Unit 5: Magnetic Fields
Physics C: E&M · Unit 5 · Paper 2

Magnetic Fields unit test

A test on this unit alone, marked as a percentage and a letter grade — for the test your class is actually sitting, rather than for May. Answer everything, then submit once: seeing the answer to question 3 before attempting question 4 makes the final percentage meaningless.

Each paper is built from this unit’s 21 terms and is the same for everyone, so a teacher can assign “Unit 5, Paper 2” and every student sits the identical test. Multiple choice is marked objectively; the written sections you mark yourself against the model answer and rubric.
Suggested time 35 min 32 points0/17 attempted
1

Circular motion in a magnetic field

2

Force between parallel wires

3

Ampère's law

4

Why magnetic force does no work

5

Field of a finite wire segment

6

Mass spectrometer

7

Hall effect

8

Torque on a current loop

9

Magnetic dipole

10

Magnetic force on a charge

11

Field of a toroid

12

Force on a current-carrying wire

Short answer 1. Define or explain: Ampère's law vs Biot-Savart

3 pts

Short answer 2. Define or explain: Velocity selector

3 pts

Short answer 3. Define or explain: Field of a long straight wire

3 pts

Short answer 4. Define or explain: Field at the center of a circular loop

3 pts

Free response

8 pts

Two long, straight, parallel wires are separated by a distance d. The left wire carries current I and the right wire carries current 2I, both in the same direction.

A. Indicate whether the magnitude of the magnetic force exerted on the left wire by the right wire is greater than, less than, or equal to the magnitude of the force exerted on the right wire by the left wire, and state whether the wires attract or repel. Justify your answer using qualitative reasoning beyond referencing equations.

B. Derive an expression for the magnitude of the force per unit length exerted on either wire, in terms of I, d and physical constants.

C. Justify how your derived expression in part B is or is not consistent with your comparison in part A, and determine where between the wires the net magnetic field is zero.