Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

COLLISION

1. Cannon shell explodes in the upper point of its trajectory and splits into two identical pieces so that one
piece falls directly back into the cannon. How far will the second piece fall, if the explosion point is at
the distance L from the cannon?

ANS 4L

6.3 John and his friend, Nancy, sit motionless on sleds on frictionless ice. John slides a 10 kg block across the
ice to Nancy at 3 m/sec relative to his sled (i.e. after the block is released, the relative velocity of the block
relative to his sled is 3 m/sec). Nancy catches it and slides it back to John at the same speed of 3 m/sec
relative to her own sled. John and his sled (without the 10 kg block) together have a mass of 100 kg, and
Nancy and her sled together have a mass of 80 kg.
a) What is the speed of John’s sled and what the speed of the block after John releases the block?
b) What is the speed of Nancy’s sled immediately after she catches the block?
c) What is the speed of Nancy’s sled and what is the speed of the block after she slides the block back to
John?
d) What is the speed of John’s sled after he catches the block?
e) What is the total kinetic energy of the block and the sled after John releases the block?
f) What is the total kinetic energy of the two sleds and the block just after Nancy catches the block?
g) What is the total kinetic energy of the sleds and the block just after Nancy releases
block?
h) What is the total kinetic energy of the sleds after John catches the block?
i) The kinetic energy is sometimes increasing. Where is that energy coming from?

Ans a . ,

b ,

c , d
Q.1. Center of Mass Motion and Internal Energy
A 6 kg object is moving in 1 dimension with a speed of 350 m/sec on a horizontal frictionless surface.
It explodes and breaks apart into one fragment of 2 kg and one of 4 kg with velocities along the initial
direction of motion of 250 m/sec and 400 m/sec, respectively.
a) What is the total momentum before and after the object explodes? Is momentum conserved?
b) What is the total kinetic energy before and after the object explodes? Is mechanical energy conserved?
c) What is the center-of-mass velocity before and after the object explodes? Does it change?
d) Answer the questions under a) and b), but evaluate all quantities in the center-of-mass frame of reference.
Do any of your conclusions change?
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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
Ans.

6.4 Colliding Pucks

Two pucks of mass m1 and m2, moving on a horizontal frictionless surface, undergo an elastic collision.
Prior to the collision, their speeds were v1 and v2 respectively, as measured in their center-of-mass
frame (the frame in which the center of mass is at rest).
a) What are their speeds, as measured in the center-of-mass frame, after the collision?
b) Can you make any statement about their directions of motion after the collision?
c) What was the total kinetic energy before the collision in the center-of-mass reference frame?
d) What was the total kinetic energy after the collision in the center-of-mass reference frame?

3. Two masses, m1 and m2, attached to equal length massless strings, are hanging side-by-side just in contact
with each other. Mass m1 is swung out to the side to a point having a vertical displacement 0.20 m above
mass m2. It is then released from rest and collides elastically with the stationary hanging mass m2. Each of
the masses is observed to rise to the same height following the collision.
a. Find the numerical value of this height.
b. The masses swing back down and undergo a second elastic collision. Describe what happens following
the second collision. (A proof is not required.)

1.155. Two identical buggies move one after the other due to inertia (without friction) with the same velocity
v0. A man of mass m rides the rear buggy. At a certain moment the man jumps into the front buggy with
a velocity u relative to his buggy. Knowing that the mass of each buggy is equal to M, find the
velocities with which the buggies will move after that.

Ans.

1. A long bar with the mass M = 1 kg is placed on a smooth horizontal surface of a table where it can
move frictionless. A carriage equipped with a motor can slide along the upper horizontal panel of the
bar, the mass of the carriage is m = 0.1 kg. The friction coefficient of the carriage is μ = 0.02. The
motor is winding a thread around a shaft at a constant speed v0 = 0.1 m/s. The other end of the thread is
tied up to a rather distant stationary support in one case (Fig.1, a), whereas in the other case it is
attached to a picket at the edge of the bar (Fig.1, b). While holding the bar fixed one allows the carriage
to start moving at the velocity V0 then the bar is let loose.

By the moment the bar is released the front edge of the carriage is at the distance l = 0.5 m from the
front edge of the bar. For both cases find the laws of movement of both the bar and the carriage and the
time during which the carriage will reach the front edge of the bar.

Solution
a) By the moment of releasing the bar the carriage has a velocity v0 relative to the table and continues to
move at the same velocity.
The bar, influenced by the friction force Ffr = μmg from the carriage, gets an acceleration

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
a = Ffr/ M = μmg/M ; a = 0.02 m/s , while the velocity of the bar changes with time according to the
law vb = at. .
Since the bar can not move faster than the carriage then at a moment of time t = t0 its sliding will
stop, that is vb = v0. Let us determine this moment of time:

By that moment the displacement of the Sb bar and the carriage Sc relative to the table will be equal to

, .

The displacement of the carriage relative to the bar is equal to

Since S<l, the carriage will not reach the edge of the bar until the bar is stopped by an immovable
support. The distance to the support is not indicated in the problem condition so we can not calculate
this time. Thus, the carriage is moving evenly at the velocity v0 = 0.1 m/s, whereas the bar is moving for
the first 5 sec uniformly accelerated with an acceleration a = 0.02 m/s and then the bar is moving
with constant velocity together with the carriage.
b) Since there is no friction between the bar and the table surface the system of the bodies “bar-
carriage” is a closed one. For this system one can apply the law of conservation of momentum:
mv + Mu = mv0 (1)
where v and u are projections of velocities of the carriage and the bar relative to the table onto the
horizontal axis directed along the vector of the velocity v0. The velocity of the thread winding v0 is
equal to the velocity of the carriage relative to the bar (v-u), that is
v0 = v – u (2)
Solving the system of equations (1) and (2) we obtain:
u = 0 , v = v0 .
Thus, being released the bar remains fixed relative to the table, whereas the carriage will be moving
with the same velocity v0 and will reach the edge of the bar within the time t equal to
t = l/v0 = 5 s.

1.55. A symmetric block of mass m1 with a notch of hemispherical shape of radius r rests on a smooth
horizontal surface near the wall. A small washer of mass m2 slides without friction from the initial
position.

Find the maximum velocity of the block.

Ans.

Ans.

P72. Beads of equal mass are strung at equal distances on a long, horizontal wire. The beads are initially at
rest but can move without friction.

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
One of the beads is continuously accelerated (towards the right) by a constant force F. What are the
speeds of the accelerated bead and the front of the shock wave, after a long time, if the collisions of the
beads are:
(i) completely inelastic
(ii) perfectly elastic?
Ans. (i)
(ii)
4. A ball is thrown so that it hits a stationary ramp and then bounces up the ramp. Immediately before the first
collision between the ball and the ramp, the ball has a velocity vo that is horizontal as shown in the
accompanying diagram. Assume that all collisions are perfectly elastic, that there is no friction between the
ramp and the ball, and that air resistance is negligible. At the instant that the ball makes its N+1st collision
with the ramp, the ball is moving perpendicular to the ramp. Express your answers in terms of N, vo, and g.
a. Find the angle that the ramp makes with the horizontal.
b. What is the distance, measured along the ramp, between the point at which the first collision occurs and
the point at which the N+1st collision occurs .

1.61. A smooth washer impinges at a velocity v on a group of three smooth identical blocks resting on a
smooth horizontal surface as shown in figure. The mass of each block is equal to the mass of the
washer. The diameter of the washer and its height are equal to the edge of the block. Determine the
velocities of all the bodies after the impact.

Ans.

1.62. Several identical balls are at rest in a smooth stationary horizontal circular pipe. One of the balls
explodes, disintegrating into two fragments of different masses.
Determine the final velocity of the body formed as a result of all collisions, assuming that the collisions
are perfectly inelastic.

Ans.
1.53. Two bodies of mass m1 = 1 kg and m2 = 2 kg move towards each other in mutually perpendicular
directions at velocities v1 = 3 m/s and v2 = 2 m/s. As a result of collision, the bodies stick together.
Determine the amount of heat Q liberated as a result of collision.

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

Ans.

1.167. Find the increment of the kinetic energy of the closed system comprising two spheres of masses m1 and
m2 due to their perfectly inelastic collision, if the initial velocities of the spheres where equal to v1 and
v2.
Ans. where

1. A mass M collides elastically with a stationary mass m. If M < m, then it is possible for M to bounce
directly backwards. However, if M > m, then there is a maximum angle of deflection of M. Find this angle.

Solution:
First Solution: Although it is possible to solve this problem by working in the lab frame, it is much easier
to make use of the center of mass frame. Let M have initial speed V in the lab frame. Then the CM moves
with speed

as shown.

The speeds of the masses in the CM frame are therefore equal to

and as shown.

In the CM frame, the collision is simple. The particles keep the same speeds, but simply change their
directions (while still moving in opposite directions), as shown.

The angle  is free to have any value. This scenario clearly satisfies conservation of energy and momentum;
therefore, it is what happens. The important point to note is that since  can have any value, the tip of the U
velocity vector can be located anywhere on a circle of radius U. If we then shift back to the lab frame, we
see that the final velocity of M with respect to the lab frame, V lab, is obtained by adding VCM to the vector U
(which can point anywhere on the dotted circle below). A few possibilities for V lab are shown.

The largest angle of deflection is obtained when V lab is tangent to the dotted circle, in which case we have
the following situation.

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

The maximum angle of deflection, , is therefore given by

Second Solution: Let V and v be the final speeds, and let  and  be the scattering angles of M and m,
respectively, in the lab frame. Then conservation of px, py, and E give

Putting the  terms on the left-hand sides of eqs. (4) and (5), and then squaring and adding these equations,
gives

Equating this expression for m2v02 with the one obtained by multiplying eq. (6) through by m gives

A solution to this quadratic equation in V exists if and only if the discriminate is non-negative. Therefore,
we must have

Remarks: If M < m, then eq. (9) says that any value of  is possible. In particular, it possible for M to
bounce directly backwards. In the language of the first solution above, if M < m then VCM < U, so the dotted
circle passes to the left of the left vertex of the triangle. This means that  can take on any value.
The method of the first solution provides an easy way to demonstrate the result that if the two masses are
equal, then they always scatter at a relative angle of 90 ± (a familiar result in billiards). If M = m, then

Therefore, the u and U vectors in the figure below form a diameter of the dotted circle, which means that
the final velocities of M and m in the lab frame are perpendicular.

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
1. (a) A tennis ball with (small) mass m2 sits on top of a basketball with (large) mass m1. The bottom of the
basketball is a height h above the ground, and the bottom of the tennis ball is a height h + d above the
ground. The balls are dropped. To what height does the tennis ball bounce?

Note: Work in the approximation where m1 is much larger than m2, and assume that the balls bounce
elastically.
(b) Now consider n balls, B1, : : : ; Bn, having masses m1, m2, : : : ; mn (with ),
sitting in a vertical stack. The bottom of B1 is height h above the ground, and the bottom of Bn is a
height h + l above the ground. The balls are dropped. In terms of n, to what height does the top ball
bounce?

Note: Work in the approximation where m1 is much larger than m2, which is much larger than m3, etc., and
assume that the balls bounce elastically. If h = 1 meter, what is the minimum number of balls needed for the
top one to bounce to a height of at least 1 kilometer? To reach escape velocity? Assume that the balls still
bounce elastically (which is a bit absurd here). Ignore wind resistance, etc., and assume that ` is negligible.

Solution:
(a) For simplicity, assume that the balls are separated by a very small distance, so that the relevant
bounces happen a short time apart. This assumption isn’t necessary, but it makes for a slightly cleaner
solution. Just before the basketball hits the ground, both balls are moving downward with speed (using
)

Just after the basketball bounces of the ground, it moves upward with speed v, while the tennis ball
still moves downward with speed v. The relative speed is therefore 2v. After the balls bounce or each
other, the relative speed is still 2v. (This is clear if you look at things in the frame of the basketball,
which is essentially a brick wall.1) Since the upward speed of the basketball essentially stays equal to
v, the upward speed of the tennis ball is 2v + v = 3v. By conservation of energy, it will therefore rise to
a height of H = d + (3v)2 / (2g). But v2 = 2gh, so we have

H = d + 9h … (ii)
(b) Just before B1 hits the ground, all of the balls are moving downward with speed .
We will inductively determine the speed of each ball after it bounces or the one below it. If Bi
achieves a speed of vi after bouncing or Bi –1, then what is the speed of Bi +1 after it bounces or Bi? The
relative peed of Bi +1 and Bi (right before they bounce) is v + vi. This is also the relative speed after they
bounce. Since Bi is still moving upwards at essentially speed vi, the final upward speed of Bi+1 is
therefore (v + vi) + vi. Thus,
… (iii)
Since , we obtain (in agreement with part (a)), , etc. In general,
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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
…(iv)
which is easily seen to satisfy eq. (3), with the initial value v1 = v. From conservation of energy, Bn
will bounce to a height of

..(v)

If h is 1 meter, and we want this height to equal 1000 meters, then (assuming l is not very large) we
need . Five balls won’t quite do the trick, but six will, and in this case the height is
almost four kilometers. Escape velocity from the earth (which is vesc = = 11; 200 m/s) is
reached when

…(vi)

With R = 6:4. 106 m and h = 1m, we find . Of course, the elasticity assumption is absurd in
this case, as is the notion that one can find 12 balls with the property that .

1. Board A is placed on board B as shown. Both boards slide, without moving with respect to each other,
along a frictionless horizontal surface at a speed v. Board B hits a resting board C “head-on.” After the
collision, boards B and C move together, and board A slides on top of board C and stops its motion
relative to C in the position shown on the diagram. What is the length of each board? All three boards
have the same mass, size, and shape. It is known there is no friction between boards A and B; the
coefficient of kinetic friction between boards A and C is .

Solution: First consider the situation immediately after the perfectly inelastic collision between B and C but
before A has begun to slip onto C; label this as the initial configuration “ i.” Clearly and
by momentum conservation. On the other hand, in the end (labeled “f ”) all three
masses have the same final speed, so that by again applying momentum
conservation. The sum of the kinetic energies of the boards thus changes by

…(i)
where m is the mass of each board. This net loss in mechanical energy is the result of the non-
conservative “internal work” done by friction,

…(ii)

where the equal and opposite internal force of friction between blocks A and C is given by
…(iii)
with L the length of each board. Here, xA and xC are the rightward displacements of blocks A and C
from their initial positions; the ratio (xA – xC)/L thus gives the fraction of block A, which is on top of
block C, and hence the ratio of the normal force N of A on C to the weight mg of A. Substitute Eq. (iii)
into Eq. (ii) to find
….(iv)
It is worth pausing to note that it would have been extremely difficult to attempt to separately calculate
the two frictional work terms in the middle expression in Eq. (ii). Finally equate the right-hand sides of
Eqs. (i) and (iv) to obtain the answer,
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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

…(v)

1. A ball, mass m, falls vertically downwards and hits the ground with a speed of 3v. The ball the goes away
from the ground with a speed of 2v.

The impulse of the ground on the ball is

1. mv upwards
2. mv downwards
3. 5mv upwards
4. 5mv downwards
5. 2.5mv upwards
Answer 3
The magnitude of the change of momentum is 3V – (–2V) = 5V.
Since the ball moves upwards afterwards, the impulse of the floor on the ball is upwards.
1. A block with large mass M slides with speed V0 on a frictionless table towards a wall. It collides elastically
with a ball with small mass m, which is initially at rest at a distance L from the wall. The ball slides towards
the wall, bounces elastically, and then proceeds to bounce back and forth between the block and the wall.

(a) How close does the block come to the wall?

(b) How many times does the ball bounce off the block, by the time the block makes its closest approach to
the wall?
Assume that M >> m, and give your answers to leading order in m=M.

Solution:
(a) Consider one of the collisions. Let it occur at a distance l from the wall, and let v and V be the speeds of
the ball and block, respectively, after the collision. We claim that the quantity ` is invariant. That
is, it is the same for each collision. This can be seen as follows.
The time to the next collision is given by (because the sum of the distances traveled by the two
objects is ). Therefore, the next collision occurs at a distance from the wall, where
…(i)
Therefore,
…(ii)
We now make use of the fact that in an elastic collision, the relative speed before the collision equals the
relative speed after the collision. (This is most easily seen by working in the center of mass frame, where
this scenario clearly satisfies conservation of E and p.) Therefore, if and are the speeds after the next
collision, then
…(iii)
Using this in eq. (2) gives
…(iv)
as we wanted to show.
What is the value of this invariant? After the first collision, the block continues to move at speed V0, up to
corrections of order m=M. And the ball acquires a speed of 2V0, up to corrections of order m=M. (This can
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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
be seen by working in the frame of the heavy block, or equivalently by using eq. (3) with and v
= 0.) Therefore, the invariant is essentially equal to
Let Lmin be the closest distance to the wall. When the block reaches this closest point, its speed is
(essentially) zero. Hence, all of the initial kinetic energy of the block now belongs to the ball. Therefore,
, and our invariant tells us that . Thus,

…(v)
(b) (This solution is due to Slava Zhukov) With the same notation as in part (a), conservation of
momentum in a given collision gives
…(vi)
This equation, along with eq. (3),1 allows us to solve for and in terms of V and v. The result, in
matrix form, is

…(vii)

The eigenvectors and given values of this transformation are

…(viii)

where

…(ix)

The initial conditions are

…(x)

Therefore, the speeds after the nth bounce are given by

= ..(xi)

Let the block reach its closest approach to the wall at the Nth bounce. Then VN = 0, and so eq. (11) tells us
that . Using the definition of µ from eq. (9), we have

…(xii)

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
Remark: This solution is exact, up to the second line in eq. (12), where we finally use M >> m. We can use
the first line of eq. (12) to determine the relation between m and M for which the Nth bounce leaves the
block exactly at rest at its closest approach to the wall. For this to happen, we need the N in eq. (12) to be an
integer. Letting , we can rewrite eq. (12) as

…(xiii)

where we have used the tan half-angle formula, with . Squaring both sides and solving the
resulting quadratic equation for r gives
…(xiv)
If we want the block to come to rest after N = 1 bounce, then gives , which is correct. If we
want N = 2, then gives . If we want N = 3, then gives
. For general N, eq. (14) must be computed numerically. For large N, then second line
in eq. (12) shows that r goes like 1/N2. More precisely,

1.
A heavy brick is falling from a height of 1 meter, hits a tennis
ball and jumps back to the height of (almost) 1 meter. (We
assume that the mass of the tennis ball is negligible compared to
the mass of the brick. The collision with the ball is assumed to be
elastic, i.e. there is no energy loss.) To what height will the tennis
ball jump?

Solution:
The tennis ball will jump to the height of 1/4 meter. The brick will fall and strike the tennis ball, which
will compress symmetrically and then return to its original shape. During this compression, the center of
mass of the tennis ball moves exactly half the distance that the topmost point of tennis ball moves (the
point first contacted by the brick). Since the distances moved by these two points on the ball occur during
the same time period, the velocity of the center of mass of the ball is exactly one-half the velocity of the
top of the ball. During the rebound, at the moment the tennis ball returns to its original shape, the brick
(and the top of the tennis ball) will have reached its maximum upward velocity, which, according to the
problem statement, is sufficient to propel the brick to a maximum height of almost 1 m. Since the
maximum height of a projectile is proportional to the square of the vertical component of its initial
velocity (H=v2/(2g)), and since the center of mass of the tennis ball was moving at one-half the velocity
of the brick at the moment of restoration, the tennis ball will reach a maximum height equal to one-
quarter of the maximum height of the brick.

2.
Two balls are dropped from h above the floor as shown in the figure. Consider all
the collisions to be elastic. Calculate the height the ball (M 1) on the top reaches on
the rebound. The masses of the balls are M1 = m and M2 = 2m. Radius of M2 is 'r'.
Solution:
First, calculate the velocity of the lower ball at the collision with the ground. We
use the conservation of energy to find the velocity of the bottom ball at impact
with the ground. We can equate the change in gravitational potential energy to the
change in kinetic energy to find this velocity:

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

The following is a proof of why the velocity of the ball after colliding with the ground is equal in
magnitude, but opposite in direction, but you don't have to know how to prove it.
M2 vo M2 v'2

Next, calculate the collision between M2 and M1 to get the final vo v' 1

velocity, , of M1. ( M2 = 2m and M1 = m). The initial velocity M1 M1

of the upper ball in the collision is the same magnitude as the
lower ball because they have both fallen the same distance. We M2 v' 2 M2 v" 2
start with the conservation of momentum to get the first equation
into which we plug the masses (note that we plug in vo for as
was found above) and simplify:
=

=
Now we use the conservation of energy (in this case kinetic) for a second equation into which we also
plug the masses and simplify:
vo v' 1
M1 M1

M2 v' 2 M2 v" 2

=
We go back to the equation for vo from above and solve for and plug it into the simplified
energy equation:
=

Now we have a big mess for simplifying and solving for .

= 0

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

The second value is the initial velocity, so the first value of is the final velocity of M1.

From the result of , obtain the max height of M1. We will find out how high above the collision point it
goes (z) and then add on its initial height at impact of two times the radius of the lower ball at the end to
find the final height above ground that the upper ball gets to (y).
=
0 =

z =

z =

z =

z =

y = z + 2r

y =

2. N identical balls lie equally spaced in a semicircle on a frictionless horizontal table, as shown. The total
mass of these balls is M. Another ball of mass m approaches the semicircle from the left, with the proper
initial conditions so that it bounces (elastically) off all N balls and finally leaves the semicircle, heading
directly to the left.

(a) In the limit (so the mass of each ball in the semicircle, M/N, goes to zero), find the minimum
value of M/m that allows the incoming ball to come out heading directly to the left.
(b) In the minimum M/m case found in part (a), show that the ratio of m’s final speed to initial speed equals

Solution:
(a) Let be the mass of each ball in the semicircle. We need the deflection angle in each collision
to be . However, if the ratio is too small, then this angle of deflection is not possible the
maximal angle of deflection in each collision is given by sin . (We’ll just invoke this result
here.) Since we want here, this condition becomes (using , for the small
angle ).
…(i)
(b) Referring back to the solution to Problem, we see that m’s speed after the first bounce is obtained from
the following figure.

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

Looking at the right triangle, we see that the speed after the bounce is

…(ii)

To first order in the small quantity , this equals

….(iii)

The same reasoning holds for each successive bounce, so the speed decreases by a factor of after
each bounce. In the minimum M/m case found in part (a), we have
…(iv)
Therefore, the ratio of m’s final speed to initial speed equals

…(v)

That’s a nice result, if there ever was one! Since is roughly equal to 1/23, only about 4% of the
initial speed remains.

3. A brick is thrown (from ground level) at an angle with respect to the (horizontal) ground. Assume
that the long face of the brick remains parallel to the ground at all times, and that there is no
deformation is the ground or the brick when the brick hits the ground.
If the coefficient of friction between the brick and the ground is , what should be so that the brick
travels the maximum total horizontal distance before finally coming to rest?
Ans. Let V be the initial speed. The horizontal speed and initial vertical speed are then and ,
respectively. You can easily show that the distance traveled in the air is the standard

To find the distance traveled along the ground, we must determine the horizontal speed just after the
impact has occurred. The normal force, N, form the ground is what reduces the vertical speed from
to zero, during the impact. So we have

Where the integral runs over the time of the impact. But this normal force (when multiplied by , to
give the horizontal friction force) also produces a sudden decrease in the horizontal speed, during the
time to the impact. So we have

(We have neglected the effect of the mg gravitational force during the short time of the impact, since it
is much smaller than the N impulsive force). Therefore the brick begins its sliding motion with speed

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
Note that the is true only if . If is large than this, then the horizontal speed simply
becomes zero, and the brick moves no further would give a negative value for v.
The friction force from this point on it , so the acceleration is . The distance traveled
along the ground can easily be shown to be

We want to find the angle that maximizes the total distance, .

Taking the derivative with respect to , we see that the maximum total distance is achieved when
.
Note, however, that the above analysis is valid only if (from the comment after). We
therefore see that if:
, then the optimal angle is given by (The brick continues to slide after the impact)
, then the optimal angle is . (The brick stops after the impact, and gives the
maximum value for the expression in equation.

Q.1. The figure 1.1 shows a solid, homogeneous ball radius R. Before falling to the floor its center of mass is
at rest, but the ball is spinning with angular velocity ω0 about a horizontal axis through its center. The
lowest point of the ball is at a height h above the floor.

When released, the ball falls under gravity, and rebounds to a new height such that its lowest point is
now ah above the floor. The deformation of the ball and the floor on impact may be considered
negligible.
Ignore the presence of the air. The impact time, although, is finite.
The mass of the ball is m, the acceleration due the gravity is g, the dynamic coefficient of friction
between the ball and the floor is μk, and the moment of inertia of the ball about the given axis is:

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

You are required to consider two situations, in the first, the ball slips during the entire impact time, and
in the second the slipping stops before the end of the impact time.
Situation-I:
slipping throughout the impact.
Find:
a) tan θ , where θ is the rebound angle indicated in the diagram;
b)the horizontal distance traveled in flight between the first and second impacts;
c) the minimum value of ω0 for this situations.
Situation II:
slipping for part of the impacts.
Find, again:
a) tan θ;
b)the horizontal distance traveled in flight between the first and second impacts.
Taking both of the above situations into account, sketch the variation of tan θ with ω0.
Solution:
a) Calculation of the velocity at the instant before impact
Equating the potential gravitational energy to the kinetic energy at the instant before impact we can
arrive at the pre-impact velocity v0:

from which we may solve for v0 as follows:

b) Calculation of the vertical component of the velocity at the instant after impact
Let v2x and v2y be the horizontal and vertical components, respectively, of the velocity of the mass center
an instant after impact. The height attained in the vertical direction will be h and then:

from which, in terms of (or the restitution coefficient c )

c) General equations for the variations of linear and angular momenta in the time interval of
theImpact

Considering that the linear impulse of the forces is equal to the variation of the linear momentum and
that the angular impulse of the torques is equal to the variation of the angular momentum, we have:

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

Where Ix, Iy and Iare the linear and angular impulses of the acting forces and 2 is the angular velocity
after impact. The times t1 and t2 correspond to the beginning and end of impact.
Variants:
At the beginning of the impact the ball will always be sliding because it has a certain angular velocity
0.
There are, then, two possibilities:
I. The entire impact takes place without the friction being able to spin the ball enough for it to stop at
the contact point and go into pure rolling motion.
II. For a certain time t (t1, t2), the point that comes into contact with the floor has a velocity equal to
zero and from that moment the friction is zero. Let us look at each case independently.

Case I:
In this variant, during the entire moment of impact, the ball is sliding and the friction relates to the
normal force as:

Substituting (8) in relations (6) and (7), and using (5), we find that:

and

which can give us the horizontal component of the velocity v2x and the final angular velocity in the
form:

With this we have all the basic magnitudes in terms of data. The range of validity of the solution under
consideration may be obtained from (11) and (12). This solution will be valid whenever at the end of
the impact the contact point has a velocity in the direction of the negative x. That is, if:

so, for angular velocities below this value, the solution is not valid.
Case II:
In this case, rolling is attained for a time t between the initial time t1 and the final time t2 of the impact.
Then the following relationship should exist between the horizontal component of the velocity v2x and
the final angular velocity:

Substituting (14) and (6) in (7), we get that:

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

which can be solved for the final values:

and

Calculation of the tangents of the angles

Case I:
For tan we have, from (4) and (11), that:

i.e., the angle is independent of 0.

Case II:
Here (4) and (16) determine for tan that:

then (18) and (19) give the solution (fig. 1.3).

We see that does not depend on  if 0 0 min; where 0 min is given as:

Calculation of the distance to the second point of impact

Case I:
The rising and falling time of the ball is:

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
The distance to be found, then, is;

which is independent of 0.

Case II:
In this case, the rising and falling time of the ball will be the one given in (21). Thus the distance we are
trying to find may be calculated by multiplying tv by the velocity v2x so that:

Thus, the distance to the second point of impact of the ball increases linearly with 0.

1.180. Find the law according to which the mass of the rocket varies with time, when the rocket moves with a
constant acceleration w, the external forces are absent, the gas escapes with a constant velocity u
relative to the rocket, and its mass at the initial moment equals m0.
Ans.

3. For some odd reason, you decide to throw baseballs at a car of mass M, which is free to move frictionless
on the ground. You throw the balls at the back of the car at speed u, and at a mass rate of kg/s (assume
the rate is continuous, for simplicity). If the car starts at rest, find its speed and position as a function of
time, assuming that the back window is open, so that the balls collect inside the car.

Solution:
Let the speed of the car be v(t). Consider the time interval when a mass dm enters the car. Conservation of
momentum gives

…(i)
where we have dropped the second-order dm dv term. Separating variables and integrating gives

…(ii)
Note that as , as it should.
How does m depend on time? Mass enters the car at a rate , because although you throw the
balls at speed u, the relative speed of the balls and the car is only ( .Therefore,
…(iii)
Substituting the m from eq. (2) into this equation gives

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

…(iv)

Note that as , as it should. Integrating this speed to obtain the position gives

…(v)
We see that even though the speed approaches u, the car will eventually be an arbitrarily large distance
behind a ball with constant speed u. For example, pretend that the first ball missed the car and continued to
travel forward at speed u.
P103. A table of height 1m has a hole in the middle of its surface. A thin, golden chain necklace, of length
1m, is placed loosely coiled close to the hole, as shown in the figure. One end of the chain is pulled a
little way through the hole and then released. Friction is negligible, and , as a result, the chain runs
smoothly through the hole with increasing speed. After what times will the two ends of the chain reach
the floor?

Ans.

P108. A fire hose of mass M and length L is coiled into a roll of radius R(R <<L). The hose is sent rolling
across level ground with initial speed v0 (angular velocity v0/R), while the free end of the hose is held at
a fixed point on the ground. The hose unrolls and becomes straight.
(i) How much time does it take for the hose to completely unroll?
(ii) The speed of the roll continually increases and its acceleration a is clearly a vector pointing in the
same direction as its velocity. On the other hand, the vector resultant of the horizontal external
forces (frictional force plus the restraining force at the fixed end of the hose) points in the opposite
direction. How are these two facts consistent with Newton’s second law?

Ans. (i)
(ii)

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
1.56. A round box of inner diameter D containing a washer of radius r lies on a table . The box is moved as a
whole at a constant velocity v directed along the lines of centre of the box and the washer. At an instant
t0, the washer hits the box.

Determine the time dependences of the displacement xwash of the washer and of its velocity vwash relative
to the table, starting from the instant t0 and assuming that all the impacts of the washer against the box
are perfectly elastic. Plot the graphs xwash (t) and vwash (t). The friction between the box and the washer
should be neglected.
Ans.

1. A ball, mass m, falls vertically downwards and hits the ground with a speed of 3v. The ball the goes away
from the ground with a speed of 2v.

The impulse of the ground on the ball is

1. mv upwards
2. mv downwards
3. 5mv upwards
4. 5mv downwards
5. 2.5mv upwards
Answer 3
The magnitude of the change of momentum is 3V – (–2V) = 5V.
Since the ball moves upwards afterwards, the impulse of the floor on the ball is upwards.

1. A homogeneous disc A of mass m and radius RA moves translationally on a smooth horizontal x-y
plane in the x direction with a velocity V . The center of the disk is at a distance b from the x-axis.
It collides with a stationary homogeneous disc B whose center is initially located at the origin of
the coordinate system. The disc B has the same mass and the same thickness as A, but its radius is
RB. It is assumed that the velocities of the discs at their point of contact, in the direction
perpendicular to the line joining their centers, are equal after the collision. It is also assumed that
the magnitudes of the relative velocities of the discs along the line joining their centers are the
same before and after the collision.
1) For such a collision determine the X and Y components of the velocities of the two discs after
the collision, i. e. , , and in terms of , , , and .
2) Determine the kinetic energies for disc A and for disc B after the collision in terms of
, , , and .

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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics

1. 1) When disc A collides with disc B, let n be the unit vector along the normal to the surfaces at
the point of contact and t be the tangential unit vector as shown in the figure. Let be the
angle between n and the x axis. Then we have

The momentum components of A and B along n and t before collision are:

,
.
Denote the corresponding momentum components of A and B after collision by , ,
, and . Let and be the angular velocities of A and B about the axes
through their centers after collision, and and be their corresponding moments of
intertia. Then,
,
The conservation of momentum gives
, (1)
,
(2)
The conservation of angular momentum about the axis through O gives
(3)
The impulse of the friction force exerted on B during collision will cause a momentum change of
along t and produces an angular momentum simultaneously. They are related by.

(4)

During the collision at the point of contact A and B acquires the same tangential velocities,
so we have

(5)
It is given that the magnitudes of the relative velocities along the normal direction of the two discs
before and after collision are equal, i. e.
.
(6)
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 Aptitude Test-Problems in Physics
From Eqs. 1 and 6 we get
,
.
From Eqs. 2 to 5, we get
,

.
The x and y components of the velocities after collision are:

(7)

(8)

(9)

, (10)

2. After the collision, the kinetic energy of disc A is

(11)

while the kinetic energy of disc B is

(12)

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