2013 Semifinal Exam 1

AAPT UNITED STATES PHYSICS TEAM

AIP CEE 2013

Semifinal Exam

DO NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS PAGE

Important Instructions for the Exam Supervisor
This examination consists of two parts.

Part A has four questions and is allowed 90 minutes.

Part B has two questions and is allowed 90 minutes.

The first page that follows is a cover sheet. Examinees may keep the cover sheet for both
parts of the exam.

The parts are then identified by the center header on each page. Examinees are only allowed
to do one part at a time, and may not work on other parts, even if they have time remaining.

Allow 90 minutes to complete Part A. Do not let students look at Part B. Collect the answers
to Part A before allowing the examinee to begin Part B. Examinees are allowed a 10 to 15
minutes break between parts A and B.

Allow 90 minutes to complete Part B. Do not let students go back to Part A.

Ideally the test supervisor will divide the question paper into 3 parts: the cover sheet (page 2),
Part A (pages 3-9), and Part B (pages 11-17). Examinees should be provided parts A and B
individually, although they may keep the cover sheet.

The supervisor must collect all examination questions, including the cover sheet, at the end
of the exam, as well as any scratch paper used by the examinees. Examinees may not take
the exam questions. The examination questions may be returned to the students after April
1, 2013.

Examinees are allowed calculators, but they may not use symbolic math, programming, or
graphic features of these calculators. Calculators may not be shared and their memory must
be cleared of data and programs. Cell phones, PDAs or cameras may not be used during
the exam or while the exam papers are present. Examinees may not use any tables, books,
or collections of formulas.

Please provide the examinees with graph paper for Part A. A straight edge or
ruler could also be useful.

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2013 Semifinal Exam Cover Sheet 2

AAPT UNITED STATES PHYSICS TEAM

AIP CEE 2013

Semifinal Exam
INSTRUCTIONS

DO NOT OPEN THIS TEST UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO BEGIN

Work Part A first. You have 90 minutes to complete all four problems. Each question is
worth 25 points. Do not look at Part B during this time.
After you have completed Part A you may take a break.
Then work Part B. You have 90 minutes to complete both problems. Each question is worth
50 points. Do not look at Part A during this time.
Show all your work. Partial credit will be given. Do not write on the back of any page. Do
not write anything that you wish graded on the question sheets.
Start each question on a new sheet of paper. Put your AAPT ID number, your name, the
question number and the page number/total pages for this problem, in the upper right hand
corner of each page. For example,

AAPT ID #
Doe, Jamie
A1 - 1/3

A hand-held calculator may be used. Its memory must be cleared of data and programs. You
may use only the basic functions found on a simple scientific calculator. Calculators may not
be shared. Cell phones, PDAs or cameras may not be used during the exam or while the
exam papers are present. You may not use any tables, books, or collections of formulas.
Questions with the same point value are not necessarily of the same difficulty.
In order to maintain exam security, do not communicate any information about
the questions (or their answers/solutions) on this contest until after April 1, 2013.

Possibly Useful Information. You may use this sheet for both parts of the exam.
g = 9.8 N/kg G = 6.67 1011 N m2 /kg2
k = 1/40 = 8.99 109 N m2 /C2 km = 0 /4 = 107 T m/A
c = 3.00 108 m/s kB = 1.38 1023 J/K
NA = 6.02 1023 (mol)1 R = NA kB = 8.31 J/(mol K)
= 5.67 108 J/(s m2 K4 ) e = 1.602 1019 C
1eV = 1.602 1019 J h = 6.63 1034 J s = 4.14 1015 eV s
me = 9.109 1031 kg = 0.511 MeV/c2 (1 + x)n 1 + nx for |x|  1
sin 16 3 for ||  1 cos 1 21 2 for ||  1

Copyright 2013
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2013 Semifinal Exam Part A 3

Part A
Question A1
The flow of heat through a material can be described via the thermal conductivity . If the two faces
of a slab of material with thermal conductivity , area A, and thickness d are held at temperatures
differing by T , the thermal power P transferred through the slab is
AT
P =
d
A heat exchanger is a device which transfers heat between a hot fluid and a cold fluid; they are
common in industrial applications such as power plants and heating systems. The heat exchanger
shown below consists of two rectangular tubes of length l, width w, and height h. The tubes are
separated by a metal wall of thickness d and thermal conductivity . Originally hot fluid flows
through the lower tube at a speed v from right to left, and originally cold fluid flows through the
upper tube in the opposite direction (left to right) at the same speed. The heat capacity per unit
volume of both fluids is c.
The hot fluid enters the heat exchanger at a higher temperature than the cold fluid; the difference
between the temperatures of the entering fluids is Ti . When the fluids exit the heat exchanger
the difference has been reduced to Tf . (It is possible for the exiting originally cold fluid to have
a higher temperature than the exiting originally hot fluid, in which case Tf < 0.)

h
d
h

l
v

Assume that the temperature in each pipe depends only on the lengthwise position, and consider
transfer of heat only due to conduction in the metal and due to the bulk movement of fluid. Under
the assumptions in this problem, while the temperature of each fluid varies along the length of the
exchanger, the temperature difference across the wall is the same everywhere. You need not prove
this.
Find Tf in terms of the other given parameters.

Solution
Suppose the temperature difference across the wall is Tw . Since the total area of the wall is
simply lw, the power transferred across the wall is
lw
P = Tw
d

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part A 4

In a time dt, the energy transferred is therefore

lw
dE = P dt = Tw dt
d
Meanwhile, suppose the red fluid enters at temperature Tr and the blue fluid at temperature
Tb . The red fluid then exits at temperature Tb + Tw , so the overall temperature change of the red
fluid is
Tr = Tr (Tb + Tw ) = Ti Tw
In a time dt, a volume of red fluid vwh dt flows through the pipe; the heat capacity of this amount
of fluid is vwhc dt, so the energy transferred out of it is therefore

dE = vwhc dt Tr = vwhc(Ti Tw ) dt

(Note that the same result is obtained for the heat transferred into the blue fluid; if the flow rates or
heat capacities were not the same, this would not hold, exposing the fact that Tw is not constant
in that case.)
Equating,
lw
Tw = vwhc(Ti Tw )
d
Ti
Tw = l
1 + dvhc
Because the red fluid exits at Tb + Tw , and the blue fluid at Tr Tw ,

Tf = (Tb + Tw ) (Tr Tw ) = Ti + 2Tw

!
2
Tf = Ti l
1
1 + dvhc
l
The performance of the heat exchanger is controlled entirely by the dimensionless parameter dvhc ; as
might be intuitive, a long tube and high conductivity are beneficial, whereas a thick wall, high flow
rate, and high heat capacity is not. The poorest performance, unsurprisingly, reflects essentially
no heat transfer, with the red fluid and blue fluid exiting with the same temperatures they started
with. Interestingly, the limit of performance is a complete reversal in the temperatures of the two
fluids, with Tf Ti .

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part A 5

Question A2
A solid round object of radius R can roll down an incline that makes an angle with the horizontal.
Assume that the rotational inertia about an axis through the center of mass is given by I = mR2 .
The coefficient of kinetic and static friction between the object and the incline is . The object
moves from rest through a vertical distance h.
a. If the angle of the incline is sufficiently large, then the object will slip and roll; if the angle
of the incline is sufficiently small, then the object with roll without slipping. Determine the
angle c that separates the two types of motion.
b. Derive expressions for the linear acceleration of the object down the ramp in the case of
i. Rolling without slipping, and
ii. Rolling and slipping.

Solution
As the object rolls down the incline, there is a torque about the center of mass given by

= Rf

where f is the force of friction. The angular acceleration is then

f
= =
I mR
or, as will be more useful,
f = mR
The object experience a linear acceleration down the incline given by

ma = mg sin f

We have to cases to consider. Either the object rolls without slipping so that f mg cos
and a = R, or the object rolls while slipping so that f = mg cos and a > R.
Rolling without slipping
Combining the equalities, we get

ma = mg sin ma

or
sin
a=g
1+
Rolling while slipping
Combining the equalities, we get

ma = mg sin mg cos

or
a = g (sin cos )

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part A 6

The motion is changes at an angle where the static friction is greatest, or when both conditions
are equalities:
f = mg cos
and
a = R
In that case
sin c
= sin c cos c
1+
or  
1
tan c = +1

Question A3
A beam of muons is maintained in a circular orbit by a uniform magnetic field. Neglect energy loss
due to electromagnetic radiation.
The mass of the muon is 1.88 1028 kg, its charge is 1.602 1019 C, and its half-life is
1.523 s.

a. The speed of the muons is much less than the speed of light. It is found that half of the
muons decay during each full orbit. What is the magnitude of the magnetic field?

b. The experiment is repeated with the same magnetic field, but the speed of the muons is
increased; it is no longer much less than the speed of light. Does the fraction of muons which
decay during each full orbit increase, decrease, or stay the same?
The following facts about special relativity may be useful:

The Lorentz factor for a particle moving at speed v is

1
=p
1 v 2 /c2

The Lorentz factor gives the magnitude of time dilation; that is, a clock moving at speed
v in a given reference frame runs slow by a factor in that frame.
The momentum of a particle is given by

p~ = m~v

where m does not depend on v.

The Lorentz force law in the form
d~
p ~ + ~v B)
~
= q(E
dt
continues to hold.

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part A 7

Solution
For brevity we simply present the full relativistic solution.
The relationships for circular motion

 d~v  |~v |2
 
 =
 dt  r

2r = |~v | T
are purely a matter of mathematics, and thus continue to hold under special relativity. Meanwhile,
since |~v | is constant for circular motion, is constant as well. Thus we can take magnitudes in the
Lorentz force law (and set E ~ = 0) to find
 
 d~v 
m   = q |~v | B
dt

Combining these relationships,

2
m = qB
T
If half of the muons decay during each orbit, in the muons frame of reference each orbit takes one
half-life T1/2 . In the lab frame, then,
T = T1/2
and so
2
m = qB
T1/2
2m
B=
qT1/2
Numerically,
B = 4.85 mT
The speed of the muons is irrelevant to the fraction which decay per orbit, even in the relativistic
case. (The orbits take longer, but the muons live longer, both by the same factor .)

Question A4
A graduated cylinder is partially filled with water; a rubber duck floats at the surface. Oil is poured
into the graduated cylinder at a slow, constant rate, and the volume marks corresponding to the
surface of the water and the surface of the oil are recorded as a function of time.

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c American Association of Physics Teachers
2013 Semifinal Exam Part A 8

500
Volume mark at water surface
450 Volume mark at oil surface

400

350

300
Volume (mL)

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (min)

Water has a density of 1.00 g/mL; the density of air is negligible, as are surface effects. Find
the density of the oil.

Solution
As the oil is poured in, more and more of the weight of the duck is supported by oil, and it rises
out of the water, reducing the water level. Eventually this stops, either because the duck is fully
submerged in oil or because it is floating entirely above the water. At all times, the weight of the
water that is no longer displaced equals the weight of the newly displaced oil:
o gVo = w gVw
With this understanding many approaches are possible; we illustrate one. The change in the
volume of displaced water is easily read off the graph as the distance between the dotted and
dashed lines; it is 143 mL. Finding the volume of displaced oil requires us to take into account the
increasing amount of oil in the cylinder. We know there is no oil at t = 0, because the oil level
and water level coincide, and we know that the rate of change of the oil level for t > 6 min is the
pour rate, because the water level is not changing. Extrapolating to t = 0 we conclude that the
volume of oil in the container at any time is given by the height of the shaded region. The volume
of displaced oil can then be read as the distance between the solid and dashed lines; it is 186 mL.
The density of the oil is
Vw 143 mL
o = w = (1.00 g/mL)
Vo 186 mL

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c American Association of Physics Teachers
2013 Semifinal Exam Part A 9

o = 0.77 g/mL

500
Volume mark at water surface
450 Volume mark at oil surface

400

350

300
Volume (mL)

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (min)

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c American Association of Physics Teachers
2013 Semifinal Exam Part A 10

STOP: Do Not Continue to Part B

If there is still time remaining for Part A, you should review your work for
Part A, but do not continue to Part B until instructed by your exam
supervisor.

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part B 11

Part B
Question B1
Shown below is the Blackbird, a vehicle built in 2009.
There is no source of stored energy such as a battery or gasoline engine; all of the power used
to move the car comes from the wind. The only important mechanism in the car is a gearbox that
can transfer power between the wheels and the propeller.
The Blackbird was driven both directly downwind and directly upwind, as shown below. In
each case the car remained exactly parallel (or anti-parallel) to the wind without turning. The
tests were conducted on level ground, in steady, uniform wind, and continued long enough to reach
the steady state.

~vw ~vw

~v ~v

Source: fasterthanthewind.org Downwind Upwind

When driving downwind, the builders claim that they were able to drive faster than the wind:
that is, with |~v | > |~vw |, so that the car experienced a relative headwind while traveling. Commenters
on the Internet claimed, often angrily, that this was physically impossible and that the Blackbird
was a hoax. Some commenters also claimed that the upwind case was physically impossible.

a. Consider first the downwind faster than the wind case.

Is the motion actually possible as claimed? If not, offer a brief explanation!

If the motion is possible, is power transferred from the propeller to the wheels or vice
versa?
If the motion is possible, what ground speed is attained? For this question, suppose
that when transferring power in either direction between the propeller and the wheels,
a fraction of the useful work is lost; let the wind speed be vw . Neglect all other losses
of energy.

b. Answer the previous questions for the upwind case.

Solution

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part B 12

Both modes are possible as claimed.

When a force exists between two bodies in relative motion, the net power produced or consumed
is proportional to the relative velocity between them:
P = F vr
This value is independent of the reference frame in which the power is measured, even though the
power delivered to each body separately is not. This is a consequence of Newtons third law; if the
velocities of the bodies in a particular reference frame are v1 and v2 , the net power is
P = F v1 + (F )v2
P = F (v1 v2 )
The relative speed of the Blackbird and the air is different from the relative speed of the
Blackbird and the ground; if the ground speed is v, the airspeed is v vw in the downwind mode
and v + vw in the upwind mode. Thus, even though the force due to the air and the force due to
the ground must balance, one force can produce more power than the other one absorbs.
Power should always be produced by the force corresponding to the larger relative velocity.
Thus in the downwind case, power is transferred from the wheels to the propeller,
whereas in the upwind case, power is transferred from the propeller to the wheels. (In
practice this reversal required a lengthy reconfiguration of the Blackbird between the two trials.)
In the downwind case, the wheel power is
Pw = F v
and the propeller power is
Pp = F (v vw )
Power is transferred to the propeller, so
Pp = (1 )Pw
F (v vw ) = (1 )F v
vw
v=

At high energy loss one moves close to the wind speed (as expected); with sufficiently low energy
loss, any speed is possible.
In the upwind case, the wheel power is still
Pw = F v
but the propeller power is
Pp = F (v + vw )
Power is transferred to the wheels, so
Pw = (1 )Pp
F v = (1 )F (v + vw )
 
1
v = vw 1

At high energy loss one cannot make any progress at all (as expected); again, with sufficiently low
energy loss, any speed is possible.

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part B 13

Question B2
This problem concerns three situations involving the transfer of energy into a region of space by
electromagnetic fields. In the first case, that energy is stored in the kinetic energy of a charged
object; in the second and third cases, the energy is stored in an electric or magnetic field.
In general, whenever an electric and a magnetic field are at an angle to each other, energy
is transferred; for example, this principle is the reason electromagnetic radiation transfers energy.
The power transferred per unit area is given by the Poynting vector :

~= 1E
S ~ B
~
0
In each part of this problem, the last subpart asks you to verify that the rate of energy transfer
agrees with the formula for the Poynting vector. Therefore, you should not use the formula for the
Poynting vector before the last subpart!

a. A long, insulating cylindrical rod has radius R and carries a uniform volume charge density
. A uniform external electric field E exists in the direction of its axis. The rod moves in the
direction of its axis at speed v.

i. What is the power per unit length P delivered to the rod?

ii. What is the magnetic field B at the surface of the rod? Draw the direction on a diagram.
iii. Compute the Poynting vector, draw its direction on a diagram, and verify that it agrees
with the rate of energy transfer.

b. A parallel plate capacitor consists of two discs of radius R separated by a distance d  R.

The capacitor carries charge Q, and is being charged by a small, constant current I.

i. What is the power P delivered to the capacitor?

ii. What is the magnetic field B just inside the edge of the capacitor? Draw the direction
on a diagram. (Ignore fringing effects in the electric field for this calculation.)
iii. Compute the Poynting vector, draw its direction on a diagram, and verify that it agrees
with the rate of energy transfer.

c. A long solenoid of radius R has N turns of wire per unit length. The solenoid carries current
I, and this current is increased at a small, constant rate dI
dt .

i. What is the power per unit length P delivered to the solenoid?

ii. What is the electric field E just inside the surface of the solenoid? Draw its direction
on a diagram.
iii. Compute the Poynting vector, draw its direction on a diagram, and verify that it agrees
with the rate of energy transfer.

Solution

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part B 14

a. i. A length l of the rod has charge q = R2 l; the force on it is F = qE and the power
delivered is P = F v. Combining these,

P = R2 lEv

P = R2 Ev
ii. The length l of the rod moves past a point in a time t = vl , so the current carried by the
rod is
q
I = = R2 v
t
Applying Amperes law to a loop of radius R,
I
B dl = 0 Ienc

2RB = 0 R2 v
1
B = 0 Rv
2
The field is circumferential as given by the right-hand rule.
iii. The electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular, so the Poynting vector has magnitude
1
S= EB
0
1
S = RvE
2
A quick application of the right hand rule indicates that it points inward along the
surface of the cylinder, as it ought. The cylinder has area per unit length 2r, so the
rate of energy transfer per unit length is

P = 2rS = R2 vE

in agreement with the previous result.

b. i. The capacitance is given by the standard parallel-plate capacitor formula:
0 R2
C=
d
The voltage on the capacitor is thus
Q Qd
V = =
C 0 R2
and the power is
P = IV
IQd
P =
0 R2
Students may choose instead to apply the formula for the volume energy density,
1
U = 0 E 2
2

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part B 15

ii. Consider an Amperian loop encircling the edge of the capacitor, and use a flat Gaussian
surface through the center of the capacitor. The electric field here is perpendicular to
the surface and has magnitude
V Q
E= =
d 0 R2
The electric flux through the surface is thus
Q
E = R2 E =
0
This can also be determined directly using Gausss law and appropriate symmetries.
There is no current through the surface, so from Amperes Law
I
dE
B dl = 0 0
dt
dQ
2RB = 0
dt
0 I
B=
2R
The field is circumferential as given by the right-hand rule.
Note that we could instead use a curved Gaussian surface that avoids the center of the
capacitor and intersects one of the charging wires! In this case we have directly
I
B dl = 0 I

and the calculation proceeds as before.

iii. The electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular, so again
1
S= EB
0
IQ
S=
20 2 R3
A quick application of the right hand rule indicates that it points inward along the edge
of the capacitor, as it ought. The area of this region is 2Rd, so the power delivered is
IQd
P = 2RdS =
0 R2
in agreement with the previous result.
c. i. Suppose that the solenoid has length l. The inductance is
L = 0 N 2 R2 l
Students may quote this formula directly, or derive it as follows. Consider an Amperian
loop of length d intersecting the solenoid. This loop encloses N d turns of wire, so from
Amperes law (remembering that the magnetic field exists entirely within the solenoid)
I
B dl = 0 Ienc

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part B 16

Bd = 0 N dI
B = 0 N I
There are N l loops, so the total flux is

= N lBR2

= 0 N 2 IR2 l
and since = LI,
L = 0 N 2 R2 l
as quoted above.
The voltage across the inductor is thus
dI
V =L
dt
dI
V = 0 N 2 R2 l
dt
and the power delivered is
P = IV
dI
P = 0 N 2 R2 lI
dt
or, dividing by l,
dI
P = 0 N 2 R2 I
dt
Students may choose instead to apply the formula for the volume energy density,
1 2
U= B
20

ii. Consider an Amperian loop just inside the surface of the solenoid. From above, the
magnetic field through this loop is B = 0 N I; thus (working in magnitudes)
I
dB
E dl =
dt
dI
2RE = 0 N R2
dt
1 dI
E = 0 N R
2 dt
The field is circumferential as given by Lenzs law and the right-hand rule.
iii. The electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular, so again
1
S= EB
0
1 dI
S = 0 N 2 RI
2 dt

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2013 Semifinal Exam Part B 17

A quick application of the right hand rule indicates that it points inward towards the
axis of the solenoid, as it ought. The area per unit length is just 2R, so the power per
unit length is
P = 2RS
dI
P = 0 N 2 R2 I
dt
in agreement with the previous result.

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