Module code: FIC 1502

Module leaders: Mr. BO Mnisi

Assignment no: 1

Due date: 28-August 2023

1. Assume that the speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 0.03 Gm/s.

What is the speed of light in meters per second.

o 3×108 m/s
o 3×105 m/s
o 3×107 m/s
o 5×104 m/s
o 7×109 m/s

2. On a fishing trip you catch a 2.35-lb bass, a 12.1-lb rock cod and a 12.13-
lb salmon. What is the total weight of your catch in kilograms?

o 12.1 Kg
o 21.5 Kg
o 36.8 Kg
o 18.3 Kg
o 45.4 Kg

3. How many significant figures are there in (a) 0.000079 and (b) 8.002 ×
105?

o (a) = 1 significant figure and (b) = 3 significant figures

o (a) = 4 significant figures and (b) = 2 significant figures
o (a) = 5 significant figures and (b) = 3 significant figures
o (a) = 2 significant figures and (b) = 4 significant figures
o (a) = 6 significant figures and (b) = 1 significant figure

4. The time T required for one complete oscillation of a mass m on a spring

of force constant k is
 m
T = 2
k

Find the dimensions k must have for this equation to be dimensionally

correct.

o  L
M 
T 
o
M 
T 
2

o  L
o
M 
 L
2

 M T 
2
o

5. Peacock mantis shrimps feed largely on snails. They shatter the shells of
their prey by delivering a sharp blow with their front legs, which have been
observed to reach peak speeds of 100 m/s. What is the speed in miles per
hour?

o 51 mi per hour
o 278 mi per hour
o 129 mi per hour
o 36 mi per hour
o 224 mi per hour

6. You drive your car in a straight line at 15 m/s for 10 minutes, then at 25
m/s for another 10 minutes. Is your average speed for the entire trip more
than, less than or equal to 20 m/s? Choose the best explanation among the
following:

o Less than 20 m/s because more time is required to drive at 15 m/s

than at 25 m/s.
o Less than 20 m/s because less distance is covered at 25 m/s than at
15 m/s.
o Equal to 20 m/s, due to equal time spent at 15 m/s and 25 m/s.
o All of the above
o None of the above
7. A rocket blasts off and moves straight upward from the launch pad with
constant acceleration. After 7.0 s the rocket is at a height of 90 m. What
are the magnitude and direction of the rocket’s acceleration?

o 25 m/s2
o 17 m/s2
o 4 m/s2
o 9 m/s2
o 7 m/s2

8. A boat is cruising in a straight line at a constant speed of 10.5 m/s when it

is shifted into neutral. After coasting 30 m the engine is engaged again, and
the boat resumes cruising at the reduced constant speed of 4.8 m/s.
Assuming constant acceleration while coasting, how long did it take for the
boat to coast the 30 m?

o 5.7 s
o 2.7 s
o 3.9 s
o 8.4 s
o 6.1 s

9. Gulls are often observed dropping clams and other shellfish from a height
to the rocks below, as a means of opening the shells. If a seagull drops a
shell from rest at a height of 29 m, how fast is the shell moving when it hits
the rocks?

o 24 m/s
o 50 m/s
o 17 m/s
o 36 m/s
o 100 m/s

10. You drive a car 520 ft to the east, then 1750 ft to the north. If the trip took
3.0 minutes, what were the direction and magnitude of your average
velocity?

o 4.9 m/s
o 0.67 m/s
o 0.56 m/s
 o 3.1 m/s
o 0.28 m/s

11. Suppose that each component of a certain vector is doubled. By what

multiplicative factor does the magnitude of the vector change?

o 44
o 2
o 6
o 8
o 10

12. Consider the vectors A = (1.2 m) x and B = (−3.4 m) x . Is the magnitude of

vector A greater than, less than, or equal to the magnitude of vector B ?
Please choose the best explanation as well.

o Less than, because the number 3.4 is greater than the number 1.2
o More than, because the component of B is negative
o Equal to, because the vector A points in the positive x direction
o None of the above

13. Consider a skateboarder who starts from rest at the top of a ramp that is
inclined at an angle of 43.5° to the horizontal. Assuming that the
skateboarder’s acceleration is g sin 43.5°, find his speed when he reaches
the bottom of the ramp in 5.53 s.

o 17.4 m/s
o 24.8 m/s
o 9.59 m/s
o 37.3 m/s
o 46.6 m/s

14. Which of the following statement is true regarding mass and weight?

o Mass is a scalar quantity and weight is a vector quantity

o Mass is a vector quantity and weight is a scalar quantity
o Both mass and weight are vector quantities
o Both mass and weight are scalar quantities
o All of the above
15. The mass of a raindrop is 4 nanograms. Which one of the following
statements indicates the correct mass of the raindrop in kilograms?

o The raindrop has a mass of 4 × 10-8 Kilograms

o The raindrop has a mass of 4 × 10-10 Kilograms
o The raindrop has a mass of 4 × 10-12 Kilograms
o The raindrop has a mass of 4 × 10-6 Kilograms
o The raindrop has a mass of 4 × 107 Kilograms

16. Choose the correct statement that makes the equation V f = Vi + at to be

dimensionally consistent.

o
 L =  L
T  T 
o
 L =  L
T  T 
2 2

o
M  = M 
T  T 
2 2

o  L =  L
o  L  T 

17. Water going over Angel Falls, in Venezuela, the world’s highest
waterfall, drops through a distance of 4000 ft. What is the distance in
meters?

o 1219 m
o 979 m
o 1347 m
o 2126 m
o 1546 m

18. A displacement vector has a magnitude of 810 m and points at an angle

of 28° above the positive x axis. What are the x and y scalar components
of this vector?

x scalar component y scalar component

o 770.3 m 250.3 m
 o 638.3 m 498.7 m
o 585.3 m 560.3 m
o 250.3 m 750.3 m
o 715.2 m 380.3 m

19. In 1992 Zhuang Yong of China set a women’s Olympic record in the
100-meter freestyle swim with a time of 54.64 seconds. What was her
average speed? Give your answer in miles/ hour.

o 8.408 mi/h
o 12.46 mi/h
o 23.63 mi/h
o 4.095 mi/h
o 36.61 mi/h

20. The first active volcano observed outside the earth was discovered in
1979 on lo, one of the moons of Jupiter. The volcano was observed to
be ejecting material to a height of about 2.00 × 105 m. Given that the
acceleration of gravity on lo is 1.80 m/s2, find the initial velocity of the
ejected material.

o 532 m/s.
o 849 m/s.
o 423 m/s
o 823 m/s
o No correct answer

21. A doctor, preparing to give a patient an injection, squirts a small

amount of liquid straight upward from a syringe. If the liquid emerges
with a speed of 1.5 m/s. How long does it take for it to return to the level
of the syringe?

o 5.2 × 10-3 min

o 2.3 × 10-4 min
o 4.1 × 10-3 min
o 7.6 × 10-4 min
o 6.8 × 10-3 min
22. The press box at a baseball park is 40.0 ft above the ground. A
reporter in the press box looks at an angle of 25° below the horizontal
to see second base. What is the horizontal distance from the press box
to second base?

o 102.3 m
o 77. 9 m
o 119.1 m
o 64.3 m
o 85.8 m

23. A water molecule H2O is shown schematically in the figure below. The
distance from the center of the oxygen atom to the center of hydrogen
atom is 0.96 Å, and the angle between the hydrogen atoms is 104.5°.
Find the center-to center distance between the hydrogen atoms. (1 Å =
10-10 m).

o 2.8 Å
o 1.5 Å
o 3.8 Å
o 8.7 Å
o 9.4 Å

24. A vector A has a length of 6.1 m and points in the negative x-

direction. Find its x component and the magnitude of the vector -3.7
A.

o x-component and magnitude is 45 m

 o x-component and magnitude is 45 m
o x-component and magnitude is 23 m
o x-component and magnitude is 90 m
o x-component and magnitude is 76 m

25. Which one of the following is the longest length?

o 100 meters
o 102 centimeters
o 104 millimeters
o 105 micrometers
o 107 nanometers

Solutions

1. This is simply a units conversion problem.

Multiply the given number by conversion factors to obtain
the desired units.
Convert the units:
Gm 1 109 m
0.03  = 3  107 m/s
s Gm

2. The weights of the fish are added. Apply the rule for addition of numbers,
which states that the number of decimal places after addition equals
the smallest number of decimal places in any of the individual terms.

2.35 + 12.1 + 12.13 lb = 26.58 lb = 26.6lb.

Convert pounds to kilograms
 1lb = 0.45359237 Kg
0.45359237 Kg
26.6lb  = 12.1 Kg
lb

3. This is a significant figures question. Follow the given rules regarding the
calculation and display of significant figures.
(a) The leading zeros are not significant: 0.0000 7 9 has
2 significant figures
(b) The middle zeros are significant: 8.0 0 2×105 has
4 significant figures

4. This is a dimensional analysis question. Solve the formula for k and

substitute the units.
m m 4 2 m
T = 2 square both sides: T 2 = 4 2 or k =
k k T2
Substitute the dimensions, where [M] represents the dimension of mass:

[M]
k=
[T]2

5. Convert to miles per hour: 1 mile = 1609 m and 1hr = 60 m = 3600 s

 m  1 mi  3600 s  mi
100    = 224
 s  1609 m  1 hr  hr

6. You drive your car in a straight line at two different speeds. We could
calculate the average speed with the given information by determining
the total distance traveled and dividing by the elapsed time. However,
we can arrive at a conceptual understanding of the answer by remembering that avera
not an average over the distance traveled.
Answer: The average speed will be less than 20 m/s because you will
spend a longer time driving at the lower speed. You will cover the
10 km distance in less time at the higher speed than you did at the
lower speed. The best answer is . More time is spent at 15 m/s than at
25 m/s because the distances traveled at each speed are the same,
so that it will take a longer time at the slower speed to cover the same
 distance. Statement 2 is true but irrelevant and statement 3-5 are false.
Insight:
The time elapsed at the lower speed is (10, 000 m ) (15 m/s ) = 667 s and
the time elapsed at the higher speed is (10, 000 m ) ( 25 m/s ) = 400 s,
so the average speed is

( 20, 000 m ) (1067 s ) = 18.7 m/s.

7. The rocket accelerates straight upward. Employ the relationship

between acceleration, displacement, and time to find the acceleration.
Because the rocket was at rest before blast off, the initial velocity v0
is zero, and so is the initial position x0 . You this equation below.
x = x0 + v0 t + 12 at 2

Let x0 = v0 = 0and solve for acceleration:

2 x 2 ( 90 m )
a= 2 = = 3.7 m/s 2 = 4 m/s 2 upward
( 7.0 s )
2
t

8. The boat slows down at a uniform rate as it coasts in a straight line.

Because the initial and final velocities are known, the time can be
determined from the average velocity and the distance traveled.
Use one suitable equation of motion to find time (t) such as:

1
x = (v f + v0 )t
2
Then maketime (t ) the subject of the formula
x 30 m
t= 1 = 1 = 3.9 s
2 ( v + v0 ) 2 ( 4.8 + 10.5 m/s )

9. The shell falls straight down under the influence of gravity. Because
the distance of the fall is known, use the time-free equation of motion
to find the landing speed. Let v0 = 0 and let downward be the positive.

v 2f = v02 + 2 g x
Then make final velocity v, the subject of the formula
v = v02 + 2 g x = 02 + 2 ( 9.81 m/s 2 ) ( 29 m ) = 24 m/s

10. You travel due east 520 ft then due north 1750 ft.
 The components of the displacement are given, from which we can
determine the magnitude and direction fairly easily. The direction
of the average velocity will be the same as the direction of the
displacement. The magnitude of the average velocity is the magnitude
of the displacement divided by the total time of travel. Let north be the positive y dir
direction.

Find the direction of the displacement

 ry  −1  1750 ft 
 = tan −1   = tan   = 73 north of east
 rx   520 ft 
Find the magnitude of the displacement
0.305m
r= ( 520 ft ) + (1750 ft ) = 1826 ft 
2 2
= 557 m
ft
Find the magnitude of the average velocity
r 557 m
vav = = = 3.1 m/s
t 3.0 min  60 s/min

11. Each component of a vector is doubled in magnitude.

Note the relationship between the components of a vector and its
magnitude and direction to answer the conceptual question.
Doubling each of the components of a vector will double its magnitude, or increase its
by a multiplicative factor of 2. You can picture this in your head or
confirm it mathematically with a calculation like:
( 2 Ax ) + ( 2 Ay ) = 4 ( Ax2 + Ay2 ) = 2 Ax2 + Ay2 = 2 A
2
A= Ax2 + Ay2 
2

12.
Vector A points in the positive x direction and vector B points in the
negative x direction. Use the definitions of vector magnitude and
direction to answer the conceptual question. The magnitude of a
vector is determined by its length and is independent of its direction.
Therefore we note that the magnitude of A = (1.2 m) xˆ is less than the
magnitude of: B = ( −3.4 m) xˆ The best explanation is
The number 3.4 is greater than the number 1.2. Second statement is
true, but not relevant, and third statement is true, but not relevant
because the magnitude of a vector is independent of its direction.

13. The skateboarder rolls down the ramp that is inclined 17.5° above the
 horizontal. The acceleration relates the change in velocity with the
time elapsed. Solve for the final speed, taking the direction down the
ramp to be the positive direction.
v f = vi + at = 0 + ( 9.81 m/s 2 ) sin ( 43.5 )  ( 5.53 s ) = 37.3 m/s

14. Scalar quantity has only magnitude, it can be specified by a single

number and a unit. Therefore, mass only has Magnitude.
Vector quantity has magnitude and direction, so weight (N) is the
gravitational force W = F = mg , then weight is directly proportional to
the gravitational force which has magnitude and direction.
Therefore, W is a vector quantity.

15. Convert 4 nanograms to kilograms.

1Kg
4 10−9 g 
1000 g
= 4 10−12 Kg

16. This is a dimensional analysis question. Manipulate the dimensions in

the same manner as algebraic expressions. Substitute dimensions for
the variables on both sides of the equation:

v = v0 + at
[L] [L] [L]
= + [T]
[T] [T] [T]2
[L] [L]
= It is dimensionally consistent!
[T] [T]

17. Multiply the known quantity by appropriate conversion factors to

change the units, Convert feet to kilometres:

( 4000 ft ) 
1 mi  1.609 km  1000m 
   = 1218.9 km
 5280 ft  1 mi  1km 

18. The x and y-components are:

 x = 810 cos(28)
= 715.2
y = 810sin(28)
= 380.3

19. The swimmer swims in the forward direction. The average speed is the
distance divided by elapsed time. Divide the distance by the time:

distance 100.0 m 1 mi 3600 s

s= = = 1.830 m/s   = 4.095 mi/h
time 54.64 s 1609 m 1h

20. The material travels straight upward, slowing down under the
influence of gravity until it momentarily comes to rest at its maximum
altitude. Because the maximum altitude is known, use the time-free
equation of motion (equation 2-12) to find the initial velocity.
Let upward be the positive direction, so that a = −1.80 m/s2.
Solve for initial velocity.

v0 = v 2 − 2ax = 02 − 2 ( −1.80 m/s 2 )( 2.00  105 m ) = 849 m/s

21. The liquid squirts straight upward, slows down, and momentarily comes
to rest before falling straight downward again. Find the time of flight by
exploiting the symmetry of the situation. If it takes time t for gravity to
slow the liquid drops down from their initial speed V0 to zero, it will take the same am
back to the same speed. They therefore land at the same speed V0 with
which they were squirted. Use a suitable equation of motion to
calculate the time of flight in minutes.

v − v0 ( −v0 ) − v0 2v0 2 (1.5 m/s )

t= = = =
−g −g g 9.81 m/s 2
1min
= 0.31 s  = 5.2  10−3 min
60s

22. The press box is 32.0 ft above second base and an unknown horizontal
distance away. Use the tangent function to determine the horizontal
distance.
x
25.0°
40.0 ft
 y 40.0 ft
x= = = 85.8 ft
tan  tan 25.0

23. The water molecule forms a triangle with the positions of the oxygen
and hydrogen nuclei as shown. Break the triangle up into two right
triangles and use the sine function to find the distance between the
hydrogen nuclei. The angle θ is half of the 104.5° bond angle, or
θ = 52.25°.

d
sin  =
0.96 Å
The distance between hydrogen nuclei is 2d then
2d = 2 ( 0.96 Å ) sin ( 52.25 ) = 1.5 Å

24. The vector A has a length of 6.1 m and points in the negative x direction
In order to multiply a vector by a scalar, you need only multiply each
component of the vector by the same scalar.

A = ( − 6.1 m ) xˆ
−3.7 A = ( −3.7 )( − 6.1 m )  xˆ = ( 23 m ) xˆ so Ax = 23 m

Since A has only one component, its magnitude is simply 23 m.

25. Solution
100 = 1m
102 10−2 m =1m
104  10−3 m =10 m
105  10−6 m = 0.1m
107  10−9 m = 0.01m

There 10 m is the longest length.