Class 11 Physics - Chapter Motion in a Plane NCERT Solutions | A vector has both magnitude and directio

Rain is falling vertically with a speed of 30 m s^–1. A woman rides a bicycle with a speed of 10 m s^–1 in the north to south direction. What is the direction in which she should hold her umbrella?

On an open ground, a motorist follows a track that turns to his left by an angle of 60° after every 500 m. Starting from a given turn, specify the displacement of the motorist at the third, sixth and eighth turn. Compare the magnitude of the displacement with the total path length covered by the motorist in each case.

Establish the following vector inequalities geometrically or otherwise:

(a) |a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|

(b) |a + b| ≥ ||a| − |b||

(c) |a − b| ≤ |a| + |b|

(d) |a − b| ≥ ||a| − |b||

When does the equality sign above apply?

A stone tied to the end of a string 80 cm long is whirled in a horizontal circle with a constant speed. If the stone makes 14 revolutions in 25 s, what is the magnitude and direction of acceleration of the stone?

Given a + b + c + d = 0, which of the following statements are correct:

(a) a, b, c, and d must each be a null vector,

(b) The magnitude of (a + c) equals the magnitude of (b+ d),

(c) The magnitude of a can never be greater than the sum of the magnitudes of b, c, and d,

(d) b + c must lie in the plane of a and d if a and d are not collinear, and in the line of a and d, if they are collinear?

Three girls skating on a circular ice ground of radius 200 m start from a point P on the edge of the ground and reach a point Q diametrically opposite to P following different paths as shown in Fig. 4.20. What is the magnitude of the displacement vector for each? For which girl is this equal to the actual length of the path skated?

An aircraft executes a horizontal loop of radius 1.00 km with a steady speed of 900 km/h. Compare its centripetal acceleration with the acceleration due to gravity.

Some of the most profound statements on the nature of science have come from Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time. What do you think did Einstein mean when he said : “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible”?

The sign of work done by a force on a body is important to understand. State carefully if the following quantities are positive or negative:

(a) work done by a man in lifting a bucket out of a well by means of a rope tied to the bucket.

(b) work done by gravitational force in the above case,

(c) work done by friction on a body sliding down an inclined plane,

(d) work done by an applied force on a body moving on a rough horizontal plane with uniform velocity,

(e) work done by the resistive force of air on a vibrating pendulum in bringing it to rest.

A geyser heats water flowing at the rate of 3.0 litres per minute from 27 °C to 77 °C. If the geyser operates on a gas burner, what is the rate of consumption of the fuel if its heat of combustion is 4.0 x 10⁴ J/g?

Estimate the fraction of molecular volume to the actual volume occupied by oxygen gas at STP. Take the diameter of an oxygen molecule to be 3Å.

The shells of crabs found around a particular coastal location in Japan seem mostly to resemble the legendary face of a Samurai. Given below are two explanations of this observed fact. Which of these strikes you as a scientific explanation ?

(a) A tragic sea accident several centuries ago drowned a young Samurai. As a tribute to his bravery, nature through its inscrutable ways immortalised his face by imprinting it on the crab shells in that area.

(b) After the sea tragedy, fishermen in that area, in a gesture of honour to their dead hero, let free any crab shell caught by them which accidentally had a shape resembling the face of a Samurai. Consequently, the particular shape of the crab shell survived longer and therefore in course of time the shape was genetically propagated. This is an example of evolution by artificial selection.

[Note : This interesting illustration taken from Carl Sagan’s ‘The Cosmos’ highlights the fact that often strange and inexplicable facts which on the first sight appear ‘supernatural’ actually turn out to have simple scientific explanations. Try to think out other examples of this kind].

Which of the following is the most precise device for measuring length:

(a) a vernier callipers with 20 divisions on the sliding scale

(b) a screw gauge of pitch 1 mm and 100 divisions on the circular scale

(c) an optical instrument that can measure length to within a wavelength of light ?

In changing the state of a gas adiabatically from an equilibrium state A to another equilibrium state B, an amount of work equal to 22.3 J is done on the system. If the gas is taken from state A to B via a process in which the net heat absorbed by the system is 9.35 cal, how much is the net work done by the system in the latter case? (Take 1 cal = 4.19 J)

Attempt to formulate your ‘moral’ views on the practice of science. Imagine yourself stumbling upon a discovery, which has great academic interest but is certain to have nothing but dangerous consequences for the human society. How, if at all, will you resolve your dilemma?

On a long horizontally moving belt (Fig. 3.26), a child runs to and fro with a speed 9 km h^-1 (with respect to the belt) between his father and mother located 50 m apart on the moving belt. The belt moves with a speed of 4 km h^-1. For an observer on a stationary platform outside, what is the

(a) speed of the child running in the direction of motion of the belt ?.

(b) speed of the child running opposite to the direction of motion of the belt ?

(c) time taken by the child in (a) and (b) ? Which of the answers alter if motion is viewed by one of the parents?

           (Figure 3.26)

A calorie is a unit of heat or energy and it equals about 4.2 J where 1J = 1 kg m²s^–2. Suppose we employ a system of units in which the unit of mass equals α kg, the unit of length equals β  m, the unit of time is γ s. Show that a calorie has a magnitude 4.2 α^–1 β^{– 2} γ² in terms of the new units.

Read each statement below carefully, and state, with reasons, if it is true or false;

(a) During rolling, the force of friction acts in the same direction as the direction of motion of the CM of the body.

(b) The instantaneous speed of the point of contact during rolling is zero.

(c) The instantaneous acceleration of the point of contact during rolling is zero.

(d) For perfect rolling motion, work done against friction is zero.

(e) A wheel moving down a perfectly frictionless inclined plane will undergo slipping (not rolling) motion.

A hoop of radius 2 m weighs 100 kg. It rolls along a horizontal floor so that its centre of mass has a speed of 20 cm/s. How much work has to be done to stop it?

Use the formula v = √ γP/ρ  to explain why the speed of sound in air (a) is independent of pressure, (b) increases with temperature, (c) increases with humidity.