Practice PHYS102 Exam 1

Section One
Quantum Mechanics

1. A proton has a precisely known speed v = 3.50 × 105 m s−1 in the positive x direction.

(a) What can we know about the proton’s position along the x-axis?
(b) What is the De Broglie wavelength, λ, of the proton?
(c) The wave function of the free moving proton is of the form:

ψ(x) = Ae−ikx
2π
where k = and A is a constant.
λ
Find the probability density function |ψ(x)|2 of the proton. Explain your result.

2. A photon with an initial wavelength λ0 = 5.00 × 10−11 m is scattered off an electron.

The photon is scattered at an angle φ = 60.0◦ .

Determine the final speed, v, of the electron.

3. A particle has a wave function: √

ψ(x) = 2xe−|x|

(a) Show that this wave function is normalised.

(b) Determine the probability that the particle is located between x = 0.5 and x = 1.5.
(c) Find the expected position, hxi, of the particle. Is this the most probable position?
√
(d) It can be shown that the uncertainty in the particle’s position is ∆x = 3.
What is the minimum uncertainty in the particle’s speed?

You may use the following:

Z
1 2 2
x2 eax dx = x2 eax − 2 xeax + 3 eax + C
a a a
Z
1 3 6 6
x3 eax dx = x3 eax − 2 x2 eax + 3 xeax − 4 eax + C
a a a a

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Practice PHYS102 Exam 1

4. The intensity of electromagnetic radiation from a black body per unit frequency according
the classical theory is given by the Rayleigh-Jeans law:

2πf 2 kB T
I(f, T ) =
c2
This classical law is accurate for low frequencies but deviates significantly from observed
data for the frequencies in the ultraviolet range of frequencies or above.
Max Planck resolved this by introducing Planck’s law:

2πhf 3
I(f, T ) =    
c2 exp khf
BT
− 1

(a) What assumptions did Planck base his theory on?

(b) Show that, for small values of f , Planck’s law reduces to the Rayleigh-Jeans law.
You may use the approximation exp(x) ≈ 1 + x for small values of x.

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Practice PHYS102 Exam 1

Section Two
Subatomic Physics

1. A particle of rest mass m is eliminated by its own antiparticle. The particle and its
antiparticle were initially at rest. Two photons are produced by this interaction.

(a) Why must two photons be produced produced by the elimination?

What direction do the photons travel with respect to each other?
(b) Find an expression for the minimum energy of each photon.

2. A rho meson, initially at rest, decays into two pions.

ρ0 → π + + π −

The rest mass of the particles are listed below.

ρ0 : 775 MeV/c2
π + : 140 MeV/c2
π − : 140 MeV/c2

(a) What force facilitates this decay?

(b) Determine the speed of each pion after the decay.

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Practice PHYS102 Exam 1

Section Three
Electromagnetism

1. Consider the DC circuit below.

Find the circuit currents I1 , I2 , and I3 .

2. Charge is distributed on an infinite plane with uniform surface density σ.
The surface is shown below with a cylindrical Gaussian surface.

(a) Use Gauss’ law to show that the magnitude of the electric field at any point in space
around the plane is:
σ
E=
20
(b) Suppose now we have two parallel planes carrying opposite charges. What is the
magnitude of the electric field at (i) a point between the two plates, and (ii) a point
outside of the two plates?
(c) A parallel plate capacitor has two flat plates, each of area A, separated by a distance s.
Show that the capacitance of such a capacitor is:
0 A
C=
s
State any assumptions in your derivation.

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Practice PHYS102 Exam 1

3. A rod of conducting material, length `, is in a uniform magnetic field of strength B.

The rod rotates about an axis through its end at an angular speed ω.
The rotation axis is parallel to the magnetic field, as shown below.

Find an expression for the potential difference induced across the rod.

4. A resistor with R = 28.0 Ω, a capacitor with C = 1.50 × 10−5 F, and an inductor with
L = 0.720 H are connected in series to an AC supply with a RMS voltage ∆Vrms = 120 V.
The angular frequency of the AC supply is ω = 100π rad s−1 .

(a) Determine the RMS current in the circuit.

(b) Determine the phase angle, φ, between circuit current and supply voltage.
Does current lag or lead voltage?

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Practice PHYS102 Exam 1

Section Four
Classical Mechanics

1. The orbital period of the Earth about the sun is 365 days.
The orbital radius of the Earth is 150 million kilometres.
What is the mass of the sun?

2. According to special relativity, the total energy of an object with rest mass m is:

E = γmc2

and the magnitude of its momentum is:

p = γmv

−1
where γ = 1 − v 2 /c2 2
.
Show that:
E 2 = m2 c4 + p2 c2