AMBO UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
UNIT 01: Physical Quantities and Vectors

1. A rectangular plate has a length of (21.5 ± 0.2) m. Calculate the area of the plate,
including its uncertainty.
2. The radius of a circle is measured to be (10.5 ± 0.2)𝑚. Calculate the (a) area and (b)
circumference of the circle and give the uncertainty in each value.
3. A car travels 20 km due north and then 40 km in a direction 60° west of north. Find the
magnitude and direction of the car’s resultant displacement.
4. A hiker begins a trip by first walking 25 km southeast from her car. She stops and sets
up her tent for the night. On the second day, she walks 40 km in a direction 60° north
of east, (a) at which point she discovers a forest ranger’s tower. (b) Determine the
components of the hiker’s displacement for each day. (b) Determine the components of
the hiker’s resultant displacement 𝑅⃗ for the trip. Find an expression for 𝑅⃗ in terms of
unit vectors.
5. A plane flies from base camp to lake A, 280 km away, in a direction of 20° north of
east. After dropping off supplies it flies to lake B, which is 190 km at 30° west of north
from lake A. Determine the distance and direction from lake B to the base camp.
6. Given 𝐴 = 6𝑖 ̂ + 2𝑗̂ − 3𝑘 ̂ and 𝐴 = 2𝑖̂ − 2𝑗̂ + 𝑘̂, then find (a) magnitude of 𝐴, (b)
magnitude of 𝐵 ⃗ , (c) a unit vector along 𝐴, (d) a unit vector along 𝐵 ⃗ , (e) the result 𝑅⃗ of
𝐴 and 𝐵 ⃗ , (f) the magnitude of 𝑅⃗ , (g) a unit vector along the resultant 𝑅⃗ , (h) the dot
product of 𝐴 and 𝐵 ⃗ , (i) the angle between 𝐴 and 𝐵 ⃗ , (j) the cross product of 𝐴 and 𝐵 ⃗ , (k)
the magnitude of the cross product of 𝐴 and 𝐵 ⃗ , and (l) a unit vector perpendicular to the
plane containing 𝐴 and 𝐵 ⃗.
7. A person walks 30° north of east for 3.10 km. How far would she have to walk due
north and due east to arrive at the same location?
UNIT 2: kinematics and Dynamics of Particles
1. An object moving with uniform acceleration has a velocity of 12 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 in the positive
x direction when its x coordinate is 3 𝑐𝑚. If its x coordinate 2 s later is −5 𝑐𝑚, what is
its acceleration?
2. A golf ball is released from rest from the top of a very tall building. Neglecting air
resistance, calculate (a) the position and (b) the velocity of the ball after 2s and 3s.
3. A ball is dropped from rest from a height h above the ground. Another ball is thrown
vertically upwards from the ground at the instant the first ball is released. If the two
balls are to meet at a height of h/2 above the ground, then (a) how long does it take the
two balls to meet at this height, (b) what is the initial speed of the second ball when it
meets the ball at this height and (c) determine the speed of the second ball when they
meet.
4. A long – jumper leaves the ground at an angle of 20° above the horizontal and at a
speed of 11 𝑚/𝑠. (a) How long does he stay in the air before landing. (b) How far does
he jump in the horizontal direction? (Assume his motion is equivalent to that of a
particle.) (c) What is the maximum height reached? (d) How long does it take him to
reach the maximum height?
5. A ball is thrown in such a way that its initial vertical and horizontal components of
velocity are 40 𝑚/𝑠 and 20 𝑚/𝑠, respectively. (a) What is the total time of flight, and
(b) the distance the ball is from its starting point when it lands.
6. A fish swimming in a horizontal plane has velocity ⃗⃗𝑣⃗𝑖 = (4𝑖̂ + 𝑗̂) 𝑚/𝑠 at a point in the
ocean where the position relative to a certain rock is ⃗𝑟𝑖 = (10𝑖̂ − 4𝑗̂) 𝑚. After the fish
swims with constant acceleration for 20 𝑠, its velocity is ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑣𝑓 = (20𝑖̂ − 5𝑗̂) 𝑚/𝑠. (a) Find
the acceleration of the fish. (b) If the fish maintains this constant acceleration, where is
it at 𝑡 = 25 𝑠?
7. A projectile is fired in such a way that its horizontal range is equal to three times its
maximum height. What is the angle of projection?
8. Two projectiles are thrown with the same initial velocity, one at an angle of 𝜃 and the
other at an angle of 90° − 𝜃. (a) can both projectiles strike the ground at the same
distance from the projection point? (b) Can both projectiles be in air for the same time
interval?
9. Two blocks of masses 𝑚1 and 𝑚2 , with 𝑚1 > 𝑚2 , are placed in contact with each other
on a frictionless, horizontal surface, as shown in Figure below. A constant horizontal
force 𝐹 is applied to 𝑚1 as shown. (a) Find the magnitude of the acceleration of the
system. (b) Determine the magnitude of the contact force between the two blocks.

10. A ball of mass 𝑚1 and a block of mass 𝑚2 are attached by a lightweight cord that passes
over a frictionless pulley of negligible mass, as shown in Figure below. The block lies
on a frictionless inclide of angle 𝜃. Find the magnitude of the acceleration of the two
objects and the tension in the cord.