Grade 12: Physics Homework

Due Date: September 23rd (Monday)

Chapter 15: HW Questions

*** NOTE: To get a full mark, show work at all times. You must display the equation and
input the numbers accordingly before writing out the final answer.

You received this homework on September 18th. Submit it back on September 23rd (Monday)
or any day before that. I recommend that you submit it before the due date just in case you
can’t come to school on September 23rd for whatever reason.

Q 1) Light falls on two slits spaced 0.33 mm apart. If the angle between the first dark fringe and
the central maximum is 0.055 degrees, what is the wavelength of light (in nm)?

Q 2) Light passes through a diffraction grating with 3550 lines/cm and forms a first-order
maximum at an angle of 12.07°.

A. What is the wavelength of the light?

B. At what angle will the second maximum appear?

Q 3) A diffraction grating is calibrated by using the 546.1 nm line of mercury vapor. The first-order
maximum is found at an angle of 21.2°. Calculate the number of lines per cm on this grating.

Q 4) How would the interference pattern using blue light compare to that by red light?

Q 5) How does the width of the central region of a single-slit diffraction pattern change as the
wavelength of the light increases?

Q 6) Monochromatic light shines through two different diffraction gratings. The second grating
produces a pattern in which the first-order and second-order maxima are more widely spread
apart. Use this information to tell if there are more or fewer lines per cm in the second grating
than in the first.

Q 7) Why is the resolving power of your eye better at night than during the day?

Q 8) the 546.1 nm line in mercury is measured at an angle of 81 degrees in the third-order

spectrum of a diffraction grating. Calculate the number of lines per cm for the grating.

Q 9) What is the condition required for two waves to undergo destructive interference? Don’t
mention identical wavelength.

Q 10) What are the two things you can do to design a telescope with a high degree of resolution?
Q 11) A diffraction grating used in a spectrometer causes the third-order maximum of blue light
with a wavelength of 490 nm to form an angle of 6.33 degrees from the central maximum. What is
the ruling of the grating in lines/cm?

Q 12) Compare the size of telescopes that use visible light vs. those that use ultraviolet/X-rays.

Q 13) A double-slit apparatus for demonstrating interference is constructed so that the slits are
separated by 15 𝝁m. A first-order fringe for constructive interference appears at an angle of 2.25
degrees from the zeroth-order (central) fringe.

A. What is the wavelength of the light? (in nm).

B. At what angle would the third-order bright fringe appear?

C. At what angle would the third order dark fringe appear?

Q 14) The diameter of the mirror in telescope A is twice that of telescope B. Which has a better
resolving power? What is the factor difference between the two?

Q 15) Telescope A has a mirror of area 80 m2 while telescope B has a mirror of area 20 m2. Which
one is better at resolving things? By what factor are they different?

SAT Question // Q 16) The image to the right shows a two-slit diffraction pattern produced by
monochromatic light with bands 2 cm apart. Which of the following changes would increase the
distance between the bands?

A. Moving the slits closer together

B. Making the light source brighter
C. Moving the slits closer on the screen
D. Increasing the frequency of the light
E. Shortening the wavelength of the light

SAT Question // Q 17) __________________ is

the name given to the phenomenon of waves
passing through a slit and spreading out to fill
the space behind the slit.

SAT Question // Q 18) Discuss the effect of

constructive interference on the brightness of
light waves.

SAT Question // Q 19) Light incident on two narrow slits is used to project an interference pattern
onto a screen. How will the interference pattern change if the distance between the slits is
doubled?
SAT Question // Q 20) Compare the central maximum formed by a single-slit experiment to the
one formed by the double-slit experiment.