HW03 forces: 5P36, 5P46, 5P50, 5P52, 5P53, 5P57; 6P5, 6P11, 6P23, 6P49, 6P57.

Chapter 5, problem 36: Holding on to a towrope moving parallel to a frictionless ski slope, a 50 kg skier is pulled
up the slope, which is at an angle of 8.0 with the horizontal. What is the magnitude F
rope
of the force on the skier
from the rope when (a) the magnitude v of the skiers velocity is constant at 2.0 m/s and (b) v = 2.0 m/s as v
increases at a rate of 0.10 m/s
2
? (a) This is a very easy FBD/schematic to draw; you should do this yourself.
Newtons 2
nd
law tells us

2
solve for T
0 ( )sin sin (50 )(9.81 )sin8.0 68
m
rope g
s
F F F T m g T mg kg N u u = = + = + = = =

(1.1)

Afterword: the sinu picks out the component of the force of gravity lying along the ski-slope-plane.

(b) Repeating the calculation (1.1), and noting that we should anticipate 68 T N > as an error-check,

2 2
solve for T
sin sin (50 )(9.81 )sin8.0 (50 )(0.10 ) 73
m m
s s
F ma T mg T mg ma kg kg N u u = = = + = + =

(1.2)

Chapter 5, problem 46: An elevator cab is pulled upward by a cable. The cab and its single occupant have a
combined mass of 2000 kg. When that occupant drops a coin, its acceleration relative to the cab is 8.00 m/s
2

downward. What is the tension in the cable? Let the elevator be accelerating at
eg
a relative to the ground, the coin
accelerating at
2
9.81
m
cg
s
a g = = relative to the ground, and
2
8.00
m
ce
s
a = relative to the elevator. With this
tricky statement out of the way, Newtons 2
nd
law applied to the elevator (accelerating at
eg
a , recall) immediately
tells us the tension.

2
solve for T
4
( )
( ) ( ) (2000 )( 8.00 ) 1.60 10 ;
eg g
m
eg ce ce
s
F ma T F T m g
T m a g m g a g ma kg N
= = + = +
= + = + = = = +

(1.3)

Note that in the 2
nd
line of (1.3), we used
ce eg cg
a a a + = . Also, since the coins accelerations magnitude is ls than g
(e.g.,
ce
a g < ), we expect that the tension should be less than mg, and indeed, we find that
2
4
(2000 )(9.81 ) 1.6 10
m
s
mg kg N = > , which provides an error-check.

Chapter 5, problem 50: In Fig. 5-46, three ballot
boxes are connected by cords, one of which wraps
over a pulley having negligible friction on its axle and
negligible mass. The three masses are mA = 30.0 kg,
mB = 40.0 kg, and mC = 10.0 kg. When the assembly
is released from rest, (a) what is the tension in the
cord connecting Band C, and (b) how far does A move
in the first 0.250 s (assuming it does not reach the
pulley)?

Solution: (a) Chose down as the +y-direction. Newtons 2
nd
law for each of the 3 blocks appears in both graphical
1

and algebraic form as,

1
Equating illustrations to mathematical equations may be something youre shy about, but it won Richard Feynman fame. Look up
Feynman diagram, and amplitudehedron.

;
; ;
AB
BC AB
B BC C
A T A AB A
T T
B B B BC AB B C C C BC C
m g T m g
m F T m a
m F m g T T m a m F m g T m a

= = =
| | | | | |
| |
| | = = + = = = =
| |
| | + + +
\ . \ .

(1.4)

The system-acceleration a is therefore computed from adding up the three force-sums (1.4),

( )
solve for a
2
( )
( ) 6.125 ;
B C
A B C AB B BC AB C BC B C
A B C
m m g m
m m m a T m g T T m g T m m g a
m m m s
+
+ + = + + + = + = =
+ +
(1.5)

Subsequently, we use (1.5) in
C C
F m a =

of (1.4) to compute
BC
T as,
( ) 1 36.8 ;
B C C A
BC C C
A B C A B C
m m m m
T m g a m g g N
m m m m m m
| | +
= = = =
|
+ + + +
\ .
(1.6)

(b) We use Eq. 2-15 (choosing rightward as the +x direction): Ax = 0 +
1
2
at
2
= 0.191 m.

Chapter 5, problem 52: An 85 kg man lowers himself
to the ground from a height of 10.0 m by holding onto
a rope that runs over a frictionless pulley to a 65 kg
sandbag. With what speed does the man hit the
ground if he started from rest? The system appears as
follows (this is not obvious),

Pay attention to how up is positive for the sandbag, and down is positive for the man! Because the system accelerates
in one direction only, we may as well make that direction positive. We compute the acceleration,

Switched coordinates! Newton's 3rd Law
reaction pair to in
; ;
man
man bag
T F
F Ma Mg T F ma mg T mg T

= = = = + = +

(1.7)

Using the above expression, we compute T from the 2
nd
(bag) equation and use that to eliminate T in the 1
st
(man)
equation,

solve for a
( ) ( ) ;
M m
T m a g Ma Mg T Mg m a g a g
M m

= + = = + =
+
(1.8)
which yields a = 1.3 m/s
2
.

Since the system starts from rest, Eq. 2-16 determines the speed (after traveling A y = 10 m) as follows,

( )( )
2
2 2 2
0
no need to indicate units: mass
divided by mass is unitless!
85 65
2 0 2 0 2 9.81 10.0 5.1
85 65
m
s
M m m
v v ad gd m
M m s

= + = + = + =
+ +
(1.9)


Chapter 5, problem 53: Three blocks are connected
on a horizontal frictionless table and pulled to the
right with a force T
3
= 65.0 N? Assume that m
1
= 12.0
kg, m
2
= 24.0 kg, and m
3
= 31.0 kg. (a) Calculate the
acceleration of the system. (b) and (c) Calculate the
tensions T1 and T2 in the interconnecting cords.


(a) The system acceleration comes from the external tension T
3
accelerating the entire systems mass; accordingly,
newtons 2
nd
law is for
1 2 3
m m m + + as,

solve for a 3
1 2 3 3 2
1 2 3
65.0
( ) 0.970 ;
(12.0 24.0 31.0)
T N m
F Ma m m m a T a
m m m kg s
= = + + = = = =
+ + + +

(1.10)

Thus, for only being interested in the acceleration of the whole system, we can pretend the system is just one big
block of mass
1 2 3
m m m + + . Note this is exactly what we do without thinking if we compute the acceleration of a
ball undergoing a force: the ball is obviously made of bunches and bunches of atoms, and we only concern ourselves
with the total mass of all those atoms making up the ball.

(b) We must now write Newtons 2
nd
Law for the individual blocks. However, the system acceleration remains the
same (1.10) we calculated in part-(a),

1
2
the T is external tension times a mass-fraction
1
1 1 1 1 3
1 2 3
(12.0 )(0.970 ) 11.6
m
s
m
F ma T kg N ma T
m m m
= = = = = =
+ +

(1.11)

(c) Now in part c, treat blocks 1 and 2 as a system (as we did in (1.10) for the three blocks) and compute,

2
2
solve for
2 2 2 1 2 2 1
3 3 1 3 1
2 2 1 3 3
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
(24.0 )(9.70 ) 11.6 34.9
Some fun you could have: put stuff in symbol-form:
34.9
T
m
s
F m a T T T m a T kg N N
mT m m m
T m a T T T N
m m m m m m m m m
= = = + = + =
+
= + = + = =
+ + + + + +

(1.12)

Chapter 5, problem 57: A block of mass m1 = 3.70
kg on a frictionless plane inclined at angle 30.0 u =
is connected by a cord over a massless, frictionless
pulley to a second block of mass m2 = 2.30 kg (Fig. 5-
52). What are (a) the magnitude of the acceleration of
each block, (b) the direction of the acceleration of the
hanging block, and (c) the tension in the cord?


Solution: The free-body diagram for each block
2
is shown below as,

2
Warning: Again, for block 1, we take the +x direction to be up the incline and the +y direction to be in the direction of the normal
force
N
F that the plane exerts on the block. This is in contrast to block 2, where we take the +y direction to be down! However, this
benefits us in that you have a common system acceleration a (conservation of string), which is unambiguously positive ().
(1.13)
The free body diagram (1.13) subsequently implies the force balances,

1, 1 1 1, 1 1 2 2 2
sin ; 0 cos ; ;
x y N
F ma T mg F ma F mg F m a m g T u u = = = = = = =

(1.14)

respectively. The first and third of these equations provide a simultaneous set for obtaining values of a and T. The
second equation is not needed in this problem, since the normal force is neither asked for nor is it needed as part of
some further computation (such as can occur in formulas for friction).

(a) The question is really asking for the system-acceleration. Consider the force-balance in the direction of the string,
and notice that you have a Newtons 3
rd
Law pair T which goes away if we sum the equations,

( ) ( )
( )
solve for
1, 2 1 2 1 2
Newton's 3rd Law pairs in red
2
2 2 1
1 2
( ) sin
[2.30 kg (3.70 kg)sin30.0 ] 9.80 m/s
sin
0.735m/s ;
3.70 kg 2.30 kg
a
x
T T F F m m a m g m g
m m
a g
m m
u
u
+ = + = +

= = =
+ +

(1.15)

Sanity Check: Notice what happens if we put 90 u = in the symbolic expression
2 1
1 2
sin m m
m m
a
u
+
= of (1.15): we
reproduce Eq. (1.8) from Chapter 5, problem 52 (remember doing that?! Never forget the physics problems you
have worked!), as we should, since this value of u corresponds to the incline of (1.13) tilting up into a pulley-
system, which makes us super certain that we didnt make a mistake! .

(b) The result for a is positive, indicating that the acceleration of block 1 is indeed up the incline and that the
acceleration of block 2 is vertically down.

(c) Having the system-acceleration makes finding the tension a bit of a victory lap. Looking at the 1
st
equation in
(1.14), we write,
( )( ) ( )( )
2 2
1 1
sin 3.70 kg 0.735 m/s 3.70 kg 9.80 m/s sin30.0 20.8N. T ma mg u = + = + =

Chapter 6, problem 5: A baseball player with mass
m = 79 kg, sliding into second base, is retarded by a
frictional force of magnitude 470 N. What is the
coefficient of kinetic friction
k
between the player
and the ground? Solution: The free-body diagram for
the player is shown to the right.
N
F is the normal
force of the ground on the player, mg

is the force of
gravity, and

f is the force of friction.

The force of friction is related to the normal force by f =
k
F
N
. We use Newtons second law applied to the vertical
axis to find the normal force. The vertical component of the acceleration is zero, so we obtain F
N
mg = 0; thus, F
N

= mg. Consequently,

( ) ( )
2
470 N
0.61.
79 kg 9.8 m/s
k
N
f
F
= = = (1.16)

chapter 6, problem 11 (copied from solution
manual no commentary from me): A 68 kg crate
is dragged across a floor by pulling on a rope
attached to the crate and inclined 15 above the
horizontal. (a) If the coefficient of static friction is
0.50, what minimum force magnitude is required from
the rope to start the crate moving? (b) If 0.35
k
= ,
what is the magnitude of the initial acceleration of the
crate? (a) The free-body diagram for the crate is
shown,
.

T is the tension force of the rope on the crate,

N
F is the normal force of the floor on the crate, mg

is the force of
gravity, and

f is the force of friction. We take the +x direction to be horizontal to the right and the +y direction to
be up. We assume the crate is motionless. The equations for the x and the y components of the force according to
Newtons second law are:
T cos u f = 0
sin 0
N
T F mg u + =
where u = 15 is the angle between the rope and the horizontal. The first equation gives f = T cos u and the second
gives F
N
= mg T sin u. If the crate is to remain at rest, f must be less than
s
F
N
, or T cos u <
s
(mg T sinu).
When the tension force is sufficient to just start the crate moving, we must have
T cos u =
s
(mg T sin u).
We solve for the tension:
( ) ( ) ( )
2
2
0.50 68 kg 9.8 m/s
304 N 3.0 10 N.
cos sin cos 15 0.50 sin 15
s
s
mg
T

u u
= = = ~
+ +


(b) The second law equations for the moving crate are
T cos u f = ma
F
N
+ T sin u mg = 0.

Now f =
k
F
N
, and the second equation gives F
N
= mg Tsinu, which yields ( sin )
k
f mg T u = . This expression
is substituted for f in the first equation to obtain
T cos u
k
(mg T sin u) = ma,
so the acceleration is
( ) cos sin
k
k
T
a g
m
u u

+
= .
Numerically, it is given by
a =
+
=
304 15 035 15
68
035 98 13
N
kg
m/ s m/ s
2 2
b gb g
b gc h
cos . sin
. . . .


chapter 6, problem 23 (copied from solution
manual no commentary from me): When the three
blocks in Fig. 6-29 are released from rest, they
accelerate with a magnitude of 0.500 m/s
2
. Block 1
has mass M, block 2 has 2M, and block 3 has 2M.
What is the coefficient of kinetic friction between
block 2 and the table?


Let the tensions on the strings connecting m
2
and m
3
be T
23,
and that connecting m
2
and m
1
be T
12
, respectively.
Applying Newtons second law (and Eq. 6-2, with F
N
= m
2
g in this case) to the system we have

3 23 3
23 2 12 2
12 1 1
k
m g T m a
T m g T m a
T m g ma

=
=
=

Adding up the three equations and using
1 2 3
, 2 , m M m m M = = = we obtain
2Mg 2
k
Mg Mg = 5Ma .
With a = 0.500 m/s
2
this yields
k
= 0.372. Thus, the coefficient of kinetic friction is roughly
k
= 0.37.

Chapter 6, Problem 49: In the figure, a car is
driven at constant speed over a circular hill and then
into a circular valley with the same radius. At the top
of the hill, the normal force on the driver from the car
seat is 0. The driver's mass is 52.1 kg. What is the
minimum magnitude of the normal force on the driver
from the seat when the car passes through the bottom
of the valley?


Solution: Intuitively, the correct answer is
2
3
2 2(52.1 )(9.81 ) 1.02 10
m
N
s
F mg kg N = = = . The justification for this,

| |
| | ( )
2 2
2
top of hill ( ); 0 ;
bottom of hill ( ) ( ) 2 ;
N r N N
N
v v
F ma F ma F m m g F m mg
r r
v
F m g m m g mg mg
r
= = + = + = = =
| |
= = =
|
\ .

(1.17)

Chapter 6, problem 57: A puck of mass m = 1.50
kg slides in a circle with radius r = 20.0 cm on a
frictionless table while attached to a hanging cylinder
of mass M = 2.50 kg by a cord through a hole in the
table. What speed keeps the cylinder at rest?

Solution: newtons 2
nd
law says the tension due to gravity equals the tension due to centripetal acceleration; solving
for v in this equation,

2
2
(2.50 kg)(9.81 )(0.200 m)
1.81 ;
1.50 kg
m
s
r
v Mgr m
T ma m Mg v
r m s
= = = = = = (1.18)
The +/- ambiguity in (1.18) means the mass-m could be circling clockwise or counterclockwise, and still exerting the
same tension.