Engineering Physics X IA Tutorials 3:

Motion in One Dimension and Two

Dimensions
Mr. M. J. Mvelase, Dr. J. M. Changundega and Dr. O. M. Bill

2023

Work through these questions in preparation for your tutorial on Chapter 2: 1D Motion and Chapter
4: 2D Motion. Some of the questions are taken from the main textbook, Physics for Scientists and
Engineers (9th Edition) with Modern Physics by Raymond A. Serway and John W. Jewett, Jr.

Warm Up
1. A cannon shell is fired straight up from the ground at an initial speed of 225 m/s. After
how much time is the shell at a height of 6.20 × 102 m above the ground and moving
downward? (a) 2.96 s (b) 17.3 s (c) 25.4 s (d) 33.6 s (e) 43.0 s
2. An arrow is shot straight up in the air at an initial speed of 15.0 m/s. After how much
time is the arrow moving downward at a speed of 8.00 m/s? (a) 0.714 s (b) 1.24 s (c)
1.87 s (d) 2.35 s (e) 3.22 s
3. On another planet, a marble is released from rest at the top of a high cliff. It falls 4.00
m in the first 1 s of its motion. Through what additional distance does it fall in the
next 1 s? (a) 4.00 m (b) 8.00 m (c) 12.0 m (d) 16.0 m (e) 20.0 m
4. (a) Can the equations of kinematics be used in a situation in which the acceleration
varies in time? (b) Can they be used when the acceleration is zero?
5. An unidentified naval vessel is tracked by the Navistar Global Positioning System.
With respect to a coordinate origin (0, 0) fixed at a lighthouse beacon, the position of
the vessel is found to be 𝑥1 = 2.0 km west, 𝑦1 = 1.6 km south at 𝑡1 = 0.30 h and 𝑥2 = 6.4
km west, 𝑦2 = 6.5 km north at 𝑡2 = 0.6 h. Using the east–west as the 𝑥–axis and north–
south as the 𝑦 axis, determine the average velocity in terms of its components. What
are the direction and magnitude of the average velocity in kilometres per hour?
6. The track of a cosmic ray particle in a photographic emulsion is found empirically to
be described by the expression 𝒓 = (3𝑡 3 − 6𝑡)𝒊̂ + (5 − 8𝑡 4 )𝒋̂. Determine the velocity and
acceleration.
7. An electric fan rotates at 800 revolutions per minute. Consider a point on the blade a
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 distance of 0.16 m from the axis. Calculate the speed of this point and its centripetal
acceleration.
8. A golf ball is hit at an angle of 30° above horizontal with a speed of 44 m/s. How high
does it rise? How long is it in the air, and how far does it travel horizontally?

Problems
1. A position–time graph for a particle moving along the 𝑥 axis is shown in Figure 1. (a)
Find the average velocity in the time interval t = 1.50s to t = 4.00s. (b) Determine the
instantaneous velocity at t = 2.00s by measuring the slope of the tangent line shown in
the graph. (c) At what value of t is the velocity zero?

Figure 1 for Problem 1

2. The North American and European plates of the Earth’s crust are drifting apart with
a relative speed of about 25 mm/yr. Take the speed as constant and find when the rift
between them started to open, to reach a current width of 2.9 × 103 mi. [There is
evidence in palaeography that suggests that all of earth's continents were once a
single piece of land.]
3. A hare and a tortoise compete in a race over a straight course 1.00km long. The
tortoise crawls at a speed of 0.200m/s toward the finish line. The hare runs at a speed
of 8.00m/s toward the finish line for 0.800km and then stops to tease the slow–moving
tortoise as the tortoise eventually passes by. The hare waits for a while after the
tortoise passes and then runs toward the finish line again at 8.00 m/s. Both the hare
and the tortoise cross the finish line at the exact same instant. Assume both animals,
when moving, move steadily at their respective speeds. (a) How far is the tortoise from
the finish line when the hare resumes the race? (b) For how long in time was the hare
stationary?
4. A 50.0g Super Ball traveling at 25.0m/s bounces on a brick wall and rebounds at
22.0m/s. A high–speed camera records this event. If the ball is in contact with the wall
for 3.50ms, what is the magnitude of the average acceleration of the ball during this
time interval?
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5. A velocity–time graph for an object moving along the 𝑥 axis is shown in Figure 2. (a)
Plot a graph of the acceleration versus time. Determine the average acceleration of the
object (b) in the time interval t = 5.00s to t = 15.0s and (c) in the time interval t = 0s to
t = 20.0s.

Figure 2 for Problem 5

6. An object moves along the 𝑥 axis according to the equation
𝑥 = 3.00𝑡 2 − 2.00𝑡 + 3.00
where 𝑥 is in metres and 𝑡 is in seconds. Determine (a) the average speed between
t = 2.00 s and t = 3.00 s, (b) the instantaneous speed at t = 2.00 s and at t = 3.00 s, (c)
the average acceleration between t = 2.00 s and t = 3.00 s, and (d) the instantaneous
acceleration at t = 2.00 s and t = 3.00 s. (e) At what time is the object at rest?
7. The minimum distance required to stop a car moving at 35.0 mi/h is 40.0 ft. What is
the minimum stopping distance for the same car moving at 70.0 mi/h, assuming the
same rate of acceleration?
8. The driver of a car slams on the brakes when he sees a tree blocking the road. The car
slows uniformly with an acceleration of −5.60 m/s2 for 4.20 s, making straight skid
marks 62.4 m long, all the way to the tree. With what speed does the car then strike
the tree?
9. A particle moves along the x axis. Its position is given by the equation
𝑥 = 2 + 3𝑡 − 4𝑡 2
with 𝑥 in metres and 𝑡 in seconds. Determine (a) its position when it changes
direction and (b) its velocity when it returns to the position it had at 𝑡 = 0s.
10. The height of a helicopter above the ground is given by
𝐻 = 3.00𝑡 3
where ℎ is in metres and 𝑡 is in seconds. At 𝑡 = 2.00s, the helicopter releases a small
mailbag. How long after its release does the mailbag reach the ground?
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11. A student throws a set of keys vertically upward to her sorority sister, who is in a
window 4.00m above. The second student catches the keys 1.50s later. (a) With what
initial velocity were the keys thrown? (b) What was the velocity of the keys just before
they were caught?
12. As soon as a traffic light turns green, a car speeds up from rest to 50.0mi/h with
constant acceleration 9.00mi/h/s. In the adjoining bicycle lane, a cyclist speeds up from
rest to 20.0mi/h with constant acceleration 13.0mi/h/s. Each vehicle maintains
constant velocity after reaching its cruising speed. (a) For what time interval is the
bicycle ahead of the car? (b) By what maximum distance does the bicycle lead the car?
13. In a women's 100m race, accelerating uniformly, Thokozani takes 2.00s and
Sijabulisiwe 3.00s to attain their maximum speeds, which they each maintain for the
rest of the race. They cross the finish line simultaneously, both setting a world record
of 10.4s. (a) What is the acceleration of each sprinter? (b) What are their respective
maximum speeds? (c) Which sprinter is ahead at the 6.00s mark, and by how much?
(d) What is the maximum distance by which Sijabulisiwe is behind Thokozani, and at
what time does that occur?
14. Two thin rods are fastened to the inside of a circular ring as shown in Figure 3. One
rod of length D is vertical, and the other of length L makes an angle 𝜃 with the
horizontal. The two rods and the ring lie in a vertical plane. Two small beads are free
to slide without friction along the rods. (a) If the two beads are released from rest
simultaneously from the positions shown, use your intuition and guess which bead
reaches the bottom first. (b) Find an expression for the time interval required for the
red bead to fall from point A to point C in terms of g and D. (c) Find an expression for
the time interval required for the blue bead to slide from point B to point C in terms of
g, L and 𝜃. (d) Show that the two time intervals found in parts (b) and (c) are equal.
Hint: What is the angle between the chords of the circle AB and BC? (e) Do these
results surprise you? Was your intuitive guess in part (a) correct? This problem was
inspired by an article by Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr.,”Galileo's Paradox,” Phys. Teach.
46, 294 (May 2008).

Figure 3 for Problem 14

15. A man drops a rock into a well. (a) The man hears the sound of the splash 2.40safter
he releases the rock from rest. The speed of sound in air (at the ambient temperature)
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 is 336m/s. How far below the top of the well is the surface of the water? (b) What If? If
the travel time for the sound is ignored, what percentage error is introduced when the
depth of the well is calculated?
16. Suppose our fastest train has a top speed of 70 m/s. Train passengers find the ride
slightly uncomfortable if their acceleration exceeds 0.05𝑔. (a) What is the smallest
radius of curvature for a bend in the track that can be tolerated within this limit? (b)
If the train had to go around a curve of radius of 1.20 km, to what speed would the
train have to be slowed in order not to exceed an acceleration of 0.05𝑔?
17. A fish swimming in a horizontal plane has velocity 𝒗⃗ 𝒊 = (4.00𝒊̂ + 1.00𝒋̂) m/s at a point
in the ocean where the position relative to a certain rock is 𝒓 ⃗ 𝒊 = (10.0𝒊̂ − 4.00𝒋̂) m.
After the fish swims with constant acceleration for 20.0 s, its velocity is 𝒗 ⃗𝒊=
(20.0𝒊̂ − 5.00𝒋̂) m/s. (a) What are the components of the acceleration of the fish? (b)
What is the direction of its acceleration with respect to unit vector 𝒊̂? (c) If the fish
maintains constant acceleration, where is it at 𝑡 = 25.0 s and in what direction is it
moving?
18. A ball swings counter–clockwise in a vertical circle at the end of a rope 1.50 m long.
When the ball is 36.9° past the lowest point on its way up, its total acceleration is
(−22.5𝒊̂ + 20.2𝒋̂) m/s2. For that instant, (a) sketch a vector diagram showing the
components of its acceleration, (b) determine the magnitude of its radial acceleration,
and (c) determine the speed and velocity of the ball. Explain the significance of each
component of the acceleration (−22.5𝒊̂ + 20.2𝒋̂) m/s2.
19. A playground is on the flat roof of a city school, 6.00 m above the street below (Figure
4). The vertical wall of the building is ℎ = 7.00 m high, forming a 1–m–high railing
around the playground. A ball has fallen to the street below, and a passerby returns it
by launching it at an angle of 𝜃 = 53.0° above the horizontal at a point 𝑑 = 24.0 m from
the base of the building wall. The ball takes 2.20 s to reach a point vertically above the
wall. (a) Find the speed at which the ball was launched. (b) Find the vertical distance
by which the ball clears the wall. (c) Find the horizontal distance from the wall to the
point on the roof where the ball lands.

Figure 4 for Problem 19

20. The record distance in the sport of throwing cowpats is 81.1 m. This record toss was
set by Steve Urner of the United States in 1981. Assuming the initial launch angle
was 45° and neglecting air resistance, determine (a) the initial speed of the projectile
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 and (b) the total time interval the projectile was in flight. (c) How would the answers
change if the range were the same but the launch angle were greater than 45°?
Explain.
21. An enemy ship is on the east side of a mountain island as shown in Figure 5. The
enemy ship has maneuvered to within 2 500 m of the 1 800–m–high mountain peak
and can shoot projectiles with an initial speed of 250 m/s. If the western shoreline is
horizontally 300 m from the peak, what are the distances from the western shore at
which a ship can be safe from the bombardment of the enemy ship?

Figure 5 for Problem 21

22. A Northrop B-2 Stealth bomber is flying horizontally over level ground, with a speed
of 275 m/s at an altitude of 3 km (see Figure 6 below). Neglect air resistance in the
following problems. (a) How far will a bomb travel horizontally between its release
and its impact on the ground? (b) If a plane maintains its original course and speed,
where will it be when the bomb hits the ground? (c) At what angle from the vertical
should the bombsight be set so that the bomb will hit the target seen in the sight at
the time of release?

Figure 66 for Problem 22