All Chapter Questions 1-15
Frame dragging is a complex consequence of general relativity. It can be simplified into a classical analog, however, demonstrated by which of the following situations?
A flamenco dancer's dress as she spins quickly a full turn.
What is the most accurate physical analog for a particle in a box?
A guitar string
The de Broglie wavelength of which of the following objects would be smallest if the objects all had the same momentum?
All the same wavelength.
Alpha decay occurs in some radioactive nuclides with A > 150. The probability of an alpha particle being emitted depends on the energy of the alpha particle. Why is this so?
Alpha particles must pass through classically forbidden regions with high potential barriers.
Which of the following would not have significant effect on the probability distribution of position of an electron (in a given combination of quantum numbers) in the hydrogen atom?
the azimuthal angle probability distribution
Samus is exploring the planet Zebes in the star system Metroid Prime (where the laws of physics are the same as on Earth and in our universe) in a ship moving at constant velocity. She turns on her headlamps as she encounters some strange fog. Ridley, the villain lying in wait, is at rest with respect to Samus. The speed of the light from Samus's headlamps as measured by Ridley depends most importantly on
the speed of light in the fog
The anomalous Zeeman effect is different from the normal Zeeman effect because
the split of energy levels from the anomalous Zeeman effect depends on the intrinsic spin quantum number and the split from the normal Zeeman effect depends on the magnetic quantum number.
Bohr found that the total angular momentum of the hydrogen atom was L = n, but this prediction was incorrect. Choose the statement below that best explains why.
Bohr's semiclassical planetary model of the atom did not include space quantization of angular momentum.
The de Broglie wavelength of which of the following objects would be smallest if the objects had the same velocity?
Bowling ball.
Which of the following statements about the atomic theory of matter is true?
Dalton proposed that atoms of each element have characteristic properties.
For an atom of hydrogen where the quantum number n = 3, how many possible independent configurations of the atom exist (consider principal quantum number n, angular momentum quantum number l, magnetic quantum number ml, and magnetic spin quantum number ms)?
For n = 3, l = 2, 1, 0; for each l, ml, = -l, -(l - 1), ..., (l - 1), l; and for each of the states given by n, l, and ml, ms = -1/2, 1/2. This corresponds to 18 individual states. SEE pp. 246-247.
Which of the following is NOT a general selection rule for the filling of electron shells?
For the s shell there are 2 electrons, for the p shell 6, for the d shell 10, and for the f shell 16.
Maxwell's equations utilize or can produce all of the following EXCEPT:
Formulations for magnetic monopoles
Which of the following scientists is most directly responsible for ushering in the communications age in the 20th century?
Maxwell
Who first accurately measured the value for the charge of the electron?
Millikan
Who established the atomic number of an atom as more important than the atomic weight, thus reorganizing the periodic table?
Moseley.
What is the bremsstrahlung process?
The emission of a photon from an electron being accelerated by a nucleus
Which of the following is not necessary as a boundary condition for a wave function?
The first derivative of the wave function must approach zero when approaching all regions of potential energy V > 0.
Astronomers have identified more and more black holes in recent years by using x-ray imaging. If black holes are supposed to be black and not emit light, where are the x rays coming from?
The friction within the accretion disk heats the gas to very high temperatures, and the gas emits x rays according to its characteristic spectrum.
Davisson and Germer used a nickel crystal for their scattering experiments that had been modified when they tried to repair it. Which of the following describes the major change from before they tried to repair it and afterward that allowed them to work on the groundbreaking experiments they did?
The heating processes created larger crystals, which allowed them to clearly see the electron diffraction.
Which of the following reasons explains why the neutrino must exist?
The neutrino is necessary to allow for the correct spin angular momentum conservation in a nuclear disintegration.
What did Rutherford's famous scattering experiment help to prove in his day?
The nucleus of an atom is positively charged.
A particle moves along the x-axis in the positive direction with energy E. It encounters a barrier with potential V > E at x = 0 and extending to x = L. Is there any chance for the particle make it to the other side?
Yes. The wave functions allow for a small probability for the particle to pass through the barrier.
Both the classical and quantum mechanical probability densities predict for a simple harmonic oscillator that
at very large values of n (the number of energy state), the particle will most likely be detected furthest from the equilibrium position within its classically defined range of motion
The Rydberg equation is used to
calculate the wavelengths of different spectral lines of hydrogen
The nuclear force can be all of the following EXCEPT:
charge dependent
When de Broglie's matter waves are applied to electrons in the Bohr atom, which of the following occurs?
de Broglie's results allow an integral number of wavelengths in the electron orbits.
Gravitational and inertial masses are equal
due to the equivalence principle.
Characteristic x-ray spectra come from
electrons transitioning down from an outer shell replace electrons ejected from an inner shell.
Scattering one unknown particle of Z1 off of another, much more massive target particle of Z2, you observe a certain number of particles scattered at an angle (your detector is of width , at an angle from the beam axis, centered at an angle around the beam axis). Use Rutherford's scattering equation (and assumptions) to determine which of the following changes to the experiment would be most likely to increase the number of particles you detect with your detector.
increase the cross section of the target nuclei.
When relating the linear momentum and total energy of an object with speed v = 0.8c, which of the following changes would increase the energy by the greatest amount? Assume that it is possible to change the mass of the object.
increase the momentum of the object to 2p while keeping the velocity constant.
Hawking radiation
is due to one particle from particle-antiparticle pairs.
The mass of the deuteron
is slightly less than the sum of the neutron and proton mass.
The planetary model of the atom was fundamentally flawed. It failed theoretically because
it was well established experimentally that accelerating electrons emit electromagnetic radiation.
The uncertainty principle prevents one from knowing both the ____________ and the _________ for a certain particle to arbitrary precision at the same time. What are the two correct missing words?
localization in interval of time; energy
Which of the following states of the hydrogen atom, as defined only by the principal quantum number, angular momentum quantum number, and magnetic quantum number, is allowed?
n = 5, l = 2, ml = 0
A small sphere of initial volume V is filled with n moles of helium at initial pressure and temperature P and T. Which of the following statements is true?
n moles of gas are added, the total sample is heated to 2T, and the pressure drops to P/2 when the volume increases to 8V
The gyromagnetic ratio
relates the magnetic moments of spin and angular momentum to the total angular momentum.
Using the restrictions set forth by the uncertainty principle, which of the following combinations of values is it possible to know simultaneously? (CHAPTER 7 QUESTION 7)
II, III, VI, VII
Following selection rules for multi-electron atoms, imagine a titanium atom in the ground state with two electrons in each of the 3d and 4s shells. In the 3d shell, which of the following scenarios is least likely to be true?
The electrons' spins are antialigned to minimize energy.
Use the Pauli exclusion principle to determine how many electrons can fill a single g subshell.
22
The anomalous Zeeman effect occurs because electrons have intrinsic spin, and when placed in a magnetic field, lose their degeneracy for the __________ states with different ________ . Fill in the missing words.
2J + 1, mJ
Scientists have made great strides towards unifying the fundamental forces of nature. At the time of the publishing of the text, the most unified of theories shows that the total number of forces to be fundamental in physics is
3
In which of the following cases would you expect degeneracy of the first excited state? Hint: Make sure to consider all three dimensions.
A particle trapped inside a sphere of radius R.
The shape and size of a nucleus can best be described as
A roughly spherical shape of diameter 4 fm.
Which of the following statements shows the electromagnetic force at work?
A rubber band stretching but not breaking
The "liquid drop model" of the nucleus allowed von Weizs�cker to propose his equation for a semi-empirical mass formula. This formula includes all of the following EXCEPT:
A term incorporating the instability of protons within the nucleus.
Which of the following statements best describes the Franck-Hertz experiment?
Accelerated electrons collide with atoms in a gas and excite them.
For an atom of hydrogen without the effects of an external magnetic field, an electron transition from the 3P subshell to the 2P subshell is called a forbidden transition. Why is this so?
An atom that changes energy through transitioning must either absorb or emit a photon.
When you increase only the frequency of the incoming light onto the emitter, you measure
An increase in the necessary stopping voltage
When you interchange your emitter for one with a smaller work function, you measure
An increase in the necessary stopping voltage
When you increase only the intensity of the light onto the emitter, you measure
An increased current
Which of the following does not result from applying the Schr�dinger equation to the electron in the hydrogen atom?
Finding the value of the intrinsic spin quantum number of the electron
Which of the following scenarios would NOT demonstrate the usefulness of a spacetime diagram?
Answer not shown
Although it seems intuitive that electrons in atoms should fill the 1s shell, 2s shell, 2p shell, 3s shell and so on in order of principal quantum number and orbital angular momentum quantum number, this is not the case. For instance, the 4s subshell fills before the 3d subshell. Which of the following statements does NOT help explain why this occurs?
Electrons in shells with higher energy generally experience less shielding of nuclear charge.
Choose the statement below that does NOT help explain why the ionization energy of cadmium is so much larger than that of indium.
Electrons in the 4d subshell spend more time inside the closed shells than does the additional 5p electron and therefore are more shielded.
Which of the following statements is true about the spin-orbit coupling effects on the transitions of an atom such as sodium? Assume sodium is modeled by a single electron atom
Electrons with a state of l = 0 never have split energy levels.
Which of the following are assumed when analyzing photons involved in Compton scattering?
Energy and momentum are treated relativistically in the scattering.
The disintegration energy for gamma decay of a nucleus is typically on the order of 10-100 keV and can even be on the order of MeV. Which of the following statements best describes why the energies are so much larger than from atoms?
Energy levels within the nucleus are spaced farther apart than atomic levels.
The spectacular image called "Einstein's Cross" is direct evidence of which of the following phenomenon.
Gravitational bending of light.
How did Planck modify the classical theory of blackbody radiation to correctly determine his radiation law?
He assumed light was absorbed and emitted in quanta
How did Thomson measure the charge to mass ratio of the electron?
He passed cathode rays through a magnetic field and measured the deflection.
Who among the following persons did not play an important role in the discovery of the neutron?
Henri Becquerel
Using Maxwell's equations, the speed of light can be calculated using which of the following fundamental physical constants? Select the letter that most completely answers the question.
I, II
Choose the letter that most completely answers the question. The minimum energy of a simple harmonic oscillator
I, III
Jack and Jill are fiercely competitive siblings, and since they were born exactly a year apart, can compete in most everything. Jill, the younger, always resented her older brother for being just that: older. When they got older, Jack resented Jill's youthful advantage of one year. Imagine that Jack builds himself a high- tech spaceship and races off into space, knowing that he can at least slow down his aging. If he were gone for one year according to Jill, which of the following statements could be or are true?
I, III, V
By the early part of the 20th century, theoretical physics had changed dramatically because of so many new results. The work of Franck and Hertz showed that the atomic levels were quantized. Why did that work specifically make so much of an impact at that time?
It affirmed that quantum physics triumphed over classical physics in key cases.
Which of the following statements is NOT true about the expectation value of a physical observable?
It can only be found after normalizing the wave functions involved.
Which of the following statements is most correct about the uncertainty principle?
It is impossible to know exactly both the position and the momentum of a particle simultaneously.
Which of the following statements is not true about x-ray scattering (in crystals) and its importance?
It ruled out the corpuscle model of light.
John is in an inertial frame F and Jack is in a frame F' moving relative to F in the x-direction at a constant velocity v. John and Jack each hold a 1-m stick with them oriented in the x-direction. Which one of the following statements best describes the situation?
John measures Jack's stick as shorter than his own
Which of the following statements best describes the line of stability?
N tends to be greater than Z, especially for masses greater than calcium.
The principle of equivalence is primarily concerned with which of the following:
No experiment can detect the difference between acceleration and a gravitational field.
Which of the following is an important difference between the infinite square-well potential and the finite square-well potential?
Particles can exist in classically forbidden regions outside the finite square-well potential.
Which of the following statements about blackbody radiation is NOT correct?
Planck's radiation law for intensity vs. wavelength of blackbody radiation depends on and T4.
When you encounter a calculation where the integral sum of the ___________ of the particle being somewhere in space is greater than ___________, then the problem is most likely caused by lack of _________. Fill in the missing words.
Probability, 1, normalization
Some elements like iron, cobalt, and holmium make very good natural magnets. Which of the following statements best describes why?
Selection rules for multi-electron atoms tend to maximize electron spin and orbital angular momentum.
In his calculations, Bohr came across a number now called the "Bohr radius". This number is 5.29 � 10-11 m and is
The Bohr radius gives the minimum radius of the hydrogen atom. This minimum radius is the smallest radius of the atom because it describes the radius of the ground state, or the most tightly bound state of the atom. SEE p. 143.
Mimicking the experiment of Geiger and Marsden, you fire alpha particles of about 5 MeV into an unknown target and measure the scattering angle. Which of the following is likely to affect the scattering angle of the alpha particles coming off of the target?
The Coulomb force between the alpha particle and the nuclei of the target.
The addition of velocities formula restricts the values of certain velocities due to all of the following EXCEPT:
The curvature of spacetime consistent with inertial frames.
A highly reliable laser emits a steady beam of light at a fixed frequency f that hits a photodetector a light year away in what we can assume is empty space. The laser/detector setup is now placed as a system with a black hole directly behind the laser. What happens to the frequency of the light beam?
The detector measures the frequency of the beam as less than f.
The energy levels of a single-electron atom (or the approximation for one electron outside of a filled shell) can be split due to a relationship between the spin and the orbital angular momentum. Choose the statement that best explains why this occurs.
The electron is affected by the magnetic field of the proton, which in the rest frame of the electron is seen as orbiting the electron.
Why is the Schr�dinger equation so much simpler to solve for electrons in atoms like H and He+ than for Na or even B+?
The electrons in larger atoms affect each other by Coulomb repulsion.
Which of the following represents one of the major splits in physical science before and after about 1895?
The loss of the feeling that everything in nature could be understood through reasoning with the introduction of quantum mechanics after about 1895.
Which of the following statements is correct about the experiment that first measured the charge of the electron?
The mass of the drop was determined by measuring its terminal velocity
Which of the following statements is not true about wave packets and their use in describing particles?
The movement and travel of a wave packet is governed by their grouping order.
A muon detector on Mount Washington observes greater numbers of muons than an identical detector located at a lower elevation, for example in Boston. The number detected in Boston, however, is much greater than the number predicted when considering the elevation separation between Boston and Mount Washington, the muons' speed, and the time of the muons' half-life. Why is this so?
The muons' speeds are large enough for relativistic effects to occur
Which of the following is true about Bragg planes?
They are evenly spaced planes within crystal structures of atoms.
Which of the following best describes nuclear forces?
They are short ranged.
Protons in the nucleus attract electrons with enough electromagnetic force to keep them in orbit at high speeds. Protons in general repel each other, but in the nucleus they are bound together. How is this possible?
The strong force binds the protons together on small distance scales
In attempting to describe the atom, Bohr made a set of general assumptions. Which of the following statements is NOT a result or closely aligned with those general assumptions (the assumptions might not be quantum mechanically correct)?
The velocity of the electron around the nucleus is the same in all orbits, although the shape of the orbit changes with higher values of n, the principal quantum number
An electron approaches a positron. They annihilate and produce two photons, which fly off at the speed of light in opposite directions. Analyze the situation using relativistic momentum and energy and choose the false statement below.
There can be two photons produced (as in the above example), but only one photon can is produced in some cases.
Which of the following statements about the Michelson-Morley experiment is correct?
They found that the interference effects of the ether were not dependent on the direction of motion of the interferometer.
In quantum mechanics there is a process by which an electron can start in a region of relatively weak forces, enter a classically forbidden region, and then reemerge on the other side of that region. The electron, it can be said, travels through a "wall." How do scientists commonly refer to this process?
Tunneling
Which of the following descriptions shows two objects of EQUAL mass-energy?
Two identical balls with the same speed and at the same height, except moving vertically in different directions
Which of the following is a consequence of the laws of thermodynamics?
Work can be completely changed into heat
The relativistic factor ( used in conjunction with the Lorentz transformation provides that
a particle moving faster than the speed of light gives an imaginary relativistic factor.
Stern and Gerlach performed an experiment that showed the space quantization of silver atoms in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. Their experiment demonstrated that
an additional angular momentum factor within the atom was causing the observed space quantization.
Phase velocity is
the velocity of a point on the wave at a given phase.
One major difference between Young's double slit interference experiment with light and Jonsson's similar experiment with electrons is that
the wavelengths of the electrons were much smaller than that of light and therefore the slits for the electron experiment were much more difficult to produce.
