Question 1: A ball of mass 0.7 kg is dropped vertically from a height of 10 m onto a concrete floor. The ball is observed to bounce a number of times before coming to rest. The coefficient of restitution for the ball hitting the floor is 0.85;
a) Identify and state the different types of Energy that are important in determining the outcome of this experiment.
b) What is the total mechanical energy that the system starts with?
c) What will the velocity of the ball be immediately before it strikes the ground for the first time?
d) What is the total mechanical energy of the system immediately after the balls first bounce?
e) To what height will the ball rebound after the first bounce?
f) How many times will the ball bounce?
Question 2: A block of mass 10 kg is attached to the end of a horizontal spring with spring constant k = 1200 Nm-1. The block is assumed to be sitting on a frictionless horizontal surface.
a) Draw a sketch of the system.
b) What force must be applied to the block to compress the spring a distance of 35 mm?
c) What energy is required to compress the spring by 35 mm?
d) If the spring is compressed from its zero position to 70 mm in a period of 2 s what is the Power required to do this?
e) If the spring is compressed to 70 mm and then suddenly let go what will the initial acceleration of the block be?
f) If the surface on which the block rests is no longer frictionless but has a measured coefficient of resistance µ = 0.65 what would the initial acceleration of the block be then for the spring compressed by 70 mm as in part e) above?
Question 3: Write a short (approx. one page) review of the contribution of one of the following people to the historical development of Physics;
- Aristotle
- Ibn al-Haytham
- Galileo Galilei
- Isaac Newton