All practice questions

Arrange the following points in a fluid system in order of their gauge hydrostatic pressure, from the GREATEST pressure to the LEAST pressure. Assume standard gravity applies equally to all systems.

A mechanic uses a hydraulic floor jack to lift a heavy vehicle transmission. The jack's pump (input) piston has an area of $3 \text{ in}^2$, and the lifting (output) piston has an area of $15 \text{ in}^2$. If the mechanic applies a downward force of $60 \text{ lbs}$ on the input piston, what is the resulting upward force exerted by the lifting piston?

A worker is using a wheelbarrow, which acts as a second-class lever, to transport materials. The wheel's axle serves as the fulcrum. The empty wheelbarrow has a downward weight of $200 \text{ N}$, with its center of gravity located $0.5 \text{ m}$ horizontally from the axle. A load of bricks weighing $800 \text{ N}$ is placed in the tray so that its center of gravity is $0.4 \text{ m}$ horizontally from the axle. The worker lifts upward at the ends of the handles, which are located $1.2 \text{ m}$ horizontally from the axle.

Assuming the wheelbarrow is in a horizontal position, what is the minimum upward force required to lift the rear supports off the ground?

A standard shipping crate is measured on Earth (where the acceleration due to gravity is $10 \text{ m/s}^2$) using a mechanical balance scale. The balance scale determines that the crate has a mass of $400 \text{ kg}$. The crate is then transported to a planetary outpost where the local gravitational acceleration is $4 \text{ m/s}^2$. At the outpost, the crate is hoisted using a heavy-duty spring scale. This spring scale was manufactured and calibrated on Earth to display mass in kilograms based on Earth's gravity. What numerical value will this spring scale display when weighing the crate at the outpost?

A stationary jib crane consists of a horizontal metal boom attached to a vertical mast. The outer end of the boom is supported by a diagonal steel cable connected higher up on the mast. When a heavy load is suspended from the outer end of the boom, what types of internal stress are primarily experienced by the diagonal cable and the horizontal boom, respectively?

A vintage printing press utilizes a compound gear train to feed paper. Shaft 1 is the input and is driven at $120$ RPM in a counter-clockwise direction. Gear A ($40$ teeth) is mounted on Shaft 1 and meshes directly with Gear B ($20$ teeth), which is mounted on Shaft 2. Also rigidly mounted on Shaft 2 is Gear C ($50$ teeth). Gear C meshes directly with Gear D ($25$ teeth) mounted on Shaft 3. Based on this configuration, what is the rotational speed and direction of Shaft 3?

Match each mechanical operational scenario to its resulting acceleration using Newton's Second Law ($F = ma$).

A manual boat winch is used to pull a small boat onto a trailer. The crank handle travels in a circle with a radius of $15 \text{ inches}$, turning a central spool (the axle) with a radius of $3 \text{ inches}$.

What is the Ideal Mechanical Advantage (IMA) of this winch?

A flight line technician must load a cargo pallet with a mass of $240\text{ kg}$ into a transport aircraft. The aircraft's cargo deck is $1.5\text{ meters}$ above the tarmac. To assist with loading, the technician deploys a straight, $6.0\text{-meter}$ long rigid ramp equipped with frictionless rollers. Assuming the acceleration due to gravity is $10\text{ m/s}^2$, which of the following identifies the ideal effort force required to push the pallet up the ramp, and correctly compares the total work performed to lifting the pallet vertically?

A construction worker needs to push a heavy wheelbarrow up to a raised foundation that is $2\text{ m}$ above the ground. The worker has three different sturdy wooden planks available to use as a ramp. Arrange the following planks in order from the LEAST amount of effort force required to the MOST amount of effort force required.

Match each basic structural component with its primary function and the main type of internal force it is designed to resist.

Match each type of wedge or wedge application with its correct mechanical characteristic.

A $500\text{ kg}$ steel block is dropped from rest into a deep vertical mineshaft. Ignoring air resistance, arrange the following one-second time intervals in order according to the distance the block travels during each specific interval, from the shortest distance to the longest distance.

A specialized industrial press uses a compound lever system composed of two uniform steel bars to compress a heavy coil spring.

- Lever A (Top handle): is $20\text{ inches}$ long, weighs $10\text{ lbs}$, and pivots on a fulcrum at its left end. A vertical rigid connecting link is attached to Lever A at a point $5\text{ inches}$ from its fulcrum.
- Lever B (Bottom pressing bar): is $30\text{ inches}$ long, weighs $30\text{ lbs}$, and pivots on a fulcrum at its left end. The connecting link from Lever A attaches to the far right end of Lever B ($30\text{ inches}$ from its fulcrum). A heavy coil spring is placed under Lever B, located $6\text{ inches}$ from Lever B's fulcrum.

If a worker applies a $40\text{ lb}$ downward force at the far right end of Lever A ($20\text{ inches}$ from its fulcrum), what is the total downward compressive force (in lbs) exerted on the spring?

*Assume both levers are horizontal, the connecting link is perfectly vertical, and the system is in static equilibrium.*

An aerospace technician is testing an experimental probe with a weight of $50\text{ N}$ on Earth (where $g = 10\text{ m/s}^2$). The probe is released from rest inside an evacuated drop tube, ensuring there is no air resistance. It falls freely for $200\text{ milliseconds}$. What is the probe's velocity right before impact, and how would this impact velocity change if a $100\text{ N}$ probe were tested under the exact same conditions?

An engineer on an unknown planet evaluates a solid metallic crate using two different instruments. First, the crate perfectly balances on a double-pan beam balance against standard reference masses totaling $150\text{ kg}$. Second, the crate is suspended from a calibrated spring scale, which gives a reading of $600\text{ N}$. If the crate is transported back to Earth (where gravitational acceleration is $10\text{ m/s}^2$), what will the spring scale and the beam balance read, respectively?

A mechanic needs to lift a heavy engine using a screw jack. They can equip the jack with one of two interchangeable threaded rods: Rod X has a coarse thread with $4$ threads per inch (TPI), and Rod Y has a fine thread with $8$ TPI.

Assuming the jack's handle length is identical for both setups and friction is negligible, which of the following statements accurately describes the required effort force and total work done if the mechanic uses Rod Y instead of Rod X to lift the engine by exactly $10$ inches?

Two astronauts are conducting a repair mission in a zero-gravity vacuum environment. A massive 800 kg communication satellite is drifting in a straight line at a constant velocity of 1 m/s. An astronaut maneuvers in front of the satellite and attempts to stop it by pushing against it with her hands. She finds it extremely difficult to bring the satellite to a halt.

Based on the principles of mechanics, which of the following best explains why the weightless satellite is so difficult to stop?

A driver must execute an emergency stop on a dry asphalt road. The vehicle is equipped with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) that uses threshold braking, allowing the tires to continue rotating just on the verge of locking up. If the ABS were disabled and the driver fully locked the brakes, causing the tires to skid continuously across the surface, how would the frictional resistance between the tires and the road change?

A mechanical engineer is testing a hydraulic actuation system. The standard baseline configuration features an input piston with an area of $2 \text{ in}^2$, an output piston with an area of $20 \text{ in}^2$, an applied input force of $50 \text{ lbs}$, and an input stroke distance of $12 \text{ in}$. Match each experimental setup below to its resulting output force and output travel distance.