UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE

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PHYS1534
Department: Physics

PHYS1534 Semester test 2 28 May 2022

Time: 1h Marks: 50
Assessors: Dr. S. Cronjé
Moderator: Prof. RA. Harris

SECTION A
Choose the most correct answer from those given and colour in the dot of the corresponding letter next to the
question number on the optical card. Make sure your surname and student number is filled in correctly.

1. Which of the following is true concerning light waves in a vacuum

A) Those with high frequencies travel more rapidly than those with low frequencies.
B) They all travel at the same speed, independent of wavelength or frequency.
C) Those with long wavelengths travel more rapidly than those with short wavelengths.
D) Those with short wavelengths travel more rapidly than those with long wavelengths.
E) Those with low frequencies travel more rapidly than those with high frequencies.

2. Light from any ordinary source (such as a flame) is usually:

A) unpolarized
B) plane polarized
C) circularly polarized
D) elliptically polarized
E) monochromatic

3. A 50 kilogram girl climbs a vertical distance of 5 meters in twenty seconds at a constant velocity. How
much work has the girl done?
A) 0 J B) 200 J C) 2500 J D) 4000 J E) 4500 J

4. Which of the following colours of visible light has the longest wavelength?
A) violet B) green C) yellow D) red E) blue

5. A concave spherical mirror has a focal length of 12 cm. If an object is placed 18 cm in front of it the image
position is:
A) 7.2 cm behind the mirror
B) 7.2 cm in front of the mirror
C) 36 cm behind the mirror
D) 36 cm in front of the mirror
E) at infinity

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6. See the figure. The arm weighs 41.5 N. The force of gravity acts through point A. What is the magnitude of
the tension force Ft in the deltoid muscle required to hold the arm in that position? The shoulder joint marked
O serves as pivot point.

A) 725 N B) 740 N C) 715 N D) 730 N E) 735 N

7. The characteristic that distinguishes a laser beam from an ordinary light beam is:
A) the greater frequency of the laser beam
B) the coherence of the laser beam
C) the color of the laser beam
D) the greater polarization of the laser beam

8. In an electromagnetic wave, what is the relative orientation of the magnetic and electric fields?
A) 180ᵒ B) 90ᵒ C) 45ᵒ D) 22.5ᵒ E) 360ᵒ

9. Who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923 for his experiment which measured the charge of the
electron?
A) Robert Millikan B) Albert Einstein C) Isaac Newton
D) Shaun Cronjé E) Willobrord Snell

10. Which of the following statements are true:

A) Lenses are preferred to mirrors when constructing large telescopes because of their weight
B) The “Volt” is a measure of the amount of charge that flows through a conductor
C) “Population inversion” is necessary for lasers to function
D) Gravity performs negative work on an orbiting satellite
E) Infrared radiation does not have any energy

11. A 7000 N car is traveling at 15 m/s along a horizontal road when the brakes are applied. The car skids to a
stop in 4.0 s. How much kinetic energy does the car lose in this time?
A) 1.6 × 105 J B) 5.3 × 103 J C) 1.2 × 105 J D) 7.9 × 105 J E) 8.0 × 104 J

12. Two point charges are arranged as shown. In which region could a third charge +1 C be placed so that the
net electrostatic force on it is zero?

A) I B) I , II
C) III D) I , III
E) II

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13. The speed of light in water is:
A) 3.0 × 108 m/s B) 9.0 × 108 m/s C) 1.4 × 108 m/s
D) 2.3 × 10 m/s
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E) 1.9. × 108 m/s

14. The index of refraction of a certain glass is 1.60. The sine of the critical angle for total internal reflection
at a glass-air interface is:
A) 0.625 B) 0.67 C) 0.75 D) 1.00 E) 1.50

15. Which of the following is true for “far-sightedness”.

A) Person cannot see far objects clearly, rectified with concave lens
B) It is due to a reduction in accommodation ability, rectified with converging lens
C) Person cannot see nearby objects clearly, rectified with converging lens.
D) Is also known as astigmatism.

16. An electron volt is:

A) the force acting on an electron in a field of 1 N/C
B) the force required to move an electron 1 meter
C) the energy gained by an electron in moving through a potential difference of 1 volt
D) the energy needed to move an electron through 1 meter in any electric field
E) the work done when 1 coulomb of charge is moved through a potential difference of 1 volt

17. The diagram shows four pairs of large parallel conducting plates. The value of the electric potential is given
for each plate. Rank the pairs according to the magnitude of the electric field between the plates, least to greatest.

A) 1, 2, 3, 4 B) 4, 3, 2, 1 C) 2, 3, 1, 4
D) 2, 4, 1, 3 E) 3, 2, 4, 1

18.The capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor can be increased by:

A) increasing the charge
B) decreasing the charge
C) increasing the plate separation
D) decreasing the plate separation
E) decreasing the plate area

[2x18 = 36]

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 Section B
(answers rounded to two decimal numbers)
(Answer on the given A-4 paper and show all calculations)

1.
A daredevil on a motorcycle leaves the end of a ramp with a speed of 35 m/s. His speed is 33 m/s when he
reaches the peak of his path. Calculate the maximum height above the end of the ramp that he reaches, by
considering the energies involved during the jump.

(3)

2.
The figure shows a coin of mass m at rest on a book that has been tilted at an angle θ with the horizontal.
If the angle is increased to 15o, the coin is on the verge of sliding down the book.

Show that the coefficient of static friction (µs) is equal to tan θ. (also draw a diagram to show all the
forces on the coin). (4)

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3.
Two horses are pulling a barge with a mass of 2 metric tons along a channel as shown. The cable connected
to the first horse makes an angle of 𝜃𝜃1 = 30° with respect to the direction of the channel, while the cable
connected to the second horse makes an angle 𝜃𝜃2 = −45°. Each horse exerts a force of 600 N on the
barge. Find the initial acceleration of the barge, starting at rest. Ignore all friction forces.

(5)

4. Give two reasons why the use of mirrors are preferential to the use of lenses when constructing
a telescope.
(2)

[14]

Total: 50

PHYS 1534 FORMULA SHEET /. FORMULEBLAD

TABEL 1: FISIESE KONSTANTES/TABLE 1: PHYSICAL CONSTANTS
NAAM/NAME SIMBOOL/SYMBOL WAARDE/VALUE

Swaartekragversnelling g 9,8 m·s-2

Acceleration due to gravity
Spoed van lig in 'n vakuum c 3,0 x 108 m·s-1
Speed of light in a vacuum
Coulomb se konstante k 9,0 x 109 N·m2·C-2
Coulomb's constant
Lading op elektron e -1,6 x 10-19 C
Charge on electron
Elektronmassa me 9,11 x 10-31 kg
Electron mass
Permittiwiteit van vry ruimte ε0 8,85 x 10-12 F·m-1
Permittivity of free space

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TABEL 2: FORMULES/TABLE 2: FORMULAE

BEWEGING/MOTION

v f = vi + a ∆t Δx = v i Δt + 21 a∆t 2 of/or Δy = v i Δt + 21 a∆t 2

 v + vf   v + vf 
v f = v i + 2a∆x of/or v f = v i + 2a∆y
2 2 2 2
Δx =  i  Δt of/or Δy =  i  Δt
 2   2 

Circular motion / Sirkelbeweging:

a = v2/r

KRAG/FORCE

Fnet = ma Fg = mg

For spring / Vir veer: fs = μsFN;

F = -kx fk = μkFN

GOLWE, KLANK EN LIG/WAVES, SOUND AND LIGHT

1
v=fλ T=
f

𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏 𝒊𝒊 𝒉𝒉′
= + 𝒎𝒎 = − =
𝒇𝒇 𝒑𝒑 𝒊𝒊 𝒑𝒑 𝒉𝒉

n1sinθ1 = n2sinθ2

ARBEID, ENERGIE EN DRYWING/WORK, ENERGY AND POWER

W = F∆x cos θ U = mgh of/or E P = mgh

1 1 Wnet = ∆K = K f − K i
K= mv 2 of/or Ek = mv 2
2 2 Wnet = ∆E k = E kf − E ki
For spring / Vir veer:
W
P=
U = ½kx2 ∆t

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ELEKTROSTATIKA/ELECTROSTATICS

kQ1Q 2 kQ
F= E=
r2 r2

V F
E= E=
d q

W kQ
Q = It V= =
q r

Q ε0A
C= C=
V d