UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND,
JOHANNESBURG
PHYS1000A / PHYS1033A / PHYS1038A - 2026 - FYR
Semester 2 - Tutorial 1
Topics Covered: Ch 15: (15.1, 15.2, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6)
Difficulty level of problems: • = easy, •• = intermediate, • • • = hard.
1. If you photograph a flock of birds taking off from ground level, some of the wings will be
blurred in the photograph even though the bodies are in focus. In which wing positions are
the wings least blurry? Give a short explanation for the blurring. [Based on Sec: 15.1] •
2. An object attached to one end of the spring makes 25 complete oscillations in 5.0 seconds.
What are its period and frequency? [0.20 s; 5.0 Hz] [Based on Sec: 15.2] •
3. Is the typical up-and-down motion of a yo-yo periodic motion, assuming no energy is dissipated? Is it simple harmonic motion? [Based on Sec: 15.2] ••
4. Which of these forces could result in simple harmonic motion: (a) F (x) = 2x, (b) F (x) = −2x,
(c) F (x) = −2x2 , (d) F (x) = 2x2 , (e) F (x) = −2x + 2, (f) F (x) = −2(x − 2)2 ? [Based on
Sec: 15.4] •
5. Write
x(t) = A sin(ωt + φi ),
vx (t) = ωA cos(ωt + φi ),
ax (t) = −ω 2 A sin(ωt + φi ),
in terms of the period T of the motion. [Based on Sec: 15.5] •
6. In the figure shown below, the vertical component of the phasor moves in simple harmonic
motion. (a) Does the horizontal component also move in simple harmonic motion? (b) What
is the phase difference ∆φ = φv − φh between the vertical and horizontal components? [Based
on Sec: 15.5] ••
7. A vertical spring, on which a block of mass m1 is hung, oscillates with period T . When
replaced with mass m2 , the period is T /3. What is the ratio m1 /m2 ? [Based on Sec: 15.6]
••
2/2
0
