ASSOSA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
QUALIFYING EXAM FOR STEM LAB TECHNICIAN
Date: 27/03/18
Time allowed 2:00hrs.
Part I: Multiple choices (2 pnts each)
1. The number 0.0005130 has -------------------------------------------- significant figures.
(a) one, (b) three, (c) four, (d) seven, (e) eight
2. An object thrown straight up falls back to the ground. Its time of flight is T, its maximum height
is H, and its height at release is negligible. Its average speed for the entire flight is (a) H/T,
(b) 0, (c) H/ (2T), (d) 2H/T.
3. Which of the velocity-versus-time curves in Figure 1 best describes the motion of an object with
constant positive acceleration? d

Figure 1

4. A projectile is fired at 35° above the horizontal. At the highest point in its trajectory, its speed is
200m/s. The initial velocity had a horizontal component of
(a) 0; (b) (200 m/s) cos 35°; (c) (200 m / s) sin 35°;
(d) (200 m/s)/ cos 35°; (e) 200 m/s. Neglect the effects of air resistance
5. An object initially has kinetic energy K. The object then moves in the opposite direction with
three times its initial speed. What is the kinetic energy now?
(a) K. (b) 3K. (c) -3K. (d) 9K. (e) -9K.
6. Which of the following statements is correct?
A. The farther the force is from the axis of rotation, the more torque is produced.
B. The closer the force is to the axis of rotation, the more torque is produced.
C. The closer the force is to the axis of rotation, the easier it is to rotate the object.
D. The farther the force is from the axis of rotation, the less torque is produced.
7. The internal energy of an ideal gas depends on
 A. Its volume.
B. Its temperature and pressure.
C. Its pressure.
D. Its temperature, pressure, and volume.
E. Its temperature.
8. "Pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted to every point in the fluid and to the
enclosure walls" is known as
A. Archimedes' principle.
B. Kepler's law.
C. Bernoulli's principle.
D. Pascal's principle.
9. A planet speeds up in its orbit as it gets closer to the sun because of
A. Conservation of energy.
B. Conservation of momentum.
C. Conservation of angular momentum.
D. The torque exerted on the planet by the sun.
E. Inertia.
10. A pendulum which is suspended from the ceiling of a railroad car is observed to hang at an angle
of 10 degrees to the right of vertical. Which of the following answers could explain these
phenomena?
A. The railroad car is at rest.
B. The railroad car is accelerating to the left.
C. The railroad car is moving with constant velocity to the right.
D. The railroad car is accelerating to the right.
11. If the resultant force acting on a body of constant mass is zero, the body's momentum is:
A. increasing
B. decreasing
C. always zero
D. constant
12. As a longitudinal wave moves through a medium, the particles of the medium:
A. vibrate in a path parallel to the path of the wave
B. vibrate in a path perpendicular to the path of the wave
C. follow the wave along its entire path
D. do not move
13. A metal rectangle B is connected to ground through a switch S that is initially closed (Figure 2).
While the charge +Q are near B, switch S is opened. The charge +Q is then removed. Afterward,
what is the charge state of the metal rectangle B?
(a) I t is positively charged. (b) I t is uncharged.
(c) It is negatively charged. (d) It may be any of the above depending on the charge on B
before the charge +Q was placed nearby.

Figure 2
14. A positive charge that is free to move but is at rest in an electric field E will
a. Accelerate in the direction perpendicular to E.
b. Remain at rest.
c. Accelerate in the direction opposite to E.
d. Accelerate in the same direction as E.
e. None of the above.
15. As shown in Figure 3 the field E is zero at
a) All points along the sides of the square midway between two charges.
b) The midpoint of the square.
c) Midway between the top two charges and midway between the bottom two charges.
d) None of the above.

Figure 3
16. Which of the following statements are true?
a) A positive charge experiences an attractive electrostatic force toward a nearby neutral
conductor.
b) A positive charge experiences no electrostatic force near a neutral conductor.
c) A positive charge experiences a repulsive force, away from a nearby conductor.
 d) Whatever the force on a positive charge near a neutral conductor, the force on a negative
charge is then oppositely directed.
e) None of the above is correct.
17. If the voltage across a parallel-plate capacitor is doubled, its capacitance
(a) Doubles. (b) Drops by half. (c) Remains the same...

Part II: conceptual questions (3 pnts each)

1. You measure the radius of a wheel to be 4.16 cm. If you multiply by 2 to get the diameter, should
you write the result as 8 cm or as 8.32 cm? Justify your answer.
2. Can an object have a varying speed if its velocity is constant? Can it have varying velocity if its
speed is constant? If yes, give examples in each case.
3. Two cars are moving in the same direction in parallel lanes along a highway. At some instant, the
velocity of car A exceeds the velocity of car B. Does this mean that the acceleration of A is
greater than that of B? Explain.
4. Assume that Hagos is bowling a ball with his hand, accelerating it upward. What are the forces on
the ball? List the other parts of the action-reaction pairs? On what objects are they exerted?

Part III: Work out (7 pnts each)

1. A block of weight 𝑤 is suspended from the center of a horizontal ruler of negligible mass.
The ruler is supported at its right-hand end by a cable at an angle 𝜃 = 200 from the
horizontal and at its left-hand end by a hinge at point p. Determine the acceleration along
each component.

Figure 4
2. Find the currents through all the resistors in the circuit below:

Figure 5

Where, 𝑉𝑏 = 12𝑉, 𝑅1 = 10Ω, 𝑅2 = 15Ω, 𝑅3 = 20Ω