PHYA10 - Physics I (Physical Sciences)

Practical Worksheet #07

Week #08: Monday, Nov. 01 - Friday, Nov. 05

Reading Material: Chapter 8 (8.1 - 8.5)

1. Joe is standing on the ground, Peter is standing on a 10 m high cliff, and Amanda is at the bottom of a
20 m deep pit, as shown. All three are using coordinate systems with the vertical axis directed up.

Joe’s coordinate system has the zero of the vertical axis at ground level. Peter’s coordinate system has the
zero of the vertical axis at the height of the cliff. Amanda’s coordinate system has the zero of the vertical
axis at the bottom of the pit.

A ball of mass m is initially at rest at ground level, indicated by Position A above the pit. We are
interested in Ug , the gravitationa potential energy of the ball.

(a) What is Ug for Joe, for Peter, and for Amanda?

(b) The ball is then raised to the height of the cliff at B, and is held at
rest. What is Ug at B for Joe, for Peter, and for Amanda?

(c) The ball is then released from rest and strikes the ground at C. What
is Ug at C for Joe, for Peter, and for Amanda?

(d) What is the speed of the ball at C for Joe, for Peter, and for Amanda?

2. Rank in order from largest to smallest the of elastic potential energy U1 to U4 in each of these springs.

3. A water slide is constructed so that swimmers, starting from test at the top of the slide, leave the end of
the slide traveling horizontally.

As the drawing shows, one person hits the water 5.00 m

from the end of the slide in a time of 0.500 s after leaving
the slide. Ignoring friction and air resistance, find the
height H in the drawing.

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4. In the metro newspaper of Wednesday, November 18, 2009, we found the following caption: “The BMW
550i Gran Turismo is the first “non-hybrid” North American vehicle to feature regenerative braking, a
system that converts the potential energy of the moving vehicle into electrical juice.”
Comment about these claims on the basis of our discussions regarding energy.

5. In the figure below, the track is at an angle θ with the horizontal such that the masses M and m are in
dynamic equilibrium with the cart moving down at some speed v. Is mechanical energy conserved?

If your answer is yes, explain.

If your answer is no, where did the energy go? How much
mechanical energy is lost if the cart travels a distance d
down the track?

6. Go to https://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/secs-vtd02_highroad and watch the video. In a small

modification of the situation described in the video, two balls are launched with equal initial speed and
race along tracks as shown in the figure. Friction and air resistance are negligible. It is found that the blue
ball B reaches the end of the track first.

(a) Using conservation of energy, explain quali-

tatively the results of the race.

(b) Using forces and accelerations, explain qual-

itatively the results of the race.

7. A small block of mass m starts from rest and slides along a frictionless loop-the-loop as shown in the figure.

What must be the initial height z, so that m pushes

against the top of the track at point a with a force
of magnitude equal to Fg ?

8. When a spring is compressed by ∆s = 10 cm, it shoots a ball of mass m = 150 g straight up into the air.

(a) If the ball reaches a maximum height h = 10 m above the point of

compression, find the spring constant k.

(b) What should be the mass of a box that when placed on top of the
spring will cause it to be compressed by ∆s = 10 cm?

(c) If instead of firing the ball straight up, the ball is fired horizontally
over a frictionless surface, what will be the speed of the ball?