AP Physics 2 : Principles of Quantum Mechanics

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Physics 2

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Example Questions

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Example Question #11 : Quantum And Nuclear Physics

A student on the Earth observes a spaceship moving at a considerable fraction of the speed of light. As a result of the spaceship's motion, the student observes that the clocks aboard the spaceship are running slower than when the spaceship was on the Earth. When a student aboard the spaceship observes the student's clock on the Earth, what effect will he notice on the rate of the Earth-bound clock?

Possible Answers:

The Earth-bound clock first runs fast, then slow

The Earth-bound clock appears to run slower

The Earth-bound clock appears to run faster

The Earth-bound clock runs at the same rate

The Earth-bound clock first runs slow, then fast

Correct answer:

The Earth-bound clock appears to run slower

Explanation:

For the observer on the spaceship, the Earth appears to be moving, and special relativity tells us that any observer moving at constant speed can consider him/herself stopped. Therefore, the clock on the Earth experiences the same slowing from the spaceship's viewpoint as the spaceship's clock from the Earth viewpoint. It's a little bit like looking at someone from far away. They look small due to the distance, but you do not look big to them, you also look smaller.

Example Question #1 : Principles Of Special Relativity

Determine the observed length of a  rod traveling along it's long axis at  in relation to an observer.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Using the formula for length contraction:

Where is the rest length,

is the velocity of the object

is the speed of light

is the observed length

Plugging in values

Example Question #2 : Principles Of Special Relativity

Determine the observed length of a  rod traveling along it's long axis at  in relation to an observer.

Possible Answers:

None of these

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the following equation:

Where is the rest length,

is the velocity of the object

is the speed of light

is the observed length

Plugging in values

Example Question #3 : Principles Of Special Relativity

 long rod is traveling at  in relationship to an observer along it's long axis. Determine the observed length.

Possible Answers:

None of these

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Using

Plugging in values

Example Question #4 : Principles Of Special Relativity

 tall rocket is traveling at  in relationship to an observer along it's long axis. Determine the observed length.

Possible Answers:

None of these

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Using

Plugging in values

Example Question #1 : Other Principles Of Quantum Mechanics

A proton is confined to a one-dimensional box of length . It has an energy equal to that of a photon with a wavelength of . What excited state is the proton in? (Remember, the first excited state is where  since the ground state is ).

Possible Answers:

Not enough information to solve the problem.

Ground state.

Fourth excited state.

Second excited state.

Correct answer:

Second excited state.

Explanation:

The energy of the quantum system in the  state is given by

where  is Planck's constant,  is the mass of the proton and  is the length of the box. The energy of a photon is given by

where  is the frequency,  is the speed of light and  is the wavelength. Setting these equal we can solve for ,

Since the ground state is , the proton must be in the second excited state.

Example Question #11 : Quantum And Nuclear Physics

The expectation value  of a particle in a quantum system tells us what about the particle?

Possible Answers:

The energy of the particle

The exact location of the particle

If the particle exists or not

The momentum of the particle

The most probable location of the particle

Correct answer:

The most probable location of the particle

Explanation:

From a statistical standpoint, the expectation value of the position, , can only tell us the most probable location of the particle. A central idea in quantum mechanics is that we can never really know exactly where a particle is as a function of time, but rather where we are most likely to find the particle if we choose to observe it.

Example Question #11 : Quantum And Nuclear Physics

If a particle in a quantum system is bounded, this means what about the calculated particle energy?

Possible Answers:

The energy is described by discrete energy levels, and the particle can only have energy that corresponds to these levels, positive or negative.

The energy must be negative and continuous.

There is nothing constraining the energy of the particle.

The energy must be positive and continuous.

The energy of the particle can be anything, positive or negative.

Correct answer:

The energy is described by discrete energy levels, and the particle can only have energy that corresponds to these levels, positive or negative.

Explanation:

A key characteristic of bound-state systems is the quantization of the energy into discrete energy levels. The energy can be negative or positive, but the particle can only have an energy that corresponds to one of these energy levels, nothing other. An example is the energy of a hydrogen atom, where the energy levels are given by:

These discrete numbers come from the energy of an electron, which is the fundamental charge.

Example Question #4 : Other Principles Of Quantum Mechanics

The square modulus of the wavefunction, given as  , contains what information about a particle in a quantum system? 

Possible Answers:

 represents the probability distribution of the particle as a function of time

 represents the energy of the particle as a function of time

 represents the time-averaged position of the particle as a function of time

 represents the position of the particle as a function of time

 represents the square of the particle's position as a function of time

Correct answer:

 represents the probability distribution of the particle as a function of time

Explanation:

By definition,  represents the probability distribution of a particle in a quantum system as a function of time. It is used to calculate the expectation value of other observables, such as position, momentum, current, angular momentum, just to name a few.

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