OpenStax College Physics 2e Student Solutions Manual Chapter 1

OpenStax College Physics 2e Student Solutions Manual Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: THE NATURE

OF SCIENCE AND PHYSICS
1.2 PHYSICAL QUANTITIES AND UNITS

1. The speed limit on some interstate highways is roughly 100 km/h. (a) What is this in
meters per second? (b) How many miles per hour is this?

Solution 100 km 1000 m 1h

(a) × × =27.77 m/s=27.8 m/s
h 1 km 3600 s

100 km 1 mi
(b) × =62mi /h
h 1.609 km

3. Show that 1.0 m/s=3.6 km/h . Hint: Show the explicit steps involved in converting
1.0 m/s=3.6 km/h .

Solution 1.0 m 1.0 m 3600 s 1 km

= × × =3.6 km/h
s s hr 1000 m

5. Soccer fields vary in size. A large soccer field is 115 m long and 85 m wide. What are its
dimensions in feet and inches? (Assume that 1 meter equals 3.281 feet.)
OpenStax College Physics 2e Student Solutions Manual Chapter 1

Solution 1 ft
115 m× =377.3 ft =377 ft long
0.3048 m
12∈. 3
377.3 ft × =4528∈.=4.53 ×1 0 ∈.long
1.0 ft

1 ft 2
85 m × =278.9 ft=2.8 ×1 0 ft wide
0.3048 m
12∈. 3
278.9 ft × =3346 ∈.=3.3 ×1 0 ∈. wide
1.0 ft

7. Mount Everest, at 29,028 feet, is the tallest mountain on the Earth. What is its
height in kilometers? (Assume that 1 kilometer equals 3,281 feet.)

Solution 1 km
29,028 ft × =8.847 km
3281 ft

9. Tectonic plates are large segments of the Earth’s crust that move slowly. Suppose
that one such plate has an average speed of 4.0 cm/year. (a) What distance does it
move in 1.0 s at this speed? (b) What is its speed in kilometers per million years?

Solution
(a) ( 4.0ycm × 1 s) × 1001 mcm × 365.25
1y
×
1d
×
1h
d 24.0 h 3600 s
=1.3 ×1 0 −9
m

(b) 4.0 cm 1m 1 km
6
10 y
× × × =40 km/ My
y 100 cm 1000 m 1 My

1.3 ACCURACY, PRECISION, AND SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

11. Suppose that your bathroom scale reads your mass as 65 kg with a 3 % uncertainty.
What is the uncertainty in your mass (in kilograms)?

Solution 3%
δ m= × 65 kg=2 kg
100 %
OpenStax College Physics 2e Student Solutions Manual Chapter 1

13. (a) A car speedometer has a 5.0 % uncertainty. What is the range of possible speeds
when it reads 90 km/h ? (b) Convert this range to miles per hour.(1 km=0.6214 mi)

Solution 5.0 %
(a) δv= × 90.0 km/h=4.5 km/h
100 % .¿
Thus , the range=90.0 ± 5 km/h=85 ¿ 95 km/h

(b) 85.5 km 0.6214 mi 94.5 km 0.6214 mi

× =53.1 mi/h ; × =58.7 mi/h
h 1 km 1h 1 km

So therange is53.1 ¿ 58.7 mi /h ¿ .

15. (a) Suppose that a person has an average heart rate of 72.0 beats/min. How many
beats do they have in 2.0 y? (b) In 2.00 y? (c) In 2.000 y?

Solution 72.0 beats 60.0 min 24.0 h 365.25 d 7

× × × ×2.0 y=7.5738 ×1 0 beats
1min 1.00 h 1.00 d 1.00 y

a) (limited by 2.0 y)
7
7.6 ×1 0 beats
(

(b) 7.57 ×1 07 beats (limited by 2.00 y)

(c) 7.57 ×1 07 beats (limited by 72.0 beats/min)

17. State how many significant figures are proper in the results of the following
calculations: (a) ( 106.7 ) ( 98.2 ) / ( 46.210 ) (1.01 ) (b)( 18.7 )2 (c) ( 1.60 ×1 0−19) ( 3712 ) .
OpenStax College Physics 2e Student Solutions Manual Chapter 1

Solution (a) 3 (limited by 98.2 and 1.01)

(b) 3 (limited by 18.7)

(c) 3 (limited by 1.60)

19. (a) If your speedometer has an uncertainty of 2.0 km/h at a speed of 90 km/h , what
is the percent uncertainty? (b) If it has the same percent uncertainty when it reads
60 km/h , what is the range of speeds you could be going?

Solution 2.0 km/h

(a) % unc = ×100 %=2.2 %
90 km /h

2.2 %
(b) δ v= ×60 km/h=1 km/h
100 %

So the range is 60 ± 1 km/h or 59 ¿ 61 km/h ¿ .

21. A person measures their heart rate by counting the number of beats in 30 s . If
40 ± 1 beats are counted in 30.0 ± 0.5 s , what is the heart rate and its uncertainty in
beats per minute?

Solution beats 40 beats 60.0 s

= × =80 beats /min .
minute 30.0 s 1.00 min

1 beat 0.5 s
% unc = ×100 % + ×100 %=2.5 % +1.7 %=4.2%=4 %
40 beats 30.0 s
% unc 4.2 %
δ A= × A= ×80 beats /min=3.3 beats /min=3 beats/min
100 % 100 %

The heart rate is 80 ± 3 beats/min .

23. If a marathon runner averages 9.5 mi/h, how long does it take him or her to run a
26.22-mi marathon?
OpenStax College Physics 2e Student Solutions Manual Chapter 1

Solution 26.22mi
=2.8 h
9.5 mi /h

25. The sides of a small rectangular box are measured to be 1.80 ± 0.01 cm,
2.05 ± 0.02 cm, and 3.1 ± 0.1cm long. Calculate its volume and uncertainty in cubic
centimeters.

Solution V =1.80 cm×2.05 cm×3.1 cm=11.4 c m3 . Use the methods of adding percents.

0.01 cm
1.80 ± 0.01 cm→ × 100 %=0.556 %
1.80 cm
0.02 cm
2.05 ± 0.02 cm→ × 100 %=0.976 %
2.05 cm
0.1 cm
3.1 ± 0.1 cm→ × 100 %=3.226 %
3.1 cm

Adding these values and rounding to 1 sig. fig., the percent uncertainty of the
volume is 5%. The uncertainty in the volume is therefore (11.4)(0.05) = 0.6.The
volume is thus 11.4 ±0.6 c m3 .

27. The length and width of a rectangular room are measured to be 3.955 ± 0.005 m
and 3.050 ± 0.005 m. Calculate the area of the room and its uncertainty in square
meters.

Solution The area is 3.995 m× 3.050 m=12.06 m2. Now use method of adding percents to get
uncertainty in the area.

0.005 m
% unc width= ×100 %=0.16 %
3.050 m

0.005 m
% unc length= ×100 %=0.13 %
3.955 m
% unc area=0.13 %+0.16 %=0.29 %=0.3 %
0.29 % 2 2 2
δ area= ×12.06 m =0.035 m =0.04 m
100 %
OpenStax College Physics 2e Student Solutions Manual Chapter 1

So the area is 2
12.06 ± 0.04 m .

1.4 APPROXIMATION

29. How many heartbeats are there in a lifetime?

Solution 9
10 s 1 heartbeat 9
1 lifetime × × =2×1 0 heartbeats
0.5 lifetime 1s

31. How many times longer than the mean life of an extremely unstable atomic nucleus
is the lifetime of a human? (Hint: The lifetime of an unstable atomic nucleus is on
the order of 1 0−22 s .)

Solution T h 2× 1 09 s 31
= =2× 10 ׿ ¿
T n 1 0−22 s

33. Approximately how many atoms thick is a cell membrane, assuming all atoms there
average about twice the size of a hydrogen atom?

Solution dm dm −8
10 m
= = =50 atoms
d a 2 d H (2)(10−10 m/atom)

35. (a) Calculate the number of cells in a hummingbird assuming the mass of an
average cell is ten times the mass of a bacterium. (b) Making the same assumption,
how many cells are there in a human?

−2
Solution 10 kg/hummingbird 12
(a) −15
=10 cells /hummingbird
10 × 10 kg/cell
OpenStax College Physics 2e Student Solutions Manual Chapter 1

2
1 0 kg/ person 16
(b) −15
=1 0 cells / person
10× 1 0 kg/cell

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