Physics 1320 test 1 Study Questions
A piece of glass that appears red seen in transmission mode
(both of these), transmits red, absorbs or reflects all colors except red
What is the frequency of an electromagnetic wave that has a wavelength of 300,000 km?
1 Hz
Find the time interval between light leaving and returning to the revolving mirror.
1.0x10^-4 seconds
Find the time for a pulse of laser light to reach the Moon and to bounce back to Earth.
2.5 seconds
If we were to receive a radio message from this star today, find the time when it would have been sent.
4.4 years ago
If the Sun were to disappear at this moment, we wouldn't know about it for
8 minutes
Which travels faster through a vacuum - an infrared ray or a gamma ray?
Both travel at the same speed, c.
When we look at the Sun, we are seeing it as it was 8 minutes ago. So we can only see the Sun "in the past." When you look at the back of your own hand, do you see it "now" or in "the past"?
I see it in "the past"
Which of the following can not travel in a vacuum?
Sound
While Earth is experiencing a total solar eclipse, an observer on the side of the Moon facing Earth would see
a dark area moving across the face of earth.
the solar radiation curve
a plot of Sun's brightness versus frequency of emission.
Which best shields you from sunburn when at the beach?
a sheet of glass between you and the sun
The main difference between the retina of a human eye and that of a dog's eye is the
absence of cones in a dogs retina.
When the frequency of light matches the natural frequency of molecules in a material, light is
absorbed
Materials generally become warmer when light is
absorbed by them.
The greenish blue of water is evidence for the
absorption of red light
The source of all electromagnetic waves is
accelerating electric charges.
Colors seen on some TV screens result from color
addition
If three primary colors of light shine on a white wall and produce a white spot, the primaries must be
additive
Your friend says that any radio wave travels in vacuum appreciably faster than any sound wave.
agree with your friend unconditionally
Our eyes are not very good at seeing
all of the above (motion in our periphery, colors in dim light, differences in brightness)
Which travels greatest speed in a vacuum (gamma, x, light, radio)
all of these travel at the same speed
In air, radio waves
always travel much faster than sound waves.
A helium-neon laser emits light of wavelength 633 nanometers (nm). Light from an argon laser has a wavelength of 515 nm. Which laser emits the higher-frequency light?
an argon laser
Compared to the photon that enters a pane of window glass, the photon that emerges is
an identical but different proton
A total shadow is called
an umbra, and a partial is a penumbra
Glass is transparent to wave frequencies that
are below its natural frequencies.
When visible light is incident upon clear glass, atoms in the glass
are forced into vibration
Information-carrying nerves are connected to the retina at the
blind spot
A banana will appear black when illuminated with
blue light
A main difference between a radio wave and a light wave is
both (wavelength and frequency)
If a light signal and a radio signal were emitted simultaneously from Alpha Centauri, the first to reach Earth would be the
both at the same time.
If the color spectrum ranges from red to violet, then it ranges from
both of these (low frequency/long wavelength to high high frequency/short wavelength)
The fact that you can see stars in the nighttime sky is evidence that
both of these (our atmosphere is transparent to visible light, and light can travel in a vacuum)
When you see the colors on the cover of your physics book lying on your desk, what is occuring at the surface of the book?
color subtraction
The sensation of color is seen when light falls on the eye's
cones
Stare at a red wall for a few minutes and then gaze at a white wall. Due to retina fatigue you see
cyan
A red apple will appear black when illuminated with
cyan light
The crescent shapes of spots of light cast through openings in trees occurs
during partial eclipse of the Sun for the point of the observation.
An annular eclipse of the Sun occurs when the Moon doesn't quite cover the Sun in the zone of totality. This means that the Moon is
farther than usual from earth
What characteristic of light mostly relates to color?
frequency
If an electron vibrates up and down 1000 times each second, it generates an electromagnetic wave having a
frequency of 1000 HZ
A mixture of cyan and yellow pigments appears
green
If sunlight were green instead of white, the most comfortable color to wear on a hot day would be
green
Infrared waves are often called heat waves because they
induce resonance in molecules and increase internal energy in a substance.
The part of the electromagnetic spectrum most absorbed by water is
infared
Earth's atmosphere is opaque to waves that are concentrated in the
infared part of the spectrum
Most of the waves in the electromagnetic spectrum are
invisible
The sky is usually the deepest blue
is just after a rainstorm.
Colors are barely seen or not at all in nighttime because moonlight
is too dim to activate the retinas cones.
saying an apple is red means that
it appears red
Compared to its average speed in air, the average speed of a beam of light in glass is
less
If an electric charge is shaken up and down frequently enough
light can be emitted
Compared to ultraviolet waves, the wavelength of infrared waves is
longer
Compared to ultraviolet waves, the frequency of infrared waves is
lower
Light travels slightly slower in the
lower atmosphere
The Moon would be at its fullest just before the time of a
lunar eclipse
When an astronaut on the Moon experiences a solar eclipse, observers on Earth see
lunar eclipse
If sunlight were green instead of white, the most comfortable color to wear on a cold day would be
magenta
A main difference between a radio wave and a sound wave is
medium or no medium
A lunar eclipse occurs when the
moon passes into earths shadow
What is the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave that has a frequency of 3 kilohertz?
more than 1 km
What is the wavelength of a 1-hertz electromagnetic wave?
more than 1 m
the cones in the retina of the eye are
most densely packed at the center of vision.
can you see or hear radio waves?
neither
The sky is blue because air molecules in the sky act as tiny
optical tuning forks that scatter blue lights
Electromagnetic waves consist of
oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
A partial solar eclipse occurs for people in the Sun's
penumbra
Which of these has the longest wavelength? (x, ultra, light, radio, infrared)
radio
Kids in elementary school get this right: Which color of light gets through red glass?
red
Magenta light is a mixture of
red and blue light
The LEDs that make up the color on some TV screens are
red, blue, green
If the atmosphere were about 40 times thicker, the Sun at noon would appear
red-orange
The color of an opaque object is the same as the light that is
reflected
You can get a sunburn while under the "shade" of a beach umbrella due to
reflected sunlight from the sand
When ultraviolet light is incident upon glass, atoms in the glass
resonate
In the periphery of our vision, we are
sensitive to movement, but cannot see color
In free space, electromagnetic waves travel at a
single speed
Short wavelengths of visible light interact more frequently with the atoms in glass than do longer wavelengths. Does this interaction time tend to speed up or to slow down the average speed of short-wavelength light in glass?
slow down
A new Moon appears in the sky just before the time of a
solar eclipse
Which of these is fundamentally from the other? (light rays, sound, gamma, x, radio)
sound waves
A pair of sunglasses and a pair of clear reading glasses are left in the sunlight. The hotter glasses will be the
sunglasses
the size of your pupils depends on
the brightness in the room and your mood.
A solar eclipse occurs when the
the moons shadow is cast on earth.
Compared to the velocity of radio waves in vacuum, the velocity of visible light waves in a vacuum is
the same
Consider light energy that is momentarily absorbed in glass and then re-emitted. Compared to the absorbed light, the frequency of the re-emitted light is
the same
The speed of light in the void between molecules in glass is
the same as its speed in a vacuum
Metals are shiny because
their electrons vibrate to the oscillations of any incident light.
Red-hot and blue-hot stars that are dim in the night sky appear white to the eye because
they are too dim to fire the cones
Sunburns are produced by
ultraviolet light
The natural frequency of the atoms in glass is in the
ultraviolet part of the spectrum
A total solar eclipse occurs for people in the Sun's
umbra
The dimmest part of sunlight is
violet
Glass is transparent to
visible light
Which of these has the shortest wavelength? (x, ultra, light, radio, infrared)
x- rays
If Earth's atmosphere were appreciably thicker, snow would appear
yellow
If only one color is absorbed in the pigment of a particular blue paint, that color would be
yellow
The complementary color of blue is
yellow
A blueberry will look black when illuminated with
yellow light
A fast-moving ball is more easily seen if it is
yellow-green