M1 Modelling
M1 Modelling
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1. [In this question, the unit vectors i and j are horizontal vectors due east and north respectively.]
At time t = 0, a football player kicks a ball from the point A with position vector (2i + j) m on a
horizontal football field. The motion of the ball is modelled as that of a particle moving
horizontally with constant velocity (5i + 8j) m s–1. Find
At time t = 0, another player starts running due north from B and moves with constant speed
v m s–1. Given that he intercepts the ball,
(e) State one physical factor, other than air resistance, which would be needed in a
refinement of the model of the ball’s motion to make the model more realistic.
(1)
(Total 13 marks)
2.
A (0.5 kg)
P
B (0.8 kg)
A block of wood A of mass 0.5 kg rests on a rough horizontal table and is attached to one end of
a light inextensible string. The string passes over a small smooth pulley P fixed at the edge of
the table. The other end of the string is attached to a ball B of mass 0.8 kg which hangs freely
below the pulley, as shown in the diagram above. The coefficient of friction between A and the
table is µ. The system is released from rest with the string taut. After release, B descends a
distance of 0.4 m in 0.5 s. Modelling A and B as particles, calculate
(d) State how in your calculations you have used the information that the string is
inextensible.
(1)
(Total 13 marks)
3.
60°
A heavy package is held in equilibrium on a slope by a rope. The package is attached to one end
of the rope, the other end being held by a man standing at the top of the slope. The package is
modelled as a particle of mass 20 kg. The slope is modelled as a rough plane inclined at 60° to
the horizontal and the rope as a light inextensible string. The string is assumed to be parallel to a
line of greatest slope of the plane, as shown in the diagram above. At the contact between the
package and the slope, the coefficient of friction is 0.4.
(a) Find the minimum tension in the rope for the package to stay in equilibrium on the slope.
(8)
The man now pulls the package up the slope. Given that the package moves at constant speed,
(c) State how you have used, in your answer to part (b), the fact that the package moves
4.
A (4 kg)
B (3 kg)
30
A particle A of mass 4 kg moves on the inclined face of a smooth wedge. This face is inclined at
30° to the horizontal. The wedge is fixed on horizontal ground. Particle A is connected to a
particle B, of mass 3 kg, by a light inextensible string. The string passes over a small light
smooth pulley which is fixed at the top of the plane. The section of the string from A to the
pulley lies in a line of greatest slope of the wedge. The particle B hangs freely below the pulley,
as shown in the diagram above. The system is released from rest with the string taut. For the
motion before A reaches the pulley and before B hits the ground, find
(b) the magnitude of the resultant force exerted by the string on the pulley.
(3)
(ii) State how you have used the fact that the string is light in your answer to part (a).
(2)
(Total 11 marks)
5. A competitor makes a dive from a high springboard into a diving pool. She leaves the
springboard vertically with a speed of 4 m s−1 upwards. When she leaves the springboard, she
is 5 m above the surface of the pool. The diver is modelled as a particle moving vertically under
gravity alone and it is assumed that she does not hit the springboard as she descends. Find
(a) her speed when she reaches the surface of the pool,
(3)
(c) State two physical factors which have been ignored in the model.
(2)
(Total 8 marks)
6. A ball is projected vertically upwards with a speed u m s−1 from a point A which is 1.5 m above
the ground. The ball moves freely under gravity until it reaches the ground. The greatest height
attained by the ball is 25.6 m above A.
The ball reaches the ground T seconds after it has been projected from A.
The ground is soft and the ball sinks 2.5 cm into the ground before coming to rest. The mass of
the ball is 0.6 kg. The ground is assumed to exert a constant resistive force of magnitude
F newtons.
(d) State one physical factor which could be taken into account to make the model used in
this question more realistic.
(1)
(Total 14 marks)
7.
A C B
A plank AB has length 4 m. It lies on a horizontal platform, with the end A lying on the platform
and the end B projecting over the edge, as shown above. The edge of the platform is at the point
C.
Jack and Jill are experimenting with the plank. Jack has mass 40 kg and Jill has mass 25 kg.
They discover that, if Jack stands at B and Jill stands at A and BC = 1.6 m, the plank is in
equilibrium and on the point of tilting about C. By modelling the plank as a uniform rod, and
Jack and Jill as particles,
They now alter the position of the plank in relation to the platform so that, when Jill stands at B
and Jack stands at A, the plank is again in equilibrium and on the point of tilting about C.
(c) State how you have used the modelling assumptions that
(d) When t = 1.6, p.v. of ball = 10i + 13.8j (or j component = 13.8) M1 A1
↓
Distance travelled by 2nd player = 13.8 – 6 = 6.8 M1 A1
↓
Speed = 6.8 ÷ 1.6 = 4.25 m s-1 M1 A1 6
or [(2 + 5t)i +] (1 + 8t)j = [10i +] (7 + vt)j M1 A1
(pv’s or j components same)
↓
Using t = 1.6: 1 + 12.8 = 7 + 1.6v (equn in v only) M1 A1
↓
v = 4.25 m s–1 M1 A1
2nd M1 – allow if finding displacement vector
(e.g. if using wrong time)
3rd M1 for getting speed as a scalar (and final answer
must be as a scalar). But if they get e.g. ‘4.25j’, allow M1 A0
(e) Allow for friction on field (i.e. velocity of ball not constant) B1 1
or allow for vertical component of motion of ball
Allow ‘wind’, ‘spin’, ‘time for player to accelerate’,
size of ball
Do not allow on their own ‘swerve’, ‘weight of ball’.
[13]
(c) A: F = μ × 0.5g B1
T
R
F
3. (a)
20g
R(perp. to slope): R = 20g cos 60 (= 10g = 98 N) M1 A1
F = 0.4R (used) B1
R(parallel to slope): T + F = 20g cos 30 M1 A2, 1, 0
↓
T = 10√3 g – 4g ≈ 131 or 130 N M1 A1 8
R
T
(b)
F
20g
R = 10g as before B1 ft
T – 0.4R = 20g cos 30 M1 A1
T = 10√3 g + 4g ≈ 209 or 210 N A1 4
(c) (i) Friction acts down slope (and has magnitude 0.4R) B1
(ii) Net force on package = 0 (or equivalent), or ‘no acceleration’ B1 2
[14]
a T
4. (a) T
R a
3mg
4mg
A: T – 4g sin 30 = 4a M1 A1
B: 3g – T = 3a M1 A1
18g
⇒T= = 25.2 N M1 A1 6
7
(b) T
R T
R = 2T cos 30 M1 A1
≈ 44 or 43.6 N A1 3
(b) “ v = u + at ” : −10.7 = 4 – gt M1 A1 ft
14.7
t= = 1.5 s A1 3
g
7. (a)
1.6
C
25g 2 Mg 2 40g
M(C) 40g . 1.6 = Mg 0.4 + 25g . 2.4 M1 A1
⇒ M = 10 kg A1 3
(b)
x
1. The question proved again to be a good discriminator. The calculations involved were relatively
simple, though a correct solution did require a proper understanding of the physical situation.
Part (a) was generally well done, though not universally: some evidently did not know the
meaning of the word ‘speed’. Part (b) was mostly correct. In part (c) a significant minority
equated the j components, rather than the i components. In part (d), many got to the end result,
apparently correctly, though the working presented often proved to be very challenging to
decipher. Others used the wrong vectors or distances involved. In part (e) presentation was
again somewhat inadequate, with some effectively stating one of the assumptions (e.g. the field
being smooth), rather than saying that the opposite would be a factor needing to be taken into
account (i.e. friction). Again some relevant responses were given, but also a number of
irrelevant (or unclear) ones.
2. This question was generally well answered and it was pleasing to see candidates being able to
write down equations of motion for the two particles separately. Mistakes from weaker
candidates arose from sometime including the weight of A in the (horizontal) equation of
motion for A, or confusing the two particles and the forces acting on them. Most realised that
they had to use the given data to solve part (a) though a few launched straight into writing down
the equations of motion and then floundering when they did not have enough information to
solve these. Answers to part (d) were almost uniformly incorrect: the vast majority stated that
the inextensibility of the string meant that the tensions were the same (or constant throughout
the string).
3. This proved to be the most discriminating question on the paper and not so many fully correct
answers were seen. A common mistake in part (a) was to assume that the friction was acting
down, rather than up, the slope for the minimum force. Several then went on to repeat the same
working in part (b) (which was of course then correct). Several too failed to round their answers
to an appropriate degree of accuracy (having used g as 9.8, they should have given their answers
to no more than 3 significant figures). Explanations in part (c) were fair, with answers to (ii)
better than answers to (i). In the latter case, it was often not clear from the statement written
what exactly was being asserted: a succinct statement is all that is required – but it must be
clear!
4. This type of connected particle question seemed to be much more familiar to many, and hence
part (a) was generally well done: most could write down two equations of motion and solve
them successfully. Some however failed to realise that the weight of A needed resolving when
considering the motion up/down the slope. Very few however realised what was required in part
(b). Again the fact that the tensions at the different ends of the string were the same in
magnitude did not seem to be appreciated, so that quite a few appeared to think that the resultant
force on the pulley was made up of the components of the two weights; others simply assumed
that the two tensions were acting perpendicular to each other. A number who realised what to do
also lost a mark by failing to round their answer to no more than 3 significant figures. In part
(c), most realised that a ‘light’ string is one that has no weight/mass; but very few realised what
the implications of this were for the equations they had written down earlier, viz. that the
tension in the string remained constant throughout its length.
5. The equations for constant acceleration were well known and generally applied appropriately.
Mistakes did however tend to arise with candidates failing to allow for the different directions
of motion at different stages so that the sign used with the velocity had to be carefully taken into
consideration. A significant number of candidates also insisted on making the question quite a
lot longer than necessary by splitting the motion up into separate parts (e.g. to the highest point
and then down) and doubling (or more) the number of calculations required. Some candidates
also lost a mark by failing to round their answers ‘appropriately’, i.e. by giving their answer to 2
or 3 significant figures where they had used g as 9.8. In part (c) an appeal to air resistance was
frequently correctly given, though quite a number also incorrectly stated that the mass/weight of
the diver had been ignored in the model.
6. Part (a) was generally well done, though weaker candidates tended to make mistakes with the
signs and then ended up having to take the square root of a negative number. In part (b), there
were often sign errors and/or failure to appreciate the final vertical displacement from the initial
position (some took this to be the total distance travelled, both up and down). Others split the
motion up into two parts, finding the time to the highest point and then the time down. Some
though simply found the time for one part of the motion only. Part (c) proved to be much more
demanding. Several used the value 22.4 still for the initial speed in this part of the motion. A
failure to convert 2.5 cm into metres was not uncommon; and almost all failed to take any
account of the weight in writing down the equation of motion to find the resistive force.