Physics 3-4

Practice Midterm 1
Electromagnetism
Physics Midterm Study Guide
1. Conceptually understand, identify and describe the following:
a. The electromagnetic force - one of the four fundamental interactions between nature and
matter - repels and attracts over infinite distance (electricity and magnetism are aspects).
b. The electromagnetic spectrum - the different types of wavelengths and frequencies (radio,
micro, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma) (when shown a diagram of different
wavelengths, you must be able to point out which side has more energy - higher frequency
= higher energy.)
i.
Protect yourselves from gamma rays and UV light and not radio waves because
because they have a higher frequency. This has the capability to damage cells and
DNA.
c. Electricity - transfer of electrons through conductive materials.
d. Magnetism - the force that attracts and repels positives and negatives.
e. Charge - something can have a more positive or more negative charge.
f. Light - part of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans see - can be particles or waves.
Made from electrons jumping into higher orbits and then falling back down.
2. Use the diagram below to talk about how light reaches the sensor of a digital camera.

Light enters through the lens, then bounces off the reflex mirror and reflects through the pentaprism and
out into the eyepiece. When you press the button, the reflex mirror flips up and the light hits the sensor.
The sensor captures the light by knocking the electrons off the silicon in the sensor. Those electrons then
get processed into data of 0s and 1s. This data is read by a computer and is translated into an image.
(Color is made because the sensor uses an Red-Green-Blue filter to tell the color of each pixel).

3. Conceptually understand and write about how the sensor of a digital camera takes light
and turns it into digital images we see. Be sure to know the following terms for this
description:
a. Silicon semiconductor - part of the sensor that captures the light.
b. Pixel - a bunch of small, colored lights (red, blue, and green) - an image is comprised of a
bunch of them.
c. Photon - tiny parts that make up light (acts as a wave and a particle).
d. Light Intensity - how bright or dim the light is.
e. Capacitive coupling - the transfer of energy in an electric network.
f. How color is produced from light intensity - the more intense a light is, the higher the
frequency. These different frequencies produce different colors through the use of an
RGB filter.
4. Be able to solve a problem based on the force generated by point charges using Coulombs
Law such as the following: What is the force in Newtons between an electron and a proton
separated by 15 nm in air on earth (remember the fundamental charge of electrons and
protons is 1.6x1019C and k = 9x109Nm2/C 2)
***Distance must be in meters. To convert nanometers to meters, multiply by 10^-8.
***k = experimental constant, q = amount of charge in C, r = distance between q1 and q2.
Fe = k ((q1*q2)/r^2)
Fe = (9*10^9) * ((1.6*10^-19)^2)/(1.5*10^-8)^2)
Fe = 1.024 * 10^-12 Nm
5. Or calculate the force caused by two charges - one of 0.5 C and the other of 0.25 C
separated by 80 m.
***Unless otherwise stated, k is always 9*10^9
Fe = k ((q1*q2)/r^2)
Fe = (9*10^9) * ((0.5*0.25))/(80^2)
Fe = 175,781.25 Nm
6. Be able to solve a problem based on wave mathematics such as the following. Calculate
the frequency of an electromagnetic wave (in a vacuum) with a length of 320 nm.
***Convert 320 nm to m (conversions will be on the test)
***Speed of light is 3*10^8 m/s
v = f*
v/ = f

300,000,000/(320*10^-9) = f
f = 9.375*10^14 Hz
7. Or calculate the wavelength of waves moving in water if the 8 peaks pass by an observer in
50 seconds and they are moving at 3 m/s.

= v/f
= 3/.16
= 18.75 m

***Challenge hint:
Silicon cannot be made deeper - it can only accept light at one depth. It would
increase resolution if we could make them deeper, but since we cant, we can only expand the silicon
wider to take in more pixels.