Olympiad Physics Competition F=ma Intensive Practice Camp

Compiled and Lectured by

Chunlai Yang
Ph.D. in Physics
Copyright Reserved

Yang F=ma Intensive Practice Camp Mock Exam – 6

25 Questions 75 Minutes
Submit before the class time to
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1flRP2oDysNCIc5FwRi0gCo6XaPx3QvA4H9P_aOBf_ag/edit

1. A block accelerates uniformly along a straight line from A to C as shown above. Its speed at point A is 𝑣 and that
at point C is 𝑣 What is its speed at point B, which is the mid-point between point A and C?
A B C

A. B. C. D. 𝑣 𝑣 E. 𝑣 + 𝑣

2. A 1kg object slides 3.6 m down a ramp with a 35◦ slope. It has an initial speed of 2 m/s and a final speed of 1.06
m/s when it reaches the bottom. What was the work done by kinetic friction (µ k = 0.3) when the object has slid to
the bottom of the ramp?

A. 10.6 Nm B. 21.7 Nm C. 0 Nm D. 19.6 Nm E. 25.8 Nm

3. An aluminum wire of varying thickness is pulled at each end with a force of 30 N. Which of the following
statements is true? Note: tension is a force that tends to stretch something, and stress is the force per unit area.

A. The tension is 60 N all along the wire, and stress is constant along the wire
B. The tension is 60 N all along the wire, and stress varies along the wire
C. The tension is 30 N all along the wire, and stress is constant along the wire
D. The tension is 30 N all along the wire, and stress varies along the wire
E. The tension is 0 N all along the wire, and stress is constant along the wire

4. Tom is riding a hot air balloon by himself. There is a rope ladder hanging from the top of the balloon and reaching
into the basket. At a moment when the balloon is stationary in the air, Tom begins climbing the ladder with speed s
relative to the ladder. Suppose Tom has mass m, the balloon has mass M. What is the speed of the balloon relative to
the ground if air resistance can be neglected?

A. S B. 𝑠 C. 𝑠 D. 𝑠 E. 0

5. Two objects are lying at rest on a flat, smooth surface. Suppose the mass of object B is twice that of object A. If
the same horizontal force is applied to the objects for the same length of time, what is the ratio of energy gain of
object A to that of B?

A. 1:4 B. 1:2 C. 1:1 D. 2:1 E. 4:1

6. A sphere of mass 0.2 kg is suspended from the ceiling by a light spring whose force constant is 3.2 N/m. It is
projected vertically downwards with a speed of 0.5 m/s from its equilibrium position. What would be its maximum
acceleration in subsequent motion?

A. 2.0m/s B. 8.0m/s C. 10.0m/s D. 12.0m/s E. 20.0m/s

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7. An object is thrown with a fixed initial speed 𝑣 ! at angles α relative to the horizon. At some height ℎ above the
launch point the speed 𝑣 of the object is measured as a function of the initial angle 𝑣. Which of the following best
describes the dependence of 𝑣 on α? (Assume that there is no air resistance.)

A. 𝑣 will increase monotonically with α.𝑣

B. 𝑣 will increase to some critical value 𝑣 and then decrease. 𝑣
C. 𝑣 will remain constant, independent of α.𝑣
D. 𝑣 will decrease to some critical value 𝑣 and then increase. 𝑣
E. None of the above.

8. In a lightweight seesaw, Albert (mass 70 kg), Isaac (mass 80 kg), and Marie (mass 60 kg) are seated in order with
equal spacing of 2 m between them. Isaac is positioned between Albert and Marie in a way that balances the seesaw.
Neglecting the mass of the seesaw, determine which person exerts the greatest magnitude of torque (relative to the
center of the seesaw) on the seesaw.

A. Albert
B. Isaac
C. Marie
D. They all exert the same torque.
E. There is not enough information to answer the question.

9. Two objects A and B are launched at the same time and place from ground on the Moon (no air). Object A is
launched with speed 10 m/s at an angle of 𝜃 above horizon. Object B is launched with speed 10 m/s at an angle of 𝜃
+ 60° measured in the same way. What is the distance between A and B after two seconds. It is given that at this
moment neither A nor B has hit the ground yet.

A. 5 m B. 10 m C. 10√2m D. 10√3m E. 20 m

10. All numbers in this question are in units of m/s and 𝑙 and 𝐽are two perpendicular unit vectors. An object
consisting of two parts of unknown masses separated by a massless compressed spring moves with constant initial
velocity 𝑙 . At a certain moment the spring is released to push the two parts apart. Ignoring friction and gravity,
which of the following velocities is/are possible at a certain time after the spring is released?

I. 𝑣⃗ = 𝑙 − 𝐽, 𝑣⃗ = −𝑙 + 𝐽
II. 𝑣⃗ = 𝑙 + 𝐽, 𝑣⃗ = 𝑙 − 𝐽
III.𝑣⃗ = 𝐽, 𝑣⃗ = 𝑙 + 𝐽
IV.𝑣⃗ = 𝑙 + 𝐽, 𝑣⃗ = 𝑙 − 2𝐽

A. I only B. II only C. None D. II and III only E. II and IV only

11. All numbers in this question are in units of m/s.

A projectile loaded with explosive is launched from ground at the origin and hit the ground again at a displacement
D𝑙 , where D > 0 and 𝑙 is in a horizontal direction. It is then launched again for a second time in exactly the same
way but this time the explosive explodes when it has velocity 3𝑙 − 2𝐽, where 𝐽 is in the vertically upward direction.
Due to the explosion it splits into two parts A and B. Denote the velocities of A and B just after the explosion by 𝑣⃗
and 𝑣⃗ , respectively. Assume that each part stops immediately after hitting the ground. Denote the final position of
the center of mass after both parts hit the ground by DCM. In which of the following case(s) will DCM be greater than
D?

I. 𝑣⃗ = 𝑙 − 2𝐽, 𝑣⃗ = 4𝑙 − 2𝐽
II. 𝑣⃗ = −𝑙 − 6𝐽, 𝑣⃗ = 5𝑙
III. 𝑣⃗ = −3𝐽, 𝑣⃗ = 𝑙 − 𝐽

A. I only B. II only C. III only D. None E. II and III only

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12. A 1.00-kg mass is attached to a horizontal spring with a spring constant of 10 N/m to move on a rough
horizontal surface. Let the line of motion be the x-axis and the mass is at the origin when the spring is unstretched.
The coefficient of static friction and kinetic friction are 0.40 and 0.30, respectively. The mass is initially at the
origin, and is given an initial speed of 1.00 m/s in the positive x direction. What is the position at which the mass
will come to a complete stop?

A. 0.138 m B. 0.255 m C. 0.383 m D. 0.457 m E. -0.726 m

13. Following question 9, what is the answer if the initial velocity is increased to 2.00 m/s in the positive x
direction?

A. 0.185 m B. 0.403 m C. -0.991 m D. -0.185 m E. -0.255 m

14. Two identical triangles with mass m are placed on a frictional horizontal surface. A sphere with mass M is held
by the triangles without falling, as shown in the diagram below. Consider that the surface between the sphere and
triangles is frictionless, find the minimum value of the coefficient of static friction between the triangle and the
surface such that the triangles will not slide away.

A. B. C. D. E.

450 450 450 450

Q15 and Q16 concern the same situation below.

A mass m is hanging on a massless ring which slides through a straight cable that makes a 30 ∘ angle with the
horizontal as shown in the figure. There may be friction between the ring and the cable. The mass accelerates along
a straight line parallel to the cable above.

15.If the angle, ∅, between the cable and the string hanging the mass is 90∘ , what is the magnitude of the friction
between the ring and the cable?

A. 0 B. mg C. D. E. 2mg

16. If the mass is accelerating down along the dotted line, what is the minimum value of ∅?

A. 30∘ B. 45∘ C. 60∘ D. 90∘ E. 120∘

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17. Consider a mass m which is hanging vertically by a spring with spring constant k under constant gravity. The
spring-mass system undergoes a simple harmonic oscillation with amplitude A. The largest magnitude of net force
that acts on the mass during the oscillation is

A. kA – mg B. kA C. mg D. m𝜔 A E. m𝜔 A + mg

18. A constant force F = 800 N applied horizontally to a block with mass m = 100.0 kg pushes the block up a surface
that is inclined by 𝜃 = 15° (see figure). The coefficient of kinetic friction between the block and the surface is 𝜇 .
Under the application of the force, the velocity of the block increases from its initial value 𝑣1 = 1.50 m/s to a final
value 𝑣2 = 3.50 m/s over a distance of d = 2.20 m along the surface. What is the work done by friction?

A. -642 J B. 286 J C. -945 J D. -702 J E. 481 J

19. A cubic wooden block of width 20 cm is floating on a tank of water. When we push the block from the top side
and displace it by a little, the block undergoes an up and down motion. Assume that the up and down motion of the
block can be modelled as simple harmonic motion. What is the period of the simple harmonic motion of the block?
The density of wood is 600 kg/m3 . The density of water is 1000 kg/m3 .

A. 0.11 s B. 1.10 s C. 0.08 s D. 0.70 s E. 0.17 s

20. A rectangular block with dimensions 1.5 m × 1 m × 1 m is placed on a slope that makes an angle of 30∘ with the
horizontal. The square side of the rectangular block is initially put on the slope. The coefficient of static friction
between the block and the slope is 0.5. Will the block slide down the slope, topple over, or neither?

A. The block will slide down the slope, but will not topple over.
B. The block will topple over, but will not slide down the slope.
C. The block will both slide down the slope and topple over.
D. The block will neither slide down the slope nor topple over.
E. Not enough information to decide.

21. A block of mass m is being pulled along an inclined surface at a constant velocity using two massless pulleys as
shown in the diagram. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the block and the surface is 0.3. What is the
magnitude of the pulling force F required to maintain the constant velocity? Assume the strings are massless and
inextensible, and the mass of the block is 0.3 kg. The angle of inclination is 𝜃 = 30°.

A. 0.71 N B. 0.74 N C. 2.23 N D. 0.35 N E. 1.12 N

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22. A man standing on a movable cart throws a ball towards a fixed wall outside the cart. The ball has an initial
velocity of 15 m/s and bounces back from the wall, which the man then catches. The ball has a mass of 2 kg, the cart
(with the man) has a mass of 80 kg and is initially at rest before the ball is thrown. Find the final speed of the cart.
We assume the collision between the ball and the wall is elastic and the mass of the wall is much larger than that of
the ball.

A. 0.366 m/s B. 0.750 m/s C. 0 m/s D. 0.732 m/s E. 0.375 m/s

23. Ann and Betty are good at throwing and catching balls. They can always throw a ball for the other to catch it
with only negligible motion. This time they want to have more fun and play the game on skateboards as shown.
Initially they are both at rest. Ann first throws the ball to Betty at speed u. After catching the ball, Betty throws the
ball back to Ann at the same speed. After Ann catches the ball, Betty is moving faster than Ann by how much?
Assuming: mass of the ball = m; mass of Ann and the skateboard = mass of Betty and the skateboard = M

A. ( )
𝑢 B. ( )
𝑢 C. 𝑢 D. - 𝑢 E. 𝑢

24. Air resistance affects a satellite orbiting the Earth in a nearly circular orbit. Which of the followings does not
occur?

A. An increase in the time for the satellite to complete one revolution

B. A decrease in the time for the satellite to complete one revolution
C. A decrease in the total mechanical energy
D. An increase in the linear speed
E. A decrease in the distance to the Earth

25. A very heavy box of mass M is being lifted upwards by a crane at a constant velocity u. A ball of mass m ≪ M
is thrown at the box with velocity v at angle α.

If the ball hits the box at some time t, what are the x and y components of the velocity of the ball (v x(t), vy(t)) after
the collision? Assume a perfectly elastic collision.

A. (−v cos α, |v sin α − gt|)

B. (−v cos α, −|v sin α − gt|)
C. (−v cos α, 2u + |v sin α − gt|)
D. (−v cos α, 2u − |v sin α − gt|)
E. Either c or d