Unit 2 Winter 2001

1.

Ultraviolet light of wavelength 12.2 nm is shone on to a metal surface. The work function of
the metal is 6.20 eV.
Calculate the maximum kinetic energy of the emitted photoelectrons.
...............................................................................................................................................
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Kinetic energy =..................................
6

Show that the maximum speed of these photoelectrons is approximately 6 10 ms .

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(Total 5 marks)

2.

Melanie is using a spreadsheet to model the behaviour of the circuit shown below.
B a tte r y
r

E
I

V
A
1

Calculations for a Battery Delivering Power

2
3

e.m.f.

internal
resistance

load
resistor

current

p.d. across
loadpower in
load
V

(volts)

(ohms)

(ohms)

(amps)

12.0

2.00

0.00

6.00

0.00

12.0

2.00

0.50

4.80

12.0

2.00

1.00

4.00

10

12.0

2.00

1.50

3.43

11

12.0

2.00

2.00

3.00

12

12.0

2.00

2.50

2.67

13

12.0

2.00

3.00

2.40

2.40
11.5
4.00
16.0
5.14
17.6
6.00
18.0
6.67
17.8
7.20
17.3

(volts)
(watts)

Northolt High School

14

12.0

2.00

3.50

2.18

15

12.0

2.00

4.00

2.00

7.64
16.7
8.00
16.0

To calculate a value for cell D7, Melanie entered this formula:

= A7/(B7 + C7)
Explain why this is correct.
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(1)

What would be an appropriate formula for cell E9?

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(1)

What would be an appropriate formula for cell F11?

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(1)

What is the short-circuit current obtainable from this battery?

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(1)

Explain why the p.d. across the load resistor increases as the current falls.
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(2)

Sketch a graph on the axes below to show how the power in the load would vary for load
resistors in the range 09 (marking values where appropriate).

P /W

0
(3)

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R /

Comment on one key feature of the graph.

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(2)
(Total 11 marks)

3.

Babies food sometimes carries the following warning: Do not warm feeds in a microwave
oven as this may cause uneven heating and could scald your babys mouth.
An Internet site gives the following explanation:
Coherent microwaves are emitted in all directions from a source within the oven. The
waves reflect off the metal walls so that the microwave radiation reaching any particular
point arrives from several different directions. The waves interfere and set up standing
waves. This produces the pattern of hot and cold zones observed in food heated in a
microwave oven.

"H ot zone"

" C o ld z o n e "

Explain the meanings of the following words from the passage.

Coherent ................................................................................................................................
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(1)

Standing wave
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(2)

On the diagram above, mark a possible position of one antinode, and label it A.
(1)

The frequency of the radiation used in a microwave oven is 2.45 109 Hz.
Show that the wavelength of the microwave radiation is about 12 cm.
................................................................................................................................................
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(1)

The diagram shows two different paths by which microwaves can reach the point X.

M ic ro w a v e s o u rc e
2 0 .0 c m
1 0 .0 c m

1 4 .0 c m

2 2 .1 c m
N o t to s c a le

Find the path difference for waves reaching point X by the paths shown.
................................................................................................................................................
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Path difference =
(1)

Assuming waves do not reach point X along any other path, explain whether you would expect
this point to be a microwave node or antinode.

(3)

Some microwave ovens use two separate microwave frequencies to overcome the problem of
uneven heating. Explain how this helps.

(2)
(Total 11 marks)
Northolt High School

4.

Astronomers can identify different gases present in the outer parts of stars by analysing the line
spectra of the starlight.
Explain the meaning of line spectra.

(2)

Explain how line spectra provide evidence for the existence of energy levels in atoms.

(3)
(Total 5 marks)

5.

An ocean can be considered to be made up of two layers: a layer of warm water and a layer of
cold water. The interface between them is called a thermocline.
Why does the warm surface water float above the cold deep ocean water?

(1)

O c e a n su rfa c e

W arm
su rfa c e
la y e r
C o ld
la y e r

T h e r m o c lin e
S u b m a rin e

A surface ship uses sonar to detect submarines. Explain why the ultrasound waves travelling
through the water partially reflect from the thermocline.

(1)

Explain why a submarine travelling in the cold water just below the thermocline is very difficult
to detect using surface sonar.

(2)

Some scientists believe that the passage of a submarine could distort the thermocline and cause
the surface of the ocean to bulge as shown. They think that they may be able to detect this bulge
using radar from a satellite.
Explain why sonar cannot be used from a satellite.

(1)

A satellite is in orbit 6.0 107 m above the surface of the Earth and uses radar to measure the
distance to the ocean surface. Calculate the time between the emission and detection of a radar
pulse which strikes the surface of the ocean directly below the satellite.

Time = ..
(2)

The satellites timing equipment is capable of measuring time to a precision of 1.0 109 s.
Calculate the minimum change in the height of the ocean which the satellite is capable
of detecting.

Minimum change = ..
(2)
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Suggest a possible problem in detecting submarines in this way.

(1)
(Total 10 marks)

6.

Farmers can choose the best time to harvest some fruits by measuring how much sugar their
juice contains. The concentration of sugar in the juice alters its refractive index which can be
measured with a refractometer. Figure 1 shows a beam of light entering a refractometer. The
juice is placed on top of the prism.
J u ic e

P r is m

L ig h t b e a m

C a lib ra te d s c a le
Figure 1

The light coming out of the prism hits the scale as shown in figure 1. Explain why part of the
scale appears dark.

(2)

A student uses a prism to investigate this effect in the school laboratory. A layer of juice is
trapped between the prism and a microscope slide. Figure 2 below shows a ray of light hitting
the surface between the prism and the juice at the critical angle.

M ic ro s c o p e s lid e

Ju ic e la y e r

P ris m

Figure 2

Mark the following angles on figure 2 opposite:

the critical angle C
an incident angle i
a refracted angle r
(3)

Explain the term critical angle.

(2)

The student calculates these values of refractive index for different concentrations of
sugar solution.
Concentration of sugar
solution/%

Refractive index of
sugar solution

1.333

15
30
45
60

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1.356
1.381
1.410
1.442

Plot a graph of these results on the grid below.

(4)

From the graph, find the refractive index of a sugar solution of concentration 40%.
Refractive index: ...................................................................................................................
(1)
(Total 12 marks)