Deck 9: Quantum Mechanics: How Can the Electron Behave Like Both a Particle and a Wave

Question 1

At a quantum-scale, events are described in

A) digital photographs.
B) descriptive statistics.
C) probabilities.
D) exacting precision.
E) all of these

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following describes experiments scientists have used to determine whether quantum objects are waves or particles?

A) experiments testing particle properties
B) experiments testing wave properties
C) double-slit tests
D) tests designed to "trick" the particles into revealing their identity
E) any or all of the experiments listed here would be a correct answer

Answer 2

E

Question 3

What is a practical applications of the photoelectric effect in which photoelectricity converts X-ray photons into electrical currents whose strength can be converted into a picture of the internal structure of an object?

A) camera light meters
B) fiber optics in some telephone audio systems
C) CAT scans
D) a battery operated flashlight
E) the standard X-ray machine in a small medical office

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Measurements can be made on a macroscopic object without altering the object because

A) the energy of the object is much greater than the energy of the probe.
B) the energy of the probe is much greater than the energy of the object.
C) the probe and the object have equal amounts of energy.
D) the object moves slowly or not at all.
E) the object absorbs all the energy of the measuring device.

Question 5

Albert Einstein's Nobel Prize in 1921 was based upon work

A) proving the existence of the nucleus of the atom.
B) which led to the modern concept of the photon.
C) developing the uncertainty principle.
D) with double-slit experiments.
E) disproving theories of quantum mechanics.

Question 6

In the quantum world, uncertainties exist in our knowledge of

A) positions and velocities of objects when we first start observing them.
B) velocities and positions of objects after they have undergone a change.
C) the sum of an object's position and velocity.
D) the difference between an object's position and velocity.
E) when to start observing an object and how to make those observations.

Question 7

A train with a mass of 100,000 kg is crossing a bridge that is 10 m long. What is the uncertainty in the velocity?

A) < 66.3 X 10^-39 J-s/kg
B) > 6.63 X 10^-40 m/s
C) > 6.63 X 10^-39 m/s
D) < 6.63 X 10^-40 m/s
E) > 6.63 X 10^-38 m/s

Question 8

A scientist who orders a double-slit apparatus for his lab might be planning to

A) try to determine whether an object is a particle or a wave.
B) measure the speed of alpha decay in a radioactive sample.
C) clock the speeds of subatomic particles shot through the slits.
D) find out whether photon emissions can be quantized.
E) try to "trick" quantum particles by varying experiment types.

Question 9

When you use a self-focusing digital camera, the photoelectric effect occurs when

A) light energy combines with battery energy
B) light energy is converted into electrical current that determines the opening in the lens.
C) light entering the lens is converted to an image on the film.
D) photons are used in an electrochemical process.
E) light energy is reflected by the material it strikes.

Question 10

One of the major differences between a standard X-ray and a CAT-scan is

A) a CAT-scan does not subject the patient to X-rays.
B) photons are emitted during a CAT scan, but not during an X-ray.
C) only a CAT-scan can produce a three-dimensional image of the interior of the body.
D) only an X-ray can produce sharp images of organs with densities.
E) only a CAT-scan uses gamma rays.

Question 11

Something is quantized when it

A) is multiplied by Planck's constant.
B) is the subject of Einstein's research.
C) has attributes of a bundle.
D) cannot be seen without a microscope.
E) none of these

Question 12

Only certain electron orbits are possible in the atom because

A) this is the way Ernest Rutherford interpreted his data.
B) energy levels must be divisible by Planck's constant
C) the velocity of a photon can be quantized.
D) the electron's distance from the nucleus has to satisfy a wave and particle duality.
E) objects in the quantum world behave only according to Newtonian principles.

Question 13

In quantum mechanics the product of the uncertainty in position times the uncertainty in velocity must be

A) smaller than Planck's constant divided by mass.
B) larger than Planck's constant divided by mass.
C) equal to Planck's constant divided by mass.
D) added to Planck's constant divided by mass.
E) larger than Planck's constant multiplied by mass.

Question 14

The double-slit apparatus was used in a famous experiment to

A) distinguish waves from particles.
B) measure the amount of constructive and destructive interference in a wave tank.
C) establish the dual nature of quantum mechanics.
D) quantify how photons act under controlled conditions.
E) all of these

Question 15

The Newtonian view of the universe would be associated with which phrase?

A) predicting future states
B) the Divine Calculator
C) clockwork precision
D) macroscopic
E) all of these

Question 16

How do descriptions of the state of quantum objects differ from descriptions of every day objects?

A) Descriptions of quantum objects are given in terms of probabilities.
B) Descriptions of quantum objects are stated with absolute certainty.
C) Descriptions of quantum objects can be given as a precise position and velocity.
D) Descriptions of quantum objects cannot be made at all.
E) Descriptions of quantum objects describe motion, while descriptions of everyday things never do.

Question 17

A quantum leap occurs

A) only when a photon moves between energy levels and absorbs an electron.
B) only when an electron absorbs a photon and reaches a more excited state.
C) whenever an electron moves between energy levels and emits a photon.
D) only when an electron moves two or more energy levels at once.
E) whenever a photon moves more than one energy level at once and emits an electron.

Question 18

Why do we not have to worry about the uncertainty principle in our everyday life?

A) The uncertainty principle has been refuted by new evidence.
B) Objects we normally encounter have mass in amounts that make the effects of the uncertainty principle practically non-existent.
C) Planck's constant has been revised to apply to the macroscopic world as well as the atomic world.
D) There is too much uncertainty in the uncertainty principle to give it much thought.
E) The future is determined by a Divine Calculator.

Question 19

The principles of quantum mechanics state that

A) Newtonian laws are incontrovertible.
B) the quantum world spins clockwise.
C) there must be an anti-quantum universe.
D) in the quantum world, prediction of the future is a probability.
E) the long-term evolution of physical systems can be predicted.

Question 20

If electrons are like particles, then

A) they can move according to Bohr's laws of motion.
B) they must have a precise frequency to stay in a stable orbit.
C) they must have a precise velocity to stay in a stable orbit.
D) they create interference patterns in the dual slit experiment.
E) all of these

Question 21

Considering what you know of the issues of uncertainty in a quantum world, what would be a "policeman's dilemma" of giving you a "speeding ticket" in a quantum world?

Question 22

Why do we describe quantum-scale events in terms of probabilities?

Question 23

How are predictions approached in the quantum world versus the macroscopic world?

Question 24

What are some similarities and differences between measuring an object in the quantum world and measuring an object in the macroscopic world?

Question 25

What are the many "trade-offs" in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle?

Question 26

Is there any similarity between testing the brain and measuring quantum objects? Explain your answer.

Question 27

When measuring a car's speed and distance during a road trip, the amount of uncertainty, in principle, can be made

A) significant.
B) disconcerting.
C) near zero.
D) to equal Planck's constant.
E) to agree with Maxwell's equations.

Question 28

In the equation for uncertainty, the factor h is a number known as

A) the Heisenberg
B) uncertainty in position
C) uncertainty in velocity
D) Planck's constant
E) the duality

Question 29

This term refers to the theory that describes events at the scale of the atom.

A) quantum
B) quantum leap
C) quantum mechanics
D) quantum bundle
E) quantum world

Question 30

How does a CAT-scan work?

Question 31

Describe the phenomenon of quantum teleportation and how it might relate to future transportation.

Question 32

If quantum mechanics is a way of predicting how subatomic particles change in time, how can knowledge about the state of an electron be used in prediction?

Question 33

Why did quantum scientists, including Albert Einstein, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, find the research so disconcerting?

Question 34

If a neurologist is looking for a brain tumor in a patient, what is the sample, the source of energy, and the detector used to make the measurement?

Question 35

Why is quantum mechanics an appropriate name for this field of study?

Question 36

Newtonian mechanics works for objects with large masses because
1) we have no method of measuring velocities to the accuracy required in quantum mechanics.
2) Planck's constant masks the uncertainties.
3) the uncertainty of the measurements is indistinguishable from zero.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 1 and 3
E) 1, 2 and 3

Question 37

How do electrons exist in very discrete orbits rather than in a continuous range of orbits?

Question 38

How has quantum mechanics revolutionized the physics community?

Question 39

A pair of entangled photons and a single signal photon are required for an interaction called

A) quantum leap
B) quantum eavesdropper
C) quantum teleportation
D) quantum interception
E) quantum uncertainty

Question 40

How is the Heisenberg uncertainty principle applied in the non-quantum world?

Question 41

What is a Bohr orbit of an electron?

Question 42

How do our experiences with the large objects of our physical world work to our disadvantage in trying to understand very small objects of the quantum world?

Question 43

Describe the photoelectric effect?

Question 44

If you were flipping two identical coins in two separate locations, what would be the result of those coin flips if the coins were somehow obeying the concept of quantum entanglement?

Question 45

Why is the wave-particle duality typically confusing to the human mind?

Question 46

Describe the uncertainty equation in word form (without symbols).

Question 47

In the Newtonian view of physics, what is the concept of the Divine Calculator?

Question 48

What is one practical application of the quantum teleportation of photons?

Question 49

The state of most electrical devices is either on or off. What states would exist for a quantum electric device?

Question 50

If you were a quantum outfielder on an atom-sized baseball field, how would you go about considering how to catch a baseball?