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Physics 7E: Practice Midterm

This document provides directions and content for a multiple choice exam with 4 questions about oscillatory systems and mechanics. It also provides 3 sample multi-part problems to solve, including: 1) calculating the length of a string from the speed of a pulse travel, 2) determining the number of neon balloons needed to lift a professor based on the numbers for helium balloons, and 3) finding the period of oscillation of a pendulum attached to a spring. The format of the exam, including multiple choice questions and full pages for worked problems, is explained.

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FUSION Academics
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
495 views

Physics 7E: Practice Midterm

This document provides directions and content for a multiple choice exam with 4 questions about oscillatory systems and mechanics. It also provides 3 sample multi-part problems to solve, including: 1) calculating the length of a string from the speed of a pulse travel, 2) determining the number of neon balloons needed to lift a professor based on the numbers for helium balloons, and 3) finding the period of oscillation of a pendulum attached to a spring. The format of the exam, including multiple choice questions and full pages for worked problems, is explained.

Uploaded by

FUSION Academics
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Directions:

MULTIPLE CHOICE
For each multiple choice problem, choose the answer which is MOST CORRECT.
CLEARLY place the letter of your choice in the space provided.

Q1: When the spring constant of a mass-spring system is changed, which of the following is LEAST
affected?
A)
B)
C)
D)

the resonant frequency


the damping
the period
the potential energy

Answer: ____________

Q2: An object floats with exactly 50% of its volume submerged when placed in salt water, = 1.06 H2O.
When the same object is placed in pure water, what volume is submerged?
A)
B)
C)
D)

Still exactly 50% submerged


Less than 50% submered
More than 50% submerged
Cannot be determined without mass

Answer: ____________

Q3: A mass-spring oscillator is driven with a periodic force F = Fo cos (wFt). Which of the following
factors does NOT limit affect the maximum possible amplitude of the resulting oscillation?
A)
B)
C)
D)

the closeness of wF to the natural frequency wo


the spring constant k
mechanical failure of the spring
the damping constant = b/2m

Answer: ____________

Q4: An undamped mass-spring system has a natural frequency o = 3 rad/sec. A small amount of
friction is added to the system, with a damping constant = b/2m = 1 rad/sec. The new oscillation
frequency will
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

stay the same, but the oscillation amplitude now decays towards zero
increase to 4 rad/sec
slightly increase to 3.2 rad/sec
slightly decrease to 2.8 rad/sec
decrease to 2 rad/sec
Answer: ____________

The format of the Midterm and Final Exams will be exactly the same as the discussion quizzes
you have had. For each problem, you will be given a full page for your work.

PROBLEM A:

(25 points)

A pulse travels from one end to the other of a long, horizontal string in 0.1 sec. The
tension in the string is provided by passing the string over a pulley to a weight which has
100 times the mass of the string.

FIND:

What is the length L of the string?

PROBLEM B:

(25 points)

Professor Collins just barely floats into the sky when tied to 100 large Helium balloons.
How many balloons of the same size would be required if they were filled with Neon
instead of Helium? Take air = 1.3 kg/m3, He = 0.2 kg/m3, Ne = 0.9 kg/m3.
(You may assume that Prof. Collins volume is much, much smaller than the balloons.
His mass does not matter, but is probably close to 70 kg.)

FIND:

How many Neon balloons will lift Prof. Collins?

PROBLEM C:
A pendulum with m = 1.0 kg hangs from the end of a massless
string having L = 1.0 m. Immediately to the left of its
equilibrium point is a spring with spring constant k = 120 N/m.
The mass is lifted to an angle = 30o as shown, and then
released at t = 0. The pendulum falls down, compresses the
spring, and bounces back up to its starting point in a periodic
motion. (You may assume that the compression of the spring
is approximately linear along x.)

b) FIND:

What is the period T of the oscillation?

( Hint: if stuck, maybe begin with a sketch of vs time )

Multiple Choice Solutions: B, C, B, D

(25 points)

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