Physics Second Semester Physics Review
1. The frequency of oscillation f of a mass m suspended from a vertical spring is given by
where k is the spring constant.
If the spring is stretched twice as much before being let go what will happen to the frequency of vibration?
a. it will stay the same
b. it will be reduced Ö2 times
c. it will increase Ö2 times
d. it will increase two times
e. it will increase four times
2. A mass is suspended from a vertical spring. It is set into oscillation by pulling it down a short distance
and then releasing it. At which one of the labeled points, during the subsequent motion, will the
acceleration be zero?
3. The top graph below represents the variation of displacement with time for a particle executing SHM.
Which curve in the represents the variation of velocity with time for the same particle?
1. The time for one wave to pass a point in space is called its
a) frequency b) period c) wavelength d) amplitude
2. A unit for frequency is
a) s-1 b) m c) s d) m-1 e) cycles/m
3. The period of an ocean wave is 5 seconds. What is the wave's frequency?
a) 5 Hz b) 1.0 Hz c) 0.2 Hz d) 0.1 Hz
4. An ocean wave has a frequency of 4 hertz and a wavelength of 4.3 m. What is the wave's speed?
a) 1.75 m/s b) 17.2 m/s c) 0.93 m/s d) 0.05 m/s
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10. When a wave pulse on a high density string hits a boundary with a low density string it will
a) partially reflect inverted and also carry on at a higher speed and longer wavelength
b) partially reflect upright and also carry on at a higher speed and longer wavelength
c) partially reflect upright and also carry on at a lower speed and shorter wavelength
d) partially reflect inverted and also carry on at a lower speed and shorter wavelength
e) not change at all
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15. Sound waves in air are a series of:
a) high and low pressure regions b) periodic disturbances
c) periodic condensations and refractions d) all of the above e) a and b
16. A bugle can be thought of as an ____________ tube. If the bugle were straightened out, it would be
265cm long. If the speed of sound is 343 m/s find the lowest frequency that is resonant in the bugle?
a) 0.32 Hz b) 0.65 Hz c) 32.3 Hz d) 64.7 Hz e) 129.4 Hz
17. Sound analysis of a note played on a musical instrument show two consecutive overtones at
786 Hz and 1310 Hz. The note played is has a fundamental frequency of:
a) 131 Hz b) 262 Hz c) 524 Hz d) 786 Hz e) other
18. If two sounds at 100 Hz and 1000 Hz are perceived with the same loudness:
a) the 100 Hz sound must be at a higher intensity level
b) the 1000 Hz sound must be at a higher intensity level
c) they are both at the same intensity level
19. Compared to a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, a magnitude 8.5 earthquake carries more energy by a factor of:
a) 1 b) 10 c) 30 d) 2.8x108 e) 3.5x1012
20. The property of sound called intensity is:
a) proportional to the rate at which sound energy flows through an area normal to the direction of
wave propagation.
b) inversely proportional to the rate at which sound energy flows through an area normal to the
direction of propagation.
c) proportional to the period of the sound wave.
d) proportional to the frequency of a sound wave.
e) proportional to the amplitude of a wound wave.
21. Compared to a spherical wave at distance r from a source, a wave at 1/4 r will have an
intensity:
a) 4x’s more b) 16x’s more c) 4x’s less d) 16x’s less e) other answer
22. A police car siren is 1500 Hz when at rest. If the car moves away from an observer at 30
m/s, what frequency does the observer detect?
a) 1644 Hz b) 1379 Hz c) 1500 Hz d) 1200 Hz e) other
23. If the police car traveling at 40 m/s chases a speeder traveling at 30 m/s, what frequency will
the speeder hear?
a) 1226 Hz b) 1461 Hz c) 1550 Hz d) 1847 Hz e) other
24. The shock wave produced by an aircraft moving through air is shown below. Determine
the mach # of the plane.
25. How much energy does a photon of red light that has a wavelength of 640 nm contain?
a) 3.2 eV b) 2.5 eV c) 1.9 eV d) 1.3 eV
26. Compared to the average speed of light in water, the average speed of light in air is:
a) less b) faster c) the same
27. Dispersion of light into its many component colors in glass is due to:
a) the difference in speed of each color in a vacuum
b) natural resonance of glass
c) the angle at which the light enters
d) internal reflection within the glass
28. For a light ray entering an acrylic rhombus from air, the critical angle after which total internal
reflection occurs
a) is greater for red light than violet light because its refractive index is greater.
b) is greater for red light than violet light because its refractive index is smaller.
c) is greater for violet light than red light because its refractive index is smaller.
d)is greater for violet light than red light because its refractive index is greater.
29. Diffuse reflection occurs when the elevation of the surface is:
a) >l b) >l/2 c) >l/4 d) >l/8
30. The image in a plane mirror is:
a) virtual , reversed b) virtual, right way c) real, reversed d) real, right way
31. An object is placed between the center of curvature (C) and the focal point (F) of a concave
mirror as shown below. Its image will be:
32. An object is placed between 2F and F of a convex lens as shown below. Its image will be:
33. To correct their vision, far-sighted people must use
a) convex lenses b) concave lenses c) prisms d) reflectors
34. An object is 10.4 cm tall, and 4.8 cm in front of a diverging lens. The image is 4 cm from the
lens. How tall is the image?
a) 12.5 cm b) 8.7 cm c) 5.4 cm d) 1.8 cm
35. If the frequency of light incident on a single slit is increased the distance between the fringes will:
a) be greater because of more diffraction from the slit
b) be greater because of less diffraction from the slit
c) be less because of more diffraction from the slit
d) be less because of less diffraction from the slit
36. Who came up with the idea of electric charge?
a) Coulomb b) Volta c) Ampere d) Faraday e) Ohm f) Franklin
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39. An uncharged sphere on a glass rod is placed near a negatively charged Van de Graaf generator. A
student then quickly touches the sphere for a second. After the sphere is moved away from generator
what charge remains on it?
a) positive b) negative c) neutral
40. A +6mC charge is placed 2cm from a - 4mC charge. The force on the - 4mC charged particle due to the
+6mC particle is:
a) 0.108 N b) 0.054 N c) 10.8 N d) 540 N
41. A small positively charged object near a positively charged sphere is moved one third as far away. The
electric force on the small object:
a) increases by a factor of 3
b) increases by a factor of 9
c) decreases by a factor of 3
d) decreases by a factor of 9
e) stays the same
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45. At what distance from a point charge of 8.0mC would the electric potential be 4.2x104 V?
a) 0.58 m b) 0.76 m c) 1.7 m d) 2.9 m e) other
46. A charge of 12 C passes through an electroplating apparatus in 2 min. What is the average
current?
a) 0.1 A b) 6 A c) 24 A d) 0.2 A
47. A 150 W light bulb running on 110 V draws how much current?
a) 0.73 A b) 1.4 A c) 2.0 A d) 15 A
48. How much does it cost to operate a 25 W soldering iron for 8 hrs, if energy costs $0.08/kW-
hr?
a) $1.50 b) $0.25 c) $0.16 d) $0.016
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50. Two 4W resistors are connected in parallel, and this combination is connected in series with
a 3W. What is the effective resistance of this combination?
a) 1.2 W b) 7W c) 5W d) 11W
51. Who came up with the theory that led to the development of the electric motor?
a) Faraday b) Henry c) Edison d) Tesla e) Oersted
52. What direction is the current carrying wire deflected when positioned in the magnetic field as
shown?
X X X X X X X X a) into the page
X X X X X X X X b) out of the page
X X X X X X X X c) left
X X X X X X X X d) right
X X X X X X X X e) up
f) down
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54. A household transformer is used to take 120 V down to 6 V. What is the ratio of turns on the primary
to turns on the secondary?
a) 20:1 b) 1:20 c) can’t tell with information given
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66. The initial activity of a radioactive sample is 120 Bq. If after 24 h the activity is measured to be 15
Bq, the half-life of the sample is..
a) 4 h b) 6 h c) 8h d) 10 h e) other
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68. The mass of a gold nucleus (19779 Au) is 196.924 u. How much mass is lost when the individual
nucleons come together to make the gold nucleus? (mp = 1.007276 u, mp = 1.008665 u)
a) 1.67 u b) 2.34 u c) 3.42 u d) 5.18 u e) other
69. In the last question what is the binding energy per nucleon for gold-197? (1u = 931.5 MeV)
a) 1.05 MeV b) 5.34 MeV c) 7.91 MeV d) 8.76 MeV e) other
70. Ernest Rutherford, in 1909 studied the transmutation of nitrogen, whereby an alpha particle colliding
with a nitrogen nucleus produces this element and hydrogen (a proton) as shown below.
147 N + 42 a ® ? + 11 P
What is the unknown element produced?
a) 1910 Ne b) 178 O c) 126 C d) 168 O e) other
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72.
In a PWR, water acts as both the coolant and the moderator. Water is a good moderator because..
a) it can absorb fast neutrons efficiently
b) it has a high specific heat capacity
c) it has a surplus of neutrons
d) each hydrogen atom in a water molecule have about the same mass as a neutron
e) water molecules are much more massive than neutrons
Physics Second Semester Review
Answers
SHM
1. A 2. C 3. C
1. B 37. C
2. A 38. B
3. C 39. A
4. B 40. D
5. B 41. B
6. B 42. C
7. A 43. D
8. A 44. B
9. C 45. C
10. B 46. A
11. C 47. B
12. D 48. D
13. A 49. C
14. B 50. C
15. E 51. E
16. C 52. C
17. B 53. B
18. A 54. A
19. C 55. A
20. A 56. B
21. B 57. C
22. B 58. C
23. C 59. A
24. D 60. B
25. C 61. C
26. B 62. B
27. B 63. D
28. B 64. C
29. D 65. D
30. A 66. C
31. A 67. D
32. D 68. A
33. A 69. C
34. B 70. B
35. D 71. C
36. F 72.