Conceptual Definition and 844 Threads

I have some concept problems that I cannot seem to master. I have them narrowed down to what I think the answers are but I keep getting them wrong. I'm supposed to choose all the statements that are false. A motorcycle moved along a straight road at a constant speed. The magnitude of its...

Homework Statement A sailboat is traveling east at 5.0 m/s. A sudden gust of wind gives the boat an acceleration a =(0.80 m/s^2 and 40 degrees north of east). Homework Equations V = Vo + at X - Xo = Vo*t + .5at^2 V^2 = Vo^2 + 2a(X - Xo) The Attempt at a Solution I...

This isn't a homework question but something I thought up but couldn't figure out. If I tie a block to a rope at a very high elevation and throw the block down, what would the force-time diagram look like (from the moment the block is thrown) until the block begins to oscillate and how would...

I think I know the answers to the question I am going to ask but I am just going to make sure. This is going to be quite simple for most of the experts here so here goes: If we have a parallel plate capacitor and we double the distance between the plates while keeping the charge Q on the...

Homework Statement A friend and I were arguing about how tension created by a submerged ball affects the total weight of the container. Homework Equations I couldn't find anything similar to the situation, so I drew a quick picture to better illustrate the situation :D A string is...

Hey guys, so I have a homework question that I have already solved one way, but when I try it another way I can't seem to get the correct answer. First of all, the question is: "A single resistor is wired to a battery as shown in the diagram...

Yes, yes I know about the template, but these questions are so basic that I don't really know what I can show as work... Sometimes all I need for help is the relevant equation itself -.- So please don't delete or hate. Thanks! 2. http://tinyimage.net/images/50136173150204648365.png The...

Suppose you have a can (like a spray can) in a vacuum. You poke a hole in the can and the pressure from the can pushes it to the right. Now suppose you have a vacuumed can within a pressurized container and then you poke a hole in it. Which way (if at all) does it move? I know this is sort of...

Suppose you have a can (like a spray can) in a vacuum. You poke a hole in the can and the pressure from the can pushes it to the right. Now suppose you have a vacuumed can within a pressurized container and then you poke a hole in it. Which way (if at all) does it move? I know this is sort of...

Okay, so I am somewhat new to physics (finishing up my first Mechanics/EM course), and I often get stuck on concepts until they make sense to me intuitively. Everything to do with translational motion made sense instantaneously, and I have powered through EM, but I have always struggled with...

Hello! I have essentially no knowledge of quantum physics, these are just questions that popped up in my mind today. I'm new to these forums, so I posted here as the quantum physics forum might be a platform for more advanced problems. First of all, what happens to the photons, when an...

Just a very conceptual question about measuring momentum of a particle: first off, when we measure the position of a particles by say, firing a photon at it, its wave function collapses to a spike at the point where the particles was seen.. If we measure the momentum of a particle, its wave...

Homework Statement I am just wondering, can the voltage in a capacitor ever be equal to or greater than the voltage in the power supply? Probably not the power supply...but is it possible to be equal to? The Attempt at a Solution

Hi, Originally I had a question about a wire that allows electrons to move to higher voltage. I could not figure out why the wire does not lose electrons to the point it runs out. The question was answered on these forums when someone mentioned salt bridges, which lead me to watch some video...

"conceptual" electronics book Hello, :wink: I have seen some books which do not explain give any conceptual background to electronics concepts. They use math to explain everything. I am in search of a book which first explains the concepts from conceptual point of view then comes to simple...

When you sit in the passenger seat, why do you feel pushed up when you make a left turn? Explain using Newton's laws of motion.My Guess: Newtons third law states there is a reaction for every action. So when you turn left the opposite reaction would be you turning right? IDK LOL :|

Hello all, I just came across a problem that I had previously solved. A relatively simple one. What I do not understand though is why I can use the equation that I have used so many times in this particular situation. Here it is: Homework Statement A baseball pitcher throws a baseball...

according to wave particle duality particles such as electrons exhibit wave like properties. and the wavelngth is given by lambda=h/p, so increase momentum and get shorter lambda. This property is utilised in the electron microscope to get very short wavelengths and so have very high...

Listed below are just a things I cannot figure out involving rotational motion (one involves a situation). -Why does Kinetic Friction do no work if bodies roll without slipping? I thought it would add torque to provide more energy for rotational motion. Situation: A solid bowling ball...

Two concepts whose definitions are unclear to me: 1) Provide a fundamental operational definition for work done. From this definition, prove or provide a link or explain the work-kinetic energy theorem. 2) Provide a fundamental operational definition for the center of mass of a system of...

Homework Statement A window washer of mass M is sitting on a platform suspended by a system of cables and pulleys as shown . He is pulling on the cable with a force of magnitude F. The cables and pulleys are ideal (massless and frictionless), and the platform has negligible mass...

Explain why the Compton effect provides critical evidence for the particle model of light. I know the Compton effect proved that light has momentum but not sure how that is evidence for particle model of light. Can someone help?

1)So I will describe my lab situation first, then ask my main questions. In my physics class we had an inclined air track, with 5 masses (carts) and 5 springs connected in between them. We turn on the air track to replicate a mostly 'frictionless' surface. Now we did several trials writing...

I was doing some problems out of my book and the following problem has been solved, but a little question popped up in my head. Its simply conceptual, just want to gain a deeper and truer understanding of these two fundamental ideas... The problem goes something like this...(easy...

Homework Statement I just want to know why the tension in the rope in system A is not equal to 100 lbs, while the tension in the rope in system B IS 100 lbs. [PLAIN]http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/9462/conceptualquestion.png In system A, a 100-lb mass is hanging. In system B, there...

Homework Statement You are standing on the sidewalk, looking toward a shop window. You notice the reflection of a person of your height walking toward you. The reflected light is partially polarized. Is it polarized vertically, horizontally, or somewhere in between? Homework Equations...

Homework Statement I have a rather conceptual question, if I can understand it I can probably solve the prblem. Here is the problem: me and my equipment weight is w N. I am climbing a mountain and I climb an elavation of h meters. Now, my body convert 25% of energy burnt from fat...

So I'm pretty sure I have the right answer I just want to make sure I am getting the idea. There is a large solid copper cube. At the center of the cube there is a hollow sphere of radius a. At the center of the hollow sphere there is a charge Q. What is the total charge induced on the...

Homework Statement An electric dipole antenna used to transmit radio waves is oriented vertically. At a point due north of the transmitter, how should a second electric dipole antenna be oriented to serve as a receiver? answer=vertical (since it should be aligned with the electric field...

Homework Statement Let A = matrix of size m x n, where m can or cannot be equal to n. The matrix is Rref(A) is in a "perfect staircase" in which exists a unique solution. What can you comment about the Span of the column and row of this matrix? The Attempt at a Solution I am...

Hi - I'm trying to work out the following convolution problem: I have the following integral: \int^{\infty}_{-\infty}p(x)U(x)e^{-i \omega x}dx Where p(x) is any real function which is always positive and U(x) is the step function Obviously this can easily be solved using the...

Hello everybody, I am having a hard time understanding a very simple principle involving a rolling wheel. I know that the velocity at the bottom "contact point" of a rolling wheel is zero relative to a stationary observer.. yet I don't see how this is true. So I made a quick sketch and here is...

Homework Statement Lets say a wire has Youngs modulus Y, Initial length L area A and is supporting some external load/force of magnitude F...its extension is dl..We say that the Potential energy of wire is 1/2(YA/L)(dl2)...But i am having a problen with the energy changes... Homework...

Homework Statement Two solid spheres, both of radius 5 cm, carry identical total charges of 2 microcoulombs. Sphere A is a good conductor. Sphere B is an insulator, and its charge is distributed uniformly throughout its volume. How do the magnitudes of the electric fields they separately create...

Homework Statement Sorry asking similar quesion again about absolute value. You can read the attachment. u(x) is the integrating factor. Why absolute value is omitted in the integration? and why the integrating factor is not "1/|x|", with the absolute sign Homework Equations The...

Homework Statement see the picture why the absolute sign of the logarithm can be removed? Although it is true for initial value, it is not true for x smaller than 1, right? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I think the initial value can conclude that the x smaller than...

Three forces act on an object in static equilibrium. (a) If F1 and F2 represent the magnitudes of the forces acting on the object, show that . (b) Show that I know that the sum of all forces needs to be zero if the system is in equilibrium, but I don't know how to prove that each force...

I have found that I only need to brush up on my coceptual grasp of work and electrical applications. I have found that I am having negative answers when indeed the answer is positive. My question to you is, if I am following q(Vb-Va)=-W, I am assuming this is the work done by the field, and the...

Homework Statement I am just wondering if I have Span{v1,v2} where v1 is not a scalar multiple of v2, then it is known that they span a plane, in fact it is R2 So the question is, how? There can be at most one parameter right? One parameter means the solution is a line, we need two to...

Homework Statement If the net work done on a particle is zero, what can be said about its speed. And why? The Attempt at a Solution is the speed also zero?

Homework Statement I am pursuing conceptual help regarding electric field due to uniformly charged planes. Homework Equations E=\frac{\sigma}{2\epsilon} The Attempt at a Solution I understand that a capictor has plates that are +/-Q. However, how would you calculate the elctric...

Homework Statement 3 long wires are perpendicular Each passes through x-y plane with a distance of L from origin. Each wire has a current, I, directed out of the drawing's plane. An electron is located a the origin with a velocity along the positive x-axis. What is the direction of the...

This is homework help, but I think all I need to learn is how to read a VT graph properly. My professor uses MasteringPhysics.com and this is one of the questions from the site. The way it works is: the student has 5 attempts to answer a question before it is counted wrong and I'm down to my...

Homework Statement Is the probability that an electron transitions from the N to M (n = 4 to n = 3) shell different than the electron going from L to K (n = 2 to n = 1)? So basically, should I expect to see a lot more transitions from n = 2 to n = 1, than any other type of transition? If...

Homework Statement A thick-walled, conducting spherical shell has charge q = +10 mC, inner radius R1 = 10cm, and outer radius R2 = 50 cm. A point charge Q = -20 mC is located at the center of the shell. Describe the the charge distribution in the shell. 2. Given answer +20 mC on...

This isn't a homework problem but is rather me trying to understand a concept. So here it is: My textbook says that because only differences in potential energy are important, only differences in potential (electric potential) are important. How is this reasoning correct? The definition of...

Homework Statement "A ball with radius R and mass m turns around a horizontal axis through his center with an angular speed \omega_0. In that condition the ball, without an initial velocity in the center, is put on top of a table. The friction coëfficient between the ball and the table is µ...

1. Homework Statement Calculate the magnitude and direction of the Coulomb force on each of the three charges shown in Figure P15.10. http://www.webassign.net/sf5/p15_10.gif thats 3 cm if its to small to see. 6.00 µC charge Correct answer 46.76N Magnitude to Left 1.50...

is it possible for a rocket to attain a speed greater than the velocity with which exhuast gases leave it? explain. I am not sure about this, because relative to the gas, I think yes, but I am not sure if it is also greater relative to the ground. This question is from momentum/impulse unit...

My question here is to ask what would be the consequences to theoretical physics if, it was discovered, that black holes do not exist in nature. For example, as gravity and pressure increases beyond neutron star, new, previously unknown quantum principles, similar in spirit to loop quantum...