RIO TINTO AUSTRALIAN PHYSICS OLYMPIAD

Qualifying Examination 1997

Time allowed: 120 minutes

Attempt ALL questions

The multiple choice questions in Section 1 are worth 1 mark each for a total of 8 marks
The short answer questions in Section 2 are worth 6 marks each, for a total of 18 marks
The long answer questions in Section 3 are worth 12 marks each, for a total of 24 marks

Total marks for the paper - 50 marks.

Permitted materials: Any calculator.

Answer the questions on your own writing paper, do not answer them on this question paper.
Make sure that you attach your cover sheet to your answer scripts.

Particular attention should be paid to giving clear diagrams and explanations.

All numerical answers must have units.

1
SECTION 1
Attempt ALL questions in this section. Total of 8 marks.

Multiple choice questions — 1 mark each.

Answer by writing on your own writing paper the question number and the letter that corresponds to
the best answer to the question.

1. One charged body exerts an electric force of 1000 N on a second charged body. If both
charges are tripled and the distance between them doubled the force would become:
(a) 250 N
(b) 500 N
(c) 750 N
(d) 1000 N
(e) 2250 N

2. In a shunting yard two trains are moving towards each other on the same track. One train has
speed 10 km hr-1 and the other 15 km hr-1. When the trains are 2.5 km apart a bird starts from one
train and flys back and forth between them at 40 km hr-1 until the trains collide. What is the total
distance the bird flys ?
(a) 1 km
(b) 2 km
(c) 2.5 km
(d) 4 km
(e) 8 km

3. The resistor R in the following circuit is variable. The two other resistors are 3 ohms each and
the batteries provide EMFs of 6 V each. The internal resistance of the batteries is very small. If the
resistance of R is made zero Ohms what is the current through it ?

3Ω 3Ω

6V R 6V

(a) Very large, limited by the internal resistance of the batteries.

(b) 0A
(c) 1A
(d) 2A
(e) 4A

2
4. A ray of monochromatic light is incident normally on an isosceles triangular glass prism of
refractive index 1.5.

The sine of the maximum value that the angle R of the prism can have, if the light is just to emerge
from the second face, is:
(a) 0.33
(b) 0.50
(c) 0.67
(d) 1.0
(e) 1.5

5. A block of wood floats partially submerged in a pond. It is pushed down a little and then
released, so that it bobs up and down with simple harmonic motion such that its displacement with
time is as shown below.
Displacement

T/2 T
time
T/4 3T/4

According to the graph which of the following statements is false?

(a) The restoring force is zero at time T/4
(b) The velocity is a maximum at time T/2
(c) The acceleration is a maximum at time T
(d) The displacement is a maximum at time T
(e) The kinetic energy is zero at time T/2

3
6. In two consecutive runs a wheel is released from rest from points X and Y on a frictionless
inclined plane.

Y 2h
h
Z

Which of the following statements is correct ?

(a) The wheel has twice as much kinetic energy at Z when it rolls from X as it does when
it rolls from Y
(b) The wheel takes twice as much time to roll from X to Z as it does to roll from Y to Z
(c) At Z, the velocity of the wheel when it has rolled from X is twice as large as when it
has rolled from Y
(d) The acceleration of the wheel at X is twice as large as the acceleration at Y
(e) The wheel takes the same time to arrive at Z whether it is released from X or Y

7. Consider the following collision between elementary particles. A negative pion has the same
charge as an electron, but is hundreds of times heavier. A deuteron is a nucleus consisting of a single
proton and a single neutron. A negative pion enters from the left and collides with a free deuteron at
rest. Use conservation of charge and conservation of momentum to decide which of the following
results was possible. All the post-collision particles are decribed.

(a) Two electrons were emitted to the right, and a proton was emitted to the left.
(b) A proton was emitted upwards and to the right, and an electron was emitted upwards
and to the right.
(c) A neutron was emitted upwards and to the right, and another neutron was emitted
downwards and to the right.
(d) A neutron was emitted upwards and to the right, and a proton was emitted
downwards and to the right.
(e) The pion reflected off the deuteron, which remained at rest.

8. A piece of elastic has a mass of M, and is stretched between two fixed points with a tension
(force) T. The distance between the two points is D. The formula for the speed V of a wave along
the elastic must have the units of velocity. Which of the following is the correct formula for V ?

T
(a) V = MD

√

T
(b) V = M

√

T D
(c) V = M

√

T
(d) V = D M
(e) V = D2 / (TM)

4
SECTION 2
Attempt ALL questions in this section. Total of 18 marks.

Short answer questions — 6 marks each.

9. A space station which was at rest on the line directly between the Earth and the Moon was
blasted apart by an explosion, and broke into three separate parts. Exactly ten hours later the first
part, which had a mass of 7500 kg, entered the Earth’s atmosphere, 200000 km below. At this time
the second part, which had a mass of only 500 kg, reached the moon also 200000 km away from the
original position of the space station. Where was the third piece, which had a mass of 8000 kg ?
N.B. Ignore any motion of the Earth and the Moon, and ignore the effect of gravity.

10. (a) A thin lens of focal length F is midway between a screen and a line of light emitters. The
emitters are parallel to the diameter of the lens. The lens is the same distance 2F from the screen and
the emitting line. Use a simple ray diagram to show that the light from each emitter is focussed onto a
point on the screen.

(b) A magnifying glass is used to form an upright image of a postage stamp which is three
times the size of the real object. If the lens has a focal length of 12 cm find the distance between the
object and the image.

11. (a) Simplify the electrical circuit shown and thereby determine the equivalent resistance
between P and Q. Draw your simplified circuit.

(b) What is the potential difference between points R and Q ?

(c) Calculate the power dissipated by the circuit.

3Ω

R 1Ω

4Ω
Q
6Ω 3Ω
8Ω
12 V

P
5Ω
4Ω

5
SECTION 3
Attempt ALL questions in this section. Total of 24 marks.

Long questions— 12 marks each.

12. Two sky-divers are falling: Alice at a third of the speed of sound, and Bob at a half of the
speed of sound. These speeds are their respective terminal velocities and do not change. Bob is 50 m
directly above Alice. Alice yells to attract Bob’s attention. At that height, the speed of sound is 300
ms-1.
(a) How long does it take Bob to hear Alice’s yell ?

(b) Bob then aims a new sonar device at Alice. It emits sound at a frequency of 12000 Hz.
What frequency does Alice hear?

(c) The sound reflects off Alice and is measured by Bob’s device.
What frequency is measured by the device?

13. (a) The acceleration due to gravity, g, can be determined by dropping an object from a known
height, and measuring the time taken to fall. If you are given a shoe, a stopwatch, a long tape
measure and a tall building with many floors, briefly describe how you would use each piece of
equipment to measure g.

Describe the major sources of inaccuracy in this experiment and how you might attempt to minimise
their effect using ONLY this equipment.

N.B. The air resistance is NOT negligible.

(b) The radius of the Earth can be deduced from Eratosthenes' observation that at the exact
time when the Sun was overhead at Aswan (in Egypt) it was 7 degrees ( = 0.12 radians) from
overhead in Alexandria, which is 780 km due north of Aswan. Deduce the radius of the Earth.

(c) After Newton had formulated his law of gravitation scientists had sufficent information to
find the mass of the Earth. Use Newton's law of gravitation,

F = Gm1m2/r2 ,
to find the approximate mass of the Earth, mE. Assume the acceleration due to gravity at the surface
of the Earth has been determined to be g = 9.8 ms-2.
In Newton’s law F is the mutual gravitational force experienced by two masses m1 and m2 separated
by the distance r . The gravitational constant, G = 6.67x10-11 Nm2kg-2.