CAP High School/CEGEP Prize Exam

April 11, 2018

9:00 - 12:00

Student Information Sheet

The following information will be used to inform students and schools of the exam results, to determine eligibility
for some subsequent competitions and for statistical purposes. Only the marking code, to be assigned by the local
examination committee, will be used to identify papers for marking.

Marking Code:
This box must be left empty.

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY IN BLOCK LETTERS

Student First Name

Student Last Name

Teacher Name

Home Address:

Postal Code:

Telephone: ( ) Email:

School: Grade:

Date of Birth:

Gender: Citizenship:

If you are not a Canadian citizen, what is your Immigration Status?

For how many years have you studied in a Canadian school?

Would you prefer further correspondence in French or English?

By signing this page I agree that, if my score on this Exam is in the top 20 nationally or in the top 6 in my province,

my name, my school’s name, and my ranking can be published.

Student’s signature:

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 Sponsored by: Boltzmann’s constant kB = 1.38 × 10−23 J/K
Astronomical Unit (approximate distance from the Sun
to the Earth) 1 au = 1.49598 × 1011 m
Canadian Association of Physicists; Radius of the Earth RE = 6.371 × 106 m
Canadian Physics Olympiad; Radius of the Sun RS = 6.96 × 108 m
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stefan’s constant σ = 5.6704 × 10−8 W/(m2 · K4 )
University of British Columbia. H2 Molar mass 2.016 g/mol
O2 Molar mass 31.998 g/mol
N2 Molar mass 28.013 g/mol
Mass of the Earth 5.97 × 1024 kg
2018 Canadian Association of Physicists Mass of the Sun 1.99 × 1030 kg
Highschool/Cegep Prize Exam
This is a three-hour exam. National ranking and prizes Section A
will be based on students’ performance on sections A
and B of the exam. Performance on questions in sec- 1) A ball is attached to a cylinder by a string and is given
tion A will be used to determine whose written work in an initial speed V1 at time t1 . The ball moves along a
section B will be marked for prize consideration by the frictionless surface and the cylinder is fixed and cannot
CAP Exam National Committee. Section A consists of rotate. What is the speed of the ball at a later time t2 ?
25 multiple-choice questions. The questions in section B
span a range of difficulty, and may require graphing. Be
careful to gather as many of the easier marks as possible
before venturing into more difficult territory. When you
are unable to solve any part of a question, you may as-
sume a likely answer to that part and attempt the rest of
the question anyway.
Non-programmable calculators may be used. Answer the
multiple-choice questions on the answer sheet pro-
vided. Most importantly: write your solutions to the
three long problems on three separate sheets as they L1
will be marked by people in different parts of Canada. a) V2 = L2 V1
Good luck. L1 +R
b) V2 = L2 +R V1
Notice: Full marks will be given to students who provide
full correct solutions to problems in Section B. Partial L21 +R2
marks will be given for partial solutions. There are no c) V2 = V
L22 +R2 1
penalties for incorrect answers. The questions are not of √ 2 2
L +R
equal difficulty. Remember that we are challenging the d) V2 = √ 12 2 V1
L2 +R
best physics students in Canada; it is possible that even
the best papers may not achieve an overall score of 80%. e) V2 = V1
This Exam is meant to be tough!
2) In the previous question, at t = t1 , at what rate does
Data the string wind around the cylinder (i.e. at what speed
does L1 get shorted)?
Speed of light c = 3.00 × 108 m/s
Gravitational constant G = 6.67 × 10−11 N·m2 /kg2 a) L1
R V1
Acceleration due to gravity g = 9.81 m/s2
Standard atmospheric pressure P0 = 1.01 × 105 Pa b) L1 +R
R V1
Density of fresh water ρ = 1.00 × 103 kg/m3
R
Specific heat of water Cw = 4186 J/(kg·K) c) L1 V1
Specific heat of ice Ci = 2050 J/(kg·K)
R2
Latent heat of water Lw = 2260 kJ/kg d) V
L21 1
Latent heat of ice Li = 334 kJ/kg
L21
Density of ice ρi = 916 kg/m3 e) R2 V1
Fundamental charge e = 1.60 × 10−19 C
Mass of an electron me = 9.11 × 10−31 kg 3) Three planets, each with same mass, orbit in different
Mass of a proton mp = 1.67 × 10−27 kg orbits around the same star. Which statement is true
Planck’s constant h = 6.63 × 10−34 J·s about the total energy of the three orbits? Assume that
Electrostatic constant k = 8.99 × 109 N·m2 /C2 mplanets  Mstar .

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 a) k/2

b) k/3

c) 2k

d) 3k
a) E1 < E2 < E3

b) E2 < E1 < E3 e) 4k

c) E3 < E2 < E1
7) Knowing that Toronto’s coordinates are 43.6532◦ N,
d) E3 < E1 < E2 79.3832◦ W, what is the ratio of the solar power through a
horizontal surface at noon on the shortest day of the year
4) Charged particles with mass m and charge Q are in- to the solar power through the same horizontal surface
jected with speed v into a region with a constant magnetic at noon on the longest day of the year? (The tilt of the
field. The particles are injected in a direction perpendic- Earth is about 23.4◦ )
ular to the magnetic field lines and are found to move
in circular orbits with period T . If the experiment is a) 0.21
repeated for particles with mass 2m, charge Q/4, while
the magnetic field strength is tripled, what is the orbital b) 0.33
period of the particles in the new experiment?
c) 0.42
a) 8T/3

b) 3T/2 d) 0.62

c) 4T/3 8) Two rods of the length l1 and l2 are held between two
rigid walls l1 + l2 apart. Let α1 , E1 , A1 and α2 , E2 , A2 be
d) 2T
the thermal coefficient of expansion, Young modulus, and
e) T/3 the area of each rod respectively. Which of the following
conditions guarantees that the joint between the rods will
5) In the cube shown below, each edge is a wire with move left if the temperature of the system is increased?
resistance R. What is the equivalent resistance between (Assume that both rods preserve their cylindrical shapes)
points A and B?

a) R

1
b) 3R

2 a) α1 l1 > α2 l2
c) 3R

b) E1 α1 l1 > E2 α2 l2
1
d) 2R
E1 α1 l1 E2 α2 l2
c) A1 > A2
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e) 6R E1 α1 E2 α2
d) A1 > A2
6) Consider the arrangement of springs shown below. All
E1 E2
springs shown have a spring constant k. The first layer e) l1 A 1 > l2 A 2
contains 1 spring, the next 2 springs, the next 4, and so
on, with the nth layer containing 2n−1 springs. What is 9) A positive charge q is placed in front two semi-
the value of the spring constant of the entire assembly in infinite conducting walls as shown below. The walls are
the limit where the number of layers n goes to infinity grounded. Which arrow best represents the direction
(n → ∞) force on the charge q, if d1 < d2 ?

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 a) F1

b) F2 Which of the figures below best represents the P − V

diagram of the air in the pump as the ball is inflated?
c) F3

d) F4

e) F5

10) A person is knitting a sweater using a spherical ball

of yarn with an initial radius of 15 cm (at t = 0). The
radius of the ball of yarn is 10 cm after 5 hours (t = 5
h) of knitting. What is the radius of the ball of yarn at
time t = 7 h, assuming that the person is knitting at a
constant rate? a) c)
a) 8 cm

b) 7.07 cm

c) 6.16 cm

d) 3.68 cm
b) d)
e) 0 cm (the yarn would run out)

11) The pump shown below is used to inflate a ball and

is made of two compartment with volumes V1 and V2 and
two one-way valves shown as A1 and A2 . A one-way valve
is valve with two modes of operation:
Mode 1: the valve is open and there is a flow in the
direction shown in the figure. For this mode 12) As shown in the figure below, two balls of radii R1 = 2
Pressure(inflow) = Pressure(outflow). cm and R2  R1 , and with masses m2  m1 fall from
Mode 2: the valve is closed and flow is stopped since a height h = 1 m. Ignoring friction, assuming that all
Pressure(inflow) < Pressure(outflow). impacts are perfectly elastic and that the initial distance
Note: the one-way valve assures that between the balls is small, which of the choices below is
Pressure(inflow) ≤ Pressure(outflow). closest to the maximum height of ball 2 after one bounce?

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 a) 1 m

b) 2 m b)

c) 3 m

c)
d) 4 m

e) 9 m
d)
13) A ball is dropped from the top of a building with no
16) While the ball in the previous question is still going
initial speed. After 1 s, a second ball is thrown downward
upwards, the magnitude of the net force acting on the
with an initial vertical speed of 26 m/s. What is the min-
ball in the previous problem is:
imum height of the building if the second ball hits the
ground earlier than the first ball? a) Increasing

a) 0.45 m b) Decreasing

b) 4.91 m c) Remains constant with the height of the ball

17) Relative to an inertial frame at the centre of the earth,
c) 6.93 m
approximately how fast is a person in Vancouver (latitude
d) 8.33 m 49.3◦ N) moving due to the Earth’s rotation around its
axis?
e) 12.65 m
a) 700 m/s
14) A current of 12 mA passes through a red LED diode
b) 300 m/s
with a forward voltage of 3 V. Which of the following is a
good estimate for the number of photons per second this c) 450 m/s
LED produces?
d) 400 m/s
a) 1 × 1012
18) Which is more likely: that a single throw of a die will
b) 3 × 1014 result in ‘1’, or that three throws of a die will each result
in an odd number?
c) 1 × 1017
a) Single die throw resulting in ‘1’ is more likely
d) 3 × 1019
b) Three throws each resulting in an odd number is
e) 1 × 1022 more likely
c) These two events have the same probability
15) A ball is thrown upwards. Which of the following free
body diagrams best describes the forces acting on the ball 19) Collision of cosmic-rays entering the upper atmo-
when it is in the air moving upwards. Assume that air sphere of the Earth produce large numbers of particles
drag (friction) is proportional to speed. called muons. These muons move vertically through the
atmosphere at very high speed (comparable to the speed
of light, c), forming a beam of flux I. Because muons decay
into other particles, the flux changes with time according
t
to the exponential decay law I = I0 e− τ , where τ = 2.2
µs is the avarage lifetime in the rest frame of the muon,
I0 is the muon flux at time t = 0, and t is measured in
a) the rest frame of the muon. If we place a detector at a

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height on 10 km above the ground, we detect a muon flux d) Light bulb 4
of I0 = 1000 part/(s· m2 ). If we place the same detector
on the ground, we detect a muon flux of Ig = 49 part/(s· e) None of the above
m2 ). Assuming that the muons in the beam are all mov-
ing at the same relativistic speed, what is that speed? 22) A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star
(or white dwarf), with high density and short, regular ro-
a) v = 0.81 c tating period. You have just discovered a new pulsar that
b) v = 0.85 c spins around its axis 20 times per second. Assuming that
the object is spherical, what is its minimum density?
c) v = 0.90 c
a) ρ = 5.6 × 1013 kg/m3
d) v = 0.98 c

e) v = c b) ρ = 7.4 × 108 kg/m3

20) You want to launch a projectile from a cannon into c) ρ = 6.1 × 1010 kg/m3
deep space from the Moon, and are able to launch at dif-
ferent angles with respect to the ground. At what angle d) ρ = 2.2 × 108 kg/m3
would you need the lowest velocity to make the projectile
escape Moon’s gravity? (Neglect the rotational speed of e) ρ = 1.7 × 1013 kg/m3
the moon.)
23) A radioactive substance decays, and an emitted parti-
a) θ = 0◦
cle passes through a uniform magnetic field pointing into
b) θ = 45◦ page, as shown. Which labeling is correct?

c) θ = 60◦

d) θ = 90◦

e) Minimum velocity does not depend on θ

21) Given the circuit below, which light bulb do you have
to unplug so that V2 = 13 V1 ? The four light bulbs are
identical.

a) 1=alpha; 2=beta; 3=gamma

b) 1=alpha; 3=beta; 2=gamma

c) 2=alpha; 1=beta; 3=gamma

d) 2=alpha; 3=beta; 1=gamma

e) 3=alpha; 1=beta; 2=gamma

24) If you push with force F on either the heavy box

a) Light bulb 1 (m1 ) or the light box (m2 ), in which of these two cases is
b) Light bulb 2 the contact force between the two boxes smaller? Ignore
friction.
c) Light bulb 3

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 26) A person is moving away from two speakers S and S’
along the y direction as shown in the figure below. The
speakers are in phase with each other and emit a sound
wave with wavelength 6 cm. As the person moves away
from speaker S’, they mark the points on the y axis where
there is no sound. Which of the plots below shows the
position of the marked points correctly?

a)

a) case A
b)
b) case B
c)
c) same in both cases

d)
25) Consider an infinite wave moving to the right on a
non-stretchy string, as shown below. What is the direc-
tion of the velocity of a particle at the point labeled B?

End of Section A

a)

Section B starts on next page

b)

c)

d)

e) velocity is zero

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1) A closed 5-litre cylinder containing 0.25 g of a substance in solid and liquid forms was slowly heated using a

constant power. A graph of the temperature as a function of time is shown below. The heat capacity of the liquid

is 2.43 J/(g · K), the latent heat of melting is 105 J/g, and the molar density is 46 g/mol.

a) What is the melting point of the substance?

b) What is the boiling point of the substance?

c) How much of the substance was solid at the beginning?

d) What is the latent heat of evaporation of the substance?

e) What is the specific heat of the gaseous state of the substance?

f) What is the pressure in the container at 200◦ C?

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2) A ball of mass m = 200 g is hung in the middle of horizontal elastic cord of length L = 1.5 m, attached to the

ceiling, as shown in figure below.

The elastic constant of the cord is k = 300 N/m.

a) What is the distance from the ceiling to the center of the ball, assuming that the cord was not stretched when it

was horizontal?

b) Calculate the period of very small oscillations from the equilibrium point.

c) Prove or disprove: when we pull the ball up to the ceiling and let it go, the resulting oscillations will be exactly

described by simple harmonic motion.

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3) The charge distribution shown below has three regions with charge densities of ρ0 , 0, and −ρ0 . The system can

be thought of as the superposition of two spheres of the same radius R1 = R2 = R and opposite charge density ρ0

and −ρ0 , with their centers placed at a distance D from each other, with D < 2R.

a) What is the electric field in the overlapping region?

b) Assume that D  R. We can approximate the charge distribution by a surface charge density σ(θ) distributed

on the surface of the sphere at radius r=R. Find σ(θ) as a function of ρ, D, 0 , and θ .

c) Using the charge distribution found in part b and the corresponding electric field from part a, find the surface

charge distribution σc (θ) of a neutral conducting sphere in a constant electric field E0 .

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Question 1 a b c d e f

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