Exam

Name___________________________________

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1) Monochromatic coherent light shines through a pair of slits. If the distance between these slits is 1)
decreased, which of the following statements are true of the resulting interference pattern? (There
could be more than one correct choice.)
A) The distance between the minima increases.
B) The distance between the minima stays the same.
C) The distance between the maxima stays the same.
D) The distance between the maxima increases.
E) The distance between the maxima decreases.

2) Monochromatic coherent light shines through a pair of slits. If the wavelength of the light is 2)
decreased, which of the following statements are true of the resulting interference pattern? (There
could be more than one correct choice.)
A) The distance between the maxima stays the same.
B) The distance between the maxima decreases.
C) The distance between the minima decreases.
D) The distance between the minima stays the same.
E) The distance between the minima increases.

3) A double-slit interference experiment is performed in the air. Later, the same apparatus is 3)
immersed in benzene (which has an index of refraction of 1.50), and the experiment is repeated.
When the apparatus is in benzene, you observe that the interference fringes are
A) more widely spaced than when the apparatus is in air.
B) equally spaced as when the apparatus is in air.
C) more closely spaced than when the apparatus is in air.

4) In a double-slit interference experiment you are asked to use laser light of different wavelengths 4)
and determine the separation between adjacent maxima. You observe that this separation is
greatest when you illuminate the double slit with
A) red light.
B) yellow light.
C) blue light.
D) green light.
E) The separation is the same for all wavelengths.

5) Two light sources are said to be coherent if they are 5)

6) What do we mean when we say that two light rays striking a screen are in phase with each other? 6)
A) They are traveling at the same speed.
B) When the electric field due to one is a maximum, the electric field due to the other is also a
maximum, and this relation is maintained as time passes.
C) They alternately reinforce and cancel each other.
D) They have the same wavelength.

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 7) Two beams of coherent light start out at the same point in phase and travel different paths to arrive 7)
at point P. If the maximum constructive interference is to occur at point P, the two beams must
travel paths that differ by
A) an odd number of half-wavelengths.
B) a whole number of half-wavelengths.
C) a whole number of wavelengths.

8) Two beams of coherent light start out at the same point in phase and travel different paths to arrive 8)
at point P. If the maximum destructive interference is to occur at point P, the two beams must
travel paths that differ by
A) an odd number of half-wavelengths.
B) a whole number of half-wavelengths.
C) a whole number of wavelengths.

9) If a sheet containing two very thin slits is heated (without damaging it), what happens to the 9)
angular location of the first-order interference minimum?
A) It doesn't change.
B) It moves toward the centerline.
C) It moves away from the centerline.

10) In a double-slit experiment, it is observed that the distance between adjacent maxima on a remote 10)
screen is 1.0 cm. What happens to the distance between adjacent maxima when the slit separation
is cut in half?
A) It increases to 4.0 cm.
B) It decreases to 0.50 cm.
C) It decreases to 0.25 cm.
D) It increases to 2.0 cm.
E) None of these choices are correct.

11) In a single-slit diffraction experiment, the width of the slit through which light passes is reduced. 11)
What happens to the width of the central bright fringe in the resulting diffraction pattern?
A) It stays the same. B) It becomes wider. C) It becomes narrower.

12) A single-slit diffraction pattern is formed on a distant screen. Assuming the angles involved are 12)
small, by what factor will the width of the central bright spot on the screen change if the
wavelength of the illuminating light is doubled?
A) It will be cut to one-quarter its original size.
B) It will be cut in half.
C) It will become four times as large.
D) It will double.
E) It will become eight times as large.

13) A single-slit diffraction pattern is formed on a distant screen. Assuming the angles involved are 13)
small, by what factor will the width of the central bright spot on the screen change if the slit width
is doubled?
A) It will become eight times as large.
B) It will be cut to one-quarter its original size.
C) It will be cut in half.
D) It will become four times as large.
E) It will double.

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14) If a sheet containing a single slit is heated (without damaging it) and therefore expands, what 14)
happens to the angular location of the first-order diffraction minimum?
A) It moves away from the centerline.
B) It moves toward the centerline.
C) It doesn't change.

15) If a sheet containing a single thin slit is heated (without damaging it) and therefore expands, what 15)
happens to the width of the central bright diffraction region on a distant screen?
A) It doesn't change. B) It gets narrower. C) It gets wider.

16) What principle is responsible for light spreading as it passes through a narrow slit? 16)
A) polarization B) dispersion C) refraction D) diffraction

17) Radio waves are diffracted by large objects such as buildings, whereas light is not noticeably 17)
diffracted. Why is this?
A) Radio waves are unpolarized, whereas light is normally polarized.
B) The wavelength of light is much smaller than the wavelength of radio waves.
C) Radio waves are coherent and light is usually not coherent.
D) Radio waves are polarized, whereas light is usually unpolarized.
E) The wavelength of light is much greater than the wavelength of radio waves.

18) Which of the following changes would increase the separation between the bright fringes in the 18)
diffraction pattern formed by a diffraction grating?
A) Immerse the apparatus in water.
B) Increase the separation between the slits.
C) Increase the wavelength of the light used.
D) All of these.
E) None of these.

19) Light of the same wavelength passes through two diffraction gratings. One grating has 4000 19)
lines/cm, and the other one has 6000 lines/cm. Which grating will spread the light through a larger
angle in the first-order pattern?
A) the 6000-line grating
B) the 4000-line grating
C) Both gratings spread the light the same.

20) If a diffraction grating is heated (without damaging it) and therefore expands, what happens to the 20)
angular location of the first-order maximum?
A) It doesn't change.
B) It moves away from the centerline.
C) It moves toward the centerline.

21) Light in a frozen block of ice reflects off the ice-air interface at the surface of the block. What phase 21)
shift does it undergo?
A) 180°
B) 270°
C) 90°
D) 0°
E) It does not undergo any phase shift.

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22) Light reflects off the surface of Lake Superior. What phase shift does it undergo? 22)
A) 180°
B) 90°
C) 0°
D) 270°
E) It does not undergo any phase shift.

23) When a beam of light that is traveling in glass strikes an air boundary at the surface of the glass, 23)
there is
A) no phase change in the reflected beam.
B) a 90° phase change in the reflected beam.
C) a 180° phase change in the reflected beam.
D) a 60° phase change in the reflected beam.
E) a 45° phase change in the reflected beam.

24) When a beam of light that is traveling in air is reflected by a glass surface, there is 24)
A) a 90° phase change in the reflected beam.
B) a 60° phase change in the reflected beam.
C) a 180° phase change in the reflected beam.
D) no phase change in the reflected beam.
E) a 45° phase change in the reflected beam.

25) When a beam of light, originally traveling in air, enters a piece of glass having an index of 25)
refraction of 3/2, its speed
A) is unaffected.
B) increases by a factor of 3/2.
C) is reduced to 2/3 its original value.

26) The colors on an oil slick are caused by reflection and 26)
A) diffraction.
B) ionization.
C) interference.
D) polarization.
E) refraction.

27) If a metal sheet containing a tiny hole is heated (without damaging it) and therefore expands, what 27)
happens to the angular location of the first-order diffraction maximum?
A) It doesn't change.
B) It moves toward the centerline.
C) It moves away from the centerline.

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Answer Key
Testname:

1) A, D
2) B, C
3) C
4) A
5) B
6) B
7) C
8) A
9) B
10) D
11) B
12) D
13) C
14) B
15) C
16) D
17) B
18) C
19) A
20) C
21) D
22) A
23) A
24) C
25) C
26) C
27) B