Which of the following time measuring devices is most precise?

(a) A wall clock.

(b) A stop watch.

(c) A digital watch.

(d) An atomic clock. Give reason for your answer.

In an experiment to estimate the size of a molecule of oleic acid 1 mL of oleic acid is dissolved in 19 mL of alcohol. Then 1 mL of this solution is diluted to 20 mL by adding alcohol. Now 1 drop of this diluted solution is placed on water in a shallow trough. The solution spreads over the surface of water forming one molecule thick layer. Now, lycopodium powder is sprinkled evenly over the film and its diameter is measured. Knowing the volume of the drop and area of the film we can calculate the thickness of the film which will give us the size of oleic acid molecule.

Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:

(a) Why do we dissolve oleic acid in alcohol?

(b) What is the role of lycopodium powder?

(c) What would be the volume of oleic acid in each mL of solution prepared?

(d) How will you calculate the volume of n drops of this solution of oleic acid?

(e) What will be the volume of oleic acid in one drop of this solution?

The principle of ‘parallax’ in section 2.3.1 is used in the determination of distances of very distant stars. The baseline AB is the line joining the Earth’s two locations six months apart in its orbit around the Sun. That is, the baseline is about the diameter of the Earth’s orbit � 3 × 10¹¹m. However, even the nearest stars are so distant that with such a long baseline, they show parallax only of the order of 1” (second) of arc or so. A parsec is a convenient unit of length on the astronomical scale. It is the distance of an object that will show a parallax of 1” (second) of arc from opposite ends of a baseline equal to the distance from the Earth to the Sun. How much is a parsec in terms of metres?

(a) How many astronomical units (A.U.) make 1 parsec?

(b) Consider a sunlike star at a distance of 2 parsecs. When it is seen through a telescope with 100 magnification, what should be the angular size of the star? Sun appears to be (1/2)° fromthe earth. Due to atmospheric fluctuations, eye can’t resolve objects smaller than 1 arc minute.

(c) Mars has approximately half of the earth’s diameter. When it is closest to the earth it is at about 1/2 A.U. from the earth. Calculate what size it will appear when seen through the same telescope.

(Comment : This is to illustrate why a telescope can magnify planets but not stars.)

Einstein’s mass - energy relation emerging out of his famous theory of relativity relates mass (m ) to energy (E ) as E = mc², where c is speed of light in vacuum. At the nuclear level, the magnitudes of energy are very small. The energy at nuclear level is usually measured in MeV, where 1 MeV= 1.6×10^-13J; the masses are measured in unified atomic mass unit (u) where

1u = 1.67 × 10^-27 kg.

(a) Show that the energy equivalent of 1 u is 931.5 MeV.

(b) A student writes the relation as 1 u = 931.5 MeV. The teacher points out that the relation is dimensionally incorrect. Write the correct relation.

Explain this common observation clearly: If you look out of the window of a fast moving train, the nearby trees, houses etc. seem to move rapidly in a direction opposite to the train’s motion, but the distant objects (hill tops, the Moon, the stars etc.) seem to be stationary. (In fact, since you are aware that you are moving, these distant objects seem to move with you).

A LASER is a source of very intense, monochromatic, and unidirectional beam of light. These properties of a laser light can be exploited to measure long distances. The distance of the Moon from the Earth has been already determined very precisely using a laser as a source of light. A laser light beamed at the Moon takes 2.56 s to return after reflection at the Moon’s surface. How much is the radius of the lunar orbit around the Earth?

Estimate the average mass density of a sodium atom assuming its size to be about 2.5 Å. (Use the known values of Avogadro’s number and the atomic mass of sodium). Compare it with the density of sodium in its crystalline phase: 970 kg m^-3. Are the two densities of the same order of magnitude? If so, why?

The unit of length on the nuclear scale is a Fermi: 1 f = 10^-15 m. nuclear sizes obey roughly the following empirical relation:

r = r₀ A^1/3

where r is the radius of the nucleus, A its mass number, and r₀ is a constant equal to about, 1.2 f. Show that the rule implies that nuclear mass density is nearly constant for different nuclei. Estimate the mass density of sodium nucleus. Compare it with the average mass density of a sodium atom obtained in Exercise. 2.27.

A SONAR (sound navigation and ranging) uses ultrasonic waves to detect and locate objects under water. In a submarine equipped with a SONAR the time delay between generation of a probe wave and the reception of its echo after reflection from an enemy submarine is found to be 77.0 s. What is the distance of the enemy submarine? (Speed of sound in water = 1450 m/s).

It is a well-known fact that during a total solar eclipse the disk of the moon almost completely covers the disk of the Sun. From this fact and from the information you can gather from examples 2.3 and 2.4, determine the approximate diameter of the moon.