MIDTERM EXAMINATION IN COLLEGE PHYSICS

AUGUST 9, 2016

SET A PROBLEM SOLVING

1. A snake is slithering toward you at 1.5 m/s. If you start walking when it is 5 m
away, how fast must you go in order that the snake not overtake you when you
have gone 40 m?

2. A Russian balloonist floating at an altitude of 150 m accidentally drops his jug and
starts to ascend at the constant velocity of 1.2 m/s. How high will the balloon be
when the jug reaches the ground?

3. A driver becomes lost and travels 12 km west, 5 km south, and 8 km east. Find
the magnitude and direction of the cars displacement from the starting place.

4. A 100 N sack of potatoes is suspended by a rope. A person pushes sideways on

the sack with a force of 40 N. What is the tension on the rope?

5. A mass of 8 kg and another of 12 kg are suspended by a string on either side of a

frictionless pulley. Find the acceleration of each mass.
MIDTERM EXAMINATION IN COLLEGE PHYSICS
AUGUST 9, 2016

SET A PROBLEM SOLVING

1. In a novel, pirate forces a captured sailor to walk the plank, from which he falls
into the sea 7 m below. The author claims the sailors entire life flashes before him
during the fall. (a) How much time is available for this? (b) With what velocity will
the sailor enter the water?

2. A British parachutist bails out at an altitude of 150 m and accidentally drops his
eyeglass. If he descends at the constant velocity of 6 m/s, how much time separates
the arrival of the eyeglass on the ground from the arrival of the parachutist himself?

3. A person walks 70 m to an elevator and then descends 40 m. Find the magnitude

and direction of the persons displacement from the starting place.

4. Two cars leave a crossroad at the same time, one headed north at 50 mi/h and
the other headed east at 70 mi/h. How far apart are they after 0.5 h? After 2 h?

5. An empty truck whose mass is 2000 kg has a maximum acceleration of 1 m/s.

What is its maximum acceleration when it is carrying a 1000 kg load?

SET C PROBLEM SOLVING

MIDTERM EXAMINATION IN COLLEGE PHYSICS
AUGUST 9, 2016

1. A helicopter is climbing at 8 m/s when it drops a pump near a leaking boat. The
pump reaches the water 4 s afterward. How high was the helicopter when the pump
was dropped? When the pump reaches the water?

2. The boat is heading northwest at 7 knots through a tidal stream that is flowing
southwest at 3 knots. Find the magnitude and direction of its velocity relative to the
earths surface.

3. A bicycle and its rider together have a mass of 80 kg. If the bicycles speed is 6
m/s, how much force is needed to bring it to a stop in 4 sec?

4. A man drives one-third of the distance home at 25 mph. How fast must he drive
the rest of the way in order to average 35 mph for the entire trip?

5. A rescue line is to be thrown horizontally from the bridge of a ship 30 m above

sea level to a lifeboat 30 m away. What speed should the line have?