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conceptual answers

The document discusses various physics concepts related to optics, including the behavior of light in mirrors, refraction, and sound waves. It explains how to see images in mirrors, the effects of refraction on perceived depth, and the relationship between sound and radio waves. Additionally, it addresses the impact of wind on sound pitch and the behavior of polarized light through multiple polaroids.

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roywalyat
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11 views

conceptual answers

The document discusses various physics concepts related to optics, including the behavior of light in mirrors, refraction, and sound waves. It explains how to see images in mirrors, the effects of refraction on perceived depth, and the relationship between sound and radio waves. Additionally, it addresses the impact of wind on sound pitch and the behavior of polarized light through multiple polaroids.

Uploaded by

roywalyat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.

She stands 1 meter in front of the dresser mirror


and looks at the flower on the back of her head in
a small hand held ½ meter in back of her head.

How far in back of the dresser mirror does she see the image of the flower?

2 meters in back of the dresser mirror


Because the image of the flower in the small mirror is as far behind the small mirror as
the flower is in front: ½ meter. This puts the flower's image a distance of 1 + ½ + ½
meters in front of the dresser's mirror. This image is just as far behind the dresser mirror -
2 meters.

2. In order that you are to see a full-length view


of yourself, the minimum size for a plane mirror must be:

Consistent with the law of reflection, if you look


halfway down a plane mirror in front of you, you'll
see your toes. If you look at parts of the mirror below
the half-way mark, you'll see the floor but not
yourself. If you straight ahead, you'll see your eyes.
If you look above at a distance halfway from your
eyes to the top of your head, you'll see the top of
your head. You don't see your image in parts of the
mirror above that half-way mark.
Halfway up; halfway down - - that's a mirror one
half your height - as the sketch above shows,
distance is not a factor.
To see her head in the mirror, she:

Needs a bigger mirror.


As the ray diagrams show, she
sees the same proportion of her face
at any distance.

4. A coin lies submerged at the bottom of a pan of water. Does refraction of light from
the coin make it appear deeper or shallower than it really is?

Shallower; the light slows down in the water – you perceive light as traveling at the speed
of light in air, so you perceive the time it takes to the reflected light to reach your eyes as
it would be in air – since light is moving slower in water, the distance traveled in that
time is perceived as less.

5. Suppose you want to send a beam of laser light to a satellite above the atmosphere and
just above the horizon. Should you aim your laser above, below, or at the satellite?

To send light to the satellite, make no corrections and simply aim at the satellite you see.
All deviations due to atmospheric refraction in your line of sight will be the same for
your laser beam -- principle of reciprocity.
6. You wish to spear a fish in water in front of you as shown. Should you aim the spear
above, below, or directly at the observed fish to make a direct hit?

You'd have to compensate for the refraction of light and aim below the observed fish.

7. Suppose at a concert a singer's voice is radio broadcast all the way around the world
before reaching the radio you hold to your ear. This takes 1/8th of a second. If you're
close, you hear her voice in air before you hear it from the radio. But if you are far
enough away, both signals will reach you at the same time. How many meters distant
must you be for this to occur?

42.5 meters away from the singer

8. Is it correct to say that in every case, without exception, any radio wave travels faster
than any sound wave?

A radio wave is an electromagnetic wave. So any radio wave, in a very real sense is
simply a low frequency light wave. A sound wave, on the other hand, is fundamentally
different. A sound wave is a mechanical disturbance propagating through a material
medium by material particles that vibrate against one another. In air, the speed of sound
is about 340 m/sec, about one-millionth the speed of a radio wave. Sound travels faster in
other media, but in no case at the speed of light. No sound wave can travel as fast as light.

9. Does the wind affect the pitch of the factory whistle you hear of a windy day? If so,
why? If not, why not?

The wind does affect the speed of sound because the medium that carries the sound
moves. But the wavelength of the sound changes accordingly, which results in no change
in frequency or pitch.
10. In the standing wave shown, what is the amplitude?

10 cm

In the standing wave shown, what is its wavelength?

1m

In the standing wave shown, how many nodes are there?

6 nodes

11. Three sets of polaroids, are atop the other,


as shown. In each set the polarization axes
of two polaroids are at 90° to each other, and
a third is at 45° to the two.
Which set(s) will pass light where the three overlap?

Only Set B will pass light where all polaroids overlap, for the axis of each polaroid is not
at 90º to the one next to it. The vector diagram shows that half the light gets through the
first polaroid. Shown by the vertical vector, and 0.707 of this gets through the second
polaroid because it is at 45º (not 90º) and in turn 0.707 of this gets through the third
polaroid.

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