Author: Tru Physics
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Chapter 5: Constant Velocity
5.1 Introduction to Constant Velocity Motion Constant velocity is a term used to describe a situation where an object moves at a constant speed in a straight line. In other words, the velocity of the object remains unchanged, which means that its speed and direction do not change over time. In future chapters we will…
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Chapter 4: Position, Velocity, and Acceleration
4.1 Position and Displacement Position is a fundamental concept in physics that describes an object’s location in space relative to a reference point. To understand position, we need to define a few key terms. The first is distance, which is the total length of the path an object travels. This can be a bit tricky,…
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Chapter 2: Introduction to Vectors
2.1 Introduction Vectors are a fundamental concept in physics which describe quantities that have both magnitude and direction. This definition cannot be stressed enough. Unlike scalars, which only have magnitude (such as temperature, mass, or time), vectors allow us to describe physical quantities that have both a size and an associated direction, such as velocity,…
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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Metric System
1.1 Introduction Physics calculations often involve measurements of various physical quantities such as length, time, mass, and temperature. To make these calculations easier and more accurate, scientists have developed a system of units known as the metric system. This system has become widely used around the world and has many benefits over other systems of…
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Problem 1.54 (Schroeder’s Intro to Thermal Physics)
Problem 1.54 A 60-kg hiker wishes to climb to the summit of Mt. Ogden, an ascent of 5000 vertical feet (1500 m). (a) Assuming that she is 25% efficient at converting chemical energy from food into mechanical work, and that essentially all the mechanical work is used to climb vertically, roughly how many bowls of…
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Problem 1.50 (Schroeder’s Intro to Thermal Physics)
Problem 1.50 Consider the combustion of one mole of methane gas: The system is at standard temperature (298 K) and pressure ( Pa) both before and after the reaction. (a) First imagine the process of converting a mole of methane into its elemental consituents (graphite and hydrogen gas). Use the data at the back of…
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Problem 1.47 (Schroeder’s Intro to Thermal Physics)
Problem 1.47 Your 200-g cup of tea is boiling-hot. About how much ice should you add to bring it down to a comfortable sipping temperature of ? (Assume that the ice is initially at . The specific heat capacity of ice is .) Solution: Problem 1.47
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Problem 1.46 (Schroeder’s Intro to Thermal Physics)
Problem 1.46 Measured heat capacities of solids and liquids are almost always at constant pressure, not constant volume. To see why, estimate the pressure needed to keep fixed as increases, as follows. (a) First imagine slightly increasing the temperature of a material at constant pressure. Write the change in volume, , in terms of and…
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Problem 1.42 (Schroeder’s Intro to Thermal Physics)
Problem 1.42 The specific heat capacity of Albertson’s Rotini Tricolore is approximately . Suppose you toss 340 g of this pasta (at ) into 1.5 liters of boiling water. What effect does this have on the temperature of the water (before there is time for the stove to provide more heat)? Solution: Problem 1.42
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Problem 1.36 (Schroeder’s Intro to Thermal Physics)
Problem 1.36 In the course of pumping up a bicycle tire, a liter of air at atmospheric pressure is compressed adiabatically to a pressure of 7 atm. (Air is mostly diatomic nitrogen and oxygen.) (a) What is the final volume of this air after compression?(b) How much work is done in compressing the air?(c) If…