Physics Final MCQ

2. It is of the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of visible light.

A film of oil on a puddle in a parking lot shows a variety of bright colors in swirled patches. What can you say about the thickness of the oil film? 1. It is much less than the wavelength of visible light. 2. It is of the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of visible light. 3. It is much greater than the wavelength of visible light. 4. It might have any relationship to the wavelength of visible light.

3 - C

A light ray containing both blue and red wavelengths is incident at an angle on a slab of glass. Which of the sketches in the figure represents the most likely outcome? 1. A. 2. B 3. C. 4. D 5. none of them

a - no affect

A particle's location is measured and specified as being exactly at x = 0, with zero uncertainty in the x direction. How does that location affect the uncertainty of its velocity component in the y direction? (a) It does not affect it. (b) It makes it infinite. (c) It makes it zero.

1. It increases.

A plane monochromatic light wave is incident on a double slit as illustrated in the figure. As the viewing screen is moved away from the double slit, what happens to the separation between the interference fringes on the screen? 1. It increases. 2. It decreases. 3. It remains the same. 4. It may increase or decrease, depending on the wavelength of the light. 5. More information is required.

b - perpendicular

A polarizer for microwaves can be made as a grid of parallel metal wires approximately 1 cm apart. The electric field vector for microwaves transmitted through this polarizer is (a) parallel or (b) perpendicular to the metal wires.

3 - 1.14

A source emits monochromatic light of wavelength 495 nm in air. When light passes through a liquid, its wavelength reduces to 434 nm. What is the liquid's index of refraction? 1. 1.26 2. 1.49 3. 1.14 4. 1.33 5. 2.03

c - momentum

An electron and a proton both moving at nonrelativistic speeds have the same de Broglie wavelength. Which of the following quantities are also the same for the two particles? (a) speed (b) kinetic energy (c) momentum (d) frequency

b

An object, represented by a gray arrow, is placed in front of a plane mirror. Which of the diagrams in the figure correctly describes the image, represented by the pink arrow? 1. a 2. b 3. c 4. d

1. yes; water

Can light undergo total internal reflection at a smooth interface between air and water? If so, in which medium must it be traveling originally? 1. yes; water 2. yes; air 3. yes; it doesn't matter 4. no

2. 68.8°

Carbon disulfide (n = 1.63) is poured into a container made of crown glass (n = 1.52). What is the critical angle for total internal reflection of a light ray in the liquid when it is incident on the liquid-to-glass surface? 1. 89.2° 2. 68.8° 3. 21.2° 4. 1.07° 5. 43.0°

(b) vertically separated lights on the mast of a distant boat?

Cat's eyes have pupils that can be modeled as vertical slits. At night, would cats be more successful in resolving (a) headlights on a distant car or (b) vertically separated lights on the mast of a distant boat?

c - moves left

Consider one of the curves in the figure. Suppose the intensity of the incident light is held fixed but its frequency is increased. The stopping potential in the figure (a) remains fixed, (b) moves to the right, (c) moves to the left

b - concave mirror, virtual image

Consider the image in the mirror in the figure. Based on the appearance of this image, you would conclude that (a) the mirror is concave and the image is real, (b) the mirror is concave and the image is virtual, (c) the mirror is convex and the image is real, or (d) the mirror is convex and the image is virtual.

2 & 4 reflected, 3 & 5 refracted

If beam 1 is the incoming beam in the figure, which of the other four red lines are reflected beams, and which are refracted beams?

c - fused quartz

In photography, lenses in a camera use refraction to form an image on a light-sensitive surface. Ideally, you want all the colors in the light from the object being photographed to be refracted by the same amount. Of the materials shown in the figure, which would you choose for a single-element camera lens? (a) crown glass (b) acrylic (c) fused quartz (d) impossible to determine

b - 2

In the figure, five light rays enter a glass prism from the left. How many of these rays undergo total internal reflection at the slanted surface of the prism? (a) one (b) two (c) three (d) four (e) five

a - remains between O and the surface, arriving at the surface just as O does.

In the figure, what happens to the image point I as the object point O moves toward the right-hand surface of the material of index of refraction n1 ? (a) It always remains between O and the surface, arriving at the surface just as O does. (b) It moves toward the surface more slowly than O so that eventually O passes I. (c) It approaches the surface and then moves to the right of the surface.

d - movie camera

In the movies, you sometimes see an actor looking in a mirror and you can see his face in the mirror. It can be said with certainty that during the filming of such a scene, the actor sees in the mirror: (a) his face (b) your face (c) the director's face (d) the movie camera (e) impossible to determine

3 - C

Light can travel from air into water. Some possible paths for the light ray in the water are shown in the figure. Which path will the light most likely follow? 1. A 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. E

c - away from normal

Light passes from a material with index of refraction 1.3 into one with index of refraction 1.2. Compared to the incident ray, what happens to the refracted ray? (a) It bends toward the normal. (b) It is undeflected. (c) It bends away from the normal.

3. concave

Lulu looks at her image in a makeup mirror. It is enlarged when she is close to the mirror. As she backs away, the image becomes larger, then impossible to identify when she is 30.0 cm from the mirror, then upside down when she is beyond 30.0 cm, and finally small, clear, and upside down when she is much farther from the mirror. The mirror is: 1. convex. 2. plane. 3. concave.

a - dark fringe

One microscope slide is placed on top of another with their left edges in contact and a human hair under the right edge of the upper slide. As a result, a wedge of air exists between the slides. An interference pattern results when monochromatic light is incident on the wedge. What is at the left edges of the slides? (a) a dark fringe (b) a bright fringe (c) impossible to determine

b - counter

Suppose the prism in the figure can be rotated in the plane of the paper. For all five rays to experience total internal reflection from the slanted surface, should the prism be rotated (a) clockwise or (b) counterclockwise?

a - becomes wider

Suppose the slit width in the figure is made half as wide. The central bright fringe (a) becomes wider, (b) remains the same, or (c) becomes narrower.

a - blue

Suppose you are observing a binary star with a telescope and are having difficulty resolving the two stars. You decide to use a colored filter to maximize the resolution. (A filter of a given color transmits only that color of light.) What color filter should you choose? (a) blue (b) green (c) yellow (d) red

(b) Rigel - blue

The figure shows two stars in the constellation Orion. Betelgeuse appears to glow red, whereas Rigel looks blue in color. Which star has a higher surface temperature? (a) Betelgeuse - red (b) Rigel - blue (c) both the same (d) impossible to determine

c - farsighted

Two campers wish to start a fire during the day. One camper is nearsighted, and one is farsighted. Whose glasses should be used to focus the Sun's rays onto some paper to start the fire? (a) either camper (b) the nearsighted camper (c) the farsighted camper

(c) the grating is replaced with one of slit spacing 2d,

Ultraviolet light of wavelength 350 nm is incident on a diffraction grating with slit spacing d and forms an interference pattern on a screen a distance L away. The angular positions theta-bright of the interference maxima are large. The locations of the bright fringes are marked on the screen. Now red light of wavelength 700 nm is used with a diffraction grating to form another diffraction pattern on the screen. The bright fringes of this pattern will be located at the marks on the screen if (a) the screen is moved to a distance 2L from the grating, (b) the screen is moved to a distance L/2 from the grating, (c) the grating is replaced with one of slit spacing 2d, (d) the grating is replaced with one of slit spacing d/2, or (e) nothing is changed.

5. reflection and interference

What combination of optical phenomena causes the bright-colored patterns sometimes seen on wet streets covered with a layer of oil? Choose the best answer. 1. diffraction and polarization 2. interference and diffraction 3. polarization and reflection 4. refraction and diffraction 5. reflection and interference

5. Its frequency remains the same.

What happens to a light wave when it travels from air into glass? 1. Its speed remains the same. 2. Its speed increases. 3. Its wavelength increases. 4. Its wavelength remains the same. 5. Its frequency remains the same.

b - infinity

What is the focal length of a pane of window glass? (a) zero (b) infinity (c) the thickness of the glass (d) impossible to determine

1 & 3 - the image is virtual & upright

When an image of an object is formed by a plane mirror, which of the following statements is always true? 1. The image is virtual. 2. The image is real. 3. The image is upright. 4. The image is inverted. 5. None of those statements is always true.

5. none

When the image of an object is formed by a concave mirror, which of the following statements are always true? 1. The image is virtual. 2. The image is real. 3. The image is upright. 4. The image is inverted. 5. None of those statements is always true.

c - decrease slit spacing

Which of the following causes the fringes in a two-slit interference pattern to move farther apart? (a) decreasing the wavelength of the light (b) decreasing the screen distance (c) decreasing the slit spacing (d) immersing the entire apparatus in water

highest to lowest: yellow light, microwave, FM radio, AM radio

While standing outdoors one evening, you are exposed to the following four types of electromagnetic radiation: yellow light from a sodium street lamp, radio waves from an AM radio station, radio waves from an FM radio station, and microwaves from an antenna of a communications system. Rank these types of waves in terms of photon energy from highest to lowest.

5. It increases its resolution

Why is it advantageous to use a large-diameter objective lens in a telescope? 1. It diffracts the light more effectively than smaller diameter objective lenses. 2. It increases its magnification. 3. It enables you to see more objects in the field of view. 4. It reflects unwanted wavelengths. 5. It increases its resolution

False

You are standing approximately 2 m away from a mirror. The mirror has water spots on its surface. True or False: It is possible for you to see the water spots and your image both in focus at the same time.

(c) at an intermediate distance from you

You are walking down a long hallway that has many light fixtures in the ceiling and a very shiny, newly waxed floor. When looking at the floor, you see reflections of every light fixture. Now you put on sunglasses that are polarized. Some of the reflections of the light fixtures can no longer be seen. (Try it!) The reflections that disappear are those (a) nearest to you, (b) farthest from you, or (c) at an intermediate distance from you

b - concave

You wish to start a fire by reflecting sunlight from a mirror onto some paper under a pile of wood. Which would be the best choice for the type of mirror? (a) flat (b) concave (c) convex