Course:PHYS341/Archive/2016wTerm2/Assignments/A1
Reading Assignment 1 (Jan 09 for quiz on Jan 13)
Read sections 2.1-2.4, 2.6 and 3.1-3.5 in the textbook.
Quiz 1 practice questions
1. Circle any of the statements below that are true.
Simple harmonic motion -
(a) has a single frequency that does not depend on the size of the initial displacement ✓
(b) has a frequency that depends on the size of the initial displacement
(c) has a frequency that oscillates with time
(d) has a frequency that decays exponentially with time
2. A tuning fork is struck with a hammer. It vibrates with a constant frequency. The amplitude decays with time as the tuning fork loses energy to its environment. The form of the displacement curve is approximately exponential in shape; that means if it takes time τ for the amplitude to drop to half its original value, the amplitude after time 2τ will be about a quarter of its original value.
Use only the following words to fill in the blanks:
convex; curved; damping; decays; energy; exponential; frequency; less; mass; more; quarter; similar; size; stiffness; third; velocity; wavelength
3. Circle any of the statements below that are true.
A transverse travelling wave is a disturbance in a medium that -
(a) has a speed equal to that of the moving particles in the medium
(b) has a speed unrelated to the speed of the moving particles in the medium ✓
(c) can move particles of the medium permanently from one place to another
(d) can move energy permanently from one place to another ✓
(e) moves in the same direction as the particles in the medium
(f) moves in the opposite direction to the particles in the medium
(g) moves in a perpendicular direction to the particles in the medium ✓
4. Draw a diagram of a standing wave on a string with three loops. Indicate:
(a) The nodes (with arrows and letter “N”s)
(b) The antinodes (with arrows and letter “A”s)
(c) The wavelength (with the length of a double-ended arrow and the Greek letter “λ”)
(d) The amplitude (with the length of a double-ended arrow and the letter “a”)
5. Draw a diagram of a sinusoidal transverse travelling wave at an instant in time. Use a solid line. Show with a dashed line, on the same diagram, the same wave a quarter of a period later, if the wave is moving toward the right.
