UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

Centre : Centre for Foundation Studies(CFS) Session : 201506

Course : Foundation in Science Unit Code : FHSC 1014
Year : Year 1 Unit Title : Mechanics
Trimester : Trimester 1

Tutorial 4: The Laws of Motion

1. Draw a free-body diagram for the forces exerting on the traffic light in the figure below.

Find the resultant force exerted by the two cables supporting the traffic light.
[Answer: 84.9N upwards]

2. The distance between two telephone poles is 50.0 m. When a 1.00 kg bird lands on the
telephone wire midway between the poles, the wire sags 0.200 m. Draw a free-body
diagram of the bird. How much tension does the bird produce in the wire? Ignore the
weight of the wire.
[Answer: 614 N]

3. A 40 kg crate rests on a horizontal floor, and a 75 kg person is standing on the crate.

Determine the magnitude of the normal force that
(a) the floor exerts on the crate and
(b) the crate exerts on the person.
[Answer:(a) 1.13 × 103 N; (b) 735 N]

4. A worker stands still on a roof sloped at an angle of 45° abovethe horizontal. He is

prevented from slipping by a static frictional force of 450 N. Find the mass of the worker.
[Answer: 65 kg]

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5. A 4.0 kg bucket of water is raised from a well by a rope. If the upward acceleration of the
bucket is 5.0 m/s2, find the force exerted by the rope on the bucket.
[Answer: 59 N]

6.

A block is pressed against a vertical wall by a force P , as the drawing shows. This force
can either push the block upward at a constant velocity or allow it to slide downward at a
constant velocity. The magnitude of the force is different in the two cases, while the
directional angle  is the same. Kinetic friction exists between the block and the wall, and
the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.250. The weight of the block is 39.0 N, and the
directional angle for the force P is  = 30.0°. Determine the magnitude of when the block
slides
(a) up the wall
(b) down the wall.
[Answer: (a) 52.6 N; (b) 39.4 N]

7. A 3.0 kg block is at rest on a horizontal floor. If you push horizontally on the 3.0 kg
block with a force of 12.0 N, it just starts to move.
(a) What is the coefficient of static friction?
(b) A 7.0 kg block is stacked on top of the 3.0 kg block. What is the magnitude F of
the force, acting horizontally on the 3.0 kg block that is required to make the two
blocks start to move?
[Answer: (a) 0.41; (b) 40 N]

8. A 3.00 kg block starts from rest at the top of a 30.0° incline and slides 2.00 m down the
incline in 1.50 s. Find
(a) the acceleration of the block
(b) the frictional force acting on the block
(c) the coefficient of kinetic friction between the block and the incline
(d) the speed of the block after it has slid 2.00 m
[Answer: (a) 1.78 m/s2; (b) 9.38 N; (c) 0.368; (d) 2.67 m/s]

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9. Figure below shows two boxes of fruit on a frictionless horizontal surface are connected
by a light string, where m1 = 10 kg and m2 = 20 kg. A force of 50 N is applied to the 20
kg box.

(a) Determine the acceleration of each box and the tension in the string.
(b) Repeat the problem for the case where the coefficient of kinetic friction between
each box and the surface is 0.10.
[Answer: (a) 1.7 m/s2, 17 N; (b) 0.69 7 m/s2, 17 N]

10.

A 276 kg glider is being pulled by a 1950 kg airplane along a horizontal runway with an
acceleration of a = 2.20 m/s2 to the right as shown in figure above. Find
(a) the thrust provided by the airplane’s propellers
(b) the magnitude of the tension in the cable connecting the airplane and glider
[Answer: (a) 4.90 kN; (b) 607 N]

11. Figure below shows an object with mass m1 rests on a horizontal table and is connected to
a cable that passes over a pulley and is then fastened to a hanging object with mass m2.

(a) Assuming the horizontal surface is frictionless. If m1 = 5.00 kg and m2 = 10.0

kg,find
(i) the acceleration of each object
(ii) the tension in the cable.

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 (b) The masses of the two objects are then changed to m1 = 10.0 kg and m2 = 4.0 kg,
and there is a frictional force between the horizontal surface and object m1.
Given that
Coefficient of static friction between m1 and the horizontal surface, µs= 0.50
Coefficient of kinetic friction between m1 and the horizontal surface is µk = 0.30
(i) If the system is released from rest, what will its acceleration be?
(ii) If the system is set in motion with m2 moving downward, what will be the
acceleration of the system?
[Answer: (a) (i) 4.90kN, (ii) 607 N; (b) (i) 0, (ii) 0.70 m/s2]

12.

A block of mass m = 5.8 kg is pulled up a  = 25° incline as in figure with a force of

magnitude F = 32 N.
(a) Find the acceleration of the block if the incline is frictionless.
(b) Find the acceleration of the block if the coefficient of kinetic friction between the
block and incline is 0.10.
[Answer: (a) 1.4 m/s2; (b) 0.49 m/s2]

13. A 75 kg man standing on a scale in an elevator notes that as the elevator rises, the scale
reads 825 N. What is the acceleration of the elevator?
[Answer: 1.2 m/s2]

14. A 35.0 kg crate rests on a horizontal floor, and a 65.0 kg person is standing on the crate.
Determine the magnitude of the normal force that
(a) the floor exerts on the crate and
(b) the crate exerts on the person.
[Answer: (a) 980 N; (b) 640 N]

15. Three forces act on a moving object. One force has a magnitude of 80.0 N and is directed
due north. Another has a magnitude of 60.0 N and is directed due west. What must be the
magnitude and direction of the third force, such that the object continues to move with a
constant velocity?
[Answer: 100 N, E 53.1° S]

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16. The drawing shows box 1 resting on a table, with box 2 resting on top of box 1. A
massless rope passes over a massless, frictionless pulley. One end of the rope is
connected to box 2, and the other end is connected to box 3. The weights of the three
boxes are W1 = 55 N, W2= 35 N, andW3= 28 N.

Determine the magnitude of the normal force that the table exerts on box 1.
[Answer: 62 N]

17. A box sits on a horizontal wooden ramp. The coefficient of static friction between the
box and the ramp is 0.30. What is the angle between the ramp and the horizontal direction
when the box begins to slide down the ramp?
[Answer: 17°]

18. A passenger of mass 50 kg is in a car which is moving with a velocity of 30 m s –1. If the
driver suddenly brakes the car, the passenger who is wearing a seat belt is pushed forward
at a displacement of 0.50 m.
[Neglect the effect of friction between the passenger and the seat of the car.]
(a) What is the acceleration of the passenger?
(b) What is the average pulling force of the seat belt on the passenger?
(c) What is the time interval of the pulling force acted on the passenger?
[Answer: (a) –90 m s–2; (b) –4500 N; (c) 0.33 s]

19. Figure below shows a wooden block of mass 5.0 kg on a smooth surface. The wooden
block is connected to a block of mass M by a light string passing over a smooth pulley.

If the wooden block moves with an acceleration of 2.0 m s–2, what is the tension in the
string and the mass M of block?
[Answer: (a) 10 N; (b) 1.28 kg]