Solutions to 2003 CAP High School Exam

Part A where m0 is the mass of a 38 K ion and K = m0 v02 /2.

Then
1 (c) 2 (b) 3 (b) 4 (d) 5 (a)
s
6 (a) 7 (a) 8 (d) 9 (a) 10 (a) E 2(2.0 × 104 eV)(1.6 × 10−19 C)
11 (b) 12 (b) 13 (c) 14 (c) 15 (d) =
B 6.3 × 10−26 kg
16 (a) 17 (c) 18 (a) 19 (d) 20 (a)
21 (c) 22 (c) 23 (a) 24 (c) 25 (d) = 3.2 × 105 m/s

Note that this value is much smaller than the speed of

Part B light, consistent with our ignoring relativistic effects.
(b) In this case, the uniform magnetic field B 2 directed into
Problem 1
the page, as shown in the figure below, exerts a cen-
(a) As shown in the figure below, we can use a uniform elec- tripetal force F 2 on incoming ions, giving them a circu-
tric field, E, directed downward in the plane of the lar trajectory of radius R. It does not change their energy
page, and a uniform magnetic field, B 1 , directed into (and speed) since magnetic fields do no work. The di-
the page. (E directed upward and B 1 out of the page rection of deflection of the ions is determined from the
will also work.) right-hand rule applied to F 2 = ev 0 × B 2 .

38
K
FM ⊗B1
R
v
FE E F2
v0
⊗B2
(1) Velocity
Selector
(2) Mass Separator

Since the alkali ions all have positive charge e, they ex-
perience Since v 0 and B 2 are perpendicular, we have F2 =
ev0 B2 . Using the general expression for a centripetal
• an electric force F E = eE, directed downward in force, F2 = mv02 /R, where m is the mass of an ion,
the plane of the page; we obtain mv0
• a magnetic force F M = ev ×B 1 , where v is the ve- R =
eB2
locity of an ion. From the right-hand rule for vector
products, it is directed upward in the plane of the All incoming ions having the same speed, to each ionic
page; for v directed to the right, the magnitude of mass in the beam will correspond one value of R in a
F M is simply evB. given magnetic field. If only 38 K ions are to have a tra-
jectory with radius of curvature R0 , we should use a field
For a given velocity v 0 , there exist magnitudes of E and r
B 1 such that the magnetic and electric forces balance mv0 1 2m0 K0
B2 = =
each other. This condition is achieved when F E = −F M , eR0 R0 e2
or eE = ev0 B1 . Then all ions which have speed
With the data supplied, we have
E
v0 =
s
B 1 2K0 (eV)
B2 = K0 in eV!
R0 e/m0
when they enter the velocity selector will not be de- s
flected. Ions with other speeds will be deflected and can 1 2(2.0 × 104 eV)
be extracted from the initial beam. Only the ratio E/B is =
2.1 m (1.6 × 10−19 C)/(6.3 × 10−26 kg)
determined by the condition:
= 0.060 T
r
E 2K0
=
B m0
Canadian Association of Physicists Prize Exam
Problem 2
If the high tides in the Bay of Fundy are caused by a reso-
nance mechanism, it must be because the tidal forces from
the Moon driving seawater in and out of the bay are exciting
one of its standing-wave modes. The rise and fall of the tide
can be modelled by a wave with extremely long wavelength
propagating on the water. The boundary conditions at the
mouth and the far end of the bay mimic those of a standing
wave on a string with on end fixed (mouth), where the ver-
tical displacement is minimum, and the other free (far end),
where displacement is maximum. This mode would have a
wavelength λ = 4L, where L is the length of the string or,
here, the length of the bay: L = 260 km.
With v = 25 m/s the speed of the waves, their period is
λ 4L
T = = the Sun) can be satisfied for a value of ω equal to the
v v
4(2.60 × 105 m)
= = 4.16 × 104 s
25 m/s
= 11.6 hours
Now we expect the period of the tides to be about 12.4 hours.
Indeed, if the Moon had a fixed position with respect to the
Earth, the two tidal bulges (high tides) on Earth would move
in the direction opposite the Earth’s rotation with one passing
through a given position every 12 hours. But the Moon moves
in its own orbit with the Earth’s rotation with an average pe-
riod of about 29 days, ie. 6.2◦ in the sky every 12 hours or
720 minutes. Therefore, it takes 25 minutes for the Moon to
cover that angular distance, and this increases the tidal period
to 12.4 hours.
We have found that the period with which the water sloshes
back and forth in the bay due to the Moon’s tidal force is com-
parable to the period of the fundamental resonance mode for
our admittedly crude model of the Bay of Fundy. Given the
approximations involved, this is quite a good match, and it
is likely that this resonance mechanism can explain why the
tides are amplified.
Problem 3
(a) We are looking for a configuration where the telescope,
the Earth and the Sun maintain the same relative posi-
tions in a coordinate system rotating at constant angular
velocity ω. In other words, in that rotating system, the
telescope has the following net acceleration:
 
2 GM1 GM2
a = ω x − ±
x2 (R ± x)2
where the + sign is to be used when x > R and the − sign
when x < R. (Technical point: since we are working in
the non-inertial frame rotating with angular velocity ω,
an extra pseudo-acceleration (Coriolis) term dependent
on dx/dt should also be present. With our assumption
of a circular orbit, however, dx/dt = 0, and the Coriolis
term does not contribute.)
The condition that a vanishes then reads
GM1 GM2
ω2 x = 2
±
x (R ± x)2
2003
(b) Using Kepler’s Third Law, GM1 = ω 2 R3 , and introduc-
ing the parameter α ≡ M2 /M1 , we can eliminate ω 2 and
M1 :
R3 α R3
x = 2 ±
x (R ± x)2
Multiplying by x2 /R3 and rearranging yields, with u ≡
x/R:
α u2
u3 − 1 = ±
(1 ± u)2
(c) From the result in (a), there should be a point L1 on the
axis between the Earth and the Sun where the condition
that the centrifugal acceleration ω 2 x1 equals the net grav-
itational acceleration (which is smaller than that due to
Earth’s, so that x1 < R. Since the mass of the Earth is
over 300 000 times smaller than the Sun’s, L1 should not
be very far from Earth. It is actually 1.5 million km away,
one hundred times closer than the Sun.
Conversely, the same condition will be satisfied at a point
L2 a bit further than the Earth’s orbit, where this time
the gravitational attractions of Sun and Earth add, so that
x2 > R. L2 should be (and is) at about the same distance
from the Earth’s orbit as L1.
Finally, at a point L3 on the other side of Sun, the condi-
tion is also satisfied where the gravitational acceleration
due to the Sun’s and the Earth’s gravity reinforcing each
other equals ω 2 x3 . Since Earth is much further from L3
than from L2, L3 should be much closer to R than L2. It
is a good place to hide from Earth.
ω
R
L3 L1 L2
× × ×
M1 M2 x
(d) The point labelled L2 in the figure will be suitable for the
telescope. A heat screen attached to the telescope will
shield it from heat radiated by both Earth and Sun since
they are always aligned as viewed from L2, leaving the
rest of the sky unobstructed for observation.
(e) Since the system shown in the figure is symmetric about
the x axis, Lagrange points off the axis must come in
pairs. So the minimum number is two. In fact, Lagrange
found one pair of solutions off the axis, for a total of five.
2