Australian Institute of Physics
Tasmanian Branch
(ABN 81 004 566 509)

1.1. A ball falls through a certain height and rebounds to a lower height. To calculate the energy change of the ball after the bounce we must:

1.2. A helium balloon is floating inside a moving car. When the car slows down, what does the balloon do relative to the car?

1.3. Two close slits, X and Y, in a Young’s interference experiment are illuminated by a monochromatic light source behind a single slit, so that an interference pattern is seen. X and Y are called COHERENT sources because

1.4. The irregular motion of a particle inside a liquid, called Brownian motion, is due to

1.5. A wire of length 0.5 m and diameter 0.2 mm has a resistance of 5 ohms. The resistance of the same material of length 2 m and diameter 0.4 mm is

1.6. When electrons are emitted by a hot cathode in a TV tube or in an old-fashioned radio diode valve, the current to the anode depends on

1.7. If the mass of a proton is about 2000 units, the masses of an alpha particle and beta particle respectively are about

1.8. In astrophysics, what does the acronym WIMP stand for?

1.9. Name the SI units of (a) capacitance and (b) inductance.

1.10. Two whistles produce sounds of wavelengths 3.3 m and 3.4 m. What is the beat frequency produced?

2.1. A child swings to and fro on a playground swing. If the child stands up on the swing rather than sitting, the time for a to-and-fro swing is:

2.2. The moon’s gravity is approximately one-sixth of that on earth. If a pendulum clock were to be taken from the earth to the moon, what would the period of the pendulum be, compared to that on earth?

2.3. There are two iron nails but only one is magnetic. Which experimental setting (a), (b), (c) or (d) would allow you to confirm that the nail marked (1) is magnetic?

(Arrows indicate observation of attraction force between the nails.)

2.4. If a car travels at 60 km/h from Hobart to Launceston and then 120 km/h on the return trip, what is its average speed over the entire trip?

2.5. If a fish looks upward at 45° with respect to the water’s surface it will see:

You are given that the refractive index of water is about 4/3.

2.6. The pressure of a gas at 10°C is doubled by heating it at constant volume to

2.7. A thorium nucleus ²³²₉₀Th emits an alpha particle and the resulting nucleus then emits a beta particle. The final nucleus is

(a) ²³⁵₉₂U (b) ²²⁸₈₈Ra (c) ²¹²₈₃Bi (d) ²²⁸₉₀Th (e) ²²⁸₈₉Ac.

2.8. Match the following Nobel prize-winners in Physics with their discoveries (letter followed by number)

(a) Landau                 (1) Classification of particles and invention of quarks

(b) Bethe                 (2) Formulating theory of later evolutionary stages of massive stars

(c) Chandrasekhar     (3) Explanation of superfluidity of liquid He

(d) Gell-Mann         (4) Elucidating processes governing production of energy in stars

2.9. The wave speed on a tightened guitar string is 880 m/s. What is the shortest length of string that will produce standing waves of 440 Hz frequency?

2.10. Why is the polarisation of sound waves in air not mentioned in Physics books?

3.1. Which possesses the most kinetic energy:

3.2. All of the following objects are made of the same material and have the same radius. Which will roll down a frictional slope slowest?

3.3. Convex mirrors are used as rear vision mirrors in cars because

3.4. A proton and an electron have identical momenta. Which has the longer wavelength?

3.5. Which of the following actions could allow water to freeze at a temperature higher than 0 degrees Celsius:

3.6. X-rays are different from high-speed electrons because they are

3.7. An electric heater is rated at 300 W when used in a 240-V circuit. The safety fuse in the circuit can handle 8 A of current. How many heaters (maximum) can be safely operated in the circuit?

3.8. Approximately what fraction of the total mass in the universe is the visible matter?

3.9. According to recent observations, the expansion of the universe is

3.10. The figures A, B, C, D below illustrate stationary waves of displacement. Match them with

4.1. A book is standing on its end. You throw a ball at it and the ball bounces off. You then throw some chewing gum with the same mass as the ball and at the same speed and height. The gum sticks to the book. The book is more likely to tip over

4.2. A 210 g object appears to weigh 180 g when immersed in a liquid of density
2.0 g·cm^-3. The density of the object is:

(a) 3.5 g·cm^-3 (b) 1.4 g·cm^-3 (c) 7.0 g·cm^-3 (d) 14 g·cm^-3

4.3. What is the name of the radiation which is emitted when charged particles, in particular electrons or positrons, moving at speeds close to the speed of light, are forced to move in a circular orbit under the action of magnetic field?

4.4. Which graph below correctly gives the magnitude of the magnetic field B due to an infinitely long straight current carrying wire as a function of the distance from the wire?

4.5. When light is refracted there is change in its

4.6. Radioactivity is

4.7. A radioactive material has a half-life of one year. If there is initially 20 kg, then approximately how much is left after 6 months?

4.8. What stops the earth’s atmosphere from just diffusing into outer space?

4.9. One femtosecond is:

4.10. Does the pitch of a note heard on the radio receiver alter if

5.1. The Earth exerts a gravitational force on the moon keeping it in its orbit. The reaction to this force, in relation to Newton’s third law is:

5.2. The velocity of an electron is changed from c/2 in the —x direction to c/2 in the +x direction. As a result, its total energy changes by:

5.3. A red, white and blue flag (from left to right) is viewed under green light.

Describe the apparent colours of the flag, from left to right.

5.4. The melting of snow at normal pressure

5.5. Which of these four metals is the best electrical conductor?

5.6. A "Coulomb" is the same as:

5.7. Nuclear energy can be generated by fission or fusion. Fusion is not currently being used in reactors as an energy source because:

5.8. Waves which are predicted by relativity theory but not detected yet are:

5.9. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics to Zhores Alferov, Herbert Kroemer and Jack Kilby for:

5.10. The speed of sound in air is 340 m/s. What is the wavelength of a note

6.1. An elevator containing bolts in its ceiling is moving upward with constant acceleration. The dashed curve shows the position (y) of the ceiling of the elevator as a function of the time (t). At the instant indicated by the dot, a bolt breaks loose and drops from the ceiling. Which curve best represents the position of the bolt as a function of time?

6.2. Which (if any) of the following five graphs represents the motion of an object moving with a constant speed?

6.3. During an eclipse of the sun the high ocean tides on earth are:

6.4. Which of the following graphs best represents the current-voltage relationship of an incandescent light bulb?

6.5. In the diagrams below, all globes are identical and all cells are identical. In which circuit will the globes be dimmest?

6.6. A particle with spin angular momentum 1/2 (like an electron) is called a:

6.7. What is the name of the physical phenomenon which is a basis for the medical diagnostic technique called MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging?

6.8. Suppose you are served coffee at a restaurant before you are ready to drink it. You wish to add a small amount of cold milk. In order for the drink to be hottest when you are ready for it, should you add the milk

6.9. Finish this sentence. When there is a crescent moon, the dark part of the moon is due to the fact that 

         …………………………………………………………………..

6.10. What is the difference between a "noise" and a "sound" from the physical point of view?

Return to AIP(Tas) home page.