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CAP High School Prize Exam

6 April 2009
9:00 – 12:00

Competitor’s Information Sheet

The following information will be used to inform competitors and schools of the exam results, to
determine eligibility for some subsequent competitions, and for statistical purposes. Only the marking
code, to be assigned by the local examination committee, will be used to identify papers for marking.

Marking Code:

This box must be left empty.

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY IN BLOCK LETTERS.

Family Name:________________________________Given Name:_______________________

Home Address:_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________ Postal Code:______________

Telephone: ( )____________________ E-mail: __________________________________

School: ____________________________________________________________ Grade:_____

Physics Teacher: _______________________________________________________________

Date of Birth: ___________________________ Sex: Male Female

Citizenship: ______________________________________________________ or

Immigration Status:_____________________________________________________________

For how many years have you studied in a Canadian school? ____________________________

Would you prefer the further correspondence in French or English? _______________________

Sponsored by:

Canadian Association of Physicists

Canadian Chemistry and Physics Olympiads
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Canadian Association of Physicists
2009 Prize Exam Question 2
A tap water
pipe is bent P
as shown in
This is a three-hour exam. National ranking and prizes will the diagram.
be based on a student’s performance on sections A, B, and C Sections 1
of the exam. Performance on the questions in part A will be and 2 of the H
used to determine whose written work in parts B and C will pipe are P
be marked for prize consideration by the CAP Exam horizontal
National Committee. The marking scheme is: 40% for part but section 2
A, 10% for part B, and 50% for part C. Part A consists of is placed
twenty multiple-choice questions; part B consists of five higher at a height of H. The diameter of the pipe of section 1 is
questions that require graphic solution. The problems in part 1.5 times larger than the diameter of section 2. Indicate which
C can also require graphing. The questions in part C have a of the following is the most complete answer for the
range of difficulty. Do be careful to gather as many of the relationship between the hydrostatic pressures measured by
easier marks as possible before venturing into more difficult the gauges in sections 1 and 2:
territory. If an answer to part (a) of a question is needed for (a) P1 < P2 because water flows slower in section 1.
part (b), and you are not able to solve part (a), assume a (b) P1 > P2 because water flows slower in section 1.
likely solution and attempt the rest of the question anyway. (c) P1 > P2 because section 1 is lower than section 2.
No student is expected to complete this exam and parts of (d) P1 > P2 because water flows slower in section 1, and
each problem may be very challenging. section 1 is lower than section 2.
(e) For some value of H, P1 = P2 because the lower speed
Non-programmable calculators may be used. Please be of the flowing water in section 1 is compensated by the
careful to answer the multiple-choice questions on the hydrostatic pressure due to the difference H in the
answer card/sheet provided; most importantly, write your height of the two sections.
solutions to the three long problems on three separate ________________________________________________
sheets as they will be marked by people in different parts of
Canada. Good luck. Question 3
We know that a person emits about 500 W of radiation. We
also know that a person sitting still uses about 100W of
Data chemical energy. Where is the rest of the energy mainly
coming from?
(a) Heat conducted from the air into our body.
Speed of light c = 3.00x108 m/s (b) Convection of the heat.
Gravitational constant G = 6.67x10-11 N·m2/kg2 (c) Radiation from objects around us.
Acceleration due to gravity g = 9.80 m/s2 (d) The energy, emitted by the body does not have to have
Density of fresh water ρ = 1.00x103 kg/m3 a source.
Specific heat capacity for water c = 4.19x103J/(kg·K) (e) Burning fat that we have accumulated previously.
The normal atmospheric pressure P0 = 1.01x105Pa ________________________________________________
Fundamental charge e =1.60x10-19 C Question 4
Mass of electron me = 9.11x10-31 kg
Mass of proton mp= 1.67x 10-27 kg

Part A: Multiple Choice

Question 1
A ball falls to the earth from a height h and bounces to a
height h′. Momentum is conserved in the ball-earth system:
(a) no matter what height h′ the ball reaches.
In the two circuits shown above, the batteries are identical
(b) only if h′ < h.
and maintain constant voltage. The light bulbs A, B, C and D,
(c) only if h′ = h. are identical and have resistance R. Assume that the bulbs are
(d) only if h′ > h. brighter when there is more current flowing through them.
(e) only if h′ ≥ h. Which of the following relationships correctly describe the
brightness of the bulbs?
(a) A = B > C = D
(b) C = D > A = B
(c) A = B = C = D
(d) A = C > B = D
______________________________________________ ________________________________________________
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Question 8
Question 5 An astronaut lifts off from planet Zuton in a spaceship. The
The figure shows an free-fall acceleration on Zuton is four times less than on the
accelerometer: a Earth. At the moment of liftoff the acceleration of the
device for measuring spaceship is 2.45 m/s2 (up). The weight of the astronaut at
the horizontal that instant is more than her weight on the surface of the
acceleration of cars earth by the factor of:
and airplanes. The (a) 4 (b) 2
device consists of a (c) 1 (d) 0.5
ball that is free to roll (e) 0.25
on a parabolic track. ______________________________________
A scale along the bottom is used to measure the ball’s Question 9
horizontal position x. A 0.50-kg mass attached to the end of a string swings in a
What is the acceleration of the car in m/s2 when the vertical circle with a radius of 2.0 m. When the string is
displacement of the ball in the accelerometer equals 0.20 m? horizontal, the speed of the mass is 8.0 m/s. What is the
magnitude of the force of the string on the mass at this
(a) 3.9 position?
(b) 3.6 (a) 16 N
(c) 26.5 (b) 17 N
(d) 24.5 (c) 21 N
(e) 9.1 (d) 11 N
(e) 25 N
________________________________________________ _____________________________________________
Question 10
Question 6 What is the velocity of an electron that passes without being
Objects A and B that are initially separated from each other deviated through perpendicular electric and magnetic fields
and well isolated from if E = 4.0 kV/m and B = 8.0 mT?
their surroundings are (a) 32 m/s
then brought into (b) 500 km/s
thermal contact. Initially (c) 2x10-6 m/s
TA= 0C and TB = 100C. (d) 500 m/s
The specific heat of A is (e) 2 km/s
less than the specific heat of B. After some time, the system _______________________________________________
comes to an equilibrium state. The final temperatures are: Question 11
A body that is oscillating harmonically in the vertical
direction is suspended from two identical springs connected
(a) TA= TB > 50oC in series. The frequency of oscillation is f1. After the springs
(b) TA> TB > 50oC are disconnected and attached to the body in parallel, the
(c) TA= TB < 50oC frequency of the vertical oscillation of the body is equal to:
(d) TB > TA> 50oC (a) f1
(e) TA= TB = 50oC (b) 2 f1
_______________________________________________ (c) f1 /4
(d) 4 f1
Question 7 (e) f1 / 2
An object is moving at a constant speed v0 towards a source ________________________________________________
that is at rest and that is emitting sound waves of frequency Question 12
f0. The frequency of the echo that returns to the source after I
A piece of aluminum wire shown on the
being reflected from the object is given by: drawing is connected to a circuit with a
v source of constant current. Choose the
(a) f echo = f 0 1
v − v0 correct conclusion on the values of the
1
current (I), the amount of heat (P) emitted
v − v0
(b) f echo = f 0 per second by a unit of length, and the 2
v + v0 electric field strength (E) inside the
segments of the wire:
v + v0 3
(c) f echo = f 0 (a) I1 = I2 = I3; P1 = P2 = P3; E1 = E2 = E3.
v − v0 (b) I1 = I3 = ½ I2; P1 = P3 = 1/16 P2;
v + v0 E1 = E2 = E3.
(d) f echo = f 0 (c) I1 = I3 = ½ I2; P1 = P3 = 1/16 P2; E1 = E3 = ½ E2.
v (d) I1 = I2 = I3; P1 = P3 = ¼ P2; E1 = E2 = E3.
________________________________________________ (e) I1 = I2 = I3; P1 = P3 = ¼ P2; E1 = E3 = ¼ E2.
_______________________________________________
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Question 13 Question 16
A spacecraft of mass m orbits a planet of mass M in a
circular orbit of radius R. What is the minimum energy
required to send this spacecraft to a distant point in space A star undergoes a supernova explosion. Just after the
where the gravitational force of the planet on the spacecraft explosion, the material left behind forms a uniform sphere
is negligible? of radius 8.0x106 m with a rotation period of 15 hours. This
remaining material eventually collapses into a neutron star
(a) GmM/(4R) of radius 4.0 km with a period of rotation T of:
(b) GmM/R
(c) GmM/(2R)
(d) GmM/(3R) (a) 14 s
(e) 2GmM/(5R) (b) 3.8 h
(c) 0.021 s
________________________________________________ (d) 0.014 s
(e) 0.0075 h
Question 14 _______________________________________________

Two identical thermally 1 2 Question 17

isolated containers are
separated by a valve.
Initially, there is an ideal gas in container 1, and there is a An impulse laser may be treated as a
vacuum in container 2. Some time after the valve is opened, source of photons that are emitted during
the gas in the two containers comes to an equilibrium state. the time interval of the pulse which is
Which of the following statements about the gas during this followed by a time interval when no
process is true? photons are produced. Pulses are
periodically repeated. A laser beam of
diameter d = 10 microns is directed Laser
(a) The molar mass of the gas decreases. upward and is perpendicular to the thin
(b) The work produced by the gas is zero. foil surface which has an index of reflection ρ = 0.50 (see
(c) The temperature of the gas drops. the sketch of the experiment). The index of reflection of the
(d) The work produced by the gas is positive and is equal to surface is the ratio of the reflected energy to the impact
the absolute value of the change of the internal energy of the energy. A pulse with duration of 0.13 ms has a total energy
gas. of 10 J. What is the mass of the piece of foil that can be
________________________________________________ supported in the air solely by the light pressure of the laser
beam?
Question 15
(a) < 39 g
During the winter vacation, children use snow and water to (b) < 3.1 x 10-12 g
build frictionless slides of different shapes in order to (c) < 39 mg
conduct various experiments. The side view of one of them (d) < 3.7 g
is shown in the figure: (e) < 0.38 g
the linear segment of the ________________________________________________
slide is smoothly
transferred to a circle Question 18
with a circumference of
radius R. A puck starts
sliding down from rest at an initial height of 2R. The Two sinusoidal waves traveling at the same speed in
acceleration of the puck at the lowest point of its trajectory opposite directions interfere to produce a standing wave
is: with the wave function y = (1.50 m) sin(0.400x) cos(200t),
where x is in meters and t is in seconds. The speed of
(a) g propagation of each of the interfering waves is
(b) 2g
(c) 3g
(d) 4g (a) 159 m/s
(e) 0 (b) 200 m/s
________________________________________________ (c) 300 m/s
(d) 47.7 m/s
(e) 500 m/s
________________________________________________
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Question 19 Question 2
A bar magnet is dropped from above and A diagram below shows the potential energy of an object in
falls through a loop of wire as shown. A an isolated mechanical system with total energy E and with
student measures the current in the loop conservative forces only. In the space below the given
between a time when the north pole of the diagram, sketch a diagram for the x-component of the net
magnet is above the plane of the loop and force on the object as a function of x. Your diagram must
another time when the south pole of the show the correct trend of the function, zeros and vertex
magnet is below the plane of the loop. points.
Which statement is correct about the result
of the student’s measurement?
(a) The current in the loop flows in one direction
increasing steadily to its maximum value when the
centre of the bar crosses the centre of the loop plane, E
after which the current begins to steadily decrease.
(b) The current in the loop undergoes harmonic oscillations
because the magnetic flux through the loop is changing.
(c) The current in the loop flows first in one direction, then,
after the centre of the bar crosses the centre of the loop
plane, the current begins to flow in the opposite
direction.
(d) No current flows in the loop because both ends of the
magnet move through the loop.
________________________________________

Question 20
Unpolarized light goes through three successive Polaroid
filters, each with its transmission axis at 45° relative to the
preceding filter. What percentage of the light gets through?
(a) 0%
(b) 12.5%
(c) 25%
(d) 50%
(e) 33%
________________________________________
Part B: Questions that require graphical solutions

Question 1
The drag force due to air resistance on a falling object
depends on the instantaneous velocity of the object as:
D = -1/4 Av2. Sketch a diagram of height vs. distance for the
_______________________________________________
trajectory of two projectile objects launched from the same
point at ground level with the same angle to the horizontal:
Question 3
a) the projectile for which the air resistance is negligible,
A very thin stick is placed on the optical axis of a thin
and b) the projectile that is experiencing a drag force in the
convex lens as shown in the diagram. Draw the image of the
air.
object. Show all rays used for the image construction.

f f

______________________________________________
________________________________________________
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air and ρ = 1.2 kg/m3, A is the area of the cross-section of
Question 4 the parachute perpendicular to the motion and v is the
Monochromatic light is produced by a laser and propagates velocity.
through vacuum from left to right until it strikes normally
the surface of a glass brick, as shown. The direction of the What should the diameter of the parachute be so that the
wave propagation coincides with the x-axis. ambulance can land safely?
On the system of coordinates “amplitude vs. position”,
sketch the wave before it enters the glass brick, inside the Notice that you have to make
glass brick, and after it exits the brick. assumptions on what is
approximately a safe landing
velocity and what is a weight of a
typical ambulance.
Amplitude

Make sure you justify all your

assumptions.

xx

_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Problem 2
Question 5 A very thin beam of protons is injected at non-relativistic
An object, shown in the figure below, is made out of velocities in a circular particle accelerator of radius R. The
conducting material and has a hole completely hidden inside mass m and the charge e of the proton are known. The initial
its body. A point charge +Q is kept motionless in the hole current in the accelerator is I and the total number of
by some external force. Sketch the electric field lines inside particles is n. The magnetic flux through the beam circuit
the hole, inside the conductor, and outside the conductor as changes at a rate of ρ Wb/s, while the radius of the beam
close to reality as it is necessary to be consistent with the track remains unaltered. What is the value of the current
laws of electromagnetism. after one turn of the particles?
_______________________________________________

Problem 3
Very cold fresh water fills a vessel with a depth of 3.00 m
and a diameter of 1.00 m. A vertically maintained ice
cylinder with diameter d =30.0 cm and length l = 30.0 cm is
carefully moved downwards and submerged in the water
perpendicular to its surface and in the centre of the vessel.
When ¾ of the cylinder is submerged, it is released. The
density of the ice is ρi = 917 kg/m3; the density of the water
is ρw = 1.00x103 kg/m3. For the following questions, you
can neglect the melting of the ice.
1) Describe the behaviour of the cylinder after it is
released.
2) Calculate the position of the centre of mass of the
cylinder in equilibrium, taking the level of the water
surface as zero and the vertical axis aimed upwards.
3) Write and solve the equation of motion for the cylinder
_______________________________________________ valid during the first few seconds after it is released.
Part C: Open-Ended Problems The equation must have a solution in the form y(t)
where y is the displacement; and t is time.
Problem 1 4) Explain the physical significance of all parameters of
An ambulance needs to be delivered to a remote town the function y(t) and give the numerical values for the
devastated by a major earthquake. All roads leading into the parameters.
town are blocked due to the earthquake and the ambulance
can only be rushed to the area by airlift. The ambulance _______________ END OF EXAM___________________
will be pushed out of a military cargo jet at 3000 m altitude
and rescue staff need to find out what kind of parachute is
needed for this mission. The drag force is given by the
approximate formula: F = ¼ ρAv2, where ρ is the density of