Problem 1
Find the following for path A in Figure 2.71: (a) The distance traveled. (b) The magnitude of the displacement from start to finish. (c) The displacement from start to finish.
Find the following for path A in Figure 2.71: (a) The distance traveled. (b) The magnitude of the displacement from start to finish. (c) The displacement from start to finish.
Find the following for path C in Figure 2.71: (a) The distance traveled. (b) The magnitude of the displacement from start to finish. (c) The displacement from start to finish.
(a) Calculate Earth's average speed relative to the Sun. (b) What is its average velocity over a period of one year?
The North American and European continents are moving apart at a rate of about 3 cm/y. At this rate how long will it take them to drift 500 km farther apart than they are at present?
On May 26, 1934, a streamlined, stainless steel diesel train called the Zephyr set the world's nonstop long-distance speed record for trains. Its run from Denver to Chicago took 13 hours, 4 minutes, 58 seconds, and was witnessed by more than a million people along the route. The total distance traveled was 1633.8 km. What was its average speed in km/h and m/s?
A student drove to the university from her home and noted that the odometer reading of her car increased by 12.0 km. The trip took 18.0 min. (a) What was her average speed? (b) If the straight-line distance from her home to the university is 10.3 km in a direction south of east, what was her average velocity? (c) If she returned home by the same path 7 h 30 min after she left, what were her average speed and velocity for the entire trip?
Conversations with astronauts on the lunar surface were characterized by a kind of echo in which the earthbound person's voice was so loud in the astronaut's space helmet that it was picked up by the astronaut's microphone and transmitted back to Earth. It is reasonable to assume that the echo time equals the time necessary for the radio wave to travel from the Earth to the Moon and back (that is, neglecting any time delays in the electronic equipment). Calculate the distance from Earth to the Moon given that the echo time was 2.56 s and that radio waves travel at the speed of light .
Assume that an intercontinental ballistic missile goes from rest to a suborbital speed of 6.50 km/s in 60.0 s (the actual speed and time are classified). What is its average acceleration in and in multiples of ).
A well-thrown ball is caught in a well-padded mitt. If the deceleration of the ball is , and 1.85 ms elapses from the time the ball first touches the mitt until it stops, what was the initial velocity of the ball?
A light-rail commuter train accelerates at a rate of . How long does it take to reach its top speed of 80.0 km/h, starting from rest? (b) The same train ordinarily decelerates at a rate of . How long does it take to come to a stop from its top speed? (c) In emergencies the train can decelerate more rapidly, coming to rest from 80.0 km/h in 8.30 s. What is its emergency deceleration in ?
At the end of a race, a runner decelerates from a velocity of 9.00 m/s at a rate of . (a) How far does she travel in the next 5.00 s? (b) What is her final velocity? (c) Evaluate the result. Does it make sense?
In a slap shot, a hockey player accelerates the puck from a velocity of 8.00 m/s to 40.0 m/s in the same direction. If thisshot takes , calculate the distance over which the puck accelerates.
Freight trains can produce only relatively small accelerations and decelerations. (a) What is the final velocity of a freight train that accelerates at a rate of for 8.00 min, starting with an initial velocity of 4.00 m/s? (b) If the train can slow down at a rate of , how long will it take to come to a stop from this velocity? (c) How far will it travel in each case?
A swan on a lake gets airborne by flapping its wings and running on top of the water. (a) If the swan must reach a velocity of 6.00 m/s to take off and it accelerates from rest at an average rate of , how far will it travel before becoming airborne? (b) How long does this take?
An unwary football player collides with a padded goalpost while running at a velocity of 7.50 m/s and comes to a full stop after compressing the padding and his body 0.350 m. (a) What is his deceleration? (b) How long does the collision last?
Consider a grey squirrel falling out of a tree to the ground. (a) If we ignore air resistance in this case (only for the sake of this problem), determine a squirrel's velocity just before hitting the ground, assuming it fell from a height of 3.0 m. (b) If the squirrel stops in a distance of 2.0 cm through bending its limbs, compare its deceleration with that of the airman in the previous problem.
Dragsters can actually reach a top speed of 145 m/s in only 4.45 s—considerably less time than given in the textbook examples. (a) Calculate the average acceleration for such a dragster. (b) Find the final velocity of this dragster starting from rest and accelerating at the rate found in (a) for 402 m (a quarter mile) without using any information on time. (c) Why is the final velocity greater than that used to find the average acceleration? Hint: Consider whether the assumption of constant acceleration is valid for a dragster. If not, discuss whether the acceleration would be greater at the beginning or end of the run and what effect that would have on the final velocity.
In 1967, New Zealander Burt Munro set the world record for an Indian motorcycle, on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, with a maximum speed of 183.58 mi/h. The one-way course was 5.00 mi long. Acceleration rates are often described by the time it takes to reach 60.0 mi/h from rest. If this time was 4.00 s, and Burt accelerated at this rate until he reached his maximum speed, how long did it take Burt to complete the course?
Calculate the displacement and velocity at times of (a) 0.500, (b) 1.00, (c) 1.50, and (d) 2.00 s for a ball thrown straight up with an initial velocity of 15.0 m/s. Take the point of release to be .
A basketball referee tosses the ball straight up for the starting tip-off. At what velocity must a basketball player leave the ground to rise 1.25 m above the floor in an attempt to get the ball?
A dolphin in an aquatic show jumps straight up out of the water at a velocity of 13.0 m/s. (a) List the knowns in this problem. (b) How high does his body rise above the water? To solve this part, first note that the final velocity is now a known and identify its value. Then identify the unknown, and discuss how you chose the appropriate equation to solve for it. After choosing the equation, show your steps in solving for the unknown, checking units, and discuss whether the answer is reasonable. (c) How long is the dolphin in the air? Neglect any effects due to his size or orientation.
(a) Calculate the height of a cliff if it takes 2.35 s for a rock to hit the ground when it is thrown straight up from the cliff with an initial velocity of 8.00 m/s. (b) How long would it take to reach the ground if it is thrown straight down with the same speed?
You throw a ball straight up with an initial velocity of 15.0 m/s. It passes a tree branch on the way up at a height of 7.00 m. How much additional time will pass before the ball passes the tree branch on the way back down?
Standing at the base of one of the cliffs of Mt. Arapiles in Victoria, Australia, a hiker hears a rock break loose from a height of 105 m. He can't see the rock right away but then does, 1.50 s later. (a) How far above the hiker is the rock when he can see it? (b) How much time does he have to move before the rock hits his head?
There is a 250-m-high cliff at Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in California. Suppose a boulder breaks loose from the top of this cliff. (a) How fast will it be going when it strikes the ground? (b) Assuming a reaction time of 0.300 s, how long will a tourist at the bottom have to get out of the way after hearing the sound of the rock breaking loose (neglecting the height of the tourist, which would become negligible anyway if hit)? The speed of sound is 335 m/s on this day.
Suppose you drop a rock into a dark well and, using precision equipment, you measure the time for the sound of a splash to return. (a) Neglecting the time required for sound to travel up the well, calculate the distance to the water if the sound returns in 2.0000 s. (b) Now calculate the distance taking into account the time for sound to travel up the well. The speed of sound is 332.00 m/s in this well.
A coin is dropped from a hot-air balloon that is 300 m above the ground and rising at 10.0 m/s upward. For the coin, find (a) the maximum height reached, (b) its position and velocity 4.00 s after being released, and (c) the time before it hits the ground.
(a) By taking the slope of the curve in Figure 2.72, verify that the velocity of the jet car is 115 m/s at . (b) By taking the slope of the curve at any point in Figure 2.73, verify that the jet car's acceleration is .
Using approximate values, calculate the slope of the curve in Figure 2.74 to verify that the velocity at is 0.238 m/s. Assume all values are known to 3 significant figures.
Construct the displacement graph for the subway shuttle train as shown in Figure 2.30(a). Your graph should show the position of the train, in kilometers, from t = 0 to 20 s. You will need to use the information on acceleration and velocity given in the examples for this figure.
A graph of is shown for a world-class track sprinter in a 100-m race. (See Figure 2.79). (a) What is his average velocity for the first 4 s? (b) What is his instantaneous velocity at ? (c) What is his average acceleration between 0 and 4 s? (d) What is his time for the race?
Which of the following statements comparing position, distance, and displacement is correct?
An object may record a distance of zero while recording a non-zero displacement.
An object may record a non-zero distance while recording a displacement of zero.
An object may record a non-zero distance while maintaining a position of zero.
A group of students has two carts, A and B, with wheels that turn with negligible friction. The two carts travel along a straight horizontal track and eventually collide. Before the collision, cart A travels to the right and cart B is initially at rest. After the collision, the carts stick together.
Describe an experimental procedure to determine the velocities of the carts before and after the collision, including all the additional equipment you would need. You may include a labeled diagram of your setup to help in your description. Indicate what measurements you would take and how you would take them. Include enough detail so that another student could carry out your procedure.
There will be sources of error in the measurements taken in the experiment both before and after the collision. Which velocity will be more greatly affected by this error: the velocity prior to the collision or the velocity after the collision? Or will both sets of data be affected equally? Justify your answer.
Push a book across a table and observe it slow to a stop.
Draw graphs showing the book's position vs. time and velocity vs. time if the direction of its motion is considered positive.
Draw graphs showing the book's position vs. time and velocity vs. time if the direction of its motion is considered negative.
Observing a spacecraft land on a distant asteroid, scientists notice that the craft is falling at a rate of 5 m/s. When it is 100 m closer to the surface of the asteroid, the craft reports a velocity of 8 m/s. According to their data, what is the approximate gravitational acceleration on this asteroid?
0 m/s2
0.03 m/s2
0.20 m/s2
0.65 m/s2
33 m/s2