PHY 108 Assignment 2

Instructions: Answer all questions. Show all necessary working.

Questions must be submitted in your own hand writing on a file sheet.
1. To measure her reaction time, a student engages a friend who holds a 30.0 cm ruler
vertically at its zero mark. The student is attempting to catch the ruler between her
thumb and finger at the initial position of the lower end of the ruler without lowering
her hand. The ruler is released and caught at its 12.0 cm mark.
Calculate the student’s reaction time? [8]

2. Water emerges horizontally from a hose pipe with velocity 4.0 𝑚𝑠 −1 as shown below.

The pipe is pointed at P on a vertical surface 2.0 m from the pipe. If the water strikes at
S, calculate PS. [8]

3. A mass of 1 kg is suspended from a 50 N spring balance, and then a further mass of 3 kg

is suspended by a thread from the first mass. The thread is then burned through.
By referring to the relevant Physics principle, determine the acceleration of each mass
at the instant that the thread snaps. [8]

4. A car of mass 1200 kg travelling at high speed collides with a second car of mass 800 kg
approaching it at a speed of 40 𝑘𝑚 ℎ−1 .The two cars lock together on impact and slide a
distance of 90 m before stopping. The frictional force in the slide was 400 N. Calculate
(a) the deceleration of the two vehicles after impact, [2]
(b) the speed of the two vehicles immediately after impact, [2]
(c) the speed of the 1200 kg car just before the impact. [4]

5. A block of mass 24 kg is attached to the end of a light cable which is then hung over a
light frictionless pulley attached to a fixed point. A bucket of mass 8 kg is then attached
to the other end of the string and held so that the cable is taut and the block is
stationary. The bucket is then released.
(a) Draw the force diagram for each of the objects in the system. [2]
(b) Calculate the acceleration of the objects. [4]
(c) Calculate the tension in the cable. [2]