UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

Centre : Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) Session : 201805

Course : Foundation in Science Course Code : FHSC1014
Year/ Trimester : Year 1 / Trimester 1 Course Title : Mechanics

Tutorial 6: Momentum and collision + Circular Motion

1. Refer to the figure shown below and assume that the collision of the two masses is
completely inelastic.

1.00 kg 15.0 m/s 2.00 kg

(a) What is the common velocity after the collision?

(b) What is the ratio of the final kinetic energy to the initial kinetic energy?
[Answer: (a) 5.00 m/s; (b) 1/3]

2. The figure shows a 8.00 g

bullet is fired into a 250 g
block that is initially at rest at
the edge of a table of height
1.00 m. The bullet remains in
the block, and after the
impact the block lands 2.00
m from the bottom of the
table. Determine the initial
speed of the bullet.
[Answer: 143 m/s]

3. A bullet of mass m and speed v passes completely

through a pendulum bob of mass M as shown in
figure. The bullet emerges with a speed of v/2. The
pendulum bob is suspended by a stiff rod of length
and negligible mass. Show that the minimum value
of v such that the bob will barely swing through a
complete vertical circle is
 4M 
vmin    gl
 m 

4. As shown in the figure, staring with an

initial speed of 5.00 m/s at a height of 0.300
m, a 1.50 kg ball swings downward and
strikes a 4.60 kg ball that is at rest.
(a) Find the speed of the 1.50 kg ball
just before impact.
(b) Assuming that the collision is elastic,
find the velocities of both balls just
after collision.
[Answer: (a) 5.56 m/s; (b) –2.83 m/s, 2.73 m/s]

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5. As shown in figure below, ball A with a mass of mA = 2.00 kg is attached to a support
by a cord of length 70.0 cm, and it is held horizontally. After release, it swings
downward and striking block B which is with a mass of 3.00 kg and initially stay at
rest on a frictionless tabletop.

mA = 2.00 kg

L = 70.0 cm

mB = 3.00 kg

(a) What is the velocity of mA just before it collides with mB?

(b) Assuming that the collision is perfectly elastic which the momentum and
kinetic energy both conserved, what are the velocities of each mass
immediately after impact?
[Answer: (a) 3.71 m/s; (b) vA = –0.745 m/s, vB= 2.97 m/s]

6. (a) State the Principle of Conservation of Momentum.

(b) State one (1) difference between elastic collision and inelastic collision.
(c) As shown in figure below, a canon of mass 1000 kg launches a cannonball of
mass 10.0 kg at a velocity of 100 m/s.

Determine the speed of recoil of the cannon.

(d) A 2.0 kg body A is moving with a speed of 5.0 m/s towards right, it collides
with a 4.0 kg body B which is moving with a speed of 6.0 m/s towards left.

A B A B

Before After
Collision Collision
If the collision is a perfectly elastic collision, determine the velocities of both
A and B after the collision.
[Answer: (c) 1 m/s; (d) –9.67 m/s, 1.33 m/s]
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7. A ball of mass m = 0.45 kg is attached to the end of a horizontal cord and rotated in a
circle of radius 1.3 m on a frictionless horizontal surface.
If the cord will break when the tension in it exceeds 75 N, what is the maximum speed
the ball can have?
[Answer: 15 m/s]

8.

A flat puck (mass M) is rotated in a circle on a frictionless air-hockey tabletop, and is

held in this orbit by a light cord connected to a dangling block (mass m) through a
central hole as shown in figure. Show that the speed of the puck is given by
mgR
v
M

9. (a) A 3.0 kg ball swings in a vertical circle at the end of an 8.0 m cord. When it
reaches the top of its path, its velocity is 16 m/s.
(i) What is the tension in the cord?
(ii) What is the critical speed (minimum speed before the cord slackens) at
the top?
(b) Car A uses tires for which the coefficient of static friction is 1.1 on a particular
unbanked curve. The maximum speed at which the car can negotiate this curve
is 25 m/s. Car B uses tires for which the coefficient of static friction is 0.85 on
the same curve. What is the maximum speed at which car B can negotiate the
curve?
[Answer: (a) (i) 67 N, (ii) 8.9 m/s; (b) 22 m/s]

10. A small ball is fastened to a string 24 cm long and suspends from a fixed point P to
make a conical pendulum as shown in figure above.
P

15° 24 cm

The ball described a horizontal circle about a centre point which is vertically under
point P, and the string makes and angle of 15° with the vertical. Find the linear speed
of the ball.
[Answer: 0.40 m/s]
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11. A large spinning swing revolving about a vertical axis is shown in figure below.

The swing with a cable length of l = 8.0 m and a load with a mass of m = 70.0 kg
(total mass of the passenger and the chair) is swung from the edge of a rotating disc
with a radius of r = 5.0 m.
The load is moved in a horizontal circular path with the cable making an angle of
inclination θ = 50° with the vertical axis. Neglect the air resistance and the mass of
the cable.
(a) Sketch the forces which act on the load.
(b) Calculate the tension in the cable.
(c) Determine the linear speed of the load.
[Answer: (b) 1.07 × 103 N; (c) 11.4 m/s]

12. A smooth road has a bend of radius of curvature 60 m and is banked at an angle of
15° to the horizontal as shown in the figure below.

(a) At what speed will the car travel round the bend without skidding?
(b) What will happen to the car while rounding the bend if its speed is less than
that calculated in (a) above?
[Answer: (a) 12.6 m/s]