PH 101:

Mechanics, oscillations and waves Homework 1

1. Use dimensional analysis to estimate the size of the hydrogen atom in quantum mechanics. Since the atom is held together by the electrostatic attraction between an electron and a proton, and a proton is much more massive than an electron, the size can only depend on e2 /(4 0 ) 2.31 1028 Kg m3 /sec2 (where e is the charge of a proton), the electrons mass m 9.11 1031 Kg, and Planck constant h 1.05 1034 Kg m2 /sec. 2. Let A and B be any two vectors. By considering rotations through an angle about the z -axis, show that the three components of A B transform like a vector. 3. If A is any arbitrary vector and n is a unit vector in some xed direction, show that A = (A n ) n + ( n A) n . 4. Using vector algebra, show that the diagonals of a rhombus are perpendicular. 5. A wheel of radius R is rolling without slipping on a horizontal surface with a constant speed v . Consider a point located on the wheel at a distance a from the centre of the wheel, where a R. How do the vertical and horizontal coordinates of this point, z and x, vary with time? Sketch z versus x for two cases: a = R/2 and a = R. 6. A particle is moving in a spiral in two dimensions, namely, r = a where a is a constant. Let = bt2 /2, where b is another constant. Find the radial velocity and radial acceleration as functions of time. Find the value of when the radial acceleration is zero. 7. A particle is moving in two dimensions, with = t where is a constant. How should the radius r vary with time so that the radial acceleration is zero? 8. A particle is moving two dimensions such that x = cos(t) and y = 2 sin(t); the time period is therefore T = 2/ . Show that r versus t has a time period of T /2. Make a sketch of r versus t showing two successive maxima of r to verify that the time period is T /2. 9. A train has a maximum acceleration of 20 cm/s2 and maximum deceleration of 100 cm/s2 . For safety reasons, its maximum speed is restricted to 60 Km/hr. If it starts from rest at one station and stops at the next, what is the minimum time required to travel between two stations which are 2 Km apart? 10. Two engines start from rest and travel the same distance. The rst engine moves with uniform acceleration for the entire distance. The second engine moves with uniform acceleration for half the distance and thereafter with zero acceleration. If the two engines cover the distance in exactly the same time, what is the ratio of their initial accelerations?