Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo

Problems

6.1 Solving Problems with Newton’s Laws

25.

A 30.0-kg girl in a swing is pushed to one side and held at rest by a horizontal force FF so that the swing ropes are 30.0°30.0° with respect to the vertical. (a) Calculate the tension in each of the two ropes supporting the swing under these conditions. (b) Calculate the magnitude of F.F.

26.

Find the tension in each of the three cables supporting the traffic light if it weighs 2.00 × 102 N.

A sketch of a traffic light suspended by a cable that is in turn suspended from two other cables is shown. Tension T sub 3 is the tension in the cable connecting the traffic light to the upper cables. Tension T sub one is the tension in the upper cable pulling up and to the left, making a 41 degree angle with the horizontal. Tension T sub two is the tension pulling up and to the right, making a 63 degree angle with the horizontal. Force vector w equal to 200 Newtons pulls vertically downward on the traffic light.
27.

Three forces act on an object, considered to be a particle, which moves with constant velocity v=(3i^2j^)m/s.v=(3i^2j^)m/s. Two of the forces are F1=(3i^+5j^)NF1=(3i^+5j^)N and F2=(4i^7j^)N.F2=(4i^7j^)N. Find the third force.

28.

A flea jumps by exerting a force of 1.20×10−5N1.20×10−5N straight down on the ground. A breeze blowing on the flea parallel to the ground exerts a force of 0.500×10−6N0.500×10−6N on the flea while the flea is still in contact with the ground. Find the direction and magnitude of the acceleration of the flea if its mass is 6.00×10−7kg6.00×10−7kg. Do not neglect the gravitational force.

29.

Two muscles in the back of the leg pull upward on the Achilles tendon, as shown below. (These muscles are called the medial and lateral heads of the gastrocnemius muscle.) Find the magnitude and direction of the total force on the Achilles tendon. What type of movement could be caused by this force?

An Achilles tendon is shown in the figure with two forces exerted on it by the lateral and medial heads of the gastrocnemius muscle. F sub one, equal to two hundred Newtons, is shown as a vector making an angle twenty degrees to the right of vertical, and F sub two, equal to two hundred Newtons, is shown making an angle of twenty degrees left of vertical.
30.

After a mishap, a 76.0-kg circus performer clings to a trapeze, which is being pulled to the side by another circus artist, as shown here. Calculate the tension in the two ropes if the person is momentarily motionless. Include a free-body diagram in your solution.

A circus performer hanging from a trapeze is being pulled to the right by another performer using a rope. Her weight is shown by a vector w acting vertically downward. The trapeze rope exerts a tension, T sub one, up and to the left, making an angle of fifteen degrees with the vertical. The second performer pulls with tension T sub two, making an angle of ten degrees above the positive x direction.
31.

A 35.0-kg dolphin accelerates opposite to the motion from 12.0 to 7.50 m/s in 2.30 s to join another dolphin in play. What average force was exerted to slow the first dolphin if it was moving horizontally? (The gravitational force is balanced by the buoyant force of the water.)

32.

When starting a foot race, a 70.0-kg sprinter exerts an average force of 650 N backward on the ground for 0.800 s. (a) What is their final speed? (b) How far do they travel?

33.

A large rocket has a mass of 2.00×106kg2.00×106kg at takeoff, and its engines produce a thrust of 3.50×107N.3.50×107N. (a) Find its initial acceleration if it takes off vertically. (b) How long does it take to reach a velocity of 120 km/h straight up, assuming constant mass and thrust?

34.

A basketball player jumps straight up for a ball. To do this, he lowers his body 0.300 m and then accelerates through this distance by forcefully straightening his legs. This player leaves the floor with a vertical velocity sufficient to carry him 0.900 m above the floor. (a) Calculate his velocity when he leaves the floor. (b) Calculate his acceleration while he is straightening his legs. He goes from zero to the velocity found in (a) in a distance of 0.300 m. (c) Calculate the force he exerts on the floor to do this, given that his mass is 110.0 kg.

35.

A 2.50-kg fireworks shell is fired straight up from a mortar and reaches a height of 110.0 m. (a) Neglecting air resistance (a poor assumption, but we will make it for this example), calculate the shell’s velocity when it leaves the mortar. (b) The mortar itself is a tube 0.450 m long. Calculate the average acceleration of the shell in the tube as it goes from zero to the velocity found in (a). (c) What is the average force on the shell in the mortar? Express your answer in newtons and as a ratio to the weight of the shell.

36.

A 0.500-kg potato is fired at an angle of 80.0°80.0° above the horizontal from a PVC pipe used as a “potato gun” and reaches a height of 110.0 m. (a) Neglecting air resistance, calculate the potato’s velocity when it leaves the gun. (b) The gun itself is a tube 0.450 m long. Calculate the average acceleration of the potato in the tube as it goes from zero to the velocity found in (a). (c) What is the average force on the potato in the gun? Express your answer in newtons and as a ratio to the weight of the potato.

37.

An elevator filled with passengers has a mass of 1.70×103kg1.70×103kg. (a) The elevator accelerates upward from rest at a rate of 1.20m/s21.20m/s2 for 1.50 s. Calculate the tension in the cable supporting the elevator. (b) The elevator continues upward at constant velocity for 8.50 s. What is the tension in the cable during this time? (c) The elevator accelerates opposite to the motion at a rate of 0.600m/s20.600m/s2 for 3.00 s. What is the tension in the cable during acceleration opposite to the motion? (d) How high has the elevator moved above its original starting point, and what is its final velocity?

38.

A 20.0-g ball hangs from the roof of a freight car by a string. When the freight car begins to move, the string makes an angle of 35.0°35.0° with the vertical. (a) What is the acceleration of the freight car? (b) What is the tension in the string?

39.

A student’s backpack, full of textbooks, is hung from a spring scale attached to the ceiling of an elevator. When the elevator is accelerating downward at 3.8m/s23.8m/s2, the scale reads 60 N. (a) What is the mass of the backpack? (b) What does the scale read if the elevator moves upward while speeding up at a rate 3.8m/s23.8m/s2? (c) What does the scale read if the elevator moves upward at constant velocity? (d) If the elevator had no brakes and the cable supporting it were to break loose so that the elevator could fall freely, what would the spring scale read?

40.

A service elevator takes a load of garbage, mass 10.0 kg, from a floor of a skyscraper under construction, down to ground level, accelerating downward at a rate of 1.2m/s21.2m/s2. Find the magnitude of the force the garbage exerts on the floor of the service elevator?

41.

A roller coaster car starts from rest at the top of a track 30.0 m long and inclined at 20.0°20.0° to the horizontal. Assume that friction can be ignored. (a) What is the acceleration of the car? (b) How much time elapses before it reaches the bottom of the track?

42.

The device shown below is the Atwood’s machine considered in Example 6.5. Assuming that the masses of the string and the frictionless pulley are negligible, (a) find an equation for the acceleration of the two blocks; (b) find an equation for the tension in the string; and (c) find both the acceleration and tension when block 1 has mass 2.00 kg and block 2 has mass 4.00 kg.

An Atwood machine consisting of masses suspended on either side of a pulley by a string passing over the pulley is shown. Mass m sub 1 is on the left and mass m sub 2 is on the right.
43.

Two blocks are connected by a massless rope as shown below. The mass of the block on the table is 4.0 kg and the hanging mass is 1.0 kg. The table and the pulley are frictionless. (a) Find the acceleration of the system. (b) Find the tension in the rope. (c) Find the speed with which the hanging mass hits the floor if it starts from rest and is initially located 1.0 m from the floor.

Block m sub 1 is on a horizontal table. It is connected to a string that passes over a pulley at the edge of the table. The string then hangs straight down and connects to block m sub 2, which is not in contact with the table. Block m sub 1 has acceleration a sub 1 directed to the right. Block m sub 2 has acceleration a sub 2 directed downward.
44.

Shown below are two carts connected by a cord that passes over a small frictionless pulley. Each cart rolls freely with negligible friction. Calculate the acceleration of the carts and the tension in the cord.

Two carts connected by a string passing over a pulley are on either side of a double inclined plane. The string passes over a pulley attached to the top of the double incline. On the left, the incline makes an angle of 37 degrees with the horizontal and the cart on that side has mass 10 kilograms. On the right, the incline makes an angle of 53 degrees with the horizontal and the cart on that side has mass 15 kilograms.
45.

A 2.00 kg block (mass 1) and a 4.00 kg block (mass 2) are connected by a light string as shown; the inclination of the ramp is 40.0°40.0°. Friction is negligible. What is (a) the acceleration of each block and (b) the tension in the string?

Block 1 is on a ramp inclined up and to the right at an angle of 40 degrees above the horizontal. It is connected to a string that passes over a pulley at the top of the ramp, then hangs straight down and connects to block 2. Block 2 is not in contact with the ramp.

6.2 Friction

46.

(a) When rebuilding an engine, a physics major must exert 3.00×1023.00×102 N of force to insert a dry steel piston into a steel cylinder. What is the normal force between the piston and cylinder? (b) What force would they have to exert if the steel parts were oiled?

47.

(a) What is the maximum frictional force in the knee joint of a person who supports 66.0 kg of her mass on that knee? (b) During strenuous exercise, it is possible to exert forces to the joints that are easily 10 times greater than the weight being supported. What is the maximum force of friction under such conditions? The frictional forces in joints are relatively small in all circumstances except when the joints deteriorate, such as from injury or arthritis. Increased frictional forces can cause further damage and pain.

48.

Suppose you have a 120-kg wooden crate resting on a wood floor, with coefficient of static friction 0.500 between these wood surfaces. (a) What maximum force can you exert horizontally on the crate without moving it? (b) If you continue to exert this force once the crate starts to slip, what will its acceleration then be? The coefficient of sliding friction is known to be 0.300 for this situation.

49.

(a) If half of the weight of a small 1.00×103-kg1.00×103-kg utility truck is supported by its two drive wheels, what is the maximum acceleration it can achieve on dry concrete? (b) Will a metal cabinet lying on the wooden bed of the truck slip if it accelerates at this rate? (c) Solve both problems assuming the truck has four-wheel drive.

50.

A team of eight dogs pulls a sled with waxed wood runners on wet snow (mush!). The dogs have average masses of 19.0 kg, and the loaded sled with its rider has a mass of 210 kg. (a) Calculate the acceleration of the dogs starting from rest if each dog exerts an average force of 185 N backward on the snow. (b) Calculate the force in the coupling between the dogs and the sled.

51.

Consider the 65.0-kg ice skater being pushed by two others shown below. (a) Find the direction and magnitude of Ftot,Ftot, the total force exerted on her by the others, given that the magnitudes F1F1 and F2F2 are 26.4 N and 18.6 N, respectively. (b) What is her initial acceleration if she is initially stationary and wearing steel-bladed skates that point in the direction of Ftot?Ftot? (c) What is her acceleration assuming she is already moving in the direction of Ftot?Ftot? (Remember that friction always acts in the direction opposite that of motion or attempted motion between surfaces in contact.)

(a) Overhead view of two ice skaters pushing on a third. One skater pushes with a force F one, represented by an arrow pointing to the right, and a second skater pushes with a force F two, represented by an arrow pointing up. Vector F one and vector F two are along the arms of the two skaters acting on the third skater. A vector diagram is shown in the form of a right triangle in which the base is vector F one pointing to the right, and perpendicular to F one is vector F two pointing up. The resultant vector is shown by the hypotenuse pointing up and to the right and is labeled as vector F sub tot. (b) Free body diagram showing only the forces F sub one and F sub 2 acting on the skater.
52.

Show that the acceleration of any object down a frictionless incline that makes an angle θθ with the horizontal is a=gsinθa=gsinθ. (Note that this acceleration is independent of mass.)

An illustration of  block on  a slope. The slope angles down and to the right at an angle of theta degrees to the horizontal. The block has an acceleration a parallel to the slope, toward its bottom. The following forces are shown: N perpendicular to the slope and pointing out of it, and w which equals m times g vertically down. An x y coordinate system is shown tilted so that positive x is downslope, parallel to the surface, and positive y is perpendicular to the slope, pointing out of the surface.
53.

Show that the acceleration of any object down an incline where friction behaves simply (that is, where fk=μkN)fk=μkN) is a=g(sinθμkcosθ).a=g(sinθμkcosθ). Note that the acceleration is independent of mass and reduces to the expression found in the previous problem when friction becomes negligibly small (μk=0).(μk=0).

An illustration of  block on  a slope. The slope angles down and to the right at an angle of theta degrees to the horizontal. The block has an acceleration, a, parallel to the slope, toward its bottom. The following forces are shown:  f in a direction parallel to the slope toward its top, N perpendicular to the slope and pointing out of it, w sub x in a direction parallel to the slope toward its bottom, and w sub y perpendicular to the slope and pointing into it. An x y coordinate system is shown tilted so that positive x is downslope, parallel to the surface, and positive y is perpendicular to the slope, pointing out of the surface.
54.

Calculate the acceleration opposite to the motion of a snow boarder going up a 5.00°5.00° slope, assuming the coefficient of friction for waxed wood on wet snow. The result of the preceding problem may be useful, but be careful to consider the fact that the snow boarder is going uphill.

55.

A machine at a post office sends packages out a chute and down a ramp to be loaded into delivery vehicles. (a) Calculate the acceleration of a box heading down a 10.0°10.0° slope, assuming the coefficient of friction for a parcel on waxed wood is 0.100. (b) Find the angle of the slope down which this box could move at a constant velocity. You can neglect air resistance in both parts.

56.

If an object is to rest on an incline without slipping, then friction must equal the component of the weight of the object parallel to the incline. This requires greater and greater friction for steeper slopes. Show that the maximum angle of an incline above the horizontal for which an object will not slide down is θ=tan−1μs.θ=tan−1μs. You may use the result of the previous problem. Assume that a=0a=0 and that static friction has reached its maximum value.

An illustration of  a block mass m on  a slope. The slope angles up and to the right at an angle of theta degrees to the horizontal. The mass feels force w sub parallel in a direction parallel to the slope toward its bottom, and f in a direction parallel to the slope toward its top.
57.

Calculate the maximum acceleration of a car that is heading down a 6.00°6.00° slope (one that makes an angle of 6.00°6.00° with the horizontal) under the following road conditions. You may assume that the weight of the car is evenly distributed on all four tires and that the coefficient of static friction is involved—that is, the tires are not allowed to slip during the acceleration opposite to the motion. (Ignore rolling.) Calculate for a car: (a) On dry concrete. (b) On wet concrete. (c) On ice, assuming that μs=0.100μs=0.100, the same as for shoes on ice.

58.

Calculate the maximum acceleration of a car that is heading up a 4.00°4.00° slope (one that makes an angle of 4.00°4.00° with the horizontal) under the following road conditions. Assume that only half the weight of the car is supported by the two drive wheels and that the coefficient of static friction is involved—that is, the tires are not allowed to slip during the acceleration. (Ignore rolling.) (a) On dry concrete. (b) On wet concrete. (c) On ice, assuming that μs=0.100μs=0.100, the same as for shoes on ice.

59.

Repeat the preceding problem for a car with four-wheel drive.

60.

A freight train consists of two 8.00×105-kg8.00×105-kg engines and 45 cars with average masses of 5.50×105kg.5.50×105kg. (a) What force must each engine exert backward on the track to accelerate the train at a rate of 5.00×10−2m/s25.00×10−2m/s2 if the force of friction is 7.50×105N7.50×105N, assuming the engines exert identical forces? This is not a large frictional force for such a massive system. Rolling friction for trains is small, and consequently, trains are very energy-efficient transportation systems. (b) What is the force in the coupling between the 37th and 38th cars (this is the force each exerts on the other), assuming all cars have the same mass and that friction is evenly distributed among all of the cars and engines?

61.

Consider the 52.0-kg mountain climber shown below. (a) Find the tension in the rope and the force that the mountain climber must exert with her feet on the vertical rock face to remain stationary. Assume that the force is exerted parallel to her legs. Also, assume negligible force exerted by her arms. (b) What is the minimum coefficient of friction between her shoes and the cliff?

A mountain climber is drawn leaning away from the rock face with her feet against the rock face. The rope extends up from the climber  at an angle of 31 degrees to the vertical. The climbers legs are straight and make an angle of fifteen degrees with the rock face. The force vector F sub T starts at the harness and points away from the climber, along the rope. The force vector F sub legs starts at climber’s feet and points away from the rock, parallel to her legs.
62.

A contestant in a winter sporting event pushes a 45.0-kg block of ice across a frozen lake as shown below. The coefficient of friction of ice can be found in Table 6.1. (a) Calculate the minimum force F he must exert to get the block moving. (b) What is its acceleration once it starts to move, if that force is maintained?

A block of ice is being pushed with a force F that is directed at an angle of twenty five degrees below the horizontal.
63.

The contestant now pulls the block of ice with a rope over his shoulder at the same angle above the horizontal as shown below. The coefficient of friction of ice can be found in Table 6.1. Calculate the minimum force F he must exert to get the block moving. (b) What is its acceleration once it starts to move, if that force is maintained?

A block of ice is being pulled with a force F that is directed at an angle of twenty five degrees above the horizontal.
64.

At a post office, a parcel that is a 20.0-kg box slides down a ramp inclined at 30.0°30.0° with the horizontal. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the box and plane is 0.0300. (a) Find the acceleration of the box. (b) Find the velocity of the box as it reaches the end of the plane, if the length of the plane is 2 m and the box starts at rest.

6.3 Centripetal Force

65.

(a) A 22.0-kg child is riding a playground merry-go-round that is rotating at 40.0 rev/min. What centripetal force is exerted if he is 1.25 m from its center? (b) What centripetal force is exerted if the merry-go-round rotates at 3.00 rev/min and he is 8.00 m from its center? (c) Compare each force with his weight.

66.

Calculate the centripetal force on the end of a 100-m (radius) wind turbine blade that is rotating at 0.5 rev/s. Assume the mass is 4 kg.

67.

What is the ideal banking angle for a gentle turn of 1.20-km radius on a highway with a 105 km/h speed limit (about 65 mi/h), assuming everyone travels at the limit?

68.

What is the ideal speed to take a 100.0-m-radius curve banked at a 20.0°20.0° angle?

69.

(a) What is the radius of a bobsled turn banked at 75.0°75.0° and taken at 30.0 m/s, assuming it is ideally banked? (b) Calculate the centripetal acceleration. (c) Does this acceleration seem large to you?

70.

Part of riding a bicycle involves leaning at the correct angle when making a turn, as seen below. To be stable, the force exerted by the ground must be on a line going through the center of gravity. The force on the bicycle wheel can be resolved into two perpendicular components—friction parallel to the road (this must supply the centripetal force) and the vertical normal force (which must equal the system’s weight). (a) Show that θθ (as defined as shown) is related to the speed v and radius of curvature r of the turn in the same way as for an ideally banked roadway—that is, θ=tan−1(v2/rg).θ=tan−1(v2/rg). (b) Calculate θθ for a 12.0-m/s turn of radius 30.0 m (as in a race).

The figure is an illustration of a man riding a bicycle, viewed from the front. The rider and bike are tilted to the right at an angle theta to the vertical. Three force vectors are shown as solid line arrows. One is from the bottom of the front wheel to the right showing the centripetal force F sub c. A second is from the same point vertically upward showing the force N. The third is from the chest of the rider vertically downward showing his weight, w. An additional broken line arrow from the bottom of the wheel to the chest point, at an angle theta to the right of vertical, is also shown and labeled with force F exerting on it.  The vectors F sub c, w and F form a right triangle whose hypotenuse is F. A free-body diagram is also given above the figure showing vectors w and F. The vector relations F equals the sum of N and F sub c, and N equals w are also given alongside the figure.
71.

If a car takes a banked curve at less than the ideal speed, friction is needed to keep it from sliding toward the inside of the curve (a problem on icy mountain roads). (a) Calculate the ideal speed to take a 100.0 m radius curve banked at 15.0°15.0°. (b) What is the minimum coefficient of friction needed for a frightened driver to take the same curve at 20.0 km/h?

72.

Modern roller coasters have vertical loops like the one shown here. The radius of curvature is smaller at the top than on the sides so that the downward centripetal acceleration at the top will be greater than the acceleration due to gravity, keeping the passengers pressed firmly into their seats. What is the speed of the roller coaster at the top of the loop if the radius of curvature there is 15.0 m and the downward acceleration of the car is 1.50 g?

An illustration of a loop of a roller. The radius of curvature is smaller at the top than on the sides and bottom. The radius of the loop at the tom is shown and labeled as r sub minimum. The radius at the lowest part of the loop is labeled as r sub maximum.  The track is on the inside surface of the loop. The motion is indicated by arrows, starting at ground level to the right of the loop, going up inside the loop on the left, then down the inside right of the loop, and out again at ground level on the left. Four location on the track, A, B, C, and D and B, are labeled. Point A is at ground level, to the right of the loop, where the track is straight and horizontal. Point B is part way up the left side of the loop. Point C is part way up the right side of the loop, at the same level as point B. Point D is at ground level, to the left of the loop, where the track is straight and horizontal.
73.

A child of mass 40.0 kg is in a roller coaster car that travels in a loop of radius 7.00 m. At point A the speed of the car is 10.0 m/s, and at point B, the speed is 10.5 m/s. Assume the child is not holding on and does not wear a seat belt. (a) What is the force of the car seat on the child at point A? (b) What is the force of the car seat on the child at point B? (c) What minimum speed is required to keep the child in his seat at point A?

An illustration of a loop of a roller coaster with a child seated in a car approaching the loop. The track is on the inside surface of the loop. Two location on the loop, A and B, are labeled. Point A is at the top of the loop. Point B is down and to the left of A. The angle between the radii to points A and B is thirty degrees.
74.

In the simple Bohr model of the ground state of the hydrogen atom, the electron travels in a circular orbit around a fixed proton. The radius of the orbit is 5.28×10−11m,5.28×10−11m, and the speed of the electron is 2.18×106m/s.2.18×106m/s. The mass of an electron is 9.11×10−31kg9.11×10−31kg. What is the force on the electron?

75.

Railroad tracks follow a circular curve of radius 500.0 m and are banked at an angle of 5.0°5.0°. For trains of what speed are these tracks designed?

76.

The CERN particle accelerator is circular with a circumference of 7.0 km. (a) What is the acceleration of the protons (m=1.67×10−27kg)(m=1.67×10−27kg) that move around the accelerator at 5%5% of the speed of light? (The speed of light is v=3.00×108m/s.v=3.00×108m/s.) (b) What is the force on the protons?

77.

A car rounds an unbanked curve of radius 65 m. If the coefficient of static friction between the road and car is 0.70, what is the maximum speed at which the car can traverse the curve without slipping?

78.

A banked highway is designed for traffic moving at 90.0 km/h. The radius of the curve is 310 m. What is the angle of banking of the highway?

6.4 Drag Force and Terminal Speed

79.

The terminal velocity of a person falling in air depends upon the weight and the area of the person facing the fluid. Find the terminal velocity (in meters per second and kilometers per hour) of an 80.0-kg skydiver falling in a headfirst position with a surface area of 0.140m20.140m2.

80.

A 60.0-kg and a 90.0-kg skydiver jump from an airplane at an altitude of 6.00×103m6.00×103m, both falling in a headfirst position. Make some assumption on their frontal areas and calculate their terminal velocities. How long will it take for each skydiver to reach the ground (assuming the time to reach terminal velocity is small)? Assume all values are accurate to three significant digits.

81.

A 560-g squirrel with a surface area of 930cm2930cm2 falls from a 5.0-m tree to the ground. Estimate its terminal velocity. (Use a drag coefficient for a skydiver falling feet first.) What will be the velocity of a 56-kg person hitting the ground, assuming no drag contribution in such a short distance?

82.

To maintain a constant speed, the force provided by a car’s engine must equal the drag force plus the force of friction of the road (the rolling resistance). (a) What are the drag forces at 70 km/h and 100 km/h for a Toyota Camry? (Drag area is 0.70m20.70m2) (b) What is the drag force at 70 km/h and 100 km/h for a Hummer H2? (Drag area is 2.44m2)2.44m2) Assume all values are accurate to three significant digits.

83.

By what factor does the drag force on a car increase as it goes from 65 to 110 km/h?

84.

Calculate the velocity a spherical rain drop would achieve falling from 5.00 km (a) in the absence of air drag (b) with air drag. Take the size across of the drop to be 4 mm, the density to be 1.00×103kg/m31.00×103kg/m3, and the surface area to be πr2πr2.

85.

Using Stokes’ law, verify that the units for viscosity are kilograms per meter per second.

86.

Find the terminal velocity of a spherical bacterium (diameter 2.00μm2.00μm) falling in water. You will first need to note that the drag force is equal to the weight at terminal velocity. Take the density of the bacterium to be 1.10×103kg/m31.10×103kg/m3.

87.

Stokes’ law describes sedimentation of particles in liquids and can be used to measure viscosity. Particles in liquids achieve terminal velocity quickly. One can measure the time it takes for a particle to fall a certain distance and then use Stokes’ law to calculate the viscosity of the liquid. Suppose a steel ball bearing (density 7.8×103kg/m37.8×103kg/m3, diameter 3.0 mm) is dropped in a container of motor oil. It takes 12 s to fall a distance of 0.60 m. Calculate the viscosity of the oil.

88.

Suppose that the resistive force of the air on a skydiver can be approximated by f=bv2.f=bv2. If the terminal velocity of a 50.0-kg skydiver is 60.0 m/s, what is the value of b?

89.

A small diamond of mass 10.0 g drops from a swimmer’s earring and falls through the water, reaching a terminal velocity of 2.0 m/s. (a) Assuming the frictional force on the diamond obeys f=bv,f=bv, what is b? (b) How far does the diamond fall before it reaches 90 percent of its terminal speed?

Order a print copy

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Jan 19, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.