Chapter 2 – Simple Harmonic Motion and Waves

Deadline: 11/9 10am

Name: Student ID: Session ID (1001 or 1002):

Note: Please take gravity acceleration 𝑔 = 10m/𝑠 2 for simplicity.

1. An object attached to a horizontal spring is oscillating back and forth along a frictionless surface.
The maximum speed of the object is 0.65 m/s, and its maximum acceleration is 7.42 m/s2. How
much time elapses between an instant when the object’s speed is at a maximum and the next
instant when its acceleration is at a maximum?

2. A 70.0-kg circus performer is fired from a cannon that is elevated at an angle of 40°above the
horizontal. The cannon uses strong elastic bands to propel the performer, much in the same way
that a slingshot fires a stone. Setting up for this stunt involves stretching the bands by 3.00 m
from their unstrained length. At the point where the performer flies free of the bands, his height
above the floor is the same as the height of the net into which he is shot. He takes 2.14 s to
travel the horizontal distance of 26.8 m between this point and the net. Ignore friction and air
resistance and determine the effective spring constant of the firing mechanism

3. A physical pendulum is created by drilling a small hole in a meter stick a distance x from the
center and suspending the meter stick from this pivot hole. If the period of oscillation is 2.7 s,
find the distance x.

4. A water skier is moving at a speed of 12.0 m/s. When she skis in the same direction as a
travelling wave, she springs upward every 0.600 s because of the wave crest. When she skis in
the direction opposite to the direction in which the water moves, she springs upward every
0.500 s in response to the crests. The speed of the skier is greater than the speed of the wave.
Determine (a) the speed and (b) the wavelength of the wave.

5. As a prank, someone drops a water-filled balloon out of a window. The balloon is released from
rest at a height of 15.0 m above the ears of a man who is the target. Then, because of a guilty
conscience, the prankster shouts a warning after the balloon is released. The warning will do
no good, however, if shouted after the balloon reaches a certain point, even if the man could
react infinitely quickly. Assuming that the air temperature is 20℃ and ignoring the effect of air
resistance on the balloon, determine how far above the man's ears this point is.
6. A rocket, starting from rest, travels straight up with an acceleration of 61.0 m/s 2. When the
rocket is at a height of 625 m, it produces sound that eventually reaches a ground-based
monitoring station directly below. The sound is emitted uniformly in all directions. The
monitoring station measures a sound intensity I. Later, the station measures an intensity 1/3 I.
There are no reflections. Assuming that the speed of sound is 343 m/s, find the time that has
elapsed between the two measurements

7. When one person shouts at a football game, the sound intensity level at the center of the field
is 60.0 dB. When all the people shout together the intensity level increases to 96.5 dB.
Assuming that each person generates the same sound intensity at the center of the field, how
many people are at the game?

8. A typhoon with a wind speed of 20 m/s is blowing on your face and caused your injury. You
can see an ambulance is travelling towards you at a speed of 30 m/s. The siren on an ambulance
is emitting a sound whose frequency is 10000 Hz. The speed of sound is 343 m/s. Find the
wavelength and frequency of the sound you hear.

9. A positively charged object with a mass of 0.250 kg oscillates at the end of a spring, generating
ELF (extremely low frequency) radio waves that have a wavelength of 2.20 x 107 m. The
frequency of these radio waves is the same as the frequency at which the object oscillates. What
is the spring constant of the spring?

10. A heat lamp emits infrared radiation whose rms (root mean square) electric field is Erms = 2800
N/C.

(a) What is the average intensity of the radiation?

(b) The radiation is focused on a person’s leg over a circular area of radius 4.0 cm. What is the
average power delivered to the leg?

(c) The portion of the leg being irradiated has a mass of 0.28 kg and a specific heat capacity of
3500J/(kg•℃). How long does it take to raise its temperature by 2.0℃? Assume that there is
no other heat transfer into or out of the portion of the leg being heated.

11. The drawing shows two plane mirrors that intersect at an angle of 50°. An incident light ray
reflects from one mirror and then the other. What is the angle θ between the incident and
outgoing ray?
12. A spacecraft is in a circular orbit about the moon, 1.75 x 105 m above its surface. The speed of
the spacecraft is 1850 m/s, and the radius of the moon is 1.74 x 106 m. If the moon were a
smooth, reflective sphere, (a) how far below the moon’s surface would the image of the
spacecraft appear, and (b) what would be the apparent speed of the spacecraft’s image?

13. An object is placed 12.0 cm to the left of a diverging lens with a focal length of 8.00 cm. A
concave mirror with a focal length of 6.00 cm is placed 30.0 cm to the right of the lens. (a) Find
the final image distance, measured relative to the mirror. (b) Is the final image real or virtual?
(c) Is the final image upright or inverted with respect to original object?