Practice Problems for Physics 21 Midterm

Part 1. Motion in Two Dimensions.

1. A projectile is thrown with velocity v0 at an angle θ with the horizontal. When the projectile
is at a height half of its maximum height,

a. Find the vertical component of the velocity of the projectile.

b. Find the magnitude of the velocity of the projectile.

2. A pitcher throws a ball at an angle of 30◦ and at a speed of 30 m/s. Determine

a. the time at which the ball reaches its highest point.

b. the maximum height reached.
c. horizontal range of the ball
d. the time for which the ball is in the air.

3. A stone is thrown with a velocity of 20 m/s at an angle of 30◦ above the horizontal from the
top of a building 150 meters high. Calculate the following:

a. Time after which the stone strikes the ground.

b. Distance of the stone’s landing point from the building.
c. The maximum height attained by the stone.
d. The velocity with which the stone hits the ground.
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4. During football practice, Neymar kicks the ball with velocity 60 2 m/s at an angle of 45◦ .
After three seconds, calculate the following:

a. Velocity of the ball.

b. Angle made by the velocity with respect to the horizontal.
c. Horizontal and vertical displacement.

5. Hitting Targets

(a) Two guns√ situated on top of a hill of height 10 m fire one bullet each with the same
speed 5 3 m/s at some time interval (meaning they don’t fire at the same time). Gun
A fires horizontally while Gun B fires upward at an angle of 60◦ with respect to the
horizontal. If the bullets collide in air at some point P, calculate (a) the time interval
∆t between the firing of guns A and B; and (b) the (x, y) coordinates of point P.
(b) Tipler 3.79. Refer to the figure below. Let x = 50m and h = 10m. Find the minimum
initial speed of the bullet so that it hits the monkey before hitting the ground, at a
height 11.2 m below the initial position of the monkey. Assume that the hunter fires
the bullet at the same instance the monkey starts to fall to the ground.

(c) Tipler 3.119. Darlene is a stunt motorcyclist in a traveling show. For her finale, she
takes off the ramp at an angle θ, clears a fiery ditch of width x and lands on an elevated
platform of height h on the other side. What is vmin for a launch angle of θ = 30◦ , ditch
width of 8 m and platform height of 4m?

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 6. A ball falling freely from a given height H hits an inclined plane in its path at height h. As
a result of this impact, the direction of the velocity of the ball becomes horizontal. For what
value of the ratio h/H will the ball take the longest time before reaching the ground?

7. Rain is falling
√ vertically with a speed of 12 m/s. A cyclist is moving east to west with a
speed of 12 3 m/s. In order to protect himself from the rain, at what angle should he hold
his umbrella?
Part Two. Uniform Circular Motion.
1. A stone tied to the end of a 2 m long string is whirled in a horizontal circle with constant
speed. If the stone makes 10 revolutions in 20 seconds, calculate the magnitude and direction
of its acceleration.

2. A particle moving in a circular path of radius 5 cm is found to have a tangential acceleration

of 2m/s2 .

a. How long does it take for its angular velocity to increase from 10 rad/s to 20 rad/s?
b. How many revolutions does the particle complete during the time interval obtained in
part a?

3. A particle moves on a circle of radius r with centripetal acceleration given by ac = k 2 rt2 ,

where k is a positive constant. Find the following quantities as a function of time

a. the speed of the particle

b. tangential acceleration of the particle
c. resultant acceleration and the angle it makes with the tangential acceleration.

Part Three. Newton’s Laws of Motion.

1. A block of mass 30 kg is suspended by three strings as shown below. Find the tension in
each string.

2. Three blocks A, B, and C of masses m1 , m2 , m3 rest on top of the other with block B situated
in the middle. A horizontal force F is applied on block B. Calculate

(a) Accelerations of blocks A, B, and C.

(b) Normal reactions between A and B, B and C, and between C and the ground.

3. A 200 N wagon is to be pulled up a 30◦ incline at constant speed. How large is the needed
force parallel to the incline if the effects of friction are negligibile?

For the next two items, refer to the following figure.

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4. Each of the objects shown below is in equilibrium. Find the normal force Y in each case.
Then, determine the coefficients of kinetic friction if the objects are in dynamic equilibrium.

5. Suppose that in Fig. C above, the block is initially at rest. The angle θ of the incline is
slowly increased. At θ = 40◦ , the block begins to slide down. What is the coefficient of static
friction between the block and the incline?

6. A block of mass m is pulled by a force P using a pulley-string system as shown below. Find
the value of P if the block is to have a non-zero acceleration up the incline.

7. A steel ball is suspended from the ceiling of an accelerating carriage by means of two cords A
and B. Determine the acceleration a that will cause the tension in A to be twice the tension
in B.

8. Blocks A and B are connected together by a string and placed on a smooth inclined plane.
B is connected to another block C, which is suspended vertically by another string passing
over a smooth pulley fixed to the plane. The mass of A is 1 kg while the mass of B is 2 kg.

(a) If the system is in static equilibrium, find the mass of C.

(b) If the mass of C is set to be twice the mass calculated in part (a), find the acceleration
of the system.