MATH 212 – SPRING 2007

Assignment 2

Due: Friday, May 25, 2007 IN CLASS

For privacy reasons, put your name and ID# on the second page of your assignment.

Do all problems, but hand in ONLY questions marked with * (e.g. 2*)

1. Test whether the following fields are gradient fields; if they are, find the corresponding
potentials.
r r
(a) F : " 2 # " 2 , F (x, y) = (3x 2 y, x 3 )
r r
(b) G : " 2 # " 2 , G(x, y) = (2xe y + y, x 2e y + x $ 2y)
r r r r r r
!2. (a) Consider a gradient field F , where F ( r ) = "#$( r ) , and a field line " (t) . Show that
r
"(# (t)) is a decreasing function of t.
!
r r r
(b) If F is the force!acting on a particle of mass m, using Newton’s law F = m d v /dt ,
r ! r !
! express the line integral of F along a physical path " (t) of the particle (i.e. the work done)
in terms of the change in kinetic energy. Hence show that a gradient field conserves energy,
! which means “Potential Energy + Kinetic Energy=Constant” for all time.
!
! r !
3.* Find the work done by the force field F (x, y) = (2x + y, x) in moving a particle from (1,-2)
to (2,1) along any curve.
r
4.* A force field is given by F (x, y) = (y, x) . Compute the work done by this field to move an
r ! r
object along the path " :[0,1] # $ 2 , " (t) = (t 9 ,sin 9 (%t /2)) . (Hint: The line integral is messy;
check if there exists a simpler way!).
! r r
5. Consider the vector field F : " 2 # " 2 given by F (x, y) = ("y, x) in a simply connected
!
region D of the plane whose boundary is a simple closed curve "D .

!
(a) By applying Green’s theorem find the! meaning of
!
$ ("ydx + xdy) .
#D

(b) Use the result of part (a) to calculate the area of the
hypocycloid of four cusps, as shown in the figure,
! r
whose parametrization is " = (acos 3 t,asin 3 t) .

!
 r
6.* Consider the velocity field V = ("y, x) whose field lines are sketched in the figure.
r
(a) Calculate the circulation of Vr around a circle of radius r, centered at the origin, by
r
evaluating the line
! integral " = # V .d s .
C
(b) Verify your answer by calculating
r " in a different way. (Hint: use a double integral).
!
(c) What is the vorticity ω of V at each point? (Hint: you have already calculated it!).
!
!
!

r
7. AMEM
r r p.564 #60. (Hint: We do not have a test for F : " 3 # " 3 yet, so start by assuming
F = "#$ , then find ").

8.* AMEM p.564 #61.

!
! !