VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF APPLIED AND COMPUTER SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

SUBJECT : PHYSICS 1 TEST1

CODE : APFSG 1A

DATE : 26 FEBRUARY 2016

DURATION : 90 MINUTES

EXAMINER : Mr. F.P. NEMALILI, Mr. G.S NKOSI, and

Mr. M.L. MBANDEZI

MODERATOR : Dr. I.Q. SIKAKANA

MARKS:
FULL MARKS : 60

INSTRUCTION:
1. Answer all questions.
2. Question can be answered in any order, but Subsections must be kept together.
3. Non-Programmable calculators may be used.
4. When doing calculations, give the final answer to at least two decimal places.

This question paper consists of 5 - typed pages, including the

Front page.

DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE BEFORE PERMISSION IS GRANTED

 Physics 1 APIFSG 1A Test1 – February 2016

QUESTION 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE [2 x 5 = 10]

Write the correct answer for each of the following in your answer book. (Example 1.1. A)
1.1. What is the distance from the fixed end of a guitar string to the nearest antinode?

A. .
4

B. .
2
C. .
3
D. .
2
E. 2 .

1.2. Which one of the following superpositions will result in beats?

A. The superposition of waves that travel with different speeds
B. The superposition of waves that are identical except for slightly different frequencies.
C. The superposition of identical waves that travel in the same direction
D. The superposition of identical waves that travel in opposite directions
E. The superposition of waves that are identical except for slightly different amplitudes

1.3. The tension in a taut rope is reduced by a factor of 9. How does the speed of wave pulses on
the rope change, if at all?
A. The speed is reduced by a factor of 3.
B. The speed is reduced by a factor of 9.
C. The speed remains the same.
D. The speed is increased by a factor of 3.
E. The speed is increased by a factor of 9.

1.4. When an object is placed 10 cm in front (left) of a lens and the image formed is 5 cm in front
(left) of the lens, the focal length and the magnification is found to be –10 cm and 0.50
respectively. Which of the following is true?
Type of lens Properties of image
A. Diverging Bigger, Upright and Virtual
B. Convex Bigger, Upright and Real
C. Converging Smaller, Inverted and Real
D. Concave Smaller, Upright and Virtual
E. Convex Bigger, Upright and Virtual

1.5. An object is placed at the focal point of concave mirror of focal length f. What is the image
distance?
A. f .
B. 2 f .
1
C. .
f
2
D. .
f
E. At infinite distance.
2
 Physics 1 APIFSG 1A Test1 – February 2016

QUESTION 2: [25]
2.1. State the Principle of linear superposition. [2]

2.2 The figure below shows two graphs that represent a transverse wave on a string.
The wave is moving in the positive x direction.

Use the information provided in the graphs to determine the following:

a. Wavelength [1]
b. Frequency [1]
c. Mathematical expression of the wave [4]

2.3 The mass of a string is 5.0x10-3 kg, and it is stretched so that the tension is 180N.
A transverse wave travelling on this string has a frequency of 260Hz and a wavelength of
0.60m. Calculate the length of the string. [3]

2.4. The two speakers in the drawing are vibrating in phase, and a listener is standing at point P.
Does constructive or destructive interference occur at P when the speakers produce sound
waves whose frequency is 1466 Hz. Justify your answers with appropriate calculations. Take
the speed of sound in air to be 343 m/s. [5]

3
 Physics 1 APIFSG 1A Test1 – February 2016

2.5. Two pure tones are sounded together. The drawing shows the pressure variations of the two
sound waves, measured with respect to atmospheric pressure. What is the beat frequency?
[4]

2.6. The diagram below shows a standing wave pattern formed by a 3.0 m long string. The
frequency of vibration is 50 Hz.

a. Calculate the speed of the wave on the string? [3]

b. Find the lowest possible frequency for standing waves on this string? [2]

QUESTION 3: [25]
3.1. Explain the following:
a. Rayleigh’s criterion for resolution. [2]
b. Total internal reflection [2]

3.2. Light of wavelength 600nm is incident upon a single slit with width 2 x 10-4m. The figure below
shows a pattern of fringes observed on a screen.

Determine the distance between the singleslit and the screen. [4]

3.3. When a diffraction grating is used with light that has a wavelength of 621 nm, a third order
maximum is formed at an angle of 18.0 degree. How many lines per centimetre does this grating
have? [4]

3.4. A convex mirror produces an image that is half the size of an object. The object is 13 cm in front
of the mirror. Calculate the radius of curvature of the mirror? [4]

4
 Physics 1 APIFSG 1A Test1 – February 2016

3.5. The figure below shows a ray of light that originates in a water tank. It first travels through
water at an angle of 60o with horizontal, is then refracted and incident on the glass side at
an angle α, and emerges into the air at an angle β as shown in the figure below. Determine
the unknown angles, α and β. [4]

Note: The figure is not drawn to scale, and nwater =1.33, nglass = 1.45 and nair =1.00

3.6. Figure below shows an object and its image formed by a thin lens.

a. By using the lens equations, determine the type of the lens used. [3]
b. Calculate the height of the image? [2]

____________________________________ END ___________________________________

INFORMATION AND FORMULA SHEET

CONSTANT:
Intensity of reference : Io= 1.0 x 10-12W/m2
Speed of light in a air : c = 3.0 x 108 m/s
Refractive index in air : n = 1.00
Speed of sound in air : v = 343 m/s
 2x  1 1 1 1 
y  A sin  2ft   v
F   sin   (m  )
   m/ L f do di 2 d
 v  I d h 
f n  n ; n  1,2,3,...   10dBlog m i  i sin   1.22
 2L  I do ho D
o
 v  f 1R

f n  n ; n  1,3,5,...
n
d' d( 2 ) 2 sin   m
 4L  n1 d
1
v  f d
Number of Lines /unit length

5
 Physics 1 APIFSG 1A Test1 – February 2016

PHYSICS 1 TEST1 MEMORANDUM 2016 - SEMESTER 1

Question 1 [6X2 = 12]

1.1 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
A B A D E

Question 2 [25]
2.1. Principle of linear superposition: when two or more waves are present simultaneously at
the same place, the resultant disturbance is the sum of the individual disturbances from the
individual waves. [2]
2.2
Wavelength   0.04m [1]
Frequency 1
T  0.20s  f   5.0 Hz [1]
T
Mathematical expression of the wave  2 
yx, t   0.01m sin  2 5Hz t  x  [4]
 0.04m 
Or y  x, t   0.01m sin 3.142t  157.08 x 

2.3. 
T
 f 
T
 L
2 f 2m
 L
0.60m 260 Hz  5.0  10 3 kg
2 2

 0.68m

m m T 180 N
L L
[3]
2.4.

1   2.200 m 2  1.813 m 2  2.851 m

and 2   2.200 m 2  1.187 m 2  2.500 m

1 2= 0.351 m
v 343 m/s
   0.234 m
f 1466 Hz
1 2 0.351 m
Number of wavelengths =   1.5 destructive interference [5]
 0.233 m ,
2.5.
1 1
f1    50.00 Hz
T 0.020 s
[4]
1 1
f2    41.67 Hz  f Beat  f1  f 2  8.33Hz
T 0.024 s

2.6. a.  2
3 3 m   2.00 m
,
v = f λ = 2 × 50 = 100 m/s [3]
b.
f3  3 f1
f3 50 [2]
 f1    16.67 Hz
3 3

6
 Physics 1 APIFSG 1A Test1 – February 2016

QUESTION 3 [25]
3.1. a. Rayleigh criteria: Two point objects are just resolved when the first dark fringe in the
diffraction pattern of one falls directly on the central bright fringe in the diffraction pattern of
the other. [2]

b. Total internal reflection: When light travels from an optical denser medium to an optical
less dense medium and the angle of incidence is larger than the critical angle, the light is
reflected back into the medium. [2]
3.2.
 600  10 9 m
sin   m  sin   2 
4
   0.344 0
W 2.0  10 m
s s 0.006 m
and tan    L  L  L  1.0m [4]
L tan  tan 0.344 0

3.3
 621  10 9
Sin  m  d  m 3  6.03 6 m  6.03  10  4 cm
d Sin Sin18
1 1 [4]
 Number of Lines/cm    1660lines / cm
d 6.03  10  4 cm

3.4
di
m  d i  md o  0.5  13  6.5cm
do
1 1 1 d d 13  (6.5)
  f  o i   13cm
f do di d o  d o 13  (6.5)
R [4]
f   R  2(13)  26cm
2

3.5.
ni sin  i  n r sin  r ni sin  i  nr sin  r
 1.33 sin 30  1.45 sin   1.45 sin 27.30  1sin  [4]
   27.30 0    41.68 0

1 1 1 dodi 16  (22)
3.6. a.    f    58.67cm,  converging lens used.
f do di d o  d o 16  (22)
[3]
di h dh (22cm)(3.25mm)
b. m  i  hi   i o    4.47 mm [2]
d o ho do 16cm