EXAM-STYLE PROBLEMS FROM MODULES 18–27

1. In part (a) of the figure, particles 1 and 2 move around point O in circles with radii 4 m and 2 m,
respectively. In part (b), particles 3 and 4 travel along straight lines at perpendicular distances of 4 m
and 2 m from point O. Particle 5 moves directly away from O. All five particles have the same mass (m)
and the same constant speed (v).

Write the angular momentum of each particle (magnitude and direction) about point O.

2. The figure shows three situations involving a point particle P with mass m and a thin spherical
shell with a uniformly distributed mass M (same for all). The radii of the shells are given. What
is the magnitude of the gravitational force on particle P due to each shell?
Explain your answers briefly.
3. The following figure shows the top view of three thin disks (of the same radius) that can
rotate about their centers in a horizontal plane like merry-go-rounds. Each disk consists of the
same two materials, one denser than the other (see figure). For disks 1 and 3, the denser
material forms the outer half of the disk area. In disk 2, it forms the inner half of the disk area.
A force F is applied tangentially to each disk, either at the outer edge or at the interface of the
two materials, as shown in the figure. Rank the disks according to the angular acceleration of
the disk, greatest first. Explain your answer briefly.

4. Parts (a) and (b) of the figure show a stretched string of length L and a pipe (also of length L) that is
closed at one end. The string’s tension is adjusted until the wave speed of the string equals the speed of
sound waves in air (v). The string is then set oscillating in its fundamental mode. What will be the
frequency of the fundamental mode of vibration in the pipe compared to the frequency of the
fundamental mode of vibration on the string? Explain your answer briefly. Note: 118 doesn’t cover
pipes; however, you should still be able to do this problem if you know that the fundamental mode of the
pipe has a wavelength of λpipe = 4L – how does this differ from the string?

(a) (b)
5. Block 1 of mass 2m slides down a ramp, beginning from rest at the top of the ramp. The ramp makes
an incline angle q with respect to the horizontal, and the total length of the ramp is d. Halfway down the
ramp, block 1 collides with block 2 of mass m, which was originally at rest. The kinetic coefficient of the
friction between the block and the ramp is µ. Assume the collision is perfectly elastic and that after the
collision, block 1 continues to move downward.

(a) What is the velocity V1i of the block 1 right before the collision?

(b) What is the velocity V1f of the block 1 right after the collision?
6. A uniform ladder of length L and mass 5 kg rests against a
smooth, frictionless, vertical wall. The coefficient of static
friction between the ladder and ground is 0.4.

a.) Draw a force diagram indicating all the forces

b) Find the minimum angle, q, between the ladder and the ground at which the ladder will not slip.
7. A spy satellite of mass m = 120 kg orbits the Moon in a circular orbit a height h = 85 km above the
surface. A hostile nation wishes to disable the satellite, so it puts a missile of the same mass as the
satellite into a counter-rotating orbit (i.e. in an orbit of the same radius but moving in the opposite
direction). The missile crashes into the satellite and the two become entangled as a hunk of metal,
which then crashes into the Moon. How fast will it be moving when it hits the surface? Values that you
may need include RMoon = 1738 km, Mmoon = 7.35 x 1022 kg, G = 6.67 x 10-11 m3/kg-s2
8. A large fancy clock has a pendulum that consists of a decorative disk 20 cm
in diameter and uniform in thickness with a mass of 60 grams. The disk is
mounted on a slender rod of negligible mass that is free to swing back and
forth from a pivot at its top end. The disk is attached to the rod oriented so
that it is parallel to the plane in which the rod swings. The owner of the clock
is a physicist, and therefore wants the period of the pendulum to be equal to p
seconds. How far below the pivot point must she place the center of the disk?
The moment of inertia of a disk about an axis through its center is I = (1/2)MR2
9. A solid cylinder and a hollow cylinder of the same mass and radius roll along level ground at the same
speed. Which has more kinetic energy? Explain your answer.

10. Strings A and B have identical length and linear mass density,
but string B is under greater tension than string A. For the four
situations (a) through (d) depicted at the right, where standing
wave patterns exist on both strings, in which of these situations is
there the possibility that strings A and B are oscillating at the same
resonant frequency? Explain your answer.

11. During a naval exercise two submarines are hunting for each other. When they are both
moving in the same direction, the rear submarine sends out a sonar signal of frequency f. Does
the frequency f’ of the signal, as detected by the front submarine, appear to be higher, lower,
or equal to f, if the front submarine is moving a) faster, b) slower, c) with the same velocity, as
the rear one?
12. Twin skaters Alice and Zelda, each of mass 60 kg, approach each other
along parallel paths separated by 3.0 m. They have equal and opposite
velocities of 1.4 m/s. Alice caries one end of a long pole of negligible mass,
and Zelda grabs the other end of the pole as she passes. Assume
frictionless ice.
a) Describe quantitatively the motion of the skaters after they have
become connected by the pole, i.e. what is their final angular velocity ω?

b) By pulling on the pole, the skaters reduce their separation to 1.0 m. What are their angular velocity w
and tangential speed vt then?

c) Calculate the kinetic energy of the system in a) and b) above;

d) If you find in c) that the kinetic energy changes, what causes this change? If it does not change, why
not? Discuss.
13. All particles shown in the following 4 figures have the same mass, and are moving with the same
speed in 2 dimensions. The arrows indicate the direction of the velocity. Rank the four figures in terms
of the magnitude of the total linear momentum, from the least to the greatest. Explain your reasoning.

Bonus question: Do any of the particles have angular momentum?

(a) Which of the forces generates the largest torque relative to the pivot point O? Explain your
reasoning.

F3 F1
O
F4
F2

(b) Which force(s) generate a torque that is pointing into the paper? Explain how you arrived at the
answer.

15. A planet travels in an elliptical orbit around a star, moving from its distance of closest approach
(perihelion) to its point of farthest approach (aphelion). Does gravity do work on the planet as it moves
from perihelion to aphelion, and if so, what is the sign of the work? Explain your reasoning.
16. A block attached to a spring is displaced from its equilibrium position, released from rest, and
allowed to oscillate freely on a frictionless horizontal surface. How will the maximum kinetic energy of
the block change if the spring constant is increased by a factor of 2, while all of the other parameters are
kept constant? Explain your reasoning.

17. A disk and a hoop have the same mass and radius (they are made of different materials). Each is
mounted on a pivot so that it swings back and forth freely in a vertical plane as shown. Which
pendulum has the larger period? Explain your reasoning.

pivot pivot

disk hoop
18. Two strings, both with made of steel with linear mass density 5 x 10-4 kg/m are attached to
a wall at one end and extended horizontally over pulleys at the other end. One has a vibrating
length of 45 cm and the other of 30 cm, and each is attached to a hanging mass. The block
attached to the longer string has a mass of 3 kg and the block attached to the shorter string has
mass M. When the shorter string is excited at its fundamental frequency and the longer string
is excited at its third harmonic, the frequency of the shorter string is 3.0 Hz higher than that of
the longer string. What is the value of mass M?
19. A 10 kg monkey (m1) climbs a
lightweight rope toward a frictionless
pulley. The rope is wrapped over the pulley
and is counterweighted by a 15 kg mass on
the other side (m2). The pulley has a mass of
8 kg and a radius of 20 cm. Normally, the
monkey can accelerate itself up a fixed rope
at a = ⅕g. If the monkey climbs the rope
toward the pulley in the same fashion, what
is the acceleration of the 15 kg mass on the
other side, in units of g?