Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
University Physics Volume 3

Challenge Problems

University Physics Volume 3Challenge Problems
Table of contents
  1. Preface
  2. Optics
    1. 1 The Nature of Light
      1. Introduction
      2. 1.1 The Propagation of Light
      3. 1.2 The Law of Reflection
      4. 1.3 Refraction
      5. 1.4 Total Internal Reflection
      6. 1.5 Dispersion
      7. 1.6 Huygens’s Principle
      8. 1.7 Polarization
      9. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    2. 2 Geometric Optics and Image Formation
      1. Introduction
      2. 2.1 Images Formed by Plane Mirrors
      3. 2.2 Spherical Mirrors
      4. 2.3 Images Formed by Refraction
      5. 2.4 Thin Lenses
      6. 2.5 The Eye
      7. 2.6 The Camera
      8. 2.7 The Simple Magnifier
      9. 2.8 Microscopes and Telescopes
      10. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
    3. 3 Interference
      1. Introduction
      2. 3.1 Young's Double-Slit Interference
      3. 3.2 Mathematics of Interference
      4. 3.3 Multiple-Slit Interference
      5. 3.4 Interference in Thin Films
      6. 3.5 The Michelson Interferometer
      7. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    4. 4 Diffraction
      1. Introduction
      2. 4.1 Single-Slit Diffraction
      3. 4.2 Intensity in Single-Slit Diffraction
      4. 4.3 Double-Slit Diffraction
      5. 4.4 Diffraction Gratings
      6. 4.5 Circular Apertures and Resolution
      7. 4.6 X-Ray Diffraction
      8. 4.7 Holography
      9. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
  3. Modern Physics
    1. 5 Relativity
      1. Introduction
      2. 5.1 Invariance of Physical Laws
      3. 5.2 Relativity of Simultaneity
      4. 5.3 Time Dilation
      5. 5.4 Length Contraction
      6. 5.5 The Lorentz Transformation
      7. 5.6 Relativistic Velocity Transformation
      8. 5.7 Doppler Effect for Light
      9. 5.8 Relativistic Momentum
      10. 5.9 Relativistic Energy
      11. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
    2. 6 Photons and Matter Waves
      1. Introduction
      2. 6.1 Blackbody Radiation
      3. 6.2 Photoelectric Effect
      4. 6.3 The Compton Effect
      5. 6.4 Bohr’s Model of the Hydrogen Atom
      6. 6.5 De Broglie’s Matter Waves
      7. 6.6 Wave-Particle Duality
      8. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
    3. 7 Quantum Mechanics
      1. Introduction
      2. 7.1 Wave Functions
      3. 7.2 The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
      4. 7.3 The SchrÓ§dinger Equation
      5. 7.4 The Quantum Particle in a Box
      6. 7.5 The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator
      7. 7.6 The Quantum Tunneling of Particles through Potential Barriers
      8. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    4. 8 Atomic Structure
      1. Introduction
      2. 8.1 The Hydrogen Atom
      3. 8.2 Orbital Magnetic Dipole Moment of the Electron
      4. 8.3 Electron Spin
      5. 8.4 The Exclusion Principle and the Periodic Table
      6. 8.5 Atomic Spectra and X-rays
      7. 8.6 Lasers
      8. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
    5. 9 Condensed Matter Physics
      1. Introduction
      2. 9.1 Types of Molecular Bonds
      3. 9.2 Molecular Spectra
      4. 9.3 Bonding in Crystalline Solids
      5. 9.4 Free Electron Model of Metals
      6. 9.5 Band Theory of Solids
      7. 9.6 Semiconductors and Doping
      8. 9.7 Semiconductor Devices
      9. 9.8 Superconductivity
      10. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    6. 10 Nuclear Physics
      1. Introduction
      2. 10.1 Properties of Nuclei
      3. 10.2 Nuclear Binding Energy
      4. 10.3 Radioactive Decay
      5. 10.4 Nuclear Reactions
      6. 10.5 Fission
      7. 10.6 Nuclear Fusion
      8. 10.7 Medical Applications and Biological Effects of Nuclear Radiation
      9. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    7. 11 Particle Physics and Cosmology
      1. Introduction
      2. 11.1 Introduction to Particle Physics
      3. 11.2 Particle Conservation Laws
      4. 11.3 Quarks
      5. 11.4 Particle Accelerators and Detectors
      6. 11.5 The Standard Model
      7. 11.6 The Big Bang
      8. 11.7 Evolution of the Early Universe
      9. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
  4. A | Units
  5. B | Conversion Factors
  6. C | Fundamental Constants
  7. D | Astronomical Data
  8. E | Mathematical Formulas
  9. F | Chemistry
  10. G | The Greek Alphabet
  11. Answer Key
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2
    3. Chapter 3
    4. Chapter 4
    5. Chapter 5
    6. Chapter 6
    7. Chapter 7
    8. Chapter 8
    9. Chapter 9
    10. Chapter 10
    11. Chapter 11
  12. Index

Challenge Problems

90.

Light shows staged with lasers use moving mirrors to swing beams and create colorful effects. Show that a light ray reflected from a mirror changes direction by 2θ2θ when the mirror is rotated by an angle θθ.

91.

Consider sunlight entering Earth’s atmosphere at sunrise and sunset—that is, at a 90.0°90.0° incident angle. Taking the boundary between nearly empty space and the atmosphere to be sudden, calculate the angle of refraction for sunlight. This lengthens the time the Sun appears to be above the horizon, both at sunrise and sunset. Now construct a problem in which you determine the angle of refraction for different models of the atmosphere, such as various layers of varying density. Your instructor may wish to guide you on the level of complexity to consider and on how the index of refraction varies with air density.

92.

A light ray entering an optical fiber surrounded by air is first refracted and then reflected as shown below. Show that if the fiber is made from crown glass, any incident ray will be totally internally reflected.

The figure shows light traveling from n 1 and incident onto the left face of a rectangular block of material n 2. The ray is incident at an angle of incidence theta 1, measured relative to the normal to the surface where the ray enters. The angle of refraction is theta 2, again, relative to the normal to the surface. The refracted ray falls onto the upper face of the block and gets totally internally reflected with theta 3 as the angle of incidence.
93.

A light ray falls on the left face of a prism (see below) at the angle of incidence θθ for which the emerging beam has an angle of refraction θθ at the right face. Show that the index of refraction n of the glass prism is given by

n = sin 1 2 ( α + ϕ ) sin 1 2 ϕ n = sin 1 2 ( α + ϕ ) sin 1 2 ϕ

where ϕϕ is the vertex angle of the prism and αα is the angle through which the beam has been deviated. If α=37.0°α=37.0° and the base angles of the prism are each 50.0°,50.0°, what is n?

A light ray falls on the left face of a triangular prism whose upper vertex has an angle of phi and whose index of refraction is n. The angle of incidence of the ray relative to the normal to the left face is theta. The ray refracts in the prism. The refracted ray is horizontal, parallel to the base of the prism. The refracted ray reaches the right face of the prism and refracts as it emerges out of the prism. The emerging ray makes an angle of theta with the normal to the right face.
94.

If the apex angle ϕϕ in the previous problem is 20.0°20.0° and n=1.50n=1.50, what is the value of αα?

95.

The light incident on polarizing sheet P1P1 is linearly polarized at an angle of 30.0°30.0° with respect to the transmission axis of P1P1. Sheet P2P2 is placed so that its axis is parallel to the polarization axis of the incident light, that is, also at 30.0°30.0° with respect to P1P1. (a) What fraction of the incident light passes through P1P1? (b) What fraction of the incident light is passed by the combination? (c) By rotating P2P2, a maximum in transmitted intensity is obtained. What is the ratio of this maximum intensity to the intensity of transmitted light when P2P2 is at 30.0°30.0° with respect to P1P1?

96.

Prove that if I is the intensity of light transmitted by two polarizing filters with axes at an angle θθ and I′I′ is the intensity when the axes are at an angle 90.0°−θ,90.0°−θ, then I+I′=I0,I+I′=I0, the original intensity. (Hint: Use the trigonometric identities cos90.0°−θ=sinθcos90.0°−θ=sinθ and cos2θ+sin2θ=1.)cos2θ+sin2θ=1.)

PreviousNext
Order a print copy

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Citation/Attribution

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-3/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-3/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Jul 21, 2023 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.