Scalar: Volume, mass, speed, density, number of moles, angular frequency
Vector: Acceleration, velocity, displacement, angular velocity
A scalar quantity is specified by its magnitude only. It does not have any direction associated with it. Volume, mass, speed, density, number of moles, and angular frequency are some of the scalar physical quantities.
A vector quantity is specified by its magnitude as well as the direction associated with it. Acceleration, velocity, displacement, and angular velocity belong to this category.
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.
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 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?
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?
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.
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 jet airplane travelling at the speed of 500 km h-1 ejects its products of combustion at the speed of 1500 km h-1 relative to the jet plane. What is the speed of the latter with respect to an observer on ground?
A hydraulic automobile lift is designed to lift cars with a maximum mass of 3000 kg. The area of cross-section of the piston carrying the load is 425 cm2. What maximum pressure would the smaller piston have to bear?
Write in about 1000 words a fiction piece based on your speculation on the science and technology of the twenty-second century.
Explain why
(a) To keep a piece of paper horizontal, you should blow over, not under, it
(b) When we try to close a water tap with our fingers, fast jets of water gush through the openings between our fingers
(c) The size of the needle of a syringe controls flow rate better than the thumb pressure exerted by a doctor while administering an injection
(d) A fluid flowing out of a small hole in a vessel results in a backward thrust on the vessel
(e) A spinning cricket ball in air does not follow a parabolic trajectory
A person trying to lose weight (dieter) lifts a 10 kg mass, one thousand times, to a height of 0.5 m each time. Assume that the potential energy lost each time she lowers the mass is dissipated. (a) How much work does she do against the gravitational force? (b) Fat supplies 3.8 x 107 J of energy per kilogram which is converted to mechanical energy with a 20% efficiency rate. How much fat will the dieter use up?
A metre-long tube open at one end, with a movable piston at the other end, shows resonance with a fixed frequency source (a tuning fork of frequency 340 Hz) when the tube length is 25.5 cm or 79.3 cm. Estimate the speed of sound in air at the temperature of the experiment. The edge effects may be neglected.
A steam engine delivers 5.4 x 108 J of work per minute and services 3.6 x 109 J of heat per minute from its boiler. What is the efficiency of the engine? How much heat is wasted per minute?
In Exercises 3.13 and 3.14, we have carefully distinguished between average speed and magnitude of average velocity. No such distinction is necessary when we consider instantaneous speed and magnitude of velocity. The instantaneous speed is always equal to the magnitude of instantaneous velocity. Why?
Though India now has a large base in science and technology, which is fast expanding, it is still a long way from realising its potential of becoming a world leader in science. Name some important factors, which in your view have hindered the advancement of science in India.