MULUNGUSHI UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

PHY 101: INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS I

2019 SEMESTER 1 FINAL EXAM

9TH DECEMBER, 2019

DURATION: 3 HOURS MARKS: 100

INSTRUCTIONS
1. This examination paper consists of two sections; Section A and Section B. Section A has
20 multiple choice questions, of which you must answer all. This section is compulsory.
2. Section B of this examination paper has four (4) questions, of which you are required to
attempt any three (3).
3. Clearly indicate on the cover page of your answer booklet which questions you have
attempted.
4. All questions carry equal marks; the marks for each sub-question are indicated in square
brackets.
5. Some equations and physical constants that you may find useful are given on the formula
sheet provided.

DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

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 PHY 101 FORMULA SHEET
Equations
𝑣 = 𝑣0 + 𝑎𝑡 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 𝑚𝑔ℎ 𝑝2 𝜏 = 𝐼𝛼
𝐾𝐸 =
2𝑚
𝑣 2 = 𝑣02 + 2𝑎𝑠 1 𝑊 𝑁
𝑃𝐸𝑠 = 𝑘𝑥 2 𝑃=
2 ∆𝑡 𝐼 = ∑ 𝑚𝑖 𝑟𝑖2
𝑖=1
1 𝑇 = 2𝜋𝑟 𝑣 = 𝑟𝜔 1 1
𝑠 = 𝑠0 + 𝑣0 𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2 2
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑚𝑣𝑐𝑚 + 𝐼𝜔2
2 2 2
𝑣02 sin(2𝜃0 ) 𝑓 = 𝜇𝐹𝑁 𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑛 = 𝑟𝛼 𝐿 = 𝐼𝜔
𝑅=
𝑔
𝑣0 sin 𝜃0 𝐹∆𝑡 = ∆𝑝 𝑣2 𝑚1 𝑚2
𝑡= 𝑎𝑐 = 𝐹𝑔 = 𝐺
𝑔 𝑟 𝑟2

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 𝑊 = 𝐹𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 −1
𝑣2 𝐺𝑀𝑒
𝜃 = tan ( ) 𝑔=
𝑟𝑔 (𝑅𝑒 + ℎ)2

𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 1 𝜏 = 𝐹𝑟 sin 𝜃 𝐺𝑀𝑒 𝑚
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑚𝑣 2 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = −
2 𝑅𝑒 + ℎ

Physical Constants and Other Useful Data

𝑔 = 9.80 𝑚/𝑠 2 𝑀𝑒 = 5.98 × 1024 𝑘𝑔 𝑅𝑒 = 6.38 × 106 𝑚

𝑀𝑠𝑢𝑛 = 1.989 × 1030 𝑘𝑔 𝐺 = 6.67 × 10−11 𝑁. 𝑚2 /𝑘𝑔2 𝑐 = 3.00 × 108 𝑚/𝑠

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 SECTION A: ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS
1. The diagram below represents a multiflash photograph of an object moving along a horizontal
surface. The positions as indicated in the figure are separated by equal time intervals. The first
flash occurred just as the object started to move and the last just as it came to rest.

Which of the following graphs best represents the object’s acceleration as a function of time?

2. Alice and Bill are at the top of a cliff of height H. Both throw a ball with initial speed v0,
Alice straight down and Bill straight up. The speeds of the balls when they hit the ground
are vA and vB. If there is no air resistance, which is true?
(A) vA < vB (B) it depends on how hard the ‘downwards’ ball was thrown.
(C) vA = vB (D) vA > vB
3. Two balls start their motion at the same time, with ball A dropped from rest and ball B
thrown upward with an initial speed v0. Neglecting air resistance, which of the five plots
shown in the figure below corresponds to ball A and ball B, respectively?

(A) 1 and 2 (B) 3 and 2 (C) 4 and 5 (D) 1 and 5

4. You are adding vectors of length 20 and 40 units. What is the only possible resultant
magnitude that you can obtain out of the following choices?
(A) 0 (B) 18 (C) 37 (D) 64

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5. You drop a package from a plane flying at constant speed in a straight line. Without air
resistance, the package will:
(A) quickly lag behind the plane while falling (B) move ahead of the plane while falling
(C) move vertically above the plane (D) remain vertically under the plane while falling
6. You are trying to cross a river that flows due south with a strong current. You start out in
your motorboat on the east bank desiring to reach the west bank directly west from your
starting point. You should head your motorboat
(A) in a north-westerly direction. (B) due west. (C) due north.
(D) in a south-westerly direction.
7. You put your book on the bus seat next to you. When the bus stops suddenly, the book
slides forward off the seat. Why?
(A) a net force acted on it (B) no net force acted on it (C) it remained at rest
(D) it did not move, but only seemed to
8. A force F acts on mass M for a time interval T, giving it a final speed v. If the same force
acts for the same time on a different mass 2M, what would be the final speed of the bigger
mass?
(A) 4 v (B) 2 v (C) v (D) 1/2 v
9. Two blocks of masses 2m and m are in contact on a horizontal frictionless surface. If a
force F is applied to mass 2m, what is the force on mass m?
(A) 2 F (B) F (C) 1/2 F (D) 1/3 F
10. A box sits on a flat board. You lift one end of the board, making an angle with the floor.
As you increase the angle, the box will eventually begin to slide down. Why?
(A) coefficient of static friction decreased (B) normal force exerted by the board decreased
(C) component of the gravity force parallel to the plane increased (D) both (C) and (C)
11. If the distance between two objects, each of mass 'M', is tripled, the force of attraction between
the two objects is:
(A) 1/2 the original force (B) 1/3 the original force (C) 1/9 the original force
(D) Unchanged
12. A ball of mass m, suspended on the end of a wire, is released from height h and collides
elastically, when it is at its lowest point, with a block of mass 2m at rest on a frictionless
surface. After the collision, the ball rises to a final height equal to
(B) 1/9 h (B) 1/8 h (C) 1/3 h (D) 1/2 h

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13. The curvature of Mars is such that its surface drops a vertical distance of 2.0 meters for every
3600 meters’ tangent to the surface. In addition, the gravitational acceleration near its surface
is 0.4 times that near the surface of the earth. What is the speed a golf ball would need to orbit
Mars?
(A) 0.9 km/s (B) 1.8 km/s (C) 3.6 km/s (D) 4.5 km/s
14. Two steel balls are at a distance S from one another. As the mass of ONE of the balls is
doubled, the gravitational force of attraction between them is:
(A) quartered (B) halved (C) doubled (D) quadrupled
15. For an object moving in uniform circular motion, the direction of the instantaneous
acceleration vector is:
(A) tangent to the path of motion (B) equal to zero (C) directed radially outward
(D) directed radially inward
16. Susan pushes against a 100-kilogram rock with a force of 5 Newtons, but the rock doesn't
move. The force the rock exerts on Susan is
(A) 0 N (B) 5 N (C) 20 N (D) 100 N
17. When a bullet is fired from a gun, the bullet and the gun have equal and opposite momenta.
If this is true, then why is the bullet deadly (whereas it is safe to hold the gun while it is fired)?
(A) it is much sharper than the gun (B) it is smaller and can penetrate your body
(C) it has more kinetic energy than the gun (D) it goes a longer distance and gains speed
18. As you go up a mountain top, your weight:
A. increases slightly
B. decreases slightly
C. remains exactly the same
D. increases then reduces
19. Mubita sits on the outer rim of a merry-go-round, and Temwani sits midway between the center
and the rim. The merry-go-round makes one complete revolution every two seconds.
Temwani’s angular velocity is:
(A) same as Mubita’s (B) twice Mubita’s (C) half of Mubita’s (D) 1/4 of Mubita’s
20. An object in equilibrium always has zero:
(A) Velocity (A) Momentum (C) Mass (D) acceleration.

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SECTION B: ATTEMPT ANY THREE (3) QUESTIONS
1. (a) Two marbles are launched at t = 0 in the experiment illustrated in the figure below.
Marble 1 is launched horizontally with a speed of 5.30 m/s from a height h = 1.20 m.
Marble 2 is launched from ground level with a speed of 7.50 m/s at an angle 𝜃 = 45.0°
above the horizontal. Where do the marbles collide given that gravity produces a
downward acceleration of g = 9.81 m/s2? Give the x and y coordinates. [10]

(b) (i) What is meant by an ‘inertial frame of reference’? [2]

(ii) You ride in a boat whose speed relative to the water is 6.7 m/s. The boat points at an
angle of 25° upstream on a river flowing at 1.4 m/s. The dock on the opposite shore of
the river is at the location x = 55 m and y = 28 m relative to the starting point of the
boat. With what speed, relative to the ground, must the boat move in order for it to
reach the dock? [8]
2. (a) To immobilize a fractured femur (the thigh bone), doctors often utilize the Russell traction
system illustrated in the figure below. The result is that the knee experiences the total force
Ftotal = F1 + F2 + F3. The goal of this traction system is to have Ftotal directly in line with
the fractured femur, at an angle of 20.0° above the horizontal.

Find
(i) the angle 𝜃 required to produce this alignment of Ftotal; and [7]

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 (ii) the magnitude of the force, Ftotal, that is applied to the femur in this case. (Assume
the pulleys are ideal.) [4]
(b) (i) Most modern cars are fitted with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) which prevents the
wheels from ‘locking up’ and helps the car ‘maintain grip’ on the road when the
brakes are overly applied. Explain the physical principle behind the ABS. [3]
(ii) As a physicist, you have been asked to help police in investigating a road traffic
accident on a stretch of highway with a speed limit of 80 km/hr. On the scene of the
accident, you find that the car had made skid marks 90.0 m long. You determine the
coefficient of friction between the car's tires and the highway to be 0.500 for the
prevailing conditions. Would your charge the driver of the car for over speeding?
(Show your working) [6]

3. (a) A 0.40 kg ball is launched at a speed of 16 m/s from a 22 m cliff.

(i) What are its kinetic energy, potential energy, and total mechanical energy at the
instant it was launched? [3]
(ii) If air resistance is negligible what is the kinetic energy just before it hits the ground?
Does this answer depend on the direction the ball was launched? [1+1]
(iii) At what speed will the ball be moving just prior to striking the ground if air resistance
is negligible? [2]
(iv) If the ball is actually moving at 22 m/s just before hitting the ground, how much work
was done by air resistance? [2]

(b) An ice skater is spinning with an angular velocity of 3.0 rad s–1 with her arms outstretched.

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 (c) The skater draws in her arms and her angular velocity increases to 5.0 rad s–1.

(i) Explain why the angular velocity increases. [2]

(ii) When the skater’s arms are outstretched her moment of inertia about the spin axis is
4.8 kg m2. Calculate her moment of inertia when her arms are drawn in. [3]
(iii) Calculate the skater’s change in rotational kinetic energy. [2]
(iv) Explain why there is a change in kinetic energy. [1]
(d) A satellite of mass m orbits a planet of mass M and radius R. Show that the time for one
complete orbit T (called the period of the satellite) is given by the expression
T2 = (4π2/GM) R2. [3]

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4. (a) A circular curve of radius 𝑅 in a new highway is designed so that a car travelling at a speed
𝑣0 can negotiate the turn safely on glare ice (zero friction). If a car travels too slow, then it
will slip towards the center of the circle. If it travels too fast, then it will slip away from
the center of the circle. If the coefficient of static friction increases, a car can stay on the
road while travelling at any speed within the range 𝑣𝑚𝑖𝑛 to 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥. Show that 𝑣𝑚𝑖𝑛 and 𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥
can, respectively, be given by the equations

and [10]
(b) A 15.0 𝑘𝑔 object moving in the +𝑥-direction at 5.5 𝑚/𝑠 collides head-on with a 10.0 𝑘𝑔
object moving in the −𝑥 direction at 4.0 𝑚/𝑠. Find the final velocity of each of the masses
if:

(i) the objects stick together; [1]

(ii) the collision is elastic; [2]
(iii) the 15.0 𝑘𝑔 object is at rest after the collision; [2]
(iv) the 10 𝑘𝑔 object is at rest after the collision; [2]
(v)the 15.0 𝑘𝑔 object has a velocity of 4.0 𝑚/𝑠 in the −𝑥 direction after the collision.
[2]
(vi) Are the results in (c), (d), and (e) “reasonable”? Explain. [1]

END OF EXAM

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