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 Ask a Mathematical Physicist

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maximR
post Jan 18 2014, 10:59 PM

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QUOTE(melvintcs @ Jan 18 2014, 10:43 PM)
im software engineer.
it's a free weekend for me, so i decided to learn something useful for myself.

this formula is widely use on Netflix, Amazon or any e-commerce website
user posted image
we can use this algorithm to create the list that what item the viewer might interested in, which will help amazon to boost their sales and to keep the end-user stays at their page for a longer time.
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blink.gif

So this is what software engineers do. For the first time I've seen a real-life application of an algorithm.
maximR
post Jan 18 2014, 11:18 PM

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QUOTE(Y.J.S @ Jan 18 2014, 11:15 PM)
I also have interest in software engineer but my problem solving skills not as high as typical Physics graduates sleep.gif

maximR CPU math book? what does it mean? I'm using my dad's 《College Algebra》-5th edition by Gustafson Frisk, it's a really old book with 'bookworms' on it sweat.gif
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Nevermind. It looked like a CPU book which I have.
maximR
post Jan 18 2014, 11:29 PM

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Physics by Halliday is good but contains a lot of information not needed for SPM. If you think you're willing to go further, why not ?

What did your dad study at uni ?
maximR
post Jan 19 2014, 03:02 PM

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QUOTE(Y.J.S @ Jan 19 2014, 01:44 PM)
Anyone care to explain

the difference between simple acceleration, average acceleration, constant acceleration or acceleration?

and also average velocity, velocity and Instantaneous Velocity ?
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Your books would probably do a far better job in explaining than us.

Make an effort to learn and understand from your books.
maximR
post Jan 19 2014, 09:10 PM

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QUOTE(Y.J.S @ Jan 19 2014, 09:08 PM)
I don't understand the symbols they used ... sometimes out of nowhere, there's ¡, j, k came out, I don't understand why and what's the triangle symbol doing at there? There's no explanation about it icon_question.gif
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i, j and k are unit vectors. You'll learn about them next year in Add Maths. Triangle symbol is 'delta', which means 'change'.
maximR
post Jan 24 2014, 02:52 PM

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Thanks Critical_Fallacy .

Sorry for my absence. I've had three driving lessons back-to-back so I was very exhausted, physically and mentally. I'm having my day off today to recharge. Anyway, thank you for your encouraging words, you helped me along the way throughout my SPM. smile.gif
maximR
post Jan 27 2014, 02:27 PM

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Critical_Fallacy

Thank you for the visual simulations. Those remind me of a game of charges, how a positive charge interacts with a negative one which I had to attempt at NSC.

Anyway, I have questions. smile.gif

Physics questions

Q1.

Hailstones with an average mass of 0.04 kg fall vertically and strike a flat roof at 12 m/s. In a period of 5.0 minutes, 6 000 hailstones fall on each square metre of roof and rebound vertically at 3.0 m/s. Calculate the force on the roof if it has an area of 30 m^2.

Attempt :

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «


Q2.

A car of mass 1 000 kg tows a caravan of mass 600 kg up a road which rises 1 m vertically for every 20 m of its length. There are constant frictional resistances of 200 N and 100 N to the motion of car and caravan respectively. The combination has an acceleration of 1.2 m/s^2 with the engine exerting a constant driving force. Assume that g = 10 m/s^2. Find :

(a) the driving force ,
(b) the tension in the tow bar

Attempt :

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «


Mathematics questions

Q1.

The interval on which the function f(x) = log1/2 (x^2 - 2x - 3) is monotone increasing is ( ) ?

Attempt :

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Q2.

If real numbers satisfy (x+5)^2 + (y-12)^2 = 14^2, then the minimum value of x^2 + y^2 is ( ) ?

Attempt :

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Thank you ! icon_rolleyes.gif


maximR
post Jan 28 2014, 08:57 PM

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QUOTE(Intermission @ Jan 27 2014, 04:39 PM)
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Q1) I see an error in your calculation of change in momentum. Velocity is an vector, the direction matters. And also I believe what you calculated is just the rate of change of momentum when one hail stone strikes the roof, multiplied by 30.

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Thank you, completely forgot to account for the direction of the two velocities. icon_rolleyes.gif

QUOTE(ninty @ Jan 27 2014, 07:27 PM)
The idea is sound but I do not know how you came up with that answer.

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And I've drawn the graph explicitly just to check my calculations. I do not think f(x) = log_1/2 (x^2 - 2x - 3) is even defined on [-1,3].
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Correct. Thank you ! The book provides another solution, I'll upload it here later.

QUOTE(Critical_Fallacy @ Jan 27 2014, 10:18 PM)
Not 216 N? unsure.gif What is the answer?
You don't need to find the angle of inclination θ because you can determine cos θ and sin θ from the Pythagorean theorem. The hypotenuse is 20 m and altitude (height) is 1 m. icon_idea.gif
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Found the answer for the first question. The correct answer is 36 N.
Can you provide the full solution for the 2nd question please? The answer at the back contradicts mine.

QUOTE(Critical_Fallacy @ Jan 27 2014, 11:12 PM)
ninty and ystiang have already covered this. sweat.gif
Where did you get this question at A-level? sweat.gif
Actually, this is not an A Level question. It's a high school [China] Mathematics challenge problem. I posed the question here because I didn't understand the end part of the solution, after thinking a lot I realised SPM Trigonometry isn't enough for me to continue with the problem. Here's the solution if you're interested, we have three solutions now. Which shows us that Mathematics is beautiful. smile.gif

user posted image
user posted image

The main point was to realise that the question wants us the find the shortest distance between the origin and the circumference of the larger circle.

Thanks for you solutions! The first one is a little bit beyond me, but it looks very powerful. notworthy.gif
maximR
post Jan 30 2014, 05:30 PM

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Critical_Fallacy Krevaki

Help needed for these two questions :

Q1. A ball is projected at a 45° angle from the ground with a velocity, v. What is its change in momentum from the start to the end of its journey?

I got -sqrt2 mv , but the answer is positive.

Q2. A man with mass M is in a basket with mass m which is tied to a tree using a frictionless and massless rope. The man then pulls the rope to raise himself up with an acceleration of a. What is the tension in the rope, T, when the gravitational acceleration is taken to be g?

Edit: Done with Q2, wasn't consistent with the coordinate system I came up with.

Thanks!

This post has been edited by maximR: Jan 30 2014, 06:03 PM
maximR
post Jan 30 2014, 09:32 PM

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QUOTE(ystiang @ Jan 30 2014, 09:17 PM)
Q1

Vertical component = v sin 45°

Change of momentum vertically = m[v sin 45° - (-v sin 45°)] = m[2v((√2)/2) = √2 mv
BTW, Happy CNY to all lowyat members biggrin.gif
Wish all the best to you and 'Ma Dao Cheng Gong'.
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Final momentum is taken to be positive then ?

Happy CNY to you too ! biggrin.gif
maximR
post Feb 2 2014, 03:38 PM

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QUOTE(Krevaki @ Feb 2 2014, 01:13 PM)
Your answer is correct. Perhaps the question is merely concerned about the magnitude of the change. Perhaps. hmm.gif
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I think the question should have been worded more accurately, like 'magnitude of change of momentum' .

Anyway, it seems to me that questions involving manipulation of formula, like finding ratio of K.E of two different masses in an explosion, ratio of number of molecules, power, etc require a lot of clever manipulation, some are lengthy. My question is, when you took STPM Physics, did you memorise those shortcuts? Like ratio of K.E of mass m1 to m2 in an explosion is m2/m1 , instead of deriving it on the exam as it can be tedious under exam pressure.
maximR
post Feb 2 2014, 10:32 PM

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A car of mass 1 000 kg tows a caravan of mass 600 kg up a road which rises 1 m vertically for every 20 m of its length. There are constant frictional resistances of 200 N and 100 N to the motion of car and caravan respectively. The combination has an acceleration of 1.2 m/s^2 with the engine exerting a constant driving force. Assume that g = 10 m/s^2. Find :

(a) the driving force ,
(b) the tension in the tow bar

Krevaki Help please ?
maximR
post Feb 3 2014, 10:07 PM

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Thank you Critical_Fallacy and kingkingyyk, and 恭喜发财 to you too! thumbup.gif


maximR
post Feb 6 2014, 08:44 PM

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Thanks, I'll place Q2 and Q3 on hold as I haven't studied Circular Motion. Done with Q1, perhaps a more challenging problem would be about connected pulleys, I need to work on that. unsure.gif


QUOTE(Krevaki @ Feb 5 2014, 10:56 AM)
It occurred to me that the author may have taken the downward direction to be positive. An entirely acceptable convention in projectile motion. But that is merely my guess. hmm.gif

My personal opinion is that some of the basics one should be learned up. In the example stated above, remember the kinetic energy is given by 0.5mv^2. But memorising all the different results under different conditions is tedious and unnecessary, not to mention confusing.
My answer agrees with the ones obtained by kingkingyyk and Critical_Fallacy, but that is assuming I interpret the question in the same way. However, can I interpret "for every 20 m of its length" as the hypotenuse since the combination is being driven "up a road"? hmm.gif

p/s: It is still Lunar New Year, I would like to enjoy it while I still can.
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Right. Do you derive the equations for v1 and v2 in an elastic collision in every exam? That's quite tedious, involves around 8 steps with momentum and KE equations, and around 4-5 using Newton's Law of Restitution. STPM Physics has a lot of questions which require the equations.

maximR
post Feb 7 2014, 06:52 PM

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Critical_Fallacy

I need help.

Q1. Particle A moves with kinetic energy E and momentum p. It collides elastically with particle B which is at rest. After collision the particles move together. Calculate :

a) the kinetic energy of A and total kinetic energy of the system after collision

b) the magnitude of momentum of A and of the system after collision
maximR
post Feb 8 2014, 09:52 PM

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QUOTE(Critical_Fallacy @ Feb 8 2014, 05:41 PM)
Perhaps you can imagine the collisions between billiard balls. If they “collide elastically” the colliding particles do not stick together. What do you mean by “move together”?

user posted image
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That's why I was confused. If they collide elastically, they should not move together.
What would be the solution if the objects collide inelastically? I think with that I can attempt to complete another question:

A pendulum A with mass m is displaced to height h and released to hit pendulum B which has the same mass. If the collision is elastic,

(a) show that pendulum A stops and pendulum B moves to height h after collision.

Done with this. nod.gif

(b) if pendulum A sticks to pendulum B after collision, what is the maximum height reached by the system?

I need help with this. I've tried everything but couldn't arrive at the solution, which is h/4. I got h/2.

Thanks ! notworthy.gif

This post has been edited by maximR: Feb 8 2014, 09:53 PM
maximR
post Feb 10 2014, 02:13 PM

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Here's my mistake:

I didn't consider the energy of the system before the collision, hence didn't make the correct substitutions. Realising this, I've solved all the questions which also required the energy conservation consideration on Dynamics and Momentum and have proceeded to Work, Energy and Power. Thank you ! thumbup.gif

Here on Work, Energy and Power, there is something new. It's about Force being a variable of displacement, which is the basic of the Lagrangian.

F = -dU/dx (1)

A question asks: A resistive force decreases the velocity of an object with mass m from v to u. What is the work done by the resistive force?

I arrived at the answer which is 0.5m ( u^2 - v^2 ) by substituting eqn (1) and setting it equal to m(v-u). However, I don't quite understand the reasoning behind it. If it's kx, the resistive force of a spring, it is easy to understand the reasoning behind it based on Hooke's Law. But is m(v-u) a force? It's the change in momentum, why is it I can relate it to -dU/dx and still get the right answer after integrating to find the work done?

maximR
post Feb 14 2014, 03:08 PM

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QUOTE(Critical_Fallacy @ Feb 14 2014, 03:05 PM)
Perhaps you might have heard Euclidean Geometry from your SPM teacher. Euclid was a Greek mathematician and often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". Almost any Mathematics Contests are fun and students can develop their mathematical problem-solving ability.

user posted image

Can you identify in Euclid of Alexandria in Raphael's School of Athens? sweat.gif

user posted image
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I have the entire collection of Euclid's Elements but have only gone through his 30 proofs or so. Might as well re-start now as I have the time.
maximR
post Feb 15 2014, 04:57 PM

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QUOTE(maximR @ Feb 10 2014, 02:13 PM)
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Here's my mistake:

I  didn't consider the energy of the system before the collision, hence didn't make the correct substitutions. Realising this, I've solved all the questions which also required the energy conservation consideration on Dynamics and Momentum and have proceeded to Work, Energy and Power. Thank you !  thumbup.gif

Here on Work, Energy and Power, there is something new. It's about Force being a variable of displacement, which is the basic of the Lagrangian.

F = -dU/dx  (1)

A question asks: A resistive force decreases the velocity of an object with mass m from v to u. What is the work done by the resistive force?

I arrived at the answer which is 0.5m ( u^2 - v^2 ) by substituting eqn (1) and setting it equal to m(v-u). However, I don't quite understand the reasoning behind it. If it's kx, the resistive force of a spring, it is easy to understand the reasoning behind it based on Hooke's Law. But is m(v-u) a force? It's the change in momentum, why is it I can relate it to -dU/dx and still get the right answer after integrating to find the work done?
*
Critical_Fallacy
maximR
post Feb 15 2014, 10:41 PM

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QUOTE(Critical_Fallacy @ Feb 15 2014, 08:35 PM)
In 1-dimensional motion (constant in direction), the solution in Post #902 is proper if the resistive force −F is not constant in magnitude. The solution is simplified if the resistive force −F is constant in both magnitude and direction. Then, you can apply the kinematic equation of uniform acceleration (due to constant force). icon_idea.gif

user posted image

Since F = −dU/dx is given, I presume the resistive force −F is not constant in magnitude. Although both cases have the same work-energy relationship ½*m*(u² − v²), both cases have different initial and final velocities, because one has non-uniform acceleration.
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Read both of your posts. It's clear now. Thank you. rclxms.gif

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