Physics Questions

Factors influencing Bob Beamon's world record long jump in 1968 Olympics

1) One of the greatest feats in the history of Summer Olympics was Bob Beamon's world record long  jump in 1968 in Mexico City. It is fitting that Bob Beamon was one of the first individuals  inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame; his jump was an extraordinary accomplishment. Nonetheless, were there any physics factors that aided Beamon that day in Mexico City to break the  prior world's record by almost two feet? Discuss two of these factors. Briefly explain how these  factors influenced Beamon's performance? Look at the table below and also consider the characteristics of Mexico City. [You may have to use physics concepts from the first weeks of this course and the present week's material.]

 

2) What is the gravitational force between two 1000 kg cars separated by a distance of 50 meters on  an interstate highway? What is the weight of one of these cars? Compare the magnitudes of these two forces.

 

3) The acceleration of gravity on Jupiter is 26.7 m/s². If an astronaut's weighs 160 lbs. on Earth, what is his weight on Jupiter?

 

4) An astronaut's mass is 50.0 kg, and thus she weighs about 110 lbs. on Earth. What is her weight on a small planet with 1/80 the mass of earth and 1/3 the radius of Earth?

 

5) An exoplanet, a planet revolving about a star other than the sun, was discovered recently by a Boston University scientist. The mass of the star has been estimated as 1.4 103¹ kg, which is several times more massive than our sun, and the average distance between the planet and star has been measured as 2.3 10? kilometers. How long does the planet take to orbit once around the star?

 

6) When Harold drives his pickup truck on US Route 1 in Maine at 35 km/hour and brakes for pedestrians, he can stop in a distance of 9.0 meters. One day when Harold is driving on an interstate highway at 105 km/hour, a moose strolls onto the highway 100 meters ahead of him. If Harold decelerates his truck at the same rate as on US Route 1, will he be able to stop before hitting the moose? What distance will Harold need to stop his truck?

 

7) Which will have greater kinetic energy when it lands: a ball dropped from 5 meters that lands on the ground or another ball with the identical mass that is dropped from 10 meters above the bottom of a 20-meter deep well? Explain your answer.

 

8) A roller coaster car of mass 1000 kg starts from rest at a height of 40 meters. Assume there is no friction in the system.

9) What will be the speed of the car when it reaches the bottom of the roller coaster ramp?
a) Does the answer in part (a) depend on the mass of the car?
b) Do the people in the roller coaster car scream as it goes down the ramp?