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PC1431 Physics IE
2015 2016 Semester I
TERM TEST
2nd October
Time Allowed: ONE hour THIRTY minutes
INSTRUCTIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

This is a closed book test.

This paper contains 20 multiple choice questions.
Answer all questions. Marks will NOT be deducted for wrong answers.
Each of the questions or incomplete statements is followed by the suggested answers or
completions. Select the one that is best in each case and then shade the corresponding
bubble on the answer sheet.
Only the answer sheet will be collected at the end of the test.
Use 2B pencil only. Using any other type of pencil or pen may result in answers
unrecognizable by the machine.
Only nonprogrammable and non-graphing calculators are allowed.
Take the acceleration due to gravity,
9.80 ms .
You may find the following mathematical formulae useful:
4

0
2
1
1

Department of Physics, National University of Singapore

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1.

For a force to be conservative, when applied to a single test body,

(a) it must have the same value at every point in space.
(b) it must have the same direction at every point in space.
(c) it must do no work if the body returns to its original position.
(d) it must be parallel to the displacement of the body at all times.
(e) it must do equal work for any same distance travelled by the body.

2.

In a contest, two tractors pull two identical blocks of stone the same distance over identical
surfaces. However, block A is moving twice as fast as block B when it crosses the finish
line. Which statement is correct?
(a) Block A has twice as much kinetic energy as block B.
(b) Both blocks have had equal losses of energy to friction.
(c) Block A has lost twice as much kinetic energy to friction as block B.
(d) Block B has lost twice as much kinetic energy to friction as block A.
(e) No energy is lost to friction because the ground has no displacement.

3.

A ball of mass
long.

0.275 kg swings in a vertical circular path on a string

0.850 m

Figure 1

If its speed is 5.20 m s at the top of the circle, what is the tension in the string there?
(a) 2.70 N
(b) 6.05 N
(c) 8.50 N
(d) 8.75 N
(e) 9.50 N
4.

A 70 kg athlete can produce one horsepower (i.e., 746 W) for a short period of time. The
number of 16 cm high steps that he could ascend in one minute while expending one
horsepower is approximately
(a) 400
(b) 250
(c) 110
(d) 70
(e) 7

Department of Physics, National University of Singapore

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5.

A 2.0 kg object is dropped at time

0 s from the roof of a building of height
2.0 m.
While the object is falling, a wind blowing parallel to the face of the building exerts a
constant horizontal force
19.6 N on the object. How far is the object displaced
horizontally before hitting the ground?
(a) 0.50 m
(b) 1.0 m
(c) 1.5 m
(d) 2.0 m
(e) 2.5 m

6.

A helicopter hovers in the sky. A parachutist who jumped from it is now drifting vertically
downward at a constant 11.0 ms. When the parachutist is 8.40 m directly below the
aircraft, the pilot throws a ball straight downward at 2.20 ms. Treating the ball as a
freely falling body, what is the difference in the speeds of the ball and the parachutist
when they meet?
(a) 0.00 ms.
(b) 9.80 ms.
(c) 11.0 ms.
(d) 15.6 ms.
(e) 26.6 ms.

7.

Suppose a child whirls a stone in a horizontal circle 1.90 m above the ground by means of
a string 1.40 m long. The string breaks, and the stone flies off horizontally, striking the
ground 11.0 m away. What was the centripetal acceleration of the stone while in uniform
circular motion?
(a) 23 ms
(b) 123 ms
(c) 223 ms
(d) 323 ms
(e) 423 ms

8.

The distance between two telephone poles is 50.00 m. When a 1.000 kg bird lands on the
stretchable telephone wire midway between the poles, the wire sags 0.2000 m. How much
tension does the bird produce in the wire? Ignore the weight of the wire.
(a) 1225 N
(b) 100.0 N
(c) 212.5 N
(d) 425.0 N
(e) 612.5 N

9.

An object is set into motion on a circular path of radius by giving it a constant tangential
acceleration
. The time when the acceleration vector points at 45 to the direction
of motion is given by

.
(a)
2
(b)
.
(c) 2
.

(d) 2
.
(e)
2
.

Department of Physics, National University of Singapore

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10. A small container of water is placed on a turntable inside a microwave oven, at a radius
of 12.0 cm from the centre.

12cm

container

water

container

Figure 2
The turntable rotates steadily, turning one revolution in each 7.25 s. What angle
the water surface make with the horizontal?
(a) 0.026
(b) 0.263
(c) 0.527
(d) 0.013
(e) 1.054

does

11. A particle starts from the origin at time

0 with an initial velocity of 5.00 ms along
the positive axis. If the acceleration is
3.00 ms
4.50 ms ,
the distance of the particle from at the moment it reaches its maximum coordinate is
approximately
(a) 4.17 m.
(b) 5.21 m.
(c) 6.25 m.
(d) 7.51 m.
(e) 15.8 m.
12. A 1.00 kg block is resting against a light, compressed spring at the bottom of a rough plane
inclined at an angle of 30.0. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the block and the
0.100. Suppose the spring is compressed 10.0 cm from its equilibrium
plane is
length. The spring is then released, and the block separates from the spring and slides up
the incline a distance of only 2.00 cm beyond the springs normal length before it stops.
What is the spring constant k?
(a) 100 Nm
(b) 138 Nm
(c) 215 Nm
(d) 276 Nm
(e) 690 Nm

Department of Physics, National University of Singapore

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13. A truck is moving with constant acceleration

horizontal.

up a hill that makes an angle

with the

Figure 3
A small sphere of mass is suspended from the ceiling of the truck by a light cord. If the
pendulum makes a constant angle with the perpendicular to the ceiling, what is ?
(a) cos tan
(b) sin tan
(c)
sin tan
cos
(d)
cos sin
sin
(e)
cos tan
sin
14. An object is fired from ground level, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4
Treating it as a projectile, its time of flight
(a)
8 .
2 .
(b)
4 .
(c)
(d)
4 .
(e)
2 .

Department of Physics, National University of Singapore

and maximum height

are related by

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15. Assume all surfaces and the pulley are frictionless.

Figure 5
What horizontal force must be applied to the large block of mass , as shown in Figure
and
remain stationary relative to ?
5, so that the blocks of masses

(a)

(b)
(c)

(d)

(e)
16. The potential energy of two atoms in a diatomic (two-atom) molecule can be written as
,
where is the distance between the two atoms and and are positive constants. At what
value of would the force between the two atoms be zero?

(a)

(b)
(c)
2
(d)
5 11
(e) Never. There is no position where the force is zero.
17. The position of a particle is given by
2.00 ms
1.00 ms
10.0 m.
3.00 ms
What is its acceleration at the instant when it is instantaneously at rest?
(a) 9.90 ms
(b) 7.21 ms
(c) 2.00 ms
(d) 0.00 ms
(e) 1.44 ms
18. The speed of a bullet as it travels down the barrel of a rifle toward the opening is given by
5.00 10 ms
3.00 10 ms ,
where time is in seconds and is in metres per second. Suppose at
0, the bullet is
0.00 m. Find the position of the bullet when its acceleration is zero.
at
(a) 0.900 m
(b) 0.675 m
(c) 1.80 m
(d) 1.35 m
(e) 1.13 m

Department of Physics, National University of Singapore

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19. As a driver steps on the gas pedal, a car of mass 1160 kg accelerates from rest. During the
first few seconds of motion, the cars acceleration a increases with time according to
0.240 ,
1.16
0.210
where is in seconds. What is the wheels output power at the instant
2.50 s?
(a) 4.93 kW
(b) 6.19 kW
(c) 12.3 kW
(d) 28.5 kW
(e) 30.2 kW
20. A car moves into the page and is rounding a curve on a road banked at an angle to the
horizontal. The radius of curvature of the road is , and the coefficient of static friction is
.

Car

Figure 6
About the range of the speed that the car can have without slipping up or down the road,
which of the following is TRUE?
(a) The range of is not constrained.
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
End of Paper

Department of Physics, National University of Singapore