PHYSICS PAPER 2 SF 026/2

PSPM SEMESTER 2 SESSION 2014/2015

Answer any six questions.

1 (a) (i) What is meant by electric field strength at a point in an electric field?

The electric force per unit charge

(ii) Determine time constant in a capacitive circuit during discharging.

Time required for the charge on the capacitor Q to decrease to 37 %

of the initial value.
[2 marks]
(b)

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1 shows a charged ball floating vertically above another charged ball
at an equilibrium distance d apart in a test tube.

(i) Sketch the forces acting on the floating ball.

FE

(ii) What is the type of charge on the balls?

Both balls have like charges, positive and negative

(iii) If the charge on each ball is tripled, determine the new equilibrium
distance between the balls in terms of d.

𝑘𝑄𝑞
𝐹𝐸 =
𝑑2
𝐹𝐸 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 = 𝑊 = 𝐹𝐸 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙
𝐾𝑄𝑞 𝐾(3𝑄)(3𝑞)
→ 2
=
𝑑 𝑑′ 2
′
→ 𝑑 = 3𝑑

[5 marks]
(c)

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 2 shows two parallel plate capacitors C1and C2 connected in series

and fully charged by a 6 V battery. The capacitors have the same plate area and
are filled with similar dielectric material. The distance of separation of the plates
for C1 and C2 are 2 mm and 4 mm respectively.

(i) Sketch and label the electric field lines and equipotential surfaces
between the plates of capacitor.
E

V V + Δ𝑉
(ii) Calculate the potential difference across capacitor C2.

Q = CV
Q = Q1 = Q2
𝜀𝐴
𝐶=
𝑑
→ 𝐶 1 𝑉 1 = 𝐶2 𝑉 2
𝜀𝐴 𝜀𝐴
(𝑑 ) 𝑉1 = (𝑑 ) 𝑉2
1 2
V2 = 2V1
V = V1 + V2
𝑉2
6= + 𝑉2
2
V2 = 4V

(iii) Calculate the electric field strength in the region between the plates of
capacitor C1.

𝑉1
𝐸1 =
𝑑1
𝑉2⁄
2
=
𝑑1
2
=
2 × 10−3
= 1000 𝑁 𝐶 −1
 [8 marks]
2 (a)

FIGURE 3

FIGURE 3 shows some of the free electrons inside a section of a cylindrical

copper wire. The wire is connected to an emf source, and the direction of the
electric field, E as indicated in the figure.

(i) Sketch the diagram to show the motions of one free electron, the
directions of drift velocity and the current.

(ii) If the current in the wire is 50 mA, calculate the number of electrons
passing a point in 10 s.

Q = It
= ( 50 × 10−3 ) × 10
= 0.5 C
𝑄
𝑛=
𝑒
0.5
=
1.6 × 10−19
= 3 × 1018

[5 marks]

(b) A battery has an emf of 9 V. The terminal voltage is 8 V when the battery is
connected across a resistor of 5 Ω. Calculate the

(i) current through the resistor

𝑉
𝐼=
𝑅
8
=
5
= 1.6 𝐴

(ii) power dissipated by the resistor

V2
P= R
82
= 5
= 12.8 W
 (iii) internal resistance of the battery.

𝑉 = 𝜀 − 𝐼𝑅
𝜀−𝑉
𝑟 =
𝐼
9−8
=
1.6
= 0.625 Ω
[3 marks]
(c)

FIGURE 4

By referring to FIGURE 4, determine

(i) I1, I2 and I3.

∑ 𝐼𝑖𝑛 = ∑ 𝐼𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝐼3 = 𝐼1 + 𝐼2 eq (1)

Loop 1:

∑𝑉 = 0
18 -25I1 -12 – 16I1 = 0
I1 = 0.15 A

Loop 2:

∑𝑉 = 0

12 – 8I3 = 0
I3 = 0.67 A

∴ From eq 1

I2 = 0.52 A
 (ii) the potential difference across the 18 Ω resistor.

𝑉 = 𝐼3 𝑅18Ω
= 12 V
[7 marks]
3 (a) Sketch the magnetic field lines for a current-carrying

(i) straight wire

(ii) solenoid

[2 marks]

(b) A two turns circular coil was made from a 3 m long wire. Calculate the magnetic
field strength at the center of the coil if it carries 0.5 A current.

1.5
𝑟 = = 0.239
2𝜋
𝜇0 𝑁𝐼
𝐵 =
2𝑟
(4𝜋 × 10−7 )(2)(0.5)
𝐵 =
2 × 0.239
= 2.63 × 10−6 𝑇
[3 marks]
(c)

FIGURE 5

FIGURE 5 shows two wires separated by 12 cm carrying currents of 3.5 A in

opposite directions.

(i) Determine the direction and magnitude of the net magnetic field at
point midway between the wires.
 The direction of the magnetic field is into the page
𝜇0 𝐼
𝐵 =
2𝜋𝑟
Magnetic field due to both current-carrying wires

𝜇0 𝐼𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝜇0 𝐼𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝜇0 (𝐼𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 + 𝐼𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 )

𝐵𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑡 = 𝐵𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 + 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = + =
2𝜋𝑑 2𝜋𝑑 2𝜋𝑑
4𝜋 × 10−7 (3.5 + 3.5)
=
0.12
2𝜋( 2 )
= 2.33 × 10−5 𝑇

(ii) Calculate the magnitude of the net force per unit length experienced by
the wires.
𝐹 𝜇0 𝐼𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝐼𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
=
𝑙 2𝜋𝑑
(4𝜋 × 10−7 )(3.5)(3.5)
=
2𝜋(0.12)
= 2.0 × 10−5 𝑁 𝑚−1
[6 marks]
(d)

FIGURE 6

FIGURE 6 shows an electron travelling in a region of uniform electric and

magnetic fields which are perpendicular to one another. The strength of electric
field and magnetic field are 3.9 × 104 V m-1 and 6.5 × 10-2 T respectively.

(i) Calculate the velocity of electron

𝐸 3.9 × 104
𝑉 = = = 6 × 105 𝑚 𝑠 −1
𝐵 6.5 ×10−2

(ii) Calculate the kinetic energy of electron.

1 1
𝐾𝐸 = 2 𝑚𝑣 2 = 2 (9.11 × 10−31 )(6 × 105 )2 = 1.64 × 10−19 𝐽

(iii) If the electric field is removed, determine the magnitude and direction
of the magnetic force on the electron.
𝐹 = 𝑞𝑣𝐵 = (1.6 × 10−19 )(6 × 105 )(6.5 × 10−2 ) = 6.24 × 10−15 𝑁

Towards the left plate

[4 marks
4 (a) (i) Define magnetic flux.

The product of the magnetic field strength and the area of the coil
perpendicular to the magnetic field.

𝛷 = 𝐵𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠 .

(ii) A 0.2 T magnetic field is directed parallel to the plane of a circular loop
of radius 0.2 m. Calculate the magnetic flux through the loop.
𝜃 = 900
𝜙 = 𝐵𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 = 𝐵𝐴 𝑐𝑜𝑠 900 = 0 𝑊𝑏
[3 marks]
2
(b) (i) A coil of 100 turns and area 0.5 cm is placed in a changing magnetic
field. The rate of change of magnetic field is 1.08 T s-1. Calculate the
induced emf in the coil.
𝑑𝐵
𝜀 = 𝑁𝐴
𝑑𝑡
= 100 × 0.5 × 10−4 × 1.08 = 5.4 × 10−3 𝑉

(ii) A coil of N turns with an area 6.8 × 10-2 m2 is rotating at frequency

90 Hz in a uniform magnetic field 0.28 T. If the maximum induced emf
in the coil is 128.5 V, calculate the value of N.
𝜀𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑁𝐵𝐴𝜔
𝜀𝑚𝑎𝑥 128.5
𝑁 = = = 12
𝐵𝐴(2𝜋𝑓) (0.28)(6.8 × 10−2 )(2𝜋 × 90)
[5 marks]

(c) A solenoid of radius 5 cm has 200 turns and length of 15 cm. Calculate the

(i) inductance.

𝜇0 𝑁 2 𝐴 (4𝜋×10−7 )(200)2 (0.052 𝜋)

𝐿 = = = 2.6 𝑚𝐻
𝑙 0.15

(ii) rate at which current must change for it to produce an induced emf of
50 mV.
𝑑𝐼
|𝜀| = 𝐿
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝐼 |𝜀| 50 × 10−3
= = = 19.2 𝐴𝑠 −1
𝑑𝑡 𝐿 2.6 × 10−3
[4 marks]

(d) Two coaxial coils are wound around the same cylindrical core. The primary coil
has 350 turns and the secondary has 200 turns. When the current in the primary
coil is 6.5 A, the average flux through each turn of the secondary coil is
0.018 Wb. Calculate the

(i) mutual inductance of the pair of coils.

𝑁2 𝜙2 (200)(0.018)
𝑀 = = = 0.55 𝐻
𝐼1 6.5
 (ii) average flux through each turn of the primary coil when the current in
the secondary coil is 1.5 A.
𝑀𝐼2 (0.55)(1.5)
𝜙1 = = = 2.36 × 10−3 𝑊𝑏
𝑁1 350
[3 marks]

5 (a) An RL series circuit with a 0.056 H inductor and 250 Ω resistor is connected
with a source of peak voltage 240 V at the frequency 200 Hz. Calculate the

(i) inductive reactance of the circuit.\

𝑋𝐿 = 2𝜋𝑓𝐿 = 2𝜋(200)(0.056) = 70.4 Ω

(ii) impedance of the circuit.

𝑍 = √𝑅 2 + 𝑋𝐿 2 = √2502 + 70.42 = 259 .7 Ω

(iii) power factor for this circuit.

𝑅 250
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 = 𝑍 = 259.7 = 0.963

(iv) rms voltage of the source.

𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 240
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 = = = 170 𝑉
√2 √2

(v) average power delivered by the source.

[6 marks]
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 2 1702
𝑃𝑎𝑣𝑔 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 = 259.7 (0.963) = 107.2 𝑊
𝑍

(b) An RLC circuit consist of a 40 Ω resistor, a 22 mH inductor and a 400 nF

capacitor connected in series to the AC source which has a peak voltage of
100 mV and a frequency of 1.6 kHz.

(i) Calculate the capacitive reactance.

1 1
𝑋𝑐 = = = 248.7 Ω
2𝜋𝑓𝐶 2𝜋(1600)(400 × 10−9 )

(ii) Calculate the rms current.

𝑋𝐿 = 2𝜋𝑓𝐿 = 2𝜋(1600)(22 × 10−3 ) = 221.2 Ω

𝑍 = √𝑅 2 + (𝑋𝐿 − 𝑋𝐶 )2 = √402 + (221.2 − 248.7)2 = 48.5Ω
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑉0 (100 × 10−3 )
𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 = = = = 1.46 × 10−3 𝐴
𝑍 𝑍√2 48.5√2

(iii) Determine the phase angle.

𝑋𝐿 −𝑋𝐶 221.2−248.7
𝜑 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ( ) = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ( ) = −34.50
𝑅 40
 (iv) Sketch the phasor diagram to represent the voltages across the
components and the source.

VL

VR

34.50
VC Vs

All labelled Vc , VR , VL
Angle correct
Labelled VS
[9 marks]
6 (a) (i) Write the lens maker equation and explain the sign convention used for
the radii of curvatures.
1 1 1
= (𝑛 − 1)( − )
𝑓 𝑟1 𝑟2
r +ve for convex surface or r –ve for concave surface
(ii)

FIGURE 7

FIGURE 7 shows a converging lens made of material with refractive

index 2.26. One of the surface of the lens is plane and the other has a
radius of curvature of 14.5 cm. Determine the focal length of the lens.

𝑟1 = ∞ ; 𝑟2 = −14.5 𝑐𝑚
1 1 1
= (2.26 − 1)( − ) → 𝑓 = 11.6 𝑐𝑚
𝑓 ∞ −14.5
[4 marks]

(b) A diverging lens has a focal length f. An object is placed at position 2f from the
lens. Sketch a labeled ray diagram to determine the characteristics of the image.

[5 marks]
 (c) A double-slit pattern is viewed on a screen 1 m from the slits. If the third order
minimum are 20 cm apart, determine the

(i) ratio of wavelength to separation between the slits.

0.2
𝑥3 = = 0.1 𝑚
2
1 𝜆𝐷 1 𝜆𝐷
𝑥𝑚 = (𝑚 + )( ) → 𝑥3 = (3 + )( )
2 𝑑 2 𝑑
𝜆 2(0.1)
= = 2.9 × 10−2
𝑑 7(1.0)

(ii) distance between the first order minimum and third order maximum on
the screen.
First order min
1 𝜆𝐷
𝑥1 = (1 + )( )
2 𝑑
Third order max
𝑚𝜆𝐷 3𝜆𝐷
𝑦𝑚 = ( ) → 𝑦3 = ( )
𝑑 𝑑
Δ𝑑 = 𝑦3 − 𝑦1
3𝜆𝐷 3𝜆𝐷
= ( ) −( )
𝑑 2𝑑
3 𝜆
= 𝐷( )
2 𝑑
3
= (1)(2.9 × 10−2 )
2
= 4.35 𝑐𝑚
[6 marks]

7 (a) Calculate the number of photon per second in a red laser beam with wavelength
700 nm and 1 mW power.
𝐸 = 𝑃𝑡
ℎ𝑐
𝐸𝑝ℎ =
𝜆
𝑃𝑡 𝑃𝑡𝜆
𝐸 = 𝑃𝑡 = 𝑛𝐸𝑝ℎ → 𝑛 = =
𝐸𝑝ℎ ℎ𝑐
−3 −9
(10 )(1)(700 × 10 )
=
(6.63 × 10−34 )(3 × 108 )
= 3.52 × 1015 𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑠 −1
[3 marks]

(b) State TWO (2) features of the photoelectron which cannot be explained using
the classical theory in a photoelectric experiment.

Photoelectrons are created by absorption of a single photon

Photoelectrons are emitted almost instantaneously
KE max increases with increasing frequency
[2 marks]
(c ) When light of wavelength 400 nm falls on a lithium surface in a photoelectric
experiment, electrons having a maximum kinetic energy of 0.8 eV are emitted.
Calculate the

(i) energy of the incident photon ( in eV ).

ℎ𝑐 6.63 × 10−34
𝐸= = −9
= 4.97 × 10−19 𝐽
𝜆 400 × 10
4.97×10−19
𝐸= = 3.1 𝑒V
𝑒

(ii) maximum speed of the electrons.

1 2𝑘𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐾𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑚𝑒 𝑣 2 → 𝑣 = √
2 𝑚𝑒

2(0.8)(1.6 × 10−19 )
=√
9.11 × 10−31
= 5.3 × 105 𝑚𝑠 −1

(iii) stopping potential of the surface.

𝐾𝑚𝑎𝑥 0.8
𝐾𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑒𝑉𝑠 → 𝑉𝑠 = = = 0.8 𝑉
𝑒 𝑒

(iv) work function of lithium(in eV).

𝐾𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐸 − 𝑊 → 𝑊 = 𝐸 − 𝐾𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 3.1 − 0.8 = 2.3 𝑒𝑉

(v) threshold frequency of lithium.

𝑊
𝑊 = ℎ𝑓0 → 𝑓0 =
ℎ
(2.3)(1.6 × 10−19 )
𝑓0 = −34
= 5.55 × 1014 𝐻𝑧
6.63 × 10
[7 marks]

(d) (i) State the de Broglie relation for momentum of a particle with its
associated wavelength.

ℎ
𝜆 = 𝑝 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑

(ii) An athlete of mass 65 kg takes 12 s to finish a 100 m race ia a sport

event. Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of the athlete.
ℎ 6.63 × 10−34
𝜆 = = = 1.22 × 10−36 𝑚
𝑚𝑣 100
(65)( 12 )
[3 marks]
8 (a) Iodine-131 is among the radioactive isotopes leaked from the crippled
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the 2011 T𝑜̃hoku earthquake and
tsunami in Japan. The half-life of the Iodine-131 nucleus is 8.0197 days. If a
sample initially contains 3.00 × 1016 iodine -131 nuclei, calculate the

(i) decay constant.

𝑙𝑛 2 𝑙𝑛 2
𝜆= →𝜆=
𝑇1⁄ 8.0197
2
= 8.6 × 10−2 𝑑𝑎𝑦 −1
= 3.6 × 10−3 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 −1
= 1.0 × 10−6 𝑠 −1
(ii) initial activity.
𝐴0 = 𝜆𝑁0 = (1.0 × 10−6 )(3 × 1016 ) = 3 × 1010 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑦 𝑠 −1

(iii) activity after 20 days.

−6
𝐴 = 𝐴0 𝑒 −𝜆𝑡 = (3 × 1010 )𝑒 −(1.0×10 )(20×24×3600)
= 5.33 × 109 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑦 𝑠 −1
[5 marks]
(b) A nuclear reaction represented by the following equation

21
10Ne + 42He → 24
12Mg + 10n

Given the following information :

21
10Ne = 20.993 849 u
4
2He = 4.002 603 u
24
12Mg = 23.985 042 u

(i) Explain whether the reaction is a fusion or fission reaction.

Fusion reaction. Two nuclei fuse to become one nucleus.

(ii) Calculate the mass defect.

Δ𝑚 = (𝑚𝑚𝑔 + 𝑚𝑛 ) − (𝑚𝑁𝑒 + 𝑚𝐻𝑒 )
= |23.985042 + 1.008665 − (20.993849 + 4.002603)|
= 0.002745 𝑢

(ii) Calculate the energy released in the reaction.

𝐸 = 0.002745 𝑢 × 931.5 𝑀𝑒𝑉 = 2.56 𝑀𝑒𝑉
[5 marks]
(c) The energy radiated by the sun is from the fusion reaction of deuterium atoms.

(i) Explain why the fusion of deuterium atom happens in the sun but not
in the earth.

The temperature in the sun is extremely high greater than 108 K

compared to the highest attainable temperature on earth. Huge amount
of deuterium atom in the sun. Therefore in the sun deuterium atoms have
sufficient energy to overcome the coulomb repulsion between the
deuterium nuclei.

(ii) Write an equation to represent the fusion of deuterium atom.

2
1𝐻 + 21𝐻 → 32𝐻𝑒 + 10𝑛 or 21𝐻 + 21𝐻 → 42𝐻𝑒

[5 marks]

END OF QUESTION PAPER