UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA

2013/2014 SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATIONS

FRONT PAGE

COURSE No.: PHY241 DURATION: 2 HRS. DATE: July 2014

TITLE OF PAPER: ADVANCED ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

SUBJECT: PHYSICS TITLE OF EXAMINATION: BSc Level 200

MORNING / AFTERNOON

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN SECTION A; AND

2. ANSWER ANY THREE (3) QUESTIONS FROM SECTION B.

EACH QUESTION IN SECTION A IS WORTH 2 MARKS

EACH QUESTION IN SECTION B IS WORTH 20 MARKS

You may find the following information useful:

Electric charge, e = 1.60 x 10-19 C

Coulomb’s constant, k = 1/(4o) = 9.00 x 109 N.m2.C-2
Permittivity of free space, o = 8.85 x 10-12 F.m-1
Permeability of free space, o = 4 x 10-7 H.m-1

Page 5 contains a Table of Derivatives and Integrals

No. of Pages
DO NOT OPEN THIS PAPER UNTIL YOU HAVE
5
BEEN TOLD TO DO SO BY THE SUPERVISOR
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Section A: ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION (2 Marks Each).

A1. An HCL molecule has a dipole moment of 3.4 x 10 -30 C.m. The two atoms are separated
by 1.0 x 10-10 m. Determine the net charge on each atom.

A2. The electric potential at points in an x-y plane is given by:

V = (2.0 V/m2)x2 – (3.0 V/m2)y2. Determine the magnitudes of the x and y components of
the electric field.

A3. A closely wound long solenoid has a magnetic field of magnitude 5.0 x 10 -4 T at its centre
produced by a current of 1.5 A through its windings. Determine the number of turns per
unit length of wire for this solenoid.

A4. A 200-turn solenoid having a length of 25 cm and diameter of 10 cm carries a current of

0.30 A. Calculate the magnitude of the magnetic field inside the solenoid.

A5. A circular wire loop of radius 4.0 cm carries a current of 2.6 A. It is placed so that the
normal to its plane makes an angle of 41° with a uniform magnetic field B = 4.5 T.
Calculate the magnitude of the torque acting on the loop.

Section B: ANSWER ANY THREE (3) QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION

(Each Question is worth 20 Marks).
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B1.

(a)

Show that the magnitude of the electric field at any

point P a distance x from a very long straight wire (see
figure on the left) carrying a uniformly distributed
charge Q is given by

where λ is the linear charge density and x is assumed to be far

much smaller than the length of the wire.
[14 marks]

Continued on page 2
Turn over

(b) An electron moves in a circle of radius r around a very long uniform charge wire in a
vacuum chamber as shown in the Figure below. The value of the charge density on the
wire is λ = 0.14μC/m. Determine the electric field (i.e. its magnitude and direction) at the
position of the electron. [6 marks]

B2.

A solid conducting sphere is placed inside a

conducting spherical shell as shown on the left. The
solid sphere of radius a has a net charge 3Q; the
spherical shell has inner radius b and an outer radius c
with a net charge –Q.

(a) Find the electric field at points marked (I), (II),

(III) and (IV) on the diagram above.
[12 marks]
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(b) Draw a sketch plot showing the variation of with the radius r, covering the points (I)-
(IV).
[5 marks]
(c) Evaluate the charge distribution on the spherical shell.
[3 marks]
B3.

The figure below shows a cross-section of a short solenoid of length L and radius a.

Continued on page 3
Turn over
(a) Show that the magnitude of the magnetic field at an axial point P is given by

where all the symbols have their usual meanings.

Hint: Magnitude of magnetic field at some point P a distance x along the axis of a ring
of radius a is

[10 marks]
(b)
(i) Calculate the magnitude of the magnetic field along the axis, at a distance of 20 cm
from the right-hand end of a solenoid that has 500 turns, length of 50 cm, radius of
8.9 cm, and carries a current of 5.0 A.
[6 marks]
(ii) Using the equation given above, derive the expression for the magnetic field at (1)
the centre of the axis of a long solenoid, and (2) the right-hand end of a long
solenoid.
[4 marks]

B4.
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(a)
A uniform diameter wire segment (see Figure on
the left), carries a current I. Use Biot-Savart law to
determine the magnetic field produced at point
C by:

(i) each straight segment of length L; [4 marks]

(ii) the semi-circular segment of radius R; and [6 marks]
(iii) the entire wire shown in the Figure. [3 marks]

(b) With the aid of clearly labelled diagram(s), use Ampere’s law to show that the magnitude
of the magnetic field due to a toroid of N turns is given by

where: r is the average radius of the toroid and other symbols have their usual meaning.
[7 marks]

Continued on page 4
Turn over

B5.

Consider a simple LCR circuit as illustrated in the figure on the left

where capacitor C initially charged to a voltage V at time t = 0, is
connected in series with resistor R and inductor L. A transient
current I flows through R and L, developing a back emf  in the
inductor L.

(a) Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law or otherwise, show that the resulting second-order
differential equation is of the form

[8 marks]

(b) The solutions for the equation above will depend on how large R is. Show that for low
resistance the solution is of the form
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where [8 marks]

(c) Draw a sketch graph for the solution in part (b) [4 marks]

Continued on page 5
Turn over
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Derivates and Integrals

In what follows, the letters u and v stand for any function of x, and a and m are constants. To
each of the indefinite integrals should be added an arbitrary constant of integration.
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1. 4.

2. 5.

3. 6.
7.
4. 8.
5. 9.
10.
6.
11.
7.
12.
8.
13.
9.
14.
10.
15.
11. 16.
12.

13. 17.

14.
18.
15.
19.
16.
20.

21.
1.
2. 22.
3.

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