| << Chapter < Page | Chapter >> Page > |
Some of the examples in this section can be solved without considering energy, but at the expense of missing out on gaining insights about what work and energy are doing in this situation. On the whole, solutions involving energy are generally shorter and easier than those using kinematics and dynamics alone.
A toy car is going around a loop-the-loop. Gravity ____ the kinetic energy on the upward side of the loop, ____ the kinetic energy at the top, and ____ the kinetic energy on the downward side of the loop.
A roller coaster is set up with a track in the form of a perfect cosine. Describe and graph what happens to the kinetic energy of a cart as it goes through the first full period of the track.
The kinetic energy should change in the form of –cos, with an initial value of 0 or slightly above, and ending at the same level.
If wind is blowing horizontally toward a car with an angle of 30 degrees from the direction of travel, the kinetic energy will ____. If the wind is blowing at a car at 135 degrees from the direction of travel, the kinetic energy will ____.
In what direction relative to the direction of travel can a force act on a car (traveling on level ground), and not change the kinetic energy? Can you give examples of such forces?
Any force acting perpendicular will have no effect on kinetic energy. Obvious examples are gravity and the normal force, but others include wind directly from the side and rain or other precipitation falling straight down.
A 2000-kg airplane is coming in for a landing, with a velocity 5 degrees below the horizontal and a drag force of 40 kN acting directly rearward. Kinetic energy will ____ due to the net force of ____.
You are participating in the Iditarod, and your sled dogs are pulling you across a frozen lake with a force of 1200 N while a 300 N wind is blowing at you at 135 degrees from your direction of travel. What is the net force, and will your kinetic energy increase or decrease?
Note that the wind is pushing from behind and one side, so your KE will increase. The net force has components of 1400 N in the direction of travel and 212 N perpendicular to the direction of travel. So the net force is 1420 N at 8.5 degrees from the direction of travel.
A model drag car is being accelerated along its track from rest by a motor with a force of 75 N, but there is a drag force of 30 N due to the track. What is the kinetic energy after 2 m of travel?
You are launching a 2-kg potato out of a potato cannon. The cannon is 1.5 m long and is aimed 30 degrees above the horizontal. It exerts a 50 N force on the potato. What is the kinetic energy of the potato as it leaves the muzzle of the potato cannon?
Gravity has a component perpendicular to the cannon (and to displacement, so it is irrelevant) and has a component parallel to the cannon. The latter is equal to 9.8 N. Thus the net force in the direction of the displacement is 50 N − 9.8 N, and the kinetic energy is 60 J.
Notification Switch
Would you like to follow the 'Work and energy' conversation and receive update notifications?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|