PSCI 1030, Lawler, HW 3

1. A tow truck is hauling two cars down the interstate.

The truck is connected to the front car, Car 1, with Chain 1.
Car 1 is connected to the rear car, Car 2, with Chain 2.
The mass of Car 1 is 1000 kg.
The mass of Car 2 is 2000 kg.
The tension in the Chain 1 is 3000 N.

A. What is the acceleration of the of the cargo load?

a. 1m/s2

B. What is the tension in Chain 2?

a. T2=2000x1 T2=2000N

2. A. When a car speeds up, what object or mass is exerting the force to cause it?
a. The engine:  The Forward Force of the engine must be larger than forward force oF
friction. According to Newton’s second law, a net force is required to cause acceleration.
B. When a car slows down, what object is exerting the force?
a. Drag from the Air Resistance and From the Breaks when applied
When it turns a hairpin corner, what object is exerting the force?
a. As a car makes a turn, the force of Friction acting upon the turned wheels of the car
provides Centripetal force required for the sharp turn.

3. Describe the basic principle behind the operation of a jet engine. What object exerts the
force accelerating a jet-powered vehicle?
a. The Thrust of the Jet engine is causing the force.

3. A car is travelling down the road at 25 m/s. It's mass is 1000 kg. What net external force is
necessary to bring the car to a stop in 1 s? Fnet=Ma 1000(-25) = -25000 J of force
Is the force parallel to the velocity, anti-parallel, or neither? Anti parallel

4. When the brakes on your car are working normally (that is your tires are not locked, they are
rolling as your car slows), what kind of friction is at work, static or sliding?
a. Static
When your tires lock up, what kind in that case?
a. Sliding
Which of the two kinds is capable of the greater force?
a. Static , because if the wheel can still spin, there can be an opposing spinning force to
applied through the braking system. This is how the anti lock break system works.
5. A 0.5 kg snowball is thrown directly at a 5 kg wood block on a frictionless ice surface.
The initial speed of the snowball is 5 m/s, and the block is initially at rest. When the snowball
collides with the block, the two stick together. What is the speed of the block-snow mass after
the collision?

a..909 m/s

6. Which of Newton's Laws is most closely connected with the conservation of momentum?
a. Newton's 3rd Laws

8. What is the magnitude of Moon's acceleration due to the gravitational force of the Earth?

a. (6.7x10-11)(6x1024)(7.4x 1022)/(3.84\times 108)2= 2.01741x 1048 N

9. How do the net forces (neglecting air resistance) compare for a heavy mass, and a light mass,
both in free-fall near the Earth’s surface?

a.The heavier mass of an object has an inverse effect upon its acceleration. Therefore ,
the direct effect of greater force on the heavier mass, is offset by the inverse effect of the greater
mass of the more massive object; and so each object accelerates at the same rate - approximately
10 m/s/s. 

B. How do the acceleration’s compare?

b. All objects (regardless of their mass) free fall with the same acceleration - 9.8 m/s/s

10. In the approximation (not exactly true), that the Earth’s orbit around the sun is at constant
speed, and perfectly circular, what can we say about the orientation of the Earth’s velocity, and
the force the sun exerts upon it?
a. the orientation of Earths velocity to the orbit is always tangental. Earth would obey
the law of inertia and fly off in a straight line in the direction of the velocity at constant speed.
However, the Centripical gravitational force of the Sun serves to overpower the inertial
predisposition of the planet Earth, thereby keeping it in orbit.

11. Which is true of kinetic friction: it is always antiparallel to velocity, it is always parallel to
velocity, it is sometimes parallel and sometimes anti-parallel to velocity.
a. it is always parallel to velocity
12. Draw a FBD for a block sliding down a frictionless ramp, speeding up. How many two-body
forces are acting on it?
a. gravitational force
b.  normal force
Add all the two-body forces vectorially, what is the direction of the net force? Repeat
the FBD for a block sliding up a frictionless ramp, slowing down. How do the two FBDs above
differ? How do the net forces differ? Now draw a FBD for the block sliding down a ramp WITH
FRICTION, speeding up. How many two-body forces are acting? Add the two-body forces
vectorially. How does the net force compare to that when there was no friction?