BIPhCT

Spring 2024
 Equation Sheet
Some of the relations below may prove useful.

m1 m2
Mathematics |F| = G
r2
c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos θ |F| = kx
(1 + x)n ≈ 1 + nx 1 X 1
=
ks i
ki
1
sin θ ≈ θ − θ3 X
6 kp = ki
i
1
cos θ ≈ 1 − θ2 F = µN
2
ex − e−x τ = Iα
sinh x = p = mv
2
ex + e−x L = mr × v
cosh x = ˆ
2 W = F · dr
ˆ
dx
√ = arcsin x
1 − x2
ˆ E&M
dx  p
2

1 q1 q2
= ln x + x − 1 |F| =
x2 − 1 4πϵ0 r2
ˆ
dx  p
2

FB = qv × B
= ln x + x + 1
x2 + 1 Q = CV
v
u n 
uX ∂F
2 E = −∇V
δF (x1 , x2 , ..., xn ) = t δxi
∂x i E = ρJ
i
ρ
∇·E=
ϵ0
Mechanics ∇·B=0
1 ∂B
∆x = v0 t + at2 ∇×E=−
2 ∂t
 
dp ∂E
F = ma = ∇ × B = µ0 J + ϵ0
dt ∂t
 ‹
Q P V γ = adiabatic invariant
E · dA = ˛ ˛
ϵ0
‹ W = P dV = T dS
B · dA = 0
˛ ¨ P = AϵσT 4
∂
E · dl = − B · dA
∂t
˛ ¨ Optics
∂
B · dl = µ0 I + µ0 ϵ0 E · dA
∂t n0 sin θ0 = n1 sin θ1
V = IR 1 1 1
1 X 1 + =
= o i f
Rp i
Ri
(n − 1)d
 
1 1 1
= (n − 1) − +
X
Rs = Ri f r1 r2 r1 r2
i
1 X 1 I
= p=
Cs Ci c
i
X
Cp = Ci Relativity
i
v
dI β=
E = −L c
dt
1
γ=p
Fluids 1 − β2
F v1 + v2
P = u=
A 1 + v1c2v2
1 1
P0 + ρv02 + ρgh0 = P + ρv 2 + ρgh t = γτ
2 2
F = ρV g L
l=
γ
Thermodynamics
Quantum
P V = N kb T h̄
CP σx σp ≥
γ= 2
CV !
N kB T −h̄2 2
U= ∇ +V ψ = Eψ
γ−1 2m
 Instructions
• This exam is worth a total of 2000 points.

• This exam is divided into 5 sections of ascending difficulty and point value.
Later problems are worth significantly more points but are accordingly signifi-
cantly more difficult.

• This exam is intended to be taken by a team of 4 students in 3 hours.

• This exam is to be taken entirely with pen and paper; calculators or other
computational devices are not permitted, nor are they necessary.

• All answers on this exam are closed-form, analytical expressions.

• Any answer that is algebraically equivalent to the correct one is marked correct.
Any answer that is not closed-form or analytical, or not given in a form explicitly
asked for in the problem statement, will not be marked correct.

• The correct answer to a question will give you all of the points, regardless of
work shown.

• If the answer is incorrect, up to 70% credit will be given for work shown.

• These problems are designed to be extremely challenging. Although all of

them can be solved with knowledge taught in high school or early undergrad-
uate studies in physics, most of them require a level of physical insight and
mathematical problem solving that is beyond the scope of most such curricula.
Do not be alarmed if you cannot solve most of these questions fully.
You can still earn significant points from partial credit, and even if the answer
does not appear obvious at first, you may be surprised what avenues reveal
themselves if you think long and hard enough!
 Tier I
The following 5 questions are worth 20 points each.

1. An ice cube with mass m is placed in a cylindrical container with radius r.

Water is then poured into the container. What is the height of the water when
the ice cube first starts lifting off of the bottom of the container? You may
assume that the density of water is ρ, and the density of ice is αρ.

2. Two frictionless pulleys are a distance l apart. There are three masses, of mass
m, m, and αm respectively. The first mass and the third mass are connected
by a string and suspended on the first pulley, while the second and third masses
are connected by a string and suspended on the second pulley, in such a way
that the third mass is situated perfectly in between the two pulleys. Assuming
that the two pulleys are at height h, and that none of the masses are moving,
what is the height of the third mass?

3. A grenade on a pedestal of height h explodes into 3 identical pieces that fly

away perpendicular to the vertical at speed v, forming equal angles. At what
time t will the velocity vectors become perpendicular?

4. Andrew and Brianna are working together on a physics lab! Both students
want to measure the length of an object. Andrew’s measurement has an error
of 1cm, while Brianna’s measurement has an error of 1mm. Andrew measures
the object and gets a length of LA , and Brianna measures the object and gets
a length of LB . What should their final recording of the length be, if they want
to minimize the error of their measurements?
5. A quantum mechanical particle of mass m is in a 3D infinite well of side length
h̄2 π 2 2 2 2
L. Its allowed energy states are of the form E = 2mL 2 (nx + ny + nz ) for pos-

itive integers nx , ny , and nz . Compute the energy of the fifth excited state.
Additionally, how many distinct wavefunctions have this energy?
 Tier II
The following 5 questions are worth 50 points each.

6. A trampoline is modeled as a very large ring of radius R with an infinite number

of springs extending from the ring’s edge and touching at the center. These
springs have spring constant density k (measured in kg s−1 rad−1 ). A light
golf ball of mass m is gently placed on the trampoline and it sags down slightly.
From the moment the ball is released to the moment it first reaches its minimum
height, what is its average velocity?

7. A monkey’s swing can be modeled as a pendulum with length l being that

of the monkey’s arm. One monkey, one moving towards the right, begins to
swing with an initial angle with the vertical π/3. The monkey releases at the
point that maximizes the magnitude of its horizontal velocity. At the instant of
release, a monkey a rightward horizontal distance s away leaps to the left from
a branch with the same velocity as the first monkey, but at an angle of π/6 with
the horizontal. What is the minimum separation between the two monkeys?

8. A conducting square loop with side length r and mass m with a current I
flowing through it is balanced and hinged on a table in a uniform horizontal
magnetic field of magnitude B. The loop is slightly perturbed to the side, and
begins to fall. What must the magnetic field be for the loop to fall at a constant
angular velocity ω? You may neglect induction.
 9. A stick lies stationary on the ground, and a man runs across it very fast, forming
an θ with it. According to the man, the stick looks shorter than it actually is,
scaled to a fraction κ of its original length. How fast is the man moving?

L
θ v = βc

10. Two masses are suspended to a pulley, of mass m1 and m2 respectively. Now, a
ball of mass m3 is dropped from height h above m1 onto mass m1 . When they
collide, they collide perfectly elastically. The system is then let go, and at the
equilibrium the mass m3 always rebounds to a height h above m1 . Find m3 .
 Tier III
The following 5 questions are worth 80 points each.

11. A cylindrically symmetrical bottle is constructed with a “bottleneck” section of

constant radius r and height h, from which fluid can leave, and a bottle section
with radius R which is not necessarily constant. If, when filled with ideal fluid
and placed upside down, the bottle drains of fluid such that the height decreases
at a small, constant rate until the bottle section is fully drained, find the radius
R of the bottle at a height βh above the opening from which fluid can leave, in
terms of β and r.
12. Let V (r) = −αr−3 + βr−4 be a central potential where a particle of mass m
with angular momentum L is subject to. Two circular orbits exist, one unstable
αm
orbit located at r0 = κ 2 , and one stable orbit. Find the angular frequency
L
of small radial oscillations around this stable orbit, and find the condition on
κ for which this stable orbit actually exists. Do not leave any answers in terms
of β.

13. An air bubble of radius R is submerged in water (incompressible) of density ρ

at an equilibrium pressure of P0 . This air bubble begins undergoing small radial
vibrations where the radius uniformly varies from R to R + x where |x| ≪ R.
If the expansion of this bubble is an adiabatic process, and the air inside the
bubble has adiabatic index γ, determine the angular frequency of oscillation of
this vibration.

14. Consider a small, massless, planar mirror. This mirror is then connected to a
massless rod of length l such that the mirror is parallel to the rod and per-
pendicular to the plane of the page. Consider two sources of light of power
P1 < P2 located a distance r on diametrically opposite points from the pivot.
At equilibrium what angle θ does the the rod form with the horizontal?

P2 θ P1

r
15. An n-simplex is the simplest possible nondegenerate shape that can be formed
in n dimensions. For example, a 1-simplex would be a line, a 2-simplex would
be a triangle, and a 3-simplex would be a tetrahedron. Construct an n-simplex
out of wires of resistance R. What is the effective resistance of the n-simplex
between any two vertices on the n-simplex?

n = 1: line n = 2: triangle n = 3: tetrahedron

 Tier IV
The following 5 questions are worth 110 points each.

16. There is a line of n collinear radio towers that each broadcast radio signals
isotropically with wavelength λ and amplitude A; neglect any dampening of
this amplitude. These radio towers are spaced such that there is a distance αλ
between any two radio towers. At the end of the line, also collinear with the
towers and also a distance of αλ from the nearest tower, there is a receiver.
Finally, a new radio tower will be built such that the receiver receives no signal.
At what distance d from the receiver, and with what amplitude A′ , must the new
radio tower broadcast, assuming it broadcasts signals of the same wavelength?

n towers

reciever

αλ αλ d
17. The first quadrant of a 2D coordinate plane is filled with a medium of a varying
index of refraction of n(x) = n0 + kx. A beam of light pointing at θ0 below the
horizontal (+x) enters the medium at (0, y). At what point x does the beam of
light exit the medium at. Assume the index of refraction everywhere outside the
medium is n0 . Do not leave your answer in terms of any exponentials, complex
or real.

n = n0 n = n0 + kx

θ0

θ0
x
18. A particle of mass m decays into an expanding, uniformly distributed ring of
photons (arbitrarily many in number). To an observer in a different frame, the
particle was traveling right with a speed βc before decaying. In this frame,
what is the linear energy density λ(θ) of this expanding ring when it has radius
r? Assume θ is measured from positive x-axis about the center of the ring.

R
θ
βc
19. Consider a solid sphere of radius R. A source and sink of current I is placed
at the sphere a distance d ≪ R apart (take the first order approximation terms
and ignore any weird edge effects); the midpoint of the line connecting the
source and sink is the center of the sphere. Two terminals are now placed on
the surface of the sphere diametrically opposite from each other. The terminals
measure a voltage difference of V . These four points lie on a cross-section of
the sphere. The angle between the line connecting the source and sinks with
the voltage is θ. Find the resistivity of this sphere.

V = ∆V

θ
d

V =0
20. N molecules of a gas with adiabatic index γ undergo a Carnot cycle in which
isothermal expansion increases its volume by a factor of α and adiabatic expan-
sion increases its volume by a factor of β. In terms of Boltzmann’s constant kB
and the quantities given in the problem, what is the positive difference between
the minimum and maximum entropy that the gas has throughout this process?
 Tier V
The following 5 questions are worth 140 points each.

21. You launch a projectile of mass m from the ground, with velocity v and at an
angle θ relative to the ground. What is the average horizontal velocity of the
projectile from the point you launch it to the point at which it lands? You may
assume air resistance is given by F = −bv.

22. Consider a very large sample of N particle of some radioactive Isotope X1 .

Isotope X1 decays into Isotope X2 with half-life τ , Isotope X2 decays into
Isotope X3 with half-life τ2 , and generally Isotope Xi decays into Isotope Xi+1
with half-life τi . At time t, what is the expected abundance of Isotope Xk ?

1 1
τ 2τ iτ
X1 →
− X2 −→ X3 . . . Xi −→ Xi+1 . . .
23. Consider two sheets that extend infinitely on both sides in the z-direction, and
infinitely in the xy-plane in one direction. One sheet is at an angle θ above the
positive x-axis, the other an angle θ to the left of the negative y-axis, and they
are joined together by an arc of a cylinder with radius r and central axis at
x = y = 0. A current flows through the first sheet, through the cylinder, and
down the second sheet such that it is uniform across the entire structure, such
that it has a surface current density of J. Find the magnetic field B(x, y, z)
everywhere beneath the sheet.

24. A cone has radius r and height βr and is open at its end, and is manufactured
from material with albedo α. A flashlight shines light with total power P
directly into the cone from very far away. If the opening of the cone is observed
and assumed to be a perfect blackbody, what is the “effective temperature” of
the opening? You may also use σ, the Stefan-Boltzmann constant.
25. A baseball is thrown directly upwards, to a height of αR, where R is the radius
of the Earth, and it falls back to the ground with no horizontal displacement.
How long does this process take? You may use R and other physical constants
in your answer, including the mass M of the Earth. Do not assume α ≪ 1 or
α ≫ 1.