Name _________________________________

Student Number _________________________________

PHYSICS 1A03 Final Examination Version 1 Dr. Kari Dalnoki-Veress,

Dr. Alan Chen,
Dr. Christine Wilson
DAY CLASS
DURATION OF FINAL EXAMINATION: 2.5 Hours
MCMASTER UNIVERSITY, April 13, 2017

THIS EXAMINATION PAPER INCLUDES 17 PAGES AND 30 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS. YOU
ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT YOUR COPY OF THE PAPER IS COMPLETE. BRING
ANY DISCREPANCY TO THE ATTENTION OF YOUR INVIGILATOR.

No books, notes, or other aids are permitted.

• Mark the version number of this exam on the scantron sheet in the version column (see above).
• If you do not have a 9 digit student number, please put zeros in front of your number i.e. 00xxxxxxx.
• You must be prepared to show your student card to the exam invigilators.
• Circle the correct answer on this exam paper AND on the computer-readable scan sheet.
• There is only one correct answer for each question, no penalty for guessing a wrong answer.
• Return this paper with your answer sheet.
• A formula sheet is included with this exam paper (Last Page) as well as extra pages for scrap. These
may be removed but must be handed in with your exam.
• By writing this examination you agree to be bound by the Senate policy on Academic Dishonesty.
• All portable communication devices must be off during tests.
• Only the McMaster standard calculator (Casio fx-991) is allowed.
___________________________________________________________________
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2. Mark your student number in the space provided and fill in the corresponding bubble numbers
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the question number on the test paper.

4. Pay particular attention to the Marking Directions on the form

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Make absolutely sure to fill out the bubble in the version column appropriate for your version of the
final exam.

1. How many significant figures should be written in the sum of:

9440.439 kg + 9.032 kg + 4.5 kg + 1680.007 kg?

A. 2
B. 3
C. 5
D. 6
E. 8

2. Suppose A = (13pC)/B2, where A has dimension [M2/L] and B has dimension [L/T2]. What is the dimension
of C?

A. [T2/M]
B. [MT]
C. [L/MT]
D. [M2/T2]
E. [LM2/T4]

3. How many times does a person blink in a typical lifetime?

A. 5 x 105
B. 5 x 108
C. 5 x 1011
D. 5 x 1014
E. 5 x 1016

4. For the formula given, which relationship, when plotted on a graph, would yield a straight line?
AT 3
C=
15Q
A. a plot of 1/Q vs. C (A, T held constant)
B. a plot of A vs. T3 (Q, C held constant)
C. a plot of A vs. 1/Q (C, T held constant)
D. a plot of T vs. C (Q, A held constant)
E. a plot of Q vs. T (C, A held constant)

5. A box is sitting in the back of a truck. The truck is accelerating towards the north without the box slipping.
The direction of the friction force exerted on the box by truck is:

A. To the east
B. To the west
C. To the south
D. To the north
E. Since the box is not slipping, there is no friction

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6. You wish to move a heavy box on a rough floor. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the box and the
floor is 0.9. What is the best way to reduce the force of friction between the box and the floor while the box
is moving?

A. Push or pull the box with a force parallel to the floor.

B. Pull the box with a force directed up at an angle of 30° from the horizontal.
C. Push the box with a force directed down at an angle of 30° from the horizontal.
D. The coefficient of friction does not change so the force of kinetic friction acting on the block must be
constant.
E. Both B and C result in the same force of friction.

7. Which of the following is the most correct acceleration-time graph for the position-time graph given?

E. Either C or D could be the correct acceleration-time graph.

8. Two objects are moving to the right. Object 1 catches up with object 2 and collides with it. The objects stick
together and continue with velocity vf. Which of these statements is true?

A. vf = v1
B. vf < v2
C. vf > v1
D. v1 > vf > v2
E. It is not possible to decide without knowing the masses.

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9. Two balls are shot off a rooftop at the same time. They have the same
initial speed, and same angle from the horizontal, but opposite directions
as shown. (The vertical component of the velocity is the same, and the
horizontal components differ only by a negative sign). What can you say
about how the total separation between the two balls changes as a
function of time? [Assume air resistance is negligible]

A. The separation between the balls increases, but the rate is not constant.
B. The separation between the balls decreases, but the rate is not constant.
C. The separation between the balls increases at a constant rate.
D. The separation between the balls decreases at a constant rate.
E. The separation between the balls remains constant as they fall.

10. Einswine loves a good physics experiment and decides to demonstrate some concepts by jumping out of an
airplane. He jumps out of the airplane and after free falling for a few seconds opens his parachute and
descends safely to the ground at a constant velocity. Which is the correct free body diagram during the
descent to the ground, with the parachute open?

A. B. C. D. E.

11. A rock is kicked from ground level at an 80 degree angle above the horizontal. The vertical component of
the velocity is 15.0 m/s upwards. The rock lands in a hole that is 20.0 m below ground level. How long is
the rock in the air, from the instant it is kicked until it hits the bottom of the hole?

A. 0.30 s
B. 4.1 s
C. 6.7 s
D. 9.8 s
E. cannot be determined since only the vertical component of the velocity was provided.

12. A man pulls a 100 N crate up a frictionless hill with a slope of 30o. The crate is raised by 5 m as shown.
Assuming the crate moves at constant speed, the work done by gravity is:

A. -500 J
B. 500 J
C. -250 J
D. 250 J
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 E. 0 J

13. Two blocks, connected by a massless string over a frictionless, massless pulley, slide along the frictionless
ramp shown in the diagram. What is the tension in the string?

A. 6.7 N
B. 24 N
C. 28 N
D. 37 N
E. 42 N

14. Einswine (mass 2M) slides down a ramp and collides with Physics Girl (mass M), taking her for a ride.
Calculate their final speed together, if Einswine’s initial height is h = 30 m.

A. 13.2 m/s
B. 16.2 m/s
C. 19.8 m/s
D. 27.4 m/s
E. Need to know M

15. Cart A is travelling at 3 m/s (south) and Cart B is travelling at 6 m/s (north). After they collide Cart A has a
velocity of 6 m/s (north). What type of collision has occurred if Cart A and Cart B have the same mass?

A. Elastic
B. Inelastic
C. Perfectly inelastic
D. Bouncy
E. This collision is not physically possible

16. Image 1 shows a diffraction pattern for light of wavelength λ1 passing through a single slit of width w1.
What needs to be changed to the experimental setup to create the diffraction pattern shown in image 2?

image 1 image 2

A. increase the frequency of the light

B. increase the slit width
C. decrease the wavelength of light
D. increase the wavelength of light
E. Either B or D would create the pattern shown in image 2

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17. Two similar pulses on a string with opposite orientations approach each other at speeds of 1 m/s.

Which of the following best represents the shape of the pulse 4s later?

18. A transverse wave on a string is described by y(x,t) = A cos(ωt + kx). It arrives at the point x = 0 where the
string is fixed in place. Which function describes the reflected wave?

A. y(x,t) = A cos(ωt + kx)

B. y(x,t) = A cos(ωt – kx)
C. y(x,t) = –A cos(ωt + kx)
D. y(x,t) = A cos(ωx + kt)
E. y(x,t) = –A cos(ωt – kx)

19. A pipe, open at both ends, has a frequency of 150 Hz while vibrating in the mode shown in the figure below.
The fundamental frequency of the pipe is:

A. 25 Hz
B. 50 Hz
C. 100 Hz
D. 150 Hz
E. 450 Hz

20. A standing wave on a string vibrates as shown. Suppose the mass density is quadrupled (made four times
larger) while the frequency, the tension, and the length of the string are held constant. Which standing wave
pattern is produced?

A. B. C. D. page
E. 6 of 18
21. At t = 0, two traveling pulses are created on either end of a string, as shown in the graph of displacement vs.
position (snapshot diagram) below. The pulses are identical and travel toward each other with the same
speed. Which of the sketches of position as a function of time (history diagram) best represents the vertical
displacement of point P in the diagram?

A.
B.

P C.
snapshot diagram D.
E.
22. Two strings, A and B are joined together. A traveling wave is created at the
far end of A and travels through the string combination to the history diagram far end of B.
A snapshot of the wave is shown below.

A B

What can you conclude from the diagram?

A. The linear mass density of B is smaller than the linear mass density of A.
B. The linear mass density of B is greater than the linear mass density of A.
C. The frequency of the wave on B is greater than the frequency on A.
D. The frequency of the wave on B is smaller than the frequency on A.
E. The velocity of the wave on B is smaller than the velocity of the wave on A.

23. An experimental way to tune a soda bottle is to compare its

frequency with that of a 360 Hz tuning fork. Initially, a beat
frequency of 6 Hz is heard. As a small amount of water is
added to that already present, the beat frequency increases
steadily to 8 Hz. What are the initial and final frequencies
of the bottle?

A. 354 Hz, 368 Hz

B. 366 Hz, 352 Hz
C. 354 Hz, 352 Hz
D. 363 Hz, 364 Hz
E. 366 Hz, 368 Hz

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24. In a Young’s double slit experiment like the one shown to the right, if
everything else were held constant, which of the following changes
would increase the separation between adjacent maxima on the screen?

A. Increase the frequency, f, of the incident light

B. Increase the index of the refraction, n, of the medium in which
the setup is immersed.
C. Decrease the separation between the slits, d.
D. Decrease the distance to the screen, L.
E. None of the above.

25. A pair of thin slits is illuminated with a red laser emitting light at 650 nm. On a screen 1.5 m behind the
slits, the separation of the bright fringes is 12 mm. What is the distance between the two slits?
(1 nm = 10-9 m, 1 µm = 10-6 m)

A. 36 µm
B. 54 µm
C. 81 µm
D. 520 µm
E. 970 µm

26. A glass slide is covered with an anti-reflective coating which is meant to minimize the reflection of green
light (l = 510 nm). If the index of refraction of the glass is 1.5 and the index of refraction of coating is 1.2,
what is the minimum thickness of the coating? Note, you can ignore the reflection from the glass/air
interface.

A. 170 nm
B. 106 nm
C. 128 nm
D. 213 nm
E. 85.0 nm

27. A stationary diver has tied himself to the bottom of a pond with a rope. If his body has a density of
900 kg/m3, a mass of 100 kg, a volume of 0.111 m3, and the water has a density of 1000 kg/m3, what is the
tension in the rope?

A. 0N
B. 11 N
C. 110 N
D. 980 N
E. 1100 N

page 8 of 18
28. The plug for the drain of a water reservoir is located 3.0 m below the surface. The plug is circular and has a
diameter of 5.0 cm. If the density of water is 1000 kg/m3, how much force is required to remove the plug
(you may ignore the weight of the plug itself)?

A. 58 N
B. 200 N
C. 260 N h = 3.0 m
D. 29,000 N
E. 35,000 N
4m
29. When a straw is dipped into a cup filled with water you notice that the water level inside the straw is raised
by a value h above the water level in the cup. If a droplet of water is placed on a flat surface made from the
same material as the straw which of the following are you most likely to observe?

D. Any of the above cases is possible.

E. Depends on the diameter of the straw.

30. A strangely shaped bottle is designed to test pressure in various locations within it. A liquid partially fills
the bottle to the level indicated. Rank the positions labeled a to e from the lowest to highest pressure.

a e

b
c d

A. a<e<b<c=d
B. a=e<b<c=d
C. a=e<b=c=d
D. c=d<b<a=e
E. b < c = d, and a and e are lower than the others but the order cannot be known from the diagram.

THIS IS THE END OF EXAM QUESTIONS

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 Formula Sheet for Physics 1A03

Constants Δ𝐸
𝑃= = 𝐹⃗ ∙ 𝑣⃗
𝜌"#$ = 1.29kg/m3 Δ𝑡
Patm = 1.013 x 105Pa
g = 9.81m/s2
Area and Volume Momentum
𝐴 = 𝜋𝑟 ) , 𝐴 = 4𝜋𝑅) , 𝐴 = 2𝜋𝑅) 𝑝⃗ = 𝑚𝑣⃗
4 𝐽⃗ = 𝐹⃗"pd Δ𝑡 = △ 𝑝⃗
𝑉 = 𝜋𝑅0 , 𝑉 = 𝜋𝑅) ℎ
3 ∑𝑝⃗# = ∑𝑝⃗P
Other Waves, sound, light
𝑦(𝑥, 𝑡) = 𝐴 cos (𝑘𝑥 ± 𝜔𝑡)
−𝑏 ± √𝑏) − 4𝑎𝑐 𝑦(𝑥, 𝑡) = 𝐴 sin (𝑘𝑥 ± 𝜔𝑡)
𝑥=
2𝑎 𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓 = 2𝜋/𝑇 𝑇 = 1⁄𝑓
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑘 = 2𝜋/𝜆 𝑐 = 𝑓𝜆 = 𝜔/𝑘 𝑐 = x𝑇⁄𝜇
sin 𝜃 = ∆𝐸 1 ) )
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑃= = 𝜇𝜔 𝐴 𝑐
∆𝑡 2
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡
cos 𝜃 = 2𝐿 𝑛𝑐
ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝜆k = , 𝑓k = , 𝑛 = 1,2,3,∙∙∙
𝑛 2𝐿
𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒
tan 𝜃 = 4𝐿 𝑛𝑐
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝜆k = , 𝑓k = , 𝑛 = 1,3,5,∙∙∙
𝑛 4𝐿
sin) 𝜃 + cos) 𝜃 = 1 𝑓|d"} = |𝑓) − 𝑓R |
Kinematics 𝑐k = 𝑐/𝑛 𝜆k = 𝜆/𝑛 𝑛) sin 𝜃} = 𝑛R sin 𝜃#
R
𝑣P = 𝑣# + 𝑎𝑡 Δ𝑥 = 𝑣# 𝑡 + ) 𝑎𝑡 )
𝑣P) − 𝑣#) = 2𝑎Δx 𝑚𝜆k
(𝑣# + 𝑣P ) 2𝑑 = • R
€𝑚 + )• 𝜆k
Δ𝑥 = 𝑡
2 𝑚𝜆
|𝑟) − 𝑟R | = 𝑑 sin 𝜃 = ‚ 1
Forces ƒ𝑚 + „ 𝜆
2
∑ 𝐹⃗ = 𝑚𝑎⃗ 𝐹⃗Z = −𝑘𝑥⃗
fs ≤ 𝜇Z 𝑁 fk = 𝜇^ 𝑁 “low to high, phase shift of π”

Work and Energy Fluids

R
𝐾 = ) 𝑚𝑣 ) 𝑈a = 𝑚𝑔𝑦 𝐹a = 𝑚𝑔 = 𝜌𝑉𝑔 𝐹|…jh = 𝜌e#† 𝑉𝑔
R 𝑃 = 𝐹/𝐴 ∆𝑃 = 𝑃 − 𝑃‡ = 𝜌𝑔ℎ
𝑊 = Δ𝐾 𝑈de = ) 𝑘𝑥 ) 𝑃"|Z = 𝑃a"…ad + 𝑃"}ˆ
𝑊 = 𝐹⃗ ∙ Δ𝑟⃗ = 𝐹Δ𝑟 cos 𝜃 = 𝐹g Δ𝑥 + 𝐹h Δ𝑦
𝑊ijkZ = −Δ𝑈
E = K + 𝑈a + 𝑈Z
Δ𝐸 = 𝐸P − 𝐸# = 𝑊kjkmijkZ

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End

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