Comprehensive Oxford Mathematics and Physics Online School (COMPOS)

Physics Assignment 6
Anthony Dyson, Vladimir Chernov, Alexander Lvovsky

Due 6 March, 2022

This is the sixth Physics assignment from COMPOS. This assignment is designed to stretch you and no
student is expected to complete all questions on the first attempt. The problems are hard, but do not
let this discourage you. Give each problem a go, and skip to the next one if you are stuck. The questions
in each section are arranged in the order of increasing complexity, so you should try all sections. Very
similar problems will be discussed in webinars and tutorials, so think of the questions you would like to
ask. We hope that eventually you will be able to solve most of the problems. Good luck!

1 Work

The work done by a constant force acting over distance s on a mass moving in the direction of the force is

W = F s. (1)

This equation tells us that the units of work done are Newton-metres, Nm, the same unit that is used for
energy. In SI, this unit has a special name: Joule (J).

If the force and displacement are not in the same direction, only the component of the force along the
displacement counts towards the work done:

W = F~ · ~s = F s cos θ, (2)

where θ is the angle between the two vectors.

In general the force is a variable vector quantity F~ . However, over a very small displacement element d~s,
the force can be considered constant. Then the element of work done is dW = F~ · d~s. Summing over all the
displacement elements that make up the path taken by the mass results in the integral definition of work
done Z
W = F~ · d~s. (3)

This integral is sometimes referred to as the path integral as the summation is performed along the path.
Don’t be daunted by this term: it simply means that the work is equal to the area under the graph of F cos θ
as a function of s.

It is important that only the component of motion along the force counts towards the work. In the case
of circular motion, say the Earth going around the Sun, no work is done by the force since the force acts
radially at right angles to the trajectory.

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2 Energy

2.1 Work-energy principle

Consider an object of mass m in free space accelerating due to constant force F directed along its trajectory.
Let the initial and final velocities be vA and vB , respectively. We can use Eq. (2), Newton’s second law
2 2
F = ma and the SUVAT equations vB = vA + 2as to get

1 2 2
W = mas = m(vB − vA ).
2
1
We see that the work transferred to the mass can be expressed as a change in kinetic energy T = mv 2 :
2
W = TB − TA (4)

and this is known as the work-energy principle.

In the more general case of variable force of arbitrary direction, we use Eq. (3) and obtain the same result:
Z B Z B Z B  vB
d~v 1
W = F~ · d~s = m · ~v dt = m~v · d~v = mv 2 ,
A A dt A 2 vA

where the integration limits A and B refer to the initial and final points of the trajectory. For those who
are not comfortable with differentials, the last steps of the above calculation can be understood by noticing
d~v 1 d(~v · ~v ) 1 d(v 2 )
that, according to the chain rule, · ~v = = , and applying the fundamental theorem of
dt 2 dt 2 dt
calculus.

Example 1. A bullet of mass m = 1 g travelling at u = 600 m/s goes through a stationary heavy wooden
block of width d = 4 cm and continues travelling at v = 400 m/s. Find the average force acting on the bullet
inside the wooden block.

Solution: The work-energy principle (4) takes the form F d = m(v 2 −u2 )/2 ⇒ F = m(v 2 −u2 )/2d = −2500N
(the minus sign indicates a retarding or slowing down force). Note that this problem, of course, can also be
solved using the SUVAT equation.

Problem 1 (3 marks). A boy standing on ice with no friction pushes a stationary sled so that it starts
travelling at v = 4 m/s relative to the ice. What is the work done by the boy if the mass of the sled is m = 4
kg and the mass of the boy is M = 20 kg? (Hint: The boy starts moving, too.)

Problem 2 (PAT 2016, 4 marks). The diagonal line in the graph below shows the relationship between
force and displacement for a certain frictionless physical system:

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 a) Initially, a mass of 20 grams is placed at a displacement of 5 cm and released. What work is done in
moving the mass to a displacement of 0 cm?

b) What is the speed of the mass when it reaches a displacement of 0 cm?

c) Describe the mass’s motion after it reaches 0 cm.

Problem 3 (PAT 2009, 8 marks). In this question you will use a simple model to estimate how the energy
used by a car depends on its design and how it is driven. Begin by neglecting air and ground resistance, and
assume that the car travels at constant velocity between regular equally spaced stops.

a) A stationary car of mass m is rapidly accelerated to a velocity v, driven for a distance s, and is rapidly
brought to a halt by its brakes. Calculate the energy dispersed by the brakes.
b) Assuming the car restarts immediately, calculate the time between subsequent stops and hence the
average power dissipated.
c) Hence or otherwise calculate the energy used in travelling a total distance d.

d) Taking m = 1000 kg, v = 10 m/s and s = 100 m calculate the energy used in travelling 1 km. What
would be the effect of doubling the speed to 20 m/s?

Now consider the effect of air resistance. This can be estimated by assuming that the car has to accelerate
all the air it travels through to the same average velocity as itself. (You may ignore the rapid random motion
of individual air molecules in this calculation.)

e) Treating the car as a disc with cross sectional area A travelling at velocity v calculate the volume of
air swept out in a time t. If the air has density D calculate the kinetic energy transferred to the air in
this time, and hence the power needed to overcome the air resistance.
f) Taking A = 1 m2 , v = 10 m/s and D = 1 kg/m3 calculate the energy used in travelling 1 km.

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 g) Using the data above calculate the distance between stops at which the energy dissipated in the brakes
is the same as that lost to air resistance.
h) Comment on the significance of these calculations for the design of cars optimised for driving in cities
and cars optimised for driving on highways.

Kinetic energy paradox

Example 2. Consider a car which starts form standstill. The engine does W Joules of useful work which
1
causes the car to start moving at speed v. The change in the kinetic energy of the car is ∆T = W = mv 2 .
2

Let us now consider the same process in the reference frame of another car that is moving at v m/s in the
opposite direction. In this reference frame, the first car increases its speed from v m/s to 2v m/s. The
1 1 3
change of the kinetic energy of the first car is now ∆T = m(2v)2 − mv 2 = mv 2 . So the engine in both
2 2 2
inertial reference frames has used the same amount of fuel, did the same amount of work, however caused a
change of the kinetic energy that is three times higher.

Explain the paradox.

Solution. The accelerating car causes a slight change in the movement of the Earth, and when we take this
into account the paradox is resolved. For the purpose of this exercise, we will restrict the movement of the
cars and planet to one dimension.

Let us start with the reference frame, in which both the first car and planet are initially stationary. The car
of mass m starts moving with speed v. Because the centre of mass of the car + planet system must remain
stationary (see Assignment 4), the planet will start moving in the opposite direction. Denoting the mass
and speed of the planet as M and V , we write mv + M V = 0 ⇒ V = −mv/M . So the change in the kinetic
energy is
mv 2 MV 2 mv 2  m
∆T = + = 1+ .
2 2 2 M
Given that m/M ∼ 10−21 , it is safe to neglect the second term in the above equation.

Now let us switch to the second frame of reference, in which our car and the planet are initially moving with
speed v. The final speed of the car is then 2v and that of the planent is V 0 = (1 − m/M )v. The change in
the kinetic energy is then
1 1 1 1
∆T = m(2v)2 + M V 2 − mv 2 − M v 2
2 2 2 2
1
= v 2 (4m + M (1 − 2(m/M ) + (m/M )2 ) − m − M )
2 
m2 mv 2 

1 2 m
= v m+ = 1+ ,
2 M 2 M

so we have the same result as in the first case. Even though the change of the planet’s speed is the same as
in the previous case, its kinetic energy change is now macroscopic and negative, compensating the excess in
the kinetic energy change of the car.

Problem 4 (4 marks). A car of mass m = 1000 kg accelerates from rest to v = 20 m/s. The engine does
1 2
2 mv = 200 kJ of useful work, which is equal to the change in the kinetic energy. In the frame of reference

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of another car travelling at 10 m/s in the same direction, the first car’s initial velocity is −10 m/s and final
velocity +10 m/s — so the kinetic energy change is zero. Resolve this paradox considering the movement of
the planet of mass M = 6 × 1024 kg.

2.2 Gravitational Potential Energy

Consider a material point in a uniform gravitational field moving from point A to point B along a straight
line.

A•

θ
mg
s

hA

•B
hB

The work done by the gravitational force is

hA − hB
W = F s cos θ = mgs = mg(hA − hB ).
s

Suppose now the object takes a different path:

A• hA

mg
hi
hj

• B hB

The path can be split into small sections by slicing the path horizontally. These sections can be assumed
straight, and in any section the work can be found using the above formula. For example, the work along
the red path element is Wij = mg(hi − hj ). Adding work along all paths result in total work done by the
force of gravity W = mg(hA − hB ).

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So the work done by gravity does not depend on the path taken, and only depends on the difference in
heights of the initial and final positions. It is convenient to define the notion of gravitational potential energy
at height h as
V = mgh. (5)
Then we can say that the work done by the gravitational force is the change in this energy:
W = VA − VB (6)
Suppose the only force acting on the object is gravity. Then we can combine Eqs. (4) and (6) to write
VA + TA = VB + TB (7)
i.e. the sum of the potential energy and kinetic energy is constant. This is the conservation of energy equation
for gravitational potential.

The relationship (7) between work and potential energy is reminiscent of that between the definite and
indefinite integrals. Like any indefinite integral, the potential energy is defined up to addition of an arbitrary
constant: shifting the zero height point by h0 will change Eq. (5) to V = mg(h + h0 ). This constant
has no practical significance because it is always the difference between potential energies that matters in
calculations.

We have been able to write the energy conservation law in the simple form (7) because the work of the
gravity force depends on the difference of the initial and final positions, but not the path taken. Forces with
this property are known as conservative. A force must be conservative in order to have a potential energy
associated with it.

You can watch this Khan Academy video for a simple explanation of conservative forces.

Problem 5 (2 marks). Show by example that friction is a non-conservative force.

As you know, the law of conservation of energy is universal. However, in the presence of non-conservative
forces such as friction, the energy transformation is more complicated: for example, mechanical energy can
be converted into heat (and therefore the sum of mechanical kinetic and potential energies is not conserved).
When solving problems in mechanics, it is important to identify situations, in which only conservative forces
are involved. In this case, the energy conservation can be applied specifically to the mechanical energy, which
is a great asset in many problems.

Example 3. A heavy ball is attached to a light inextensible string of length l. The ball is displaced so that
the string makes and angle α to the vertical and released. Find the maximum speed of the ball v.

Solution: Maximum speed is at bottom of the swing where the potential energy V is minimized (h = 0). The
starting height has h = l(1 − cos α) so the corresponding potential energy is V1 = mgl(1 − cos α). The ball
2
p rest so v1 = 0. Using conservation of energy (7), we have mgl(1 − cos α) + 0 = 0 + (1/2)mv
is released from
giving v = 2gl(1 − cos α).

Problem 6 (PAT 2016, 2 marks). A ball of mass 100 g bounces on a hard surface. Every time it hits the
floor, it loses a quarter of its kinetic energy. If the ball is released from a height of 1 m, after how many
bounces will the ball bounce no higher than 0.25 m?

Problem 7 (5 marks). A bullet of mass m = 2 g travelling at v = 200 m/s hits a heavy pendulum of mass
M = 3 kg and gets stuck. As a result, the pendulum is set into oscillation. The length of the pendulum is
l = 1.5 m. Find the amplitude of the oscillation of the pendulum.

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Hint: When analyzing this problem, we need to distinguish two stages of the process. The first part is the
collision, during which the bullet’s energy is dissipated inside the pendulum — so the mechanical energy is
not conserved. The second part is the oscillation of the pendulum, during which no mechanical energy is
gained or lost.

Problem 8 (2 marks). Repeat the previous problem for a perfectly elastic collision.

Problem 9 (PAT 2015, 2 marks). An ice cube slides down a frictionless slope, which is at an angle α to
the horizontal. The slope sits on a horizontal table of height H above the ground. If the ice cube is released
from rest at height h above the ground, what is the speed of the cube when it is half way down the slope?

Problem 10 (4 marks). A smooth wedge of mass M and height h is placed on a perfectly smooth table.
A small mass m slides from the top of the wedge. Find the speed of the small mass once it slides off the
wedge.

h
M

Problem 11 (PAT 2008, 7 marks). A 2 m tall birdwatcher with a mass of 100 kg sees a nest in a tree.
When he stands 18 m away from the tree his line of sight to the nest makes an angle of 45◦ to a line parallel
to the ground.

a) The birdwatcher sees an egg fall from the nest. How long does it take to reach the ground? (You may
neglect the effects of air resistance.)
b) How fast is the egg travelling when it reaches the ground?
c) The egg strikes the ground and is brought to a stop in a distance of 1mm. Assuming a mass of 20 g
for the egg calculate the force required. (You may assume a constant braking force.)
d) Calculate the work done by this braking force and compare it with the gravitational potential energy
of the egg.
e) Unsurprisingly the egg is smashed by the impact. To prevent this happening again the birdwatcher
places a pad of foam which is 10 cm thick around the tree. This responds to impacts by compressing
to half its initial thickness. Find the new braking force when a second egg falls and the time taken to
bring the egg to a halt.
f) The birdwatcher considers the possibility of returning the egg to the nest by climbing the tree. Calculate
the minimum energy he would have to expend to achieve this.
g) Instead he decides to use this energy to boil the egg using a small electrical heater powered from a
hand generator. Calculate the minimum efficiency required for the system so that it requires no more
effort to boil the egg that to return it to the nest. Assume that the egg has a specific heat capacity of
4 kJ/kg, the same boiling point as water, and starts at 20◦ C.

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2.3 Elastic Potential Energy

When the length of a spring or another elastic structure is extended beyond its natural length l, it will exert
a restoring force proportional to the extension. This is Hooke’s Law,

F = −kx

Here x is the extension so that the total length of the elastic goes from its initial length of l to l + x.

|F |, N

x, m
xA xB

The work done by this restoring force when the extension x is varied is the area under the F vs x curve,
which is equal to Z xB  2 xB
kx 1 1
W =− kxdx = − = kx2A − kx2B .
xA 2 xA 2 2
This again can be written in the form of work-energy principle (6), where the elastic potential energy is
defined as
1
V = kx2 . (8)
2
We see that, like gravity, elastic force is conservative.

Note that for a spring that can be both extended (x > 0) and compressed (x < 0), the above expression
applies to both cases.

Example 4. A prototype elestic bungee arrestor system on a aircraft carrier is designed to bring landing
planes to rest on the deck. Assume a plane of mass m = 10 tonnes and a landing speed of v = 50 m/s on a
deck of length L = 250 m. The bungee attached to the back of the ship has a natural length l = 100 m and
a spring constant of k = 1000 N/m. Will the bungee system work? (Assume mass of bungee system can be
neglected compared to that of the plane).

Solution: Plane lands and catches bungee at l = 100 m down the deck. The initial kinetic energy of the
landing plane is T1 = mv 2 /2 while the bungee is initially unstretched so its potential energy is zero with
x1 = l. After the plane has stopped, the situation is opposite: the kinetic energy is zero and the potential
energy of the bungee is kx22 /2. Using conservation of energy
1 1
mv 2 = kx22 (9)
2 2

8
 p
yields x2 = v m/k = 158 m. This gives a total distance of l + x2 = 258 m so plane falls off into the sea!

Problem 12 (PAT 2011, 5 marks). A catapult consists of a massless cup attached to a massless spring of
length l0 and of spring constant k. If a ball of mass m is loaded into the cup and the catapult pulled back
to extend the spring to a total length l1 , what velocity does the ball reach when launched horizontally?

The catapult is then used to launch the ball vertically. If the spring is extended to the same total length of
l1 before release, to what velocity does the catapult now accelerate the ball?

What height above its position at launch will the ball reach if launched vertically?

Problem 13 (PAT 2011, 6 marks). An archer draws the string of her bow back a distance of 0.6 m and
holds it there with a force of 120 N before releasing an arrow of mass 20 g.

a) What is the speed of the arrow when it leaves the bowstring, assuming that all the energy in the bow
is imparted to the arrow?

b) In fact, the stored energy of the bow not only accelerates the arrow, but also the arms of the bow and
only a fraction h of the original stored energy is imparted to the arrow. If h = 25/36, what is the
actual speed of the arrow leaving the bow?
c) The archer aims at a target, which is a distance 50 m away. How long will it take for the arrow to
reach the target, assuming the arrow does not slow through air friction?
d) To account for the effects of gravity, estimate how far above the centre of the target the archer must
aim to ensure that the arrow strikes the middle.
e) If the arrow is brought to rest in a distance of 5 mm, what is the average force of the arrow strike?

f) If the target has a mass of 5 kg, at what velocity is it thrown back by the arrow strike?

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Problem 14 (PAT 2012, 5 marks). A point like object with mass m = 1 kg starts from rest at point
x0 = 10 m and moves without any friction under a force F which depends on the coordinate x as illustrated
in figure below. The motion is confined to one dimension along x.

a) i. What is its speed at x = 0?

ii. Sketch its kinetic energy as a function of x.
iii. Sketch its velocity as well as its acceleration as a function of time t.
b) Now consider a case when, in addition, a friction force of a magnitude of 1N is present for x ≥ 0.
i. Sketch how the velocity depends on x in that case.
ii. How many meters this point like object travelled during the time when its position coordinate x
was ≥ 0?

Problem 15 (5 marks). Two balls each of mass m are connected by a light compressed spring and held
together by a light thread are travelling along the line connecting the centres of the two balls. The thread
is cut with a laser beam, the spring is released, and the leading ball increases its kinetic energy (which was
equal to T ) by 21%. Find the initial stored elastic potential energy of the spring in terms of T . What would
the kinetic energy of the leading ball be if the balls were initially stationary? Why is it that for the same
stored potential energy we have such a different change in kinetic energy of the leading ball?

3 Power

Power is the rate of doing work. For a constant force acting along the trajectory,
P = W/t = F s/t = F v (10)
where v is the velocity of the mass. The units of power are J/s but we usually use the derived unit of Watts,
W.

For a non-constant force of arbitrary direction, the above equation becomes

dW
P = = F~ · ~v (11)
dt

10
Example 5. An electric train motor rated at P = 800 kW has efficiency η = 0.8. It is at full power travelling
at v = 72 km/h. Find the total resistive force acting on the train.

Solution: The effective power is Peff = P η = 640 kW. The train speed is v = 72/3.6 = 20 m/s. Thus force
acting using Eq. 10 is F = Peff /v = 6.4 · 105 /20 = 32 kN.

Problem 16 (2 marks). At what maximum incline α can a train of mass m = 2000 tonnes travel at a
constant speed of v = 7.2 km/h if the maximum power available is P = 370 kW and the resistive force is
Fr = kmg, where k = 0.002.

Problem 17 (3 marks). A helicopter of mass m is hovering above ground without motion. Estimate its
engine power if the downward air stream produced by its rotor blades has speed u.

Problem 18∗ (5 marks). A 4-wheel-drive car of mass m accelerates from standstill. The friction coefficient
is µ. The engine delivers a constant power to the wheels P . Find the relationship between the speed of the
car and time. Write your answer as a function of time. (Hint: the car will start from a wheel spin)

4 Using energy to find equations of motion

In some dynamics problems, where you need to find acceleration or forces, it is easier to use the conservation
of energy rather than Newton’s laws.

Example 6. A heavy uniform rope of mass m and length l is hanging over a small smooth pulley. A minute
perturbation takes the rope out of equilibrium, and it starts to slide off the pulley. Find the acceleration of
the ends of the rope when the length of the rope on one of the sides is l/3.

l/3
2l/3

Solution.

Let x be the distance the rope has slid at a given moment in time: the length on the left is l + x and the
length on the right is l − x (we neglect the size of the pulley, which is inconsequential). For example, when
2/3 of the rope are on one side, we have x = l/6.

•
0
•
l/2 + x l/2 − x
y

Let us set the zero of the y axis at the point where the rope’s center of mass is when the rope is in equilibrium,
i.e. at l/4 below the pulley. Then the centre of mass of the left end of the rope is at the position y1 = x/2

11
and its mass is (l/2 + x)m/l. The centre of mass of the right end of the rope is y2 = −x/2 and its mass is
(l/2 − x)m/l.

Let us now find the position of the centre of mass of the two ropes:

m1 y1 + m2 y2 ( l + x)m/l × ( x2 ) + ( 2l − x)m/l × (− x2 ) x2
yc.m. = = 2 = .
m1 + m2 m l
This position tells us the instantaneous gravitational potential energy of the rope: V = −mgyc.m. . Using
this, we write the conservation of energy to find the rope’s speed as a function of x:
r
1 2 x2 2g
mv − mg =0⇒v= x.
2 l l
Now we can determine the acceleration. Taking the derivative of the speed is not straightforward because
we know the velocity as a function of position rather than time. This is however easily resolved:
r ! r r r r
dv d 2g 2g dx 2g 2g 2g 2g
a= ⇒a= x = = v= x= x.
dt dt l l dt l l l l

l 2gl 1
When x = ,a= = g (for sanity check, we can also observe that, when x = l/2, i.e. the rope is just
6 6l 3
about off the pulley, a = g as expected).

We see that, unlike most problems we studied so far, the acceleration is not constant.

Problem 19 (4 marks). In the setting of Example 6, find

a) the time it will take the rope to completely slide off the pulley;
b) the force the rope is exerting on the pulley when the length of the rope on one of the sides is l/3.

Problem 20 (5 marks). A heavy rope of length l is folded in half and held at both ends at a single point
above ground. One of the ends is released and starts moving down. Find the acceleration of the free end of
the rope when it has fallen a vertical distance l/3. Assume that there is no swing and no energy dissipation.

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