Questions and Answers of Physics Everyday Phenomena

To extend the observations of home experiment 1, a simple electroscope can also be constructed. Use light aluminum foil as the leaves, which can be suspended from a paper clip. One end of the clip
can test the velocity-addition ideas in the first section of this chapter. A small battery-powered or wind-up boat is also necessary. These can be found in toy or variety stores.a. Test your boat
View a distant point light source (such as a distant streetlight or a bright star) at night through a window screen.a. Sketch the appearance of the light when viewed through the screen. How does this
If you have never played a piano, a lot can be learned by sitting down at a keyboard and trying a few scales and intervals.a. Play a C-major scale as illustrated in figure 15.22.b. Play a D-major
If you have access to a guitar, try generating some of the higher harmonics using the technique discussed in section 15.3.a. How many higher harmonics can you produce? Do the locations of dots on the
Empty a soft-drink bottle and practice blowing over the opening as described in section 15.4 until you are able to produce a consistent tone.a. How does the pitch of this tone vary if you put water
If you have access to a Slinky, either through a younger brother or sister or through your local physics lab, try producing some of the effects described in section 15.1.a. Can you estimate the speed
The pith ball experiments described in section 12.1 can be done with homemade equipment. Small, lightly wadded pieces of paper or pieces of Styrofoam torn from a coffee cup can be used in place of
Try spinning a quarter or other large coin about its edge on a smooth tabletop or other similar surface. Describe the motion that follows, paying particular attention to the direction of the angular
Using elevators in your dormitory or other campus buildings, observe the effects of the elevator’s acceleration. Most elevators accelerate briefly as they start and again as they stop
Try throwing a ball or a wadded piece of paper into a wastebasket placed a few meters from your launch point.a. Which is most effective, an overhanded or underhanded throw? (Five practice shots
For the ball in exercise 1:a. Through what distance does the ball fall in the first 0.8 seconds of its flight? (Assume g = 10 m/s2.)b. How far does it fall in the first 1.6 seconds of its flight?
Find a hologram on a credit card or obtain one from your instructor and examine it closely.a. As you move your head from side to side, can you see different features of the object? Is the image that
On a clear night (preferably away from city lights), go outside and study the night sky.a. Can you see the Milky Way? (It will usually appear as a faint cloud of stars making an irregular band across
Would a clock located on the surface of the sun measure time at the same rate as a clock located a long distance away from any planet or star? Explain.
The concept of a chain reaction can be made more vivid by using the same piles of pennies (or other objects) you used in HE1. Gather about $3.00 worth of pennies. Each pile will represent the number
The concept of half-life, and the associated exponential decay curve, can be made more vivid by using piles of pennies (or other stackable objects) to represent atoms.a. Collect as many pennies as
With the television set turned off, take a close look at the screen of a color-television set. If you have a magnifying glass available, it will help to get a good view of the detail.a. Describe the
Obtain some red or blue liquid food coloring from your kitchen or local grocery. Prepare two glasses or transparent plastic cups containing equal amounts of water, one drawn from the cold tap and the
If you have access to an overhead projector, examine the device carefully so that you can describe the optical system involved.a. What optical elements (lenses or mirrors) are present?b. What is the
The passenger-side side-view mirror on most cars is a convex mirror. (The warning that objects may be closer than they appear indicates that the mirror is convex.)a. View some object of known height
If you have a magnifying (concave) mirror available, such as a shaving or makeup mirror, try moving the mirror slowly away from your face.a. Describe the changes in the image of your face as the
Locate two small plane mirrors like the ones often carried in a purse. Place the two mirrors next to each other so that they touch along one edge, making an angle of 90° between the two mirrors.
Fill a clear glass almost to the top with water and insert various objects into the water.a. Do the objects appear to be shorter than their actual length when viewed from above the glass?b. Do the
Find a laser pointer and a couple pieces of aluminum foil.a. Take a piece of the aluminum foil, pierce a small hole in it with a pin, and observe the pattern you see when shining a laser pointer
Locate two polarizing filters. (Your physics instructor is probably your best source. Most sunglasses are not polarizers.)a. View the blue sky through one polarizer while rotating the polarizer
Find two flat glass plates (microscope slides will work nicely). Wipe the glass plates clean and place one on top of the other. View the plates in reflected light from the overhead lighting in your
It is a simple matter to produce soap films that demonstrate thin-film interference phenomena. Place a few drops of liquid dish-washing detergent in a shallow bowl and add enough water to form a
If you have access to a color ink jet printer, print a color test pattern with the printer. View the test pattern through a strong magnifying glass.a. Can you see the individual colored dots that
Water waves can be created easily by moving your hand in a bathtub or other small pool of water. The wave crests can be directly observed.a. Try moving your hand at different frequencies. How does
Using a long insulated wire, wrap several turns (as many as 50 to 100) around a large steel nail. If the free ends of the wire are connected to a flashlight battery, you have an electromagnet. (To
If you have a small compass, you can use it to explore the magnetic field of magnets and currents. The compass needle will always point in the direction of the net magnetic field, wherever it is
Look around your home or residence hall to see how many magnets you can find. Small packages of magnets can often be found in variety stores or hardware stores for hanging tools or other uses.a. If
Locate all of the electrical appliances that you use in your residence-hall room or in a single room in your house.a. Can you find current or power ratings on these appliances? What are they?b. Even
Some light bulbs are designed to operate at three different brightness levels. Locate such a bulb either in your home or residence hall, or in a local store.a. Unscrew the bulb from the socket and
If you have two flashlight bulbs, a flashlight battery, and some wires available, you can try your hand at building your own series and parallel circuits. The wires can be looped around the side of
If you have a flashlight handy, you have a working example of a simple battery-and-bulb circuit.a. Open the flashlight and remove the batteries and bulb. Can you see how the switch operates? What
The electric potential increases from 100 V to 500 V from the bottom plate to the top plate of a parallel-plate capacitor.a. What is the magnitude of the change in potential energy of a -5 x 10-4 C
The potential energy of a +2 x 10-6 C charge decreases from 0.06 J to 0.02 J when it is moved from point A to point B. What is the change in electric potential between these two points?
What types of power plants are used to generate electricity in your area? Do they employ heat engines, and if so, what is the source of heat? Are there cooling towers or other cooling structures used
Find a local car dealer who sells hybrid automobiles. (Honda and Toyota are currently the best bets.) Collect literature describing the specifications for the hybrid vehicle as well as for other
If there is a refrigerator handy in your residence hall or home, study the construction of the refrigerator to make these observations:a. What energy source (gas or electricity) provides the work
Conduct an energy survey of your residence-hall room or other similar living space. Note:a. What is the heat source (or sources) for the room and how does this heat flow into the room? What heat-flow
Fill a Styrofoam cup with very hot water (or coffee). Take objects made of different materials such as a metal spoon, a wooden pencil, a plastic pen, or a glass rod. Put one end of each object into
Take two Styrofoam cups, partially fill them with equal amounts of cold water, and drop equal amounts of ice into each cup to obtain a mixture of ice and water.a. Stir the water and ice mixture in
A rock with a volume of 0.2 m3 is fully submerged in water having a density of 1000 kg/m3. What is the buoyant force acting on the rock?
A 0.5-kg block of wood is floating in water. What is the magnitude of the buoyant force acting on the block?
Using paper clips and a pen or pencil as a support rod, suspend two full-sized pieces of paper a few inches apart so that they hang vertically.a. Blow downward between the two pieces and observe the
If you have a hair dryer handy, try supporting a ping-pong ball in a vertical column of air coming from the dryer.a. Can you get the ping-pong ball to stay in place? How far from the center can the
A 110-lb woman puts all of her weight on one heel of her high-heel shoes. The heel has an area of 0.4 m2. What is the pressure that her heel exerts on the ground in pounds per square inch (psi)?
If you have some modeling clay available, try building a boat from the clay.a. Does the clay sink when it is rolled into a ball? What does this indicate about the density of the clay?b. Is a flatboat
Using an awl or drill, punch three similar holes in an empty plastic milk jug at three different heights. Plug the holes and fill the jug with water.a. Placing the jug at the edge of the sink, unplug
As described in the study hint on page 160, use a bicycle wheel mounted on a hand-held axle (probably available from your friendly physics department) to study the angular momentum vectors and their
You can make a simple top by cutting a circular piece of cardboard, poking a hole through the center, and using a short dull pencil for the post. A short wooden dowel with a rounded end works even
Create a simple balance using a ruler as the balance beam and a pencil as the fulcrum. (A pencil or pen with a hexagonal cross section is easier to use than one with a round cross section.)a. Does
If there is a park nearby containing a freely rotating child’s merry-go-round, take some time with a friend to observe some of the phenomena discussed in this chapter. In particular, make these
Place a cardboard box on a smooth tile or wood floor. Practice rolling a basketball or soccer ball at different speeds and allowing the ball to collide with the box. Observe the motion of both the
If you have both a basketball and a tennis ball, try dropping the two of them onto a floor with a hard surface, first individually and then with the tennis ball placed on top of the basketball before
If you have access to a pool table, try parts a and b of the observations in home experiment 1 on the pool table. What effect does putting spin on the first ball have on the collisions?
Take two marbles or steel balls of the same size and practice shooting one into the other. Make these observations:a. If you produce a head-on collision with the second marble initially at rest, does
A roller-coaster car with a mass of 1200 kg starts at rest from a point 20 m above the ground. At point B, it is 12 m above the ground.a. What is the initial potential energy of the car?b. What is
A sled and rider with a combined mass of 50 kg are at the top of a hill a height of 15 m above the level ground below. The sled is given a push providing an initial kinetic energy at the top of the
A 0.20-kg mass attached to a spring is pulled back horizontally across a table so that the potential energy of the system is increased from zero to 120 J. Ignoring friction, what is the kinetic
The height to which a ball bounces after being dropped provides a measure of how much energy is lost in the collision with the floor or other surface. A small portion of the energy is lost to air
A ramp for a marble or small steel ball can be made by bending a long strip of cardboard into a V-shaped groove. Two such ramps can be placed end to end, as pictured in the diagram, to produce a
You can construct a simple pendulum easily by attaching a ball to a string (with tape or a staple) and fixing the other end of the string to a rigid support. (A pencil taped firmly to the end of a
Consult your instructor or other sources to find out what planets are observable in the evening during the current month. Venus, Jupiter, or Mars are usually the best candidates.a. Locate the planet
Observe the position and phase of the moon on several days in succession and at regularly chosen times during the day and evening. (It is probably best to choose a point near the first quarter of the
Tie a small paper cup to a string, attaching it at two points near the rim as shown in the diagram. Take a marble or other small object and place it in the cup.a. Whirl the cup in a horizontal
Tape a string half a meter or so in length securely to a small rubber ball. Practice whirling the ball in both horizontal and vertical circles and make these observations:a. For horizontal motion of
Falling objects whose surface area is large relative to their weight will reach terminal velocity more readily than a ball or a rock. Test several objects, such as a balloon, small pieces of paper,
Place a sheet of paper under a medium-sized book lying on a smooth tabletop or desktop.a. Try to accelerate the book smoothly by exerting a constant pull on the sheet of paper. What happens if you
Collect a variety of small objects such as coins, pencils, keys, and bottle caps. Ice cubes, if they are available, also make excellent test objects. Try sliding these objects across a smooth surface
A ball is thrown straight upward and then returns to the Earth. Choosing the positive direction to be upward, sketch a graph of the velocity of this ball against time. Where does the velocity change
Using rubber bands and a plastic rule or other suitable support, design and build a marble launcher. By pulling the rubber band back by the same amount each time, you should be able to launch the
Take a stopwatch to a football game and estimate the hang time of several punts. Also note how far (in yards) each punt travels horizontally. Do the highest punts have the longest hang times? Do they
Take a ball outside and throw it straight up in the air as hard as you can. By counting seconds yourself, or by enlisting a friend with a watch, estimate the time that the ball remains in the air.
Try dropping a ball from one hand at the same time that you throw a second ball with your other hand. At first, try to throw the second ball horizontally, with no upward or downward component to its
Two balls are rolled off a tabletop that is 0.8 m above the floor. Ball A has a horizontal velocity of 3 m/s and that of ball B is 5 m/s.a. Assuming g = 10 m/s2, how long does it take each ball to
Working with a partner, you can get an estimate of your reaction time by catching a falling meter stick. Have your partner hold the meter stick from a point near the top while you place the finger
Gather numerous small objects and drop them from equal heights, two at a time. Record which objects fall significantly more slowly than a compact dense object such as a marble or similar object. Rank
The speed with which hair or fingernails grow provides some interesting measurement challenges. Using a millimeter rule, estimate the speed of growth for one or more of: fingernails, toenails, facial
How fast do you normally walk? Using a meter stick or a string of known length, lay out a straight course of 40 or 50 meters. Then use a watch with a second hand or a stopwatch to determine:a. Your
If gas costs 80¢ a liter, how much does a gallon of gas cost? Show by converting gallons to liters using the conversion factors on the inside front cover.
A book is 220 mm in width. What is this width in centimeters? In meters?
Is a black hole just a hole in space that contains no mass? Explain.
A positively charged particle is momentarily at rest in a uniform magnetic field. Is there a magnetic force acting on this particle? Explain.
Suppose that a beam of π mesons (or pions) is moving with a velocity of 0.9c with respect to the laboratory. When the pions are at rest, they decay with a half-life of 1.77 x 10-8 s.a. Calculate the
A boat capable of moving with a velocity of 6 m/s relative to the water is pointed straight across a stream flowing with a current velocity of 3 m/s. The width of the stream is 48 m.a. Draw a vector
Suppose that an object has a mass-energy of 200 joules when it is at rest.a. What is its total energy when it is moving with a velocity of 0.9c? (E = γE0. See table 20.1.)b. What is the kinetic
A spaceship is traveling with a velocity of 0.8c relative to the Earth. What is the momentum of the spaceship if its mass is 5000 kg? (p = γmv and c = 3 x 108 m/s. See table 20.1.) table 20.1
The crew of a spaceship traveling with a velocity of 0.6c relative to the Earth measures the distance between two cities on earth (in a direction parallel to their motion) as 600 km. What is the
A spaceship that is 50 m long as measured by its occupants is traveling at a speed of 0.1c relative to the Earth. How long is the spaceship as measured by mission control in Houston? (See table
An observer on Earth notes that an astronaut on a spaceship puts in a 4-hour shift at the controls of the spaceship. How long is this shift as measured by the astronaut himself, if the spaceship is
An astronaut cooks a three-minute egg in his spaceship whizzing past Earth at a speed of 0.6c. How long has the egg cooked as measured by an observer on Earth? (See table 20.1.) table 20.1
The factor γ = √1-(v2 / c2)appears in many expressions derived from the theory of special relativity. Show that γ = 1.25 when v = 0.6c.
An astronaut aims a flashlight toward the tail of his spaceship, which is traveling with a velocity of 0.5c relative to the Earth. What is the velocity of the light beam relative to the Earth?
A ball is thrown with a velocity of 60 MPH down the aisle (toward the tail of the plane) of a jetliner traveling with a velocity of 300 MPH relative to the Earth. What is the velocity of the ball
A swimmer swims upstream with a velocity of 4 m/s relative to the water. The velocity of the current is 3.5 m/s (downstream). What is the velocity of the swimmer relative to the bank?
A plane that can travel at 460 MPH in still air is flying with a tailwind of 40 MPH. How long does it take for the plane to travel a distance of 750 miles (relative to the Earth)?

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