Ch8.

Conservation of Energy- Review Problems

1. A single conservative force Fx = (6x 12) N (x is in m) acts on a particle
moving along the x axis. The potential energy associated with this force is
assigned a value of + 20 J at x = 0. What is the potential energy at x = 3 m?
Ans. + 29 J

2. A 0.4 kg particle moves under the influence of a single conservative force.

At point A where the particle has a speed of 10 m/s, the potential energy
associated with the conservative force is + 40 J. As the particle moves from
A to B, the force does + 25 J of work on the particle. What is the value of
the potential energy at point B? Ans. + 15 J

3. A 12 kg block on a horizontal frictionless surface is attached to a light

spring (force constant = 0.8 kN/m). The block is initially at rest at its
equilibrium position when a force (magnitude F = 80 N) acting parallel to
the surface is applied to the block, as shown. What is the speed of the block
when it is 13 cm from its equilibrium position? Ans. 0.78 m/s

4.A 0.04 kg ball is thrown from the top of a 30 m tall building (point A) at
an unknown angle above the horizontal. As shown in the figure, the ball
attains a maximum height of 10 m above the top of the building before
striking the ground at point B. If air resistance is negligible, what is the
value of the kinetic energy of the ball at B minus the kinetic energy of the
ball at A? Ans. 12 J
10m

30m

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5. A 2 kg mass is projected from the edge of the top of a 20 m tall building
with a velocity of 24 m/s at some unknown angle above the horizontal.
Disregard air resistance and assume the ground is level. What is the kinetic
energy of the mass just before it strikes the ground? Ans. 970 J

6. A skier weighing 700 N goes over a frictionless circular hill as shown.

If the skier's speed at point A is 9.2 m/s, what is his speed at the top of the
hill (point B).
B

A
10 m
0
50

7. A skier weighing 800 N comes down a frictionless ski run that is circular
(R = 30 m) at the bottom, as shown. If her speed is 12 m/s at point A, what
is her speed at the bottom of the hill (point B)? Ans. 17 m/s

400

30 m

8. A 2 kg block sliding on a horizontal frictionless surface is attached to one

end of a horizontal spring (k = 200 N/m) which has its other end fixed. If
the block has a speed of 4 m/s as it passes through the equilibrium position,
what is its speed when it is 20 cm from the equilibrium position? Ans. 3.5
m/s

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9. A 6 kg block slides along a horizontal surface. If k = 0.2 for the block and
surface, at what rate is the friction force doing work (Power) on the block at
an instant when its speed is 4 m/s? Answer. 47 W

10. The speed of a 4 kg object is given by v = (2t) m/s, where t is in s. At what

rate is the resultant force on this object doing work at t = 1 s? Answer. 16 W

11.A simple pendulum consists of a 2.0 kg mass attached to a 1.0 m long

string. It is released from rest at an angle of 30 (point A) as shown in the
figure. What is Its speed (v) at the lowest point P ? Ans: 1.6 m/s

12. A 2.0-kg block situated on a frictionless incline is connected to a light

spring (k = 100 N/m), as shown. The block is released from rest when the
spring is unstretched. The pulley is frictionless and has negligible mass. What
is the speed of the block when it has moved 0.20 m down the plane? Ans: 60
cm/s

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13. A projectile of mass 0.20 kg is fired with an initial speed of 20 m/s at an
angle of 60o above the horizontal. What is the kinetic energy of the projectile
at its highest point? Ans: 10J

14. A block of mass 2.0 kg is initially moving to the right on a horizontal

frictionless surface at a speed 5.0 m/s. It then compresses a spring of spring
constant 100 N/m. At the instant when the kinetic energy of the block is equal
to the potential energy of the spring, what is compressed distance of the
spring? Ans:0.50 m

15. The figure below, shows an object of mass m = 1.00 kg starting from rest.
It first slides a distance 45.0 cm down a frictionless inclined surface and then
slides across a rough horizontal surface whose coefficient of kinetic friction is
0.150. What is the maximum distance (d) travelled by the object across the
horizontal surface?

16. A block of mass 2.00 kg is released from rest and slides down a rough
track of radius R = 1.00 m as shown in the figure. If the speed of the block at
the bottom of the track is 4.00 m/s, what is the work done by the frictional
force acting on the block?

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17. In the figure, a 2.0 kg object slides on a frictionless horizontal surface
toward a spring. The speed of the object just before it hits the spring is 6.0
m/s and its speed when the spring is compressed 15 cm is 3.7 m/s. Find the
spring constant of the spring.

18. A ball of mass 2.0-kg is kicked with an initial speed of ( = 5.0 +

5.0)/. What is the ratio of the potential energy, Ug (relative to ground
level) to the kinetic energy, KE of the projectile at its highest point ? Ans: 1.0

19. A 0.80-kg object tied to the end of 2.0-m string swings as a pendulum. At
the lowest point of its swing, the object has a kinetic energy of 10J.
Determine the speed of the object at the instant when the string makes an
angle of 50 with the vertical. Ans: 3.3 m/s

20. A single force acts on a 5.0 kg object in such a way that the position of
the object as a function of time is given by x = 10.0 t 5.0 t2, with x is in
meters and t is in seconds. Find the work done on the object from t = 0 to t =
4.0 s.

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21. A 3.0-kg block is on a horizontal surface. The block is at rest when, at t
= 0, a force F = 12 N acting parallel to the surface is applied to the block
causing it to accelerate. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the block
and the surface is 0.20. At what rate is the force F doing work on the block
at t = 2.0 s? 49W

22. If electricity costs 6.00/kWh (kilowatt-hour), how much would it cost

you to run a120 W stereo system 4.0 hours per day for 4.0 weeks? Ans: $
0.81

23. A child pulls on a wagon with a horizontal force of 75 N. If the wagon

moves horizontally a total of 42 m in 3.0 min, what is the average power
generated by the child?
Ans: $ 18 W

24. A car needs to generate 75.0 hp in order to maintain a constant velocity

of 27.3 m/s on a flat road. What is the magnitude of the total resistive force
acting on the car (due tofriction, air resistance, etc.)?
(1 hp = 746 W) Ans: 2.05 103 N

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