PHYSICS 170 MECHANICS 1: Final Exam: 12:00 PM, Wednesday, April 20, 2022

INSTRUCTIONS
Answer all questions in the answer booklets that are provided. Please ensure that your name,
student number and lecture section are written clearly on the front page of each booklet you use.
Read each question completely and carefully before starting to answer it.
You have two- and one-half hours to complete the exam.
You may write with pen and/or pencil.

MARKS
This exam counts for a total of 60 marks towards your Final Grade for the course.
The exam consists of 4 questions, each worth 15 marks, for a total of 60 marks. You should allocate
roughly 30 minutes for each question.

NUMERICAL ANSWERS
You must write numerical answers correctly to three significant figures, with correct units and using
engineering notation with an appropriate SI prefix (as necessary) to get full marks for your numerical
answers.
No marks are awarded for correctly solving incorrect equations.

INFORMATION SHEET
You may consult one 8 ½ by 11-inch hand-written double-sided Information Sheet.
Your Information Sheet must not contain any sample problems or solutions to sample problems.
Put your name and student number on your Information Sheet, and sign it.
You must hand in your Information Sheet with your answer booklet in order for your exam to be
marked.
 PHYSICS 170 MECHANICS 1: Final Exam: 12:00 PM, Wednesday, April 20, 2022

QUESTION 1 (15 marks)

The diagram below shows a rigid body held in equilibrium by journal bearings at A, B and C. The body
 
is acted upon by a force F as shown and by a couple moment M = (100i + 200k ) N ⋅ m . The magnitude
of F is 800 N. The journal bearings are smooth and only exert force reactions on the body. The
weight of the body can be neglected.
a) Draw a large, clear free-body diagram for the body. (3 marks)
b) Determine Cartesian component force equations of equilibrium for the body. (4 marks)
c) Determine Cartesian component moment equations of equilibrium for the body. Take moments
about O. (5 marks)
d) The vertical component (z component) of reaction at A is 1450 N. Determine the numerical
values of the components of reaction at C. (3 marks)
 PHYSICS 170 MECHANICS 1: Final Exam: 12:00 PM, Wednesday, April 20, 2022

QUESTION 2 (15 Marks)

In the diagram below, blocks A and B of mass 10 kg and 6 kg, respectively, are placed on the inclined
plane and released from rest. The blocks are connected by a rigid, massless link. The coefficients of
kinetic friction between the blocks and the inclined plane are µ A = 0.1 and µ B = 0.3.

a) Draw two large, clear free body diagrams, one for each block. In both of your diagrams, show a
rotated ( x, y ) coordinate system, so that the x axis of the coordinate system is parallel to the
inclined plane, and the y axis is perpendicular to it. (5 marks)
b) For each block, and working in the rotated coordinate system, determine Cartesian component
force equations of motion. (7 marks)
c) Solve the equations of motion to determine numerical values of the force in the link and the
magnitude of the acceleration of the blocks. (3 marks)
 PHYSICS 170 MECHANICS 1: Final Exam: 12:00 PM, Wednesday, April 20, 2022

QUESTION 3 (15 marks)

In the diagram below, particle P travels along the curved guide due to the counterclockwise rotation of
the arm AB. Motion is in the horizontal plane. The guide is described by the equation r (θ ) = θ m
where θ is in radians measured from the line shown through A. The mass of P is 5.0 kg. The size of P
may be neglected. There is no friction in the problem.
 
The arm exerts a force F on P perpendicular to AB. The slot exerts a normal force N on P: P is in

contact with the outside of the guide as shown in the figure. There is an additional force S which has a
magnitude of 25 N and which acts in the direction opposite to the velocity of the particle.
At the instant shown:

θ = 50.0° θ = 2.740 rad/s θ = 5.734 rad/s 2

r = 0.9342 m r = 1.466 m/s r = 0.7672 m/s 2

 dr / dθ = 0.5352 m

a) Draw a large, clear free body diagram for P at the instant shown. (4 marks)
 
b) Determine the angle, ψ , between ur and ut at the instant shown. (2 marks)
c) Determine numerical values for the radial and transverse (polar) components of the acceleration
of P at the instant shown. (2 marks)
d) Determine radial and transverse (polar) component equations of motion for P at the instant
shown. (4 marks)
 
e) Determine numerical values for the magnitude of F and the magnitude of N at the instant
shown. (3 marks)
 PHYSICS 170 MECHANICS 1: Final Exam: 12:00 PM, Wednesday, April 20, 2022

QUESTION 4 (15 marks)

Refer to the figure below. Initially, a 2 lb block rests on the smooth (frictionless) semicylindrical surface
at A. An elastic cord having an unstretched length, l0 , and a stiffness of k = 2 lb/ft is attached to the
block and to the base of the semicylinder at C (the cord wraps around the surface of the semicylinder
and is shown as the thick black line in the figure). The force due to the elastic cord acts in a direction
tangent to the circular surface of the semicylinder at all times. The block is released from rest at A and
then starts moving along the surface of the semicylinder. Motion is in the vertical plane. At a certain
point, B, the normal force of the semicylinder on the block is equal to 0 lb and the block leaves the
surface. This happens when the angle θ shown in the figure is 30°. Neglect the size of the block, and the
mass of the elastic cord.
a) Draw a large, clear free body diagram for the block at the instant that the block leaves the
surface. As part of your diagram, show the axes for a tangential-normal (t , n) coordinate system
for the block. (3 marks)
b) Determine (t , n) component equations of motion for the block at the instant that it leaves the
surface (recall that for a circle of radius r, an arc that subtends an angle, θ , measured in radians,
has arclength rθ ). (3 marks)
c) From the equations of motion, determine the speed of the block at the instant it leaves the
surface. (2 marks)
d) Write expressions for the total mechanical energy (kinetic plus potential) of the block at points A
and B (recall that for a circle of radius r, an arc that subtends an angle, θ , measured in radians,
has arclength rθ ). (4 marks)
e) Using conservation of energy, determine the unstretched length, l0 , of the elastic cord.
(3 marks)