PHYS 2210 Sample Exam 1

Show all of your work!

Total of 100 points
September 22, 2014
YOUR NAME IS:

Some potentially useful information....

~r = x
x + y y = r
r + r

~r = xx + yy = (
r

dx
= tan 1 x
1 + x2

r 2 )
r + (r + 2r )

dx
= tanh 1 x
1 x2

R xdx
1
= ln(1 + x2 )
2
1+x
2

cosh(x) = 12 (ex + e x )

sinh(x) = 12 (ex

tanh(x) =

e x)

f (z) = f (a) + f 0 (a)(z

a) +

ez = 1 + z + 2!1 z 2 + 3!1 z 3 + ...

cos z = 1

1 2
z
2!

+ 4!1 z 4 + ...

1 00
f (a)(z
2!

a)2 +

sinh(x)
cosh(x)

1 000
f (a)(z
3!

(1 + z)n = 1 + nz +
1 3
z
3!

sin z = z

a)3 + ... [Taylors Series]

n(n 1) 2
z
2!

+ 5!1 z 5 + ...

+ ....[|z| < 1]

1. A race car speeds up as it moves around a circular track of constant radius b, with
angular speed = ctb .
(a) (8 points) In polar coordinates, what are the velocity and acceleration vectors for
the car in terms of the quantities given above?

(b) (6 points) When t =

tion?

p
b/c, what is the angle between the velocity and accelera-

2. A student on a bike (mass of student and bike = m) has just reached a speed v0 at the
top of a hill. The road slopes downhill in front of him at an angle of with respect
to horizontal. He decides to stop pedaling for a little while and coasts down the hill.
Recall that the cyclist is subjected to a quadratic drag force = cv 2 v. You should
ignore any frictional force on the wheels.
(a) (4 points) Draw a free-body diagram of the forces on the cyclist while he is coasting.
You must choose a coordinate system and clearly indicate your coordinate system
on the drawing.

(b) (6 points) Find an expression for the terminal speed of the cyclist.

(c) (12 points) Using your diagram for part a) and Newtons second law, write down
a dierential equation that describes the velocity of the cyclist along the road due
to the forces acting on him and the bike.

PROBLEM 2, continued....
(d) (4 points) What is an appropriate initial condition for this problem.

(e) (4 points) Assume that the initial speed v0 of the bike at the top of the hill is
small (less than the terminal velocity). Sketch the velocity as a function of time.
What should be the approximate slope of this graph at large times? How do you
know?

(f) (12 points) Solve the equation to obtain an expression for the velocity as a function
of time that satisfies your initial condition.

vx0 m
bt
3. The horizontal motion of a projectile with linear drag is given by x(t) =
(1 e m ),
b
where m is the mass of the projectile, b is the drag constant, and vx0 is the initial x
component of the velocity.
(a) (6 points) For very small time, obtain an approximate expression for x(t) with at
least two non-zero terms using an appropriate Taylor Series expansion.

(b) (4 points) What is the significance of each of the terms in your answer?

(c) (8 points) For t ' m/b, obtain an approximate expression for x(t) using an appropriate Taylor Series expansion. Your expression must be at least first-order in
t.

4. A rocket has an initial total mass mi , including the fuel. It burns fuel at a constant
rate of m
= c and ejects it with an exhaust velocity of vex .
(a) (6 points) If there are no other forces in the problem, find an expression for the
velocity of the rocket after its total mass has decreased to 0.5mi .

(b) (4 points) What is the thrust of the rocket?

(c) (12 points) Now imagine that there is a linear drag force on the rocket, f~drag = b~v .
Obtain a dierential equation for v(t). Your equation must be expressed only in
terms of time t, v(t) (and the time derivatives thereof), and the constants given
above. (Do not solve the equation.) There is more space on the next page if you
need it.

PROBLEM 4, continued....

(d) (4 points) What kind of dierential equation did you obtain in part d? Explain
how you would go about solving this equation? (You do not need to solve the
dierential equation.)