Establish the following vector inequalities geometrically or otherwise:
(a) |a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|
(b) |a + b| ≥ ||a| − |b||
(c) |a − b| ≤ |a| + |b|
(d) |a − b| ≥ ||a| − |b||
When does the equality sign above apply?
(a) Let two vectors and
be represented by the adjacent sides of a parallelogram OMNP, as shown in the given figure.
Here, we can write:
(b) Let two vectors and
be represented by the adjacent sides of a parallelogram OMNP, as shown in the given figure.
In a triangle, each side is smaller than the sum of the other two sides.
Therefore, in ΔOMN, we have:
(c) Let two vectors and
be represented by the adjacent sides of a parallelogram PORS, as shown in the given figure.
In a triangle, each side is smaller than the sum of the other two sides. Therefore, in ΔOPS, we have:
OS < OP + PS
(d) Let two vectors and
be represented by the adjacent sides of a parallelogram PORS, as shown in the given figure.
Rain is falling vertically with a speed of 30 m s–1. A woman rides a bicycle with a speed of 10 m s–1 in the north to south direction. What is the direction in which she should hold her umbrella?
On an open ground, a motorist follows a track that turns to his left by an angle of 60° after every 500 m. Starting from a given turn, specify the displacement of the motorist at the third, sixth and eighth turn. Compare the magnitude of the displacement with the total path length covered by the motorist in each case.
A stone tied to the end of a string 80 cm long is whirled in a horizontal circle with a constant speed. If the stone makes 14 revolutions in 25 s, what is the magnitude and direction of acceleration of the stone?
Given a + b + c + d = 0, which of the following statements are correct:
(a) a, b, c, and d must each be a null vector,
(b) The magnitude of (a + c) equals the magnitude of (b+ d),
(c) The magnitude of a can never be greater than the sum of the magnitudes of b, c, and d,
(d) b + c must lie in the plane of a and d if a and d are not collinear, and in the line of a and d, if they are collinear?
An aircraft executes a horizontal loop of radius 1.00 km with a steady speed of 900 km/h. Compare its centripetal acceleration with the acceleration due to gravity.
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?
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.
“Every great physical theory starts as a heresy and ends as a dogma”. Give some examples from the history of science of the validity of this incisive remark.
An electric heater supplies heat to a system at a rate of 100W. If system performs work at a rate of 75 Joules per second. At what rate is the internal energy increasing?
A student measures the thickness of a human hair by looking at it through a microscope of magnification 100. He makes 20 observations and finds that the average width of the hair in the field of view of the microscope is 3.5 mm. What is the estimate on the thickness of hair?
A SONAR (sound navigation and ranging) uses ultrasonic waves to detect and locate objects under water. In a submarine equipped with a SONAR the time delay between generation of a probe wave and the reception of its echo after reflection from an enemy submarine is found to be 77.0 s. What is the distance of the enemy submarine? (Speed of sound in water = 1450 m s-1).
A molecule in a gas container hits a horizontal wall with speed 200 ms-1 and angle 30° with the normal, and rebounds with the same speed. Is momentum conserved in the collision? Is the collision elastic or inelastic?
State the number of significant figures in the following:
(a) 0.007 m2
(b) 2.64 x 1024 kg
(c) 0.2370 g cm-3
(d) 6.320 J
(e) 6.032 N m-2
(f) 0.0006032 m2
A block of mass 15 kg is placed on a long trolley. The coefficient of static friction between the block and the trolley is 0.18. The trolley accelerates from rest with 0.5 ms-2 for 20 s and then moves with uniform velocity. Discuss the motion of the block as viewed by (a) a stationary observer on the ground, (b) an observer moving with the trolley.
Explain why: (a) a body with large reflectivity is a poor emitter (b) a brass tumbler feels much colder than a wooden tray on a chilly day (c) an optical pyrometer (for measuring high temperatures) calibrated for an ideal black body radiation gives too low a value for the temperature of a red hot iron piece in the open, but gives a correct value for the temperature when the same piece is in the furnace (d) the earth without its atmosphere would be inhospitably cold (e) heating systems based on circulation of steam are more efficient in warming a building than those based on circulation of hot water
A bolt of mass 0.3 kg falls from the ceiling of an elevator moving down with an uniform speed of 7 m s-1. It hits the floor of the elevator (length of the elevator = 3 m) and does not rebound. What is the heat produced by the impact? Would your answer be different if the elevator were stationary?