PC1431 Physics IE: Tutorial 2

Question 1
Kathy and Tommy stand on a platform of negligible weight as shown in Figure 1. Tommy
weighs 500 N and Kathy weighs 400 N. Kathy is supporting some of her weight on the
end of the rope she is holding. What downward force is she exerting on the platform?
[Ans: n = 100 N]

Tommy, 500 N
Kathy, 400 N

Figure 1: Whatever you do, dont let go!

Question 2
In Figure 2, a cable pulls a skier up a hill inclined at 10 above the horizontal. The skier
starts from rest and the cable exerts a tension T at an angle 30 above the surface of
the hill. The mass of the skier is 60 kg and the effective coefficient of friction between
the skier and the snow is 0.10. What is the maximum tension in the cable if the starting
acceleration (along the slope) does not exceed 0.40g? [Ans: T = 431 N]
T

30
10

Figure 2: Thats no skier! Hes clearly standing on a skateboard. . .

Question 3
An amusement park ride consists of a large vertical cylinder that spins about its axis fast
enough that any person inside is held up against the wall when the floor drops away as
shown in Figure 3. The coefficient of static friction between the person and the wall is
s , and the radius of the cylinder is R.

Figure 3: What could possibly go wrong?

(a) Show that the optimal period of revolution necessary to keep the person from falling
is
s
4 2 Rs
T =
.
(1)
g
(b) How many revolutions per minute does the cylinder make if R = 4.00 m and s =
0.400? [Ans: 23.6 rpm]

Question 4
A slab of mass m1 = 40.0 kg rests o a frictionless floor, and a block of mass m2 = 10.0 kg
rests on top of the slab as in Figure 4. Between the block and the slab, the coefficient
of static friction is 0.600, and the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.400. The block is
pulled by a horizontal force F . What are the resulting accelerations of blocks m1 and
m2 if (a) F = 100 N? (b) F = 60 N? [Ans: (a) a1 = 0.98 m s2 , a2 = 6.08 m s2 (b)
a1 = a2 = 1.20 m s2 ]
F

2
111111111
000000000
000000000
111111111
000000000
111111111
m
1

Figure 4: What a drag

Question 5
In Figure 5, a block of mass m = 0.500 kg is on a wedge of mass M = 2.00 kg. The wedge
is subjected to a horizontal force F and slides on a frictionless surface. The coefficient of
static friction between the block and wedge is 0.600. Take = 40.0 . Find the range of
values of F for which the block does not slide on the incline. [Ans: 3.90 N < F < 71.0 N]
m

Figure 5: I dont like to move it, move it

Question 6: For practice

A bead in Figure 6 is free to slide down a smooth, straight wire stretched between points
A and B on a vertical circle of radius R = 2.1 m. If the bead starts from rest at A, the
highest point on the circle, and = 25 , what is the time it takes to arrive at B? [Ans:
0.925 s]
A

B
Figure 6: The worlds worst abacus.

Question 7: For practice

An elevator ascends from the ground with uniform speed at time t = 0. At time t = T1 ,
a boy releases a marble through a hole in the elevator floor. The marble falls freely and
hits the ground T2 seconds after it was released. Fine the height h of the elevator at time
t = T1 . [Ans: h = g(T1 T22 )/2(T1 + T2 )]