PHYS 280 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Midterm/Final Exam Guidance
You should be able to complete the midterm exam in about 75 minutes. It will be closed-book.
The midterm consists of 56 multiple-choice questions and one short essay question.
You should be able to complete the Final exam in about 3 hours. It will be closed-book.
The final exam consists of 100+ multiple-choice questions and one essay question.
Copies of previous midterm and final exams (some with answers) are available via the Exams page. The previous midterm and final exams are excellent study guides and studying them usually pays off handsomely.
The format of the midterm and final changed in 2014 to allow the use of scantrons. We recommend you give preference to the miderms and finals since 2014 as these ones reflect the current format.
Be aware that because of events that have occurred since the old exams were given, the correct answers to some questions may have changed.
You may be asked to sketch the main components of either an A-bomb or an H-bomb, label them, and describe their functions. If so, you should use the "Physics 280 designs" discussed in class.
You may be asked to describe the categories of uranium or plutonium. If so, use the IAEA categories that were discussed in class.
For uranium, these categories are low-enriched uranium (LEU) (< 20% U-235), highly-enriched uranium (HEU) (> 20% U-235), and weapons-grade uranium (80% or greater U-235).
For plutonium, these categories are reactor-grade (> 19% Pu-240 and heavier isotopes), fuel-grade (7% to 19% Pu-240 and heavier isotopes), and weapons-grade (< 7% Pu-240 and heavier isotopes).