PHYSICS OLYMPIAD FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

BY: AHMAD TAUFIQ, S.Pd, M.Si

DEPT. OF PHYSICS, STATE UNIVERSITY OF MALANG
Jalan Gombong No 6 Malang (0341)552125
2010
Solve these Problems Carefully
1) In the diagram below, a 1.0 kg cart and a 2.0 kg cart are
connected by a rope. The spring scale reads 10 N. What is the
tension in the rope connecting the two carts? Neglect any
friction.

(A) 30 N
(B) 10 N
(C) 6.7 N
(D) 5.0 N
(E) 3.3 N
2) A 2 kg block and a 5 kg block are connected as shown below.

The coefficient of friction between the 5 kg block and the flat

surface is 0.2.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the acceleration of the 5 kg block.
(b) Calculate the tension in the rope connecting the two blocks.
3) A train car with a mass of 200 kg is traveling at 20 m/s. How
much force must the brakes exert in order to stop the train car in
a distance of 10 m?

4) A block of weight mg 100 N slides a distance of 5.0 m down a

300, as shown above.

a). How much work is done on the block by gravity?

b). If the block experiences a constant friction force of 10 N, how
much work is done by the friction force?
5) A block of mass M = 2 kg is swung on a rope in a vertical circle of
radius r. When the block is at the top of the circle, the tension in
the rope is measured to be 10 N. What is the tension in the rope
when the block is at the bottom of the circle?

6) A mass m is attached to a horizontal spring of spring constant k.

The spring oscillates in simple harmonic motion with amplitude
A. Answer the following in terms of A.
(a) At what displacement from equilibrium is the speed half of
the maximum
value?
(b) At what displacement from equilibrium is the potential energy
half of the maximum value?
7) Increasing which of the following will increase the period of a
simple pendulum?
I. the length of the string
II. the local gravitational field
III. the mass attached to the string
(A) I only
(B) II only

(C) III only

(D) I and II only
(E) I, II, and III
8) A satellite floating through space collides with a small UFO.
Before the collision, the satellite was traveling at 10 m/s to the
right, and the UFO was traveling at
5 m/s to the left. If the
satellites mass is 70 kg, and the UFOs mass is 50 kg, and
assuming that the satellite and the UFO bounce off each other
upon impact, what is the satellites final velocity if the UFO has a
finanl velocity of 3 m/s to the right?
9) The magnitude of the centripetal force Fc acting on an object is a function of
mass M of the object, its velocity v, and the radius r of the circular path. By the
method of dimensional analysis, find an expression for the centripetal force.
10)
In a spinning drum or well in an amusement park ride, the riders stand
against the wall of the drum. When the drum starts spinning very fast, the bottom
of the drum falls down but the riders stay pinned against the wall of the drum.
Find the minimum angular velocity min for which it is safe to remove the
bottom.
11)
Bob is standing on a bridge. The bridge itself weighs
10,000 N. The span between pillars A and B is 80 m. Bob is 20 m
from the center of the bridge. His mass is 100 kg. Assuming that
the bridge is in equilibrium, find the force exerted by pillar B on
the bridge.

12)
A block of mass M and a block of mass m are connected by
a thin string that passes over a light frictionless pulley. Find the
tension and acceleration of the system.

13)

The box pictured above moves at constant speed to the left.

Which of the following is correct?
(A) The situation is impossible. Because more forces act right, the
block must move to the right.
(B) T3 > T1 T2
(C) T3 < T1 T2
(D) T3 T1 T2
(E) A relationship among the three tensions cannot be
determined from the information given.
14)
A rocket-propelled car begins at rest and accelerates at a
constant rate up to a velocity of 120 m/s. If it takes 6 seconds for
the car to accelerate from rest to 60 m/s, how long does it take
for the car to reach 120 m/s, and how far does it travel in total?
15)
You are standing on a cliff, 30 m above the valley floor. You
throw a watermelon vertically upward at a velocity of 3 m/s. How
long does it take until the atermelon hits the valley floor?

16)
A firework is shot straight up in the air with an initial speed
of 50 m/s. What is the maximum height it reaches?
(A) 12.5 m
(B) 25 m
(C) 125 m
(D) 250 m
(E) 1250 m

17)
On a strange, airless planet, a ball is thrown downward
from a height of 17 m. The ball initially travels at 15 m/s. If the
ball hits the ground in 1 s, what is this planets gravitational
acceleration?
(A) 2 m/s2
(B) 4 m/s2
(C) 6 m/s2
(D) 8 m/s2
(E) 10 m/s2
18)