EXAM 3

MECHANICS
40% of the final grade

Winter 2019 Name: ___________________________

Each multiple-choice question is worth 2 marks.

1. Four forces of the same magnitude are exerted on a homogeneous plank that can
rotate without friction around its centre. Using the sign convention shown below, the
net torque applied on the plank is...

Axis of
rotation

a) ... positive.
b) ... negative.
c) ... zero.

2. A puck attached to a spring oscillates vertically. Assuming there is no

friction, where is the puck when the mechanical energy is the smallest?

a) At the highest point of its motion.

b) At the middle point of its motion.
c) At the lowest point of its motion.
d) The mechanical energy is the same everywhere.

3. We use a rope to lower a bowling ball. While going down, the ball’s
speed decreases. In which direction is the ball’s acceleration?

a) Upward.
b) Downward. (v is downward,
c) It depends on the bowling ball’s mass. but decreases)
d) There is no acceleration.
 Exam 3 – Mechanics

4. The four objects shown on the right have the exact same
mass. Which one has the smallest moment of inertia
relative to its centre of mass (assuming that all four axes
of rotation are perpendicular to the page)?

a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) The objects all have the same moment of inertia
around the axis passing through their centre.

5. A Ferris wheel (grande roue) rotates at constant speed. Among

the four positions shown on the figure, where are passengers
subject to the greatest net force (in absolute value)?

a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) The net force has the same value everywhere.

6. In the situation shown on the figure, the mass of object B is

greater than the mass of object A. If we neglect both friction and
the mass of the pulley, which statement is necessarily true?

a) The tension force in the rope is equal to 𝑚𝐵 𝑔.

b) The tension force in the rope is equal to 𝑚𝐴 𝑔.
c) The tension force in the rope is greater than 𝑚𝐵 𝑔.
d) The tension force in the rope is greater than 𝑚𝐴 𝑔.
e) The tension force in the rope is equal to 𝑚𝐵 𝑔 − 𝑚𝐴 𝑔.
f) The tension force in the rope is equal to 𝑚𝐵 𝑔 + 𝑚𝐴 𝑔.

7. The x-component of the centre of mass of the four

spheres is located...

a) ... exactly at 𝑥 = 𝑎/2.

b) ... at 𝑥 < 𝑎/2.
c) ... at 𝑥 > 𝑎/2.
 Exam 3 – Mechanics

8. A Formula 1 race car moves at constant speed on a track having the shape shown
below (the car goes from 1, to 2, to 3, to 4, to 1 again, to 2, and so on). On which part
of the track is the race car subject to the greatest acceleration (in absolute value)?

a) When the race car goes from 1 to 2.

b) When the race car goes from 2 to 3.
c) When the race car goes from 3 to 4.
d) When the race car goes from 4 to 1.
e) The acceleration is the same everywhere
since the speed is constant.

9. Here is the graph of an object’s acceleration with respect to time.

Which of the following graphs correctly shows the object’s velocity with respect to
time?

10. Two planets attracting each other are moving toward one another. The work exerted
by the gravitational force on planet 1 (which is the most massive) is...

a) ... greater than the work done by the gravitational force on planet 2.
b) ... equal to the work done by the gravitational force on planet 2.
c) ... smaller than the work done by the gravitational force on planet 2.
 Exam 3 – Mechanics

11. Here is the graph of the potential energy of an object with respect to its position. The
object’s mechanical energy is always greater than its potential energy. Among the five
positions shown on the
graph, where does the force
exerted on the object have
the greatest magnitude?

a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E

12. Jack Sparrow is alone on a very small boat, motionless on an ocean without wind nor
waves. The pirate only has one cannon (fixed to his boat) and four heavy cannonballs.
Jack decides to fire the four cannonballs one after the other in order to move his boat.
After the first shot, the boat has a speed of 1 m/s. Assuming no friction, what will the
speed of the boat be after the fourth and last shot?

a) The boat’s speed will be greater than 4 m/s.

b) The boat’s speed will be equal to 4 m/s.
c) The boat’s speed will be smaller than 4 m/s.

13. A structure made of two massless beams and frictionless

pivots maintains motionless a heavy crate of mass m.
Among the three figures below, which one correctly
represents the direction of the forces exerted on beam SQ?
 Exam 3 – Mechanics

14. Directly on the picture below, draw a vector showing the direction of the apparent
weight of the motorcycle #80.

15. The figure on the right shows the trajectory of a

projectile. Among the graphs below, which one
correctly represents the y-component of the
object’s velocity with respect to time?

Answers
1a 2d 3a 4a 5e 6d 7b 8c 9b 10c 11e 12a 13b 15d
14
 Exam 3 – Mechanics

16. (13 points)

A 2 m long, 10 kg beam is maintained motionless by a

frictionless pivot and two ropes, 𝑇4 and 𝑇1 . The ropes
𝑇1 , 𝑇2 and 𝑇3 are tied to a massless ring. The ropes 𝑇2
and 𝑇4 are perfectly horizontal.

a) Determine the values of the tension forces 𝑇1 , 𝑇2

and 𝑇3 .

b) Calculate the tension force 𝑇4 and the reaction force

exerted on the beam by the pivot (give the
magnitude and the direction of that force).

Answers:
a) T1 = 83.43 N ; T2 = 28.54 N ; T3 = 78.4 N b) T4 = 210.48 N ; FP = 253.42 N
at 44.11° above the positive x-axis (assuming the positive x-axis is toward the right)

17. (10 points)

A 1000 kg car was moving on a straight road went from x = 0 m to x = 100 m in

5 seconds with a constant acceleration. At the end of that process (when x = 100 m),
the car was moving forward at a speed of 15 m/s.

a) What was the speed of the car at position x = 0 m?

b) What was the car’s acceleration during that process?
c) Assuming the car’s acceleration was kept constant (before and after those
5 seconds), at what position was the car temporarily motionless?
d) What was the net work exerted on the car between x = 0 m and x = 100 m?

Answers
a) 25 m/s b) –2 m/s² c) 156.25 m d) –200 kJ
 Exam 3 – Mechanics

18. (10 points)

A spring (k = 2450 N/m) is initially compressed by a distance of 2 m. While retaking

its natural length, the spring pushes a 50 kg box on a frictionless horizontal surface.
After leaving the spring, that box reaches the edge of a 10 m high cliff.

a) What is the speed of the box after the push of the spring is completed?
b) At what distance x from the cliff does the box hit the ground?
c) What is the speed (magnitude only) of the box when it hits the ground?

Answers
a) 14 m/s b) 20 m c) 19.80 m/s

19. (13 points)

Box A (mass of 500 g) moves at 20 m/s on a frictionless surface toward box B (mass
of 300 g), which is initially motionless. The collision between the two boxes is elastic.
a) What is the speed of box B just after the collision?
b) What is the speed of box B when it reaches point P?
c) What is the tangential acceleration of box B when it reaches point P?
d) What is the centripetal acceleration of
box B when it reaches point P?
e) If a 100 g mouse is hidden inside box
B (its mass was already included in
the 300 g... the mouse was always
there!), how many g’s does it feel
when box B reaches point P?

Answers
a) 25 m/s b) 22.96 m/s c) 9.8 m/s² downward d) 105.4 m/s² toward the left
e) 10.755
 Exam 3 – Mechanics

20. (14 points)

Three objects are placed on a table as shown below. The 3 kg block initially moves
toward the left. The coefficients of friction between that 3 kg block and the surface
are µs = 0.8 and µk = 0.6. The mass and the
friction of the two pulleys can be neglected.

a) What is the acceleration of the

objects?
b) What is the tension force inside the
rope linking the 3 kg block to the 5 kg
ball?

Answers
a) 4.704 m/s² b) 25.48 N

21. (10 points)

A rope is wrapped around a cylinder that can rotate without friction around an axis
passing through its centre. Initially, the cylinder does not rotate. We then pull
downward on the rope with a force of 12 N during 10 s. The
cylinder has a mass of 40 kg and a radius of 20 cm.

a) What is the cylinder’s angular acceleration?

b) What is the cylinder’s final kinetic energy?
c) What is the cylinder’s final angular momentum?
d) What is the length of the rope that was unwrapped from
the cylinder during those 10 s?

Answers
a) 3 rad/s² b) 360 J c) 24 kg m²/s d) 30 m