PHYS 214 Quiz 2 Practice Quiz © 2020 Penn State University

1. The figure shows an interferometer. What is the general condition for destructive
interference in this device? (Assume m = 0, 1, 2, 3 and that L2 is never larger than L1.)

A) L1 = L2
B) L1 - L2 = ml
C) L1 - L2 = m(l/2)
D) L1 - L2 = (m+1/2)( l/2)
E) L1 - L2 = m(l/4)

2. Two balls are moving toward one another along the x axis in reference frame S.
Reference frame S' has some non-zero velocity relative to S. In S, the initial momentum
ptot in the isolated 2-ball system is 0 kg·m/s. The two balls collide head-on and
inelastically such that after the collision, the two balls are not moving in S. What must be
true about this process in reference frames S and S'?

A) None of the other answers is correct.

B) In S and S', p is conserved and ptot = 0 kg·m/s before and after the collision.
C) In S and S', p is conserved only if p and vframe are aligned.
D) In S and S', p is conserved, but in S' ptot is not 0 kg·m/s.
E) In S, p is conserved but in S' it may not be.

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PHYS 214 Quiz 2 Practice Quiz © 2020 Penn State University

3. A beam of light enters from air (index of refraction nair = 1.0) and enters into clear
solid low-density glass floating in water (nwater = 1.33). You are not told the value of
nglass, the index of refraction of the floating glass. With angles as shown in the figure, if
you are given the incident angle q1 and asked to find the final refraction angle q3, you

A) must know the density of the glass.

B) must first determine nglass to find q2 and then q3.
C) must be given the speed or wavelength of light in the glass.
D) can find q3 without knowing nglass.
E) can use simple geometry to show that q1 = q3.

4. In the figure, which of the ray diagrams for a symmetric diverging lens are correct?
The arrow on the left of the lens is the object, and the two dots are at the focal lengths.
Assume all rays come from the tip of the arrow.

A) C, D, E
B) A, B, C, D
C) A, B, E
D) A, C, D
E) A, C, E

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PHYS 214 Quiz 2 Practice Quiz © 2020 Penn State University

5. A 2.3-cm-tall object is 10 cm in front of a converging lens that has a 25 cm focal

length. The image position is located at:

A) -16.7 cm
B) -15.0 cm
C) +15.0 cm
D) - 6.0 cm
E) +7.1 cm

6. If nwater = 1.33 and nplastic = 1.20, then total internal reflection at an interface
between plastic and water:

A) can never occur at such an interface.

B) occurs whenever light goes from plastic to water.
C) may occur when light goes from water to plastic.
D) may occur when light goes from plastic to water.
E) occurs whenever light goes from water to plastic.

7. An alien spacecraft is near a star when it starts to explode in a supernova. The

spacecraft very quickly starts traveling away from the exploding star at a velocity
v = 1×108 m/s. Looking in its rear-view mirror, at what speed does the alien measure the
radiation from the exploding star approaching its spacecraft? Take the speed of light to be
c = 3×108 m/s

A) v = -(2/3)c
B) v = (2/3)c
C) v = -(1/3)c
D) v = c
E) v = (1/3)c

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PHYS 214 Quiz 2 Practice Quiz © 2020 Penn State University

8. A ball is held 50 cm in front of a plane mirror. The distance between the ball and the
image is:

A) 100 cm
B) 200 cm
C) 50 cm
D) zero
E) 150 cm

9. An object is 30cm in front of a concave mirror with a focal length of 20cm. Find the
image location, orientation and relative size.

A) 40 cm in front of the mirror, inverted, same size.

B) 60 cm behind the mirror, upright, same size.
C) 60 cm in front of the mirror, inverted, twice as large.
D) 40 cm behind the mirror, upright, same size.
E) 12 cm behind the mirror, upright, 0.4 times as large.