Exam 7: Potential Energy and Energy Conservation

Center of mass: In the figure, a 60-cm length of uniform wire, of 60 g mass and negligible thickness, is bent into a right triangle. The x and y coordinates of the center of mass, in cm, are closest to

Conservation of momentum: As a tile falls from the roof of a building to the ground its momentum is conserved.

Explosions in one dimension: Two ice skaters push off against one another starting from a stationary position. The 45.0-kg skater acquires a speed of 0.375 m/s. What speed does the 60.0-kg skater acquire? Assume that any other unbalanced forces during the collision are negligible.

Momentum: A firecracker breaks up into several pieces, one of which has a mass of 200 g and flies off along the x-axis with a speed of 82.0 m/s. A second piece has a mass of 300 g and flies off along the y-axis with a speed of 45.0 m/s. What are the magnitude and direction of the total momentum of these two pieces?

Impulse: A 2.50-kg stone is dropped from rest at a height of 3.75 m. What impulse does gravity impart to this stone from the instant it is dropped until it hits the ground, assuming negligible air resistance?

Elastic collisions in one dimension: A 2.3-kg object traveling at 6.1 m/s collides head-on with a 3.5-kg object traveling in the opposite direction at 4.8 m/s. If the collision is perfectly elastic, what is the final speed of the 2.3-kg object?

Elastic collisions in one dimension: A 620-g object traveling at 2.1 m/s collides head-on with a 320-g object traveling in the opposite direction at 3.8 m/s. If the collision is perfectly elastic, what is the change in the kinetic energy of the 620-g object?

Center of mass: A 2.00-m rod of negligible mass connects two very small objects at its ends. The mass of one object is 1.00 kg and the mass of the other is unknown. The center of mass of this system is on the rod a distance 1.60 m from the 1.00-kg mass object. What is the mass of the other object?

Explosions in two dimensions: A plate falls vertically to the floor and breaks up into three pieces, which slide along the floor. Immediately after the impact, a 320-g piece moves along the x-axis with a speed of 2.00 m/s and a 355-g piece moves along the y-axis with a speed of 1.50 m/s. The third piece has a mass of 100 g. In what direction does the third piece move? You can neglect any horizontal forces during the crash.

Inelastic collisions in one dimension: Two objects of the same mass move along the same line in opposite directions. The first mass is moving with speed v. The objects collide, stick together, and move with speed 0.100v in the direction of the velocity of the first mass before the collision. What was the speed of the second mass before the collision?