting at rest (at x = 0) and ending at rest (at
x = 900 m). Through the first 1/4 of that distance, its acceleration is +2.25 m/s2 . Through the rest of that
distance, its acceleration is −0.750 m/s2 . What are (a) its travel time through the 900 m and (b) its maximum
speed? (c) Graph position x, velocity v, and acceleration a versus time t for the trip. (R&H-10e-C2-P36)

Question 11
A block moving on a horizontal surface is at x = 0 when t = 0 and is sliding east with a speed of 12.0 m/s.
Because of a net force acting on the block, it has a constant acceleration with direction west and magnitude
2.00 m/s2 . The block travels east, slows down, reverses direction, and then travels west with increasing speed.
(a) At what value of t is the block again at x = 0? (b) What is the maximum distance east of x = 0 that the
block reaches, and how long does it take the block to reach this point? (Y&F-15e-C2-P58)

Question 12
A lead ball is dropped into a lake from a diving board 5.0 m above the water. After entering the water, it sinks
to the bottom with a constant velocity equal to the velocity with which it hit the water. The ball reaches the
bottom 3.0 s after it is released. How deep is the lake? (Knight-3e-C2-P51)

Question 13
A ball is thrown upward from the ground with an initial speed of 25 m/s; at the same instant, another ball
is dropped from a building 15 m high. After how long will the balls be at the same height above the ground?
(Serway-9e-C2-P52)