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| Step | Derivation/Formula | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | \(F_{\text{net}} = F_B – F_g – F_P\) | When the ice cube is submerged in the water and released, the net force acting on it is composed of the buoyant force upward, the gravitational force downward, and the force which was applied to submerge it. |
| 2 | \(F_g = mg\) | The gravitational force acting on the ice cube is the product of the mass \( m \) and the acceleration due to gravity \( g \). |
| 3 | \(a = \frac{F_{\text{net}}}{m}\) | Newton’s second law states that the acceleration \( a \) is the net force divided by the mass: \( a = \frac{F_{\text{net}}}{m} \). |
| 4 | \(a = \frac{F_B – F_g – F_P}{m}\) | Substitute the expression for the net force \( F_{\text{net}} = F_B – F_g – F_P \) into the equation for acceleration. Thus, the correct expression for the magnitude of the acceleration of the ice cube when it is released is option (a). |
| 5 | Correct Option | Thus, the correct formula for the acceleration is \(\mathbf{\frac{F_B – F_g – F_P}{m}}\) which matches option (a). |
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Ben’s favorite ride at the Barrel-O-Fun Amusement Park is the Flying Umbrella, which is lifted by a hydraulic jack. The operator activates the ride by applying a force of \( 72 \) \( \text{N} \) to a \( 3.0 \) \( \text{cm} \) wide cylindrical piston, which holds the \( 20,000 \) \( \text{N} \) ride off the ground. What is the diameter of the piston that holds the ride?
A \(2\)-N force is used to push a small piston \(10\) \(\text{cm}\) downward in a simple hydraulic machine. If the opposite large piston rises by \(0.5\) \(\text{cm}\), what is the maximum weight the large piston can lift?
A spherical balloon has a radius of \(7.15\) \(\text{m}\) and is filled with helium. How large a cargo can it lift, assuming that the skin and structure of the balloon have a mass of \(930\) \(\text{kg}\)?
Take the density of helium and air to be \(0.18\) \(\text{kg/m}^3\) and \(1.24\) \(\text{kg/m}^3\), respectively.
A cube of side length \( s \) rests on the bottom surface of a container of fluid. The fluid is at a height \( y \) above the bottom of the tank. The fluid has density \( \rho \) and the atmospheric pressure is \( P_{\text{atm}} \).
Which of the following expressions is equal to the absolute pressure exerted by the fluid on the top surface of the cube?

A helium-filled balloon is attached by a string of negligible mass to a small \(0.015 \ \text{kg}\) object that is just heavy enough to keep the balloon from rising. The total mass of the balloon, including the helium, is \(0.0050 \ \text{kg}\). The density of air is \(\rho_{\text{air}} = 1.29 \ \text{kg/m}^3\), and the density of helium is \(\rho_{\text{He}} = 0.179 \ \text{kg/m}^3\). The buoyant force on the \(0.015 \ \text{kg}\) object is small enough to be negligible.
A liquid flows at a constant flow rate through a pipe with circular cross-sections of varying diameters. At one point in the pipe, the diameter is \(2\) \(\text{cm}\) and the flow speed is \(18\) \(\text{m/s}\). What is the flow speed at another point in this pipe, where the diameter is \(3\) \(\text{cm}\).
The large piston in a hydraulic lift has a radius of \( 250 \) \( \text{cm}^2 \). What force must be applied to the small piston with a radius of \( 25 \) \( \text{cm}^2 \) in order to raise a car of mass \( 1500 \) \( \text{kg} \)?
Why do you float higher in salt water than in fresh water?
A cube of unknown material and uniform density floats in a container of water with \(60\%\) of its volume submerged. If this same cube were placed in a container of oil with density \(800\) \(\text{kg/m}^3\), what portion of the cube’s volume would be submerged while floating?
The side of an above-ground pool is punctured, and water gushes out through the hole. If the total depth of the pool is \( 2.5 \) \( \text{m} \), and the puncture is \( 1 \) \( \text{m} \) above the ground level, what is the efflux speed of the water?
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| Kinematics | Forces |
|---|---|
| \(\Delta x = v_i t + \frac{1}{2} at^2\) | \(F = ma\) |
| \(v = v_i + at\) | \(F_g = \frac{G m_1 m_2}{r^2}\) |
| \(v^2 = v_i^2 + 2a \Delta x\) | \(f = \mu N\) |
| \(\Delta x = \frac{v_i + v}{2} t\) | \(F_s =-kx\) |
| \(v^2 = v_f^2 \,-\, 2a \Delta x\) |
| Circular Motion | Energy |
|---|---|
| \(F_c = \frac{mv^2}{r}\) | \(KE = \frac{1}{2} mv^2\) |
| \(a_c = \frac{v^2}{r}\) | \(PE = mgh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{r}{g}}\) | \(KE_i + PE_i = KE_f + PE_f\) |
| \(W = Fd \cos\theta\) |
| Momentum | Torque and Rotations |
|---|---|
| \(p = mv\) | \(\tau = r \cdot F \cdot \sin(\theta)\) |
| \(J = \Delta p\) | \(I = \sum mr^2\) |
| \(p_i = p_f\) | \(L = I \cdot \omega\) |
| Simple Harmonic Motion | Fluids |
|---|---|
| \(F = -kx\) | \(P = \frac{F}{A}\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{l}{g}}\) | \(P_{\text{total}} = P_{\text{atm}} + \rho gh\) |
| \(T = 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{m}{k}}\) | \(Q = Av\) |
| \(x(t) = A \cos(\omega t + \phi)\) | \(F_b = \rho V g\) |
| \(a = -\omega^2 x\) | \(A_1v_1 = A_2v_2\) |
| Constant | Description |
|---|---|
| [katex]g[/katex] | Acceleration due to gravity, typically [katex]9.8 , \text{m/s}^2[/katex] on Earth’s surface |
| [katex]G[/katex] | Universal Gravitational Constant, [katex]6.674 \times 10^{-11} , \text{N} \cdot \text{m}^2/\text{kg}^2[/katex] |
| [katex]\mu_k[/katex] and [katex]\mu_s[/katex] | Coefficients of kinetic ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) and static ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) friction, dimensionless. Static friction ([katex]\mu_s[/katex]) is usually greater than kinetic friction ([katex]\mu_k[/katex]) as it resists the start of motion. |
| [katex]k[/katex] | Spring constant, in [katex]\text{N/m}[/katex] |
| [katex] M_E = 5.972 \times 10^{24} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Earth |
| [katex] M_M = 7.348 \times 10^{22} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Moon |
| [katex] M_M = 1.989 \times 10^{30} , \text{kg} [/katex] | Mass of the Sun |
| Variable | SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]s[/katex] (Displacement) | [katex]\text{meters (m)}[/katex] |
| [katex]v[/katex] (Velocity) | [katex]\text{meters per second (m/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]a[/katex] (Acceleration) | [katex]\text{meters per second squared (m/s}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]t[/katex] (Time) | [katex]\text{seconds (s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]m[/katex] (Mass) | [katex]\text{kilograms (kg)}[/katex] |
| Variable | Derived SI Unit |
|---|---|
| [katex]F[/katex] (Force) | [katex]\text{newtons (N)}[/katex] |
| [katex]E[/katex], [katex]PE[/katex], [katex]KE[/katex] (Energy, Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy) | [katex]\text{joules (J)}[/katex] |
| [katex]P[/katex] (Power) | [katex]\text{watts (W)}[/katex] |
| [katex]p[/katex] (Momentum) | [katex]\text{kilogram meters per second (kgm/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\omega[/katex] (Angular Velocity) | [katex]\text{radians per second (rad/s)}[/katex] |
| [katex]\tau[/katex] (Torque) | [katex]\text{newton meters (Nm)}[/katex] |
| [katex]I[/katex] (Moment of Inertia) | [katex]\text{kilogram meter squared (kgm}^2\text{)}[/katex] |
| [katex]f[/katex] (Frequency) | [katex]\text{hertz (Hz)}[/katex] |
Metric Prefixes
Example of using unit analysis: Convert 5 kilometers to millimeters.
Start with the given measurement: [katex]\text{5 km}[/katex]
Use the conversion factors for kilometers to meters and meters to millimeters: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}}[/katex]
Perform the multiplication: [katex]\text{5 km} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{m}}{1 \, \text{km}} \times \frac{10^3 \, \text{mm}}{1 \, \text{m}} = 5 \times 10^3 \times 10^3 \, \text{mm}[/katex]
Simplify to get the final answer: [katex]\boxed{5 \times 10^6 \, \text{mm}}[/katex]
Prefix | Symbol | Power of Ten | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
Pico- | p | [katex]10^{-12}[/katex] | 0.000000000001 |
Nano- | n | [katex]10^{-9}[/katex] | 0.000000001 |
Micro- | µ | [katex]10^{-6}[/katex] | 0.000001 |
Milli- | m | [katex]10^{-3}[/katex] | 0.001 |
Centi- | c | [katex]10^{-2}[/katex] | 0.01 |
Deci- | d | [katex]10^{-1}[/katex] | 0.1 |
(Base unit) | – | [katex]10^{0}[/katex] | 1 |
Deca- or Deka- | da | [katex]10^{1}[/katex] | 10 |
Hecto- | h | [katex]10^{2}[/katex] | 100 |
Kilo- | k | [katex]10^{3}[/katex] | 1,000 |
Mega- | M | [katex]10^{6}[/katex] | 1,000,000 |
Giga- | G | [katex]10^{9}[/katex] | 1,000,000,000 |
Tera- | T | [katex]10^{12}[/katex] | 1,000,000,000,000 |
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