UNIVERSITY OF MALAWI

CHANCELLOR COLLEGE

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

DATE: AUGUST 2013 TIME ALLOWED: 3 hours

PHY 121 : VIBRATIONS AND WAVES, AND ELECTRICITY &

MAGNETISM

END OF SEMESTER EXAMINATION

Instructions

1. This examination question paper contains ten (10) printed pages, a total of seven (7)
questions.

2. Answer three questions from Section A and any two (2) questions from Section B.

3. The relative allocation of each part-question is indicated in the right hand margin

You may not start to read the questions printed on the subsequent pages on this
question paper until instructed to do so by the invigilator.

[PLEASE TURN OVER]

LIST OF PHYSICAL CONSTANTS

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Pressure of a standard atmosphere 1013  105 Pa (or N m2 )
Speed of light (in vacuum) c 2998  108 m s1
Speed of sound in air va 340 m/s
Speed of sound in water vw 1480 m/s

[PLEASE TURN OVER]

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 Section A

VIBRATION AND WAVES

(Answer QUESTION 1 any two (2) questions from this section)

QUESTION 1: Compulsory
Write only the letter representing the correct answer for each question. Do not rewrite the
question. Each question is worth 1 mark.

1.1 . A Standing wave experiment is performed to determine the speed of waves in a

rope. The standing wave pattern shown below is established in the rope. The rope
makes exactly 90 complete vibrational cycles in one minute. The speed of the
waves is ____ m/s.

Fig. 1
A. 3.0
B. 6.0
C. 180
D. 360
E. 540

1.2 . A node is a point located along the medium where there is always ______.
A. a double crest
B. a double trough
C. constructive interference
D. destructive interference
E. a double rarefaction

1. 3 Which phenomenon is produced when two or more waves passing simultaneously

through the same medium meet up with one another?

Fig. 2
A. refraction
B. diffraction
C. interference
D. reflection

1.4 The diagram in Fig. 3 shows a disturbance moving through a rope towards the
right. If this disturbance meets a similar disturbance moving to the left, then
which one of the diagrams below depict a pattern which could NEVER appear in
the rope?

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 Fig. 3

1.5 A transverse wave is travelling through a medium as shown in Fig. 4. The particles
of the medium are vibrating _____.

Fig. 4

A. parallel to the line joining AD.

B. along the line joining CI.
C. perpendicular to the line joining AD.
D. at various angles to the line CI.
E. along the curve CAEJGBI.

1.6 As a wave travels into a medium in which its speed increases, its wavelength would
____.
A. decrease
B. increase
C. remain the same

1.7 Which of the following is a common characteristic of visible light, ultraviolet

rays, infrared rays, gamma rays and X-rays?
A. Influenced by magnetic field.
B. Possess the same frequency.
C. Possess the same wavelength.
D. Possess the same velocity in vacuum.

1.8 Which of the following statements about longitudinal wave is correct?

A. Particles vibrate at right angles to the movement of the wave.
B. Particles move in the same direction to the propagation of the wave.
C. Particles sometimes move in the opposite direction to the propagation of the wave.
D. No transmission medium is required.

1.9 What is the amplitude of the wave in the diagram shown in Fig. 5?

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 Fig. 5

A. 0.03 m. B. 0.04 m. C. 0.05 m. D. 0.06 m.

1.10 The diagram in Fig. 6 shows a circular water wave travelling towards a straight
barrier in a ripple tank. Which of the following diagrams shows the correct
reflected wave?

Fig. 6

1.11 If two waves are of the same frequencies, which of the following characteristics is
identical for the waves?
A. Phase
B. Wavelength
C. Amplitude
D. Period

1.12 Which of the following diagrams (shown in Fig. 7) is correct when the water waves
travel from a deep region to a shallow region in a ripple tank?

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 Fig. 7

1.13 A hand-held stroboscope is used to freeze a water wave of speed 5 cm s−1. There are 3
slits on the stroboscope and the wave appears to be stationary when the stroboscope
rotates at a speed of 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 3 revolutions per second only. What is the
frequency of the wave?
A. 1.5 Hz
B. 3 Hz
C. 9 Hz
D. 15 Hz

1.14 Two waves are produced by a vibrator. Wave A has an amplitude larger than wave B .
The energy transported by wave A is __________ that transported by wave B.
A. larger than
B. the same as
C. smaller than
D. It cannot be determined

1.15 The Fig. 8 shows two water waves which are generated by two coherent sources S1 and
S2. The solid lines represent wave crests and the dashed lines represent wave troughs.
Which point is at a position of destructive interference?

Fig. 8

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 A. B
B. C
C. A
D. D

1.16 Which of the following settings in a ripple tank will produce the most prominent
diffraction pattern of a water wave of wavelength of 2 cm?
A. The wave passes through an obstacle of length of 4 cm.
B. The wave passes through an obstacle of length of 2 cm.
C. The wave passes through a gap of 4 cm.
D. The wave passes through a gap of 1 cm.

1.17 Which of the following statements about wave is incorrect?

A. A water wave transfers energy.
B. A water wave cannot change its direction of propagation after it is
produced.
C. A water wave travels at a constant speed when the depth of the water
remains unchanged.
D. A water wave is an example of transverse wave.

1.18 When a wave passes obliquely from one medium to another, which of the following
occurs?
A. Refraction
B. Reflection
C. Diffraction
D. Interference

1.9 In which of the following waves will interference occur?

(1) Sound (2) Light (3) Water

A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

1.20 A single disturbance that moves from point to point through a medium is called a ___.

A. Period
B. Periodic wave
C. Wavelength
D. Pulse

QUESTION 2

(a) A transverse wave is found to have a distance of 4 cm from a trough to a crest, a

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 frequency of 12 Hz, and a distance of 5 cm from a crest to the nearest trough.
Determine
(i) the amplitude, [2 marks]
(ii) period, [2 marks]
(iii) wavelength and [2 marks]
(iv) speed of such a wave. [2 marks]

(b) The Fig. 10 shows a wave front pattern in a ripple tank produced by a
vibrating dipper at frequency of 5 Hz. What is the wave speed? [4 marks]

Fig. 10

(b) A Convex mirror has a 20 cm radius of curvature. Find the image distance for the
mirror when the object distance is 6.33 cm. [4 marks]

QUESTION 3

(a) In a Young’s double slit experiment, a light of wavelength 633 nm passes

through two slit which are 0.5 mm apart. Vertical fringes are observed on a
screen placed 4 m from the slits.
(i) Calculate the distance between two adjacent bright fringes. [4 marks]
(ii) What will happen to the distance between two adjacent bright fringes
if a light of shorter wavelength is used? [4 marks]

(b) You hold a shinny tablespoon at arm’s length and look at the back side of the
spoon.
(i) Is the image you see of yourself upright or inverted? [2 marks]
(ii) Is the image enlarged or reduced? [2 marks]
(c) Fig. 11 shows the refraction of a plane water wave when it travels across a
boundary between two regions of different water depths. The frequency of the
wave before refraction is 5 Hz.

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 Fig. 11

Calculate
(i) The speed of the incident wave, [2 marks]
(ii) The frequency of the refracted wave [2 marks]
(iii) the speed of the refracted wave. [2 marks]
(iv) From which region, a deep or a shallow region, does the water wave travel to?
[2 marks]

QUESTION 4

(a) A lens produces a real image that is twice as large as the object and is located 15 cm
from the lens. Find
(i) the object distance [3 marks]
(ii) the focal length of the lens. [3 marks]

(b) A laser bean is reflected by a plane mirror. It is observed that the angle between the
incident and reflected beams is 28o. If the mirror is now rotated so that the angle of
incidence increases by 5o, what is the new angle between the incident and reflected
beams? [4 marks]

(c) One night, while on vacation in Mangochi, you walk to the end of a dock and, for
no particular reason, shine your laser pointer into the water. When you shine the
beam of light on the water a horizontal distance of 2.4 m from the dock, you see a
glint of light from a shiny object on the sandy bottom. If the pointer is 1.8 above the
surface of the water, and the water is 5.5 m deep, what is the horizontal distance
from the end of the dock to the shinny object? Refer to Fig. 12 [10 marks]

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Fig. 12

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 Section B:

THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER

(Answer any two (2) questions from this section)

5 (a)

END OF EXAMINATION PAPER

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