Solutions to Mid-Term Exam for GP II, HOE,

Spring 2011.
1. 25%
In the figure on the left, point i
represents the initial state of an ideal
gas at temperature T. Calculate and
rank the entropy changes in going from
i to the points a, b, c, and d.

Solution
(a) V 0 W 0 .
Q U CV T
S

Q
CV
T

T T

dT
T T 3
T
CV ln
nR
T
T
2
T

(b) Q CP T
S

Q
CP
T

T T

dT
T T 5
T
CP ln
nR
T
T
2
T

3
T
(c) S n R
2
T
5
T
(d) S n R
2
T
Ranking is (b) ( a ) (c ) ( d )

2. 25%
A thin rod of length L has a line charge density given by
4x2
2 x
sin
2
L
L
where 0 is a constant and x 0 is at the center of the rod. Find
the electric field and potential at x 0 , assuming the zero

potential to be at infinity .
Hint: Consider contributions from the left and right sides
separately.

Solution

L /2

E k 2 dx 2 dx i
x
0
L /2 x
0

L2

k 0

sin

L /2

2 x
dx
L

L /2

sin
0

2 x
L

dx i

Since
0

L /2

2 x
2 x
dx sin
dx
L
L
0
L /2

sin

L /2

8
E k 0 2
L

sin
0

L /2

k 0

4
L2

8 L
8
2 x
i
dx i k 0 2
cos 1 i k 0
L 2
L
L

L /2

dx
dx
x
x
0

L /2

x sin

2 x
dx
L

L /2

x sin
0

2 x
L

dx

Since
0

L /2

2 x
2 x
dx x sin
dx
L
L
0
L /2

x sin

x 0 0
3.

25%
A solid sphere 10 cm in radius carries a uniform 40 C charge
distribution throughout its volume. It is surrounded by a
concentric shell 20 cm in radius, also uniformly charged with 40
C. Find the electric field at
(a) 5.0 cm,

(b) 15 cm, and

(c) 30 cm
from the center.

Solution
(a)
A point at 5.0 cm is inside the solid sphere. Applying Gauss
law gives
Qr
Qr
4 r 3 Q r 3
2
k 3
4 r E

E
3
3
4 0 R
R
0 3
0 R
E 9 10
9

40 106 0.05

0.1

N/C 18 106 N/C

(b)
A point at 15.0 cm is outside the solid sphere but inside the
shell.
6

40 10
Q
9
7
E k 2 9 10
2 1.6 10 N/C
r
0.15
(c)
A point at 30.0 cm is outside both the solid sphere and the
shell.
6
Q 9 109 40 40 10
Ek 2
8 106 N/C
2
r
0.30

4. 25%
An air-insulated parallel-plate
capacitor of capacitance C0 is
charged to voltage V0 and then
disconnected from the charging
battery. A slab of material with
dielectric constant , whose
thickness is essentially equal to the capacitor spacing, is then
inserted a distance X into the capacitor (see figure). Determine
(a) the new capacitance, and
(b) the stored energy.

Neglect all fringe effects.

Solution
(a)
Each plate is an equipotential surface. So the field between
them is everywhere E

V
, where d is distance between the
d

plates. The charge densities on the left & right side are
however different:

E L R
0 0
Hence, the charge on the upper plate is
q L X R L X W X L X 0 E W
The new capacitance is therefore
C

q
W

C0 1 1
X L X 0
V
d

where C0 0

LW
d

is the original capacitance.

(b)
Since the battery is disconnected, q q0 . The stored energy is
q02

q
U

2C 2C0 1 1

2
0

U0
1 1

X
L

q02
where U 0
is the original stored energy.
2C0