manik.banik@iisertvm.ac.

in [PHY111]

Assignment 1
due date :
−x
1. Does the limit limx →
− ∞ e sin(x) exist ? If so what is the value of it?

2. What is the differentiation of the function xx with respect to x?

3. If ABCD is an arbitray parallelogram, prove that the line joining A to

the midpoint of CD intersects the diagonal BD in one of the trisection points
of the diagonal.

~ × (∇r
3. ∇ ~ n ) =?

4. In cylindrical coordinates find ∇f if f = ρ5 cos. Show that we get the

same value if we calculate it for Cartesian coordinate.

5. Mass M1 is held on a plane with inclination angle θ , and mass M2 hangs

over the side. The two masses are connected by a massless string which runs
over a massless pulley. The coefficient of kinetic friction between M1 and the
plane is µ. M1 is released from rest. Assuming that M2 is sufficiently large
so that M1 gets pulled up the plane, what is the acceleration of the masses?
What is the tension in the string?

6. Consider the infinite Atwood’s machine shown in figure. A string passes

over each pulley, with one end attached to a mass and the other end attached
to another pulley. All the masses are equal to m, and all the pulleys and
strings are massless. The masses are held fixed and then simultaneously re-
leased. What is the acceleration of the top mass? (You may define this infinite
system as follows. Consider it to be made of N pulleys, with a nonzero mass
replacing what would have been the (N + 1)th pulley. Then take the limit as
 manik.banik@iisertvm.ac.in [PHY111]

N → ∞)

7. A ball is thrown at speed v from zero height on level ground. Let θ0

be the angle at which the ball should be thrown so that the length of the
trajectory is maximum. Show that θ0 satisfies
1 + sin θ0
sin θ0 ln =1 (1)
cos θ0

8. Write the transformation that you think are appropriate for transforming
cartesian coordinate to polar coordinate. Extend this to cylindrical coordi-
nate. Explain what is the general position vector (~p) and write it in both the
coordinates.( remember we go to cylindrical from polar, and 2D is one axis
more that 3D)

9. Calculate the velocity and acceleration in both the coordinates. (just

differentiate by t).Discuss the different terms obtained in the acceleration in
the Cylindrical coordinate. Explain if this represents different force terms.(try
to find out if these terms have different names).Discuss the case for a par-
ticle whose distance from the z-axis and from the x-y plane does NOT change.

10.Discuss which is the best coordinate to explain helical motions. Describe

what is helical motion and the motion of a corkscrew. (Qualitative is fine)
 manik.banik@iisertvm.ac.in [PHY111]

11.A ball is thrown over the head of a person who is standing a horizon-
tal distance d from the point where the ball was thrown. The initial ball’s
velocity is at an angle with respect to the ground and has a magnitude v0 . As
soon as the ball is thrown, the person runs with a time-varying acceleration
whose component along the x-axis is given by B, where B is a positive con-
stant. The person catches the ball at exactly the same height it was thrown
from. Assume that the air resistance is negligible and that the gravitational
acceleration is directed downward and has magnitude g. Find the constant
B. Express your answer in terms of some or all of the given variables. Use ,
g, d, and v0 as needed.

12. A marble bounces down stairs in a regular manner, hitting each step
at the same place and bouncing the same height above each step. The stair
height equals its depth (i.e, tread=rise) and the coefficient of restitution e is
given. Find the necessary horizontal velocity and bounce height.
 manik.banik@iisertvm.ac.in [PHY111]

13. Assume all surfaces to be frictionless and the inertia of pulley and cord
negligible. Find the horizontal force necessary to prevent any relative motion
of ml , m2 and M .

14. A pendulum of mass m and length l is released from rest in a hori-

zontal position. A nail a distance d below the pivot causes the mass to move
along the path indicated by the dotted line. Find the minimum distance d in
terms of I such that the mass will swing completely round in the circle shown
in the figure.

15. A bottle is floating upright in a large bucket of water as shown in the

figure. In equilibrium it is submerged to a depth do below the surface of
the water. Show that if it is pushed down to a depth d and released, it will
execute harmonic motion, and find the frequency of its oscillations. If do = 20
cm, what is the period of the oscillations?
 manik.banik@iisertvm.ac.in [PHY111]

16. A smooth sphere rests on a horizontal plane. A point particle slides

frictionlessly down the sphere, starting at the top. Let R be the radius of the
sphere. At what value of the angle θ does the particle leave the sphere?

17. A mass hangs from a massless string of length l . Conditions have been
set up so that the mass swings around in a horizontal circle,with the string
making a constant angle β with the vertical. What is the angular frequency
of this motion?
 manik.banik@iisertvm.ac.in [PHY111]

18. A person stands on a platform-and-pulley system, as shown in the figure.

The masses of the platform, person, and pulley are M , m and µ, respec-
tively.The rope is massless. Let the person pull up on the rope so that she
has acceleration a upward. (Assume that the platform is somehow constrained
to stay level, perhaps by having the ends run along some rails.) Find the ten-
sion in the rope, the normal force between the person and the platform, and
the tension in the rod connecting the pulley to the platform.

19. If you paint a dot on the rim of a rolling wheel, the coordinates of
the dot may be written as

(x, y) = (R + R sin θ, R + R cos θ) (2)

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The path of the dot is called a cycloid. Assume that the wheel is rolling at
constant speed, which implies θ = ωt. (a) Find v(t) and a(t) of the dot.
(b) At the instant the dot is at the top of the wheel, what is the radius of
curvature of its path? The radius of curvature is defined to be the radius of
the circle that matches up with the path locally at a given point. (Hint: You
know v and a.)

20. A projectile is fired at speed v0 and at an angle θ. What is the ra-

dius of curvature (defined in previous question) of the parabolic motion : (a)
at the top? (b) at the beginning? (c) At what angle should the projectile
be fired so that the radius of curvature at the top equals half the maximum
height, as shown in the figure?