University of the Philippines

College of Science

Physics 73
Second Long Exam Problem Set
First Semester, AY 20162017

Name:

Instructor:

Section/Class Schedule:

Student Number:

Course:

College:

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

Instructions: Choose the letter of the best answer to each of the following questions. To
change your answer, cross (X) out the shaded letter and supply your new answer with your
signature beside the item. Any form of cheating in examinations or any act of dishonesty in
relation to studies, such as plagiarism, shall be subject to disciplinary action.
USEFUL CONSTANTS
Speed of light in vacuum: c = 3 108 m/s
Plancks constant: h = 6.626 1034 J s
USEFUL CONVERSION FACTOR
1 eV = 1.602 1019 J
1. Relative Speed. A spaceship moves at speed v as measured by an observer on Earth. The
spaceship flashes a beam of light with speed c relative to it. What is the speed of this light
beam relative to the observer on Earth?
A. v + c
B. c v
C. c
D. v
2. Ditto. Which of the following quantities are invariant in inertial reference frames?
A. Magnetic field magnitude at a given point
B. Kinetic energy of an proton
C. Magnitude of charge of an electron
D. Linear momentum of a ball
3. Ive Got The Power. What is 100. W of power in natural units?
A. 2.70 1027 kg m2
B. 3.70 1024 kg/m
C. 1.11 1015 kg
D. 3.33 107 kg m

Page 2

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

4. Alice In Wonderland. Alice in her frame observes events A and B to have the coordinates
(2 m, 1 m) and (7 m, 4 m) respectively. If Bob observes Event A to have a coordinate of
(1 m, 3 m), which of the following can be the coordinate for event B according to Bob?
A. (5 m, 3 m)
B. (3 m, 5 m)
C. (4 m, 0 m)
D. (4 m, 3 m)
5. Rocketry. A pair of events happened at the same location in a certain rocket frame. If the
time measured in the rocket frame is one-half the time measured in a lab frame where the
same pair of events happened at different locations, what is the speed of the rocket relative
to the lab?
A. 0.50
B. 0.71
C. 0.75
D. 0.87
6. Supah Eezie. Two simultaneous events have a spatial separation of 3.00 m in the lab
frame. If in a rocket frame, these events have a spatial separation of 5.00 m, what is the
time interval between these events in the rocket frame?
A. 4.00 m
B. 3.00 m
C. 4.65 m
D. 5.12 m
7. Easy as ABC. In a certain inertial reference frame, events A and B are timelike-separated
while events B and C are spacelike-separated. Which of the following statement/s is/are
ALWAYS true?
I. Event B can affect or be affected by Event C via light emission.
II. Event A can affect or be affected by Event C via particle emission.
III. Event B can affect or be affected by Event A via particle emission.
A. I and II only
B. II and III only
C. I only
D. III only

Page 3

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

8. The Unerring Path. Which of the following is the correct spacetime diagram for a particle
that moves to the right at a constant velocity and then stops?

A.

C.

B.

D.

For the next two items consider events 1 to 5 in the spacetime diagram shown.

9. Sabay. Which pair of events can occur simultaneously in some other reference frame?
A. 3 and 4

B. 2 and 4

C. 2 and 3

Page 4

D. 1 and 5

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

10. Same ground. Which pair of events can occur at the same place in some other reference
frame?
A. 2 and 3

B. 4 and 5

C. 1 and 2

D. 1 and 3

11. Alexander the Great. According to an alien travelling at some velocity relative to a moving galaxy, the birth of Alexander the Great occurred at (0.00 m, 0.00 m) and his death at
(7.00 m, 3.63 m). According to the galaxy, Alexanders birth and death occurred at (3.50 m,
4.80 m) and (15.5 m, 15.2 m), respectively. What is the velocity of the alien relative to the
galaxy?
A. 0.632
B. 0.632
C. 0.866
D. 0.866
12. J and J. James sees John moving at a velocity of -0.500. If John observes an explosion at
(5.40 m, 4.30 m), what are the spacetime coordinates of this explosion according to James
if their spacetime origins coincide?
A. (3.75 m, 1.85 m)
B. (8.72 m, 8.08 m)
C. (1.85 m, 3.75 m)
D. (8.08 m, 8.72 m)
13. Truensformation. Which of the following statements is/are TRUE regarding the Lorentz
Coordinate Transformation?
I. It is an example of a covariant transformation.
II. It can yield a time coordinate that is less than zero.
III. It can be used to derive the velocity transformation.
A. I only
B. II only
C. I and II
D. I, II, and III

Page 5

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

14. Fake Taxi. A relativistic taxi is moving with velocity -0.600 with respect to Ken. If Ken
records an event to be at (2.50 m, -1.20 m), what is the coordinates of the event according
to the taxi?
A. (4.03 m, -0.660 m)
B. (4.03 m, 0.380 m)
C. (2.23 m, -0.600 m)
D. (2.23 m, 0.38 m)

15. Dagdagan, dagdagan, huwag bawasan! An activist is holding a square placard with side
length of 0.400 m. Upon seeing the riot police, he runs away with a velocity of 0.60 with
respect to a bystander. What would be the area of the placard as viewed by the bystander?
A. 0.102 m2
B. 0.128 m2
C. 0.160 m2
D. 0.200 m2

16. Time in! Pikachu rode a relativistic bus with velocity 0.700 with respect to a space station.
If Pikachus wristwatch measured his whole trip to last 3.00 m, how much time has elapsed
according to the space station?
A. 1.64 m
B. 2.14 m
C. 4.20 m
D. 5.40 m

Page 6

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

17. Stick-O. A meter stick is oriented such that it makes a 25 angle with respect to the yaxis and is stationary with respect to Planet X. How long is the meter stick according to a
spaceship moving with velocity +0.85 according to Planet X?
A. 0.64 m
B. 0.93 m
C. 1.00 m
D. 0.53 m

18. The Main Event. The frame x0 moves relative to frame x as shown in the figure. Let event
P be the moment when McGregor lost to Diaz. Which event occurs simultaneously with
event P in the moving frame x0 ?

Page 7

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

19. Justin time. Consider the spacetime diagram of events as viewed by a laboratory frame.
Which of these events can occur at the same place as observed by a rocket frame with
velocity 1/2?

A. A,F
B. B,G
C. A,E
D. A,D
20. Space Oddity. Consider the spacetime diagram of
Events A, B, and C according to the lab frame as shown.
According to Rocket 1, events A and B occur at the same
place. According to Rocket 2, events A and C occur at
the same time. What are the velocities of Rocket 1 (1 )
and Rocket 2 (2 ) with respect to the lab frame?
A. 1 = 2/3 and 2 = 1/3
B. 1 = 1/3 and 2 = 2/3
C. 1 = 3 and 2 = 3/2
D. 1 = 3/2 and 2 = 3

Page 8

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

21. ABC. Consider the spacetime diagram of events A, B, and C as shown. Which of the
following rocket frame velocities can yield t0B < t0A < t0C ?

A.
B.
C.

1
3
2
3
4
5

D. No such frame exists.

22. Tom and Jerry. According to the lab frame, Tom is moving away at a speed of 0.920 to
chase Jerry. If the velocity of Jerry with respect to the lab frame is 0.973, what is Jerrys
velocity relative to Tom?
A. 0.053
B. 0.506
C. 0.732
D. 0.999
23. Rapide. A particle is moving with a rapidity of 0.405 with respect to an observer in the
lab frame. If an observer in the rocket frame measures the rapidity of the particle to be
0.214, what is the velocity of the rocket frame with respect to the lab frame?
A. 0.19

B. 0.19

C. 0.55

Page 9

D. 0.55

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

24. Color Radar. You shine a beam of blue light with frequency 1/(350 nm) on a mirror that
is moving with constant speed with respect to you. If you see the reflected light beam as
green with frequency 1/(550 nm), what is the velocity of the mirror?
A. 0.22, moving away

C. 0.47, moving away

B. 0.22, moving towards

D. 0.47, moving towards

25. Eluding. Suppose a criminal escapes on top of a fast rocket that is travelling at a velocity
of 0.60 relative to a lab frame. The criminal jumps with a velocity of 0.20 relative to
the rocket. What is the criminals velocity as observed by the witness in the lab frame?
Assume that all motions are in one direction and all velocities are constant.
A. 0.33

B. 0.71

C. 0.40

D. 0.45

26. OPM. In his fight against Lord Voros, Saitama moved with velocity 0.800 with respect to
Lord Voros. If the mass of Saitama is 70 kg, what is his total energy?
A. 52.1 kg

B. 54.6 kg

C. 157 kg

D. 117 kg

27. The relativistic electron. An electron with mass m has a kinetic energy equal to its mass.
What is the momentum of this electron?

A. m
B. 3m
C. 3 m
D. 5 m
28. OMG bacteria. The most energetic cosmic particle ever detected (OMG particle) was
measured to have 3.0 1020 eV of energy. If a cyanobacterium (with mass 1.7 1020 eV)
has the same energy as that particle, what will be the bacteriums speed?
A. 0.46

B. 0.66

C. 0.83

D. 0.99

29. Reflection. What is the energy of a photon with frequency 1/(490 nm)?
A. 1.24 eV

B. 1.58 eV

Page 10

C. 2.04 eV

D. 2.53 eV

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

30. Enementum. In a lab frame, a particle has energy and momentum of 46 MeV and 9.9 MeV,
respectively. What is the energy E 0 and momentum p0 of the same particle as measured in
a rocket frame with a rapidity of 0.11 relative to the lab frame?
A. E 0 = 46 MeV, p0 = 9.9 MeV
B. E 0 = 214 MeV, p0 = 20 MeV
C. E 0 = 46 MeV, p0 = 9.9 MeV
D. E 0 = 214 MeV, p0 = 20 MeV
31. Legit reflection. A 1/(424 nm)-frequency photon is incident on a plane mirror at 45 from
normal. If, on a rocket frame moving parallel to the mirror surface, the photon is normally
incident on the plane mirror, what is the rocket frame frequency of the photon?
A. 1/(1024 nm)
B. 1/(783 nm)
C. 1/(600 nm)
D. 1/(176 nm)
32. Party call. A particle at rest in the lab frame has a mass of 5 kg. If an observer in a rocket
frame measures the momentum of the same particle to be 2.5 kg, what is the velocity of the
rocket frame with respect to the lab frame?
A. 0.45

B. 0.45

C. 0.6

33. E-p diagram. The energy-momentum diagram of a particle with mass m is shown. What can be said about the
mass of the particle?
A. m = 3 kg
B. 0 < m < 3 kg
C. m > 3 kg
D. m = 0

Page 11

D. 0.6

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

34. This is the Moment,Uhm. A particle with mass m has a kinetic energy of 3m. What is its
momentum?
A. 3.34m
B. 5.39m
C. 2.72m
D. 3.16m
35. Rivals. Consider a particle of mass m at rest noninteracting with photons with energies 6m and 8m shown
in the figure. What is the mass of this system?
A. 14.9m
B. 20.5m
C. 221m
D. 421m
36. IVM. A particle has energy-momentum 4-vector (E, px , py , pz ) = (65 eV, 10 eV, 0 eV, 25 eV).
What is its mass?
A. 59 eV
B. 30 eV
C. 70 eV
D. 69 eV
37. Kinetic. Two identical particles, each with mass 2m and same initial speed, collide headon and annihilate in the process, creating a new particle with mass m at rest and a photon
with energy 4m. What is the total kinetic energy of the original particles before collision?
A. 2m
B. 1.5m
C. m
D. 0.5m

Page 12

Second Problem Set

First Semester, AY 20162017

Physics 73

38. T-p. Consider the figure shown. A photon with energy

10m strikes particle B with mass 3m moving opposite
to its direction. They annihilate, creating two new photons with energies 8m and 11m that move in opposite
directions. What is the kinetic energy T and momentum
magnitude p of particle B before collision?
A. T = 6m, p = 13m
B. T = 6m, p = 9m
C. T = 10m, p = 13m
D. T = 10m, p = 9m
39. Decay. A neutral 0 (having a mass of 0.642 u) that is at rest decays into two gamma ray
photons. What is the energy in MeV of each photon? (1 u = 931.5 MeV)
A. 119 MeV
B. 149 MeV
C. 299 MeV
D. 597 MeV
40. Head-on-shoulders! Two identical photons collide head-on producing an electron-positron
(melectron = mpositron = m) pair. If both the electron and the positron have the same momentum magnitude m, then what is the energy carried by one of the colliding photons?
A. 2m

B. 2m
C. 4m
D. m

Page 13