Tutorial #3 Problems (Chapter 4 (Fowles), and Mid-term preparation)

Problem 1: A gun is located at the bottom of a hill of constant slope . Show that the
range of the gun measured up the slope of the hill is

Where is the angle of elevation of the gun, and that the maximum value of the slope
range is

Problem 2: A bead slides on a smooth rigid wire bent into the form of a circular loop of
radius b. If the plane of the loop is vertical, and if the bead starts from rest at a point that
is level with the centre of the loop, find the speed of the bead at the bottom and the
reaction of the wire on the bead at that point.
Problem 3: Let a particle of unit mass be subject to a force x-x3. Where x is its
displacement from the coordinate origin.
a) Find the equilibrium point, and determine whether they are stable or unstable.
b) Calculate the total energy of the particle, and show explicitly that it is a conserved
quantity.
Problem 4: Consider a particle of mass m and charge q>0, subject to an electric field
along the x direction, E=e . The particle moves under the effect of air resistance that is
quadratic in the velocity v.
a) Write down the equation of motion for the particle.
b) Find the magnitude and direction of the terminal velocity of the particle.
c) Assume the initial conditions x0=y0=z0=0 and v0=y0=z0=0. Find the velocity and
position as a function of time.
Useful integrals:

and