MSTE 6: Physics for Engineers, Advanced Engg Math

Name: Date:

1. A point on the rim of a 6.0 in. diameter wheel is casting, and as communication relays. Deter-
traveling at 75 ft/sec. What is the angular veloc- mine the height above the Earth’s surface such a
ity of the wheel (in radians per second)? satellite must orbit, and such a satellite’s speed.
A. 250 C. 320 Hint: G = 6.67 x 10–11 N-m2/kg2, ME = 5.98 x 1024
B. 300 D. 350 kg, R = 6380 km.
A. 39799.11 km C. 35870.47 km
2. A cylindrical buoy with cross-sectional area 1.25 2608.57 m/s 2608.57 m/s
m2 is observed (after being pushed) to bob up B. 39799.11 km D. 35870.47 km
and down with a period of 0.50 sec. Approxi- 3072.54 m/s 3072.54 m/s
mately what is the mass of the buoy (in kilo-
grams)? 7. When a family of four with a total mass of 200 kg
A. 67 C. 77 step into their 1200-kg car, the car’s springs
B. 79 D. 63 compress 3.0 cm. (a) What is the spring constant
of the car’s spring, assuming they act as a single
3. A catapult is placed 100 feet from the castle wall, spring? (b) How far will the car lower if loaded
which is 35 feet high. The soldier wants the with 300 kg rather than 200 kg?
burning bale of hay to clear the top of the wall A. 64500 N/m C. 65400 N/m
and land 50 feet inside the castle wall. If the ini- 4.5 cm 5.4 cm
tial velocity of the bale is 70 feet/second, at what B. 65400 N/m D. 64500 N/m
angle should the bale of hay be launched so that 4.5 cm 5.4 cm
it travels 150 feet and pass over the castle wall.
Use g = 32 ft/s^2. 8. Determine the time of oscillation of a pendulum
A. 54.5° C. 58.2° having a length of 12 m. long in seconds.
B. 50.8° D. 39.2° A. 5.147 C. 6.949
B. 5.840 D. 6.343
4. The 50-kg crate is pulled by the constant force P.
If the crate starts from rest and achieves a speed 9. The Moon’s nearly circular orbit around the
of 10 m/s in 5 s, determine the magnitude of P. Earth has a radius of about 384,000 km and a pe-
The coefficient of kinetic friction between the riod T of 27.3 days. Determine the acceleration
crate and the ground is μk = 0.20. of the Moon toward the Earth, in m/s2.
A. 3.120 x 10–3 C. 3.333 x 10–3
B. 2.995 x 10 –3 D. 2.725 x 10–3

10. A ball of mass m = 2.60 kg, starting from rest,

falls a vertical distance h = 55.0 cm before strik-
ing a vertical coiled spring, which it compresses
A. 387.97 C. 269.69 an amount Y = 15.0 cm. Determine the spring
B. 350.44 D. 205.07 stiffness constant k of the spring. Assume the
spring has negligible mass and ignore air re-
5. It takes a force of 130 N to stretch a spring 50 sistance.
cm. Find the work done in stretching the spring
20 cm beyond its natural (unstretched length).
A. 5.2 J C. 5.8 J
B. 6.4 J D. 6.9 J

6. A geosynchronous satellite is one that stays

above the same point on the Earth, which is pos-
sible only if it is above a point on the equator.
Why? Because the center of a satellite orbit is al-
ways at the center of the Earth, so it is not possi-
ble to have a satellite orbiting above a fixed
point on the Earth at any latitude other than 0°.
Geosynchronous satellites are commonly used A. 1587.04 N/m C. 1668.66 N/m
for TV and radio transmission, for weather fore- B. 1470.00 N/m D. 1303.03 N/m

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11. Objects A and B with the same mass m = 2 kg un- 18. Determine the percent uncertainty in the area of
dergo a direct central impact. Before the impact, a square that is 6.08 ± 0.01 m. on a side.
A is moving to the right with a velocity of 4 m/s A. 0.30% C. 0.33%
and B is stationary. Determine the velocity of A B. 0.27% D. 0.23%
after impact if the impact is perfectly plastic.
A. 1 m/s C. 3 m/s 19. The tires of a car make 65 revolutions as the car
B. 2 m/s D. 4 m/s reduces its speed from 95 kph to 45 kph. The
tires have a diameter of 0.80 m. If the car contin-
12. A 2.0 kg. travelling at 1.0 m/s collides head-on ues to decelerate at this rate, how much more
with a 1.0 kg object initially at rest. Determine time is required for it to stop?
the velocity of each object after the impact if the A. 7.56 s C. 7.12 s
collision is perfectly elastic. B. 8.22 s D. 8.99 s
A. 2 kg: 1/3 m/s C. 2 kg: 1/2 m/s
1 kg: 4/3 m/s 1 kg: 1/2 m/s 20. A 0.150-kg ball on the end of a 1.10-m-long cord
B. 2 kg: 4/3 m/s D. 2 kg: 1/4 m/s (negligible mass) is swung in a vertical circle.
1 kg: 1/3 m/s 1 kg: 3/4 m/s Determine the minimum speed the ball must
have at the top of its arc so that the ball contin-
13. A golf ball of mass 0.045 kg. is hit off the tee at a ues moving in a circle.
speed of 38 m/s. The golf club was in contact A. 2.141 C. 3.285
with the ball for 3.5 x 10–3 s. Find the impulse B. 3.888 D. 2.764
impacted to the golf ball, and the average force
exerted on the ball by the golf ball. 21. A 10-kg box is pushed from the top of an incline
A. 451.11 N C. 488.57 N and travels down the incline with an initial
B. 460.06 N D. 499.99 N speed of 5.00 m/s. The incline is 4.00 m long, and
the angle of the incline is 37.0°. The coefficient
14. A 22-g bullet traveling 240 m/s penetrates a 2.0- of friction between the box and the incline is
kg block of wood and emerges going 150 m/s. If 0.400. Use the work-energy principle to deter-
the block is stationary on a frictionless surface mine the velocity of the box at the bottom of the
when hit, how fast does it move after the bullet incline.
emerges? A. 7.021 m/s C. 7.214 m/s
A. 0.69 m/s C. 0.99 m/s B. 6.310 m/s D. 6.867 m/s
B. 0.75 m/s D. 0.80 m/s
22. A spotlight shining on a pond strikes the water
15. During baseball practice, a player hits a very so that the angle of incidence α is 23.5°. Find the
high fly ball and then runs in a straight line and refracted angle β. Use Snell’s law and the fact
catches it. Which had the greater displacement, that n = 1.33 for water and n = 1.00 for air. (Ig-
the player, or the ball? nore the reflected ray.)
A. The ball and the player have the same dis- A. 17.45° C. 18.00°
tance traveled. B. 19.67° D. 16.16°
B. The displacement of the player is greater
than the displacement of the ball. 23. To make a secure fit, rivets that are larger than
C. The player and the ball have the same dis- the rivet hole are often used, and the rivet is
placement. cooled (usually in dry ice) before it is placed in
D. The ball has a greater displacement com- the hole. A steel rivet 1.872 cm in diameter is to
pared to the player, be placed in a hole 1.870 cm in diameter in a
metal at 22°C. To what temperature must the
16. A body moves along a horizontal line according rivet be cooled if it is to fit in the hole? α = 12 x
to s = f(t) = t3 – 9t2 + 24t. Find the total distance 10–6/°C.
traveled in the first 5 seconds of motion. A. –72 °C C. –67 °C
A. 20 C. 24 B. –64 °C D. –75 °C
B. 22 D. 28
24. Two rooms, each a cube 4.0 m per side, share a
17. The number 0.0078 has how many significant 14-cm thick brick wall. Because of a number of
figures? 100-W lightbulbs in one room, the air is at 30°C,
A. 1 C. 3 while in the other room it is at 10°C. How many
B. 2 D. 4 of the 100-W bulbs are needed to maintain the
temperature difference across the wall? Use
thermal conductivity k = 0.84 J/s–m–°C.

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 A. 16 bulbs C. 18 bulbs 𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 )
B. 20 bulbs D. 23 bulbs the numbers a1 and a2 are said to be the components
of the vector 𝑎.
Scalar and Vector
A scalar is simply a real number or a quantity that Magnitude
has magnitude. A vector is usually described as a The magnitude, length, or norm of a vector 𝑎 is de-
quantity that has both magnitude and direction. noted by |𝑎|. Motivated by the Pythagorean theorem,
A vector whose initial point (or end) is A and whose we define the magnitude of a vector:
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ .
terminal point (or tip) is B is written 𝐴𝐵
𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 ) 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 |𝑎| = √𝑎12 + 𝑎22
Addition and Subtraction of Vectors
Two vectors can be con- Unit Vectors
sidered as having a com- A vector that has magnitude of ‘1’ is called a unit vec-
mon initial point, such tor. We say that:
as A in the figure shown 𝑎
𝑢
⃗ =
(a). |𝑎|
Thus, if nonparallel vec-
tors ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝐴𝐶 are the The i,j Vectors
sides of a parallelogram 𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 ) = (𝑎1 , 0) + (0 + 𝑎2 )
(b), we say the vector (a) = 𝑎1 (1,0) + 𝑎2 (0,1)
that is the main diago- The unit vectors (1,0) and (0,1) are usually given the
nal, or 𝐴𝐷⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ , is the sum of special symbols ‘i’ and ‘j’ or in some cases, 𝑖̂ 𝑜𝑟𝑗̂ .
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐴𝐵 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝐴𝐶 . Then, 𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 ) = 𝑎1 𝑖̂ + 𝑎2 𝑗̂
The difference of two Where: a1 is called the horizontal component of 𝑎 ,
and a2 is called the vertical component of 𝑎.
vectors (c) ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝐴𝐵 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝐴𝐶
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
is defined by 𝐴𝐵 - 𝐴𝐶 = ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
25. Given 𝑎 = (2, –1), what is the magnitude of 𝑎?
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ + (-𝐴𝐶
𝐴𝐵 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ). A. √5 C. 3
(b)
We can also interpret B. 1 D. √6
the same vector differ-
ence as the third side of
26. Given 𝑎 = (2, –1), form a unit vector in the same
a triangle with sides AB
direction as 𝑎.
and AC.
A. (-0.894, -0.447) C. (0.894, 0.447)
In this second interpre- (c) B. (-0.894, +0.447) D. (0.894, -0.447)
tation, observe that the
vector difference ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ 𝐶𝐵 = Vectors in 3-Space
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ − 𝐴𝐶
𝐴𝐵 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ points toward If x = a, y = b, z = c, are
the terminal point of the planes perpendicular to
vector (d) from which the x-axis, y-axis, and z-
we are subtracting the (d) axis, respectively, then
second vector. the point P at which
these planes intersect
Vectors in a Coordinate Plane can be represented by an
To describe a vector an- ordered triple of num-
alytically, let us suppose bers (a, b, c) said to be the rectangular or Cartesian
for the remainder of this coordinates of the point. The numbers a, b, and c
section that the vectors are, in turn, called the x-, y-, and z- coordinates of P(a,
we are considering lie in b, c).
a two-dimensional coor-
dinate plane or 2-space. Each pair of coordinate axes
We shall denote the set determines a coordinate
of all vectors in the plane by R2. The vector shown, plane. As shown in the fig-
with initial point the origin O and terminal point P ure, the x- and y-axes deter-
(x1, y1), is called the position vector of the point P mine the xy-plane, the x-
and is written: and z-axes determine the
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ = (𝑥1 , 𝑦1 )
𝑂𝑃 xz-plane, and so on. The co-
In general, a vector 𝑎 in R2 is any ordered pair of real ordinate planes divide 3-
numbers: space into eight parts
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known as octants. The octant in which all three coor- 30. If 𝑎 = 10𝑖 + 2𝑗 − 6𝑘 and 𝑏⃗ = −1/2𝑖 + 4𝑗 − 3𝑘 ,
dinates of a point are positive is called the first oc- determine the dot product, 𝑎 ∙ 𝑏.
tant. There is no agreement for naming the other A. 20 C. 37
seven octants. B. 21 D. 15

Distance Formula 31. Given the following vectors: A = 2i + bj – k and B

To find the distance between two points P1(x1, y1, z1) = 4i – 2j – 2k. If A is perpendicular to B, what is
and P2(x2, y2, z2) in 3-space: the value of b? [Nov 2016]
𝑑(𝑃1 , 𝑃2 ) = √(𝑥2 − 𝑥1 )2 + (𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )2 + (𝑧2 − 𝑧1 )2 A. 3 C. 4
B. 5 D. 6
27. Find the distance between (2, -3, 6) and (-1, -7,
4). 32. Find the angle between the given zero-based
A. 14.18 C. 5.39 vectors: V1 = (−√3,1) and V2 = (2√3,2) [May
B. 10.47 D. 7.34 2017]
A. 120° C. 180°
A vector a in 3-space is any ordered triple of real B. 60° D. 150°
numbers:
𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) 33. Find the work done by a constant force F = 2i +
where a1, a2, and a3 are the components of the vector. 4j if its point of application to a block moves
The set of all vectors in 3-space will be denoted by from P1(1, 1) to P2(4, 6). Assume that |𝐹|is meas-
the symbol R3. ured in Newtons and |𝑑| is measured in meters.
Any vector 𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) in 3-space can be ex- A. 24 N-m C. 26 N-m
pressed as a linear combination of the unit vectors: B. 20 N-m D. 18 N-m
i = (1, 0, 0); j = (0, 1, 0); k= (0, 0, 1)
that is, 𝑎 = 𝑎1 𝑖 + 𝑎2 𝑗 + 𝑎3 𝑘) Cross Product
The cross product is only defined for vectors in 3-
28. Find the magnitude of vector: space and results in another vector in 3-space.
𝑎 = (−2, 3, 6) The cross product of two vectors
A. 7 C. 9 ⃗
𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏 = (𝑏1 , 𝑏2 , 𝑏3 )
B. 8 D. 10 𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗ = (𝑎2 𝑏3 − 𝑎3 𝑏2 )𝑖 − (𝑎1 𝑏3 − 𝑎3 𝑏1 )𝑗
+ (𝑎1 𝑏2 − 𝑎2 𝑏1 )𝑘
29. Find the unit vector in the direction of the vec-
tor: Magnitude of Cross Product
𝑎 = (−2, 3, 6)
A. (-2/7, 3/7, 6/7) C. (2/7, 3/7, 6/7) |𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗| = |𝑎||𝑏⃗|𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
B. (2/7, -3/7, -6/7) D. (-2/7, -3/7, -6/7)
Note: 𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗ is orthogonal to the plane containing
Dot Product 𝑎 & 𝑏⃗.
The dot product is also known as the inner product,
or scalar product. The dot product of two vectors a 34. Let 𝑎 = 4𝑖 − 2𝑗 + 5𝑘 and 𝑏⃗ = 3𝑖 + 𝑗 − 𝑘 . Find
and b is denoted by a·b and is a real number, or sca- 𝑎𝑥𝑏⃗.
lar, defined in terms of the components of the vec- A. 3i - 19j - 10k C. -3i + 19j - 10k
tors. B. -3i + 19j + 10k D. 3i + 19j + 10k
In 2-space, the dot product is:
𝑎 ∙ 𝑏 = 𝑎1 𝑏1 + 𝑎2 𝑏2 35. Find the area of the triangle determined by the
In 3-space, the dot product is: points P1(1, 1, 1), P2(2, 3, 4), and P3(3, 0, -1).
𝑎 ∙ 𝑏 = 𝑎1 𝑏1 + 𝑎2 𝑏2 + 𝑎3 𝑏3 A. 4.93 C. 3.17
B. 3.67 D. 4.74
Alternative Form: The dot product of two vectors 𝑎
and 𝑏⃗ can also be expressed in terms of the lengths 36. Find the volume of the parallelepiped whose
of the vectors and the angle between them. If the vec- edges are represented by:
tors 𝑎 and 𝑏⃗ are positioned in such a manner that 𝑎 = 2𝑖 − 3𝑗 + 4𝑘, 𝑏⃗ = 𝑖 + 2𝑗 − 𝑘
their initial points coincide, then we define the angle 𝑐 = 3𝑖 − 𝑗 + 2𝑘
between 𝑎 and 𝑏⃗ as the angle θ that satisfies 0≤θ≤π. [Nov 2017]
𝑎 ∙ 𝑏 = |𝑎||𝑏⃗|𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 A. 37 C. 7
B. 21 D. 5

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37. Find the distance from point A (1, 5, –3) to the 40. Find the directional derivative of z = x2 – 6y2 at
plane 4x + y + 8z + 33 = 0. [May 2016] P(7,2) in the direction of θ = 45°. [Nov 2017]
A. 1 C. 3 A. −2√5 C. 5√2
B. 2 D. 4 B. 2√5 D. −5√2

VECTOR CALCULUS 41. The temperature in a rectangular box is approx-

Recall that a curve C in the xy-plane is simply a set of imated by:
ordered pairs (x, y). We say that C is a parametric T(x, y, z) = xyz(l - x)(2 - y)(3 - z), 0≤x≤1, 0≤y≤2,
curve if the x- and y-coordinates of a point on the 0≤z≤3.
curve are defined by a pair of functions x = f(t), y = If a mosquito is located at (1/2, 1, 1), in which
g(t) that are continuous on some interval a≤t≤b. The direction should it fly to cool off as rapidly as
notion of a parametric curve extends to 3-space as possible? [May 2022]
well. A parametric curve in space, or space curve, is A. -1/4k C. -1/5k
a set of ordered triples (x, y, z) where: B. -1/3k D. -1/2k
x = f(t), y = g(t), z = h(t)
are continuous on an interval defined by a≤t≤b.

It is often convenient in science and engineering to

introduce a vector 𝑟 whose components are func-
tions of a parameter t. We say that:
r(t) = (f(t), g(t), h(t)) = f(t)i + g(t)j + h(t)k

38. Find the vector function that describes the curve

C of intersection of the plane y = 2x and the pa-
raboloid z = 9 - x2 - y2. [May 2018]
A. r(t) = (t)i + (2t)j + (9 – 3t2)k
B. r(t) = (t)i + (2t)j + (9 – 4t2)k
C. r(t) = (t)i + (2t)j + (9 – 5t2)k
D. r(t) = (t)i + (2t)j + (9 – 6t2)k

Directional Derivative
𝜕𝑧
We can think of the partial derivative 𝜕𝑥 as the rate
of change of the function f in the direction given by
𝜕𝑧
the vector i, and 𝜕𝑦 as the rate of change of the func-
tion f in the j-direction. There is no reason to confine
our attention to just two directions.

Gradient of a Function
𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
∇=i +𝑗 𝑜𝑟 ∇ = i + 𝑗 +𝑘
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
is applied to a differentiable function z = f(x,y) or w
– F(x, y, z), we say that the vectors
𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑓
∇f(x, y) = i+ 𝑗
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝐹 𝜕𝐹 𝜕𝐹
∇F(x, y, z) = i+ 𝑗+ 𝑘
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
are the gradients of the respective functions. The
symbol ∇, an inverted capital Greek delta, is called
“del” or “nabla”. The vector ∇f is usually read “grad f”

39. Compute ∇f(x, y) for f(x, y) = 5𝑦 − 𝑥 3 𝑦 2 .

A. –3x2y2i + (5 – 2x3y)j
B. –5x2y2i + (3 – 2x3y)j
C. –2x2y2i + (3 – 2x3y)j
D. –3x2y2i + (5 + 2x3y)j

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