Name:____________________________

Instructor:_________________________
Section:___________________________
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
Physics 110

Date:

24-25 Aug
2006

Homework Journal #2
Fall 2006

Points:

22

AUTHORIZED RESOURCES: Full collaboration is authorized on this assignment. You MUST document any
assistance you receive from another individual in completing this assignment. (You DO NOT need to document use of
the text, class handouts, or your own classroom instructor. Any published or unpublished material, or internet source,
does not need to be documented unless the material specifically aims at answering problems in Mastering Physics.)
DOCUMENTATION: Please document any instructor(s) and/or student(s) you consulted and the precise nature of the
assistance you received in completing this assignment (continue on the opposite side of this sheet if necessary):

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INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Put your full name, your instructors name, and section in the upper right hand corner of this page.
2.

3.
4.

Show enough work to justify your answers. Solutions to all problems must start from first principles, including
assumptions, diagrams, known/unknowns, and equations from the constants and equations sheet. Answers to
problems with no justification receive zero credit. Please box your answers to receive full credit. NOTE: The
homework journal frequently has added parts to the problem than may be found in Mastering Physics.
GIVE ALL ANSWERS ON THE WORKOUT PROBLEMS TO AT LEAST 3 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
Workout the following problems completely & carefullyyour goal is to effectively communicate your
understanding of the physics. One of the following problems will be fully graded by your instructor and will be
worth 20 points. Other problems will be spot-checked for effort and will be worth 2 points each.

Problem Name

Points Possible

2.9
PSS 2.1
TOTAL

22

Points Earned

LESSON 3: Problem 2.9 (Grandmothers House)

Julie drives 100 mi to Grandmother's house. On the way to Grandmother's, Julie drives half the distance at
___________ mph and half the distance at ___________ mph. On her return trip, she drives half the time at
__________ mph and half the time at ____________ mph.
A. What is Julie's average speed on the way to Grandmother's house?

B. What is Julie's average speed on the return trip?

C. (Not in Mastering Physics) Consider making the calculation t/s instead of s/t. Is this just a piece of
foolishness, or does the number so obtained have a reasonable and intelligible physical meaning?
i.

Interpret t/s in your own words:

ii.

Describe in your own words what the motion would be like when t/s has a very high value and a
very low value. How does this compare with the ratio s/t?

iii.

Invent a good, descriptive name to give the quantity defined by t/s.

This problem targets Core Program Outcomes 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 4.2, & 4.3

LESSON 4: PSS 2.1: Can't Hit the Can! (see p. 57)

A car is traveling at a constant velocity of magnitude v0 when the driver notices a garbage can on the road
in front of him. At that moment, the distance between the garbage can and the front of the car is d. At
time t after noticing the garbage can, the driver applies the brakes and slows down at a constant rate
before coming to a halt just before the garbage can. What is the magnitude of the car's acceleration after
the brakes are applied?
MODEL: The car should be treated as _____________________.

VISUALIZE: Draw a motion diagram (PSS 1.1, p. 17) and a complete pictorial representation (Tactics Box
1.4, p. 21). Mastering Physics has an incomplete pictorial representation. Make sure to fill in the list of
known & unknown quantities.

Known:

Find:

SOLVE: Find the magnitude of the acceleration of the car. Express the magnitude of the acceleration in
terms of the variables given in the problem introduction: d, t, and v0. You may or may not use all of them.

ASSESS: Show how your answer has the proper units for acceleration.

This problem targets Physics Core Program Outcomes 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, & 5.2