Which of the following symptoms is likely to afflict an astronaut in space (a) swollen feet, (b) swollen face, (c) headache, (d) orientational problem?
(b), (c), and (d)
(a) Legs hold the entire mass of a body in standing position due to gravitational pull. In space, an astronaut feels weightlessness because of the absence of gravity. Therefore, swollen feet of an astronaut do not affect him/her in space.
(b) A swollen face is caused generally because of apparent weightlessness in space. Sense organs such as eyes, ears nose, and mouth constitute a person’s face. This symptom can affect an astronaut in space.
(c) Headaches are caused because of mental strain. It can affect the working of an astronaut in space.
(d) Space has different orientations. Therefore, orientational problem can affect an astronaut in space.
Choose the correct alternative:
(a) If the zero of potential energy is at infinity, the total energy of an orbiting satellite is negative of its kinetic/potential energy.
(b) The energy required to launch an orbiting satellite out of earth’s gravitational influence is more/less than the energy required to project a stationary object at the same height (as the satellite) out of earth’s influence.
A comet orbits the Sun in a highly elliptical orbit. Does the comet have a constant
(a) linear speed,
(b) angular speed,
(c) angular momentum,
(d) kinetic energy,
(e) potential energy,
(f) total energy throughout its orbit?
Neglect any mass loss of the comet when it comes very close to the Sun.
Does the escape speed of a body from the earth depend on
(a) the mass of the body,
(b) the location from where it is projected,
(c) the direction of projection,
(d) the height of the location from where the body is launched?
Some of the most profound statements on the nature of science have come from Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time. What do you think did Einstein mean when he said : “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible”?
The sign of work done by a force on a body is important to understand. State carefully if the following quantities are positive or negative:
(a) work done by a man in lifting a bucket out of a well by means of a rope tied to the bucket.
(b) work done by gravitational force in the above case,
(c) work done by friction on a body sliding down an inclined plane,
(d) work done by an applied force on a body moving on a rough horizontal plane with uniform velocity,
(e) work done by the resistive force of air on a vibrating pendulum in bringing it to rest.
A geyser heats water flowing at the rate of 3.0 litres per minute from 27 °C to 77 °C. If the geyser operates on a gas burner, what is the rate of consumption of the fuel if its heat of combustion is 4.0 x 104 J/g?
Estimate the fraction of molecular volume to the actual volume occupied by oxygen gas at STP. Take the diameter of an oxygen molecule to be 3Å.
A large steel wheel is to be fitted on to a shaft of the same material. At 27 °C, the outer diameter of the shaft is 8.70 cm and the diameter of the central hole in the wheel is 8.69 cm. The shaft is cooled using ‘dry ice’. At what temperature of the shaft does the wheel slip on the shaft? Assume coefficient of linear expansion of the steel to be constant over the required temperature range: αsteel = 1.20 x 10–5 K–1.
A rocket with a lift-off mass 20,000 kg is blasted upwards with an initial acceleration of 5.0 m s–2. Calculate the initial thrust (force) of the blast.
A steel wire has a length of 12.0 m and a mass of 2.10 kg. What should be the tension in the wire so that speed of a transverse wave on the wire equals the speed of sound in dry air at 20 °C = 343 m s-1.
Three girls skating on a circular ice ground of radius 200 m start from a point P on the edge of the ground and reach a point Q diametrically opposite to P following different paths as shown in Fig. 4.20. What is the magnitude of the displacement vector for each? For which girl is this equal to the actual length of the path skated?
Two billiard balls each of mass 0.05 kg moving in opposite directions with speed 6 ms-1collide and rebound with the same speed. What is the impulse imparted to each ball due to the other?
No physicist has ever “seen” an electron. Yet, all physicists believe in the existence of electrons. An intelligent but superstitious man advances this analogy to argue that ‘ghosts’ exist even though no one has ‘seen’ one. How will you refute his argument ?
Earthquakes generate sound waves inside the earth. Unlike a gas, the earth can experience both transverse (S) and longitudinal (P) sound waves. Typically the speed of S wave is about 4.0 km s-1, and that of P wave is 8.0 km s-1. A seismograph records P and S waves from an earthquake. The first P wave arrives 4 min before the first S wave. Assuming the waves travel in straight line, at what distance does the earthquake occur?
The transverse displacement of a wire (clamped at both its ends) is described as :
y (x, t) = 0.06 sin(2π/3x) cos(120πt)
The mass of the wire is 6 x 10-2 kg and its length is 3m. Provide answers to the following questions:
( I ) Is the function describing a stationary wave or a travelling wave?
( ii ) Interpret the wave as a superposition of two waves travelling in opposite directions. Find the speed, wavelength and frequency of each wave.
( iii ) Calculate the wire’s tension. [X and y are in meters and t in secs]
The ceiling of a long hall is 25 m high. What is the maximum horizontal distance that a ball thrown with a speed of 40 m s–1 can go without hitting the ceiling of the hall?
A constant force acting on a body of mass 3.0 kg changes its speed from 2.0 m s–1 to 3.5 m s–1 in 25 s. The direction of the motion of the body remains unchanged. What is the magnitude and direction of the force?