2015

Question 1
marks)

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

(4

A 700.0 kg roller coaster car at the Royal Show starts 40.0 m above the ground, goes
down a dip in the track and just manages to roll over the next hill which is 33.0 m
above ground level.
a. Calculate the amount of energy the car has lost.
(2marks)

b. Neglecting energy losses, what is the maximum height above the ground the roller
coaster car can achieve as it negotiates successive hills and dips? Explain your
answer.
(2
marks)

Question 2
marks)

(3

A nut on a bolt on a bicycle requires a torque of 6 N m to just loosen it. Label the
diagram below and calculate force (F) that would just supply enough torque to loosen
the nut if the length (L) is 25 cm.

2015

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

NUT

L = _______

BOLT

SPANNER

Question 3
marks)

F = ______

(3

Draw diagrams to illustrate the magnetic fields near the following:

Question 4
marks)

(4

Bill and Jane get their car stuck in sand. They tie a non-stretch rope to the car and pull
together with a force of 800N, but they are unable to move the car. Bill then notices a
tree 12 metres behind the car. He ties the other end of the rope tightly around the tree
trunk and then they pull the middle of the rope sideways a distance of 0.50 m with a
force of 800N. What force does the rope now exert on the car?

2015

Question 5
marks)

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

(4

A loop the loop toy is designed a shown below. A toy car of mass (m) can be placed at
various heights above the ground and released. When released from a sufficient height it
will travel round the loop without falling off the track. The radius of the track is (d) and
acceleration due to gravity is (g). Write an expression using the above symbols for the
minimum speed (v) the car must have at point (P) if it is to complete the loop without
falling off.

Question 5

(3 marks)

Students construct a model electric heater in the laboratory using two

lengths of nichrome wire as heating elements.
The two wires have
resistances of 10.0 and 20.0 respectively.If the two lengths of nichrome
wire were connected in parallel with the 12 V battery, calculate the current
that would flow through each wire and the total power produced.

Question 6

(4 marks)

2015

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

The diagram below shows a single rectangular loop of wire free to rotate in an uniform
magnetic field of 0.06 T. The loop is carrying a current of 2.50 A and is 8.0 cm long an
3.0cm wide. What is the maximum force which would be exerted on one of the longer
sides as the loop rotates?

Question 7

(14 marks)

A person bends over and holds a 20 kg object as shown in the picture. Her back is
horizontal. The back muscle is attached to a point half way along the upper body (which
includes the head), and the angle between the spine and muscle is 12. The shoulders
are two thirds of the way along the upper body. Assume that the object is vertically below
the shoulders. This is modelled in the schematic diagram on the right.

a. Show all the forces acting on the back on the schematic diagram above.
(4 marks)
b. Find the tension in the back muscle in the position shown. Take the length of the
upper body to be 1.00 m and its mass as 35 kg.

(5 marks)

2015

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

c. The back muscle will be injured if a force greater than 3500N is applied. Find the
maximum mass that person can lift, without injury, in the manner shown in the
picture

(5 marks)

Question 7

(11 marks)

A helicopter is required to drop emergency equipment to a group of walkers stranded in

rugged bushland. A package is released from the helicopter at altitude (h) directly above
the group. The helicopter is moving with a velocity of 8 km h at an angle of 40 above
the horizontal when the package is released. The package lands on the ground 2.5 s
after being released.
8 km h

40

Stranded
walkers

-1

Trajectory of
package

a. Calculate the value of h.

(3 marks)

b. If the helicopter continues to fly with its initial velocity, calculate the distance
between the helicopter and the package at the instant the package hits the ground.
(2 marks)

2015

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

c. On the axes below draw a graph that best represents the vertical speed of the
package as a function of time. Include actual values on the axes. Show
calculations that determine significant points on the graph.
(3 marks)

SPEED
m s -1

time (s)

If you wish to have a second attempt at this item, the graph is repeated at the end of the
examination booklet on page 45. Indicate clearly on this page if you have used the
second graph and cancel the working on the graph on this page.

2015

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

d. If the helicopter was travelling horizontally at the same speed (8 km h -1) and height
(h) when it released the package, would you expect the package to land closer or
further away from the group? Explain your answer.
(3 marks)

Question 8

(12 marks)

A satellite provides information about the receding glaciers on the Earths surface. It has
a mass of 395 kg and is in a circular orbit of radius 1.45 x 10 4 km. By orbiting for 12
days it can map most of the Earths glaciers.
a. Calculate the orbital speed of the satellite.
(3marks)

b. At what altitude above the Earth is the satellite orbiting?

(3marks)

c. List the force(s) that keep the satellite in its stable circular orbit.
(2marks)

2015

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

d. On the diagram below draw one or more labelled arrows to show the direction of
the force(s) on the satellite as it orbits the Earth.
(2marks)

SATELLITE

EARTH

DIRECTION
OF ORBIT

ORBIT OF
SATELLITE

e. Would you expect this satellite to be in a geostationary orbit about the Earth?
Explain your answer.
(2 marks)

2015

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SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

Question 9

(14 marks)

Four identical light globes, G1, G2, G3 and G4 are connected in a circuit as shown below.
The DC supply voltage is 24V and ammeter A3 connected to the circuit reads 0.096A

a. Calculate the current in each of the ammeters A1, A2 and A4.

(3 marks)

b. Calculate the resistance of each light globe.

(3 marks)

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c. Which light globe will be the brightest? Justify your answer.

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

(2 marks)

d. Calculate the total power consumed by all four light globes. If you were unable to
determine the answer in part (a) you should assume the current in ammeter A4 is
0.300A.
(2marks)

e. If globe G3 is broken, describe how the brightness of each of the light globes G1
and G2 changes. Give a reason in each case.
(4 marks)
The brightness of G1 will ______________________________________
because _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
The brightness of G2 will _______________________________________
because _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

2015

12

Question 10

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

(12 marks)

In a DC motor (see figure below), the coil consists of rectangular loops of wire mounted
on an axle rotating in a magnetic field of 0.45 T. The current in the wire is 5.6 A.

a. What force acts on each centimetre length of the wire?

(4
marks)

b. The coil is made up of 420 loops, each 225mm long and 120mm wide. The axle is
mounted parallel to the long axis of the loops. Calculate the maximum torque
produced by this motor.
(4 marks)

2015

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AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

c. Figure 8 below shows a coil with several turns at varying stages in its rotation.
The coil is viewed along the axle of the motor (line XY in the figure above). In
each diagram, the symbols are as follows:

The axle (or axis of rotation is a shaded circle).

A wire carrying current into the page is shown as
A wire carrying current out of the page is shown as
A line of magnetic flux is shown as

State clearly which of the diagrams show (or shows the coil when its torque is a
maximum, and which of the diagram show (or shows the coil when its torque is a
minimum.
(4 marks)

2015

14

Question 11

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

(16 marks)

Playing a hard game of tennis, Pat Strafer hits a ball at an angle of 1.5 above the
horizontal at a speed of 55 ms -1. At the instant he hits it, the ball is 0.35 m above the
ground.
a.

Sketch the trajectory (path) of the ball from the racquet to the ground, without air
resistance.
[2 marks]

b.

On the same sketch, show how air resistance will affect this trajectory. Label your
sketch clearly. Explain why air resistance has this effect.
[4 marks]

2015

c.

15

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

Is there any time at which the ball will have a zero acceleration between the time
it is hit and the time it reaches the ground? Give a reason for your answer.
[3
marks]

For the following parts, ignore air resistance.

d.

Find the time the ball is in the air from the moment it is hit to the time it reaches
the ground.
[4 marks]

e.

Find the horizontal distance travelled in this time. If you were unable to get an
answer for part (d) above, you may use the value 0.5 s as the time of flight.
[3
marks]

2015

16

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SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

2015

17

Question 12

AUSTRALIAN MATRICULATION
SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS

(10 marks)

Poles that support electricity wires often have a cable running at an angle down to a support
buried in the ground. The purpose of these cables is to stop the electricity wires from pulling
the poles over. The diagram below shows one such pole.

a.

With the aid of a diagram, explain how the cable helps prevent the pole being pulled
over by the electricity wire
[4 marks]

b.

Suppose that the force exerted by the electricity wires on the on the pole shown in
the diagram is 1500 N. Calculate the tension in the support cable so that the pole is
not moved in any direction. Assume the wires make an angle of 87 with the pole.
[6 marks]

2015

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SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS