Chapter 3

Uniform Circular Motion

 3.1 Frame of Reference 参照系
1. Law of inertia: Newton’s first law of motion:

Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless
compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. 除非外力改变状，
每个物体都将保持静止或匀速直线运动。

2. Inertial frame of reference

3. Non-inertial frame of reference (e.g accelerating bus, rotating frame of reference)

· Fictitious force (centrifugal force), apparent weight (FN)

第一步：确定什么物体作为参照系；第二步：分析两个物体的运动状态；速度？加速度？
受力分析 –– 1. 车厢问题
A person is standing in a subway train holding a
strap that is attached to a piece of luggage on
wheels (no movements). The mass of the
luggage is 14 kg. The strap makes an angle of
35˚ to the vertical. Assume there is no friction
between the luggage wheels and the floor.

(a) Determine the tension in the strap when the

subway is moving at a constant velocity.
(b) Determine the tension in the strap when the
subway is accelerating forward at 1.4 m/s2
受力分析 –– 2. 电梯问题
The passenger elevators at the
Brookfield Place towers in Toronto
reach a top speed of about 6.0 m/s
upward. Suppose one of the elevators
reaches this speed in 10.0 s. Calculate
the apparent weight of a passenger
whose mass is 64 kg.
受力分析 –– 3. 轮轴问题
Mass 1 does not slide with respect to the
surface when the horizontal force shown is
applied. Determine the magnitude of the
horizontal force in both(a) and (b). No friction.

整体法：系统相对静止时（个体与整体加速度
相同）。
受力分析 –– 4. 斜坡问题
A vintage sports car accelerates down a hill at an angle of 17˚ to the ground. The
driver notices that the string of ornamental fuzzy dice hanging from his rear-view
mirror is perpendicular to the roof of the car.

(a) Draw an FBD of the dice from the frame of reference of the level ground, both
when the car is at rest on the hill and when it is accelerating. Explain how the two
FBDs differ. (b) Calculate the car’s acceleration.
3.2, 3.3 Centripetal Acceleration and centripetal force
· Velocity of an object in uniform circular motion is changing direction all the time

· Objects in uniform circular motion must experience centripetal acceleration all

the time, direction of a is perpendicular to v.

向心加速度公式 向心力公式

1.

2. , t=2πr/v

3. , f=1/T

解题时先判断已知量，再选公式。注意单位。
Application 向心加速度例题
5. The centripetal acceleration of an object at Earth’s equator results from the daily
rotation of Earth. Calculate the object’s centripetal acceleration, the radius of Earth
at the equator is 6.38•10^6 m.

10. The Moon’s period of revolution is 27.3 days, and the magnitude of its
centripetal acceleration is about 2.7•10^-3 m/s^2. Calculate the distance between
the centre of the Moon and the centre of Earth. Assume that the orbit of the Moon
is circular and that its speed is constant.
 Application 向心力例题
1. A car with a mass of 1000.0 kg is
travelling over the top of a hill. The
hill’s curvature has a radius of 40.0
m, and the car is travelling at 15 m/s.
(a) Calculate Fn. (b) what’s the speed to
make the driver feel weightless (失
重)?
2. An air puck with a mass of 0.26 kg is tied
to a string and moves at a constant speed
in a circle of radius 1.2 m. The other end of
the string goes through a hole in the air table
and straight down to a suspended mass of
0.68 kg, which hangs at rest. Calculate the
speed of the air puck.
Centrifugal Force 离心力
The outward force observed in a rotating frame of reference.

Artificial Gravity
The value of gravity has been changed artificially to more closely match
Earth’s gravity.
Centrifugal Force Artificial Gravity

8. A centrifuge spins with a frequency of 6. A space station has a radius of 100 m.

1100 Hz. A particle in a test tube is What period of rotation is needed to provide
positioned 3.4 cm from the centre of the an artificial gravity of g at the rim?
centrifuge. Determine the acceleration of the
particle at this position from Earth’s frame of
reference.
 Chapter 4
Work and Energy
4.1 Work done by constant forces Unit: J (N•m)
Work: the product of the magnitude of an object’s displacement and the
component of the applied force in the direction of the displacement.

注意：找出力在位移方向上的分量。

· Positive work: work done by the force/force component consistent with the
movement direction of an object 力/分力与物体位移方向相同

· Negative work: force/force component opposite to object’s movement direction

consume kinetic energy.力/分力与物体位移方向相反，消耗动能阻碍运动，例如摩擦
力做负功（大多数情况下）

· Zero work: the direction of an object’s displacement is perpendicular to the

applied force. 垂直于物体运动方向的力不做功
Positive Work and Negative Work
4.2 Kinetic Energy and the Work–Energy Theorem

Ek: the energy an object has due to its motion. 物体由于其运动而具有的能量。

Unit: J [kg•(m/s)^2 = N•m] 注意：统一国际单位制！

Work–energy theorem: W = ∆Ek. 当没有能量损失时, 合外力对物体所做的功，等于物

体动能的变化量。只涉及物体运动的始末状态。

注意：根据题目定义，分清始末速度, 有时初速度或末速度等于0.
Application
步骤：1. 写下公式；2. 整理出已知物力量，注意单位；3 受力分析，运算

8. A hockey player shoots a puck at a speed of 150 km/h. The mass of the puck is
0.16 kg, and the player’s stick is in contact with it over a distance of 0.25 m.
Calculate the average force exerted on the puck by the player.
4.3 Gravitational Potential Energy 重力势能
Gravitational Potential Energy 重力势能 Eg：stored energy an object has
because of its position and the applied gravitational force (可以做正功，也可以做负
功)

∆ Eg = mg ∆h

Application: Hydroelectricity [势能 → 机械能(水力涡轮发电机) → 电]

Mechanical Energy 机械能：the sum of an object’s kinetic and potential energies

Unit: J (注意：用国际单位制里的单位运算)
Applications
6. A 0.46 kg golf ball on a tee is struck by a golf club. The golf ball reaches a
maximum height where its gravitational potential energy has increased by 155 J
from the tee. Determine the ball’s maximum height above the tee.

7. A 59 kg snowboarder descends a 1300m ski hill from the top of a mountain to

the base. The slope is at an angle of 14° to the horizontal. Determine the
snowboarder’s gravitational potential energy relative to the mountain base when
she is at the top.
4.5 Law of conservation of Energy 能量守恒定律

Law of conservation of Energy：Energy is neither created nor destroyed in an

isolated system. It can only change form.

For an isolated mass–spring system, the total mechanical energy—kinetic energy,

elastic potential energy, and gravitational potential energy—remains constant.
open system: can exchange energy with its surroundings.
Power 功率 (描述做功的效率 ) Unit: W (watt)

P=W/t

（1. W = ∆ Eg = mg ∆h; 2. ; 3. W = ）

8. A 52 kg woman jogs up a hill in 24 s. Calculate the power the woman exerts if

the hill is 18 m high.
Application
7. A roller coaster car with mass 640 kg moves along the track. All friction is
negligible. (a) Is the mechanical energy of the roller coaster conserved? (b) If the
roller coaster starts from rest at point A, what is its total mechanical energy at point
A? (c) What is the total mechanical energy at point B? (d) Calculate the speed of
the roller coaster when it reaches points B and C.
4.6 Elastic Potential Energy and Simple Harmonic Motion
弹性势能与简谐运动
Hooke’s Law: the force exerted by a spring (or, equivalently, the force applied to a
spring) is directly proportional to the spring’s displacement from its rest
equilibrium position.

k: spring constant, N/m. 注意：弹力方向与物体位移方向相反

Elastic potential energy:

Simple harmonic motion: periodic motion in which the acceleration of the moving
object is proportional to its displacement.

Damped harmonic motion is periodic motion in which friction causes a decrease in

the amplitude of motion and the total mechanical energy.
Hooke’s Law and Elastic Potential Energy Application
2. A 5.3 kg mass hangs vertically from a spring with spring constant 720 N/m. The
mass is lifted upward and released. Calculate the force and acceleration on the
mass when the spring is compressed by 0.36 m. [ans: 310 N [down]; 59 m/s2
[down]]

7. A spring has a spring constant of 1500.0 N/m. Determine the length that the
spring should be stretched to store 80.0 J of energy.
Simple Harmonic Motion Application

6. A 5.2 kg mass hung from a spring vibrates with a period of 1.2 s.

Calculate the spring constant.

9. A mass–spring system undergoes SHM. The elastic potential energy at

maximum stretch is 7.50 J, the mass is 0.20 kg, and the spring constant is
240 N/m. Calculate the frequency and amplitude of oscillation.
4.7 Springs and Conservation of Energy
For an isolated mass–spring system, the total mechanical energy—kinetic energy,
elastic potential energy, and gravitational potential energy—remains constant.
解题时，分析具体过程中，弹性势能和什么/哪些能互相转换，别漏掉。
“Maximum acceleration” after an object hit the spring: the maximum acceleration
occurs when the maximum force is acting. （弹簧最低点）
“Maximum speed in the mass–spring system”: The point of maximum speed is
the point at which the spring is at its equilibrium position. At this point, all of the
elastic potential energy has been converted to gravitational potential energy and
kinetic energy. (往往是弹簧恢复自然伸长的时候)
Application
1. A model car of mass 5.0 kg slides down a frictionless ramp into a spring with
spring constant k = 4900 N/m. (a) The spring experiences a maximum
compression of 22 cm. Determine the height of the initial release point. (b)
Calculate the speed of the model car when the spring has been compressed
15 cm. (c) Determine the maximum acceleration of the car after it hits the
spring.
Application
2. A 48 kg child bounces on a pogo stick. At the lowest point of one bounce, the
compressed spring in the stick has 120 J of elastic potential energy as it
compresses 0.19 m. Assume that the stick is light enough that we can ignore its
mass. (a) Determine the child’s maximum height during the jump following the
bounce. (b) Determine the child’s maximum speed during the jump.
Application
8. A block of 1.0 kg with speed 1.0 m/s hits a spring placed horizontally. The spring
constant is 1000.0 N/m.(a) Calculate the maximum compression of the spring. (b)
How far will the block travel before coming to rest? Assume that the surfaces are
frictionless.
Application
10. A tennis coach uses a machine to help with tennis practice. The machine uses
a compressed spring to launch tennis balls. The spring constant is 440 N/m, and
the spring is initially compressed 45 cm. A 57 g tennis ball leaves the machine
horizontally at a height of 1.2 m. Calculate the horizontal distance that the tennis
ball can travel before hitting the ground.