Apple Interview Question
Web:
www.apple.com
|
HQ:
Cupertino, CA
Overview |
| |
Salaries |
| |
Reviews |
| |
Interviews |
| |
Photos |
| |
Jobs |
| |
|
963 Interview Reviews |
Back to all Apple Interview Questions & Reviews
Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates
Interview Question for Mechanical Engineer at Apple:
Jan 6, 2010
1 of
1 people found this helpful
A car on a hill of constant slope accelerates from rest under gravity to a point on the hill. If you want to maximize the velocity of the car at this point, where along the length of the car (e.g. downhill or uphill) would you fix an additional mass, if (a) the finishing point is on the slope of the hill or (b) the finishing point is on a flat below the slope of the hill.
| Tags: | technical See more , See less 8 |
Add Tags
[?]
Helpful Question?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Answers & Comments (3)
Jun 9, 2010
You put the mass in the back.... this raises the center of mass's potential energy by increasing the height. PE = mgh
Helpful Answer?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
1 of 1 people found this helpful
Dec 15, 2010
You put it in the back (or more specifically, behind the car), but not so far that when the car makes the transition the angular acceleration lets the car get up on it's rear wheels, resulting in the weight hitting the ground and having dragging friction.
Helpful Answer?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
To comment on this
question,
Sign In with Facebook or
Sign Up
You might also be interested in: Interview Questions, Mechanical Engineer Interview Questions, Apple Interview
0 of 0 people found this helpful
by _:
a) Fixing an additional mass is sort of arbitrary. The delta of the height would be the same, so it doesn't matter. If you don't have to fix it, things change. Think about it and it'll come...
b) Back. No question. You capitalize on the potential energy of the center of mass for longer. The front of the car will be at h=0 while the back is still at h=h0 right at the transition point.
You'll really need to understand it to give a good answer, though. Good luck...