Department of Physics, System Engineering and Sign Theory

Polytechnic School - University of Alicante

Course 2020/21
Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture
Applied Physics 1. Final Exam.
C3 Ordinary Call. 09/06/2021

• Please, use a black or blue pen, NEVER a pencil.

• It is allowed to use books, notes and any kind of tables, but it is no allowed any communi-
cation with other classmates.
• Any notation that students introduce should be explained in the text briefly.
• All the steps performed for the resolution should be brief, but clearly explained in the text.
• Do all operations algebraically, finding the symbolic expressions and substituting numerical
values in the last step.
• Express all numerical results with its units and the right number of significant digits.

Problem 1. (4 points) that the floodgate can withstand without

opening. What result should she obtain?
The shaded section shown in the fig-
ure corresponds to the gate of a dam (a
= 100 cm).
When the water exceeds the maxi-
mum height of the gate, the expression
for the resultant moment due to the pres-
sure forces, calculated with respect to a
point P (0, h) is:
MP = 104 [h yG S + Ix ] N · m,
where yG is the ordinate of the centre of
gravity of the section, S is the area of the
gate in m2 and Ix is the moment of inertia
of the gate with respect to the X axis.
The structural study carried out by an
engineer indicates that, in order to avoid
the risk of breakage, the moment of iner-
tia of the forces exerted on the gate must
be less than -160 kN·m.
The architect of the project must cal-
culate the maximum height of water h

1
 Problem 2. (6 points)

The left-hand side of the figure shows a column, h = 300. cm in height and mass
M = 250. kg, supported perpendicularly to an inclined plane θ = 30◦ , held by a
cable parallel to the plane and subjected to a load distributed perpendicular to the
column, of maximum value qmax = 1500. N/m.

a) (3 points) Determine the minimum coefficient of static friction between the

column and the rough floor so that the column can be in static equilibrium.

b) (2 points) The cable has a Young’s modulus E = 2.20 × 109 Pa, a cross section
with surface area S = 1.00 cm2 and a length l0 = 4.00 m in the absence of tension
(without stretching) and all these data are known with an accuracy of 5%. What
elongation will the cable experience and with what absolute error will it be known?

c) (1 point) The support cable is removed and the initial column is replaced by a
homogeneous block with a certain width L and the same weight, the same distributed
load and the same inclination of the inclined plane as in the previous case. An ar-
chitect is asked to determine the minimum value of the width L so that the block
does not overturn. Assume that the friction between the floor and the block is large
enough so that the block cannot slide.