1.

A pencil of length L is held vertically with its point on a desk and then allowed to
fall over. Assuming that the point does not slip, find the speed of the eraser just as
it strikes the desk. Compare this with the speed that would result from free fall
from a height equal to the length of the pencil.

2. Two atoms of masses m1 and m2 are bound together in a diatomic molecule. The
separation of their nuclei is r. If the square of the magnitude of the angular
momentum is restricted to be

L2 = l(l + 1)h2

l = 0,1,2,K

What are the rotational kinetic energy levels of the molecule? How does the
energy of the first excited stare ( l = 1 ) of 13C16O compare to that of 12C16O (two
forms of carbon monoxide with different isotopes of carbon)?
Hint: Evaluate the moment of inertia of the diatomic molecule.

3. On the surface of the Earth, growing plants are able to build up complex
molecular structures from simple molecules. Why does this not violate the Second
Law of Thermodynamics (entropy)?

4. Pure water can be supercooled (also sometimes called subcooled) at standard

atmospheric pressure to below its normal freezing point of 0C. Assume that a
mass of water has been cooled as a liquid to 5 C, and a small (negligible mass)
crystal of ice is introduced to act as a seed or starting point of crystallization. If
the subsequent change of state occurs adiabatically and at constant pressure, what
fraction of the system solidifies? (Assume the latent heat of fusion of the water is
80 cal/g and that the specific heat of water is 1 cal/gCO).

5. The transition rate of electrons from the first excited state of the hydrogen atom to
its ground state is ~ 108 sec-1. What is the (minimum) range of energy of the
resulting photons that are emitted? (h = 4.14 x 10-15 eV s).

6. Show that in the classical limit, the orbital velocity of an electron with mass m
and charge e is

v=

e
4pe 0 mr

If its equivalent wave description is given by the de Broglie wavelength, derive

the condition for the size of orbital radii that result in stabile orbits (standing
waves).

7. An electric charge q is placed a short distance r from a grounded conducting plate

whose dimension is much larger than r. What (if any) is the magnitude of the
electrical force between the charge and the plate?

8. A particle of mass m and electric charge q is injected into a uniform magnetic

field B with a velocity v perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field. What
is the trajectory of the particle going to be, and how does it depend on m, q, B and
v? Does the particle lose energy as it travels in the magnetic field?

9. A metal sphere of radius R has a positive charge of Q. A long metal wire is

connected from this first sphere to a second uncharged metal sphere of radius of
2R that is located far away from the first sphere. After the connection has made
what are the final charges on each of the two spheres?

10. A spring with a spring constant of k1 is connected to the end of another spring of
spring constant k2. A mass M is connected to the end of the second spring and the
mass is set in oscillation. What is the period of oscillation of the mass?

k1

k2

11. Rank the brightness of the bulbs in the following circuit diagram. The bulbs are
all identical and the battery may be considered to be a perfect battery. Explain
your answer.

F
E
B

12. The spacecraft Voyager 2 approaches the planet Jupiter at a speed of v = 12 km/s
relative to the Sun. Jupiter has an orbital speed around the Sun of V = 13 km/s.
The spacecraft swings around the planet and departs in the opposite direction.
After the Voyager 2s slingshot encounter with Jupiter, what is its speed relative
to the Sun?
V
v

Hint: Treat this as an elastic collision between Jupiter and Voyager 2.

13. Two moles of an ideal gas are contained in a cylinder at thermodynamic state A,
with a pressure PA and volume VA. The gas then undergoes the following two
reversible thermodynamic processes: (1) an expansion at constant pressure to
twice its original volume in going from state A to state B, and (2) a constant
volume decrease to half its original pressure in going from state B to state C. For
the entire process - processes (1) and (2) combined - what is the work done by the
gas, W, the change in internal energy of the gas, DEint, and the heat transferred to
the gas, Q?

14. Three, one-liter containers are connected by valves. The left and right containers
are each filled with ten moles of Helium gas at 50OC. The middle container is
empty. The entire system is surrounded by insulating material. The Helium may
be treated as an ideal gas.

a. Valve A is opened, allowing gas to flow from the left container to the
middle container. Is the temperature of the gas in the left container now
greater than, less than, or equal to 50OC? Briefly explain your reasoning.
b. Determine the change in entropy of the system during this process. If the
entropy does not change, explain why not. If the entropy does change,
calculate the change in terms of the given quantities. Show your work.
c. The system is now returned to the original state in which the left and right
containers are each filled with ten moles of gas and the middle container is
empty. One of the following procedures will be carried out.
Procedure 1: First, valve A is opened. The system is allowed to reach
equilibrium. Next, valve B is opened and the system is again allowed to
reach equilibrium.
Procedure 2: Both valves A and B are opened at the same time. The
system is allowed to reach equilibrium.
Would the change in entropy of the system during procedure 1 be greater
than, less than, or equal to the change in entropy of the system during
procedure 2? Explain your reasoning.

15. In a photoelectric experiment, monochromatic light of wavelength 400 nm shines

on a metal anode with a work function of 2.5 eV. What electric potential between
the anode and cathode would be required to stop all of the photoelectrons from
reaching the cathode? (h = 4.14 x 10-15 eV s, me = 9.11 x 10-31 kg, e = 1.6 x 10-19
C, c = 3x 108 m/s)
If one were now to use monochromatic light of half the wavelength and half the
intensity with the same metal anode, what will be the new stopping potential?

16. Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood, which are 300 Km apart in their rest frame, suddenly
erupt at the same time in the rest frame of a seismologist at rest in a laboratory
midway between the two volcanoes. A fast spacecraft flying with a constant speed
of v = 0.8c from Mt. Rainier towards Mt. Hood is directly over Mt. Rainier when
it erupts. Let Event 1 be Mt. Rainier erupts and Event 2 be Mt. Hood erupts.
In the reference frame of the spacecraft, does Event 1 occur before, after, or at the
same time as Event 2? Explain your reasoning.