Mock CPhO (Finals) - Training Camp

Instructions
• Exam time: 3 hours. Please consciously abide by the exam discipline
and stop answering after exam ends.

• Exam Content: This paper has 8 questions, with a total score of 280
marks.

• Stationery such as rulers, pencils, erasers and non-programmed calcu-

lators are allowed.

• Please take the test seriously and answer carefully.

• This paper provides the following math references:

Z
dx
= arctan x + C
1 + x2
Z
dx 1 1+x
2
= ln +C
1−x 2 1−x
xn+1
Z
xn dx = + C (n ̸= 1)
n+1
Z
dx
= ln |x| + C
x
Z
ln x dx = x ln x − x + C

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 Problems
1. (35 marks)
A cone with a base radius of R and a half-apex angle of α is tightly
wound with a soft rope with a diameter of d (d >> R). The endpoints
are fixed. Let the cone roll on the ground without slipping and the
rope is released at a constant rate u. Find the acceleration of the
lowest and highest points on the bottom of the cone at the beginning
of the movement. All expressions are accurate to the first order of d/R.
For omitted expressions, explain the reason for the omission.

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2. (35 marks)
Dig a smooth linear tunnel inside a spherical celestial body with uni-
form mass distribution. The size of the tunnel is negligible and does
not affect the mass distribution and gravitational distribution of the
celestial body. The mass of the celestial body is M . A particle m falls
stationary from the left side of the orbit and enters the orbit, and then
slides out from the right side of the orbit. It is easy to know that in
the whole process, the large star must give the particle support force
to make the particle complete the motion and slide out. Now consider
that the large star reacts due to the support force of the orbit resulting
in rotation. Initially, M is stationary.

(a) Calculate the rotation angle of M during the whole process.

(b) The time required to complete the process in the case h ∼ R.

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3. (35 marks)
As shown in the figure, three balls of mass m are placed at equal in-
tervals in a smooth circular orbit of radius R. They are connected by
a soft elastic rope with an original length of l and a stiffness coefficient
of k. The initial three balls are Both are stationary. Suddenly the ball
1 is given an initial velocity v0 . Find:

(a) In order to keep the elastic rope from slacking, what conditions
does v0 need to meet?
(b) Calculate the distances travelled by the three balls when the in-
stantaneous velocity of the ball 1 decreases to zero for the second
time.

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4. (35 marks)
This problem will guide you step by step to discover a new equivalent
calculation method for bridge-connected circuits.
We define the concept ”generalized resistance”. Its meaning is, for any
two-terminal network, no matter what the circuit outside the network
is, divide the potential difference between the two ports by the current
flowing through the network (requiring the direction of potential drop
and the direction of current to be in the same direction) and this is
defined as the ”generalized resistance’ of the network. Such a definition
can uniformly define a resistor for all kinds of situations: ordinary linear
resistive elements, resistor networks, nonlinear resistors, even batteries,
any network with source.
For example, we consider the AB port, if there is a pure resistance
element Z between A and B, the ratio of the voltage applied to the
resistance and the current flowing through it is called the ”generalized
resistance’ Z1 in the two ends. In this case, it is obviously equal to
Z1 = Z. If the port is connected to an ideal voltage source (assuming
that the electromotive force is large enough), it can be predicted that
the direction of the potential drop will be opposite to the direction of
the current. If we record the electromotive force as E, the positive
output current is I, then the ”generalized resistance” should be Z1 =
E/I. The negative sign is because the value we choose is contrary to
the standard sign rule. In this way, ”generalized resistance” can change
the parameters of the component to make the value range from negative
infinity to positive infinity.

(a) As shown in the figure below, the two groups of ports on the left
and right of the n-section ladder-shaped resistor network are A1 B1
and A2 B2 . All resistors are R, except that A2 B2 on the far right
is directly connected to a resistor Z2 . Is there a possible way of
choosing the resistance value Z2 and the external circuit connec-
tion components such that the ”generalized resistance’ Z1 = Z2 ?
(b) Calculate the functional relationship between the network ”gen-
eralized resistance’ Z1 and Z2 measured from the A1 B1 terminal.
From the formula of the series-parallel relationship, Z1 must be a

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 fractional linear function of Z2 , namely:
Z2 + a
Z1 = c
Z2 + b
From this point of view, first discuss the situation of a grid, and
then increase one by one, and finally obtain the functional rela-
tionship between Z1 and Z2 .
(c) Define Z1s after A2 B2 is short-circuited and Z1b after breaking.
Then define Z '2s and Z '2b after A1 B1 is short-circuited. Use these
four quantities as parameters to express the functional relationship
of the previous question.
(d) Use the formula in (c) to calculate the equivalent resistance of the
lower bridge circuit.

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5. (35 marks)
”Supercapacitor’ refers to a capacitor with a large capacitance value.
At present, the capacitance value of supercapacitors has exceeded the
100F mark, and some capacitors have exceeded 1000F . Supercapac-
itors have fast charging, good low temperature characteristics, high
power density, and cycle time. It has gradually become a research and
application hotspot in the field of new energy. For example, many new
energy vehicles use super capacitors and batteries to supply power;
when high power is required, super capacitors are used for auxiliary
power supply; when the vehicle brakes, the charged capacitor also acts
as a brake.
A very important parameter of a supercapacitor is its series resistance.
Since the supercapacitor is frequently charged and discharged, its series
resistance will play an important role and affect the properties of the
supercapacitor. Usually, the resistance of the supercapacitor is in the
order of mΩ. The simplest supercapacitor model can be simplified as
a series connection of a resistor R and a capacitor C. How to measure
the resistance of a supercapacitor is a more troublesome thing.

(a) One measurement method is the DC injection method. The su-

percapacitor is charged to the rated voltage U0 , and then suddenly
discharged through a constant current source with a large current.
Try to describe what physical quantity needs to be measured so
that the series resistance can be obtained.
(b) Another method is the AC injection method. The supercapacitor
is connected in series with the pure resistance R0 and connected
to the AC power supply with a frequency of ω. Using a voltmeter
with high time resolution we measure the voltages U0 and U1 on
the pure resistance R0 and the supercapacitor, respectively. Then,
the two voltages U0 (t) and U1 (t) are input into the multiplier. The
multiplier consists of two input terminals and an output terminal,
and the output terminal can output the product of the two input
voltages. After this, the output voltage is input to a low-pass
filter and the final output voltage is Ux . In addition, U0 (t) can be
input into the phase shifter to reduce its phase by π/2 to get U '0
and then input U1 (t) in the multiplier, after this, the output of
the multiplier is input to the low-pass filter and the final output

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voltage is Uy . Try to find, the resistance R of the super capacitor.

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6. (35 marks)
As shown in the figure, a cyclic process 1-2-3-4-1 performed by an ideal
gas is an irregular curve quadrilateral in the pV diagram, but this cycle
process is a regular rectangle in the T S diagram. Process 1-3 is in pV
diagram is a straight line through the origin. The state parameters of
state 1 are known as p0 , V0 , T0 , and the maximum temperature in the
T S figure is 4T0 . The Poisson’s ratio of the gas is γ = Cp /Cv .

(a) Determine the curve equation for processes 1-3 in the T S diagram.
Let the state 1 entropy be S1 .
(b) Find the ratio W1 , W2 of the work done by the two cyclic processes
1-2-3-1 and 1-3-4-1 in the pV diagram.

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7. (35 marks)
In a special spherical optical crystal, the refractive index varies with
the radius to form an isotropic refractive index distribution function n
= n(r). Now it is hoped that at the point P at the radius R, a photon
with a momentum p in the vacuum can form a stable beam propagating
around the crystal if it has a tangential propagation direction. The
quantum law of this motion can be analogous to the hydrogen atom
electrons orbiting the nucleus of an atom.

(a) According to the analogy to the quantization condition of the

angular momentum of the electron, obtain the refractive index
n0 = n|R at the photon motion radius R at this time.
(b) In order to make the photon motion orbit really be a circle in-
stead of other curves, find the value of the first derivative of the
refractive index at the radius R to the radius α = dn dr R
.
(c) Even if the photon’s motion trajectory is a circle, it is not neces-
sarily possible to form an observable-level beam. We require that
the photon’s motion trajectory should not deviate too far from
the initial trajectory under the condition that the initial condi-
tions of the photon motion are slightly perturbed. Find the value
of the second derivative of the refractive index at the radius R
2
with respect to the radius β = ddrn2 that satisfies the condition.
R
(d) We are particularly concerned with the case where the motion
of the photon has a high degree of spatial coherence, in which
case the trajectory of the photon can form a closed curve (not

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necessarily still a circle) after one revolution even after a small
change in the initial conditions of the photon motion. Find the
value of the second-order derivative of the refractive index with
2
respect to the radius β = ddrn2 at the radius R that satisfies the
R
requirement.

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8. (35 marks)
Similar to the irradiation of an active metal surface with ultraviolet
light, the electrons on the surface can overcome the escape work and
escape from the metal into ”photoelectrons”; bombarding a stationary
target nucleus with high-energy γ photons can also cause protons or
neutrons to escape from the nucleus. For example, in a typical scatter-
ing reaction, the target beryllium nucleus can be struck by a photon to
produce a ”photoneutron”:
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Be + γ −→ n + 24 He

The unstable 8 Be will then split into two alpha particles. The proton
neutron masses are known to be mp and mn , respectively. The average
binding energies of helium 4 and beryllium 9 as stable nuclides are Q2
and Q4 , respectively.

(a) Determine the conditions to be satisfied by the reaction equation

for Q2 , Q4 .
(b) Write down the minimum energy of the incident photon that can
occur for this reaction.
(c) It is known mp = 938.2721MeV/c2 , mn = 939.5654MeV/c2 , Q2 =
7.0739MeV, Q4 = 6.4628MeV. If the angle between the direction
of the outgoing neutron and the incident photon can only exist in
a certain range (not in all directions), obtain the possible value
range of the energy of the incident photon.

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