PHYS 105 Fall 2023

Assignment No.3 Model Answer

University of Science and Technology
Zewail City

Question 1
Consider a particle moving under position vector ⃗r = (1 − cos(πt))î + sin(πt)ĵ.
a) Find the average position vector during the first two seconds.
b) Find the average velocity vector during the first two seconds.
c) Find the distance moved during the first two seconds.
d) Find the average speed during the first two seconds.
e) At what moment is the velocity vector perpendicular to the position vector?

Solution
a) The average position vector is given by
Z t2
1 2h
Z
1 ′ ′
i
⃗rav = ⃗r(t ) dt = (1 − cos(πt ))î + sin(πt )ĵ dt′ = î .
′ ′
∆t t1 2 0

b) The average velocity vector is given by

∆⃗r ⃗r(t = 2) − ⃗r(t = 0) 0

⃗vav = = = = 0.
∆t ∆t 2
c) The distance covered during a given time interval is the area under speed curve or simply the
integration of speed with respect to time. Firstly, we obtain the velocity vector by differentiating
the position vector, that is

d⃗r(t)
⃗v (t) = = π sin(πt)î + π cos(πt)ĵ,
dt

noting that the unit vectors î and ĵ are constants (their time-derivatives equal zero). Therefore,
the distance is given by
Z 2 Z 2
′ ′
D= |⃗v (t )| dt = π dt′ = 2π unit length.
0 0

d) The average speed is given by

distance D 2π
sav = = = = π unit length/unit time.
∆t ∆t 2

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e) Since the velocity vector is perpendicular to the position vector, their dot product must vanish,
and we can write
⃗r ⊥ ⃗v =⇒ ⃗r · ⃗v = 0
π sin(πt) [1 − cos(πt)] + π sin(πt) cos(πt) = 0.
This leaves us with the condition
sin(πt) = 0 =⇒ πt = nπ , n = 0, ±1, ±2, · · · .
Neglecting negative values of time, the moments are t = 0 s, t = 1 s and t = 2 s or generally t ∈ N .

Question 2
A hunter with a blowgun goes out in the woods to hunt for monkeys and sees one hanging in a
tree of height H and distance D. The monkey releases its grip the instant the hunter fires his
blowgun.
a) At what angle should the hunter fire to hit the monkey?
b) If the hunter aims to hit the monkey midway in its journey, find the initial velocity needed and
time for the hit.
No Animals Were Harmed.

Solution
Fig. 2 illustrates the situation described. The origin is chosen at the bullet position at t = 0 and
it is fired with unknown initial velocity v0 and initial angle α0 . By careful examination of Fig.
2, we can write the position vectors for both the bullet ⃗rb and the monkey ⃗rm as
 
1 2
⃗rb = (v0 cos α0 t) î + v0 sin α0 t − gt ĵ
2
 
1
⃗rm = Dî + H − gt2 ĵ,
2
noting that the monkey releases its grip means v0 = 0 and has an initial position ⃗rm0 = Dî +
H ĵ.

Figure 2

2
 a) Hitting the monkey means that the position vectors of the bullet and monkey are the same i.e.
⃗rb = ⃗rm . This gives us two equations for the two components;

v0 cos α0 t = D , v0 sin α0 t = H.

Dividing both equations, the initial angle is given by

 
−1 H
α0 = tan .
D

b) To hit the monkey midway in its journey, its y−position must equals H/2, that is

H 1
ym (t) = = H − gt2 ,
2 2
and this requires a time of
s
H
t= .
g

We substitute by this time and the angle obtained in part (a) to obtain the initial velocity
r
D D g
v0 = = .
cos α0 t cos α0 H
√
Since tan α0 = H/D, then we can write cos α0 = D/ H 2 + D2 from Pythagoras theorem and we
finally obtain
r
g
v0 = (H 2 + D2 ) .
H

Question 3
Atop of a building, you throw a rock with velocity v at angle 45◦ above the horizontal. One second
later you throw another rock horizontally and you need it to collide with the first rock.
a) At what velocity should you throw the second rock?
b) At what time after the throw would the rocks collide?
c) Find the position of the collision.

Solution
Fig. 3 illustrates the situation described. The origin is chosen at the position of throwing the two
rocks. Also, we consider t = 0 as the instant of throwing the second rock. To account for this
time delay, we write the position vectors of the first and second rocks as follows;
 
1 2
⃗r1 = v cos 45(t + 1)î + v sin 45(t + 1) − g(t + 1) ĵ
2
 
v v 1 2
= √ (t + 1)î + √ (t + 1) − g(t + 1) ĵ
2 2 2
1
⃗r2 = v0 t î − gt2 ĵ.
2

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 Figure 3
 
Clearly, we see that at t = 0 the first rock is flying at a position ⃗r1 (0) = √v î+ √v − 1
g ĵ and the
2 2 2
second rock is about to be thrown at the origin; ⃗r2 (0) = 0î + 0ĵ as the figure suggests. Collision
of the two rock means that the two position vectors are equal i.e. ⃗r1 = ⃗r2 . This leaves us with
two equations for the two components;
v v 1 1
√ (t + 1) = v0 t , √ (t + 1) − g(t + 1)2 = − gt2 .
2 2 2 2

Solving the second equation for t gives us the time of collision tc , and substituting by this time
into the first equation gives us the initial velocity v0 . After algebraic manipulations, we get:
a)
gv
v0 = √ .
2v − 2g
b)
√
g − 2v
tc = √ .
2v − 2g
c) To obtain the position of collision ⃗rc , we simply substitute with the time of collision tc and
initial velocity v0 obtained in parts (a) and (b)in position vector ⃗r2 , that is
1
⃗rc = ⃗r2 (tc ) = v0 tc î − gt2c ĵ
2
√ !
g 2 − 2 2vg + 2v 2
 
gv g
⃗rc = √ î − √ ĵ
2 2g − 2v 2 2v 2 − 4 2vg + 4g 2

Question 4
A particle starts moving in a vertical circle of radius 50 cm such that its angle with the horizontal
θ(t) = t2 .
a) Find the acceleration vector as a function of time.
b) Find the moment at which the radial and tangential acceleration would have the same magni-
tude.
c) If the particle suddenly loses contact with the circle when its radial acceleration is 9g, find the
time it takes to hit the ground.

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Solution
For motion in a circular path of radius R = 0.5 m with varying angular displacement θ(t), the
position, velocity and acceleration vectors are respectively given by
 
⃗r(t) = R cos θ(t) î + sin θ(t) ĵ (1)
d⃗r dθ   dθ
⃗v (t) = =R − sin θ(t) î + cos θ(t) ĵ = R θ̂ (2)
dt dt dt
2
d2 θ 
 
d⃗v  dθ  
⃗a(t) = = R 2 − sin θ(t) î + cos θ(t) ĵ + R − cos θ(t) î − sin θ(t) ĵ
dt dt dt
 2
dθ d2 θ
= −R r̂ + R 2 θ̂ = a⊥ r̂ + a∥ θ̂ (3)
dt dt

a) To calculate the acceleration vector, we use Eq. (3)

dθ d2 θ
= 2t , =2
dt dt2

⃗a(t) = −4Rt2 r̂ + 2R θ̂ = −2t2 r̂ + θ̂ .

b) The time for which |a⊥ | = |a∥ | is given by

1
2t2 = 1 =⇒ t = √ s .
2

c) The radial acceleration has a magnitude of 9g at time

r
2 g
9g = 2t =⇒ t = 3 ≈ 6.64 s.
2
Since the particle loses contact with the circle at this time, it loses the normal contact force that
provides the required centripetal acceleration and it is no longer subjected to circular motion. At
this instant, we can regard the particle as a projectile with initial position and velocity determined
by Eqs. (1) and (2) evaluated at time t ≈ 6.64 s. Substitution yields

⃗r0 = ⃗r(t = 6.64) = 0.497 î + 0.054 ĵ

⃗v0 = ⃗v (t = 6.64) = −0.711 î + 6.602 ĵ.

Once we have initial position and velocity vectors, we can write the equation of motion
 
1 2
⃗r(t) = (0.497 − 0.711 t) î + 0.054 + 6.602 t − gt ĵ.
2
Fig. 4 illustrates the projectile motion of the particle. The particle hits the ground when its y−
position component is ⃗y (t) = −R ĵ = −0.5 ĵ, that is
1
−0.5 = 0.054 + 6.602 t − gt2 ,
2
which yields
t = −0.079 s (refused) , t = 1.43 s .
Thus, the particle takes time of 1.43 s ,from the instant of losing contact, to hit the ground.

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Figure 4