Problem 1.

1 Express the fractions

1
3
and
2
3
to three
signicant digits.
Solution:
1/3 D 0.3333. . D 0.333
2/3 D 0.6666. . D 0.667
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1
Problem 1.2 The base of natural logarithms is e D
2.718281828 . . .
(a) Express e to ve signicant digits.
(b) Determine the value of e
2
to ve signicant digits.
(c) Use the value of e you obtained in part (a) to deter-
mine the value of e
2
to ve signicant digits.
[Part (c) demonstrates the hazard of using rounded-off
values in calculations.]
Solution: The value of e is: e D 2.718281828
(a) To ve signicant gures e D 2.7183
(b) e
2
to ve signicant gures is
e
2
D 7.3891
(c) Using the value from part (a) we nd
e
2
D 7.3892
which is
not correct in the fth digit.
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1
Problem 1.3 A machinist drills a circular hole in a
panel with radius r D 5 mm. Determine the circumfer-
ence C and area A of the hole to four signicant digits.
Solution:
C D 2r D 10 D 31.42 mm
A D r
2
D 25 D 78.54 mm
2
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1
Problem 1.4 The opening in a soccer goal is 24 ft
wide and 8 ft high. Use these values to determine its
dimensions in meters to three signicant digits.
Solution: The conversion between feet and meters, found inside
the front cover of the textbook, is 1 m D 3.281 ft. The goal width,
w D 24 ft

1 m
3.281 ft

D 7.3148 m D 7.31 m.
The goal height is given by
h D 8 ft

1 m
3.281 ft

D 2.438 m D 2.44 m.
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1
Problem 1.5 The coordinates (in meters) of point A
are x
A
D 3, y
A
D 7, and the coordinates of point B are
x
B
D 10, y
B
D 2. Determine the length of the straight
line from A to B to three signicant digits.
x
y
A
B
Solution: The length is
L D

10 3
2
C2 7
2
m D
p
74 m D 8.602325 m
to three signicant gures this is
L D 8.60 m
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1
Problem 1.6 Suppose that you have just purchased
a Ferrari F355 coupe and you want to know whether
you can use your set of SAE (U.S. Customary Units)
wrenches to work on it. You have wrenches with widths
w D 1/4 in, 1/2 in, 3/4 in, and 1 in, and the car has nuts
with dimensions n D 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm,
and 25 mm. Dening a wrench to t if w is no more
than 2% larger than n, which of your wrenches can you
use?
n
Solution: Convert the metric size n to inches, and compute the
percentage difference between the metric sized nut and the SAE
wrench. The results are:
5 mm

1 inch
25.4 mm

D 0.19685.. in,

0.19685 0.25
0.19685

100
D 27.0%
10 mm

1 inch
25.4 mm

D 0.3937.. in,

0.3937 0.5
0.3937

100 D 27.0%
15 mm

1 inch
25.4 mm

D 0.5905.. in,

0.5905 0.5
0.5905

100 D C15.3%
20 mm

1 inch
25.4 mm

D 0.7874.. in,

0.7874 0.75
0.7874

100 D C4.7%
25 mm

1 inch
25.4 mm

D 0.9843.. in,

0.9843 1.0
0.9843

100 D 1.6%
A negative percentage implies that the metric nut is smaller than the
SAE wrench; a positive percentage means that the nut is larger then
the wrench. Thus within the denition of the 2% t, the 1 in wrench
will t the 25 mm nut. The other wrenches cannot be used.
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1
Problem 1.7 On August 20, 1974, Nolan Ryan threw
the rst baseball pitch measured at over 100 mi/h. The
measured speed was 100.9 mi/h. Determine the speed of
the pitch to four signicant digits (a) in ft/s; (b) in km/h.
Solution:
(a) v D 100.9
mi
h

5280 ft
1 mi

1 h
3600 s

D 148.0
ft
s
(b)
v D 100.9
mi
h

5280 ft
mi

0.3048 m
ft

1 km
1000 m

D 162.4 km/h
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1
Problem 1.8 On March 18, 1999, an experimental
Maglev (magnetic levitation) train in Japan reached a
maximum speed of 552 km/h. What was its velocity in
mi/h to three signicant digits?
Solution:
v D 552
km
h

1000 m
km

1 ft
0.3048 m

1 mi
5280 ft

D 343 mi/h
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1
Problem 1.9 In May, 1963, in the last ight of
Project Mercury, Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper traveled
a distance of 546,167 miles in 1 day, 10 hours, 19
minutes, and 49 seconds. Determine his average speed
(the distance traveled divided by the time required) to
three signicant digits (a) in mi/h; (b) in km/h.
Solution:
(a)
v D
546167 mi

34 C
19
60
C
49
3600

h
D 15,900 mi/h
(b)
v D 15,900
mi
h

5280 ft
1 mi

0.3048 m
ft

1 km
1000 m

D 25,600 km/h
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1
Problem 1.10 Engineers who study shock waves
sometimes express velocity in millimeters per micro-
second (mm/s). Suppose the velocity of a wavefront
is measured and determined to be 5 mm/s. Determine
its velocity: (a) in m/s; (b) in mi/s.
Solution: Convert units using Tables 1.1 and 1.2. The results:
(a) 5

mm
s

1 m
1000 mm

10
6
s
1 s

D 5000

m
s

.
Next, use this result to get (b):
(b) 5000

m
s

1 ft
0.3048 m

1 mi
5280 ft

D 3.10685 . . .

mi
s

D 3.11

mi
s

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1
Problem 1.11 The kinetic energy of a particle of mass
m is dened to be
1
2
mv
2
, where v is the magnitude of the
particles velocity. If the value of the kinetic energy of
a particle at a given time is 200 when m is in kilograms
and v is in meters per second, what is the value when m
is in slugs and v is in feet per second?
Solution:

200
kg-m
2
s
2

0.0685 slug
1 kg

1 ft
0.3048 m

2
D 147.46 D 147
slug-ft
2
s
2
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.12 The acceleration due to gravity at sea
level in SI units is g D 9.81 m/s
2
. By converting units,
use this value to determine the acceleration due to gravity
at sea level in U.S. Customary units.
Solution: Use Table 1.2. The result is:
g D 9.81

m
s
2

1 ft
0.3048 m

D 32.185 . . .

ft
s
2

D 32.2

ft
s
2

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1
Problem 1.13 A furlong per fortnight is a facetious
unit of velocity, perhaps made up by a student as a
satirical comment on the bewildering variety of units
engineers must deal with. A furlong is 660 ft (1/8 mile).
A fortnight is 2 weeks (14 days). If you walk to class
at 2 m/s, what is your speed in furlongs per fortnight to
three signicant digits?
Solution: Convert the units using the given conversions. Record
the rst three digits on the left, and add zeros as required by the number
of tens in the exponent. The result is:

5
ft
s

1 furlong
660 ft

3600 s
1 hr

24 hr
1 day

14 day
1 fortnight

9160
furlongs
fortnight

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1
Problem 1.14 The cross-sectional area of a beam is
480 in
2
. What is its cross-section in m
2
?
Solution: Convert units using Table 1.2. The result:
480 in
2

1 ft
12 in

0.3048 m
1 ft

2
D 0.30967 . . . m
2
D 0.310 m
2
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1
Problem 1.15 The cross-sectional area of the C1230
American Standard Channel steel beam is A D 8.81 in
2
.
What is its cross-sectional area in mm
2
?
x
y
A
Solution:
A D 8.81 in
2

25.4 mm
1 in

2
D 5680 mm
2
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.16 A pressure transducer measures a value
of 300 lb/in
2
. Determine the value of the pressure in
pascals. A pascal (Pa) is one newton per meter squared.
Solution: Convert the units using Table 1.2 and the denition of
the Pascal unit. The result:
300

lb
in
2

4.448 N
1 lb

12 in
1 ft

1 ft
0.3048 m

2
D 2.0683 . . . 10
6

N
m
2

D 2.0710
6
Pa
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.17 A horsepower is 550 ft-lb/s. A watt is
1 N-m/s. Determine the number of watts generated by
(a) the Wright brothers 1903 airplane, which had a 12-
horsepower engine; (b) a modern passenger jet with a
power of 100,000 horsepower at cruising speed.
Wright
Brothers' Flier
(shown to scale)
Boeing 747
Solution: Convert units using inside front cover of textbook derive
the conversion between horsepower and watts. The result
(a) 12 hp

746 watt
1 hp

D 8950 watt
(b) 10
5
hp

746 watt
1 hp

D 7.4610
7
watt
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.18 In SI units, the universal gravitational
constant G D 6.67 10
11
N-m
2
/kg
2
. Determine the
value of G in U.S. Customary units.
Solution: Convert units using Table 1.2. The result:
6.6710
11

N-m
2
kg
2

1 lb
4.448 N

1 ft
0.3048 m

14.59 kg
1 slug

2
D 3.43590 . . . 10
8

lb-ft
2
slug
2

D 3.4410
8

lb-ft
2
slug
2

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1
Problem 1.19 The moment of inertia of the rectan-
gular area about the x axis is given by the equation
I D
1
3
bh
3
.
The dimensions of the area are b D 200 mm and h D
100 mm. Determine the value of I to four signicant
digits in terms of (a) mm
4
; (b) m
4
; (c) in
4
.
h
b
x
y
Solution:
(a) I D
1
3
200 mm100 mm
3
D 66.7 10
6
mm
4
(b) I D 66.7 10
6
mm
4

1 m
1000 mm

4
D 66.7 10
6
m
4
(c) I D 66.7 10
6
mm
4

1 in
25.4 mm

4
D 160 in
4
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1
Problem 1.20 In the equation
T D
1
2
I
2
,
the term I is in kg-m
2
and is in s
1
.
(a) What are the SI units of T?
(b) If the value of T is 100 when I is in kg-m
2
and is
in s
1
, what is the value of T when it is expressed
in U.S. Customary base units?
Solution: For (a), substitute the units into the expression for T:
(a) T D

1
2

I kg-m
2
s
1

2
D
kg-m
2
s
2
For (b), convert units using Table 1.2. The result:
(b) 100

kg-m
2
s
2

1 slug
14.59 kg

1 ft
0.3048 m

2
D 73.7759 . . .

slug-ft
2
s
2

D 73.8

slug-ft
2
s
2

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1
Problem 1.21 The equation
D
My
I
is used in the mechanics of materials to determine
normal stresses in beams.
(a) When this equation is expressed in terms of SI base
units, M is in newton-meters (N-m), y is in meters
(m), and I is in meters to the fourth power (m
4
).
What are the SI units of ?
(b) If MD 2000 N-m, y D 0.1 m, and I D 7
10
5
m
4
, what is the value of in U.S. Customary
base units?
Solution:
(a) D
My
I
D
(N-m)m
m
4
D
N
m
2
(b)
D
My
I
D
2000 N-m0.1 m
7 10
5
m
4

1 lb
4.448 N

0.3048 m
ft

2
D 59,700
lb
ft
2
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.22 Let W be your weight at sea level in
pounds. (a) What is your weight at sea level in newtons?
(b) What is your mass in kilograms?
Solution:
(a) W (lb)

4.448 N
lb

D 4.448W N
(b) m D
4.448W N
9.81 m/s
2
D 0.453W kg
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.23 The acceleration due to gravity is
1.62 m/s
2
on the surface of the moon and 9.81 m/s
2
on the surface of the earth. A female astronauts mass
is 57 kg. What is the maximum allowable mass of her
spacesuit and equipment if the engineers dont want the
total weight on the moon of the woman, her spacesuit
and equipment to exceed 180 N?
Solution: Find the mass which weighs 180 N on the moon.
m D
w
g
D
180 N-s
2
1.62 m
D 111.1 kg
This is the total allowable mass. Thus, the suit & equipment can have
mass of
m
S/E
D 111.1 kg 57 kg D 54.1 kg
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.24 A person has a mass of 50 kg.
(a) The acceleration due to gravity at sea level is g D
9.81 m/s
2
. What is the persons weight at sea level?
(b) The acceleration due to gravity on the moon is g D
1.62 m/s
2
. What would the person weigh on the
moon?
Solution: Use Eq (1.6).
(a) W
e
D 50 kg

9.81
m
s
2

D 490.5 N D 491 N, and

(b) W
moon
D 50 kg

1.62
m
s
2

D 81 N.
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.25 The acceleration due to gravity at
sea level is g D 9.81 m/s
2
. The radius of the earth
is 6370 km. The universal gravitational constant is
G D 6.67 10
11
N-m
2
/kg
2
. Use this information to
determine the mass of the earth.
Solution: Use Eq (1.3) a D
Gm
E
R
2
. Solve for the mass,
m
E
D
gR
2
G
D
9.81 m/s
2
6370 km
2

10
3
m
km

2
6.6710
11

N-m
2
kg
2

D 5.9679 . . . 10
24
kg D 5.9710
24
kg
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.26 A person weighs 180 lb at sea level. The
radius of the earth is 3960 mi. What force is exerted on
the person by the gravitational attraction of the earth if
he is in a space station in orbit 200 mi above the surface
of the earth?
Solution: Use Eq (1.5).
WDmg

R
E
r

2
D

W
E
g

R
E
R
E
CH

2
DW
E

3960
3960 C200

2
D1800.90616 D 163 lb
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.27 The acceleration due to gravity on the
surface of the moon is 1.62 m/s
2
. The radius of the moon
is R
M
D 1738 km. Determine the acceleration due to
gravity of the moon at a point 1738 km above its surface.
Strategy: Write an equation equivalent to Eq. (1.4) for
the acceleration due to gravity of the moon.
Solution: Use Eq (1.4), rewritten to apply to the Moon. . . a D
g
M

R
M
r

2
a D1.62 m/s
2

R
M
R
M
CR
M

2
D 1.62 m/s
2

1
2

2
D 0.405 m/s
2
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.28 If an object is near the surface of the
earth, the variation of its weight with distance from the
center of the earth can often be neglected. The acceler-
ation due to gravity at sea level is g D 9.81 m/s
2
. The
radius of the earth is 6370 km. The weight of an object
at sea level is mg, where m is its mass. At what height
above the earth does the weight of the object decrease
to 0.99 mg?
Solution: Use a variation of Eq (1.5).
WD mg

R
E
R
E
Ch

2
D 0.99 mg
Solve for the radial height,
h D R
E

1
p
0.99
1

D 63701.0050378 1.0
D 32.09 . . . km D 32,100 m D 32.1 km
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.29 The centers of two oranges are 1 m
apart. The mass of each orange is 0.2 kg. What
gravitational force do they exert on each other? (The
universal gravitational constant is G D 6.67 10
11
N-
m
2
/kg
2
.)
Solution: Use Eq (1.1) F D
Gm
1
m
2
r
2
. Substitute:
F D
6.6710
11
0.20.2
1
2
D 2.66810
12
N
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1
Problem 1.30 At a point between the earth and the
moon, the magnitude of the force exerted on an object
by the earths gravity equals the magnitude of the force
exerted on the object by the moons gravity. What is
the distance from the center of the earth to that point
to three signicant digits? The distance from the center
of the earth to the center of the moon is 383,000 km,
and the radius of the earth is 6370 km. The radius of the
moon is 1738 km, and the acceleration due to gravity at
its surface is 1.62 m/s
2
.
Solution: Let r
Ep
be the distance from the Earth to the point where
the gravitational accelerations are the same and let r
Mp
be the distance
from the Moon to that point. Then, r
Ep
Cr
Mp
D r
EM
D 383,000 km.
The fact that the gravitational attractions by the Earth and the Moon
at this point are equal leads to the equation
g
E

R
E
r
Ep

2
D g
M

R
M
r
Mp

2
,
where r
EM
D 383,000 km. Substituting the correct numerical values
leads to the equation
9.81

m
s
2

6370 km
r
Ep

2
D 1.62

m
s
2

1738 km
r
EM
r
Ep

2
,
where r
Ep
is the only unknown. Solving, we get r
Ep
D 344,770 km D
345,000 km.
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currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
1