Indonesian Regional Physics Olympiad 2022

Translated by: Gregorian Eka Putra Wara

August 25th, 2022

1. (12 points) Consider a system of blocks with a very large mass M surrounded by small particles
(gases), assuming that both of them can only move in one dimension, say the x-axis. The block
moves in the positive x direction with a speed of v ,and the particles move uniformly in the
negative x direction with a speed of u. If the block has a cross-sectional area A and the particles
have a mass density ρ...
(a) Determine the rate of change of the mass of the gas over time dm
dt , which hits the particles
assuming the mass of the block is much greater than the mass of the gas particles!
(b) Determine the rate of change of the block’s relative speed to the mass of the impacting gas,
dv
dm as a function of u, v, and other known quantities!
(c) Consider the case where u ≫ v! What is the drag force received by the block due to the
collision with the gas?
(d) Consider the case where u ≪ v! What is the drag force received by the block due to the
collision with the gas?
2. (12 points) On its sixth trip around the Sun after 1456, in 1910 Comet X was observed again
passing near the Sun at a distance of 9.0 × 1010 meters. If we assume 1 year = 365 days, and
the mass of the Sun is M = 2 × 1030 kg, determine:
(a) The value of Comet X’s orbit eccentricity
(b) How far does the comet travel from the Sun at the outermost point of its orbit, and
(c) The ratio of the speed of the comet at its maximum orbit to the speed at its minimum
orbit.
3. (12 points) On an inclined plane with an elevation angle α, a ball is thrown with velocity v0 up
to the inclined plane at an angle β with the incline. The ball will hit the inclined plane as it goes
up, reach the peak, and return to the bottom. Assume that all of the collisions are perfectly
elastic and the acceleration due to gravity is g. Define:

(a) Time Tk , when the ball hits the inclined plane for the k-time.
(b) How many times will the ball hits the inclined plane before reaching the top?

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4. (??? points) A spherical rubber balloon with radius R is filled with gas with a mass density of
gas ρ. The mass of the rubber balloon when it is not filled with gas is equal to m. The two ends
of a massless rope are each tied to a load with a mass M as well as to the balloon. When the
balloon that is given the load M is flown, it turns out that the balloon is stuck on an inclined
ceiling with an angle of inclination α to the horizontal axis. Assume that the balloon remains
in the shape of a ball of radius R while suspended on the ceiling and that it does not slip on the
ceiling. And also assume that the volume of the load M is much smaller than the volume of the
balloon. The air density is equal to ρ0 . The acceleration due to gravity is g downwards. Define:

(a) The limit of the mass M such that the balloon will stay rests on the ceiling.
(b) The explicit value of the mass limit M if it is known that the radius of the balloon is
R = 50 cm, the density of the air ρ0 = 1.29 gram/litres, the density of Helium gas is
ρ = 0.18 gram/litres, the mass of the balloon shell is m = 100 gram and sin α = 0.6.

5. (??? points) Two blocks of mass m and M are connected by a rope through a pulley. Block m
rests on a smooth inclined plane with an inclination angle α = 30◦ . The pulley is at a height H
from the top of the inclined plane such that the rope forms an angle θ with the surface of the
incline (see the figure below). The positions of blocks m and M to the top of the incline are x
and y respectively, such the length of the rope is L = H + y + L1 . Ignore the sizes of the blocks
and pulleys. The acceleration due to gravity is g.

a. Determine x and y expressed in H, α, θ and L.

b. If the block m is initially at rest in such a position that the rope forms an angle of θ0 with the
surface of the inclined plane, determine the speed of each block when the rope forms an angle θ
with the surface of the inclined plane. Express your answer in M , m, g, H, α, θ and θ0 .
c. Determine the acceleration of the block m when the rope makes an angle θ with the surface
of the inclined plane. Express your answer in M , m, g, H, α, θ and θ0 .

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6. (??? points) A pulley system is arranged as shown below. Each pulley is in the form of a solid
cylinder with masses m and 2m, and has a very rough surface. There is an object with a mass
of 4m which is always oriented horizontally. This pulley system is connected to two springs with
constants of k and 2k respectively. Initially the system is in a state of equilibrium and all of the
springs are relaxed. Then the 4m object is given a downward impulse so that it immediately
has a speed v0 . Assume that the rope is always tense with the tension in the rope which can
be positive or negative, and the 4m object never touches the floor. Gravity can be ignored, but
assume that the rope segments are always vertically oriented.

(a) Determine the period of system oscillation for all existing normal modes!
(b) Now suppose the 2k spring is really hard. Determine the displacement 4m as a function of
time. Assume the positive downward direction.
(c) If the initial distance of the object 4m to the ground is H. determine the maximum value
ofv0 so that the 4m block does not touch the ground.
(d) If v0 exceeds the maximum limit, determine the time to do one move back and forth!
7. (19 points) What happens when an elastic object hits an inelastic object? The elasticity of a
collision is usually described by the restitution coefficient

v1′ − v2′
e=−
v1 − v2
which is the characteristic and interaction of the two colliding objects. However, it is often that
a set of restitution criteria is defined for each object - for example, a superball is much more
elastic than the plasticine ball. In this problem, we are going to learn how to find the collision’s
”effective” restitution coefficient of the resitution coefficient for each object.
The coefficient of restitution of an object is usually measured by hitting it against another
object that is much more dense and heavy, for example, with the ground. With reference to the
figure above, assuming an object with mass m1 with velocity v1 and spring constant k1 hits the
stationary floor with spring constant k2 which is far greater than k1 such that no deformation
will occur. This collision has a coefficient of restitution e1 that makes the mechanical energy of
m1 will change from Ei to Ef .

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(a) Find the factor of η = Ef /Ei , and express it in e1 and other m1 mass variables (if there is
one).
(b) For collisions in the case of part (a), the normal force (or the spring force) F to the
deformation of the spring x for mass m1 is as shown in the figure below. The path (1)
is when the spring is compressed to maximum deformation xP , and path (2) is when the
spring is streched again. Determine the estimated value for η1 on the graph.
NOTE: You may think of Ei as the energy stored by the spring and Ef as the energy
released by the spring.

(c) An object with a coefficient of restitution e1 and a spring constant k1 collides with another
object with a coefficient of restitution e2 es and a spring constant k2 . What is the ”effective”
restitution coefficient ef of the collision?
HINT: Look at each spring and find any ways to reduce the springs mechanical energy.
For convenience, look from the framework of the center at the mass.

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