Dr.

Gambrel PHY 107 Spring 2023

Dr. Harrer Practice Final Exam
Dr. Markelz 05/16/2023
Dr. Winter 8:00 AM

Fill out your information on this Cover Sheet as well as the Grading
Sheet at the end of the exam. Circle your professor’s name.

Last/Family Name: First Name:

UB Email Address: @buffalo.edu

Allowed Resources
 Writing implements
 Provided equation sheet(s)
 Provided scrap/scratch paper
 Calculator (must not have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or similar connectivity)
 All other items and electronics must be turned off and placed in a closed, opaque
bag/container.

Instructions
 Sit at least one seat apart from your nearest neighbor
 Sit directly behind a student in the row ahead of you
 Fill out your information on this Cover Sheet as well as the Grading Sheet at the end
of the exam
 Circle your instructor’s name
 Show your work for problems requiring calculations
 Write your final answer(s) with a black/blue pen

What you NEED to show if calculations are required:

 Symbolic equations used
 Variables identified/calculated
 Mathematical steps
 Justification for ignoring components or terms that are zero
 Units of your final answer
 Final answer
Moments of Inertia
Concept Questions (𝟑𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥)
For each multiple-choice question, circle your selected answer.
Page 1
For ranking questions and problems in which multiple answers are requested, use Score
the provided boxes to record the capital letters for your answers. / 15
__________________________________________________________________________________

1. You kick a puck at t = 0 and it slides along a straight line on a horizontal surface. Due to kinetic
friction between the puck and the surface, the puck slows down and comes to rest at a time t > 0.
Sketch the kinematic functions 𝑎(𝑡), 𝑣(𝑡) and 𝑥(𝑡) for the motion of the puck. (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

x vx ax

2. Which of the following is NOT an example of accelerated motion? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

a) Vertical component of projectile motion
b) Circular motion at constant speed
c) A swinging pendulum
d) Earth's motion about sun
e) Horizontal component of projectile motion

3. The normal force exerted on a person standing in an elevator that is accelerating up. (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
a) Is less than their weight.
b) Is equal to their weight.
c) Is greater than their weight.
d) Cannot be determined to be any of the above options without more information.

4. If a block remains stationary in spite of a horizontally applied force, which of the following is true
about the magnitude of the frictional force on the block? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
a) It is equal to the magnitude of the applied force
b) It is greater than the magnitude of the applied force
c) It is less than the magnitude of the applied force

5. In raising an object to a given height by means of an inclined plane, as compared with raising the
object vertically, there is a reduction in: (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

a) work required
b) distance pushed
c) friction
d) force required
e) value of the acceleration due to gravity

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Concept Questions (𝟑𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥)
For each multiple-choice question, circle your selected answer.
Page 2
For ranking questions and problems in which multiple answers are requested, use Score
the provided boxes to record the capital letters for your answers. / 15
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. The Figure shows the potential-energy (PE) diagram and the total energy (TE) line of a particle
oscillating on a spring. Where are the turning points of the motion? Indicate them in the figure as well.
(𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

7. The ratio of the mass of the Earth to the mass of the Moon is 81:1. An object is placed between the
Earth and the Moon along the straight line that joins their centers. About how far away from the
center of the Earth should the object be placed so that the net force on the object from the Earth and
the Moon is zero? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
a) halfway to the center of the Moon
b) 60% of the way to the center of the Moon
c) 70% of the way to the center of the Moon
d) 85% of the way to the center of the Moon
e) 90% of the way to the center of the Moon

8. Which of the following graphs of force magnitude versus time during a collision has the greatest
impulse? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

9. If we shift the rotation axis from the center of mass of an object, with no change in the orientation of
the axis, what happens to the rotational inertia of the object around the axis? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
a) Increases
b) Remains the same
c) Decreases

10. For a body to be in equilibrium under the combined action of several forces: (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
a) all the forces must be applied at the same point
b) all of the forces are composed of pairs of equal and opposite forces
c) the sum of the components of all the forces in any direction must equal zero
d) any two of these forces must be balanced by a third force
e) the lines of action of all the forces must pass through the center of gravity of the body

2
Short-Answer Problems (𝟑𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥)
For each problem, write the symbolic equations used, your work, and your answer. Draw Page 3
a box around your final answer to the question/problem. Score
/ 12
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11. A parachutist bails out and freely falls 50 m. Then the parachute opens, and thereafter the parachutist
decelerates at 2.0 m/s2, and finally reaches the ground with a speed of 3.0 m/s. At what height does
the fall begin? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

12. A boy on the edge of a 20 m high vertical cliff throws a stone horizontally outwards with a speed of
20 m/s. At what horizontal distance from the foot of the cliff does it strike the ground? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

13. A spaceship lifts off vertically from a planet where 𝑔 = 2.0 m/s2. If the ship has an upward
acceleration of 1.0 m/s2 as it lifts off, what is the magnitude of the force exerted by the ship on the
pilot, who has a mass of 80 kg? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

14. A 100 N force pushes a 5.0 kg block into a vertical wall (see figure). If the coefficient of static
friction between the wall and the block is 0.70, what is the friction force acting on the stationary
block in unit-vector notation? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

3
Short-Answer Problems (𝟑𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥)
For each problem, write the symbolic equations used, your work, and your answer. Draw Page 4
a box around your final answer to the question/problem. Score
/ 12
____________________________________________________________________________________
15. The plot shows the force on an object as it moves from x = 0 m to x = 20 m. How much work is done
on the object? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

16. A 1.0 kg block is attached to a spring with spring constant 16.0 N/m. While the block is sitting at
rest, a student hits it with a big hammer and almost instantaneously gives it a speed of 40.0 cm/s.
What is the block’s speed halfway between initial position and turning point, i.e. at position 𝑥 =
where 𝐴 denotes the amplitude of the subsequent oscillations? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

17. A block of mass m = 1.5 kg is connected to the lower end of a vertical spring with spring constant k
= 210 N/m. The block is held with the spring still being relaxed, and then released from rest. What
maximum distance does the hanging block fall before momentarily stopping? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

18. An astronaut is standing on the surface of the moon which has a radius of R = 1.74 x 106 m and a
mass of M = 7.35 x 1022 kg. An experiment is planned where a projectile is to be launched straight
up from the surface. What does the initial speed of the projectile need to be for it to reach a height of
2.55 x 106 m above the moon's surface? [HINT: NOT constant acceleration.] (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

4
Short-Answer Problems (𝟑𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥)
For each problem, write the symbolic equations used, your work, and your answer. Draw Page 5
a box around your final answer to the question/problem. Score
/6
____________________________________________________________________________________

19. A steel puck with a mass of 250 g moving at 3.0 m/s collides with a stationary steel puck with a
mass of 500 g on a horizontal, frictionless table. If the collision is elastic and the 500 g puck moves
at 2 m/s following the collision, how fast does the 250 kg puck move? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

20. Four hollow spheres each with a mass of 1 kg and a radius R = 10 cm are connected with massless
rods to form a square with sides of length L = 50 cm. In case 1, the masses rotate about an axis that
bisects two sides of the square. In case 2, the masses rotate about an axis that passes through the
diagonal of the square, as shown in the figure. Compute the ratio of the moments of inertia 𝐼 /𝐼 for
the two cases. (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

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Scaffolded Problem (𝟐𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 )
Page 6
This problem may require multiple steps to solve. Clearly label your work and draw a box Score
around your answer for each part. / 15
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21. A 𝑚 = 150 g block is suspended by a massless string which wraps around a uniform disk of radius
𝑅 = 5.0 cm and which is initially prevented from rotating about an axle through its center, about
which its rotational inertia is 𝐼 = 5.625 × 10 kg ∙ m . At 𝑡 = 0, the disk is released, allowing it
to unwind as the mass descends.
a) Use Newton’s 2nd Law (for linear motion) to find a symbolic expression for the tension in the
string, 𝐹 , as a function of the magnitude of the acceleration of the block, 𝑎. (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
b) Use Newton’s 2nd Law (for rotational motion) to find a symbolic expression for the angular
acceleration of the disk, 𝛼, as a function of the tension in the string, 𝐹 . (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
c) What are the downward acceleration of the block, 𝑎, and the angular acceleration of the disk, 𝛼?
(𝟐 + 𝟏 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
d) Use rotational kinematics to determine how long it takes the disk to rotate 10 times. (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
e) What is the rotational kinetic energy of the disk when it has rotated 10 times? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

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Scaffolded Problem (𝟐𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 )
Page 7
This problem may require multiple steps to solve. Clearly label your work and draw a box Score
around your answer for each part. / 15
____________________________________________________________________________________

22. A 10.0-kg monkey climbs a uniform ladder with weight W = 1.20 x 102 N and length L = 3.00 m
as shown in the figure. The ladder rests against the wall at an angle of 𝜃 = 60.0°. The upper and
lower ends of the ladder rest on frictionless surfaces, with the lower end fastened to the wall by a
horizontal rope that is frayed and that can support a maximum tension of only 80.0 N.

a) Draw a force diagram for the ladder. (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

b) Find the normal force exerted by the ground on the bottom of the ladder. (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
c) Find the tension in the rope when the monkey is two-thirds of the way up the ladder. (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
d) Find the maximum distance d that the monkey can climb up the ladder before the rope breaks.
(𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
e) If the horizontal surface were rough and the rope were removed, how would your analysis of the
problem be changed and what other information would you need to answer parts c and d? (𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)

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Synthesis Problem (𝟐𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬)
Page 8
This problem may require multiple steps to solve. Include relevant diagrams, sketches, or Score
figures. Clearly identify the equations you use as well as either numerical or symbolic
values for variables of interest along the way to your final answer. Box your final answer. / 10
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23. An object of mass M = 2.0 kg hangs, at rest, on a L = 1.0 m long string attached to the ceiling. A
small projectile of mass m = 0.1 kg is fired with a speed of 20.0 m/s at the object of mass M, and the two
objects collide perfectly ELASTICALLY. Write an equation for the motion of the hanging object after
the collision, i.e. determine the hanging object’s position (or angular position) function for the time t ≥ 0
after the collision, and specify the parameters of this position function. Assume air resistance is
negligible.
[ Hint: for example, for a position function of the form 𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑎𝑡 /2 one would have to specify the
numerical value of the acceleration parameter a. ]

m M

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 Grading Sheet

Last/Family Name: First Name:

UB Email Address: @buffalo.edu

/ 30 on Concept Questions _____

/ 30 on Short-Answer Questions _____

/ 15 on Scaffolded Problem _____

_____
/ 15 on Scaffolded Problem _____

/ 10 on Synthesis Problem _____

/ 100 Total ______

_____