Physical Optics

In a Young's double-slit experiment, the slit separation is doubled. To maintain the same fringe spacing on the screen, the screen-to-slit distance D must be changed to

• D/2

• D/ $\sqrt{2}$

• $\sqrt{2}$ D

• 2D

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

A student is doing an experiment in which monochromatic light passes through a double slit, creating a pattern of dark and bright lines on a nearby screen. The student has a red light and a green light. The student also has two sets of slits, one with a small separation between the slits and one with a large separation. Which of the following lists the color and slit separation that will create the pattern with the greatest separation between the bright lines?

• Color = Green Slit Separation = Large

• Color = Green Slit Separation = Small

• Color = Red Slit Separation = Large

• Color = Red Slit Separation = Small

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

Some students performing a double-slit interference experiment with light want to increase the separation of the interference maxima to improve their measurement of the spacing between maxima. Which of the following changes by itself will accomplish this goal? Select two answers.

• Using a light source that has a shorter wavelength

• Increasing the distance between the slits and the screen

• Decreasing the separation between the slits

• Decreasing the distance between the light source and the slits

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

Observations that indicate that visible light has a wavelength much shorter than a centimeter include which of the following?

I. The colored pattern seen in a soap bubble

II. The colored pattern seen when light passes through a diffraction grating

III. The bending of light when it passes from one medium to another medium

• I only

• III only

• I and II

• II and III

• I, II, and III

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

A parallel beam of light of wavelength 4.5 X 10^-7 m is incident on a pair of slits that are 5.0 x 10^-4 m apart. The interference pattern is focused on a screen 2.0 m from the slits. The separation between two adjacent bright fringes is most nearly

• 3.6 x 10^-3 m

• 2.7 x 10^-3 m

• 5.4 x 10^-3 m

• 1.8 x 10^-3 m

• 0.9 x 10^-3 m

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

A thin film with index of refraction n_f separates two materials, each of which has an index of refraction less than n_f. A monochromatic beam of light is incident normally on the film, as shown above. If the light has wavelength λ within the film, maximum constructive interference between the incident beam and the reflected beam occurs for which of the following film thicknesses?

• λ/4

• λ/2

• λ

• 2λ

• 3λ

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

The figure above shows a model of an electromagnetic wave, where E is the electric field and B is the magnetic field. In what direction is the energy of the wave transmitted?

• In a direction that is at a nonzero angle to each of the axes

• Along the x-axis only

• Along the z-axis only

• Along the y-axis only

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

You and a friend are traveling in a car. You tune the car radio to a station of frequency 850 kHz. Both the sound and radio waves are present inside the car. Which of the following is true about these waves?

• Both waves travel at the speed of light.

• Both waves can be polarized.

• Both waves are longitudinal.

• Sound waves require a medium in which to propagate and radio waves do not.

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NGSS.HS-PS4-3

The graph below represents the electric field strength of a radio wave at a given position as a function of time. Which of the following best represents the electric field strength E measured in V/m as a function of time t measured in μs ?

• E = (3.0 x 10^-4)sin(10.6t)

• E = (3.0 x 10^-4)sin(5.32t)

• E = (1.5 x 10^-4)sin(10.6t)

• E = (1.5x 10^-4)sin(5.32t)

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

NGSS.HS-PS4-3

Light from a very distant source is incident from the left on a barrier containing a single slit. If the width of the slit is much less than the wavelength of the light, which of the following best shows the shape of the wave fronts that are found on the other side of the slit?

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

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NGSS.HS-PS4-1