Physics · Textbook solutions
Laws of Motion
Every solved example, exercise, and miscellaneous question — in the order the textbook teaches them. · 35 questions
Worked Examples
12 q
Solved Examples
Worked · 12
- Eg 4.1An astronaut accidentally gets separated out of his small spaceship accelerating in inter stellar space at a constant rate of . What is the acceleration of the astronaut the instant after he is outside the spaceship ? (Assume that there are no nearby stars to exert gravitational force on him.)
- Eg 4.2A bullet of mass moving with a speed of enters a heavy wooden block and is stopped after a distance of . What is the average resistive force exerted by the block on the bullet?
- Eg 4.3The motion of a particle of mass is described by . Find the force acting on the particle.
- Eg 4.4A batsman hits back a ball straight in the direction of the bowler without changing its initial speed of . If the mass of the ball is , determine the impulse imparted to the ball. (Assume linear motion of the ball)
- Eg 4.5Two identical billiard balls strike a rigid wall with the same speed but at different angles, and get reflected without any change in speed, as shown in Fig. 4.6. What is (i) the direction of the force on the wall due to each ball? (ii) the ratio of the magnitudes of impulses imparted to the balls by the wall ?
- Eg 4.6See Fig. 4.8. A mass of is suspended by a rope of length from the ceiling. A force of in the horizontal direction is applied at the mid-point P of the rope, as shown. What is the angle the rope makes with the vertical in equilibrium ? (Take ). Neglect the mass of the rope.
- Eg 4.7Determine the maximum acceleration of the train in which a box lying on its floor will remain stationary, given that the co-efficient of static friction between the box and the train's floor is .
- Eg 4.8See Fig. 4.11. A mass of rests on a horizontal plane. The plane is gradually inclined until at an angle with the horizontal, the mass just begins to slide. What is the coefficient of static friction between the block and the surface ?
- Eg 4.9What is the acceleration of the block and trolley system shown in a Fig. 4.12(a), if the coefficient of kinetic friction between the trolley and the surface is ? What is the tension in the string? (Take ). Neglect the mass of the string.
- Eg 4.10A cyclist speeding at on a level road takes a sharp circular turn of radius without reducing the speed. The co-efficient of static friction between the tyres and the road is . Will the cyclist slip while taking the turn?
- Eg 4.11A circular racetrack of radius is banked at an angle of . If the coefficient of friction between the wheels of a race-car and the road is , what is the (a) optimum speed of the race-car to avoid wear and tear on its tyres, and (b) maximum permissible speed to avoid slipping ?
- Eg 4.12See Fig. 4.15. A wooden block of mass rests on a soft horizontal floor. When an iron cylinder of mass is placed on top of the block, the floor yields steadily and the block and the cylinder together go down with an acceleration of . What is the action of the block on the floor (a) before and (b) after the floor yields ? Take . Identify the action-reaction pairs in the problem.
Exercises
23 q
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.1Give the magnitude and direction of the net force acting on (a) a drop of rain falling down with a constant speed, (b) a cork of mass floating on water, (c) a kite skillfully held stationary in the sky, (d) a car moving with a constant velocity of on a rough road, (e) a high-speed electron in space far from all material objects, and free of electric and magnetic fields.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.2A pebble of mass is thrown vertically upwards. Give the direction and magnitude of the net force on the pebble, (a) during its upward motion, (b) during its downward motion, (c) at the highest point where it is momentarily at rest. Do your answers change if the pebble was thrown at an angle of with the horizontal direction? Ignore air resistance.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.3Give the magnitude and direction of the net force acting on a stone of mass , (a) just after it is dropped from the window of a stationary train, (b) just after it is dropped from the window of a train running at a constant velocity of , (c) just after it is dropped from the window of a train accelerating with , (d) lying on the floor of a train which is accelerating with , the stone being at rest relative to the train. Neglect air resistance throughout.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.4One end of a string of length is connected to a particle of mass and the other to a small peg on a smooth horizontal table. If the particle moves in a circle with speed the net force on the particle (directed towards the centre) is : is the tension in the string. [Choose the correct alternative].
- A.
- B.
- C.
- D.
- A.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.5A constant retarding force of is applied to a body of mass moving initially with a speed of . How long does the body take to stop ?
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.6A constant force acting on a body of mass changes its speed from to in . The direction of the motion of the body remains unchanged. What is the magnitude and direction of the force ?
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.7A body of mass is acted upon by two perpendicular forces and . Give the magnitude and direction of the acceleration of the body.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.8The driver of a three-wheeler moving with a speed of sees a child standing in the middle of the road and brings his vehicle to rest in just in time to save the child. What is the average retarding force on the vehicle ? The mass of the three-wheeler is and the mass of the driver is .
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.9A rocket with a lift-off mass is blasted upwards with an initial acceleration of . Calculate the initial thrust (force) of the blast.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.10A body of mass moving initially with a constant speed of to the north is subject to a constant force of directed towards the south for . Take the instant the force is applied to be , the position of the body at that time to be , and predict its position at , , .
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.11A truck starts from rest and accelerates uniformly at . At , a stone is dropped by a person standing on the top of the truck ( high from the ground). What are the (a) velocity, and (b) acceleration of the stone at ? (Neglect air resistance.)
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.12A bob of mass hung from the ceiling of a room by a string long is set into oscillation. The speed of the bob at its mean position is . What is the trajectory of the bob if the string is cut when the bob is (a) at one of its extreme positions, (b) at its mean position.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.13A man of mass stands on a weighing scale in a lift which is moving (a) upwards with a uniform speed of , (b) downwards with a uniform acceleration of , (c) upwards with a uniform acceleration of . What would be the readings on the scale in each case? (d) What would be the reading if the lift mechanism failed and it hurtled down freely under gravity ?
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.14Figure 4.16 shows the position-time graph of a particle of mass . What is the (a) force on the particle for , , ? (b) impulse at and ? (Consider one-dimensional motion only).
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.15Two bodies of masses and respectively kept on a smooth, horizontal surface are tied to the ends of a light string. A horizontal force is applied to (i) A, (ii) B along the direction of string. What is the tension in the string in each case?
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.16Two masses and are connected at the two ends of a light inextensible string that goes over a frictionless pulley. Find the acceleration of the masses, and the tension in the string when the masses are released.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.17A nucleus is at rest in the laboratory frame of reference. Show that if it disintegrates into two smaller nuclei the products must move in opposite directions.
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.18Two billiard balls each of mass moving in opposite directions with speed collide and rebound with the same speed. What is the impulse imparted to each ball due to the other ?
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.19A shell of mass is fired by a gun of mass . If the muzzle speed of the shell is , what is the recoil speed of the gun ?
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.20A batsman deflects a ball by an angle of without changing its initial speed which is equal to . What is the impulse imparted to the ball ? (Mass of the ball is .)
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.21A stone of mass tied to the end of a string is whirled round in a circle of radius with a speed of in a horizontal plane. What is the tension in the string ? What is the maximum speed with which the stone can be whirled around if the string can withstand a maximum tension of ?
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.22If, in Exercise 4.21, the speed of the stone is increased beyond the maximum permissible value, and the string breaks suddenly, which of the following correctly describes the trajectory of the stone after the string breaks : (a) the stone moves radially outwards, (b) the stone flies off tangentially from the instant the string breaks, (c) the stone flies off at an angle with the tangent whose magnitude depends on the speed of the particle ?
- (For simplicity in numerical calculations, take )Ex 4.23Explain why (a) a horse cannot pull a cart and run in empty space, (b) passengers are thrown forward from their seats when a speeding bus stops suddenly, (c) it is easier to pull a lawn mower than to push it, (d) a cricketer moves his hands backwards while holding a catch.