Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2015/2016
Season 2016
Prof. C. Budd
Prof. S. Wieczorek
Page 1 of 3
AM1053: Season 2016
for t > 0. Obtain the particles velocity, speed and acceleration. (7)
(b) A particle of mass m is acted on by a force
Initially, at t = 0, the particle is at the origin and has velocity v(0) = i3 + j2.
Find the velocity and position of the particle subsequently. (8)
(c) A particle of mass m = 1 moves along the x-axis under a conservative force
1
F (x) = 1,
x2
(i) Starting with the equation of motion, derive the energy equation. (Hint:
Rewrite d2 x/dt2 using the chain rule.)
(ii) Identify the potential energy V (x). Plot V (x) for x > 0 clearly indicating
the position of its minimum.
(iii) Find the total energy E knowing that the particle has velocity v = 0 when
x = 3. Find the maximal speed of the particle.
(iv) Describe the type of motion taking place. (12)
[27]
2. A particle of mass m hangs from an elastic string of natural length l0 and modulus of
elasticity . The mass experiences air resistance forces 2mk x,
where x is the position
of the mass measured from the point of suspension.
(a) Write down the equation of motion. (5)
(b) Find the equilibrium position of the particle. (5)
(c) Suppose that k 2 < ml 0 . Derive the general solution to the equation of motion.
(Hint: Consider a suitable coordinate change). Identify the type of motion. (12)
(d) Suppose that at time t = 0 the particle is given a velocity U upwards from
its equilibrium position. Assuming that the string never gets slack, find the
particles subsequent position x(t). (5)
[27]
Page 2 of 3
AM1053: Season 2016
x + 2k x + 02 x = 0,