AP Physics 1 : AP Physics 1

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Physics 1

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Example Questions

Example Question #4 : Harmonics And Standing Waves

Strings satisfy an important equation known as the wave equation. The solution to the wave equation of a point on the string over time can be given as:

, where  is the harmonic,  is the length of the string.

Determine the period of the fundamental frequency. 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that for sinusoids of form , the period is given by:

For this problem, the fundamental frequency is when , which means that its frequency is:

Example Question #3 : Harmonics And Standing Waves

Wave 1 has an amplitude of .

Wave 2 has an amplitude of .

What is the maximum and minimum amplitude of these waves when they undergo interference with each other?

Possible Answers:

 and 

 and 

 and 

 and 

 and 

Correct answer:

 and 

Explanation:

The correct answer is  and .

This is because at both waves maxima they would add constructively in the form of  in the positive axis.

When they interfere destructively they would subtract in the form of  in the positive axis.

Therefore the answer is  and .

Example Question #61 : Waves

What is the wavelength produced on the third harmonic of a  long open pipe?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for wavelength depending on the harmonic is as follows:

Where  is the wavelength,  is the length of the pipe and n is the harmonic number. Substituting our values in the equation we obtain:

Therefore the correct answer is  long.

Example Question #11 : Harmonics And Standing Waves

Suppose that a pipe open at one end supports a wave whose wavelength is . If this wave is on its third harmonic, how long is the pipe?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To answer this question, we need to understand the concept of standing waves. A standing wave is a wave that exhibits both nodes and antinodes. A node is a fixed position where there is no displacement from the wave, and an antinode is a point of maximum displacement of the wave.

A standing wave can result from two individual waves traveling in opposite directions and interfering with each other. For instance, when a wave traveling through one medium (such as the air in the pipe) hits an interface that is denser (such as the end of the pipe), the wave will reflect back. However, this reflected wave will be shifted  out of phase. As a result, the reflected wave will interact with the incident wave, and the two will interfere. This interference takes on a specific pattern in which there is destructive interference in the location of nodes, and constructive interference in the location of the antinodes. In such a situation, it doesn't appear that the wave is traveling at all, but rather it looks as if it's standing still, hence the name standing wave.

To solve this question, we need to use the expression for a pipe closed at one end and open at the other.

With this expression, we just need to plug in the values given to us in the question to solve for the length of the pipe.

Example Question #1 : Electric Force Between Point Charges

Two point charges, each having a charge of +1C, are 2 meters apart. If the distance between them is doubled, by what factor does the force between them change?

Possible Answers:

The force between the charges remains constant

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This is a question where knowing how to effectively sift through a problem statement and choose only the information you need will really help. We are given a bunch of values, but only need to know one thing, which is that the distance between the two charges is doubled.

Coulomb's law is as follows:

We can rewrite this for the initial and final scenarios:

We can divide one equation by the other to set up a ratio:

We know that the final radius is double the intial, which is written as:

Substituting this in we get:

Rerranging for the final force, we get:

Example Question #1 : Electrostatics

What is the force exerted on a point charge of  by a point charge of  that is located  away?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use Coulomb's law.

Plug in known values and solve.

Note that a positive value for electric force corresponds to a repulsive force. This should make sense since the charge on both particles are the same sign (positive).

Example Question #1 : Electrostatics

If we have 2 charges,  and , that are  apart, what is the force exerted on  by  if we know that  has a charge of  and  has a charge of ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use Coulomb's law.

Note that the electric force between two charges of the same sign (both positive or both negative) is a positive value. This indicates a repulsive force.

Example Question #1 : Electric Force Between Point Charges

Determine the magnitude of the electric force between 2 protons that are 3nm apart. Also determine if this force is attractive or repulsive. 

Possible Answers:

; repulsive

; attractive

; repulsive

; repulsive

Correct answer:

; repulsive

Explanation:

Recall that Coulomb's law tells us that the magnitude of force between two point charges is given as:

Here,  is force between two particles,  are the charges of each of the two particles, and  is the distance between the two charges. In our case,  and  are identical since each is the charge of a proton which is given as:, and 

Thus, plug in known values and solve.

To determine if the force is attractive or repulsive, we only need to examine the sign of the charges. Since both protons have the same sign for their charge (positive charges) they will repel. 

Example Question #1 : Electrostatics

A point charge of magnitude  is located 0.01m away from a point charge of magnitude . What is the electric force between the point charges?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use Coulomb's law to find the electric force between the charges:

Example Question #1 : Electrostatics

A point charge of magnitude  is 2nm away from a point charge of identical charge. What is the electric force between the point charges?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The electric force between two point charges is given by Coulomb's law:

Now, plug in the given charges (both the same magnitude), the given constant, and the distance between the charges (in meters) to get our answer:

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