PhysicsLAB Worksheet
Work and Energy Practice: An Assortment of Situations
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In these exercises, you may use g = 10 m/sec2.
 
 
Refer to the following information for the next three questions.

The next questions compare the behavior of two blocks sliding down two similar incline planes.
True or False? The length of this frictionless incline's surface is L. If the block is released from rest when it is at the top of the incline, its speed when it reaches the base of the incline would equal .
 
 
A second identical block slides down another incline that has the exact same height as the one above. If this second incline is also frictionless, how will the speeds of the two blocks compare when they each reach the bottom of their respective inclines?
 
 
If the bases of the two inclines are the same length and the blocks are simultaneously released from rest at the top of each incline, which block will most likely reach the bottom first?
 
Refer to the following information for the next four questions.

At what point along this frictionless wire, will a 100-gram bead released from rest at point A have the greatest speed?
 
How fast will the bead be traveling is it passes through points C and E? 

Consider a second scenario in which the wire exerts a constant frictional force of 0.3 N on the bead. If the bead has to slide 3 meters along the wire in order to reach point C, will it make it to C?  If yes, how fast would it be moving? 

Why did we not care about the length of the wire when it was frictionless? 

Refer to the following information for the next two questions.

 
In each graph, a force, F, by pushing on an object moves it through a distance, s.  If all four displacements are the same, and all four forces peak at the same maximum value, which graph represents the one in which the most work was done?
 
If each of the objects are identical in mass and all four originally start from a state of rest, which object will have gained the greatest velocity?
 
Refer to the following information for the next three questions.

Two identical cars are traveling North on I-95.  One car is going twice as fast as the other.
How do their kinetic energies compare?
 
If both cars have tires with the same amount of tread, so that they share the same coefficient of friction, how would the distance required for each of them to come to a complete stop compare? (These cars do not have anti-lock brakes.)
 


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