Try exam-style physics problems.
An optical sensor alternates between a green source of wavelength 520 nm and a red source of wavelength 650 nm. Treat each source as monochromatic and use its wavelength in a vacuum. Each source emits…
A wearable warning indicator is connected to a supply that maintains 3.0 V across the indicator whenever it is on. During each 0.20 s pulse, a charge counter measures 0.012 C passing through it. Curre…
A sensor is suspended from a small ring by a light vertical cord. The ring is held by an inclined spring on its left and a light horizontal cord on its right, as shown in Figure 2. The spring slopes u…
A technician calibrates the spring bumper of a small instrument trolley. Figure 1 shows the force F needed to compress the spring by x from its natural length. The graph is a straight line through (0,…
A student investigates energy transfer between a hot metal block and a liquid. An aluminium block of mass $0.200\,\mathrm{kg}$ is heated from $20.0\,{}^\circ\mathrm{C}$ to $100.0\,{}^\circ\mathrm{C}$…
An athlete and racing wheelchair have a combined mass of $84.0\,\mathrm{kg}$. At the start of a straight training run, the wheelchair is already moving at $2.00\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$. For the next $1.…
During the final braking stage of a lunar landing, a lander is $48.0\,\mathrm{m}$ above the Moon's surface and moving vertically downwards at $12.0\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$. Its engines produce a constant…
A water wave has wavelength 0.80 m and frequency 2.5 Hz. (a) Calculate the wave speed. [3] (b) Calculate the time for 15 waves to pass a point. [2] (c) State the effect on wave speed if the frequency …
A 1200 kg car accelerates from rest at 2.5 m/s2. Take g = 9.8 N/kg. (a) Calculate the resultant force on the car. [3] (b) Calculate the weight of the car. [2] (c) Explain why the car can accelerate ev…
On a hot day, the air temperature in a sealed, well-insulated bedroom is 24 °C. To cool the room down, a person takes a solid block of ice from the freezer, places it directly in front of an electric …
A researcher is investigating the properties of a specific isotope of Lithium, ${}^{7}_{3}\text{Li}$. (a) Calculate the specific charge of the nucleus of a ${}^{7}_{3}\text{Li}$ atom. Give your answe…
Two identical stars, each of mass m, orbit their common centre of mass in circular orbits of radius r. The stars are separated by a distance 2r. Their orbital period is T. (a) Write down an expressio…
A lift of total mass 6.0 × 10² kg is accelerated vertically upwards from rest by a cable tension of 6.6 × 10³ N. (a) Calculate the acceleration of the lift. (3) (b) The lift reaches a constant speed…
The Sun has absolute magnitude +4.8 and surface temperature 5800 K. A distant star has absolute magnitude −4.2 and surface temperature 3500 K. (a) Calculate the difference in absolute magnitude and h…
A spring obeys Hooke's law and has a spring constant of 25 N m⁻¹. (a) Calculate the extension produced by a force of 5.0 N. (2) (b) Calculate the elastic potential energy stored in the spring at this …
A testing rig uses a heavy block of mass $M = 12.0\text{ kg}$ to calibrate a vertical safety spring. The block is initially held at rest against the top of the spring. When released, the block compres…
A specialized acoustic sensor consists of a small metal sphere of mass $m = 1.20 \times 10^{-2}\text{ kg}$ suspended by a spring. When the sphere is displaced and released, it undergoes simple harmoni…
A small robotic probe of mass $m = 0.450\text{ kg}$ is designed to test the surface of a low-gravity asteroid. The probe is launched horizontally from the top of a vertical cliff of height $H = 12.0\t…
A specialized "plasma-acoustic" sensor consists of a thin cylindrical tube of length $L = 0.850\text{ m}$ and cross-sectional area $A = 1.20 \times 10^{-4}\text{ m}^2$. The tube is filled with a parti…
A student uses a signal generator to produce a sound wave in a laboratory. The signal is monitored using a cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO). The trace on the screen shows a clear sinusoidal wave. The ti…