PHYSICS 180B: Fundamentals of Physics

Spring 2020
Final Exam Practice Questions II with Solutions

Note: The Final Exam for Physics 180B will be given on Friday, May 8th, 2020 from 1:00 PM-3:00 PM.
The Final Exam will be given in the same online format on Blackboard as Test 3 and Test 4.
As stated in the Syllabus, the Final Exam is comprehensive/cumulative, covering the entire
course. The Final Exam cannot be dropped.

1 In the circuit shown to the right, there is a current of 2 A to

the right through the 3 X resistor.
(a) How much energy does the 3 X resistor dissipate in
15 seconds?
(b) Determine the current through the 1 X resistor and the
current through the 2 X resistor.

2 The figure shows a charged parallel-plate capacitor. In addition to
the electric field E in the region between the plates, there is also
a uniform magnetic field B in the region between the plates. This
magnetic field B is perpendicular to the electric field E and points
out of the page. A particle with positive charge q is projected with
horizontal velocity v into the region between the plates. If the particle travels straight through, undeflected,
determine the speed v of the particle in terms of E and B, the magnitudes of E and B, respectively. (Ignore
gravity.) What would your answer have been if the particle instead had negative charge?

3 A long horizontal wire carries a current of 4 A to the left, as

shown. Point P is 2 mm directly below the wire.
(a) Find the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field
at Point P.
(b) If a particle with charge q = 8 pC is placed at Point P and released from rest, determine the resulting
magnetic force the charge will feel.
(c) If a particle with charge q = 2 nC is projected with velocity v perpendicular to and into the page
through Point P, calculate the resulting magnetic force the charge will feel if v = 9 × 106 m/s.
(d) If a particle with charge q = -3 nC is projected with velocity v to the right through Point P, calculate
the resulting magnetic force the charge will feel if v = 7 × 105 m/s.

4 True or False? A convex mirror can form an inverted image of an object.

5 (a) What is the power of a lens whose focal length is -50 cm?
(b) What is the focal length (in cm) of a lens whose power is 6.25 D?

6 True or False? If a particle with nonzero charge q moves through a nonzero magnetic field B, then the
direction of the magnetic force FB on the particle will be the same as the direction of B
if q is positive.
SOLUTIONS
1 (a) The power dissipated by the 3 X resistor is P = I 2 R = 22 $ 3 = 12 W . Multiplying this by t = 15 s, we find
that
J
energy = power # time ( energy = (12 W) # (15 s) = 12 # 15 s = 180 J
s
(b) Let’s apply Kirchhoff’s Junction Rule and Loop Rule to the given circuit. There are two junctions in this
circuit, which are indicated by dots below. So, if we define a current I entering the upper junction as indicated
on the left below, then the Junction Rule tells us that the total current leaving that junction must be I + 2.
We can now complete our picture and fill in the currents as shown on the right below:

Notice that the Junction Rule holds true for the lower junction as well: a current of I + 2 enters this junction,
and a total current of I + 2 leaves. Now that we have applied the Junction Rule to the currents in our circuit,
we next apply the Loop Rule. Let’s apply it to the loop labeled ①:

We can choose any point in a loop as our starting (and ending) point, so let’s choose to start (and end) Loop
① at, say, the lower junction. Since we have chosen to travel this loop counterclockwise, we first travel in the
direction of the 2 A current through the 3 X resistor, so the change in potential here is negative, equal to
-(2 $ 3) = -6 (volts). Next, we travel across the 18 V battery from the negative terminal to the positive
terminal, so the change in potential here is positive, equal to +18 (volts). Finally, we travel in the direction of
the current (I + 2) through the 2 X resistor, so the change in potential here is negative, equal to -2(I + 2). So,
the Loop Rule applied to Loop ① says that
-6 + 18 - 2(I + 2) = 0

Simplifying this equation, we get 8 - 2I = 0, so I = 4. The fact that I turned out positive tells us that the
direction we chose for I above was correct. Therefore, the current through the 1 X resistor is 4 A, upward, and
the current through the 2 X resistor is 6 A, downward, as shown in the diagram below:
 2 If the particle flies straight through the region, undeflected, then the net force on the particle must be 0.
This means that the magnetic force FB must be equal but opposite to the electric force FE ; that is, these
two forces must cancel. Since v points to the right and the magnetic field B points out of the page, the right-
hand rule for FB tells us that the magnetic force FB on the particle points downward, since q is positive. The
electric field E between the plates points upward (from the positive plate toward the negative plate). Since
the charge q of the particle is positive, the electric force FE on the particle points upward, because FE = qE .
Therefore, the two forces FB and FE point in opposite directions, so these two forces will cancel if their
magnitudes are the same. All we need to do then is to set their magnitudes equal to each other and solve for v:
E
FB = FE ( q vB = q E ( vB = E ( v=
B
If the charge q had instead been negative, the direction of FB would have been upward, and the direction
of FE would have been downward. Thus, the directions of FB and FE would still have been opposites, so these
two forces would still have cancelled if their magnitudes matched, and the expression we would have found
for v would have been the same as what we found above for q positive.

3 (a) The magnitude of the magnetic field B at a (perpendicular) distance r from the wire is given by
n0 I
B= $
2r r
where n0 = 4r × 10-7 T $ m/A is the constant known as the (magnetic) permeability of free space. Using this
formula, we find that the magnitude of B at Point P is
T$m
n0 I 4r # 10 -7 A 4A
B= $ = $ = 4 # 10 -4 T
2r r 2r 2 # 10 -3 m
The direction of B is determined by Right-Hand Rule 1 for B: If you imagine holding the straight wire in
your right hand with your right thumb pointing in the direction of the current, then the fingers of your right
hand will curl around the wire in the direction of B. Since the direction of the current in the wire is to the left,
we find that the magnetic field points into the page above the wire and out of the page below the wire. Since
Point P is below the wire, we conclude that the direction of B at Point P is out of the page: 9 .
(b) If the speed of the charged particle is 0, then the magnetic force on the particle is also 0 . This follows at
once from the equation FB = q vB sin i : if v = 0, then FB = 0.
(c) Since v here points into the page, and the magnetic field B at P points out of the page [as we figured
out in part (a)], the directions of v and B are antiparallel (that is, the angle between v and B is 180c). The
equation FB = q vB sin i tells us that in this case, FB = 0 , since sin 180c = 0. (Remember: If a charged
particle’s velocity v is parallel or antiparallel to B, then the magnetic force on the particle will be zero.)
(d) Since v here points to the right, and the magnetic field B at P points out of the page [as we know from
part (a)], the right-hand rule for FB tells us that the direction of FB is downward if q is positive, or upward if q
is negative. Since q here is negative, we conclude that the direction of FB is upward. We now use the equation
FB = q vB sin i and the result of part (a) to find the magnitude of the magnetic force on the particle:

FB = q vB sin i = -3 # 10 -9 C (7 # 105 ms ) (4 # 10 -4 T) sin 90c = 84 # 10 -8 = 8.4 # 10 -7 N

>
-7 =1
That is, FB = 8.4 # 10 N, upward .

4 False. A convex mirror has a negative focal length f, so the mirror equation 1/o + 1/i = 1/f could not give a
positive value for i. So, the image cannot be real and therefore cannot be inverted.

5 (a) Lens power is given by P = 1/f, with f in meters. So, here we have P = 1/(-0.5 m) = -2 D = -2 diopters.
(b) If P = 6.25 D, then 1/f = 6.25, so f = 1/6.25 meter = 1/ 25 4 4
4 m = 25 m = ( 25 $ 100 cm) = 16 cm.

6 False. The magnetic force is always perpendicular to B (and to v).