National University of Singapore

PC1222 Fundamentals of Physics II

End-of-Term Test
(AY2015/16, Semester 2)
Time allowed: 1 hour 20 minutes

14 April 2016
Instructions to Students:
1. This test paper consists of 30 multiple choice questions with different grading.
2. Please shade all your answers with a full dark circle on the optical answer sheet
provided.
3. This is a closed book test. However, you are allowed to bring in a double-sided
helpsheet no larger than A4 in size.
4. A list of physical constants is provided on page 2.
5. You could perform your workings on the question paper itself. No blank paper will be
issued.
6. Please submit both question paper and answer sheet at the end of the test.
 List of Physical Constants

Coulomb’s constant:
k = 8.99 x 109 N·m2/C2

Permittivity of vacuum:
ε0 = 8.85 x 10-12 C2/(N·m2)

Permeability of vacuum:
0  4 x 10-7 T  m/A

Mass of electron:
me = 9.1094 x 10-31 kg

Mass of proton:
mp = 1.6726 x 10-27 kg

Magnitude of the charge of an electron:

e = 1.6022 x 10-19 C

Electron volt:
1 eV = 1.6022 x 10-19 J

Speed of light:
c = 2.9979 x 108 m/s

Planck’s constant:
h = 6.63 x 10-34 J·s

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 Answer all questions

Questions 1 to 15 carry one mark each.

1. Which of the following statement(s) about EM waves is(are) correct?
(i) All EM waves travel with the speed of light.
(ii) The intensity of light that passed through two crossed polarisers placed one after
another will always be zero.
(iii) EM waves with longer wavelength will exhibit greater degree of diffraction.
(iv) The energy delivered by x-rays will be higher than that delivered by ultraviolet rays for
the same power of radiation.
(a) Statements (i) and (iii) are correct.
(b) Statements (i) and (iv) are correct.
(c) Statements (i), (ii) and (iv) are correct.
(d) Statements (i) to (iii) are correct.
(e) Only statement (ii) is correct.

2. Assuming that the solar radiation incident on the earth is 1340 W/m 2 (at the top of the
earth’s atmosphere), calculate the total power radiated by the sun, taking the average
separation between the earth and the sun to be 1.49 x 1011 m.
(a) 4.50 x 1026 W
(b) 3.74 x 1026 W
(c) 3.23 x 1026 W
(d) 2.51 x 1026 W
(e) 1.87 x 1026 W

3. A car moving at a speed of 50 km/h is behind a police car moving at a speed of

100 km/h. How would the headlight from the police car appear to an observer in the
car? What is the relative speed between the police car and the car?
(a) Red-shifted, 50 km/h
(b) Blue-shifted, 50 km/h
(c) Red-shifted, 150 km/h
(d) Blue-shifted, 50 km/h
(e) No change, 0 km/h

4. A ray of light in a vertical plane P strikes a mirror

(Mirror 1) lying horizontally. Mirror 1 is placed
perpendicularly to another mirror (Mirror 2) as
shown in the figure. Find the distance the
reflected light ray travels before striking Mirror 2
and its direction after reflection off Mirror 2.
(a) 1.49 m, 50.0° above the horizontal
(b) 1.63 m, 40.0° above the horizontal
(c) 1.63 m, 50.0° above the horizontal
(d) 1.94 m, 40.0° above the horizontal
(e) 1.94 m, 50.0° above the horizontal
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5. A beam of light is incident on an air–glass interface
as shown. What should θ1 be in order that both the
reflected ray and refracted ray are perpendicular to
each other? [Hint: sin(90°– θ) = cosθ]
(a) sin-1(ng)
(b) cos-1(ng)
(c) tan-1(ng)
(d) sin-1(1/ng)
(e) tan-1(1/ng)

6. Which of the following ray diagrams does not show how the image is obtained
correctly? Note that the object is situated to the left of the lens and the grey shaded
images are virtual images.

(b)

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7. Two light rays 1 and 2 (λ1 > λ2) enter a glass slab from air with the same angle of
incidence. Which of the following statements concerning the light rays is incorrect?

(a) Ray 1 has a lower frequency compared to Ray 2.

(b) Ray 1 travels faster in the glass slab compared to Ray 2.
(c) Ray 1 will bend less towards the normal compared to Ray 2 in the glass slab.
(d) Ray 1 has a smaller critical angle compared to Ray 2 when the rays go from the glass
slab to the air.
(e) The angles of refraction for both Ray 1 and Ray 2 in the air are the same when the rays
emerge from the glass slab.

8. Which of the following statements about Young’s double-slit experiment is incorrect?

(a) Two waves interfere constructively if their path difference is either zero or some
integral multiple of the wavelength.
(b) Two waves interfere destructively if their path difference is an odd multiple of one-half
of a wavelength.
(c) The central band is always a bright fringe.
(d) If white light is used, the central maximum on the screen is white.
(e) If white light is used, the violet light will deviate more from the central maximum than
red light considering the same order of spectrum.

9. Monochromatic light of wavelength 546.1 nm is used in a Young’s double-slit

experiment. The slits are separated by 0.250 mm and the interference pattern is
observed on a screen 1.20 m away. Calculate the distance from the central maximum
to the first bright fringe on either side of the central maximum.
(a) 2.18 mm
(b) 2.62 mm
(c) 4.37 mm
(d) 5.24 mm
(e) 7.86 mm

10. Radio waves of wavelength 300 m from a radio station travel by two paths to a home
receiver situated a certain distance away. One path is a direct path and the second is by
reflection from a mountain directly behind the home receiver. What minimum distance
between the mountain and the home receiver will produce constructive interference at
the home receiver? Assume that there is no phase change upon reflection from the
mountain.

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(a) 600 m
(b) 300 m
(c) 150 m
(d) 75 m
(e) 50 m

11. In photoelectric effect,

(a) no electrons are ejected if the wavelength of light used falls below some cut-off value
which is characteristic of the material being illuminated.
(b) the stopping potential is dependent on the light intensity.
(c) the stopping potential is dependent on the frequency of light.
(d) the stopping potential is independent of the type of material illuminated.
(e) photocurrent is detected only after some significant time has lapsed.

12. An FM radio transmitter has a power output of 150 kW and operates at a frequency of
90.5 MHz. How many photons per second does the transmitter emit?
(a) 4.88 x 1022
(b) 9.25 x 1024
(c) 1.10 x 1028
(d) 2.50 x 1030
(e) 2.05 x 1036

13. How fast must an electron move to have a wavelength 5.00 x 10-7 m?
(a) 1.46 km/s
(b) 2.92 km/s
(c) 4.38 km/s
(d) 5.00 km/s
(e) 6.63 km/s

14. The figure shows the energy level diagram of the hydrogen atom. Which electronic
transition would cause the hydrogen atom to emit a photon of energy 2.55 eV?

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(a) n = 2 to n = 3
(b) n = 2 to n = 4
(c) n = 5 to n = 3
(d) n = 4 to n = 2
(e) n = 3 to n = 2

15. Which statement regarding Bohr’s model of the hydrogen atom is incorrect?
(a) The positions of the spectral lines in both the emission and absorption spectra of the
hydrogen atom are exactly the same.
(b) The bright lines in the emission spectrum are due to photons being emitted.
(c) During the time when the electron is in one of its orbits, the electron constantly emits
electromagnetic radiation.
(d) The allowed orbits for the electron are those for which the angular momentum of the
electron is quantized.
(e) The orbital radii of the electron and energy levels of the hydrogen atom are quantized.

Questions 16 to 25 carry two marks each.

16. Unpolarised light passes through two polarizers. The axis of the first polarizer is 30° with
respect to the vertical. The axis of the second polariser is θ with respect to the axis of
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the first polarizer. If 8 of the initial light intensity is transmitted by the two polarizers,
what is the value of θ?
(a) 90°
(b) 60°
(c) 45°
(d) 30°
(e) 0°

17. A person walks into a room that has, on opposite walls, two plane mirrors producing
multiples images. Find the distance from the person to the third image seen in the right-
hand mirror when the person is standing 1 m from the left-hand mirror and 2 m from
the right-hand mirror.
(a) 4m
(b) 6m
(c) 8m
(d) 10 m
(e) 12 m

18. A ray of light enters the end of an optical fiber as

shown. If the surrounding medium is air, what is
the maximum angle θ for the light ray to undergo
total internal reflection along the walls of the
fiber? Assume nfiber = 1.35 and nair = 1.00.
(a) 38.6°
(b) 40.5°
(c) 42.2°
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(d) 47.8°
(e) 65.1°

19. A dentist uses a spherical mirror to examine a tooth that is 1.00 cm in front of the mirror.
The image of the tooth is formed 10.0 cm behind the mirror. Determine the magnitude
of the radius of curvature of the spherical mirror and its type.
(a) 3.40 cm, concave mirror
(b) 2.22 cm, concave mirror
(c) 1.82 cm, concave mirror
(d) 2.22 cm, convex mirror
(e) 1.82 cm, convex mirror

20. A virtual upright image formed by a Christmas tree ornament is half the size of the
object. If the ornament has a diameter of 8.50 cm, determine the object location.
(a) 1.06 cm
(b) 2.13 cm
(c) 3.19 cm
(d) 4.25 cm
(e) 6.38 cm

21. A retired teacher can only read the fine print of his book when the book is held no closer
than 50.0 cm from his eye. What refractive power must an eyeglass lens prescribed for
him have, in order that he could read at a more comfortable distance of 24.0 cm?
(a) 2.17 Diopters
(b) –2.17 Diopters
(c) 2.00 Diopters
(d) –2.00 Diopters
(e) 1.80 Diopters

22. An air wedge is formed by two rectangular optical flats (n = 1.52) in contact along one
end and separated along the other end by a very fine wire of diameter 8.70 µm. The top
flat is illuminated by monochromatic light of wavelength 600 nm. How many dark
parallel bands will be observed (including the dark band at zero thickness along the edge
of contact between the flats)?

(a) 19
(b) 20
(c) 28
(d) 29
(e) 30

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23. A single slit of width 0.75 mm is illuminated by monochromatic light of wavelength
650 nm. At what distance from the slit should a screen be placed if the second minimum
in the diffraction pattern is to be 1.70 mm from the central maximum?
(a) 0.638 m
(b) 0.981 m
(c) 1.275 m
(d) 1.357 m
(e) 1.962 m

24. An optical instrument with a circular aperture of diameter 30.0 cm forms an image of a
satellite passing overhead. The satellite has two green lights (wavelength 500 nm)
spaced 1.00 m apart. If the lights can just be resolved according to Rayleigh’s criterion,
what is the altitude of the satellite?
(a) 246 km
(b) 322 km
(c) 403 km
(d) 492 km
(e) 600 km

25. A diffraction grating that has 600 lines/mm is illuminated with intense white light (λ =
400 nm to 700 nm). What is highest order (number of complete orders) in which the
complete visible spectrum can be seen with this grating? Also find the angular
separation between the violet edge (400 nm) and the red edge (700 nm) of the first-
order spectrum produced by the grating.
(a) 1 complete order, 21.8°
(b) 2 complete orders, 5.5°
(c) 2 complete orders, 10.9°
(d) 3 complete orders, 5.5°
(e) 3 complete orders, 10.9°

Questions 26 to 30 carry three marks each.

26. A narrow beam of ultrasonic waves is used
to scan a tumour growing at a depth of d
inside a liver. If the speed of the wave is
reduced by 10.0% in the liver than in the
surrounding tissue, determine d given that
θ = 45° and x = 10.0 cm.
(a) 3.94 cm
(b) 4.04 cm
(c) 5.96 cm
(d) 6.06 cm
(e) 6.48 cm

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27. An image formed by a convex mirror (f = –24.0 cm) has a magnification of 0.250. By
how much and in which way should the object be moved to increase the size of the
image by three times?
(a) 20 cm towards the mirror
(b) 32 cm away from the mirror
(c) 32 cm towards the mirror
(d) 64 cm away from the mirror
(e) 64 cm towards the mirror

28. An object is placed midway between a diverging

lens (f = –16.7 cm) and concave mirror (f = 10.0 cm).
Considering only light that leaves the object and
travels first towards the mirror, locate the final
image formed and describe its characteristics.
(a) 50.3 cm to the right of the lens, virtual and upright
(b) 50.3 cm to the left of the lens, virtual and upright
(c) 10.0 cm to the left of the mirror, real and inverted
(d) 10.0 cm to the right of the mirror, virtual and upright
(e) 7.17 cm to the left of the mirror, real and inverted

29. A beam of electrons is incident on a single slit of width 0.400 nm. A diffraction pattern
is formed on a screen 15.0 cm from the slit. If the distance between two adjacent
minima of the diffraction pattern is 2.20 cm, what is the kinetic energy of the incident
electrons?
[Hint: Find the wavelength of the electrons based on the diffraction pattern and then
make use of de Broglie wavelength equation to find the momentum of the electrons.]
(a) 281 eV
(b) 437 eV
(c) 496 eV
(d) 547 eV
(e) 603 eV

30. Consider a large number of hydrogen atoms with their electrons all initially in the n = 4
state. How many spectral lines would be observed in the emission spectrum of these
atoms? What is the wavelength of the photon emitted for a transition to the n = 2 state?
(a) 6 spectral lines; 488 nm
(b) 5 spectral lines; 488 nm
(c) 6 spectral lines; 97.5 nm
(d) 5 spectral lines; 97.5 nm
(e) 4 spectral lines; 97.5 nm

-------------------------End of Test Paper----------------------

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Answers
1. (d) 11. (c) 21. (a)
2. (b) 12. (d) 22. (e)
3. (a) 13. (a) 23. (b)
4. (e) 14. (d) 24. (d)
5. (c) 15. (c) 25. (c)
6. (d) 16. (d) 26. (d)
7. (d) 17. (d) 27. (e)
8. (e) 18. (e) 28. (a)
9. (b) 19. (b) 29. (b)
10. (c) 20. (b) 30. (a)

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