Physics 15a

Problem Set #1

Due: Thurs, 9/17/15

This is a partial hmwk (covering the material in Lecture 1), so that you can
get started. The rest of the hmwk will be posted the evening of Thursday
9/10. The due date is Thursday 9/17.
For the rst three problems, pretend that you know nothing about physics except dimensional analysis.
1. The speed of sound in air and other gases, liquids, and solids depends on the density
(mass per volume) and elastic property B (the bulk modulus, which has units of
force per area) of the medium. What is the dependence of the speed on and B?
2. Consider a soap bubble. How does the pressure dierence p (force per area) across
the membrane depend on the surface tension S (force per length) and the radius R?
3. A couple denitions: The specic heat C of an object is a measure of the heat
required to raise a unit mass by one degree; it has dimensions L2 /T 2 K, where K
signies the dimension of temperature (which is one of the seven SI units). Additionally, the thermal conductivity k of an object is a measure of how well heat
ows; it has dimensions M L/T 3 K.
How does the time to cook a turkey in an oven depend on the mass m, the mass
density , the specic heat C, and the thermal conductivity k? If it takes 3 hours
to cook a 10-pound turkey, how long does it take to cook a 20-pound turkey?
4. Consider the following Atwoods machine, consisting of three masses and two
frictionless pulleys.

m1

m2 m3

It can be shown that the acceleration of m1 is given by (just accept this)

a1 = g

4m2 m3 m1 (m2 + m3 )
.
4m2 m3 + m1 (m2 + m3 )

Find a1 for the following special cases:

(a) m1 = 2m2 = 2m3 .
(b) m1 m2 .
(c) m1 much smaller than both m2 and m3 .
(d) m1 = 4m2 m3 /(m2 + m3 ).

5. A ball is thrown at an angle up to the top of a cli of height L, from a point a

distance L from the base, as shown. Assuming that one of the following quantities
is the initial speed required to make the ball land right at the edge of the cli, which
is it? Dont solve the problem from scratch, just check special cases.

gL cos
,
2(sin cos )

gL
,
2 cos (sin cos )

gL
,
2 cos (sin + cos )

gL sin
.
2(sin + cos )

L
v0

6. Fermi problem: Estimate, to the nearest power of 10, the number of bricks in the
fence around Harvard Yard. (Were not concerned with the right answer, but
rather with the explanation of your approximations.)