Conquering BPHO Section 1

Dr.Tian
[email protected]
www.tian-2.com

November 6, 2021

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Table of Contents

BPHO Overview

Knowledge Structure

Important Question Types and Solution

Physics Skills
Kinematics
Mechanics
Wave and Oscillation
Electricity
Thermodynamics
Miscellaneous

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Introduction

Time:
▶ 14:00-16:40 Nov 13, 2021
Content:
▶ Section 1: Around 15 questions and 90 points total. Maximum 50
points.
▶ section 2: Around 5 questions and 25 points for each questions.
Need to pick 2 questions to answer.

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Introduction (cont.)
Coverage: High School Physics Curriculum, Calculus
▶ Mechanics
▶ Electricity and Magnetism
▶ Wave and Oscillation
▶ Thermodynamics
▶ Optics
▶ Atomic Physics
▶ etc.

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Introduction (cont.)
Allowed:
▶ Writing Utensils
▶ Blank Scratch Paper
▶ No-programmable calculator

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Knowledge Structure

Dr.Tian Figure 1: Knowledge

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Estimation

[] Estimation
▶ Understand the question
▶ Make sure you know what quantity should be estimated
▶ Connect to the existing relationship you know already

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Estimation (cont.)
2019-c) Estimate the mass of a piece of paper the size of a pinhead (the
blunt end of a sewing pin). Show your calculation.[2]

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Dimension Analysis

Dimension Analysis
▶ Write down the units on both side of the equations
▶ Making equations to make sure the units end up the same on both
side
▶ Solve the equations

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Dimension Analysis (cont.)
2019-k) A sand timer is a sealed glass vessel with a narrow section acting
as a constraint, so that sand can flow through at a steady rate. A fifteen
minute sand timer is shown in Figure 2 below. Unlike a liquid, the rate of
flow of sand grains through the constrained section is independent of the
height of the sand above. Thus the rate of flow of sand through the time
can be expressed as a product of powers of the remaining relevant
variables:
dm
= kρα × Aβ × g γ
dt
where k is a dimensionless constant, ρ is the density of the sand, A is the
cross sectional area at the narrowest point, and g is the gravitational
field strength, and α, β, γ are numbers.

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Dimension Analysis (cont.)
(i) By considering the units of the variables on each side of the equation,
find the values of α, β and γ.
(ii) On the Moon, the gravitational field strength is gM = 1.6 N kg−1 .
How long would the sand timer last on the Moon if it runs for 15 minutes
on Earth?

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Vector and Geometry

Vector
▶ Draw diagrams correctly
▶ Be careful about the angles defined in question
▶ Setup equations based on Geometry relationships (Sine Rule and
Cosine Rule)

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Vector and Geometry (cont.)
2019-b) A drone flies horizontally. The displacement of the drone is given
by s = 2t iˆ + 6t jˆ where iˆ and jˆ are unit vectors to the East and North
respectively. Determine at t = 2 s :
(i) the speed of the drone,
(ii) its bearing in degrees,
(iii) its acceleration.
Note: all bearings are measured clockwise from North. [3]

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Vector and Geometry (cont.)
h) This question concerns three vessels at sea: a ferry (F), a container
ship (C), and a pilot boat (P). The ferry is sailing on a bearing of 090◦ at
5 m s−1 . Relative to the ferry, the container ship is sailing on a bearing
of 160◦ . The pilot boat is sailing on a bearing of 270◦ at 7.5 m s−1 , and
the pilot boat observes the container ship moving on a bearing of 120◦ .
Determine the speed and direction of the container ship relative to the
water. Note: all bearings are measured clockwise from North. [7]

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Error

Error
▶ Know how to calculate absolute error and percentage error
▶ Know how to handle error in equations

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Error (cont.)
2017-a) Physicists sometimes use the approximation that light travels in
a vacuum at a speed of 1 foot in 1 ns. What is the percentage error in
using this value?

(1.000 m = 1.094 yards and 1.000 yard = 3.000 feet )

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1-D Motion

1-D Motion
▶ Use Calculus knowledge to solve the problems
▶ Understand the usage of different equations relating time, velocity,
acceleration, and displacement

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1-D Motion (cont.)
2018-c) The displacement of an object is determined by the following
function:
s = 2t 3 − 9t 2 + 12t + 4
where s is the displacement in metres, and t the time elapsed in seconds.
Determine
(i) the times when the object comes to rest,
(ii) the time when the acceleration is zero,
(iii) the object’s velocity when its acceleration is zero,
(iv) the object’s accelerations when its velocity is zero.
[4]

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2-D Motion

2-D Motion
▶ Decompose the velocity vector in two directions
▶ Setup the equations on two directions and solve
▶ Often use time to make connections

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2-D Motion (cont.)
2017 d) A student standing at a distance a from a vertical wall kicks a
ball from ground level with velocity V at an angle α to the horizontal in
a plane perpendicular to that of the wall. The ball strikes the wall and
rebounds. The coefficient of restitution for the collision is e = 2/3. The
ball first strikes the ground at a distance 2a from the wall. e is the ratio
of the components of velocity at normal incidence to the wall, before and
after collision; e = vvbefore
after
≤ 1.
Find a in terms of V , α and g , the gravitational field strength.[6]

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Force and Impulse

Force and Impulse

▶ Find the force using impulse theorem
▶ Connect the change of impulse to change of momentum
▶ Often need integration for changing acceleration

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Force and Impulse (cont.)
2019-i) A car accelerates from a standing start. If the mass of the car is
m, and the car is driven at constant driving power P, find an expression
for the velocity of the car v as a function of distance travelled from a
standing start, x. Ignore resistive effects and inefficiencies in power
transmission. [4]

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Force and Impulse (cont.)
2018-g) A uniform chain of mass per unit length, µ, is suspended from
one end above a table, with the lower end just touching the surface. The
chain is released, falls and comes to rest on the table without bouncing.
(i) Determine an expression, in terms of µ and the gravitational field
strength g , for the reaction force exerted by the table on the chain as a
function of time, t. Hint: you might consider F in the form F = ∆m ∆t v .
(ii) In terms of the total weight W of the chain, what is the maximum
reaction force exerted by the table, and at what time during the fall does
this occur? [6]

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Momentum and Energy Conservation

Momentum and Energy Conservation

▶ Often happens in ”Collision” kind problem
▶ Understand the initial and final conditions and setup equations
▶ Solve with care, and make sure the solution makes sense
▶ Often has the high-energy physics background

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Momentum and Energy Conservation (cont.)
2018-f) A neutron moving through heavy water strikes an isolated and
stationary deuteron (the nucleus of an isotope of hydrogen) head-on in
an elastic collision.
(i) Assuming the mass of the neutron is equal to half that of the
deuteron, find the ratio of the final speed of the deuteron to the initial
speed of the neutron.
(ii) What percentage of the initial kinetic energy is transferred to the
deuteron?
(iii) How many such collisions would be needed to slow the neutron down
from 10MeV to 0.01eV?
[6]

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Circular Motion

Circular Motion
▶ Understand what force provides Centripetal force
▶ Be careful about critical conditions such as normal force is 0

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Circular Motion (cont.)
2018-h) A small particle of mass m can slide without friction round the
inside of a cylindrical hole of radius r , in a rectangular shaped object of
mass M. The rectangular object is held between rigid walls by small
wheels so that it can slide up and down without friction, as shown in
Figure 2. If the small particle m is initially at rest at the bottom of the
cylindrical hole, and is then given an impulse to give it a speed v , what is
the minimum speed v needed to just lift the rectangular mass M off the
ground?

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Fluid

Fluid
▶ Understand what is the buoyant force in the question
▶ Be careful about calculations regarding different volumes

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Fluid (cont.)
2019-f) Platinum (symbol Pt ) and potassium (symbol K ) have
densities of 21.5 g
cm−3 and 0.89 g cm−3 respectively. How many cubic
centimetres cm3 of platinum could be attached to 10.0 cm3 of
potassium before the combination sinks in mercury of density
13.6 g cm−3 ? Ignore any chemical reactions. [4]

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Wave Function

Wave Function
▶ Understand the wave function and its derivatives
▶ Know how to extract physical quantities relate to the wave function
▶ Know the relationships between frequency, wavelength, period, wave
speed, etc.

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Wave Function (cont.)
2018-1) Some sand is sprinkled onto a loudspeaker cone which is pointing
vertically upwards. The loudspeaker is driven in simple harmonic motion
when attached to a signal generator and the frequency is gradually
raised. At a particular frequency, when the amplitude of oscillation is
0.20 mm, the sand begins to lose contact with the cone. At what
frequency does this occur? [3]

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Interference

▶ Understand how to find the path difference from the question

▶ Understand if there is a phase shift during reflection
▶ Connect the path difference to the constructive or destructive
requirements
▶ Often solve in nm

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Interference (cont.)
2018-j) A thick-bottomed, cylindrical glass beaker is placed on a bench.
Water and oil are poured into the beaker and form discrete layers, as
shown in Figure 4. The bottom of the beaker is 1.8 cm thick, the water
is 1.2 cm deep, and the oil layer is 0.8 cm deep.
(i) Draw a diagram showing the path of a ray at a small angle to the
normal, travelling from the underside of the beaker and being refracted
through the layers.
(ii) Assuming the angles of deviation of the ray are small, calculate the
apparent vertical displacement of the lab bench when viewed from above.
The refractive indices are 1.5, 1.3 and 1.1 for the glass, water and oil
respectively.

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Interference (cont.)

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Electric Field and Potential

Electric Field and Potential

▶ Understand how to calculate electric potential from point charges
▶ Understand the properties of conductors
▶ Understand how to connect electric field and potential
▶ etc.

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Electric Field and Potential (cont.)
2019-q) Three conducting spheres of radii 31 R, 12 R and R are mounted on
insulating rods, and are well separated from each other. The 13 R and R
spheres are each charged to a potential V , whilst the 12 R sphere is
uncharged. Then a thin copper wire is used to briefly connect all three
spheres. What fraction of the original charge on the two spheres is now
on the 21 R sphere? [5]

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Circuits

Circuits
▶ Know how to calculate resistance and capacitance from the object
itself
▶ Understand Kirchhoff’s law and how to apply it to circuit problems
▶ Setup equations based on the junction and loop law
▶ Check the answer if making sense

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Circuits (cont.)
2019-o) Determine the current in the 6.0Ω resistor shown in the Fig 3.
The cells have no internal resistance.

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Ideal Gas Law

Ideal gas law

▶ Find the states of initial and final conditions
▶ Know the invariant quantities during the process
▶ Make sure the temperature is Kelvin

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Ideal Gas Law (cont.)
2018-p) Two identical spherical glass containers are joined by a narrow
tube, whose volume is negligible compared to the spheres. The spheres
contain air at 100◦ C. One of the spheres is then heated by 50◦ C whilst
the other is cooled by 50◦ C. This produces a small change in pressure,
from P initial to Pfinal , of the air in the system. What common
temperature of the two spheres could produce the same final pressure
Pfinal ? [4]

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Heat and Temperature

Heat and Temperature

▶ Heat transfer: often use the power for heat transfer to calculate
unknown quantities (Thermal Conductivity)
▶ Temperature change: often adding another object to the system to
see how the temperature changes (Specific Heat)
▶ Understand the states for initial and final conditions
▶ Connect the different states using energy conservation
▶ Integration may be used for such kind of problems

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Heat and Temperature (cont.)
2019-r) The thermal power flowing by conduction through a surface is
proportional to the temperature difference across the surface, ∆θ, the
area of the surface, A and inversely proportional to the thickness ∆x. The
constant of proportionality is known as the thermal conductivity.
A 60 cm composite rod, of constant cross section, is made of 20 cm
lengths of steel, copper and aluminium joined together. The rod is well
insulated. The tip of the steel end of the rod is maintained at 100◦ C and
the tip of the aluminium end, at 0◦ C. What are the temperatures at each
of the two junctions of dissimilar metals? Thermal conductivities are as
follows: steel 60 W m−1 K−1 ; copper 400Wm−1 K−1 ; aluminium
240Wm−1 K−1 . [5]

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Heat and Temperature (cont.)
2017-g) In a factory heating system, water enters the radiators at 60◦ C
and leaves at 38◦ C. The system is replaced by one in which steam at
100◦ C is condensed in the radiators, the condensed steam leaving at
82◦ C. What mass of steam will supply the same heat energy as 1.00 kg
of hot water described in the first instance? (The latent heat of
vaporisation of water is 2.260 × 106 J kg−1 at 100◦ C. The specific heat
capacity of water is 4200 J kg−1 ◦ C−1 .) [4]

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Photoelectic Effect

Photoelectic Effect
▶ Understand the concept of work function, stopping potential, photon
energy
▶ Understand that in the process the energy is conserved

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Photoelectic Effect (cont.)
2016-j) The maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons ejected from a
tungsten surface by monochromatic light of wavelength 248 nm is
8.60 × 10−20 J. What is the value of the work function, W , of tungsten?
[3]

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Radioactive Decay

Radioactive Decay
▶ Understand the equations for radioactive decay
▶ Understand how to find half life

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Radioactive Decay (cont.)
2016-m) The activity of polonium, Po, fell to one eighth of its initial
value in 420 days. Calculate the half-life, th , of polonium. Give the
numerical values of a, b, c, d, e, and f in the nuclear equation
a
b Po → cd α + 206
82 Pb + eγ
f

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Young’s Modulus

Young’s Modulus
▶ Understand the equation of Young’s Modulus
▶ know how to use pressure, thermal expansion, to find quantities used
in the equation

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Young’s Modulus (cont.)
2018-n) A steel girder is planted securely between two sides of a ravine in
order to provide a bridge. The total cross-sectional area of the girder is
30 cm2 , and the length of the girder is 4.0 m. Installed at a temperature
of 5◦ C, the temperature now rises to 20◦ C. Calculate the force exerted
by the girder due to the change in temperature, assuming the ends do
not move. Young modulus of steel = 2.0 × 1011 Pa Linear expansivity of
steel (fractional expansion per unit temperature rise) = 1.2 × 10−7◦ C−1
at 5◦ C. [4]

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End

Thank you and any Questions?

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