Some sample questions				9 October, 2012

These questions are meant to help you study for the PHY 201 midterm to be held on October 23rd.  

Obviously, you should review your class notes and the suggested readings I have been posting on the course web page, as well as the relevant sections of the book(s) you have chosen to deepen your understanding of the topics we have covered so far, but these questions should help give you some idea of the sorts of things for which you should be prepared.

(1) Write a sentence or two describing Popper's most famous observation about the workings of science.

(2) Write a paragraph explaining how Planck may have come up with his hypothesis.  (Hint: begin by explaining what the hypothesis was, and you'll already be able to expect a fair bit of partial credit.)

(3) The Prince Louis de Broglie proposed that
a. photons were particles
b. electrons were waves
c. the atom was like a solar system
d. the atom was like a "plum pudding"
e. all of the above

(4) Write a paragraph or two explaining what is surprising about the two-slit experiment.

(5) Write about a page on one of the following topics:
i - Is there scientific evidence for the existence of fields (e.g. electric), or could they be nothing but a convenient calculational tool?
ii - Is it clear whether or not "nonlocality" (direct action at a distance) is a feature of Newtonian gravity, and/or the two-slit experiment?

(6) When two electric charges attract or repel, do they conserve momentum or not?  Justify your answer.

(7) A new phenomenon is discovered, in which a measured time is proportional to the mass of a sample -- that is, the process takes a certain number of seconds per kilogram.  We know of four theories:
I - a theory which is described by a specific velocity (meters per second).
II - a theory which is described by a characteristic mass (kilograms).
III - a theory which is described by a mass per unit length (kilograms per meter).
IV - a theory which is described by a characteristic acceleration (meters per second squared)
Which of the following statements is correct (check all which apply)?
a. These theories are definitely insufficient to explain the new phenomenon
b. These theories are definitely sufficient to explain the new phenomenon
c. These theories may be sufficient to explain the new phenomenon
d. It may be possible to explain the phenomenon using theories I and IV only.
e. It may be possible to explain the phenomenon using theories II and III only.
f.  It may be possible to explain the phenomenon using theories I and III only.
g. It may be possible to explain the phenomenon using theories I and II only.

(8)  What led Maxwell to conclude that light was made up of electric and magnetic fields?

(9) The fundamental assumption of Einstein's special theory of relativity is
a. everything's relative
b. simultaneity is relative
c. the speed of light is the same in all reference frame
d. nothing can exceed the speed of light
e. E=mc^2