Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
2014
PHYSICS
Written examination
STUDENT NAME:
Number of
detailed studies
Number of detailed
studies to be
answered
Number of marks
22
B Detailed studies
Students are permitted to bring the following items into the examination: pens, pencils, highlighters,
erasers, sharpeners, rulers, up to two pages (one folded A3 sheet) of pre-written notes (typed or
handwritten) and one scientific calculator.
Students are NOT permitted to bring sheets of blank paper or white out liquid/tape into the
examination.
Materials provided
The Core studies question and answer book of 51 pages, with a separate data sheet.
Instructions
Write your name in the box provided, and on the answer sheet for multiple-choice questions.
Unless otherwise indicated, the diagrams in this book are NOT drawn to scale.
Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones or any other electronic device into the examination.
This trial examination produced by Insight Publications is NOT an official VCAA paper for the 2014 Physics written
examination.
The Publishers assume no legal liability for the opinions, ideas or statements contained in this Trial Exam.
This examination paper is licensed to be printed, photocopied or placed on the school intranet and used only within the
confines of the purchasing school for examining their students. No trial examination or part thereof may be issued or passed
on to any other party including other schools, practising or non-practising teachers, tutors, parents, websites or publishing
agencies without the written consent of Insight Publications.
Copyright Insight Publications 2014
Table of contents
SECTION B
Detailed study
Einsteins special relativity ........................................................................................................ 3
Materials and their use in structures ........................................................................................... 8
Further electronics .................................................................................................................... 15
Synchrotron and its applications .............................................................................................. 22
Photonics .................................................................................................................................. 27
Sound ........................................................................................................................................ 33
160 km/h
B.
100 km/h
C.
60 km/h
D.
40 km/h
Question 2
In the playground shown in Figure 1, Ben is riding a roundabout, Charlie is running in a
straight line at a constant speed and Debbie is standing still. Which of these children can be
considered to be in an inertial frame of reference?
v
Ben
v
Charlie
Figure 1
A.
B.
C.
D.
Question 3
Two atomic clocks are synchronised. Clock A is travelling at a significant fraction of the
speed of light while clock B is stationary. 4.0 s pass on the stationary clock B while 3.0 s pass
on clock A. How fast are the clocks moving relative to each other?
A.
2.0 108 m s1
B.
2.2 108 m s1
C.
2.6 108 m s1
D.
2.3 108 m s1
Question 4
A stationary observer watches a spaceship fly passed at 0.8c and measures its length to be
780 m. How long is the spaceship when measured by a passenger inside it?
A.
2167 m
B.
1300 m
C.
1744 m
D.
468 m
Question 5
What was the MichelsonMorley experiment attempting to measure?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Question 6
Uranium-238 undergoes radioactive decay to thorium-234 and releases an alpha particle.
4.3 MeV of energy is also released when this occurs. What is the mass defect in this process?
A.
7.6 1030 g
B.
2.3 1021 g
C.
6.9 1013 g
D.
7.6 1036 g
Question 7
In a particle collider, protons (rest mass 1.67 1027 kg) are accelerated to 0.999c. How much
kinetic energy do these particles have?
A.
1.5 1010 J
B.
7.5 1011 J
C.
3.2 109 J
D.
1.1 1017 J
Question 8
The relativistic mass of an alpha particle (rest mass 6.68 1027 kg) moving at 0.3c is equal
to:
A.
6.68 1027
kg
1 0.09
B.
6.68 1027
kg
1 0.3c
6.68 1027
C.
D.
0.3
1
kg
6.68 1027
kg
0.3
1 2
c
Question 9
A spaceship travelling at 0.8c launches a missile travelling at 0.3c relative to the ship. An
observer at rest relative to ship watches the missile launch. What do they observe?
A.
B.
the missile travelling at c because nothing can travel faster than the speed of light
C.
the missile travelling at less than c because of length contraction and time dilation
D.
the missile travelling at less than c because of the increase in its relativistic mass
Question 10
An astronaut in a damaged rocket is unable to measure his speed. He flies past a nebula that
he knows to be exactly 1 106 km wide. At his current speed, he observes the nebula to be
5.27 105 km. Which of the following gives the best approximation of his speed?
A.
0.99c
B.
0.85c
C.
0.53c
D.
0.48c
Question 11
Some time later, the damaged spaceship is travelling at close to the speed of light past a
stationary observer. The observer sees two explosions, A and B in Figure 2, occur
simultaneously. The astronaut stands in the middle of the two explosions. What does the
astronaut see?
v
Figure 2
In the astronauts frame of reference
A.
B.
C.
D.
Figure 1
Question 1
What is the value for Youngs modulus for cable A?
A.
1.0 Pa
B.
1.0 103 Pa
C.
1.0 106 Pa
D.
1.0 109 Pa
Question 2
Each cable has a radius of 5 mm. What is the maximum amount of weight that can be
supported by cable B without it breaking?
A.
125 g
B.
140 g
C.
165 g
D.
170 g
Question 3
How far can a 20 cm length of cable C be extended without permanent deformation?
A.
3.0 mm
B.
3.0 cm
C.
5.6 mm
D.
5.6 cm
Question 4
Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding the three cables?
A.
B.
C.
D.
10
Figure 2
Question 5
Under this load, the 4.0 m cable stretches by 2.0 cm. Which of the following is the closest to
the value of Youngs modulus for the steel cable?
A.
B.
C.
2.2 Mpa
D.
Question 6
How much torque does the 20-tonne load apply to the crane about the pivot?
A.
600 000 N m
B.
800 000 N m
C.
1 000 000 N m
D.
1 800 000 N m
11
Question 7
A uniform balcony is supported by a strut as shown in Figure 3. What is the value of the
upwards force by the strut on the balcony?
Figure 3
A.
5657 N
B.
9000 N
C.
6364 N
D.
8000 N
12
Figure 4
Question 8
What are the magnitudes of the upward forces from supports X and Y?
FX (N)
FY (N)
A.
2050
2050
B.
1126
1084
C.
2260
1840
D.
1084
1126
13
Question 9
The concrete footbridge is to be reinforced with steel rods. Which of the following shows the
best placement of these rods (dotted lines)?
14
Question 10
Fibreglass is made from glass fibres, which have high tensile strength, and hard plastic, which
has high compressive strength. Both fibreglass and reinforced concrete are referred to as
composite materials because they
A.
B.
C.
D.
Question 11
Kevlar is a composite material used in bulletproof vests. Which of the following properties
make it useful for this application?
A.
toughness
B.
ductility
C.
strength
D.
brittleness
15
A.
Turns in primary
coil
1000
Turns in secondary
coil
20 000
B.
3600
180
C.
24 000
12 000
D.
600
7200
Question 2
Alice finds a transformer that outputs 42 V peak to peak. Which of the following is closest to
the RMS voltage output of this transformer?
A.
30 V
B.
21 V
C.
6.5 V
D.
15 V
16
Alice compares a full-wave bridge rectifier with a half-wave bridge rectifier. The diodes she
uses have the characteristics shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Question 3
If her full-wave bridge rectifier had an input of 12 VRMS, which of the following would be the
output?
A.
14.2 Vpeak
B.
17 Vpeak
C.
14.2 VRMS
D.
17 VRMS
17
Question 4
Alices friend Barry is having trouble with his full-wave bridge rectifier, shown in Figure 2.
He isnt getting the output he expected.
Figure 2
Which of the diodes in Barrys rectifier is the problem?
A.
diode A
B.
diode B
C.
diode C
D.
diode D
18
Question 5
The students are testing a capacitor with the circuit shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3
They observe that the capacitor is 99% charged after 6.8 s. Which of these is closest to the
value of the capacitor?
A.
45 F
B.
226 F
C.
45 F
D.
226 F
19
Figure 4
Question 6
The students want to limit the ripple in the voltage to 20% by having a time constant equal to
five times the period of the output from the bridge rectifier. Which of the following
combinations of capacitor and load resistor will be best for them?
Load resistor
10
100
1.0 k
10 k
A.
B.
C.
D.
Capacitor
1.0 mF
500 F
100 F
5.0 nF
Question 7
Which of the following would reduce the ripple voltage across the load resistor?
A.
B.
C.
D.
20
Figure 5
Question 8
Which of the following best describes the voltage across RD?
A.
4V
B.
1 V to 7 V
C.
5 V to 8 V
D.
Question 9
The Zener diode is rated at 250 mW. If the input voltage is regulated to a steady 12 V, what
should the value of RD be to avoid burning out the Zener diode?
A.
1.3 k or higher
B.
130 or lower
C.
1.3 k or lower
D.
130 or higher
21
Figure 6
Barry suggests including a voltage regulator integrated circuit (IC) with the specifications
shown below.
Component
A7805C
Case
TO220
Vin
min, 7 V; max, 20 V
Vout
Iout
max, 1 A
Max temperature
125C
15 W
Question 10
If the voltage regulator was to be included, which components would it replace?
A.
capacitor only
B.
C.
D.
Question 11
If the voltage regulator was required to operate at 15 W, which of the following should be
added?
A.
a heat sink
B.
electromagnetic shielding
C.
D.
22
Figure 1
Question 1
How much kinetic energy does an electron accelerated through this gun gain?
A.
8.8 1015 J
B.
55 J
C.
1.4 1027 J
D.
55 103 J
Question 2
What is the magnitude of the electric field E that exists between the two plates?
A.
460 V m1
B.
55 V m1
C.
4.6 105 V m1
D.
4600 V m1
23
9.11 1031 kg
1.6 1019 C
1.67 1027 kg
1.6 1019 C
Figure 2 shows a magnetic field with field lines perpendicular to the plane of the page. The
magnetic field has strength of 0.001 T. The path of a proton moving at 0.6c is shown as
path B.
Question 3
Figure 2
An electron is passed into the field at the same point and at the same speed as the proton.
Which of the paths labelled A to D does the electron follow?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Question 4
What is the magnitude of the force applied to the electron by the field?
A.
3.5 109 N
B.
2.9 1014 N
C.
9.6 1023 N
D.
1.5 1049 N
24
Question 5
Which of the following is closest to the radius of the electrons path in the magnetic field?
A.
1.0 m
B.
3.4 109 m
C.
1.9 km
D.
1.7 m
Question 6
When the electrons leave the electron gun at the Synchrotron, they pass into the linear
accelerator, or linac. Which of the following linacs does the Australian Synchrotron employ?
A.
B.
C.
spiral linac
D.
cyclotron
25
Question 7
Which of the following statements about the insertion devices used at the Australian
Synchrotron is false?
A.
B.
Undulators produce light that is more collimated than light produced by wigglers.
C.
D.
A wiggler with eight magnetic poles will increase the brightness of the light by a factor of 16.
Question 8
High-energy X-ray photons with a wavelength of 160 pm are directed at a crystal lattice. The
first maxima occurs at a glancing angle of 13.4.
The spacing of layers in the crystal is closest to
A.
35 pm
B.
350 nm
C.
0.35 nm
D.
35 nm
Question 9
The same X-rays are directed at a crystal known to have layers 4.8 1010 m apart. At which
of the following pairs of angles would maxima be expected?
A.
9.6 and 28
B.
30 and 42
C.
24 and 36
D.
28 and 42
26
Question 10
A photon collides with some matter and is scattered with a longer wavelength than before.
This is an example of
A.
Compton scattering.
B.
C.
Rayleigh scattering.
D.
Bragg scattering.
Question 11
X-ray crystallography used to determine the structure of proteins relies on which of
the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
27
B.
C.
D.
Question 2
Light from a laser diode could best be described as
A.
incandescent.
B.
wide-spectrum.
C.
electro-luminescent.
D.
coherent.
28
Question 3
Figure 1 shows the energy level diagram for argon, a gas used in lasers.
n
n
n
n
Figure 1
Argon gas is pumped to the meta-stable n = 4 state before the stimulated emission of an
828 nm photon.
Which state does the electron end at as a result of this emission?
A.
n=1
B.
n=2
C.
n=3
D.
n=5
29
n
n
n
Figure 2
Question 4
Which of the following is closest to the acceptance angle 1, for this fibre?
A.
16.9
B.
14.1
C.
10.9
D.
9.8
Question 5
Which of the following would be true if the fibre were to be immersed in water (n = 1.33)?
A.
B.
C.
The fibre would accept and transmit light at a smaller range of angles.
D.
The fibre would accept and transmit light at a wider range of angles.
30
Question 6
When transmitting light by optical fibre, it is advantageous to use longer wavelengths because
A.
B.
C.
D.
Question 7
Which of the following is the reason graded-index fibre is preferred to step-index fibre?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Question 8
Which of the following best describes the phenomenon of material dispersion?
A.
B.
Some light waves undergo total internal reflection more often as they travel down the
fibre and so take longer to reach the end.
C.
Small variations in the density of the material in the core of the fibre cause light to
disperse.
D.
31
Question 9
Figure 3 shows a system of optical fibre bundles that can be used for medical imaging.
Figure 3
To ensure the system operates correctly, which of the following must be true?
A.
Neither the objective bundle nor the illumination bundle needs to be coherent.
B.
Both the objective bundle and the illumination bundle need to be coherent.
C.
D.
32
Question 10
Optical fibres are built into some concrete structures to help measure stress on a critical part
of the building. Figure 4 shows an optical fibre between two cement pieces that will slightly
deform the fibre as load is applied to them. Some of the light in the fibre will be lost when
this deformation occurs.
Figure 4
What type of sensor is Figure 4 an example of?
A.
intrinsic sensor
B.
attenuation sensor
C.
extrinsic sensor
D.
imaging sensor
Question 11
An optical fibre is rated as having attenuation of 3.2 dB km1 when used with light of
1550 nm. If light with intensity 8.0 mW is launched into a 2.5 km section of this cable, what
power could be expected at the other end?
A.
1.6 mW
B.
50 mW
C.
1.3 mW
D.
3.8 mW
33
Figure 1
Question 1
If a guitarist places his finger on the string and makes the length 630 mm, what is the
fundamental frequency that will be produced when the string is made to vibrate?
A.
325 Hz
B.
270 Hz
C.
651 Hz
D.
1300 Hz
Question 2
The guitarist shifts his finger and plays a 740 Hz note. Which of the following frequencies
will also be present on the string?
A.
1110 Hz
B.
2960 Hz
C.
370 Hz
D.
325 Hz
34
Question 3
Figure 2 shows the relationship between sound intensity level (dB), frequency (Hz) and
loudness (phon).
phon curves
80
60 phon
70
50 phon
60
40 phon
50
30 phon
40
30
20
10
0
10
100
1 000
10 000
frequency (Hz)
Figure 2
Which of the following tones will have the same apparent loudness as a 9000 Hz sound
played at 60 dB?
A.
1000 Hz at 60 dB
B.
4000 Hz at 62 dB
C.
100 Hz at 62 dB
D.
200 Hz at 44 dB
35
Question 4
Phon curves like that in Figure 2 show that the listeners ears are most sensitive to which
frequencies?
A.
100 Hz
B.
1000 Hz
C.
10 000 Hz
D.
Question 5
Some types of microphone rely on electromagnetic principles for their operation. Which of
the follow pairs of microphone types both rely on electromagnetism?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Question 6
Dylan tests a new car speaker before he installs it in his car door (Figure 3a). He is
unimpressed by the sound quality. After installing the speaker in the door (Figure 3b) Dylan
is much happier with the sound from his speaker.
Figure 3a
Figure 3b
Which of the following gives the best reason as to why Dylans car speaker sounds better
after installation than before?
A.
The car door vibrates along with the speaker, increasing the amplitude of the sound
waves.
B.
The car door reduces interference between waves from the front of the speaker and
waves from the back of the speaker.
C.
The car door is able to reinforce the fundamental frequency of the speaker cone.
D.
The range of vibrations is limited when installed, making for more fidelity in sound
reproduction.
36
For Questions 7 and 8, treat sound sources as point sources and ignore reflected and
ambient sound.
Question 7
Adam and Emma are physics students performing some experiments with sound level meters
as shown in Figure 4. Emma has ear-plugs and so stands just 2.0 m away from a foghorn.
Adam does not have ear-plugs and stands much further away.
Figure 4
Emmas sound level meter reads 110 dB and Adams reads 90 dB, how far is Adam standing
from the foghorn?
A.
d = 10 m
B.
d = 20 m
C.
d = 50 m
D.
d = 100 m
37
Question 8
Adam moves closer to the sound source but because he has no ear protection he stands behind
a 3.0 m tall brick wall as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5
Emma first triggers the 200 Hz foghorn and then a 10 000 Hz fire alarm. Emma records both
as having equal sound intensity. What would Adam measure?
A.
B.
C.
D.
38
Question 9
The frequency response graphs for a set of three speakers are shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6
These speakers are to be combined in a cabinet with one speaker for high-pitched tones
(tweeter), one for mid-range tones (squawker) and one for low-pitched tones (woofer). Which
of the following shows the best arrangement of the three speakers?
Woofer
Squawker
Tweeter
A.
B.
C.
D.
39
Question 10
When sound travels through a medium such as water, particles are disturbed. Which of the
following best describes this disturbance?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Question 11
One note from a whale song recorded in the ocean has a wavelength of 4.2 m and when
visualised on a computer screen looks like Figure 7.
Figure 7
Which of the following is the best value for the speed of sound in the ocean?
A. 420 m s1
B. 4200 m s1
C. 1050 m s1
D. 1400 m s1