1.Which requires a physical medium in which to travel - light, sound, or both? Explain. Do radio waves travel at the speed of light, at the speed of sound, or something in between?

2.The wavelength of light changes as light goes from one medium to another, while the frequency remains the same. Is the wavelength longer or shorter in water than in air? Explain in terms of the equation speed = frequency x wavelength. A certain green light has a wavelength of 600 nm (6 x 10-7 m) in air. What is its wavelength in water, where light travels at 75% of its speed in air? 

3.Besides light sources and detectors, what are the main optical elements used in a typical optics experiment or an optical device? Explain their role.

4.Light bends when it passes obliquely from one medium to another, taking somewhat a longer path form one point to another. What does this longer path have to do with the time of travel of light? Discuss the differences between reflection and refraction.

5.How do excitation and emission take place in atoms? What is an absorption spectrum? What can you use it for? Does it require a single wavelength light or a continuous spectrum? What is the function of a spectrometer? 


1.What physical quantities can be represented by vectors? Why? How do you determine the resultant force of the various forces acting on an object? 

2.A 100-kg object is lifted to an altitude of 1000 km. What is the weight of the object on the ground? Does it have the same mass and weight at 1000 km? Explain.

3.Discuss the relationship between velocity and the acceleration. Which Newton's law best describes the motion of an object? State that law, and explain the relevant parameters involved. Can you give a numerical example?

4.A car is moving at a speed of 100 mph and rounds a corner at a speed of 100 mph. Is the car maintaining the same speed and the same velocity?

5.An acorn and a tree leaf fall from the same height at the same time. Which one reaches the ground first and why? How is free fall applied in this case?

6.State Newton's third law, and give some examples on how it is applied.

7.What is the momentum of a truck speeding down the highway at a given instant? Discuss how the momentum is changed if the truck loses some of its cargo while maintaining the same velocity? 


1.Consider two cars A and B. car A is raised to some height h inside a service station, and car B is speeding down the highway. Describe the potential, kinetic, and total energies of each car. How much work is used to raise A to height h? What happens to the kinetic energy of B if its speed is doubled?

2.Why can't a ball released from rest reach its original height when it bounces from a rigid floor?

3.Suppose you roll a ball off a tabletop. Will the time to hit the floor depend on the speed of the ball? Will a fast ball take longer to hit the floor? Explain your answer.

5.What are the characteristics of longitudinal and transverse waves? Describe their differences and similarities. 

6.Apartment dwellers will tell you that bass notes are more distinctly heard from music played in nearby apartments. Why do you suppose lower-frequency sounds travel through walls, floors, and ceilings more easily?

7.What are decibels (dB) used for? Explain their scale. (see page 399 of textbook). 



1.Which color light is the result of greater energy transition, red or blue? When an electron makes a transition from its first quantum level to the ground level, the energy difference is carried by the emitted photon. In comparison, how much energy is needed to return an electron at ground level to the first quantum level? How can it be provided? Explain.


2.What evidence supports the notion that light has wave properties? What evidence supports the view that it has particle properties? 


3.Describe the changes in atomic number when a nucleus emits one alpha particle, one beta particle, or one gamma ray. 


4.What prevents protons in the nucleus from flying apart due to electrical repulsion? Do protons in a very large nucleus have a greater chance of flying apart? Are they less stable than smaller nuclei? Explain. 


5.What is the atomic number and mass number of the new element produced when 84218Po emits a beta particle?


6.A sample of a particular isotope registers 160 counts per minute. Eight hours later, the detector registers a rate of 10 counts per minute. What is the half-life of the material? How is this calculation related to carbon-14 dating? 

1.This week we learn about using Excel to plot data and interpret results of experiments. An important aspect of interpreting a graph is looking at the shape of the curves. Discuss different types of curves and what they represent.

2.What is the difference between Scatter charts (such as the ones we used in the lecture) and Pie charts?

3.Calculate the average speed of a car that takes 100 seconds to travel a distance of 800 m.

4.What is the acceleration of car that is on cruise control at 50 mph?



1.Discuss some examples of applications of the Doppler Effect. 

2.Can you measure the speed of an incoming car using the Doppler Effect? How would you know what the frequency of the source is? Suggest a method to do this measurement. Think about a radar gun



1.Explain the difference between series and parallel circuits. Give practical examples of each type.

2.Explain how to determine the total resistance of a parallel and a series circuit. How does total resistance affect the current in each type of circuit? 


1.Explain total internal reflection and discuss its application(s).

2.A beam of light is incident from a material with a lower index of refraction into one with a higher index of refraction. (a) Is the beam bent toward the normal to the surface or away from it? Same question in the case where the beam is incident from a material with a higher index of refraction into one with a lower index of refraction. 


The electron of the hydrogen atom is initially on the ground state. It absorbs a photon and jumps to a state for which the quantum number n is equal to 4. 

a.Define ground state.

b.If the electron drops back to the ground state, will a photon be emitted? If yes, what would be the energy or wavelength of the emitted photon compared to that of the absorbed photon?