EXAM 1

WAVES, OPTICS AND MODERN PHYSICS

15% of the final mark

Autumn 2021 Name: ___________________________

Each multiple-choice question is worth 3 marks.

1. A mass-spring system starts to oscillate because someone gave a certain speed

to the mass when it was at the equilibrium position (x = 0). How does the period
and the amplitude change if the person does the same thing again, but with a
greater initial speed?

The period __________________ (increases, decreases or stays the same)

The amplitude __________________ (increases, decreases or stays the same)

2. The diagram illustrates the trajectory of a light ray successively crossing three
refractive media with index ݊ଵ , ݊ଶ and
݊ଷ . What should we conclude about
refractive indices?

___ % a) n3 < n2 < n1

___ % b) n3 < n1 < n2
___ % c) n2 < n1 < n3
___ % d) n1 < n3 < n2

3. A wave is travelling along a rope. Here is the picture of this wave at a certain time.
If the wave moves towards the right,
which of the 4 pieces of string shown in
the diagram has a velocity directed
upwards at that instant?

Answer(s): ___________________
 Exam 1 – Waves, Optics and Modern Physics

4. The two mass-spring systems

shown in the diagram oscillate
with the same amplitude on a
frictionless surface.

Which system has the greatest mechanical energy? _______ (A, B or the same)

What mass at the greatest maximum speed? _______ (A, B or the same)

5. In situation A, a source moves at 20 m/s towards a stationary observer. In situation

B, an observer moves at 20 m/s towards a stationary source. In both cases, the
speed of sound is identical and there is no wind. In which situation is the frequency
heard by the observer the greatest?

___ % a) A
___ % b) B
___ % c) It is the same in both situations.

6. A wave travels along a string A and another wave travels along a string B. Both
waves have the same frequency and the strings have the same linear mass μ. The
following graphs show the shape of these waves at a certain instant.

Wave on string A

Wave on string B

Which wave has the greatest speed? _______ (A, B or the same)

Which wave has the greatest power? _______ (A, B or the same)
 Exam 1 – Waves, Optics and Modern Physics

7. A sound wave passes from one medium to another. What must be the link between
the impedances of the media if we want the reflected wave and the transmitted
wave to have the same amplitude?

___ % a) We must have Z 2 = Z1 .

___ % b) We must have Z 2 = 2Z1 .
___ % c) We must have Z 2 = 3Z1 .
___ % d) We must have Z 2 = 4Z1 .
___ % e) We must have Z 2 = 0 and Z1 = ∞ .
___ % f) This can never happen.

8. The oscillation of this mass-spring system is started by giving a negative velocity

to the mass while the spring is neither stretched nor compressed. What is the value
of the phase constant in the equation y = A sin (ωt + φ)?

___ % a) 0
___ % b) π/4
___ % c) π/2
___ % d) 3π/4
___ % e) π
___ % f) 5π/4
___ % g) 3π/2
___ % h) 7π/4

9. Here are 2 situations.

A: A beam of non-polarized light with an intensity of 5 W/m² passes through

10 polarizers. The polarization axis of each polarizer is rotated 10° relative to
the previous polarizer.

B: A beam of non-polarized light with an intensity of 5 W/m² passes through

91 polarizers. The polarization axis of each polarizer is rotated 1° relative to the
previous polarizer.

In which situation is the light intensity the greatest after the light has passed
through the last polarizer?

___ % a) Situation A.
___ % b) Situation B.
___ % c) The intensity is the same in both situations.
 Exam 1 – Waves, Optics and Modern Physics

10. A light beam is directed towards two perpendicular mirrors as shown in the
diagram. The incident beam makes an angle of 56° with one of the faces. With
what angle θ does the beam emerge?

___ % a) 28°
___ % b) 34°
___ % c) 56°
___ % d) 112°
___ % e) None of these answers

Answers

1: stays the same, increases 2c 3: a only 4: B, the same 5a

6: A,A 7c 8e 9b 10c
 Exam 1 – Waves, Optics and Modern Physics

11. (20 points)

A pendulum begins its motion with an angle of 5° and no

velocity.

a) What is the period of this pendulum?

b) What is the maximum speed of this pendulum?
c) What is the speed of the pendulum when the angle is 1°?
d) What is the first instant at which the pendulum is at θ = 0°?

Answers: a) 2.838 s b) 0.3863 m/s c) 0.3785 m/s d) 0.7096 s.

12. (15 points)

It’s Rivière-du-Loup’s big firecracker festival, and people love it when the explosions
are really loud. If a firecracker produces a sound intensity of 90 dB at a distance of
5 m when it explodes, how many firecrackers must be exploded at the same time
to produce an intensity of 100 dB at a distance of 500 m?

Answer: 100 000 firecrackers

 Exam 1 – Waves, Optics and Modern Physics

13. (15 points)

A beam of light travelling in medium 1 arrives at the interface with medium 2. The
angles of reflection and refraction when the angle of incidence is 40° are shown in
the diagram. What should be the angle of incidence of
the light to have a totally polarized reflected beam of
light?

(Medium 1 is not necessarily air and medium 2 is not

necessarily water.)

Answer: 56.68°

14. (20 points)

The full curve shows a wave on a string at t = 0 s. The dash curve (shifted by 0.8 m
compared to the first) shows the wave at t = 0.1 s. The tension of the rope is 100 N.

a) What is the speed of this wave?

b) What is the power of this wave?
c) What is the speed of the rope at x = 10 m and t = 0.1 s?

Answer: a) 8 m/s b) 0.3948 W c) 0.07766 m/s