PHYA10 - Physics I (Physical Sciences)

Practical Worksheet #09

Week #10: Monday, Nov. 15 - Friday, Nov. 19

Reading Material: Chapter 10 (10.1 - 10.8)

1. Consider the different cases described below for very thin meter sticks.

(a) A uniform meter stick of length L = 1.0 m has a 0.20 kg

mass suspended by a string from its left side, and rests
on a pivot that is 0.25 m from the left side. If the meter
stick is in equilibrium, what is its mass? Explain.

(b) What is the force exerted on the meter stick by the pivot. Explain your answer and reasoning.

(c) Evaluate the total torque exerted on the meter stick about the pivot point. Repeat for the total torque
evaluated about the left side of the meter stick, where the 0.20 kg mass is attached. Repeat for the
total torque evaluated about the far right side of the meter stick. Can you generalize these results to
a statement about evaluating the torque for a body that is in equilibrium?

(d) The meter stick has been cut in half. The right half is
attached to a massless frame that is free to rotate about
the pivot. The 0.20 kg mass is suspended from the left
side of the frame 0.25 m from the pivot. Are the half
meter stick, frame and mass balanced? What is the mass
of the half meter stick? Is your answer consistent with
the mass of the full meter stick found in Part (a)?

(e) The full meter stick and 0.20 kg mass is tilted, held at
rest, and gently released. What will be its motion after
being released? Explain your reasoning. Remember that
we are assuming that the meter stick is very thin.

2. Alice and Bob are standing at the middle of a level, perfectly balanced seesaw. Alice has a mass of 40 kg
and Bob has a mass of 50 kg. If Alice starts to walk at 1 m/s away from the center of the seesaw while
remaining on it, how fast should Bob walk so that the seesaw remains level? If you do not know what a
seesaw is, feel free to use your computer to search online for illustrations.

3. Six forces, of magnitude F or 2F , are applied to a door as indicated in the top-view figure.

Rank in order, from largest to smallest, the magnitudes

of the six torques τ1 to τ6 with respect to the hinge p.
Explain your answer.

1
4. A yo-yo sits on the table top and is gently pulled to the right by a horizontal string wound about the axle.

(a) The string is wound around the axle in the con-

figuration illustrated to the right, so that the
string leaves from the top of the axle. The pull is
gentle enough that the yo-yo does not slip. Pre-
dict the motion of the yo-yo. Check your pre-
diction with an actual yo-yo or search online for
videos.

(b) The string is now wound around the axle in the

configuration illustrated to the right, so that the
string leaves from the bottom of the axle. The
pull is gentle enough that the yo-yo does not slip.
Predict the motion of the yo-yo. Check your pre-
diction with an actual yo-yo or search online for
videos.

(c) Explain your results from Parts (a) and (b). Assume that the radius of the axle of the yo-yo is r, and
the radius of the yo-yo itself is R. What are the total torques acting on the yo-yo about its axis of
rotation for Parts (a) and (b).

(d) Suppose that in the arrangement of Part (b) the string is not horizontal, but instead pulls the yo-yo
to the right and up. As the angle of the string is increased predict what will happen. Check your
prediction with an actual yo-yo or search online for videos. Can you explain?

5. Forces F1 and F2 have the same magnitude and are applied to the corners of a square plate of sides a.

Is there a single force F3 that, if applied to the appropriate point

on the plate, will cause the plate to be in total equilibrium (trans-
lational and rotational)? If your answer is yes, draw the force, with
the right position, orientation and length in your solution, explain-
ing you reasoning. If your answer is no, explain why.

6. A uniform stick of mass M and length L is suspended horizontally with end B on the edge of a table, and
the other end, A is held by hand. Point A is suddenly released. At the instant after release:

(a) What is the torque about B?

(b) What is the angular acceleration about B?

(c) What is the vertical acceleration of the centre of mass?

(d) What is the vertical force at B?