MCQs for Section 7:

A baseball is thrown vertically upward and feels no air resistance. As it is rising

A) Both is momentum and mechanical energy are conserved.

B) Its momentum is not conserved, but its mechanical energy is conserved.
C) Both its momentum and kinetic energy are conserved.
D) Its kinetic energy is conserved, but its momentum is not conserved.
E) Its gravitational potential energy is not conserved, but its momentum is conserved.

(2 points)

A 1 kg ball is dropped from the top of a 320 m-high skyscraper. What is the change in the gravitational
potential energy of the earth-ball system if the ball is halfway down? (𝑔 = 9.8 )

a) 1568 𝐽
b) −1568 𝐽
c) 3136 𝐽
(2 points)

A man throws a ball upward and it lands on the top of a 10 m-high building. Compared to the
gravitational potential energy of the ball-earth system when the same ball was carried up the stairs
all the way to the roof, the gravitational potential energy in the case of the thrown ball will be

(a) Bigger.
(b) Smaller.
(c) The same.

(1 point)
Essay/calculus based questions for Section 7:

You drop a ball from some height. Neglecting air resistance, at which position do you expect its speed
to be one-half of the speed when it hits the ground?

(a) Higher than the midpoint of the path.

(b) At the midpoint of the path.
(c) Lower than the midpoint of the path.

Show your working.

(8 points)

A 2.0-kg object is moving without friction along the x-axis. The potential energy curve as a function of
position is shown in the figure, and the system is conservative. If the speed of the object at the origin
is 4.0 m/s, what will be its speed at 7.0 m along the +x-axis?

(8 points)

In a typical cop movie, we see the hero pulling a gun, firing that gun straight up into the air, and
shouting: “Stop, or I’ll shoot you!”. Strange enough, the gangsters are freezing, rather than rolling on
the floor, laughing.

Explain, why the cop might have knocked out him/herself for good?

(4 points)
A 2000 kg car moves at a speed of 30 m/s. To reach this speed, it was necessary to burn 0.1 l of gas.
Burning gas provides 30 MJ/l of source energy. Determine the energy efficiency (in %) of this car.

(6 points)