Physics 300 – Tension Problems
Mr. Youker
1. A 500 g ball is suspended from the ceiling by a single vertical cord.
Determine the tension within the cord.
2. A crane lifts a 2000 kg broken down car vertically upward at a rate of 40 cm/s by means of a
single vertical cable. Determine the tension within the crane’s cable.
3. A 80 kg mountain climber descends a cliff, accelerating downward at a rate of 0.20 m/s2.
Determine the tension in the climber’s rope.
4. A 300 kg piano is accelerated upwardly off of the ground by means of two vertical ropes, each
carrying 1700 N of tension. At what rate is the piano accelerating?
5. Find the mass of a potato if it produces 22 N of tension in the spring from which it is suspended.
6. If a cable with 20 N of tension is used to pull an object, moving it 2 m at a constant speed, then
how much work is done by the cable?
7. A 2000 kg car is pulled forward by a cable held horizontally. If the tension in the cable is
maintained at 500 N, then find the final kinetic energy of the car after it has been pulled 10 m.
(Ignore any horizontal retarding force like friction.)
8. How much work is done on a water skier by tension if the tow-rope if the 100 kg skier acquires a
speed of 5 m/s over a distance of 50 m? (Ignore any horizontal retarding force like water
resistance.)
9. An upward tension force of 300 N is applied to a crate that lays motionless on the floor. How
much work is done by the rope if the crate accelerates upwardly at a rate of 0.5 m/s2 for 2 sec?
10. Why does the tension the chains of a swing do no work on the swing and its occupant?
11. A toy airplane flies around and around in a horizontal circle, tethered to a central axis by a 3 m
long string. The plane completes 5 revolutions in 4 seconds of time. The tension in the string is
200 N. Find the speed of the plane, the centripetal acceleration of the plane, the mass of the plane.
12. A 20 g ball is attached to the end of a 80 cm long string. The breaking tension of the string is
200 N. Find the maximum speed that the ball may be whirled around in a circle.
13. Tarzan jumps down from a branch that is 8 m high above the river. He swings down on a vine
that is 5 m long… obtaining a minimum height of 3 m above the river. If Tarzan has a mass of
120 kg, then determine the tension in the vine at the lowest point in his swing.
14. Review: How much tension is required to lift a 2 kg mass vertically upward at a constant speed?
15. Review: What final speed will result when a 30 kg box is pulled 3 m horizontally over a
frictionless surface (from rest) by a rope with 5 N of tension in it?
16. A spring has a resting length of 20 cm. A 30 g mass is suspended from it and stretches the spring
to a length of 30 cm. What is the spring constant ‘k’ for this spring?
17. A force of 100 N is applied to compress a spring. The spring constant is k = 50 N/m. How far will
the spring compress?
18. How much potential energy is stored in a spring that has a spring constant k = 20 N/m and is
compressed by 10 cm?
19. A spring with a spring constant of k = 100 N/m is used to stop a 3 kg mass moving to the right at
a speed of 2 m/s. The mass hits the spring and compresses it… eventually coming to rest. How far
does the spring compress in this process?
20. A spring is compressed 10 cm. A 50 g ball is then placed next to the spring and the spring is
released. This action shoots the ball horizontally off of a table that is 1.5 m high. The ball lands
3 m from the base of the table. What was the spring constant (k) of the spring?