Simulators

for Practice
A PYQ
repository

2023 Edition 1
Abhi Physics
 MECHANICS
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

(a) Mechanics of Par cles:

 Laws of mo on; conserva on of energy and momentum, applica ons to rota ng frames,
centripetal and Coriolis accelera ons;
 Mo on under a central force; Conserva on of angular momentum, Kepler's laws; Fields and
poten als; Gravita onal field and poten al due to spherical bodies, Gauss and Poisson
equa ons, gravita onal self-energy; Two-body problem; Reduced mass; Rutherford
sca ering;
 Centre of mass a laboratory reference frame.

(b) Mechanics of Rigid Bodies:

 System of par cles; Centre of mass, angular momentum, equa ons of mo on;
 Conserva on theorems for energy, momentum, and angular momentum; Elas c and inelas c
collisions;
 Rigid body; Degrees of freedom, Euler's theorem, angular velocity, angular momentum,
moments of iner a, theorems of parallel and perpendicular axes, equa on of mo on for
rota on; Molecular rota ons (as rigid bodies); Di and tri-atomic molecules; Processional
mo on; top, gyroscope.

(c) Mechanics of Con nuous Media:

 Elas city, Hooke's law and elas c constants of isotropic solids and their inter-rela on;
 Streamline (Laminar) flow, viscosity, Poiseuille's equa on, Bernoulli's equa on, Stokes' law
and applica ons.

(d) Special Rela vity:

 Michelson-Morley experiment and its implica ons;

 Lorentz transforma ons-length contrac on, me dila on, the addi on of rela vis c
veloci es, aberra on, and Doppler effect, mass-energy rela on, simple applica ons to a
decay process;
 Four-dimensional momentum vector; Covariance of equa ons of physics.
 Conserva on Laws

1. With an appropriate diagram, show that in the Rutherford sca ering, the orbit of TC 10 2011
the par cle is a hyperbola. Obtain an expression for impact parameter.

2. Define a conserva ve field. Determine if the field given below is conserva ve in TC 12 2012
nature:

𝐸⃗ = 𝑐 𝑦 𝚤ˆ + (2𝑥𝑦 + 𝑧 )𝚥ˆ + 2𝑦𝑧𝑘ˆ V/m

where 𝑐 is a constant.

3. Consider a uniform half-sphere of radius 𝑅 and mass 𝑀. The half-sphere is TC 15 2012

supported by a fric onless horizontal plane as shown in the figure. The half-
sphere lies in the region 𝑧 < 0.

Find the centre of mass of the half-sphere.

4. If the forces ac ng on a par cle are conserva ve, show that the total energy of TC 20 2013
the par cle which is the sum of the kine c and poten al energies is conserved.
5. Prove that as a result of an elas c collision of two par cles under non – rela vis c TC 5 2013
regime with equal masses, the sca ering angle will be 90°. Illustrate your answer
with a vector diagram.
6. Discuss the problem of sca ering of charged par cle by a coulomb field. Hence, TC 25 2014
obtain an expression for Rutherford sca ering cross-sec on. What is the
importance of the above expression?
7. Write down precisely the conserva on theorems for energy, linear momentum, TC 10 2015
and angular momentum of a par cle with their mathema cal forms.
8. Draw a neat diagram to explain the sca ering of an incident beam of par cles by TC 10 2015
a centre of force.
9. Show that the differen al sca ering cross-sec on can be expressed as TC 15 2015

s ds
𝜎(𝜃) = ,
sin 𝜃 d𝜃

where s is the impact parameter and 𝜃 is the sca ering angle.

10. i. The distance between the centres of the carbon and oxygen atoms in the AN 10 2016
carbon monoxide (CO) gas molecule is 1.130 × 10 m. Locate the
centre of mass of the molecule rela ve to the carbon atom.
ii. Find the centre of mass of a homogeneous semicircular plate of radius a.

11. A diatomic molecule can be considered to be made up of two masses 𝑚 and 𝑚 TC 15 2017
separated by a fixed distance 𝑟. Derive a formula for the distance of centre of
mass, 𝐶, from mass 𝑚 . Also show that the moment of iner a about an axis
through 𝐶 and perpendicular to 𝑟 is 𝜇𝑟 , where 𝜇 = .

12. A ball moving with a speed of 9 m/s strikes an iden cal sta onary ball such that AN 15 2017
a er the collision the direc on of each ball makes an angle 30° with the original
line of mo on. Find the speed of the balls a er the collision. Is the kine c energy
conserved in this collision?

13. i. If a par cle of mass m is in a central force field 𝑓(𝑟)𝑟ˆ, then show that its TC 10 2018
path must be a plane curve, where 𝑟ˆ is a unit vector in the direc on of 10

posi on vector 𝑟⃗.

ii. A block of mass m having negligible dimension is sliding freely in 𝑥-
direc on with velocity 𝑣⃗ = 𝑣𝚤ˆ as shown in the diagram. What is its
angular momentum L⃗ about origin O and its angular momentum L⃗
about the point 𝐴 on 𝑦-axis?
14. A rod of length 𝐿 has non-uniform linear mass density (mass per unit length) 𝜆, TC 15 2018
which varies as 𝜆 = 𝜆 ; where 𝜆 is a constant and S is the distance from the
end marked ' 𝑂 ' (as shown in the figure). Find the centre of mass of the rod.

15. i. What is central force? Give two examples of the central force. TC 10 2019

ii. Show that the angular momentum (L)⃗ of the par cle in a central force
field is a constant of mo on.

16. Show that the cross-sec on for elas c sca ering of a point par cle from an TC 10 2019

infinitely massive sphere of radius 𝑅 is . What is the inference of this result?

17. A rocket starts ver cally upwards with speed 𝑣 . Then define its speed v at a TC 10 2020
height h in terms of 𝑣 , h, R (radius of Earth) and g (accelera on due to gravity on
Earth’s surface). Also calculate the maximum height a ained by a rocket fired with
a speed of 90% of the escape velocity.

18. A par cle moving in a central force field describes the path 𝑟 = ke , where k TC 10 2021
and 𝛼 are constants. If the mass of the par cle is m, find the law of force.

19. i. Calculate the mass and momentum of a proton of rest mass AN 8 2021
1.67 × 10 kg moving with a velocity of 0.8c, where c is the velocity of 7
light. If it collides and s cks to a sta onary nucleus of mass 5 ⋅
0 × 10 kg, find the velocity of the resultant par cle.
ii. Calculate the mass of the par cle whose kine c energy is half of its total
energy. Find the velocity with which the par cle is travelling.

20. Show that the mean kine c and poten al energies of non-dissipa ve simple TC 10 2022
harmonic vibra ng systems are equal.

21. Show that for very small velocity, the equa on for kine c energy, 𝐾 = Δ𝑚𝑐 TC 10 2022

becomes 𝐾 = 𝑚 𝑣 , where nota ons have their usual meanings.

 Central Force Mo on and Gravita on

22. A par cle 𝑃 of mass 𝑚 collides with another par cle 𝑄 of mass 𝑚 at rest. The TC 15 2022
par cles 𝑃 and 𝑄 travel at angles 𝜃 and 𝜙, respec vely, with respect to the ini al
direc on of 𝑃. Derive the expression for the maximum value of 𝜃.

23. A planet revolves around the Sun in an ellip c orbit of eccentricity e. If T is the TC 10 2010
me period of the planet, find the me spent by the planet between the ends of
the minor axis close to the Sun.
24. A par cle is moving in a central force field on an orbit given by 𝑟 = 𝑘𝑒 , where 𝑘 AN 20 2012
and 𝛼 are posi ve constants, 𝑟 is the radial distance and 𝜃 is the polar angle. 20
(a) Find the force law for the central force field. 20
(b) Find 𝜃(𝑡).
(c) Find the total energy.

25. A par cle describes a circular orbit under the influence of an a rac ve central TC 15 2013
force directed towards a point on the circle. Show that the force varies as the
inverse fi h power of distance.
26. A charged par cle is moving under the influence of a point nucleus. Show that the TC 15 2014
orbit of the par cle is an ellipse. Find out the me period of the mo on.
27. The density inside a solid sphere of radius a is given by 𝜌 = , where 𝜌 is the AN 10 2014

density at the surface and 𝑟 denotes the distance from the centre. Find the
gravita onal field due to this sphere at a distance 2 a from its centre.

28. A body moving in an inverse square a rac ve field traverses on ellip cal orbit TC 10 2016
with eccentricity 𝑒 and period 𝛾. Find the me taken by the body to traverse the
half of the orbit that is nearer the centre of force. Explain briefly why a comet
spends only 18% of its me on the half of its orbit that is nearer the sun.

29. Express angular momentum in terms of kine c, poten al and total energy of a TC 10 2017
satellite of mass m in a circular orbit of radius r.
30. Use Gauss's theorem to calculate the gravita onal poten al due to a solid sphere AN 15 2018
at a point outside the sphere. Calculate the amount of work required to send a
 body of mass 𝑚 from the Earth's surface to a height 𝑅/2, where 𝑅 is the radius of
the Earth.

31. The radius of the Earth is 6.4 × 10 m, its mean density is 5.5 × 10 kg/m and AN 10 2021
the universal gravita onal constant is 6.66 × 10 Nm /kg . Calculate the
gravita onal poten al on the surface of the Earth.

Rota ng Frame

32. With an appropriate diagram, show that in the Rutherford sca ering, the orbit of TC 10 2011
the par cle is a hyperbola. Obtain an expression for impact parameter.
33. Prove that the me taken by the earth to travel over half of its orbit separated by TC 10 2011
the minor axis remote from the sun is two days more than half a year. Given, the
period of the earth is 365 days and eccentricity of the orbit = 1/60.

34. A rigid body is spinning with an angular velocity of 4 about an axis parallel to AN 12 2012

the direc on 4𝚥ˆ − 3𝑘ˆ passing through the point 𝐴 with 𝑂𝐴⃗ = 2𝚤ˆ + 3𝚥ˆ − 𝑘ˆ ,
where 𝑂 is the origin of the coordinate system. Find the magnitude and direc on

of the linear velocity of the body at point 𝑃 with 𝑂𝑃⃗ = 4𝚤ˆ − 2𝚥ˆ + 𝑘ˆ

35. Suppose that an 𝑆 -frame is rota ng with respect to a fixed frame having the AN 10 2013
same origin. Assume that the angular velocity 𝜔⃗ of the S -frame is given by

𝜔⃗ = 2𝑡𝚤ˆ − 𝑡 𝚥ˆ + (2𝑡 + 4)𝑘ˆ

where 𝑡 is me and the posi on vector 𝑟⃗ of a typical par cle at me 𝑡 as assumed

in S -frame is given by

𝑟⃗ = (𝑡 + 1)𝚤ˆ − 6𝑡𝚥ˆ + 4𝑡 𝑘ˆ .

Calculate the Coriolis accelera on at 𝑡 = 1 second.

36. Calculate the horizontal component of the Coriolis force ac ng on a body of mass AN 15 2013
0.1 kg moving northward with a horizontal velocity of 100 ms at 30∘ N la tude
on the Earth.
37. Derive the expression for Coriolis force and show that this force is perpendicular TC 10 2016
to the velocity and to the axis of rota on. What is the nature of this force?
38. Consider two frames of reference 𝑆 and 𝑆 having a common origin 𝑂. The frame AN 15 2022
𝑆 is rota ng with respect to the fixed frame 𝑆 with a uniform 𝜔⃗ = 3𝑎 rads .A
projec le of unit mass at posi on vector 𝑟⃗ = 7𝑎 + 4𝑎 m is moving with 𝑣⃗ =
14𝑎 m s . Calculate in the rota ng frame 𝑆 the following forces on the
projec le:
(i) Euler's force
(ii) Coriolis force
(iii) Centrifugal force

Rigid Body Dynamics

39. A uniform solid sphere of radius 𝑅 having moment of iner a 𝐼 about its diameter TC 10 2010
is melted to form a uniform disc of thickness 𝑡 and radius 𝑟. The moment of
iner a of the disc about an axis passing through its edge and perpendicular to the

plane is also equal to 𝐼. Show that the radius 𝑟 of the disc is given by 𝑟 = .
√

40. What are Eulerian angles? TC 25 2010

A body with rota onal symmetry about an axis is rota ng under gravity about a
point on the axis without fric on. What are the quan es remaining constant
during the mo on? Find them in terms of suitable Eulerian angles.
Explain 'precession' and 'nuta on' of such a body.
41. Imagine that a rigid body is rota ng about a fixed point with angular velocity 𝜔⃗. TC 10 2011
Assuming that the coordinate axes coincide with the principal axes, if 𝑇 stands for
kine c energy and 𝐺 for external torque ac ng on the body, show that

𝑑𝑇
= 𝐺⃗ ⋅ 𝜔⃗
𝑑𝑡

42. Determine the number of degrees of freedom for a rigid body- TC 30 2011
(i) moving freely in space of three dimensions;
(ii) having one point fixed;
(iii) having two points fixed.
43. Calculate the moment of iner a of a solid cone of mass 𝑀, height ℎ, ver cal half- TC 12 2012
angle 𝛼 and radius of its base 𝑅, about an axis passing through its vertex and
parallel to its base.

44. Show that the kine c energy and angular momentum of torque free mo on of a TC 10 2013
rigid body is constant.
45. If I and I be the Moments of Iner a of a body about an axis passing through an TC 10 2014
arbitrary origin and about a parallel axis through the centre of mass respec vely,
show that 𝐼 = 𝑀𝑅 + 𝐼, where 𝑅⃗ is the posi on vector of the centre of mass
with respect to the arbitrary origin and 𝑀 is the mass of the body.

46. Consider a rigid body rota ng about an axis passing through a fixed point in the TC 25 2014
body with an angular velocity ω⃗ . Determine the kine c energy of such a rota ng
body in a coordinate system of principal axis. If the earth suddenly stops rota ng,
what will happen to the rota onal kine c energy? Comment in detail.
47. A body turns a fixed point. Show that the angle between its angular velocity TC 15 2014
vector and its angular momentum vector about a fixed point is always acute.
48. How does one obtain the angular velocity of the Earth about the North Pole with TC 10 2015
respect to a fixed star as 7.292 × 10 sec ? Explain your method of calcula ng
the above value.

49. Show that the moment of iner a of a circular disc of mass 𝑀 and radius 𝑅 about TC 15 2015

an axis passing through its centre and perpendicular to its plane is MR .

50. Four solid spheres A, B, C, and D each of mass m and radius a, are placed with AN 20 2016
their centres on the four corners of square of side b as shown in the figure below:
 Calculate the moment of iner a of the system about one side of the square, Also,
calculate the moment of iner a of the system about a diagonal of the square.

51. Define moment of iner a and explain its physical significance. Calculate the TC 20 2017
moment of iner a of an annular ring about an axis passing through its centre and
perpendicular to its plane.

52. i. Find the moments of iner a of rigid diatomic molecule about different AN 15 2019
axes of symmetry through the centre of mass.
ii. A proton is 1837 mes heavier than an electron. Find the centre of mass
of hydrogen atom.

53. Write down Euler’s dynamical equa ons of mo on (no deriva on) of a rigid body TC 10 2019
about a fixed point under the ac on of a torque. Show that the kine c energy of
the torque-free mo on is constant.

54. Where do you find the applica ons of gyroscope? AN 15 2019

A top of mass 0.200 kg is made up of a thin disc of radius 0.12 m. It is pierced in
the centre and a pin of negligible mass is mounted normal to its plane. The pivot
under the disc is 0.03 m long. The top is made to spin with its axis making an
angle 𝜃 = 20∘ with the ver cal and a precessional angular speed of 2rad/s.
Calculate the angular speed with which it spins.

55. Determine the loca on of the centre of mass of a uniform solid hemisphere of TC 10 2020
radius R and mass M from the centre of its base.

56. Obtain expressions for the moment of iner a of a solid cone about its TC 20 2020

(i) Ver cal axis and

(ii) axis passing through the vertex and parallel to its base.

57. An electron is moving under the influence of a point nucleus of atomic number 𝑍. TC 10 2021
Show that the orbit of the electron is an ellipse.

58. A homogeneous right triangular pyramid with the base side 𝑎 and height is AN 20 2021

shown below. Obtain the moment of iner a tensor of the pyramid:

 Mechanics of Con nuous media

59. When a sphere of radius 𝑟 falls down a homogeneous viscous fluid of unlimited TC 10 2010
extent with the terminal velocity 𝑣, the retarding viscous force ac ng on the
sphere depends on the coefficient of viscosity 𝜂, the radius 𝑟 and its velocity 𝑣.
Show how Stokes' law was arrived at connec ng these quan es from the
dimensional considera ons.

60. With an appropriate diagram, deduce the velocity profile for streamline flow of a TC 20 2011
liquid through a capillary of circular cross-sec on. Deduce also the frac on of
liquid which flows through the sec on up to a distance a/2 from the axis, where 𝑎
is the radius of the capillary.
61. A sphere of radius R moves with velocity u⃗ in an incompressible, non-viscous ideal TC 10 2014
fluid. Calculate the pressure distribu on over the surface of the sphere. Do you
think that a force is necessary to keep the sphere in uniform mo on?

62. Using Poiseuille's formula, show that the volume of a liquid of viscosity coefficient TC 15 2015
𝜂 passing per second through a series of two capillary tubes of lengths 𝑙 and 𝑙
having radii 𝑟 and 𝑟 is obtained as

𝜋p 𝑙 𝑙
Q= / + ,
8𝜂 r r
 where p is the effec ve pressure difference across the series.

63. Define coefficients of viscosity and kinema c viscosity of a fluid. What are Poise TC 10 2015
and Stokes?
64. Write down Poiseuille’s formula and men on its limita ons in analysing the flow TC 10 2015
of a liquid through a capillary tube.
65. Show that the Young's modulus 𝑌, modulus of rigidity 𝑛 and Poisson's ra o 𝜎 are TC 10 2016
related by the equa on 𝑌 = 2𝑛(1 + 𝜎).

66. A horizontal pipe of non-uniform bore has water flowing through it such that the AN 10 2016
velocity of flow is 40 cm/s at a point where the pressure is 2 cm of mercury
column. What is the pressure at a point where the velocity of flow is 60 cm/s ?
(Take, 𝑔 = 980 cm/s and density of water = 1 g/c. c.)

67. State and explain Stokes' law. A drop of water of radius 0.01 m is falling through a AN 15 2017
medium whose density is 1.21 kg/m and 𝜂 = 1.8 × 10 N − s/m . Find the
terminal velocity of the drop of water.

68. Two capillary tubes of lengths 2𝑙 and 𝑙 with internal radii r and 2r respec vely are TC 10 2018
connected in series. Water flows through them in streamline. If the pressure
difference across the first capillary is P, find the pressure difference across the
second one.

69. A water drop of radius 0.04 mm is falling through air. If the coefficient of viscosity AN 10 2018
for air is 1.8 × 10 poise, find its terminal velocity. If 100 such drops coalesce,
what will be the new terminal velocity?

70. i. How does Reynolds number help in the study of fluid mo on? AN 10 2019
ii. In a horizontal pipeline of uniform area of cross-sec on, the pressure falls
by 5Nm between two points separated by a distance of 1 km. Calculate
the change in kine c energy per kg of oil flowing at these points. Density
of oil = 800 kg m .

71. A rubber cord 1 mm in diameter and 1 m long is fixed at one end and a weight of AN 10 2020
1 kg is a ached to the other end. If the Young's modulus of rubber is 0.05 × 10
dynes cm , then find the period of the ver cal oscilla ons of the weight.
72. A sha of diameter 8 cm and length 5 m is transmi ng power of 8 kW at 300 AN 15 2020
revolu ons per minute. If the coefficient of rigidity of the material of the sha be
8 × 10 dynes /cm , then calculate the rela ve shi between the ends of the
sha .

73. A capillary tube having 1.0 mm diameter, 20 cm in length is fi ed horizontally to a AN 10 2021

vessel in which alcohol is kept fully up to the neck. Density of alcohol is
8 × 10 kg/m . The depth of the centre of the capillary tube below the surface of
alcohol is 40 cm. Find the amount of alcohol that will flow out of the capillary
tube in 10 minutes. Coefficient of viscosity of alcohol is 0.0012Ns/m .

74. A light rod of length 100 cm is suspended from the ceiling, horizontally by means AN 15 2021
of two ver cal wires of equal length ed to its ends. One of the wires is made of
steel and its cross-sec on is 0.05sq. cm and the other is of brass of cross-sec on
0 ⋅ 1sq. cm. Find the posi on along the rod at which a weight may be hung to
produce
(i) Equal stresses in both the wires,
(ii) Equal strain in both the wires.
Young's modulus of elas city of brass and steel are 1.0 × 10 N/m and
2.0 × 10 N/m respec vely.

75. Consider the diagram below with a water flow rate 𝑄. Derive the expression for 𝑄 TC 15 2022
in terms of the difference in the manometer heights ℎ and the cross-sec on areas
𝐴 and 𝐴 :

76. Define moment of iner a and radius of gyra on of a body of mass M rota ng TC 15 2022
about an axis. State and prove Parallel Axis theorem on moment of iner a.
 Special Theory of Rela vity

77. What is the significance of the null result of Michelson-Morley experiment? Does TC 10 2010
it disprove the existence of ether? Jus fy.
78. A spaceship measures 50 m in length on ground and it measured a length of 49.7 AN 10 2011
m in space as observed from the ground. Find out the speed of the spaceship.
79. Two iden cal rela vis c par cles of rest mass 𝑚 and kine c energy 𝑇 collide TC 12 2012
head-on. What is the rela ve kine c energy, i.e., the kine c energy 𝑇 or one in
the rest frame of the other?

80. A projec le of mass 𝑀 explodes, while in flight, into three fragments. One AN 15 2012
fragment of mass 𝑚 = 𝑀/2 travels in the original direc on of the projec le.
Another fragment of mass 𝑚 = 𝑀/6 travels in the opposite direc on and the
third fragment of mass 𝑚 = 𝑀/3 comes to rest. The energy 𝐸, released in the
explosion, is 5 mes the kine c energy of the projec le at explosion. What are the
veloci es of the fragments?
81. A par cle of rest mass M = 4 × 10 kg, disintegrates into two par cles of rest AN 15 2013
masses M = 3 × 10 kg and M = 1 × 10 kg. Show that the energies E
and E of these two parts a er disintegra on sa sfy the condi on E = 3E
while moving in opposite direc ons with equal linear momenta. Give necessary
mathema cal deriva on.

82. Show that the operator ∇ − is invariant under Lorentz transforma ons. TC 20 2013

83. Show that a par cle of rest mass m , total energy E and linear momentum 𝑝⃗ TC 10 2013
sa sfies the rela on

E =c p +m c

where c is the velocity of light in free space.

84. Derive the rela vis c length contrac on using Lorentz transforma on. TC 10 2013
85. A mirror is moving through vacuum with a rela vis c speed v in the 𝑥-direc on. A TC 25 2014
beam of light with frequency 𝜔 is normally incident (from x = ∞ ) on the mirror.
 (i) What is the frequency of the reflected light expressed in terms of 𝜔 , c and v ?
(ii) What is the energy of each reflected photon?

86. Prove mathema cally that the addi on of any velocity of a par cle to the velocity TC 10 2015
of light in free space merely reproduces the velocity of light in free space only.
87. Show that the rest mass energy of an electron is 0.51 MeV. (use the standard TC 10 2015
values of the physical parameters).
88. Calculate the percentage contrac on in the length of a rod in a frame of AN 20 2016
reference, moving with velocity 0.8c in a direc on
(i) parallel to its length and
(ii) at an angle of 30° with its length.
What is the orienta on of the rod in the moving frame of reference in case (ii)?
89. Given a proton for which 𝛽 = 0.995 measured in the laboratory. What are the AN 10 2016
corresponding rela vis c energy and momentum? Take, 𝑚 = 1 ⋅ 67 × 10 g.

90. Describe Michelson-Morley experiment and show how the nega ve results TC 10 2017
obtained from this experiment were interpreted.

91. Prove that 𝑥 + 𝑦 + 𝑧 = 𝑐 𝑡 is invariant under Lorentz transforma on. TC 10 2017

92. A rod of length 𝑙 is kept at rest in 𝑥 𝑦 plane of its rest frame making an angle 𝜃 TC 15 2018
with 𝑥 axis. What is the length and orienta on of the rod in a laboratory frame
(𝑥, 𝑦) in which the rod moves to the right with velocity v ?

93. i. A reference frame 𝑆 moves with respect to rest frame 𝑆 with a uniform AN 15 2019
velocity ' v ' parallel to x-direc on. Show from Lorentz transforma on that
two events simultaneous (𝑡 = 𝑡 ) at different. posi ons (x ≠ x ) in S
frame are not in general simultaneous in S frame.
ii. The mean life of 𝜋 meson is 2 × 10 s. Calculate the mean life of a
meson moving with a velocity of 0.8c, where c is the velocity of light.
94. Two 𝛽-par cles 𝐴 and 𝐵 emi ed by a radioac ve source 𝑅 travel in opposite AN 15 2019
direc ons, each with a velocity of 0.9c with respect to the source. Find the
velocity of 𝐵 with respect to 𝐴 (Here c is the velocity of light).

95. What do you understand by length contrac on? Calculate the percentage length AN 15 2020
contrac on of a rod moving with a velocity 0.8 c in a direc on at 60° with respect
to its own length.

96. Derive the rela vis c expression for kine c energy by considering mass varia on TC 20 2020
with velocity. Hence, establish the rela on between momentum (p) and energy

(E) for a rela vis c par cle; = 𝑣.

97. An observer detects two explosions, one that occurs near him at a certain me AN 10 2021
and another that occurs 2 ms later 100 km away. Another observer finds that the
two explosions occur at the same place. What me interval separates the
explosions to the second observer?

98. A body of mass m at rest splits into two masses m and m by an explosion. A er TC 15 2021
the split the bodies move with a total kine c energy T in opposite direc on. Show

that their rela ve speed is 2Tm/m m .

99. Two spaceships approach each other, both moving with same speed as measured AN 15 2022
by a sta onary observer on the Earth. Their rela ve speed is 0.7 c. Determine the
velocity of each spaceship as measured by the sta onary observer on the Earth.
 WAVES & OPTICS
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

 Interference: Interference of light-Young’s experiment, Newton’s rings, interference by thin

films, Michelson interferometer.
 Multiple beam interference and Fabry-Perot interferometer. Holography and simple
applications
 Diffraction: Fraunhofer diffraction-single slit, double slit, diffraction grating, resolving power.
Fresnel diffraction: – half-period zones and zones plates
 Fresnel integrals. Application of Cornu’s spiral to the analysis of diffraction at a straight edge
and by a long narrow slit. Diffraction by a circular aperture and the Airy pattern
 Polarisation and Modern Optics: Production and detection of linearly and circularly polarised
light. Double refraction, a quarter-wave plate
 Optical activity. Principles of fibre optics attenuation; pulse dispersion in step-index and
parabolic index fibres; material dispersion, single-mode fibres. Lasers
 Einstein A and B coefficients. Ruby and He-Ne lasers. Characteristics of laser light-spatial and
temporal coherence. Focussing on laser beams. Three-level scheme for laser operation.
 Waves

1. In the propaga on of longitudinal waves in a fluid contained in an infinitely TC 15 2010

long tube of cross-sec on 𝐴, show that

∂𝜉
𝜌=𝜌 1−
∂𝑥

where, 𝜌 = equilibrium density

𝜌 = density of the fluid in the disturbed state

∂𝜉 ∂𝜉
= volume strain ≪1
∂𝑥 ∂𝑥

2. Write down the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator differen al equa on TC 10 2011

under damping and its solu on for the lightly damped condi on, with the
meanings of symbols.
Determine the dependent energy in the lightly damped condi on.
3. Explain the physical significance of group velocity from the concept of phase TC 15 2011
velocity with relevant expressions.

4. Prove that the group velocity 𝑉 of electromagne c waves in a dispersive TC 20 2011

medium with refrac ve index 𝑛(𝜆 ) at wavelength 𝜆 is given by
𝑐
𝑉 =
𝑑𝑛(𝜆 )
𝑛(𝜆 ) − 𝜆
𝑑𝜆

where 𝑐 is the free space velocity of light. Find the me taken for the
electromagne c pulse to travel a distance 𝐷.

5. The mo on of a damped mechanical oscillator is represented by TC 12 2012

𝑚𝑥¨ + 𝛼𝑥˙ + 𝛽𝑥 = 0

where 𝑚, 𝛼 and 𝛽 are constants. The oscillator is cri cally damped. The
system is given an impulse at 𝑥 = 0 and 𝑡 = 0, resul ng in an ini al velocity
𝑣. A er how much me the system experiences maximum displacement?

6. Show that a travelling wave on the string, clamped on both the ends, TC 12 2012
undergoes a phase change of 𝜋. Hence obtain the me-independent form of
the wave equa on represen ng a standing wave on the string.

7. During an earthquake, a horizontal shelf moves ver cally. If its mo on can AN 10 2013
be regarded simple harmonic, calculate the maximum value of amplitude of
oscilla on so that the books res ng on it stay in contact with it always. Take
g = 9.8 ms and T = 0.5 s.
8. The dispersion rela on for deep water waves is given by TC 5 2013
10
𝜔 = gk + ak

where g and a are constants. Obtain expressions for phase velocity and
group velocity in terms of the wavelength 𝜆. 𝜔 and k represent the angular
frequency and wave number, respec vely.

9. The displacement associated with a three-dimensional plane wave is given TC 10 2013

by

√3 1
Ψ(x, y, z, t) = acos kx + ky − 𝜔t .
2 2

Calculate the angles made by the propaga ng wave with the x, y and z-axes.

10. In a certain engine, a piston undergoes ver cal SHM with an amplitude of AN 10 2014
10 cm. A washer rests on the top of the piston. As the motor is slowly
speeded up, at what frequency will the washer no longer stay in contact
with the piston?

11. Show that the group velocity is equal to par cle velocity. Also prove that the TC 15 2014
group velocity of the photons is equal to c, the velocity of light.

12. Find out the phase and group veloci es of a radio wave of frequency 𝜔 = AN 15 2015
√2𝜔 in the ionosphere (as a dielectric medium) of refrac ve index n =

1− . Here, 𝜔 is the ionospheric plasma frequency.

13. The equa on of a progressive wave moving on a string is 𝑦 = 5sin 𝜋(0 ⋅ AN 10 2016
01𝑥 − 2𝑡). In this equa on, 𝑦 and 𝑥 are in cen metres and 𝑡 is in seconds.
Calculate amplitude, frequency and velocity of the wave. If two par cles at
any instant are situated 200 cm apart, what will be the phase difference
between these par cles?

14. Find the velocity of sound in a gas in which two waves of wavelengths AN 10 2017
1.00 m and 1.01 m produce 10 beats in 3 seconds.

15. When the two waves of nearly equal frequencies interfere, then show that TC 10 2018
the number of beats produced per second is equal to the difference of their
frequencies.

16. The equa on for displacement (X) of a point on a damped oscillator is given AN 10 2020
by
𝜋
𝑥 = 5𝑒 ⋅
sin 𝑡 metres.
2

Find the velocity of oscilla ng point at 𝑡 = and 𝑇, where 𝑇 is the me

period of the oscillator. What is the direc on of velocity in each case?
17. A mass m is suspended by two springs having force constants k and k as TC 10 2021
shown in the figure. The mass m is displaced ver cally downward and then
released. If at any instant 𝑡, the displacement of the mass 𝑚 is x, then show
that the mo on of the mass is simple harmonic mo on having frequency

1 1 k k
f=
2𝜋 m k +k

Geometrical Op cs

18. What is damped harmonic oscilla on? Write the equa on of mo on and TC 20 2021
obtain the general solu on for this oscilla on. Discuss the cases of dead
beat, cri cal damping and oscillatory mo on based on the general solu on.

What would be the logarithmic decrement of the damped vibra ng system,

if it has an ini al amplitude 30 cm, which reduces to 3 cm a er 20 complete
oscilla ons?

19. Two thin symmetrical lenses of two different natures (convex and concave) TC 10 2010
and of different materials have equal radii of curvature 𝑅 = 15 cm. The
lenses are put close together and immersed in water 𝜇 = 4/3). The focal
length of the system in water is 30 cm. Show that the difference between
the refrac ve indices of two lenses is 1/3.

20. Show that two convex lenses of the same material kept separated by a TC 10 2010
distance 𝑎, which is equal to the average of two focal lengths, may be used
as an achromat, that is, 𝑎 = (𝑓 + 𝑓 ).

21. Use matrix method to obtain an expression for the focal length of a coaxial TC 20 2012
combina on of two thin lenses having focal lengths 𝑓 and 𝑓 separated by
distance 𝑑.

22. A convex lens of focal length 20 cm is placed a er a slit of width 0.5 mm. If a AN 10 2015
plane wave of wavelength 5000Å falls normally on the slit, calculate the
 separa on between the second minima on either side of the central
maximum.

23. Using matrix method, find out the equivalent focal length for a combina on TC 10 2015
of two thin lenses of focal lengths 𝑓 and 𝑓 separated by a distance a.

24. Obtain the system matrix for a thin lens placed in air and made of material AN 10 2017
of refrac ve index 1.5 having radius of curvature 50 cm each. Also find its
focal length.

25. What do you mean by spherical aberra on of a lens? Show that if two plano- TC 15 2018
convex lenses are kept at a distance equal to the difference of their focal
lengths, the spherical aberra on would be minimum.

26. What is axial chroma c aberra on? AN 10 2019

A convex lens has a focal length of 15.5 × 10 m for red colour and
14.45 × 10 m for violet colour. If an object is kept at a distance of 40 cm
from the lens, calculate the longitudinal chroma c aberra on of the lens.

27. Prove that when light goes from one point to another via a plane mirror, the TC 20 2019
path followed by light is the one for which the me of flight is the least.

28. State and explain Fermat's principle of extremum path. Discuss the cases of TC 15 2020
rec linear propaga on of light and reversibility of light rays in context of
Fermat's principle. Using Fermat's principle, deduce the thin lens formula.

29. A thin film of petrol of thickness 9 × 10 cm is viewed at an angle 30∘ to AN 10 2021

the normal. Find the wavelength(s) of light in visible spectrum which can be
viewed in the reflected light. The refrac ve index of the film 𝜇 = 1 ⋅ 35.

30. What is chroma c aberra on? Obtain the condi on for achroma sm using TC 15 2021
combina on of two thin lenses placed in contact to each other. Can this
system work as achroma c doublet if both are of same material? Jus fy your
answer.

31. Obtain the system matrix for a thick lens and derive the thin lens formula. TC 20 2022

Interference

32. An op cal beam of spectral width 7.5 GHz at wavelength 𝜆 = 600 nm is AN 10 2010
incident normally on Fabry-Perot etalon of thickness 100 mm. Taking
refrac ve index unity, find the number of axial modes which can be
supported by the etalon.

33. Describe Michelson interferometer for evalua on of coherence length of an AN 20 2010

op cal beam. Calculate coherence length of a light beam of wavelength 600 10
nm with spectral width of 0.01 nm
34. Show that two light beams polarized in perpendicular direc ons will not TC 15 2010
interfere.

35. When a thin film of a transparent material is put behind one of the slits in AN 10 2011
Young's double-slit interference experiment, the zero-order fringe moves to
the posi on previously occupied by the fourth-order bright fringe. The index
of refrac on of the film is 𝑛 = 1.2 and the wavelength of light, 𝜆 = 5000Å.
Determine the thickness of the film.

36. The separa on between the slits is 0.5 mm in Young's double-slit AN 12 2012
experiment. The interference pa ern observed on a screen placed 5 m away
reveals the loca on of the first maximum which is 6 mm from the centre of
the pa ern. Calculate the wavelength of light and separa on between
second and third bright fringes.

37. In a Young double slit experiment, the first bright maximum is displaced by AN 10 2014
y = 2 cm from the central maximum. If the spacing between slits and
distance from the screen are 0.1 mm and 1 m respec vely, find the
wavelength of light.

38. In Michelson interferometer, 100 fringes cross the field of view when the AN 5 2016
movable mirror is displaced through 0.029 mm. Calculate the wavelength of
the light source used.

39. Obtain the condi ons for construc ve interference and destruc ve TC 15 2016
interference in a thin film due to reflected light.

40. Explain with proper example the interferences due to 'division of wavefront' TC 10 2017
and 'division of amplitude'.

41. What is mul ple-beam interference? Discuss the advantages of mul ple- TC 15 2017
beam interferometry over two-beam interferometry. Explain the fringes
formed by Fabry-Perot interferometer.

42. What are the fringes of equal thickness and fringes of equal inclina on? AN 10 2019

In a Newton's ring arrangement with a source emi ng two wavelengths

𝜆 = 6 × 10 m and 𝜆 = 5.9 × 10 m, it is found that the mth dark ring
due to one wavelength coincides with the (𝑚 + 1) dark ring due to the
other. Find the diameter of the mth dark ring, if the radius of curvature of
the lens is 90 cm.

43. What are Newton's rings? How are they formed by two curved surfaces? TC 10 2020

44. Discuss the condi ons for interference. Describe Young's double-slit AN 20 2020
experiment and derive an expression for the es ma on of fringe width.
Discuss its dependency on various parameters.

Green light of wavelength 5100Å from a narrow slit is incident on a double-

slit. If the overall separa on of 10 fringes on a screen 200 cm away is 2 cm,
find the slit separa on.
45. Newton's rings are observed between a spherical surface of radius of TC 2022
curvature 100 cm and a plane glass plate. The diameters of 4th and 15 th
bright rings are 0.314 cm and 0.574 cm, respec vely. Calculate the
diameters of 24 th and 36th bright rings and also the wavelength of light
used.

Diffrac on

46. Obtain the expression for the primary focal length of Fresnel zone plate. TC 20 2010

47. The Fraunhofer single-slit diffrac on intensity is given by TC 10 2011

sin 𝑥
𝐼=𝐼
𝑥

where 𝑥 = , with 𝑙 as the distance from slit to source, 𝑑 the slit width, 𝑦
the detector distance and 𝜆 the wavelength. What is the value of cumula ve
intensity ∫ 𝐼(𝑦)𝑑𝑦?

48. In rela on to a plane diffrac on gra ng having 5000 lines per cm and AN 15 2011
irradiated by light of wavelength 6000Å, answer the following:
(i) What is the highest order spectrum which may be observed?
(ii) If the width of opaque space is exactly twice that of the transparent
space, which order of spectra will be absent?

49. Dis nguish between Fresnel and Fraunhofer classes of diffrac on. Show that TC 20 2012
the area of each Fresnel half-period zone is same.

50. A diffrac on gra ng of width 5 cm with slits of width 10 cm separated by AN 20 2012

a distance of 2 × 10 cm is illuminated by light of wavelength 550 nm.
What will be the width of the principal maximum in the diffrac on pa ern?
Would there be any missing orders?

51. A parallel beam of light from a He - Ne laser (𝜆 = 630 nm) is made to fall on AN 15 2013
a narrow slit of width 0.2 × 10 m. The Fraunhofer diffrac on pa ern is
observed on a screen placed in the focal plane of a convex lens of focal
length 0.3 m. Calculate the distance between the (i) first two minima and (ii)
first two maxima on the screen.

52. Explain the physical significance of resolving power of a gra ng with relevant TC 10 2013
mathema cal expression.

53. Considering a plane transmission diffrac on gra ng, where 𝑑 is the distance TC 10 2014
between two consecu ve ruled lines, m as the order number and 0 as the
 angle of diffrac on for normal incidence, calculate the angular dispersion
for an incident light of wavelength 𝜆.

54. Can 𝐷 and 𝐷 lines of sodium light 𝜆 = 5890Å and 𝜆 = 5896Å be AN 10 2016
resolved in second-order spectrum if the number of lines in the given gra ng
is 450? Explain.

55. Obtain an expression for the resolving power of a gra ng explaining the TC 15 2016
Rayleigh's criterion of resolu on.

56. Show that the areas of all the half-period zones are nearly the same. Find AN 15 2017
the radius of 1 st half-period zone in a zone plate whose focal length is
50 cm and the wavelength of the incident light is 500 nm.

57. A plane transmission gra ng has 3000 lines in all, having width of 3 mm. AN 10 2018
What would be the angular separa on in the first order spectrum of the two
sodium lines of wavelengths 5890Å and 5896Å? Can they be seen
dis nctly?

58. Discuss the intensity distribu on in Fraunhofer diffrac on pa ern due to a TC 20 2018
single slit. Obtain condi ons for maxima and minima of the intensity
distribu on. Show that the intensity of the first maxima is about 4.95% of
that of the principal maxima.

59. Show that the phenomenon of Fraunhofer diffrac on at two ver cal slits is TC 20 2021
modula on of two terms viz. double slit interference and single slit
diffrac on. Obtain the condi on for posi ons of maxima and minima.

60. Discuss the phenomenon of Fraunhofer diffrac on at a single slit and show TC 20 2022
that the intensi es of successive maxima are nearly in the ra o

4 4 4
1: : :
9𝜋 25𝜋 49𝜋

Polarisa on and Modern Op cs

61. An unpolarized light beam of intensity 1000 W/m is incident on an ideal AN 10 2010
linear polarizer with its transmission axis parallel to ver cal direc on.
Describe an experiment to reduce the intensity of light beam to 500 W/m .
62. What should be the refrac ve index of cladding of an op cal fibre with AN 10 2010
numerical aperture 0.5 with refrac ve index of core as 1.5?

63. A laser beam of 1 micrometer wavelength with 3 megawa s power of beam AN 25 2010
diameter 10 mm is focussed by a lens of focal length 50 mm. Evaluate the
electric field associated with the light beam at the focal point.
(Dielectric permi vity of free space, 𝜀 = 8 ⋅ 8542 × 10 𝐶 /𝑁 − m )
64. A plane wave has the following expression for its electric field: TC 10 2011

𝐸⃗ = 𝑥ˆ𝐸 cos (𝜔𝑡 − 𝑘𝑧 + 𝛼) + 𝑦ˆ𝐸 cos (𝜔𝑡 − 𝑘𝑧 + 𝛽)

If the phase difference is defined as 𝛿 = 𝛽 − 𝛼, under what condi ons do

we achieve ellip c polariza on? What are the condi ons for circular
polariza on?

65. For calcite, the refrac ve indices of ordinary and extraordinary rays are AN 15 2011
1.65836 and 1.48641 at 𝜆 = 5893Å respec vely. A le circularly polarized
beam of this wavelength is incident normally on such crystal of thickness
0.005141 mm having its op c axis cut parallel to the surface. What will be
the state of polariza on of the emergent beam?

66. Bring out the essen al differences between the physical principles of TC 15 2011
spontaneous and s mulated emission of radia on. Why is it difficult to get
efficient lasing ac on in case of an ideal two-level material system? Can you
propose a scheme to enhance efficiency? Discuss.

67. Show with proper mathema cal analysis that the ra o of Einstein's A and B TC 20 2011
coefficients depends upon the energy separa on between the two energy
levels par cipa ng in the op cal transi ons. What is the physical 5
significance of 𝐴 coefficient? Jus fy the statement; "It is very difficult to
develop an X-ray laser". 5

68. Derive an expression for intermodal dispersion for a mul modal step-index TC 20 2012
fibre.

69. A pulse of 𝜆 = 600 nm and Δ𝜆 = 10 nm propagates through a fibre which AN 10 2012

has a material dispersion coefficient of 50ps per km per nm at 600 nm.
Calculate the pulse broadening in traversing a 10 km length of the fibre. If
the pulse width at the input of the fibre is 12 ns, what will be the pulse
width at the output of the fibre?

70. Calculate the minimum thickness of a quartz plate which would behave as a AN 15 2012
quarter-wave plate for wavelength of light, 𝜆 = 6000Å. The refrac ve
indices for ordinary and extraordinary rays are 𝜇 = 1.544 and 𝜇 = 1.553.

71. Explain why informa on carrying capacity of an op cal fibre can be TC 10 2013
enhanced by reducing the pulse dispersion. How does one minimize pulse
dispersion using a graded index op cal fibre?

72. What is the physical significance of Einstein's A-coefficient? Explain why it is TC 10 2014
more difficult to achieve Lasing ac on at X-ray wavelength than at infra-red
wavelength.

73. For a mul mode step index op cal fibre, the core refrac ve index is 1.5 and AN 10 2014
frac onal index difference is 0.001. Calculate the pulse broadening for 1 km
length of the fibre. Over a length of 2 km of the fibre, calculate the
minimum pulse scpara on that can be transmi ed without overlap.
74. Explain the working principle of a 3-level laser with a specific example. TC 10 2014
Comment on why the third level is needed.

75. How does holography differ from conven onal photography? What are the TC 10 2014
requirements for the forma on and reading of a hologram?

76. What is the role of an op cal resonator in a laser? Why does one prefer TC 10 2015
curved mirrors instead of plane mirrors in designing an op cal resonator?

77. Find out the angle between the reflected and refracted rays when a parallel TC 10 2015
beam of light is incident on a dielectric surface at an angle equal to the 10
Brewster's angle. Explain how do you use this concept to produce linearly
polarized light.

78. Using the concept of Einstein’s A and B coefficients for a two-level atomic TC 10 2015
system under thermal equilibrium, determine the ra o of the number of 10
atoms per unit volume in the two levels experiencing spontaneous and
s mulated emission. How does the principle of popula on inversion lead to
the gain mechanism in the ac ve medium of the laser?

79. The refrac ve indices of core and cladding in a step index op cal fiber are AN 10 2016
1.52 and 1.48 respec vely. The diameter of the core is 30𝜇m. If the
opera ng wavelength is 1.3𝜇m, calculate the 𝑉 parameter and the
maximum number of modes supported by the fiber.

80. Explain the principle of (i) induced absorp on, (ii) spontaneous emission and TC 20 2016
(iii) s mulated emission. Show that the ra o of Einstein's coefficients is given
by

𝐴 8𝜋ℎ𝑣
=
𝐵 𝑐

81. Explain the principle of producing polarized light by the method of TC 15 2016
reflec on, refrac on and double refrac on with the help of neat diagrams.

82. Sunlight is reflected from a calm lake. The reflected light is 100% polarized AN 10 2017
at a certain instant. What is the angle between the sun and horizon?

83. A plane-polarized light passes through a double-refrac ng crystal of AN 10 2017

thickness 40𝜇m and emerges out as circularly polarized. If the birefringence
of the crystal is 0.00004, then find the wavelength of the incident light.

84. How is laser light different from ordinary light? Discuss the working principle TC 15 2017
of ruby laser. What role do chromium ions play in this process?

85. Explain the principle of opera on of op cal fibre. What are the different TC 10 2017
losses that take place in op cal fibre?

86. Explain the principle and working of He-Ne laser. What is the role of He gas? AN 15 2018
Why is it necessary to use narrow tube? How many longitudinal modes can
be excited for an He-Ne laser in a cavity of length 30 cm and having half
 width of gain profile of laser material 2 × 10 nm ? The emission
wavelength is 6328Å.

87. Dis nguish between posi ve and nega ve crystals in terms of double TC 15 2018
refrac on. How are these crystals used to make quarter wave plates? Explain
how the quarter wave plate is used in producing ellip cally and circularly
polarized light.

88. How can one convert a le -handed circularly polarised light into a right- AN 10 2019
handed one (and vice versa)?

Calculate the thickness of a quarter-wave plate when the wavelength of light

is 589 nm.
Given: 𝜇 = 1.544 and 𝜇 = 1.553.

89. Discuss how popula on inversion is achieved in Ruby laser. TC 20 2019

What is 'laser spiking'? Why does it occur?

90. In what way is holography different from conven onal photography? Discuss TC 20 2019
the salient features of a hologram. What are the requirements for the
forma on and reading of a hologram?

91. What is a zone plate? Give its theore cal descrip on. Show that a zone plate AN 15 2020
has mul ple foci. Differen ate a zone plate from a convex lens. Calculate the
radius of the first half period zone in a zone plate behaving like a convex lens
of focal length 60 cm for light of wavelength 6000Å.

92. Briefly discuss the postulates of Einstein to explain s mulated emission. TC 15 2020
Derive an expression for Einstein's A and B coefficients and show that the
ra o of coefficients of spontaneous versus s mulated emission is
propor onal to the third power of frequency of radia on. Why is it difficult
to achieve laser ac on in higher frequency ranges such as X-rays?

Can there be a temperature at which the rates of spontaneous and

s mulated emission are equal? Illustrate with wavelength 𝜆 = 5000Å.

93. Explain the phenomenon of double refrac on in calcite crystal. Considering AN 15 2020
birefringent crystal as non-conduc ng material, explain double refrac on
using electromagne c theory.

Calculate the thickness of a double refrac ng plate which produces a path

difference of between extraordinary and ordinary waves.
Given:

𝜆 = 5890Å, 𝜇 = 1.53, 𝜇 = 1.54

94. In a step-index op cal fiber system, explain the terms pulse dispersion and AN 20 2021
material dispersion.

An op cal fiber having refrac ve indices of core and cladding 𝑛 = 1.463

and 𝑛 = 1.444 respec vely, uses a Laser diode with 𝜆 = 1.50𝜇m with a
spectral width of 2 nm. At this wavelength if the material dispersion
 coefficient, D is 18.23ps/km. nm, then calculate the pulse dispersion and
material dispersion for 1 km length of the fiber.

95. A phase retarda on plate of quartz has thickness 0.1436 mm. For what AN 10 2022
wavelength in the visible region will it act as quarter-wave plate? Given that
𝜇 = 1.5443 and 𝜇 = 1.5533.

96. In He-Ne laser, what is the func on of He gas? Explain the answer with the TC 15 2022
help of energy level diagram for He − Ne laser.
 Premium Course for Physics Optional
Cra ed with innova on & research

INTENSIVE SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR PHYSICS , 2024

It is a broad framework along with subject and/or topic wise details. It is

modelled on Syllabus by analysing the PYQs. It includes:

✅ PYQs solu on and/or source to solve it

✅ S-PYQs with solu on
✅ Day to Day support and guidance
✅ Weekly on demand meet in online mode for confidence boost
✅ Pinpoints on what to study and limita ons on depth
✅ Relevant study materials in e-Book form
PAY & THEN SEND THE SCREENSHOT, WITH
The course starts with focus on CBR, and non-rigid methods with 'break to YOUR NAME AT [email protected]
rule' approach.
(CBR - cost benefit ra o)

The course fee is ₹6999/-

MRT - MAINS READY TESTS, 2024

✅ It reflects the changing pa ern of UPSC.

✅ Never ever before - synopsis will be provided.
✅ Solu ons directly from standard textbooks, for the original learning and
knowledge.
✅ The exact marking scheme and pa ern of UPSC has been followed, even
in the subject tests. That means, you are required to solve 5 ques ons out of
8, and you will have ques ons 1 and 5 compulsory and rest to be chosen from
one from each sec on.
✅ A proper balance of PYQs inspired topics and syllabus for the 360°
revision of the syllabus.
✅ Affordable tests with 4 different varia ons, with 2 extra full paper tests.
{from ₹999}
FULL FLEDGED COURSE , 2024

It is a full-fledged video course of Physics Op onal, which contains:

🚀 High quality recorded class, along with notes.

🚀 Solu on of PYQs.
🚀 Solved problems for prac ce.
🚀 Subject wise Tests

Course fee ₹28000 {discount of 20% available}

ELECTRICITY & MAGNETISM
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

(a) Electrosta cs and Magnetosta cs:

 Laplace and Poisson equa ons in electrosta cs and their applica ons;
 Energy of a system of charges, mul ple expansion of scalar poten al;
 Method of images and its applica ons;
 Poten al and field due to a dipole, force and torque on a dipole in an external field;
 Dielectrics, polariza on; Solu ons to boundary-value problems-conduc ng and dielectric
spheres in a uniform electric field;
 Magne c shell, uniformly magne zed sphere; Ferromagne c materials, hysteresis, energy
loss.

(b) Current Electricity:

 Kirchhoff's laws and their applica ons;

 Biot-Savart law, Ampere's law, Faraday's law, Lenz' law; Self-and mutual-inductances;
 Mean and r m s values in AC circuits; DC and AC circuits with R, L, and C components;
 Series and parallel resonances; Quality factor; Principle of transformer.
 Electrosta cs and Magnetosta cs

1. Obtain Poisson's equa on in electrosta cs from Gauss' law. What form does TC 10 2010
it take when the charge density is zero?
2. What is meant by a dielectric? Define polariza on vector 𝑃 and relate it with TC 20 2010
the average molecular dipole moment. Obtain expression for the poten al
due to a polarized dielectric in terms of the polariza on vector.

3. Find out the total electric poten al energy of a single spherical object of TC 10 2011
uniform charge density 𝑝, total charge 𝑄 and radius 𝑅.

4. Determine the torque experienced by an electric dipole of moment 𝑝⃗ if AN 20 2011

placed in an electric field 𝐸⃗ in nonaligned state. Also show that the
interac on energy of two dipoles of moments 𝑝⃗ and 𝑝⃗ separated by a
displacement 𝑟⃗ is

1 1
𝑈= [𝑝⃗ ⋅ 𝑝⃗ − 3(𝑝⃗ ⋅ 𝑟ˆ)(𝑝⃗ ⋅ 𝑟ˆ)]
4𝜋𝜀 𝑟

assuming the expression for field due to a dipole.

5. The electric poten al of a grounded conduc ng sphere of radius 𝑎 in a AN 10 2011

uniform electric field is given as

𝑎
𝜙(𝑟, 𝜃) = −𝐸 𝑟 1 − cos 𝜃
𝑟

Find the surface charge distribu on.

6. The volume between two concentric conduc ng spherical surfaces of radii 𝑎 AN 15 2012
and 𝑏(𝑎 < 𝑏) is filled with an inhomogeneous dielectric with 𝜀 = 𝜀 /(1 +
𝑐𝑟), where 𝑐 is a constant and 𝑟 is the radial coordinate. A charge +𝑄 is 15
placed on the inner surface, while the outer surface is grounded.
Determine- 15

(a) 𝐷⃗ in the region 𝑎 < 𝑟 < 𝑏; 15

(b) capacitance of the device;
(c) polariza on charge density in the region 𝑎 < 𝑟 < 𝑏;
(d) surface polariza on charge densi es at 𝑟 = 𝑎 and 𝑟 = 𝑏.

7. Assume 𝐸⃗ = 0 inside a perfect conductor. Elaborate on any other four TC 15 2012

electrosta c proper es that arise from this property.

8. Using the fundamental concepts of electromagne sm, determine the TC 15 2013

electric field of an electric dipole 𝑝⃗ at a distance 𝑟⃗ and its energy in an
electric field E⃗.
9. 𝐴𝐵𝐶𝐷 is a rectangle in which charges of +10 C, −2 × 10 C and AN 10 2013
10 C are placed at corners B, C and D, respec vely.

Calculate the poten al at the corner A and the work done in carrying a
charge of 2 coulombs to 𝐴.

10. Under one-dimensional configura on, the charge density is given by 𝜌(𝑥) = AN 10 2015
; where 𝜌 is a constant charge density. If the electric field E⃗ = 0 at x =
0 and poten al V = 0 at x = 5, determine V and E⃗ .

11. A conduc ng sphere of radius 5 cm has a total charge of 12nC uniformly AN 10 2015
distributed on its surface in free space. Determine the displacement vector
𝐷⃗ on its surface and outside at a distance 𝑟 from the centre of the sphere.

12. With the help of a neat diagram, show that the poten al due to a dipole at a TC 10 2016
point is given by 𝑉 = ⋅ , where 𝑝 is the dipole moment of the
charge distribu on, 𝜃 is the angle between the line joining the centre of the
dipole to the point of interest and the axis of the dipole.

13. Discuss the principle of 'ar ficial dielectric'. Where do you find its use? TC 10 2017

14. A charge 𝑞 = 2𝜇C is placed at 𝑎 = 10 cm from an infinite grounded AN 10 2017

conduc ng plane sheet. Find the (i) total charge induced on the sheet, (ii)
force on the charge 𝑞 and (iii) total work required to remove the charge
slowly to an infinite distance from the plane.

15. A current 𝑖(𝑡) = (2𝑒 − 𝑒 )𝜇A charges up a 120nF capacitor for a AN 10 2017
period of 2 seconds. If the final voltage across the capacitor is 15 V, what
was the ini al voltage across it?

16. Why does a soap bubble expand upon electrifica on? TC 15 2017

A sphere of radius 𝑅 contains a charge +𝑄 and a charge −𝑄 distributed

uniformly in the upper and lower hemispheres respec vely. Show that the
dipole moment of charge distribu on is 𝑄𝑅𝑘ˆ, where 𝑘ˆ is directed along
the polar axis of the spherical coordinate system.
17. Discuss briefly the features of 'guard rings'. TC 15 2017

The plates of a capacitor are square-shaped, each of side 𝑙. The plates are
inclined at an angle 𝛼 to each other. The smallest distance between the
plates is 𝑎. Calculate the capacitance when 𝛼 is small.

18. A 0.5 m long cylindrical medium between two conduc ng plates has AN 15 2018
uniform charge density of 100nC/m . The axis of the cylindrical medium is
along z-axis. The le plate is at z = 0 and has a poten al of 10kV and the
right plate is grounded. Determine the electric field at axial distance z =
0.2 m.

19. A uniformly magne zed sphere of radius R has magne za on 𝑀⃗ = 𝑀 𝑍ˆ. If AN 15 2018
the scalar magne c poten als inside and outside the sphere are given as
under

𝑀
𝜙 = 𝑍; 𝑟 ≤ 𝑅
3
𝑀 𝑅
and 𝜙 = cos 𝜃; 𝑟 > 𝑅
3 𝑟

where, 𝑟, 𝜃 are two spherical coordinates, find the magne c field inside and
outside the sphere.

20. Star ng from the expression for the electrosta c poten al TC 10 2019

1 𝜌(𝑟⃗ )
𝜙(𝑟⃗) = 𝑑𝑉
4𝜋𝜀 |𝑟⃗ − 𝑟⃗ |

obtain Poisson's equa on ∇ 𝜙 = − .

[Symbols have their usual meanings]

21. Find the capacitance of two concentric spherical metal shells having radii 𝑎 TC 10 2019
and 𝑏.

22. Two conduc ng planes, intersec ng at right-angles to each other, are kept at TC 15 2019
a poten al 𝜙 . Calculate the poten al at a point in space if the total charge
on a plane of area 𝛼 be 𝑄.

23. A ver cally oriented electric dipole having dipole moment 𝑝⃗ is kept at height TC 10 2020
h above an infinitely large horizontal conduc ng plate, which is grounded as
shown in the diagram. Calculate the force between the electric dipole and
the conduc ng plate by using method of images.
24. Based on the hysteresis loops for so iron and steel as shown in the TC 10 2020
diagram, which material would you prefer to u lise for making transformer
cores and why?

25. Write expressions for divergence and curl of an electrosta c field. From TC 15 2020
these, obtain Poisson and Laplace equa ons.
Two concentric conduc ng spherical shells having radii 𝑟 and 𝑟 (𝑟 < 𝑟 )
are charged to poten als 𝑉 and 𝑉 , respec vely. What are the electric
poten al and hence electric field in the space between the shells? Also find
the charge on the inner shell.

26. Given that the electric poten al of a system of charges is 𝑉 = + volt. AN 10 2021
Calculate the electric field vector at the Cartesian point (4,2,3)m.

27. Given an infinite line charge of charge density 2nCm parallel to the y-axis AN 15 2021
and passing through the point (3,0,4)m and an infinite sheet of charge of
charge density 4nCm parallel to the x − y plane and passing through the
point (0,0,6)m. Calculate the electric field intensity at the point
(10,10,10)m. Assume free space.

28. Consider two point par cles of charge 𝑞 each, separated by a distance 𝑑, TC 10 2022
and travelling at non-rela vis c velocity 𝑣⃗. If the line joining the two charges
is perpendicular to 𝑣⃗, then write an expression for the magne c force
between the two par cles, and illustrate the direc on of the force on each
par cle.

29. Star ng from the Laplace's equa on in a cylindrical polar coordinate system TC 15 2022
and using the method of separa on of variables, obtain the differen al
equa ons for the solu ons of 𝑟, 𝜙 and 𝑧 components of the poten al.

Current Electricity
30. What happens if the primary winding of a transformer is connected to a TC 10 2010
ba ery?
31. Discuss the growth of current when an e.m.f. is suddenly applied to a circuit TC 20 2010
containing resistance, inductance and capacitance in series. What is the
me constant of the circuit?

32. A series circuit has an inductance of 200 microhenries, a capacitance of AN 20 2010

0.0005 microfarad and a resistance of 10 ohms. Find the resonant frequency
and quality factor of the circuit.

33. Find whether the discharge of a condenser through the induc ve circuit is AN 10 2011
oscillatory when 𝐶 = 0.1𝜇F, 𝐿: = 10mH and 𝑅 = 200Ω. If it is oscillatory,
calculate its frequency.

34. The four arms of a Wheatstone bridge have the following resistances: AN 10 2011

𝐴𝐵 = 100Ω, 𝐵𝐶 = 10Ω, 𝐶𝐷 = 5Ω, 𝐷𝐴 = 60Ω

A galvanometer of 15Ω resistance is connected across 𝐵𝐷. Calculate the

current through the galvanometer when a poten al difference of 10 volts is
maintained across 𝐴𝐶.

35. A long solenoid has 220 turns /cm; its diameter is 3.2 cm. Inside the AN 10 2011
solenoid at its centre, we place a 130-turn closepacked coil of diameter
2.1 cm along its axis. The current in the solenoid is increased from zero to
1.5 amperes at a steady rate over a period of 0.16 second. What is the
magnitude of the induced e.m.f. that appears in the central coil when the
current in the solenoid is being changed?

36. An electrical circuit consists of a resistance 𝑅, inductance 𝐿 and capacitance TC 20 2011

𝐶 in series. If a charge is put on the capacitor at some instant, determine the
condi on that 𝑉 , the voltage across the capacitor, is subsequently
oscillatory. Derive an expression for the quality factor 𝑄 of the circuit by
considering the decay of the oscilla on, using the result that the amplitude
falls by a factor of 𝑒 in period.

37. A resistor 𝑅(= 6.2MΩ) and a capacitor 𝐶(= 2.4𝜇F) are connected in series AN 5+5 2011
and a 12 V ba ery of negligible internal resistance is connected across their
combina on.
(i) What is the capaci ve me constant of this circuit?
(ii) At what me, a er the ba ery is connected, does the poten al
difference across the capacitor become 5.6 V ?

38. A resistance 𝑅 and a lossless capacitor 𝐶 are connected through a switch. TC 12 2012
The capacitor is charged to poten al 𝑉 , and the switch is closed at 𝑡 = 0.
Prove that the energy stored in the capacitor is equal to the energy
dissipated in the resistor.
39. In the circuit diagram shown below, calculate the current passing through AN 10 2013
the milliammeter.

40. Consider the equa on for a series RLC circuit and compare this to the TC 10 2013
parallel resonant circuit shown below:

Calculate the value of 𝑅 if a series RLC circuit and the parallel RLC circuit
are to have same equa ons for the poten al of capacitance while they both
have the same L, C and Q with Q being the total charge.

41. A series LCR circuit has resonant frequency 𝜔 and a large quality factor Q. TC 15 2013
Write down in terms of R, 𝜔, 𝜔 and Q, its (i) impedance at resonance, (ii)
impedance at half-power points and (iii) the approximate forms of its
impedance at low and high frequencies.

42. Consider the following coupled inductor - capacitor circuit: TC 10 2013

Calculate the ra o of the frequencies of the an -symmetric and symmetric

modes 𝜔 /𝜔 .
 1 1
Given k = ,k =
LC LC

43. For ini al current condi ons 𝐼 = 𝐼 and = 0 at 𝑡 = 0, show that the me AN 20 2014
dependent current in the cri cal damping case for an LCR circuit is given by

𝛾𝑡 /
𝐼=𝐼 1+ 𝑒
2

where 𝛾 = ,𝜔 = ,𝜔 = 𝜔 − and tan 𝛿 = .

44. Using Ampere's Law and con nuity equa on, show that the divergence of TC 15 2014
the total current density is zero.

45. When connected in series, 𝐿 , 𝐶 have the same resonant frequency as TC 15 2014
L , C also connected in series. Prove that if all these circuit elements are
connected in series, the new circuit will have the same resonant frequency
as either of the circuits first men oned.

46. A series RLC circuit has a resistance of 100Ω and an impedance of 210Ω. If AN 10 2015
this circuit is connected to an a.c. source with an r.m.s. voltage of 220 V,
how much is the average power dissipated in the circuit?

47. A series RLC circuit has 𝑅 = 2Ω. The energy stored in the circuit decreases AN 15 2015
by 1% per period of oscilla on. Its natural undamped frequency is 2kHz.
Determine the values of inductor L and the quality factor.

48. In the circuit given below, find the values of currents 𝐼 , 𝐼 and 𝐼. AN 15 2015

49. In the circuit diagram shown below, the voltmeter reads 50 volts when it is AN 10 2016
connected across the 400Ω resistance. Calculate what the same voltmeter
will read when connected across the 300Ω resistance.
50. An alterna ng current varying sinusoidally with a frequency of 50 Hz has an AN 10 2016
r.m.s. value of 40 A. Find the instantaneous value of the current at 0.00125
second a er passing through maximum posi ve value.

51. How large an inductance needs to be connected in series with a AN 10 2017

120 V, 60 W lightbulb if it is to operate normally when the combina on is
connected across a 240 V, 60 Hz supply?

52. When a person carrying something metallic walks through the doorway of a AN 15 2017
metal detector, it emits a sound. Explain the reason behind it.

A 200Ω resistor and a 15𝜇F capacitor are connected in series to

220 V, 50 Hz a.c. supply. Calculate the current in the circuit and the r.m.s.
voltage across the resistor and the capacitor. Is the algebraic sum of these
voltages more than the supply voltage? If yes, resolve the paradox.

53. A current carrying circular wire loop of radius 1.0 cm has a magne c AN 10 2018
moment 2.0 mJ/T. Determine the magne c field at an axial distance of
3.0 cm from the centre of the loop.

54. A 12.0 V ba ery is connected at t = 0 to a series combina on of a resistor AN 10 2018

𝑅 = 10.0Ω and anductor 𝐿 = 5.0H. At what rate is energy being stored in
the inductor when the current in the circuit is 0.4 A ?

55. Two solenoids have 500 and 800 turns of wire and are placed co-axially AN 10 2018
close to each other. A current of 5.0 A in the first solenoid produces an
average flux of 200𝜇Wb through its each turn and a flux of 100𝜇Wb
through each turn of the second solenoid. Find the self-inductance of the
first solenoid and the mutual inductance of the solenoids.

56. Why do we prefer to work with a cri cally damped ballis c galvanometer in TC 10 2019
a laboratory? What is external cri cal damping resistance?

57. Three cells are connected in parallel with similar poles connected together AN 15 2019
with wires having negligible resistance. The emfs of the cells are 2,1 and 4
volts respec vely and the corresponding internal resistances are 4, 3 and
2 ohms. Calculate the current flowing through the 4 V cell.

58. Describe the oscilla ons of electric and magne c fields in an ideal LC circuit. TC 15 2020
The applied voltage phasor in a circuit is (4 + 3𝑖) volt and resul ng current
phasor is (3 + 4𝑖) ampere. Draw the phasor diagram. Determine the
impedance of the circuit and indicate whether it is induc ve or capaci ve in
nature. Also find the power dissipa on in the circuit.

59. A 10Ω resistor is connected in series with a capacitor of 1.0𝜇F and a ba ery AN 15 2020
with emf 12.0 V. Before the switch is closed at me 𝑡 = 0, the capacitor is
uncharged.
Calculate the following:
(i) The me constant.
(ii) What frac on of the final charge is on the plates at the me t = 46
seconds?
(iii) What frac on of the ini al current remains at the me t = 46 seconds?
 Consider that the internal resistance of the ba ery is zero and neglect the
resistance of all the connec ng wires.

60. A rod of length 𝑙 is perpendicular to a uniform magne c field B. The rod TC 10 2021
revolves at an angular speed 𝜔 about an axis passing through one end of
the rod and parallel to the magne c field B. Find the voltage induced across
the rod's ends.

61. Consider the two branch parallel circuit shown in the diagram. Determine TC 10 2021
the resonant frequency of the circuit.

62. In the given circuit, L = 2.0𝜇H, R = 1.0Ω, R = 2.0Ω and E = 3.0 V. Find AN 10 2021
the amount of heat generated in the coil a er the switch S is disconnected.
The internal resistance of the source is negligible.

63. A cell of internal resistance 1ohm, 1.5 volt e.m.f. and another cell of internal AN 10 2022
resistance 2ohm, 2 volt e.m.f. are connected in parallel across the ends of
an external resistance of 5ohm. Find the current in each branch of the
circuit.

64. Consider the R-L-C circuit shown here. Calculate the Q-factor of the circuit. AN 10 2022
Does the circuit have a resonant frequency? Jus fy your answer:
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
AND BLACKBODY RADIATION
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

 Displacement current and Maxwell's equations;

 Wave equations in vacuum, Pointing theorem; Vector and scalar potentials; Electromagnetic
field tensor, covariance of Maxwell's equations;

 Wave equations in isotropic dielectrics, reflection and refraction at the boundary of two
dielectrics; Fresnel's relations;

 Total internal reflection; Normal and anomalous dispersion; Rayleigh scattering;

 Black body radiation and Planck's radiation law, Stefan - Boltzmann law, Wien's
displacement law and Rayleigh-Jeans' law.
 Electromagne c Theory

1. A wire of length 2 m is perpendicular to 𝑋 − 𝑌 plane. It is moved with a AN 10 2010

velocity 𝑉⃗ = (2𝚤⃗ + 3𝚥⃗ + 𝑘⃗ )ms through a region of uniform induc on 𝐵⃗ =
(𝚤⃗ + 2𝚥⃗)Wm . Compute the poten al difference between the ends of the
wire.

2. Using Maxwell's field equa ons for a homogeneous non-conduc ng TC 20 2010

medium, derive the wave equa on for the electric field. Calculate the
velocity of EM wave in free space.

3. Explain the term 'Poyn ng vector' and state the significance of Poyn ng TC 20 2010
theorem.

4. Calculate the skin depth for radio waves in free space of wavelength 3 m in AN 20 2010
copper, given that electrical conduc vity for copper is 6 × 10 Ω m .

5. Consider Maxwell's equa on in differen al form in media. For 𝑗 = 𝜌 = 0, TC 10 2011

assume 𝜀 = 𝜀 𝑒 and 𝜇 = 𝜇 𝑒 and show that the relevant wave equa on
for a plane wave propaga ng along 𝑥-direc on is

∂ 𝐸 ∂ 𝐷 ∂𝐷
=𝜇 + 𝜇𝛼
∂𝑥 ∂𝑡 ∂𝑡

where 𝐸⃗ = 𝐸𝑦ˆ and 𝐻⃗ = 𝐻𝑧ˆ

6. Consider a plane wave travelling along the posi ve 𝑦-direc on incident upon AN 25 2011
a glass of refrac ve index 𝑛 = 1.6. Find the transmission coefficient.

7. Jus fy which of the four Maxwell's equa ons imply that there are no TC 15 2011
magne c monopoles. How these equa ons would have been wri en if they
were?

8. What is a displacement current? Prove that lines of conduc on current plus TC 15 2012
displacement current are con nuous.

9. The electric field of a plane e.m. wave travelling along the z-axis is AN 10 2013

E⃗ = E x̂ + E ŷ sin (𝜔𝑡 − kz + 𝜙).

Determine the magne c field.

10. (i) Considering an isotropic, linear, non-conduc ng, non-magne c and TC 15 2013
inhomogeneous dielectric medium with
5
D⃗ = 𝜀E⃗ = 𝜀 n (x, y, z)E⃗,
5
 show that the electromagne c wave equa on for the field E⃗ is given by 15

1 ∂ E⃗
∇ E⃗ + ∇⃗ ∇⃗n ⋅ E⃗ − 𝜇 𝜀 n = 0.
n ∂t

(ii) Write down the scalar equa on for E from the above equa on.
(iii) Interpret physically the situa on if we move from homogeneous to an
inhomogeneous medium.
(iv) Obtain the similar vector equa on for the magne c field H⃗ in
inhomogeneous medium.

11. For a uniform wire of length L and radius a having a poten al difference V TC 10 2013
between the ends and a current I along it, calculate the energy per unit me
delivered to the wire by Poyn ng vector.

12. Star ng from Maxwell's equa on, obtain the wave equa on for the electric TC 10 2014
field E⃗ in free space and appropriate wave equa on for the electric field 𝐸⃗ =
𝐸 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧)𝑧ˆ.

13. Show that the energy flow due to a plane electromagne c wave propaga ng TC 10 2014
along z-direc on in a dielectric medium is given by

k
𝑧ˆ E cos (k𝑧 − 𝜔t),
𝜔𝜇

where 𝐤 and 𝜔 are the propaga on vector and angular frequency, E is

electric field amplitude, 𝜇 is the rela ve permeability of the medium.

14. Derive the equa on that represents Poyn ng's theorem. What is its physical TC 20 2015
significance?

15. A radio sta on transmits electromagne c waves isotropically with an AN 15 2015

average power of 200 kW. Determine the average magnitude of the
maximum electric field at a distance of 5 km from it.

16. A plane electromagne c wave propaga ng along +𝑧ˆ direc on is incident TC 20 2015
normally on the boundary at z = 0 between medium A(z < 0) and medium
B(z > 0). Determine the reflec on coefficient and transmission coefficient
for the wave.

17. In free space, the electric field of electromagne c wave is given as 𝐸⃗ (𝑥, 𝑡) = AN 10 2016
120cos (𝜔𝑡 − 𝑘𝑥)𝑦ˆ V/m. Find the average power crossing a circular area of
radius one metre in the 𝑦𝑧-plane.

18. Write down Maxwell's equa ons for linear dielectrics and deduce the TC 10 2016
equa on of con nuity.

19. State and prove Poyn ng's theorem. TC 20 2016

20. Show that the displacement current between the plates of a parallel-plate TC 10 2016
capacitor is equal to the conduc on current across the conductor.

21. Write down the electromagne c wave equa ons in non-conduc ng TC 10 2017
dielectric medium. Hence show that the velocity of wave propaga on is
given by 𝑣 = , where the symbols have their usual meanings.

22. Write down the physical significance of Maxwell's equa ons and explain the TC 10 2017
concept of displacement current by using a proper example.

23. Define a plane electromagne c wave. A plane polarized wave is incident on TC 20 2018
the interface between two dielectric media. Obtain expressions for the
amplitudes of the reflected and transmi ed waves when the incident wave
is polarized with its electric field 𝐵 vector perpendicular to the plane of
incidence. Discuss the phase rela onships of the reflected and transmi ed
waves with respect to the incident wave.

24. Write down Maxwell's equa ons in integral form. Explain the significance of TC 5 2018
each of these equa ons.

25. A parallel plate capacitor has plate area = 4.0 cm and plate separa on = AN 5 2018
2.0 mm. An a.c. voltage V = 20 sin (5 × 10 t) volts is applied across the
plates. If the dielectric constant of the medium between the plates is 𝜀 =
2.0, calculate the displacement current.

26. Find the values of E and H on the surface of a wire carrying a current. By TC 20 2019
compu ng the Poyn ng vector, show that it represents a flow of energy into
the wire.

27. For the electric field given by E = E e , show that the conduc on current TC 10 2020
is in phase with the electric field, while the displacement current leads the
electric field by radians. Also, show that the displacement current in a
good conductor is negligible compared to the conduc on current at any
frequency lower than the op cal frequencies (f < 10 Hz).

28. For free space show that electromagne c (EM) wave is transverse in nature. AN 20 2020
Show that for free space, the total outward flux of EM energy through
surface S bounding volume V is equal to the rate of loss of EM energy from
the volume V.
A laser beam of 2 mm diameter has average power of 20GW. Calculate the
peak values of electric and magne c fields in the laser beam.

29. Write Maxwell's equa ons in free space in both differen al and integral TC 15 2020
forms. Obtain wave equa ons and show that electromagne c waves can
travel in free space with a speed of light. Can one get the wave equa ons
from the integral form of the Maxwell's equa ons?

30. A region 1, z < 0, has a dielectric material with 𝜀 = 3.2 and a region 2 , z > AN 20 2021
0 has a dielectric material with 𝜀 = 2.0. Let the displacement vector in the
region 1 be, 𝐷⃗ = −30𝑎 + 50𝑎 + 70𝑎 nC𝑚 . Assume the interface
 charge density is zero. Find in the region 2, the D⃗ and P⃗ , where P⃗ is the
electric polariza on vector in the region 2.

31. Calculate the skin depth of electromagne c waves of 1MHz incident on a AN 10 2021
good conductor having 𝜎 = 5.8 × 10 Sm . Assume that inside the
conductor 𝜇 = 𝜇 = 4𝜋 × 10 Hm .

32. Write down Maxwell's equa ons in a non-conduc ng medium with constant TC 15 2022
permeability and suscep bility (𝜌 = 𝑗 = 0 ). Show that 𝐸⃗ and 𝐵⃗ each
sa sfies the wave equa on, and find an expression for the wave velocity.
Write down the plane wave solu ons for 𝐸⃗ and 𝐵⃗, and show how 𝐸⃗ and 𝐵⃗
are related.

33. A metal guitar string with a length of 70 cm vibrates at its fundamental AN 20 2022
frequency of 246.94 Hz in a uniform magne c field of 10 T oriented
perpendicular to the plane of vibra on of the string. Assume a sinusoidal
form for the amplitude of the vibra onal mode, and a maximum
displacement of 3 mm at the centre of the string. What is the maximum
e.m.f. generated across the length of the guitar string, and at what point in
me in the string's mo on does that occur? What would be the e.m.f. if the
same guitar string vibrates at its second harmonic frequency? Briefly explain.

34. A current sheet having 𝐾⃗ = 9.0𝑎 A m is located at 𝑧 = 0. The interface is AN 15 2022

between the region 1, 𝑧 < 0, 𝜇 = 4, and region 2, 𝑧 > 0, 𝜇 = 3. Given
that 𝐻⃗ = 14.5𝑎 + 8.0𝑎 A m . Find 𝐻⃗ and 𝐵⃗ .

Black Body Radia on

35. In deriving the Rayleigh-Jeans law, we count the number of modes 𝑑𝑛 TC 20 2011
corresponding to a wave number 𝑘 for a photon gas in a cubical box.
Consider a cubical container of volume 𝑉 containing such gas in equilibrium.
Calculate the differen al number of allowable normal modes of frequency
𝜔.

36. State and explain Stefan-Boltzmann Law. Show that log 𝑃 = log 𝐾 + TC 10 2014
4log 𝑅, where 𝑃 is the power emi ed by black body and R is the resistance
of the black body, K is a constant.

37. Two spheres A and B having same temperature T are kept in the TC 10 2015
surroundings of temperature T . Consider T > T . The spheres are made of
same material but have different, radii 𝑟 and 𝑟 . Using Stefan - Boltzmann
distribu on, determine which of these will lose heat by radia on faster.

38. Using Planck's radia on law, deduce Wien's displacement law. How does this TC 15 2015
law enable one to es mate the surface temperature of the Sun or a star?
39. What are the characteris c features of Rayleigh sca ering? A very thin TC 20 2015
monochroma c beam of light is incident on a par cle. Suggest a simple
experimental method to ascertain whether the sca ering by the par cle is
of Rayleigh type.

40. The spectral energy curve of the moon shows maxima at 470 nm and 14𝜇m. AN 10 2016
What inference can you draw from this data? Also calculate the energy
density and radia on pressure in both cases. Given, Wien's constant 𝑏 =
2.892 × 10 m K, Stefan's constant 𝜎 = 5.67 × 10 J m s K and
speed of light 𝑐 = 3 × 10 m s .

41. Briefly explain Planck's law of blackbody radia on. Show that Planck's law TC 20 2016
reduces to Wien's law and Rayleigh-Jeans law at lower and higher
wavelength limits respec vely.

42. Write down Stefan-Boltzmann law of radia on and derive it from Planck's AN 15 2017
law of radia on.

An aluminium foil of rela ve emi ance 0.1 is placed between two concentric
spheres (assumed perfectly black) at temperatures 300 K and 200 K
respec vely. Find the temperature of the foil once the steady state is
reached.

43. What are the limita ons of Rayleigh-Jeans law in explaining the spectrum of TC 20 2018
radia ons from a blackbody? Explain how these limita ons were overcome
in Planck's radia on law.

Deduce Wien's displacement law from Planck's radia on law.

44. Discuss in brief the ultraviolet catastrophe. How did Planck solve this TC 10 2019
problem?

45. Briefly outline the theory of sca ering of electromagne c radia on by a TC 20 2019
bound electron and hence derive the condi ons for Rayleigh sca ering. How
can you explain the blue of the sky?

46. A historic failure of Classical Physics is its inability to describe the TC 20 2020
electromagne c radia on emi ed from a black body. Consider a simple
model for an ideal black body consis ng of a cubic cavity of side L with a
small hole on one side.

Assuming the classical equipar on of energy, derive an expression for the

average energy per unit volume and unit frequency range. In what way does
this result deviate from actual observa on? What is this law called?
 Repeat the calcula ons now using quantum idea to obtain an expression
that properly accounts for the observed spectral distribu on.

Find the temperature dependence of the total power emi ed from the hole.

47. The spectral composi on of solar radia on is similar to that of a black body AN 20 2021
radiator whose maximum emission corresponds to the wavelength 0.48𝜇m.
Find the mass lost by the Sun every second due to radia on. Evaluate the
me interval during which the mass of the Sun reduces by 1 per cent.

Given: Stefan Boltzmann constant = 5.669 × 10 W m K , radius of

the Sun = 6.957 × 10 m, surface temperature of the Sun = 5772 K and
mass of the Sun is 1.9885 × 10 kg.
THERMAL AND STATISTICAL
PHYSICS
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

(a) Thermodynamics:

 Laws of thermodynamics, reversible and irreversible processes, entropy; Isothermal,

adiaba c, isobaric, isochoric processes and entropy changes;
 O o and Diesel engines, Gibbs' phase rule and chemical poten al; vander Waals equa on of
state of a real gas, cri cal constants;
 Maxwell-Boltzman distribu on of molecular veloci es, transport phenomena, equi-par on,
and virial theorems;
 Dulong-Pet it, Einstein, and Debye's theories of specific heat of solids;
 Maxwell rela ons and applica ons;
 Clausius- Clapeyron equa on; Adiaba c de-magne sa on, Joule-Kelvin effect and
liquefac on of gases.

(b) Sta s cal Physics:

 Macro and micro states, sta s cal distribu ons,

 Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein, and Fermi-Dirac distribu ons,
 applica ons to specific heat of gases and black body radia on;
 Concept of nega ve temperatures.
 Thermodynamics

1. 1kmol of an ideal gas is compressed isothermally at 400 K from 100kPa AN 10 2010

to 1000kPa in a piston and cylinder arrangement. Calculate the entropy
change of the gas, the entropy change of the surroundings and the total
entropy change resul ng from the process if the process is mechanically
reversible and the surroundings consist of a heat reservoir at 400 K.

2. Calculate the change in pressure for a change in freezing point of water AN 10 2010
equal to −0.91 C. Given, the increase of specific volume when 1gm of
∘

water freezes into ice is 0.091cc/gm and latent heat of fusion of ice is
80cal/gm.
3. Consider one mole of an ideal gas whose pressure changes with volume as TC 25 2010
𝑃 = 𝛼𝑉, where 𝛼 is a constant. If it is expanded such that its volume
increases 𝑚 mes, find the change in internal energy, work done by the
gas and heat capacity of the gas.

4. Derive an expression for the thermal efficiency of a reversible heat engine TC 25 2010
opera ng on the Diesel cycle with an ideal gas of constant heat capacity as
the working medium.

5. What led van der Waals to modify the ideal gas equa on? Using the TC 5 2011
concepts of cri cal temperature 𝑇 , pressure 𝑃 and volume 𝑉 , show that
the cri cal constant for a real gas is 8/3 15

6. Find out the expressions for van der Waals constants 𝑎 and 𝑏. TC 20 2011

7. Calculate the values of van der Waals constants 𝑎 and 𝑏 for oxygen with AN 20 2011
𝑇 = 154.2 K, 𝑃 = 49.7 atmosphere and 𝑅 = 80 cm atmosphere /K.

8. Show that the Helmholtz free energy of a system never increases in any TC 12 2012
isothermal-isochoric transforma on.

9. Establish the rela on =− and then derive = TC 20 2012

−𝑇 . Hence show that the heat capacity 𝐶 of an ideal gas is

independent of pressure 𝑃.

10. The Einstein theory of specific heat of solids gives the expression TC 15 2012

3𝑁𝑘 𝑥 𝑒 10
𝐶 =
(𝑒 − 1)

where 𝑥 = with 𝜃 as the Einstein temperature.

 (i) Men on Einstein's assump ons in deriving it. Also obtain low- and
high-temperature limi ng expressions for it.
(ii) Give schema c plot of versus and comment on the validity of
expressions in (i) in comparison with experiments.

11. A thermally insulated ideal gas is compressed quasi-sta cally from an TC 10 2013
ini al state with volume 𝑉 and pressure 𝑃 to a final state of volume 𝑉
and pressure 𝑃 . Show that the work done on the gas in the process is
given by

C
W= (P V − P V )
R
where 𝐶 and 𝑅 having standard meanings.

12. In a tungsten filament lamp, thermionic emission takes place at AN 10 2013

1.2 × 10 K. Calculate the ra o of spontaneous emission to s mulated
emission for non-degenerate energy levels. Interpret your result
physically.
Take 𝜆 = 550 nm, k = 1.38 × 10 JK , h = 6.67 × 10 Js and c =
3 × 10 ms .

13. The vapour pressure, in mm of Hg, of a substance in solid state is given by AN 15 2013
the rela on ln p = 23.03 − , where T is in Kelvin. The vapour
pressure, in mm of Hg, of the substance in liquid state is given by the
rela on ln p = 19.49 − . Calculate (i) the coordinates of the triple
point, and (ii) the latent heat of vaporisa on at the triple point. Take Gas
constant 𝑅 = 8.314 J mol K .

14. In Leh, temperature of ice on a cold winter night is measured as −20∘ C. AN 15 2013
Calculate the change in entropy when 1 kg of ice is converted into steam
at 100∘ C. Given specific heat capacity of ice is 500 cal kg K , latent
heat of ice is 3.36 × 10 J kg , latent heat of steam is 2.26 × 10 J kg
and J = 4.2 Jcal .

15. Define Enthalpy and show that it remains constant in a thro ling process. TC 10 2014

16. In deriving radia on laws, we consider a cubical container of volume V TC 10 2014

containing a photon gas in equilibrium. Calculate the differen al number
of allowed normal modes of frequency 𝜔.

17. One kg of water at 20∘ C is converted into ice at −10∘ C at constant AN 15 2014
pressure. Heat capacity of water is 4,200 J/kg. K and that of ice is
2,100 J/kg.K. Heat of fusion of ice at 0∘ C is 335 × 10 J/kg. Calculate the
total change in entropy of the system.
18. Consider a system of free gas par cles having 𝑓 degrees of freedom. Use TC 15 2014
equipar on theorem to establish the rela on

2
𝑓= ,
𝐶
𝐶 −1

where 𝐶 and 𝐶 are molar specific heats at constant pressure and

constant volume respec vely. Obtain the values of for diatomic and
triatomic gases.

19. Explain the four thermodynamic rela ons of Maxwell. Using the same, TC 15 2014
obtain the Clausius-Clapeyron equa on

dP L
=
dT T(V − V )

20. A Van der Waals gas undergoes Joule-Kelvin expansion with a pressure AN 10 2015
drop of 50 atm. If its ini al temperature is 300∘ K, determine its final
temperature. (Given Van der Waals constant a = 0.136 Pa m mol , b =
36.5 × 10 m mol , C = 30 J K mol , R = 8.3 J K mol )

21. The vapour pressure of an organic substance is 50 × 10 Pa at 40∘ C. Its AN 15 2015

normal boiling point is 80∘ C. If the substance in vapour phase can be
treated like an ideal gas, find the latent heat of vaporiza on of the
substance.

22. For a Van der Waals gas, write down the equa on of state. Determine the TC 15 2015
coefficient of cri cal expansion 𝛽.

23. 𝑚 gram of water at temperature 𝑇 is isobarically and adiaba cally mixed TC 10 2016
with an equal mass of water at temperature 𝑇 . Show that the change in
av
entropy is given by Δ𝑆 = 2𝑚𝐶 ln , where 𝑇av = and 𝑇geo =
geo

𝑇𝑇.

24. Write down van der Waals' equa on of state for 𝑛 moles of a gas and AN 10 2016
calculate the temperature at which 5 moles of the gas at 5 atm pressure
will occupy a volume of 20 litres.
Given, 𝑅 = 8.31 × 10 erg mol K , 𝑎 = 1.34 × 10 dyne
cm mol , 𝑏 = 31.2 cm mol and 1 atm = 1.013 × 10 dyne cm .

25. A student is working in a physics laboratory, which is at temperature 27∘ C, AN 10 2016

on a sonometer to study forma on of sta onary waves. The cross-
sec onal area of the sonometer wire is 0.85 × 10 m and a tension of
20 N is applied on it. If the rigid supports are 1.2 m apart and the
temperature of the wire drops by 7∘ C, calculate the (i) final tension and (ii)
fundamental frequency of vibra on of the wire. Take, coefficient of linear
 expansion and isothermal Young's modulus as 1.5 × 10 K and
2.0 × 10 N m respec vely.

26. What do you understand by the term 'phase transi on'? Using Clausius- TC 15 2016
Clapeyron equa on, show that for first-order phase transi ons, vapour
pressure decreases exponen ally with temperature. You can assume that
the vapour behaves like an ideal gas and latent heat remains constant
with temperature.

27. 1 litre of hydrogen at 127∘ C and 10 dynes /cm pressure expands AN 10 2017
isothermally un l its volume is doubled and then expands adiaba cally
un l its volume is redoubled. Calculate the resul ng pressure. (𝛾 = 1.42)

28. Derive Clausius-Clapeyron equa on. How does it explain the effect of TC 10 2017
pressure on mel ng point of solids and boiling point of liquids?

29. Calculate the cri cal temperature for helium, given the values for cri cal AN 10 2017
constants, 𝑎 = 6.15 × 10 , 𝑏 = 9.95 × 10 , where the unit of pressure
is atm and the sample is kept at NTP.

30. A reversible engine converts 1/6 of the heat input into work. When the AN 10 2017
temperature of the sink is reduced by 62 ∘ C, its efficiency is doubled. Find
the temperatures of source and sink.

31. One mole of a gas obeys the following equa on of state: TC 10 2018
𝑎
𝑃+ (𝑣 − 𝑏) = 𝑅𝑇,
𝑣
where v is the molar volume and, a and b are constants.
Show that internal energy of the gas increases as the volume increases,
with the temperature remaining constant.

32. At 4∘ C temperature, the density of water is found to be maximum. Prove TC 10 2018

that heat capacity at the constant pressure 𝑐 is equal to the heat
capacity at constant volume (c ) for water at 4∘ C.

33. If the temperature varia on of heat capacity is known, how do you AN 20 2018
calculate the change of entropy during an isochoric process?
According to Debye's theory of specific heat of a solid, the molar heat
capacity of diamond crystal at constant volume varies with temperature
(T) as follows:

12 𝑇
𝑐 = 𝜋 𝑅
5 Θ
where 𝑅 is the molar gas constant = 8.315 J/mol K and Θ = 2230 K for
diamond.
 Calculate the change in entropy of diamond of 0.36 g mass when it is
heated at constant volume from 0 K to 300 K.

34. The pressure on 100 g of solid copper is increased quasi-sta cally and AN 15 2018
isothermally at 0∘ C from 0 to 0.5 × 10 Pa. Assuming the density and
isothermal compressibility to remain at constant values of 8.96 g/cm
and 7.16 × 10 Pa , respec vely, calculate the work done. Comment
on the sign and magnitude of work.

35. What are the condi ons for the change in temperature of a van der Waals TC 10 2019
gas passing through a porous plug? Prove that the ideal gas passing
through the porous plug does not show any change in temperature.

36. What is Gibbs' phase rule? Find the values of degrees of freedom when AN 15 2019
(i) only the liquid CO is in equilibrium with the gaseous CO .
(ii) water is in the vapour-liquid satura on region.
(iii) water is in a single-phase region.
(iv) water is at the triple point.

37. Einstein's molar specific heat capacity of a solid is given by AN 20 2019

/
𝜃 e
C = 3R /
,
T (e − 1)
ℏ𝜔
where 𝜃 =
k

Obtain the expressions for the cases:

(i) when T ≫ 𝜃
(ii) when T ≪ 𝜃
What is the discrepancy of Einstein model to explain the varia on of
specific heat capaci es of solids with the temperature?

The molar specific heat capacity of a solid at constant volume is 2.77 JK

at 36.8 K. Determine the Debye temperature of the solid.

38. What is Carnot's theorem? Prove that Carnot's reversible engine is the TC 15 2019
most efficient one and no other engine can be more efficient than
Carnot's engine.

39. If the par on func on for a perfect gas is given by AN 15 2019

V /
Z= (2𝜋mkT)
h
calculate (i) average kine c energy per molecule and (ii) specific heat of
the gas.

40. Explain the effect of pressure on the mel ng and boiling points of a AN 15 2019
substance using Clapeyron's latent heat equa on.
 Calculate under what pressure, water will boil at 120∘ C, if the change in
specific volume when 1 gram of water is converted into steam is
1676 cm . Latent heat of steam = 540cal/g, 1 atmospheric pressure =
10 dynes /cm .

41. State the first law of thermodynamics for a diffusively interac ng system. AN 10 2020
The temperature of 10 g of air is raised by 2∘ C at constant volume.
Calculate the increase in its internal energy.
Given: C = 0.172 cal g ∘ C

42. (i) The energy level of a quantum harmonic oscillator with frequency 𝑣 is AN 10 2020
given by

1
E = n+ h𝑣, where n = 0,1,2, …
2
Calculate its par on func on.
(ii) Calculate the par on func on of a two level system.

43. Discuss the principle of adiaba c demagne za on process to achieve low AN 15 2020
temperatures.
Determine the fall in temperature produced by adiaba c demagne za on
of a paramagne c material at ini al temperature of 3 K when the
magne c field is switched off from 10,000 oersted to zero. Given: heat
capacity at constant magne c field = 0.2 J g K and Curie constant per
gram mole per cm = 0 ⋅ 042 erg K g Oe .

44. Obtain the Clausius-Clapeyron equa on. Using this equa on, show that TC 15 2020
for the phase boundary of the liquid and vapour phases, p − T rela on
can be wri en as 𝑝 = 𝑝 𝑒 / . Here it has been assumed that the latent
heat L is independent of temperature, that vapour is treated as an ideal
gas and that Vvapour = V ≫ Vliquid and that p → p as 𝐓 → ∞.

45. Calculate the cri cal constants for CO for which the Van der Waals AN 10 2021
constants are given by 𝑎 = 0.0072 and 𝑏 = 0.002. Also calculate the
Boyle's temperature of CO . The unit of pressure is atmosphere and the
unit of volume is that of a gm-mole of the gas at NTP.

46. Explain the characteris cs of the following thermodynamic processes for a TC 20 2021
perfect gas:
(i) Isothermal process
(ii) Adiaba c process
(iii) Isobaric process
(iv) Isochoric process
Obtain the expression for the work done by the gas during the above
processes.
47. The mel ng point of n is 232∘ C, its latent heat of fusion is 14 cal/g and AN 10 2021
the specific heat of solid and molten n are 0.055 and 0.064 cal/g ∘ C
respec vely. Calculate the change in entropy when 1.0gm of n is heated
from 100∘ C to 300∘ C.

48. Calculate the efficiency of an engine having compression ra o 13.8 and AN 5 2021
expansion ra o 6 and working on diesel cycle. Given 𝛾 = 1 ⋅ 4.

49. Assume that the Earth's atmosphere is pure nitrogen in thermodynamic AN 10 2022
equilibrium at a temperature of 300 K. Calculate the height above sea
level at which the density of the atmosphere is one-half its sea level value.
(Molecular weight of N is 28gm/mole )

50. A body of constant heat capacity 𝐶 and a temperature 𝑇 is put into TC 10 2022
contact with a reservoir at temperature 𝑇 . Equilibrium between the body
and the reservoir is established at constant pressure. Determine the total
entropy change and prove that it is posi ve for either sign of 𝑇 − 𝑇 /
𝑇 . Consider < 1.

51. One mole of gas obeys van der Waals equa on of state. If its molar TC 10 2022
internal energy is given by 𝑢 = 𝑐𝑇 − 𝑎/𝑉 (in which 𝑉 is the molar volume,
𝑎 is one of the constants in the equa on of state and 𝑐 is a constant),
calculate the molar heat capaci es 𝐶 and 𝐶 .

52. A compressor designed to compress air is used instead to compress TC 10 2022

helium. It is found that the compressor overheats. Explain this effect,
assuming that the compression is approximately adiaba c and the star ng
pressure is same for both the gases. 𝛾 = ,𝛾 =

53. A gas of interac ng atoms has an equa on of state and heat capacity at TC 15 2022
constant volume given by the expressions

𝑝(𝑇, 𝑉) = 𝑎𝑇 / + 𝑏𝑇 + 𝑐𝑉
𝐶 (𝑇, 𝑉) = 𝑑𝑇 / + 𝑒𝑇 𝑉 + 𝑓𝑇 /

where 𝑎 through 𝑓 are constants which are independent of 𝑇 and 𝑉. Find

the differen al of the internal energy 𝑑𝑈(𝑇, 𝑉) in terms of 𝑑𝑇 and 𝑑𝑉.

54. A thermally insulated cylinder, closed at both ends, is fi ed with a AN 15 2022

fric onless heat-conduc ng piston which divides the cylinder in two parts.
Ini ally, the piston is clamped in the centre, with one litre of air at 200 K
and 2 atm pressure on one side and one litre of air at 300 K and 1 atm
pressure on the other side. The piston is released and the system reaches
equilibrium in pressure and temperature, with the piston at a new
posi on. Compute the final pressure and temperature.
55. In a par ally conduc ng medium, 𝜀 = 18.5, 𝜇 = 800 and 𝜎 = 1 S m . AN 20 2022
Find 𝛼, 𝛽, 𝜂 and the velocity 𝑢, for a frequency of 10 Hz. Determine
𝐻⃗ (𝑧, 𝑡). Given, 𝐸⃗ (z, 𝑡) = 50𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑠(ω𝑡 − β𝑎 )𝑎 V m

Sta s cal Physics

56. Calculate the number of different arrangements of 10 indis nguishable AN 10 2010

par cles in 15 cells of equal a priori probability, considering that one cell
contains only one par cle.
57. Consider the following statement: TC 10 2010
"The Fermi energy of a given material is the energy of that quantum state
which has the probability equal to of being occupied by the conduc on
electrons."
Is the above statement correct? Give reasons for your answer.
58. Write down the expressions for Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distribu on TC 10 2011
func ons, and show how Fermi-Dirac distribu on leads to the explana on
of Pauli's exclusion principle.
59. Consider non-equilibrium situa on for a system in which the popula on TC 12 2012
inversion has been achieved. Explain that such a system can be treated as
if it has nega ve absolute temperature.
60. Show that both Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distribu ons reduce under TC 15 2012
certain condi on in a form which gives the total number of par cles as
15
𝑁=𝐴 √𝜀𝑒 𝑑𝜀

where 𝐴 is a constant and 𝛽 = 1/𝑘 𝑇. Further show that this expression

is just the same as that obtained from the Maxwellian speed distribu on.

61. The coefficient of viscosity of helium at 27∘ C is 2 × 10 kg m s . AN 10 2013

Calculate (i) the average speed and (ii) the diameter of a helium molecule,
if it is assumed that the gas obeys Maxwell-Boltzmann distribu on. Given
Boltzmann constant k = 1.38 × 10 J K and mass of helium atom =
6.67 × 10 kg.

62. N par cles obeying Classical Sta s cs are distributed among three states AN 10 2013
having energies 𝜀 = 0, 𝜀 = k T and 𝜀 = 2k T, where k is Boltzmann
constant. If the total equilibrium energy of the system is 1000k T,
calculate the value of N.
63. Show that both Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distribu on func ons at an TC 10 2014
energy E are given by:

f(E) ≃ exp [(𝜇 − E)/k T],

where f(E) is much smaller than unity, 𝜇 and k T are the chemical
poten al and thermal energy of the atom.

64. Using Maxwell-Boltzmann distribu on law prove that there cannot be any TC 10 2014
nega ve absolute temperature. 2017

65. The molecules of a gas obey Maxwell-Boltzmann distribu on. Calculate TC 10 2016
the frac on of molecules of the gas within 1 % of the most probable
speed at STP. Interpret your result.

66. Consider a system of 𝑁 par cles and a phase space consis ng of only two TC 20 2016
states with energies 0 and 𝜀(> 0). Obtain the expressions for the par on
func on and the internal energy of the system, if it obeys M-B sta s cs.

67. The viscosity in a liquid arises due to fric on between adjacent layers. TC 5 2016
What causes viscosity in a gas? Explain.

68. The molecules of a gas obeying Maxwell-Boltzmann distribu on move AN 10 2016

with an average speed of 450 m s . If the coefficient of viscosity of the
gas 𝜂 is 16.6 × 10 Nsm , density of the gas 𝜌 is 1.25 kg m and
number density is 2.7 × 10 m , calculate the mean free path and
diameter of the gas molecules.

69. Write and explain the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribu on. Using this TC 15 2017
distribu on, find the expressions for the most probable speed, mean
speed and root-mean-square speed.

70. Explain Bose-Einstein distribu on and obtain the same from the grand TC 15 2017
canonical ensemble.

71. A system having two energy levels, − Δ and + Δ with Δ = 10meV is AN 15 2018
populated by 1000 par cles at a low temperature close to 100 K. Obtain
the average energy per par cle using classical distribu on law.

72. Schema cally, show the varia on of density of states, 𝐷(𝜀) and TC 20 2018
distribu on func on, f(𝜀, T), of par cles in a non-rela vis c Fermi gas at
high temperatures.
At a temperature 𝑇, an electron occupies a state with energy 100meV
above the Fermi energy (𝜀 ) with the probability of 1%. Find the
temperature T.

73. A gas has only two par cles, a and b. With the help of a diagram, show TC 10 2019
that how these two par cles can be arranged in the three quantum series
 1, 2, 3 using (i) Maxwell-Boltzmann, (ii) Fermi-Dirac, and (iii) Bose-Einstein
sta s cs.

74. Star ng from Maxwell-Boltzmann distribu on for a free par cle in 3- AN 20 2020
dimension, obtain the expression for root mean square (rms) speed of a
par cle. Calculate the rms speed of nitrogen (N ) molecule at room
temperature (27∘ C).

75. Eight indis nguishable balls are to be arranged in six dis nguishable TC 10 2021
boxes. Calculate the total number of ways in which the above can be
done.

76. Write the expression for the Fermi-Dirac distribu on. Plot the Fermi-Dirac TC 15 2021
distribu on at T = 0 and for T > T > 0. Now from the plot propose two
alterna ve defini ons of the Fermi level.

77. Calculate the probability of an electron occupying an energy level 0.02eV AN 5 2021
above the Fermi level at T = 300 K

78. What do you understand by nega ve temperature? Write and explain TC 15 2022
various restric ons on a system for the concept of nega ve temperature
to be meaningful.
 Premium Course for Physics Optional
Cra ed with innova on & research

INTENSIVE SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR PHYSICS , 2024

It is a broad framework along with subject and/or topic wise details. It is

modelled on Syllabus by analysing the PYQs. It includes:

✅ PYQs solu on and/or source to solve it

✅ S-PYQs with solu on
✅ Day to Day support and guidance
✅ Weekly on demand meet in online mode for confidence boost
✅ Pinpoints on what to study and limita ons on depth
✅ Relevant study materials in e-Book form
PAY & THEN SEND THE SCREENSHOT, WITH
The course starts with focus on CBR, and non-rigid methods with 'break to YOUR NAME AT [email protected]
rule' approach.
(CBR - cost benefit ra o)

The course fee is ₹6999/-

MRT - MAINS READY TESTS, 2024

✅ It reflects the changing pa ern of UPSC.

✅ Never ever before - synopsis will be provided.
✅ Solu ons directly from standard textbooks, for the original learning and
knowledge.
✅ The exact marking scheme and pa ern of UPSC has been followed, even
in the subject tests. That means, you are required to solve 5 ques ons out of
8, and you will have ques ons 1 and 5 compulsory and rest to be chosen from
one from each sec on.
✅ A proper balance of PYQs inspired topics and syllabus for the 360°
revision of the syllabus.
✅ Affordable tests with 4 different varia ons, with 2 extra full paper tests.
{from ₹999}
FULL FLEDGED COURSE , 2024

It is a full-fledged video course of Physics Op onal, which contains:

🚀 High quality recorded class, along with notes.

🚀 Solu on of PYQs.
🚀 Solved problems for prac ce.
🚀 Subject wise Tests

Course fee ₹28000 {discount of 20% available}

QUANTUM MECHANICS
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

 Wave-particle duality; Schrodinger equation and expectation values;

 Uncertainty principle; Solutions of the one-dimensional Schroedinger equation for a free

particle (Gaussian wave-packet), particle in a box, particle in a finite well, linear harmonic
oscillator;

 Reflection and transmission by a step potential and by a rectangular barrier;

 Particle in a three-dimensional box, density of states, free electron theory of metals;

 Angular momentum; Hydrogen atom; Spin half particles, properties of Pauli spin matrices
 Founda ons of Quantum Mechanics

1. Derive Bohr's angular momentum quan za on condi on in Bohr's TC 10 2010

atomic model from the concept of de Broglie waves.
2. Calculate the wavelength of de Broglie waves associated with AN 10 2011
electrons accelerated through a poten al difference of 200 Volts.
3. Es mate the size of the hydrogen atom and the ground state energy AN 10 2011
from the uncertainly principle.
4. Calculate (Δ𝑥) , where Δ𝑥 = 𝑥 − ⟨𝑥⟩ TC 15 2011
5. Use the uncertainly principle to es mate the ground state energy of a TC 12 2012
linear harmonic oscillator
6. In a series of experiments on the determina on of the mass of a AN 10 2013
certain elementary par cle, the results showed a varia on of
±20 m , where m is the electron mass. Es mate the life me of the
par cle.
7. Find the de Broglie wave length of AN 10 2014
i. a neutron
ii. an electron moving with kine c energy of 500𝑒𝑉
(1𝑒𝑉 = 1.602 × 10 𝐽)
8. The mean life of Lambda (Λ°) par cle is 2.6 × 10 s. What will be AN 10 2014
the uncertainty in the determina on of its mass in eV ?
9. Find the energy, momentum and wavelength of photon emi ed by a AN 10 2016
hydrogen atom making a direct transi on from an excited state with
n = 10 to the ground state. Also find the recoil speed of the
hydrogen atom in this process.
10. An electron is confined to move between two rigid walls separated by AN 10 2016
10 m. Compute the de Broglie wavelengths represen ng the first
three allowed energy states of the electron and the corresponding
energies.
11. A typical atomic radius is about 5 × 10 𝑚 and the energy of β- TC 10 2016
par cle emi ed from a nucleus is at most of the order of 1 MeV.
Prove on the basis of uncertainty principle that the electrons are not
present in nuclei.
12. Using uncertainty principle, calculate the size and energy of the TC 10 2016
ground state hydrogen atom.
13. A beam 4.0 keV electrons from a source is incident on a target 50.0 AN 10 2017
cm away. Find the radius of the electron beam spot due to
Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
14. Es mate the de Broglie wavelength of the electron orbi ng in the first TC 10 2017
excited state of the hydrogen atom.
15. Show that the mass and linear momentum of a quantum mechanical TC 10 2019
par cle can be given by 𝑚 = ℎ/(λ𝑣) and 𝑝 = ℎ/𝜆, respec vely, where
ℎ, 𝜆 and 𝑣 are Planck’s constant, wavelength, and velocity of the
par cle, respec vely. Comment on the wave-par cle duality from
these rela ons.
16. State and express mathema cally the three uncertainty principles of TC 10 2019
Heisenberg. Highlight the physical significance of these principles in
the development of Quantum Mechanics.
17. For a free quantum mechanical par cle under the influence of a one- TC 10 2019
dimensional poten al, show that the energy is quan zed in discrete
fashion. How do these energy values differ from those of a linear
harmonic oscillator?
18. Using the uncertainty principle ∆x∆p ≥ ħ/2, es mate the ground TC 15 2020
state energy of a harmonic oscillator.
19. A blue lamp emits light of mean wavelength of 4500 Å. The ra ng of AN 10 2020
the lamp is 150 W and its 8% of the energy appears as light. How
many photons are emi ed per second by the lamp?
20. Consider a Hermi an operator 𝐴 with property 𝐴 = 1. Show that TC 15 2020
𝐴 = 1.
21. Find the uncertainty in the momentum of a par cle when its posi on AN 15 2021
is determined within 0.02 cm. Find also the uncertainty in the velocity
of an electron and 𝛼-par cle respec vely when they are located
within 15 × 10 𝑐𝑚.
22. A par cle of rest mass 𝑚 has a kine c energy 𝐾, show that its de AN 15 2021
Broglie wavelength is given by
ℎ𝑐
𝜆=
[𝐾(𝐾 + 2𝑚 𝑐 )]
 Hence calculate the wavelength of an electron of kine c energy
2MeV. What will be the value of 𝜆 if 𝐾 << 𝑚 𝑐 ?
23. What is de Broglie concept of ma er wave? Evaluate de Broglie AN 10 2022
wavelength of Helium that is accelerated through 300V. (Given mass
of proton = mass of neutron = 1.67 × 10 𝑘𝑔)

Schrodinger’s Wave equa on and applica ons

24. Obtain an expression for the probability current for the plane wave TC 10 2010
𝜓(𝑥, 𝑡) = exp [𝑖(𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡)]. Interpret your result. 2015
25. A system is described by the Hamiltonian operator, 𝐻 = − +𝑥 TC 30 2010

Show that the func on A x exp − is an eigen func on of H.

Determine the eigen values of H.

26. TC 30 2010

A stream of par cles of mass 𝑀 and energy 𝐸 is directed from le to

a one-dimensional poten al barrier as shown in the above figure. Set
up the me-independent Schrodinger equa on and obtain an
expression for transmission probability from region I to II. How this
phenomenon helps in the understanding of 𝛼-decay of nuclei?
27. Solve the Schrödinger equa on for a par cle of mass m in an infinite TC 25 2011
0 ; 0≤𝑥≤𝐿
rectangular well defined by 𝑉( ) =
∞ ; 𝑥 < 0, 𝑥 > 𝐿
Obtain the normalized eigen func ons and the corresponding eigen
values.
28. Normalize the wave func on TC 10 2011
| |
𝜓(𝑥) = 𝑒 sin 𝛼𝑥
29. Consider the one-dimensional wavefunc on 𝜓(𝑥) = 𝐴𝑥𝑒 , (0 ⩽ TC 4 2012
𝑥 ⩽ ∞; 𝑘 > 0)
 i. Calculate 𝐴 so that 𝜓(𝑥) is normalized. 8
ii. Using Schrödinger's equa on find the poten al 𝑉(𝑥) and
energy 𝐸 for which 𝜓(𝑥) is an eigenfunc on. (Assume that as
𝑥 → ∞, 𝑉(𝑥) → 0).
30. a) Solve the radial part of the me-independent Schrödinger TC 45 2012
equa on for a hydrogen atom. Obtain an expression for the
energy eigenvalues. 15
b) What is the degree of degeneracy of the energy eigenvalues?
What happens if the spin of the electron is taken into
account?

31. TC 30 2013
10
10

a) Consider a beam of par cles incident on a one-dimensional

step func on poten al with energy E > V as shown in the
above figure. Solve the Schrödinger equa on and obtain
expressions for the reflec on and transmission coefficients.
b) What are the limits of the reflec on coefficient for E → V
and E → ∞ ?
c) Discuss the cases 0 < E < Vo and E < 0.
32. Obtain the me-dependent Schrödinger equa on for a par cle. TC 20 2014
Hence deduce the me independent Schrödinger equa on.
33. Solve the Schrödinger equa on for a par cle of mass m confined in TC 20 2014
one dimensional poten al well of the form: 𝑉( ) =
0 ; 0≤𝑥≤𝐿
Obtain the discrete energy values and the
∞ ; 𝑥 < 0, 𝑥 > 𝐿
normalized eigen func ons.
34. An electron is moving in a one-dimensional box of infinite height and TC 10 2014
width 1 Å. Find the minimum energy of electron.
35. Normalized wave func on of a par cle is given: 𝜓(x) = N ex p + AN 10 2015

ikx . Find the expecta on value of posi on.

36. Write the me independent Schrödinger equa on for a bouncing ball. TC 10 2015

37. Solve the Schrodinger equa on for a step poten al and calculate the TC 20 2016
transmission and reflec on coefficient for the case when the kine c
energy of the par cle E is greater than the poten al energy V (i.e.,
E > V ).
38. Calculate the lowest energy of an electron confined to move in a 1- AN 10 2017
dimensional poten al well of width 10nm.
39. Using Schrodinger equa on, obtain the eigenfunc ons and TC 20 2017
eigenvalues of energy for a 1- dimensional harmonic oscillator. Sketch
the profiles of eigenfunc ons for first three energy states.
40. Calculate the probability of transmission of an electron of 1.0 eV AN 10 2017
energy through a poten al barrier of 4.0 eV and 0.1 nm width.
41. The wave func on of a par cle is given as 𝜓(𝑥) = 𝑒 | |/
. Find the AN 10 2018
√

probability of loca ng the par cle in the range −𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑎.

42. Calculate the zero-point energy of a system consis ng of a mass of AN 10 2018
10 kg connected to a fixed point by a spring which is stretched by
10 m by a force of 10 N. The system is constrained to move only
in one direc on.
43. The general wave func on of harmonic oscillator (one-dimensional) TC 10 2018
are of the form

/
𝑢 (𝑥) = 𝑎 𝑦 𝑒

With 𝑦 = 𝑥, and coefficients 𝑎 are determined by recurrence

rela ons
2(𝑘 − 𝑛)
𝑎 = 𝑎
(𝑘 + 1)(𝑘 + 2)

Corresponding energy levels are 𝐸 = 𝑛 + ℏ𝜔. Discuss the parity

of these wave func ons. What happens, if the poten al for 𝑥 ≤ 0 is

infinite (half harmonic oscillator)?
44. Which of the following func ons is/are acceptable solu on(s) of the AN 15 2018
Schrodinger equa on?
i. 𝜓(𝑥) = 𝐴𝑒 + 𝐵𝑒
ii. 𝜓(𝑥) = 𝐴𝑒 + 𝐵𝑒
 iii. 𝜓(𝑥) = 𝐴 sin 3 𝑘𝑥 + 𝐵 cos 5 𝑘𝑥
iv. 𝜓(𝑥) = 𝐴 sin 3 𝑘𝑥 + 𝐵 sin 5 𝑘𝑥
v. 𝜓(𝑥) = 𝐴 tan 𝑘𝑥
Explain your answer.
45. A beam of par cles of energy 9 eV is incident on a poten al step 8 eV AN 15 2018
high from the le . What percentage of par cles will reflect back?
46. Write down the Hamiltonian operator for a linear harmonic oscillator. TC 15 2019
Show that the energy eigenvalue of the same can be given by 𝐸 =

𝑛+ ℏ𝜔 at energy state 𝑛 with 𝜔 being the natural frequency of

vibra on of the linear oscillator. Prove that 𝑛 = 0 energy state has a

wave func on of typical Gaussian form.
47. Es mate the size of hydrogen atom and the ground state energy from TC 15 2019
the uncertainty principle.
48. Prove that Bohr hydrogen atom approaches classical condi ons, when TC 10 2020
n becomes very large and small quantum jumps are involved.
49. Find the probability current density for the wave func on TC 10 2020
/ℏ /ℏ / ℏ
Ψ(𝜒, t) = Ae + Be e
Interpret the result physically.
50. / AN 15 2020
A par cle is described by the wave func on Ψ(x) = 𝑒 /
.

Calculate Δx and Δp for the par cle, and verify the uncertainty
ℏ
rela on ΔxΔp = .

51. Write the wave func ons for a par cle on both sides of a step TC 10 2020
poten al, for 𝐸 > 𝑉 :
𝑉 ,𝑥 > 0
𝑉(𝑥) =
0, 𝑥 < 0

Interpret the results physically.

52. Normalised wave func on of hydrogen atom for 1𝑠 state is AN 10 2021
 1 ℏ
𝜓 = 𝑒 /
, where 𝑎 =
𝑚𝑒
𝜋𝑎

being the Bohr radius. Calculate the expecta on value of poten al

energy in this state.
53. A beam of 12eV electron is incident on a poten al barrier of height AN 10 2021
25eV and width 0.05 nm. Calculate the transmission coefficient.
54. A par cle is moving in a one-dimensional box of width 50Å and AN 15 2021
infinite height. Calculate the probability of finding the par cle within
an interval of 15Å at the centres of the box when it is in its state of
least energy.
55. Calculate the probability of finding a simple harmonic oscillator TC 15 2021
within the classical limits if the oscillator is in its normal state. Also
show that if the oscillator is in its normal state, then the probability of
finding the par cle outside the classical limits is approximately 16%.
56. An electron in a one-dimensional infinite poten al well, defined by AN 10 2022
𝑉(𝑥) = 0 for −𝑎 ⩽ 𝑥 ⩽ 𝑎 and 𝑉(𝑥) = ∞ otherwise, goes from 𝑛 = 4
to 𝑛 = 2 level and emits photon of frequency 3.43 × 10 Hz.
Calculate the width of the well. (Assume Plank's constant ℎ =
6.626 × 10 J.S. and mass of electron 𝑚 = 9.11 × 10 kg )
57. Set up the Schrodinger's wave equa on for one dimensional poten al TC 20 2022
barrier and obtain the probability of tunnelling.

Angular momentum, spin etc

58. Show that the Pauli spin matrices sa sfy the following: TC 10 2010
𝜎 =𝜎 =𝜎 =1
𝜎 𝜎 = −𝜎 𝜎 = 𝑖𝜎
𝜎 𝜎 = −𝜎 𝜎 = 𝑖𝜎
𝜎 𝜎 = −𝜎 𝜎 = 𝑖𝜎
59. The normalized wave func on for the electron in hydrogen atom for TC 10 2010

the ground state is 𝜓(𝑟) = (𝜋𝑎 ) /

exp − Where 𝑎 is the

radius of the first Bohr orbit. Show that the most probable posi on of
the electron is 𝑎
60. Let 𝜎⃗ be the vector operator with component equal to Pauli’s spin TC 10 2011

matrices 𝜎 , 𝜎 , 𝜎 . If 𝑎⃗ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏⃗ are vectors in 3D space, prove the

iden ty
(𝜎⃗ ⋅ 𝑎⃗) 𝜎⃗ ⋅ 𝑏⃗ = 𝑎⃗ ⋅ 𝑏⃗ + 𝑖𝜎⃗ ⋅ 𝑎⃗ × 𝑏⃗
61. The normalized wave func on for the electron in the ground state of TC 20 2011
the hydrogen atom is given by
1
𝜓(𝑟) = /
𝑒( / )
(𝜋𝑎 )

where 𝑎 is the radius of the first Bohr orbit. Calculate ⟨𝑟⟩ and .

62. Given that 𝜎 , 𝜎 , 𝜎 are Pauli spin operators, prove the following TC 6 2012
rela onships: 6
i. si n(𝜎 𝜑) = 𝜎 si n 𝜑
ii. cos (𝜎 𝜑) = cos 𝜑
63. Using the defini on 𝐿⃗ = 𝑟⃗ × 𝑝⃗ of the orbital angular momentum TC 10 2013

operator, evaluate 𝐿 , 𝐿
64. The normalized wave func on for the electron in the ground state of TC 10 2013

the hydrogen atom is given by 𝜓(𝑟) = 𝑒 , where 𝑎 is the

radius of the first Bohr orbit. Calculate the probability of finding the
electron within a distance 𝑟 of the proton in the ground state
65. If x̂ and p̂ are the posi on and momentum operators, prove the TC 10 2014
commuta on rela on [p̂ , x̂] = −2iℏp
66. Write down Pauli spin matrices. Express J , J and J in terms of Pauli TC 10 2014
spin matrices.
67. Using the commuta on rela ons TC 20 2014
[x, p ] = y, p = [z, p ] = iℏ
deduce the commuta on rela on between the components of
angular momentum operator L.
L ,L = iℏL
L , L = iℏL and
[L , L ] = iℏL .
68. Solve the Schrödinger equa on for a par cle in a three-dimensional TC 30 2015
rectangular poten al barrier. Explain the terms degenerate and non-
degenerate states in this context.
69. A par cle trapped in an infinitely deep square well of width a has a AN 10 2015
/
wave func on 𝜓 = sin . The walls are suddenly separated

by infinite distance. Find the probability of the par cle having

momentum between p and p + dp.
70. Write down the matrix representa on of the three Pauli matrices TC 8 2016
𝜎 , 𝜎 and 𝜎 . Prove that these matrices sa sfy the following 4
iden es : 4
(i) 𝜎 , 𝜎 =2i𝜎 4

(ii) [𝜎 ⋅ 𝜎 ] = 0

(iii) (𝜎⃗ ⋅ 𝐴⃗)(𝜎⃗ ⋅ 𝐵⃗) = 𝐴⃗ ⋅ 𝐵⃗ + 𝑖𝜎⃗ ⋅ (𝐴⃗ × 𝐵⃗)

if A⃗ and B⃗ commute with Pauli matrices.
71. Calculate the density of states for an electron moving freely inside a TC 10 2016
metal with the help of quantum mechanical Schrodinger’s equa on
for free par cle in a box.
72. Evaluate the most probable distance of the electron from nucleus of a AN 20 2017
hydrogen atom in its 2𝑝 state. What is the probability of finding the
electron at this distance?
73. Explain why the square of the angular momentum (L ) and only one TC 15 2017
of the components L , L , L of L are regarded as constants of
mo on.
74. The ground state wave func on for hydrogen atom is TC 20 2018
1 /
𝜓(𝑟) = 𝑒
𝜋𝑎

where 𝑎 is the Bohr radius. Sketch the wave func on and the
probability density as a func on of the separa on distance 𝑟.
Calculate the probability that the electron in the ground state is found
beyond the Bohr radius.
75. Prove the following iden es: TC 7 2018
(i) 𝑝ˆ , 𝐿ˆ = 𝑖ℏ𝑝ˆ 8
( ˆ ⋅ ˆ)
(ii) 𝑒 = co s 𝜃 + 𝑖(𝜎ˆ ⋅ ˆ𝑛)si n 𝜃
76. Show that for free electron gas, the density of states in three TC 15 2018
dimensions (3D) varies as 𝐸 /
, and this dependence changes to 𝐸
 for 2𝐷 (quantum well), 𝐸 /
for 1D (quantum wire) and 𝛿 func on
for 𝑂𝐷 (quantum dot).
77. How do you define density of states? Show that the density of states TC 20 2019

with wave vector less than 𝑘⃗ in a three-dimensional cubic box of

volume 𝑉 can be given by
𝑉 𝑑𝑘
𝐷(𝜔) = 𝑘
2𝜋 𝑑𝜔
in the frequency spectrum between 𝜔 and 𝜔 + 𝑑𝜔. Here, assume
that the number of modes per unit range of 𝑘 is 𝐿/(2𝜋), 𝐿 being the
length of each side of the cubic box.
78. Define Pauli spin matrices 𝜎 , 𝜎 and 𝜎 . Using these defini ons, TC 15 2019
prove the following:
(i) 𝜎 = 𝜎 = 𝜎 = 1
(ii) 𝜎 𝜎 = 𝑖𝜎 ; 𝜎 𝜎 = 𝑖𝜎 ; 𝜎 𝜎 = 𝑖𝜎
79. Define angular momentum of a par cle and find out the three TC 20 2019
components of the angular momentum operator 𝐿ˆ in Cartesian
coordinates. Show that
∂ ∂
𝐿ˆ = −ℏ 𝑟 ∇ − 𝑟
∂𝑟 ∂𝑟
Prove that the operator 𝐿ˆ can also be expressed as
1 ∂ ∂ 1 ∂
𝐿ˆ = −ℏ sin 𝜃 +
sin 𝜃 ∂𝜃 ∂𝜃 sin 𝜃 ∂𝜙
in spherical polar coordinates (𝑟, 𝜃, 𝜙).
80. ℏ
If the 𝑧-component of an electron spin is + , what is the probability TC 20 2020

that its component along a direc on 𝑧 (forming an angle 𝜃 with 𝑧-

ℏ ℏ
axis) is or − ? What is the average value of spin along 𝑧 ?

81. Prove the commuta on rela on for the angular momentum: TC 15 2020
[𝐿 , 𝐿 ] = 0
Also show that (𝐿⃗ × 𝐿⃗) = 𝑖ℏ𝐿⃗.
82. Using Pauli spin matrices prove that, TC 8 2021
(i) 𝜎 𝜎 + 𝜎 𝜎 = 0; 𝜎 𝜎 + 𝜎 𝜎 = 0; 𝜎 𝜎 + 𝜎 𝜎 = 0 6
(ii) 𝜎 𝜎 = 2(1 + 𝜎 ) 6
(iii) 𝜎 + 𝜎 = 𝑖𝜎 where 𝛼 ≠ 𝛽 ≠ 𝛾
83. Show that 𝐸 = ⟨𝑉⟩ in the sta onary states of the hydrogen atom. TC 15 2022
84. Obtain the normalized eigenvectors of 𝜎 and 𝜎 matrices. TC 15 2022
ATOMIC & MOLECULAR
PHYSICS
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

 Stern-Gerlach experiment, electron spin, fine structure of hydrogen atom;

 Elementary ideas about Lamb shi and its significance, Zeeman effect;
 L-S coupling, J-J coupling; Spectroscopic nota on of atomic states;
 Elementary theory of rota onal, vibra onal and electronic spectra of diatomic molecules,
Frank Condon principle and applica ons;
 Raman effect and molecular structure; Laser Raman spectroscopy;
 Importance of neutral hydrogen atom, molecular hydrogen and molecular hydrogen ion in
astronomy;
 Fluorescence and Phosphorescence; Elementary theory and applica ons of NMR and EPR;
 Atomic Physics

1. What is Zeeman effect? How it can be understood on quantum mechanical TC 30 2010

basis? Obtain an expression for Zeeman spli ng of atomic energy levels in a
magne c field 𝐵. Explain the magne c spli ng of sodium D-lines.
2. What is spin-orbit interac on? Calculate the energy shi due to spin-orbit TC 30 2010
interac on term in H-like system. Discuss the significance of this shi in
rela on to the fine structure of hydrogen spectral lines
3. Discuss the fine structure of hydrogen atom spectrum. Draw the compound TC 10 2011
doublet spectrum arising as a result of transi ons between 𝑃 and 𝐷
levels.
4. What do you mean by ‘term symbols’? Obtain term symbols for the TC 10 2011
following sets of values of 𝑆 and 𝐿 :

(i) 𝑆 = , 𝐿 = 2

(ii) 𝑆 = 1, 𝐿 = 1

(iii) 𝑆 = , 𝐿 = 1

5. Show that 𝑆 , 𝑃 and 𝑃 levels of sodium spectrum are split in the ra o AN 30 2011

of 3: 1: 2 due to anomalous Zeeman effect.

6. What is Lamb shi ? TC 5 2011

7. Sodium doublets are produced by transi ons 3 𝑝 / →3 𝑠 / (𝐷 ) and AN 12 2012

3 𝑝 / →3 𝑠 / (𝐷 ). Calculate the Landé 𝑔-factors for these levels.

8. What will happen to the energy level of an unpaired electron when TC 20 2012
subjected to an external magne c field? Find the condi on for electron spin
resonance.

9. How are electrons distributed in the various sub-shells for 𝑛 = 3? Give the AN 10 2013
quantum numbers for the electrons in the second shell.
10. The term symbol for atomic states are quoted as 𝑃 and 𝐷 / . What are AN 10 2013
the values of 𝐿, 𝑆 and 𝐽 ?

11. Discuss the fine structure of sodium 𝐷 line. Draw 𝐷 and 𝐷 lines due to the TC 25 2013
transi ons between 𝑃 and 𝑆 levels.

12. Show that the velocity of electron in the first orbit of hydrogen atom is AN 15 2013

𝐶 where 𝐶 is the velocity of light. (Given electronic charge =

1.602 × 10 C Planck Constant 6.63 × 10 J. s, permi vity =

8.85 × 10 C N m )

13. A sample of a certain element is placed in a magne c field of flux density 0.3 AN 10 2014
tesla. How far apart is the Zeeman component of a spectral line of
wavelength 4500Å ? Given : e/m = 1.76 × 10 c/kg, c = 3.0 × 10 ms .

14. Obtain an expression for the normal Zeeman shi . Illustrate the Zeeman AN 20 2014
spli ng of spectral lines of H atom and the allowed transi ons for the 𝑙 =
1 and 𝑙 = 2 states.

15. Explain how the nuclear spin I depends on the mass number A and atomic TC 10 2014
number Z of atoms.

16. The energy levels of a hydrogen atom are given by 𝐸 = 𝑅 where AN 5 2015

1R = hcR.
Show that R = 1.097 × 10 m .

17. If K, L and M energy levels of pla num are approximately 78, 12 and 3 keV, AN 10 2015
respec vely, below the vacuum level, calculate the wavelengths of 𝐾 and
𝐾 lines.

18. What is Zeeman effect? How can it be understood on the basis of quantum TC 25 2015
mechanics?

19. Obtain Zeeman spli ng for sodium D-lines. TC 15 2015

20. Find the magne c moment of an atom in 3P state, assuming that LS AN 10 2015
coupling holds for this case.
21. In the Stern-Gerlach experiment using Ag atoms, the oven temperature is AN 10 2016

1000 K, 𝑙 ≈ 25 cm and ≃ 10 Tesla/m. Calculate the separa on of the

two components.

22. Describe Stern-Gerlach experiment. Discuss how it has explained space TC 10 2016
quan za on and electron spin. Find the value of angle between the spin 10

angular momentum S⃗ and its z-component of an electron moving along the 10

external magne c field B⃗.

23. The series limit wavelength of Balmer series in hydrogen spectrum is AN 10 2016
experimentally found to be 3646Å. Find the wavelength of the first line of
this series.

24. Compute the allowed spectral terms for two non-equivalent p-electrons on TC 10 2016
the basis of Pauli’s exclusion principle.

25. Explain in detail L-S coupling and j-j coupling schemes. TC 10 2016

26. What is Lamb shi ? What is its significance in determining the fine structure TC 10 2016
of H Balmer line in hydrogen atom?

27. Show that the lines in the absorp on spectra corresponding to the rota onal TC 10 2017
transi ons from two adjacent energy levels of a medium sized molecule at
room temperature have comparable intensi es.

28. State Franck-Condon principle. Define Franck-Condon factors. Using TC 20 2017

schema c diagram, explain the decay of excited states leading to the
phenomena of fluorescence and phosphorescence.

29. Calculate the radius of electron orbit for Li in ground state. AN 10 2018

30. Describe the importance of L-S and J-J coupling in atomic spectroscopy. TC 20 2018
What are experimental evidences of their existence?

31. What is Zeeman effect? Discuss the factors on which Larmor frequency is TC 15 2018
dependent.
32. Discuss the fine structure of hydrogen spectrum. How is it of importance in TC 15 2018
the astronomical observa ons?

33. Describe normal and anomalous Zeeman effect. Explain how it li s the TC 20 2019
degeneracy in hydrogen atom

34. What is Lamb shi ? Discuss its significance in determining the fine structure TC 15 2019
of H Balmer line in hydrogen atom.

35. Define mathema cally the Bohr radius of a hydrogen atom and show that TC 15 2019
the binding energy at state 𝑛 of this atom can be given by

1 𝑍𝑒 1
𝐸 =−
2 (𝑎/𝑍) 4𝑛 𝜋𝜀

where 𝑍 is the atomic number of H atom. Calculate the numerical values of

𝑎 and 𝐸 of H atom.

36. Determine the normal Zeeman spli ng of the cadmium red line of 6438 Å, AN 15 2020
when the atoms are places in a magne c field of 0.009 T.

37. Explain how the magne c moments of atoms, the space quan za on of TC 15 2020
angular momentum and the spin of electron are measured using Stern –
Gerlach experiment.

38. Find the minimum magne c field needed for the Zeeman effect to be AN 10 2021
observed in a spectral line of 400 nm wavelength when a spectrometer
whose resolu on is 0.010 nm is used. Write the answer in the nearest high
integer.

39. Calculate the Larmor precessional frequency for a magne c induc on field AN 10 2021
of 0.5 T. Hence calculate the spli ng in wave numbers of a spectral line due
to normal Zeeman effect for the same field.

40. Explain spin-orbit coupling. Discuss the spli ng of spectral lines of H-atom TC 15 2021
due to spin-orbit coupling.

41. The quantum numbers of two electrons in a two-valence electron atom are; AN 7 2021
8
 1
𝑛 =8 𝑙 =4 𝑠 =
2
1
𝑛 =7 𝑙 =2 𝑠 =
2

(i) Assuming 𝐿 − 𝑆 coupling, find the possible value of 𝐿 and hence of 𝐽.

(ii) Assuming 𝑗 − 𝑗 coupling, find the possible values of 𝐽.

42. Describe normal and anomalous Zeeman effect. Explain how it li s the TC 20 2021
degeneracy in hydrogen atom.

43. Show that the Landé 𝑔-factor for pure orbital angular momentum and pure TC 10 2022
spin angular momentum are 1 and 2 respec vely. Further, evaluate the 𝑔-
factor for the state 𝑃 .

44. The raising (𝐽 )and lowering (𝐽 )operators are defined by 𝐽 = 𝐽 + 𝑖𝐽 and TC 10 2022
𝐽 = 𝐽 − 𝑖𝐽 respec vely. Prove the following iden es :
(i) [𝐽 , 𝐽± ] = ±ℏ𝐽±
(ii) 𝐽 𝐽 = 𝐽 − 𝐽 − ℏ𝐽

45. Show that for a given principal quantum number 𝑛, there are 𝑛 possible TC 7 2022
states of the atom.

46. An atomic state is denoted by 𝐷 / . Find the values of 𝐿, 𝑆 and 𝐽. For this TC 8 2022
state, what should be the minimum number of electrons involved ? Suggest
a possible electronic configura on.

47. What is the spin wave func on (for 𝑠 = ) if the spin component in the TC 15 2022

direc on of unit vector 𝜂 has a value of ℏ ?

48. (i) Why does Stern-Gerlach experiment enjoy so much importance in atomic TC 20 2022
physics?
(ii) Draw the schema c diagram of this experiment and comment on the
shapes of the magnet pole pieces.
(iii) Why was the atomic beam of silver used in this experiment?
 Molecular Physics

49. Calculate, giving necessary steps, the radio frequency at which nuclear AN 10 2010
magne c resonance occurs in water kept in a uniform magne c field of
2.4 T. The magne c moment of proton is 2.793𝜇N.
50. State and explain Franck-Condon principle. Discuss its applica ons in TC 10 2010
molecular spectroscopy.
51. Discuss occurrence of rota onal energy levels of a diatomic molecule and TC 15 2010
show that the pure rota on spectrum of such a molecule consists of a series
of equally spaced lines separated by a constant wave number difference 2𝐵.
Write down the selec on rules.
52. Is it possible to obtain pure rota onal spectra of H , HF, O and NO TC 5 2010
molecules?
53. In CO molecule 𝐽 = 0 → 𝐽 = 1 line occurs at a frequency 1.153 × 10 Hz. AN 10 2010
Calculate the moment of iner a of CO molecule.
54. What is Raman Effect? How does it differ from Rayleigh sca ering? Explain TC 30 2010
Raman Effect on the basis of quantum mechanical theory. How is Raman
Effect experimentally studied? What are the advantages of using laser
sources in the study of Raman Effect?
55. On the basis of three principal moments of iner a 𝐼 , 𝐼 and 𝐼 each about TC 30 2011
𝑋, 𝑌 and 𝑍 axes respec vely, how can you classify molecules?
56. Trea ng a diatomic molecule as a simple harmonic oscillator, obtain its TC 20 2011
vibra onal energy levels.
57. The observed vibra onal frequency of the CO molecule is 6.42 × 10 Hz. AN 10 2011
What is the effec ve force constant of this molecule? (Mass of carbon atom
= 12𝑢 and mass of oxygen atom = 16𝐮, where u is atomic mass unit)
58. Discuss pure rota onal spectra of linear molecules. TC 25 2011

59. Why should rota onal Raman spectrum show a separa on of the first AN 12 2012
Raman line from the exci ng line equal to 6𝐵 cm , while the separa on
between successive lines equals to 4𝐵 cm , where 𝐵 is the rota onal
constant?
60. Describe the vibra on-rota on spectra of a polyatomic linear molecule. AN 40 2012
What are 𝑃, 𝑄 and 𝑅 branches? Draw rota onal energy levels of the
vibra onal stales 𝑣 = 0 and 𝑣 = 1 and perpendicular vibra onal-rota onal
transi ons of a linear polyatomic molecule.

61. What do you understand by H-one (HI) interstellar clouds and their TC 10 2013
importance to understand the universe.

62. With proper selec on rules, construct the energy level diagram and allowed TC 30 2013
transi ons for ESR spectrum of hydrogen atom.

63. Why are Raman ac ve vibra ons and infrared vibra ons in CO molecule TC 10 2013
complementary to each other?

64. In a Raman spectrum of a linear triatomic molecule, the first three lines are AN 10 2013
4.86, 8.14 and 11.36 cm . Calculate the rota onal constant, 𝐵 and the
moment of iner a of the molecule.
(Given ℎ = 6.626 × 10 J. s, 𝐶 = 3.0 × 10 cm/sec.)

65. Given that the spacing between vibra onal levels of CO molecules is AN 10 2014
8.45 × 10 eV of energy. Find the force constant of the molecule.

66. Discuss the vibra onal spectra of a diatomic molecule trea ng it as an TC 20 2014
anharmonic oscillator.

67. Obtain an expression for the resonance condi on in NMR. TC 10 2014

68. Explain the relaxa on processes in NMR spectroscopy. TC 10 2014

69. Two successive lines in the rota onal emission spectrum of HCl molecule AN 10 2015
appear at wave numbers 83.5 cm and 104.1 cm . Calculate the posi on
of the next line appearing at the higher wave number.

70. Establish that: AN 5 2015

hc = 1240 eV.nm
= 1240MeV. fm
71. Hydrogen molecule is diatomic. Obtain the rota onal energy levels of this TC 30 2015
molecule. Write down the selec on rules. Obtain the smallest energy
required to excite the lowest rota onal mode.

72. The observed vibra onal frequency of CO molecule is 6.42 × 10 Hz. What AN 10 2015
is the effec ve force constant of the molecule?

73. What is Raman effect? Describe briefly the chief characteris cs of pure AN 10 2016
rota onal spectra. The small rota onal Raman displacement for HCl 10
molecule is 41.6 cm . Find the internuclear distance between the atoms 10
forming the molecule.

74. Given the force constant of HCl molecule = 516Nm , determine the wave AN 10 2017
number of the fundamental mode of vibra on of the molecule. How many
transi on lines one can expect in the vibra on spectra of HCl molecule at
room temperature?

75. Explain Stokes and an -Stokes Raman sca ering with the help of energy TC 20 2017
level diagram. For a diatomic molecule, obtain expressions for transi on
energies of its Raman spectra with rota onal fine structure and hence the
wave numbers of the Stokes lines.

76. Explain why lines in some Raman spectra are found to be plane polarized to TC 10 2017
different extents even though the exci ng radia on is completely
unpolarized?

77. Explain the principle of Nuclear Magne c Resonance (NMR) with the help of TC 20 2017
an energy level diagram. Give examples of nuclei which exhibit NMR. What
major inferences can be drawn from an NMR spectra?

78. In an NMR experiment, hydrogen atoms are subjected to a magne c field of AN 15 2017
5.0 T. Determine the difference in energy (kJ/mol) between two spin states
of the nuclei of hydrogen atom and the frequency of radia on required for
NMR.

79. What is nuclear precession? How is it used in the principle of working of an TC 10 2018
NMR?
80. Discuss the theory of rota onal and vibra onal spectra of diatomic TC 20 2018
molecules. What is the difference between fluorescence and
phosphorescence?

81. Why is popula on inversion in general not possible in a two-level laser TC 10 2019
system? Explain it.

82. Why are Raman ac ve vibra ons and IR vibra ons in CO molecule TC 10 2019
complementary to each other?

83. What is Franck-Condon principle? Discuss the intensity distribu on in the TC 15 2019
vibra onal electronic spectra of a diatomic molecule on the basis of this
principle.

84. Write the principle of nuclear magne c resonance (NMR). Explain the design TC 20 2020
and working of NMR, and write its important applica ons.

85. Calculate the frequency of the first Bohr orbit of hydrogen atom. TC 15 2020

86. What is Zeeman effect? Explain Zeeman effect on the basis of classical TC 15 2020
electron theory.

87. The poten al energy of a diatomic molecule in terms of the interatomic AN 20 2020
spacing 𝑅 is given by

−𝐴 𝐵
𝑈(𝑅) = +
𝑅 𝑅

where 𝐴 = 1.44 × 10 Jm and 𝐵 = 2.19 × 10 J m . Calculate the

equilibrium spacing, 𝑅 and the dissocia on energy.

88. The first line in the pure rota onal spectrum of HCl appears at 21 ⋅ AN 10 2021
18 cm . Calculate bond length of the molecule. Given atomic masses of H
and Cl are 1.008 and 35.45amu, respec vely.

89. In observing the Raman spectrum of a sample using 3637Å as the exci ng AN 20 2021
line, one gets stoke line at 3980Å. Deduce the Raman shi in m units.
Compute the wavelength in Å for corresponding stokes and an -stokes lines
if the exci ng line is 6465Å.
90. Calculate the magne c field strength required to observe the NMR spectrum AN 10 2022
of protons in benzene at 120MHz. [Given the value of nuclear 𝑔-factor 𝑔
for protons is 5.585 ]

91. Define Franck-Condon principle. How does it help in explaining the intensity TC 15 2022
distribu on of vibra onal-electronic spectra of diatomic molecules.

92. (i) In a diatomic molecule when one cons tuent atom is replaced by one of TC 20 2022
its heavier isotopes, what change takes place in the rota onal spectrum?
(ii) Calculate the change in rota onal constant 𝐵 when hydrogen is replaced
by deuterium in the hydrogen molecule.
(iii) Draw the spectra of rigid and non-rigid rotors by using the schema c
representa on of the rota onal energy levels and comment on it.

93. (i) Briefly explain the effect of anharmonicity on the vibra onal spectra of AN 15 2022
diatomic molecules.
(ii) Calculate the average period of rota on of HCl molecule if it is in the 𝐽 =
3 state. The internuclear distance and the moment of iner a of HCl are 0 ⋅
1274 nm and 0 ⋅ 0264 × 10 kg ⋅ m respec vely.
 Premium Course for Physics Optional
Cra ed with innova on & research

INTENSIVE SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR PHYSICS , 2024

It is a broad framework along with subject and/or topic wise details. It is

modelled on Syllabus by analysing the PYQs. It includes:

✅ PYQs solu on and/or source to solve it

✅ S-PYQs with solu on
✅ Day to Day support and guidance
✅ Weekly on demand meet in online mode for confidence boost
✅ Pinpoints on what to study and limita ons on depth
✅ Relevant study materials in e-Book form
PAY & THEN SEND THE SCREENSHOT, WITH
The course starts with focus on CBR, and non-rigid methods with 'break to YOUR NAME AT [email protected]
rule' approach.
(CBR - cost benefit ra o)

The course fee is ₹6999/-

MRT - MAINS READY TESTS, 2024

✅ It reflects the changing pa ern of UPSC.

✅ Never ever before - synopsis will be provided.
✅ Solu ons directly from standard textbooks, for the original learning and
knowledge.
✅ The exact marking scheme and pa ern of UPSC has been followed, even
in the subject tests. That means, you are required to solve 5 ques ons out of
8, and you will have ques ons 1 and 5 compulsory and rest to be chosen from
one from each sec on.
✅ A proper balance of PYQs inspired topics and syllabus for the 360°
revision of the syllabus.
✅ Affordable tests with 4 different varia ons, with 2 extra full paper tests.
{from ₹999}
FULL FLEDGED COURSE , 2024

It is a full-fledged video course of Physics Op onal, which contains:

🚀 High quality recorded class, along with notes.

🚀 Solu on of PYQs.
🚀 Solved problems for prac ce.
🚀 Subject wise Tests

Course fee ₹28000 {discount of 20% available}

NUCLEAR & PARTICLE PHYSICS
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

 Basic nuclear proper es-size, binding energy, angular momentum, parity, magne c moment;
 Semi-empirical mass formula and applica ons, mass parabolas; Ground state of deuteron,
magne c moment and non-central forces;
 Meson theory of nuclear forces; Salient features of nuclear forces;
 Shell model of the nucleus - successes and limita ons;
 Viola on of parity in beta decay; Gamma decay and internal conversion; Elementary ideas
about Mossbauer spectroscopy;
 Q-value of nuclear reac ons; Nuclear fission and fusion, energy produc on in stars; Nuclear
reactors.
 Classifica on of elementary par cles and their interac ons;
 Conserva on laws; Quark structure of hadrons; Field quanta of electro weak and strong
interac ons;
 Elementary ideas about unifica on of forces; Physics of neutrinos.
 Nuclear Physics

1. Calculate the packing frac on and the binding energy per nucleon for O AN 10 2010
and Sr nuclei.
2. A star converts all its hydrogen to helium, achieving 100% helium. It then AN 10 2010
converts the helium to carbon via the reac on

He + He + He → C + 7 ⋅ 27MeV

The mass of the star is 5.0 × 10 kg and it generates energy at the rate of
5 × 10 W. How long will it take to convert all Helium to carbon at this
rate?
3. What are magic numbers? Discuss shell structure of a nucleus. How is this TC 25 2010
model able to explain various proper es of nuclei? Discuss the limita ons of
this model.
4. Predict from the single par cle shell model the shell configura on, ground TC 10 2010
state spin and parity for the following nuclei:

N; O

5. Explain parity viola on in β-decay. Describe how parity viola on was TC 25 2010
experimentally detected in the decay of Co.
6. Show that nucleus is a quantum system. TC 10 2011
7. Find the total kine c energy of electron and an electron neutrino emi ed AN 10 2011
in beta decay of free neutron. (The neutron-proton mass difference is 1.30
MeV and mass of electron is 0.51 MeV)
8. What is the importance of study of deuteron? Obtain the solu on of TC 25 2011
Schrodinger equa on for ground state of deuteron and show that deuteron 2021
is a loosely bound system.
9. What do you mean by non- central forces? TC 5 2011
10. What are chain reac ons? What do you mean by cri cal size of the core in TC 20 2011
which chain reac ons take place? What is cri cal mass?
11. U yields two fragments of A = 95 and A = 140. Obtain the energy AN 10 2011
distribu on of the fission products. Assume that the two fragments are
ejected with equal and opposite momentum.

12. Determine from the given data whether the following reac ons are AN 12 2012
exothermic or endothermic:
(i) H + H → H + H
(ii) C + C → Ne + He

13. Calculate the recoil energy of Fe nucleus when it emits a gamma photon AN 12 2012
of energy 14keV.
14. Write down the Bethe-Weizsäcker semiempirical mass formula for a TC 45 2012
nucleus. Explain the significance of each term occurring in it. Discuss the
stability of a nucleus against β-decay. What is the effect of pairing term on
stability?

15. What are mirror nuclei? How does the charge independence of nuclear TC 15 2012
force emerges from this concept?

16. Calculate the Q-value of the reac on: AN 10 2013

2015
Be( He, n) CGiven :
Mass ( Be) = 9 ⋅ 01283u
Mass ( He) = 4 ⋅ 002603u
Mass ( C) = 12 ⋅ 000u
Mass (n) = 1.0086652u

17. Write down the nucleonic configura on of, Li, C, O and Al in the AN 10 2013
ground tate of the nuclear shell model and hence calculate the
corresponding ground state angular momenta and pari es. How do the
observed ground state angular momenta and pari es agree with those
predicted on the basis of shell model?

18. Explain parity viola on in β-decay. Describe how parity viola on was TC 20 2013
experimentally detected in the decay of Co. Men on any other decay
process in which the parity viola on has been demonstrated.

19. What is the role of neutrino in the weak interac on of radioac ve nuclides? TC 15 2013
Explain the experimental detec on of neutrino.

20. Explain why stable light nuclei have equal number of protons and neutrons TC 10 2014
whereas heavy nuclei have excess of neutron.

21. It is possible to es mate the nuclear radius from the study of alpha decay? TC 10 2014
Explain how.

22. What are salient features of nuclear forces? TC 10 2014

23. Discuss Yukawa’s theory of nuclear forces. TC 10 2014

24. How does liquid drop model explain fission? TC 10 2014

25. What are the limita ons of shell model? TC 10 2014

26. What are the magic numbers in nuclei? List the experimental evidences TC 20 2014
indica ng their existence.

27. Explain why the deuteron has no excited state. TC 10 2016

28. State the basic assump on of single par cle shell model. How do the TC 10 2016
centrifugal and spin-orbit terms remove the degeneracy of a three- 15
dimensional spherical harmonic oscillator?
29. Show that in the nuclear shell model, the level spacing between major TC 15 2016
oscillator shells is approximately hω = 41 A / MeV.

30. Predict the spin and parity of ground states of the following nuclei on the AN 10 2016
basis of shell model:
(i) O
(ii) O
(iii) Cl

31. Es mate the order of nuclear radius of lead (Z = 82) using the large angle AN 10 2017
(back) sca ering of alpha par cles of energy 10MeV incident on a target
(lead).
[Given: (4πϵ ) = 9 × 10 Nm C ]

32. Dis nguish between charge independence and charge symmetry of nuclear TC 10 2017
force. Give one example of each of these.

33. Describe briefly how parity viola on in β-decay was experimentally TC 10 2017
observed? What do you understand by the statement, 'neutrinos are le -
handed'?

34. Write two proper es of deuteron which support the existence of non- TC 5 2017
central tensor force.

35. Given that the deuteron magne c moment operator (in units of nuclear AN 10 2017
magneton) can be expressed as

1
μ⃗ = μ σ⃗ + μ σ ⃗ + ⃗l
2

where ⃗l is the rela ve angular momentum between neutron and proton, σ⃗

and σ⃗ are the Pauli spin operators and μ and μ are the respec ve
magne c moments. Find out the D-state probability of deutron wave
func on.
[Given : μ = 0.857μ , μ = −1.913μ
and μ = 2.793μ ; μ (nuclear magneton)]

36. How does one explain the approximate constancy of average binding energy TC 5 2017
per nucleon (BE/A) of nuclei in the region 30 ⩽ A ⩽ 170 in the plot of
BE/A versus mass number A?

37. Write the semi-empirical mass formula poin ng out the role of volume TC 15 2017
term, surface energy term, coulomb and symmetry energy correc on terms.

38. Draw a schema c diagram of the single par cle energy levels in a shell TC 20 2017
model including the effect of spin-orbit coupling. Show how it explains
magic numbers in nuclei. Give two examples to show how this scheme
predicts the spins and par cles of odd A nuclei.

39. Nuclear forces are mediated by exchange of 𝜋-mesons of rest mass 140 AN 10 2018
MeV. Es mate the range of nuclear forces.
40. The maximum energy of a positron (e ) released in the decay of C atom AN 10 2018
into a N atom is 1.202MeV. If the mass of the C atom is
13.003354u, calculate the mass of the N atom.

41. Assuming that the neutron-proton interac on has a square well form AC 10

𝑉(𝑟) = −𝑉 for 𝑟 ≤ 𝑏
10
=0 for 𝑟 > 𝑏
the ground state wave func on of deuteron nucleus is given as
𝜓(𝑟) = 𝐴sin 𝑘𝑟 for 𝑟 ≤ 𝑏
= 𝐶𝑒 for 𝑟 > 𝑏
𝑀
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑘 = (𝑉 + 𝑊)
ℏ

𝑀𝑊
and 𝛾 = .
ℏ

Here 𝑀 is the nucleon mass, 𝑊 is the binding energy of deuteron and 𝐴 and
𝐶 are constants.
(i) Show that for a just bound state of deuteron

𝜋 𝑛
𝑉𝑏 =
4𝑀
(ii) Explain why deuteron is a loosely bound extended structure.

42. A π -meson at rest decays into a μ -meson: AN 15 2018

π → μ∓ ‾

Calculate the kine c energy of the μ -meson emi ed in the reac on.

43. Write the semi-empirical mass formula for nuclei and on its basis draw mass TC 15 2018
parabolas for odd and even isobars. What would be the most stable isobar
in each case?

44. Obtain an expression for the magne c moment of a nucleus having one AN 20 2018
nucleon outside the closed core. Use this to calculate the magne c moment
of O nucleus.

45. Stable light nuclei have equal number of protons and neutrons, whereas TC 10 2019
heavy nuclei have excess of neutrons. Explain why.

46. Assuming equal masses for up (u) and down (d) quarks, find the ra o TC 10 2019
μ /μ of the magne c moments of neutron and proton.

47. Explain the various methods of finding the size of the nucleus. How will you TC 5 2019
determine the nuclear radius from the observa on of beta rays resul ng 15
from nuclear transi on when the ini al and final nuclei are mirror nuclei?
48. Given that the single par cle energy separa on between 1d / and 1d / in AN 15 2019
O is 5MeV. Calculate the strength of spin-orbit interac on. It is observed
that 1d / level is lower than 1d / level.

49. Why is it not possible to detect the parity viola on in weak interac on by TC 15 2019
observing only the beta decay rate? Jus fy your answer.

50. Explain the origin of the nuclear magne c moment. Deduce expression for TC 10 2019
the magne c dipole moment with the help of the Schmidt single par cle
model.

51. For a system consis ng of one proton and one neutron (not necessarily a TC 10 2019
deuteron), write down the various possible states specifying clearly its
isospin, spin and orbital quantum numbers.

52. In a certain cyclotron, the maximum radius that the path of a deuteron may AN 10 2020
have before it is deflected out of the magne c field is 20 cm.
(i) Calculate the velocity of the deuteron at this radius.
(ii) What is the energy of deuteron in MeV?
Given, magne c field = 1500 gauss and mass of deuteron = 3.34 ×
10 kg.

53. Calculate in terms of the nuclear magneton, μ , the magne c dipole AN 15 2020
moment of S state of deuteron. Given, μ = 2 ⋅ 792847μ and μ =
−1.913042μ

54. Explain the Mössbauer effect. TC 10 2020

55. Natural uranium found in the earth's crust contains the isotopes U and AN 10 2020
U in the atomic ra o 7 ⋅ 3 × 10 to 1. Assuming that at the me of
forma on these two isotopes were produced equally, es mate the me
since forma on. Given that the mean lives of both the isotopes are
1.03 × 10 years and 6.49 × 10 years, respec vely.

56. Write down the Weizsäcker mass formula for the nuclear binding energy. TC 20 2020
Give short jus fica on for each term of the formula.

57. List the main reac ons in the pp chain leading from hydrogen to helium TC 10 2020
during stellar nucleosynthesis. Also men on the net effect of the reac ons.

58. What are chain reac ons? What do you mean by cri cal size of the core in TC 10 2021
which chain reac on takes place?

59. Show that in the nuclear shell model, the level spacing between major TC 15 2021
oscillator shells is approximately ℏω = 41A / MeV.

60. If the nuclear force is charge independent and a neutron and proton form a TC 10 2022
bound state then why is there no bound state for two neutrons? What
informa on does this provide on the nucleon-nucleon force?
61. Show that for a specific value (n, l), there exists a large degeneracy rela ve TC 15 2022
to the energy characterized by the quantum number (N). Find the shell
closures and the magic numbers predicted by harmonic oscillator poten al.

62. Write down the Weizsäcker semi-emperical mass formula and explain each TC 10 2022
term.
Explain why U nuclide is an α-emi er and not a β -emi er? 10
63. A neutron and a proton can undergo radia ve capture at rest: TC 15 2022

n+p⟶d+γ

Find the energy of the photon emi ed in this capture. Is the recoil of the
deuteron important?

Par cle Physics

64. State the quantum numbers I , Y and S for the uds quarks and an quarks. TC 10 2010
Which combina on of these leads to the forma on of (i) proton and (ii) 2013
neutron? 2015
65. Explain conserva on of Baryon Number. Comment on the stability of TC 10 2011
proton.
66. Which of the following reac ons are permi ed or forbidden by various TC 12 2012
conserva on laws?
(i) k ∓ p → Λ∘ + π∘
(ii) k + n → Σ + 𝜋 °

(iii) π∓ p → k ∓ Σ
(iv) π + n → k + Λ°
(v) π∓ p → Λ∘ + k ∘
(vi) π∓ p → k + Σ

67. In the following reac ons indicate with an explana on, whether they TC 15 2013
proceed by strong, electromagne c or weak interac on or they are
forbidden:
(i) π → μ + v
(ii) p → n + e + v
(iii) p + π → K + Σ

68. How are elementary par cles classified on the basis of their par cipa on in TC 10 2014
fundamental interac on?

69. Describe grand unifica on theories (GUT). TC 20 2015

70. How many types of neutrinos exist? How do they differ in their masses? TC 15 2015
2021
71. Write down the following decays in terms of quarks: TC 15 2015
(i) Ω →∧ + K
(ii) ∧∘\ +π
(iii) K → μ∓ v

72. What are elementary par cles and how are they classified? Describe in brief TC 6 2016
the different types of interac ons that can occur between the elementary 4
par cles.

73. Explain the various leptonic family members. What is leptonic number TC 10 2016
conserva on? Based on this conserva on law, state whether the following 5
reac ons are possible or not: 5
5
(i) π → μ∓ ‾
(ii) n\rightarrowp + e∓ ‾

74. Write down the quark structure of the following hadrons: TC 6 2016
9
and
Δ ,Ω ,Σ ∧∘

Write down the following decays in terms of quarks:

(i) n\rightarrowp + e∓ ‾
(ii) Δ → π + n
(iii) Σ \ +π

75. Explain unifica on of electromagne c and weak interac ons. What is Z∘ - TC 10 2016
boson? What is its relevance in electroweak unifica on?

76. State the three characteris c proper es of strong, weak and TC 5 2017
electromagne c forces dis nguishing one from the other.

77. Point out the interac ons in which the following conserva on laws are TC 10 2017
obeyed or violated
(a) Isotopic spin
(b) Hyper charge
(c) Lepton number
(d) Charge conjuga on

78. Write down the quark cons tuents of each of the following: TC 5 2017
(a) π
(b) K
(c) Δ
(d) Σ ∘
(e) Ω

79. Which of the following elementary par cle reac ons/decays are allowed TC 10 2018
under various conserva on laws? If allowed, write down the type of
interac on and the characteris c me by which it would proceed :
(i) p + n → Λ + Σ
(ii) π + n → Λ + K
 (iii) p + n → K + Σ
(iv) π → γ +
(v) 𝑛‾ → 𝑝‾ + 𝑒 + 𝑣

80. Write down the basic weak interac on processes in the nuclei. Also TC 15 2020
illustrate the beta decays of (i) neutron and (ii) proton.

81. List in two separate columns, the quan es that are conserved and not TC 10 2020
conserved in the weak interac on of par cles.

82. ρ∘ and K ∘ mesons both decay mostly to π and π . Explain why the mean TC 10 2021
life me of ρ∘ is shorter (∽ 10 s) compared to the mean life me of
K ∘ (∽ 10 s).

83. What are the proper es of the par cles made up of the following quarks? TC 10 2021
(a) u𝑑‾
(b) 𝑢‾𝑑
(c) dds
(d) uss

84. Explain why each of the following par cles cannot exist according to the TC 10 2022
quark model.

(i) A Baryon of spin 1

(ii) An an -Baryon of electric charge +2

85. Which of the following decays are allowed and which are forbidden? If the TC 15 2022
decay is allowed, state which interac on is responsible. If it is forbidden,
state which conserva on law its occurrence would violate.
(a) n ⟶ p + e∓ ‾
(b) ∧∘ ⟶ π + π
(c) π ⟶ e∓
(d) π∘ ⟶ e∓ e + v + 𝑣‾
(e) π ⟶ e∓ e + μ + v
SOLID STATE PHYSICS, DEVICES
AND ELECTRONICS
An UPSC CSE Physics Optional PYQ Repository

OCTOBER 3, 2023
ABHI PHYSICS
physicsupsc.com
 Syllabus

 Crystalline and amorphous structure of ma er; Different crystal systems, space groups;
 Methods of determina on of crystal structure; X-ray diffrac on, scanning, and transmission
electron microscopies;
 Band theory of solids - conductors, insulators and semiconductors; Thermal proper es of
solids, specific heat, Debye theory;
 Magne sm: para and ferro magne sm; Elements of superconduc vity, Meissner effect,
Josephson junc ons, and applica ons; Elementary ideas about high-temperature
superconduc vity.
 Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors; pn-p and n-p-n transistors; Amplifiers and oscillators;
Op-amps; FET, JFET, and MOSFET;
 Digital electronics-Boolean iden es, De Morgan's laws, logic gates, and truth tables;
 Simple logic circuits; Thermostats, solar cells;
 Fundamentals of microprocessors and digital computers.
 Crystal Structure & its Determina on

1. Derive Bragg diffrac on condi on in vectorial form using incident and TC 10 2011
diffracted wave vectors and reciprocal la ce vector.
2. An electron beam of 4 Kev is diffracted through a Bragg angle of 16° for AN 10 2011
the first maxima. If the energy is increased to 16 keV, find the
corresponding Bragg angle for diffrac on.
3. Metallic iron undergoes a structural phase transi on from bcc to fcc at AN 12 2012
910∘ C. At this temperature, the atomic radii of iron atoms in the bcc and
fcc structures are 0.126 × 10 m and 0.129 × 10 m respec vely.
Calculate the volume change in percentage during this structural change.

4. AN 10 2013

A crystal plane is shown in the above figure. Find its Miller indices and
interplanar spacing.

5. The velocity of sound in f.c.c. gold and f.c.c. copper is 2100 m/s and AN 10 2014
3800 m/s respec vely. If the Debye temperature of copper is 348 K, then
determine the Debye temperature of gold. Take the densi es of gold and
copper as 1.93 × 10 kg/m and 0.89 × 10 kg/m respec vely.

6. In a cubic unit cell, find the angle between normals to the plane (111) and AN 10 2014
(121).

7. Explain the working of SEM and TEM and highlight the major differences in TC 20 2014
principles. Draw neat schema c diagrams.

8. What is the reciprocal la ce and why is it named so? Derive the TC 20 2014
rela onships for the primi ve transla on vectors of the reciprocal la ce in
terms of those of the direct la ce.

9. Show that any arbitrary rota on axis is not permi ed in a crystal la ce. TC 10 2015

10. The primi ve transla on vectors of a two-dimensional la ce are AN 10 2016

𝑎 = 2𝚤ˆ + 𝚥ˆ, 𝑏 = 2𝚥ˆ.

Determine the primi ve transla on vectors of its reciprocal la ce.

11. Obtain Laue's equa ons for X-ray diffrac on by crystals. Show that these TC 15 2016
are consistent with the Bragg's law. 5

12. Calculate Atomic Packing Frac on (APF) for FCC and HCP structures, and TC 10 2018
show that these are the most closely packed structures.

13. Derive Bragg diffrac on law for X-ray diffrac on. Compare Laue and TC 10 2018
Debye-Scherrer methods for crystal structure determina on.

14. Deduce the Miller indices of the close-packed planes of atoms in the f.c.c. TC 10 2019
la ce.

15. The angles between the tetrahedral bonds of diamond are the same as the TC 10 2019
angles between the body diagonals of a stack of neighbouring cubes
having common edges and not faces. Use vector analysis to find the value
of the angle.

16. Consider a face-centred cubic la ce of side a. Deduce – TC 20 2019

(i) The primi ve transla on vectors;

(ii) The volume of the primi ve cell;
(iii) The reciprocal primi ve transla on vectors;
(iv) The volume of the reciprocal la ce

17. The la ce parameter and the atomic mass of a diamond crystal are 3.57Å AN 10 2020
and 12 , respec vely. Calculate the density of the crystal. Given,
Avogadro's number, 𝑁 = 6.023 × 10 ( kg mol) .

18. In an almost pure thick aluminium sheet, there are 0.19 atomic percent of AN 10 2020
copper at the surface and 0.18 atomic percent at a depth of 1.2 mm from
the surface. Calculate the flux of the copper atoms from the surface at
550∘ C, if the diffusion coefficient of copper in aluminium at this
temperature is 5.25 × 10 m s . Given, Al FCC with la ce parameter,
𝑎 = 4.05Å.

19. Calculate the Hall coefficient of sodium based on the free electron model. AN 10 2020
Sodium has BCC structure and the side of the cube is 4.28Å.

20. An X-ray beam of wavelength (𝜆 ) undergoes a first order Bragg reflec on AN 10 2021
at a Bragg angle of 30∘ . X-ray of wavelength 97 nm undergoes 3rd order
reflec on at a Bragg angle of 60∘ . Consider that the two beams are
reflected from the same set of planes. Find the value of 𝜆 .

21. Considering atoms hard, uniform spheres, find the number of atoms per TC 15 2022
unit cell and packing frac on for simple cubic, bcc and fcc structures.

22. The wavelength of a prominent X-ray line from a copper target is AN 15 2022
0.1512 m. The radia on, when diffracted with (111) plane of a crystal with
fcc structure, corresponded to a Bragg angle of 20. 2∘ . If the density of the
crystal is 2698 kg/m and atomic weight is 26.98 kg/kmol, calculate the
Avogadro number.
 Band theory of solids

23. Explain the reduced zone scheme of plo ng the energy bands in solids. TC 10 2010
On the basis of E vs k curve dis nguish between conductors,
semiconductors and insulators.
24. What is nearly free electron approxima on? On the basis of this TC 20 2010
approxima on explain the forma on of energy bands in solids.
25. Explain the origin of energy band forma on in solids. Show that in nearly TC 20 2011
free electron approxima on, the energy band gap is 2|𝑉 |, where 𝑉 is
Fourier transform of periodic poten al seen by the valence electrons.

26. Star ng with the expression for the density of states for electrons in a AN 20 2013
band, show that the Fermi energy of an intrinsic semiconductor is at the
middle of the band gap. Use these results to es mate the electron density
at 300 K (Assuming E = 1eV and the rest masses of electron and hole as
m and m ).

27. How does the energy gap in superconductors differ from the energy gap in TC 10 2014
insulator?
How does it vary with temperature for superconductors?

28. Describe the mo on of an electron in one dimensional periodic poten al TC 20 2015

and show that it leads to forma on of bands of allowed and forbidden
states in the electron energy spectrum. How are the conductors,
semiconductors and insulators discriminated on the basis of band
structure?

29. The energy (E) and wave vector (k) for a conduc on band electron in a TC 10 2017
ℏ
semiconductor are related as 𝐸 = 𝛼 where 𝛼 is a constant and 𝑚 is
the free electron mass. Calculate the effec ve mass of the electron.

30. Derive the expression for the average energy of a quantum oscilla on of TC 15 2019
frequency 𝑣. Assume Fermi-Dirac distribu on and 𝐸 − 𝐸 > 2, where 𝐸 is
the Fermi level.

31. Show that for an 𝑛-type semiconductor, the Fermi level lies midway TC 20 2022
between the donor states and the conduc on band edge at low
temperature (assuming 𝐸 = 0 ).

Thermal and Magne c Proper es of Solids

32. Dis nguish between Einstein and Debye models of specific heats of solids. TC 20 2010
Obtain an expression for the specific heat of a solid on the basis of Debye
model. Discuss the results for low and high temperature ranges.
33. Dis nguish between classical and quantum theory of paramagne sm. TC 20 2010
Explain the paramagne sm of free electrons on the basis of F.D.
distribu on.
34. Find an expression for la ce specific heat of solids, and its low and high TC 20 2011
temperature limits. What is Debye temperature?
35. Classify diamagne c, paramagne c and ferromagne c materials in terms TC 15 2012
of their magne c suscep bility (𝜓). Plot and explain the varia on of
with temperature for the three materials.
36. Find an expression for la ce specific heat of a solid, and its low and high TC 20 2015
temperature limits. What is Debye temperature?
37. With the help of a schema c diagram, show how entropy and specific heat TC 10 2016
vary with temperature for a superconductor.
38. Write down the salient features of the Einstein's theory of la ce heat TC 4 2016
capacity. Further write down the expression for specific heat in Einstein's 6
theory and explain its high and low temperature limits.
39. A system of paramagne c atoms ( N per unit volume) which can occupy TC 20 2017
only two energy levels in a uniform external magne c field H is at a
temperature T. If this system follows Boltzman's distribu on, find the
magne sa on and suscep bility of the system.
40. Derive an expression for la ce specific heat in Debye model. Find its low TC 15 2018
temperature limit (Debye 𝑇 law).
41. Using the expression for internal energy TC 10 2021
ℏ
𝑈 = 3𝑁 ℏ / , show that Einstein specific heat capacity is given by;

ℏ𝜔 𝑒ℏ /
𝐶 = 3𝑅
𝑘 𝑇 (𝑒 ℏ / − 1)

Also show that Einstein specific heat capacity given above is propor onal
to 𝑒 ℏ / at very low temperature.
42. A solid contains a dilute concentra on of Nd ions, each of which possess AN 20 2021
three 4𝑓 electrons. Assuming that there are 10 m of these ions,
calculate the magne c suscep bility of the sample at 1𝐾.

43. Explain the drawbacks of Einstein's theory of specific heat and how it was TC 20 2022
overcome by Debye.

Superconduc vity

44. What is Josephson tunnelling? Dis nguish between a.c. and d.c. Josephson TC 10 2010
effects
45. Describe the characteris c proper es of a superconductor. Derive London TC 20 2011
equa on for a superconductor and hence explain Meissner effect.
46. Explain the varia on of Magne sa on of Type I and Type II TC 15 2012
superconductors as a func on of applied magne c field
47. A perfect conductor and a superconductor with 𝑇 ∼ 10 K are subjected to TC 15 2013
the following condi ons:
(i) cooled under applied magne c field to 4 K
(ii) cooled to 4𝐾 and then magne c field is applied
with schema c diagrams, explain path of magne c field lines in all these
situa ons.
48. Show that the London equa on ∇⃗ × 𝐽⃗ = − 𝐵⃗ or 𝚥⃗ = − 𝐴⃗ leads to TC 15 2013
the Meissner effect.
49. Lead in the superconduc ng state has cri cal temperature of 6.2 K at zero AN 10 2014
magne c field and a cri cal field of 0.064MAm at 0 K. Determine the
cri cal field at 4 K.
50. Dis nguish between a superconductor and perfect conductor. Explain TC 10 2015
what is a Cooper pair.
51. Obtain the expression for penetra on depth using London's equa on of TC 10 2017
superconduc vity and explain its significance.
5
52. What are type I and type II superconductors? Give examples. Discuss and TC 20 2018
compare Meissner effect and perfect diamagne c behaviour for type I and
type II superconductors.
53. Using the two-fluid model of a conductor (normal and superconduc ng) TC 20 2020
and the Maxwell's equa ons, derive the two London equa ons of
superconduc vity.
54. Explain why Type-II superconductor is be er than Type-I superconductor in TC 10 2022
the applica on of superconductor magnets.
55. Compare the dependence of resistance on temperature of a TC 15 2022
superconductor with that of a normal conductor. Describe briefly the
forma on of Cooper pairs.

Semiconductors/Solar cell

56. Dis nguish between intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors. Show that in a TC 30 2011
semiconductor, the product of concentra ons of the two types of charge
carriers is constant at a given temperature.
57. Star ng from an expression for the group velocity, arrive at an expression TC 30 2012
for the effec ve mass of an electron in a semiconductor. Explain the
significance of sign of the effec ve mass.
58. An electric field of 100 V/m is applied to a sample of n-type AN 10 2014
semiconductor whose Hall coefficient is −0.0125 m / coulomb.
Determine the current density in the sample assuming 𝜇 =
0.36 m v s .
59. Draw the device structure of a p-n junc on solar cell and explain how light TC 15 2015
energy is converted into electrical energy. Draw and explain its I-V
characteris cs.
60. What is the difference between direct and indirect band gap TC 10 2016
semiconductors? Which one is suitable for use in solar cells?
10
61. In a semiconductor, the effec ve masses of an electron and a hole are AN 15 2017
0.07 m and 0.4 m , respec vely, where 𝑚 is the free electron mass.
Assuming that the average relaxa on me for the hole is half of that for
the electrons, calculate the mobility of the holes when the mobility of the
electrons is 0.8 m volt s .
62. What are intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors? Show that in the intrinsic TC 15 2018
semiconductors, Fermi level lies exactly in the middle of bo om of
conduc on band and top of valence band.
63. A silicon semiconductor sample at 𝑇 = 300 K having cross-sec onal area AN 10 2019
of 0.5𝜇m has a pentavalent donor doping profile given by 𝐶(𝑥) =
5 × 10 𝑒 ( / ) cm . Given, the mobility of the electrons in the sample
is 1250 cm V s and the diffusion length of the electrons, 𝐿 , is 4𝜇m.
Calculate the diffusion current in the sample at distance 𝑥 = 2𝜇m.

64. A silicon semiconductor sample is doped with 6 × 10 cm of AN 20 2019

aluminium and 7 × 10 cm of phosphorus atoms. Given at 𝑇 = 300 K,
the intrinsic carrier concentra on, 𝑛 = 1.5 × 10 cm ; the band gap,
𝐸 = 1.1eV; the electron mobility, 𝜇 = 1250 cm V s and the hole
mobility, 𝜇 = 480 cm V s . Determine in the sample of the
following:
(i) The type of the semiconductor, 𝑛 or 𝑝
(ii) The hole carrier concentra on
(iii) The electron carrier concentra on
(iv) The posi on of the Fermi level in the sample with respect to the
bo om of the conduc on band
(v) The conduc vity of the sample

65. A 5 cm Ge solar cell with a dark reverse satura on current of 2nA has AN 10 2019
solar radia on incident upon it, producing 4 × 10 electron-hole pairs
per second. The electron and hole diffusion lengths are given to be 5𝜇m
and 2𝜇m, respec vely. Calculate for the cell of the following:
(i) The short-circuit current
(ii) The open-circuit voltage

66. What is an intrinsic semiconductor? Intrinsic silicon has a band gap of AN 15 2020
1.1eV and yet at 𝑇 = 300 K, the conduc vity is non-zero. Explain.
Comment, with the help of relevant expression, on the posi on of the
Fermi level of an intrinsic semiconductor.

TRANSISTORS (Amplifiers/Oscillators)
67. AN 10 2010

Iden fy the above op-amp circuit. Es mate the net output voltage 𝑉
68. Draw a two stage RC coupled transistor amplifier. TC 30 2010

Plot the frequency response and indicate the lower and upper cut off
frequencies and the bandwidth.
69. Give the basic structure of a 𝑛-channel deple on type MOSFET. Draw the TC 20 2010,
drain current-drain voltage characteris cs both in deple on as well as in 2014
enhancement modes.
70. Draw the common-base amplifier circuit, using an n-p-n transistor and TC 15 2011
briefly discuss its working.
71. What are the rules followed in biasing a bipolar junc on transistor when it TC 12 2012
is used as an amplifier? Show how n-p-n and p-n-p transistors to be used
as an amplifier are biased and the direc on of flow of base, collector and
emi er currents.
72. Construct an opera onal amplifier based analog computer to solve the TC 30 2012
differen al equa on

𝑑 𝑣 𝑑𝑣
− + 2𝑣 = 0
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

73. Draw and explain the collector characteris cs of a bipolar junc on TC 10 2013
transistor in common emi er configura on. Using the plot, explain how
the transistor can be used as an ON-OFF switch.

74. TC 25 2013

Explain how the circuit shown above can be a source of oscilla ons. Use
this circuit to construct a transistor oscillator and explain its working. What
is the frequency of oscilla ons of this circuit?

75. Differen ate between n-p-n and p-n-p transistors. Give their device TC 10 2015
structure and biasing circuits when used as an amplifier.
76. Design a transistor based Colpi oscillator which can oscillate at 9MHz. AN 15 2015
Explain how the oscilla ons are created and sustained.

77. Describe an opera onal amplifier based integrator. Using opera onal TC 20 2015
amplifier integrators, design a circuit to solve the following differen al
equa on:

𝑑 𝑣 𝑑𝑣
+2 + 3𝑣 = 0
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

78. AN 10 2017

Consider the opera onal

amplifier circuit given above:
Given, 𝑅 = 10kΩ, 𝑅 = 150kΩ and the product of the open loop gain of
the amplifier and its bandwidth = 10 Hz. Determine the closed loop
bandwidth of the amplifier.

79. AN 15 2017

An amplifier in common-emi er configura on is shown in the above

figure.
If the current gain 𝛽 = 100 and the a.c. emi er resistance = 25.0Ω,
determine the input impedance and the voltage gain of the amplifier:
80. AN 15 2017

Given above is a circuit of self biased 𝑝-channel JFET.

If the pinch off voltage is 5.0 V and V = 6.0 V, calculate the satura on
current I .

81. What are opera onal amplifiers? How can it be used as an inductor? Prove TC 15 2018
it mathema cally.

82. Sketch the cross-sec onal structure of an enhancement mode MOSFET TC 15 2019
and explain its principles of opera on with the help of its output
characteris cs.

83. Consider an amplifier with an open-loop (no feedback) gain of 𝐴 and a TC 15 2020
feedback factor 𝛽. Derive the expression for the gain with feedback, 𝐴 .
Derive the condi on for the amplifier with feedback to act as an oscillator.
Comment on the change in 𝐴 with a change in 𝐴.

84. An 𝑛 − 𝑝 − 𝑛 transistor with 𝛽 = 49 is used in common-emi er amplifier AN 20 2021

mode with 𝑉 = 10 V and 𝑅 = 2kΩ. If a 100kΩ resistor is connected
between the collector and the base of the transistor, calculate the
quiescent collector current. Assume 𝑉 = 0.

85. Calculate the pinch-off voltage for 𝑛-channel silicon FET with a channel AN 10 2021
width of 6 × 10 cm and a donor concentra on of 10 cm . Given that
dielectric constant of silicon is 12 .

86. AN 10 2021
 Sketch the dc load line for the circuit shown.

87. Why is the Field Effect Transistor (FET) called Unipolar Transistor? Discuss TC 10 2022
how it is superior than Bipolar Junc on Transistor.

Digital Electronics/Microprocessors

88. Why are NAND and NOR gates called universal gates? Give the logic TC 15 2010,2016
diagram, Boolean equa on and the truth table of NAND gate. Design an
OR gate using only NAND gates.
89. Simplify the logical expression TC 10 2011

𝐴𝐵 + 𝐴̅𝐵 + 𝐴𝐵𝐶

using a Karnaugh map.

90. Simplify the logical expression TC 15 2011

(𝐴 + 𝐵‾)𝐵(𝐴 + 𝐶‾ )

and draw the logical circuit to implement it.

91. Explain the race problem encountered in an RS latch and how it can be TC 30 2012
avoided. Build a Mod-10 counter using JK flip-flops and explain its working.

92. Construct a digital circuit to add three bits 𝐴, 𝐵 and 𝐶 and provide their TC 25 2013
sum and carry as outputs. Show appropriate Boolean expressions and
truth table to jus fy the outputs.

93. Simplify the logical expression [𝐴𝐵‾(𝐶 + 𝐵𝐷) + 𝐴‾𝐵‾]𝐶. TC 10 2015

94. Describe the working of a microprocessor system in block diagram. How is TC 15 2018
its performance affected in a pipelined processor?

95. Why NAND and NOR gates are called universal gates? Give the logic TC 10 2022
diagram, Boolean equa on and the truth table of a X − OR gate.
 Premium Course for Physics Optional
Cra ed with innova on & research

INTENSIVE SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR PHYSICS , 2024

It is a broad framework along with subject and/or topic wise details. It is

modelled on Syllabus by analysing the PYQs. It includes:

✅ PYQs solu on and/or source to solve it

✅ S-PYQs with solu on
✅ Day to Day support and guidance
✅ Weekly on demand meet in online mode for confidence boost
✅ Pinpoints on what to study and limita ons on depth
✅ Relevant study materials in e-Book form
PAY & THEN SEND THE SCREENSHOT, WITH
The course starts with focus on CBR, and non-rigid methods with 'break to YOUR NAME AT [email protected]
rule' approach.
(CBR - cost benefit ra o)

The course fee is ₹6999/-

MRT - MAINS READY TESTS, 2024

✅ It reflects the changing pa ern of UPSC.

✅ Never ever before - synopsis will be provided.
✅ Solu ons directly from standard textbooks, for the original learning and
knowledge.
✅ The exact marking scheme and pa ern of UPSC has been followed, even
in the subject tests. That means, you are required to solve 5 ques ons out of
8, and you will have ques ons 1 and 5 compulsory and rest to be chosen from
one from each sec on.
✅ A proper balance of PYQs inspired topics and syllabus for the 360°
revision of the syllabus.
✅ Affordable tests with 4 different varia ons, with 2 extra full paper tests.
{from ₹999}
FULL FLEDGED COURSE , 2024

It is a full-fledged video course of Physics Op onal, which contains:

🚀 High quality recorded class, along with notes.

🚀 Solu on of PYQs.
🚀 Solved problems for prac ce.
🚀 Subject wise Tests

Course fee ₹28000 {discount of 20% available}

 Telegram: https://t.me/physicsupsc_official
Email: [email protected]
physicsupsc.com

UPSC CSE Main 2023 paper 1

Section A
1. a) A force 𝐹⃗ is given by 𝐹⃗ = 𝑥 𝑦𝑥ˆ + 𝑧𝑦 𝑦ˆ + 𝑥𝑧 𝑧ˆ. Determine 10
whether or not the force is conservative.

b) Calculate the gravitational self-energy of the Earth. 10

Given:

Mass of Earth 𝑀 = 6 × 10 𝑘𝑔 and the Radius of Earth 𝑅 = 10

6.4 × 10 𝑚

c) What are the consequences of Lorentz transformations on 10

length and time when observed from a frame moving at
relativistic velocities?

d) Using Huygens' principle for a plane wave travelling from rarer 10

medium 1 to a denser medium 2, show that

𝑠𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 v 𝜇
= = ,
𝑠𝑖 𝑛 𝑟 v 𝜇

where 𝑖 and 𝑟 are the angles of incidence and refraction,

respectively. v , 𝜇 and v , 𝜇 are the velocities and refractive
indices in media 1 and 2, respectively.

e) What are three and four level pumping schemes? Explain the 10
lasing action in these with schematic diagrams.

2. a) (i) Derive the expressions for gravitational potentials at a point 10

(I) outside the spherical shell
(II) inside the spherical shell

(ii) Calculate the escape velocity of a body of mass 10 𝑘𝑔 from

the surface of Moon g Moon = g Earth .
10
Mass of Moon = 7.3 × 10 𝑘𝑔
Radius of Moon = 1.7 × 10 𝑚

b) Obtain condition for achromatism of two thin lenses separated

by a finite distance. If the dispersive powers of the materials of
the two lenses are 0.020 and 0.028, their focal lengths are 15
10 𝑐𝑚 and 5 𝑐𝑚, respectively. Calculate the separation between
them in order to form achromatic combination.

c) (i) The quantities of rotatory motion are analogous to those of

translatory motion. Write the corresponding equations of
translatory and rotatory motion. 5
 Telegram: https://t.me/physicsupsc_official
Email: [email protected]
physicsupsc.com
(ii) Describe the theorems of perpendicular and parallel axes in
case of a plane lamina
10

3. a) (i) What are the requisite conditions for observation of 5

interference pattern on a screen?

(ii) Derive the expression for fringe width and intensity at a 10

point on the screen in a double slit experiment.

b) (i) Prove that the separation of two colliding particles is same, 10

when observed in centre of mass and laboratory system.

(ii) Determine the kinetic energy of a thin disc of mass 0.5 kg

and radius 0.2 m rotating with 100 rotations per second 5
around the axis passing through its centre and perpendicular to
its plane.

c) Write equation for damped harmonic oscillations and obtain

expression for logarithmic decrement.
20
In a damped harmonic motion, the first amplitude is 10 cm,
which reduces to 2 cm after 50 oscillations, each of period 4
seconds. Determine the logarithmic decrement. Also, calculate
the number of oscillations in which the amplitude decreases to
25%.

4. a) Write conditions for working of a step-index optical fiber. In a 20

step-index fiber, the core and cladding materials have
refractive indices 1.50 and 1.43, respectively.
Find the following:
i. Critical propagation angle
ii. Acceptance angle
iii. Total time delay in 1 𝑘𝑚 length of the fiber
iv. Total dispersion in 50 𝑘𝑚 length of the fiber

b) Define streamline flow of a fluid. Using the equation of 15

continuity for an isotropic fluid, find different components of
total energy per unit volume.

c) (i) What is the difference between Fresnel diffraction and 5

Fraunhofer diffraction?

(ii)What is resolving power of a telescope? Why is the resolving 10

power of microscope more with UV light than with visible light.

Section B

5. a) Find the energy stored in a system of four charges 𝑄 = 10

1𝑛𝐶, Q = 2𝑛𝐶, 𝑄 = 3𝑛𝐶 and 𝑄 = 4𝑛𝐶 placed at the cartesian
coordinates 𝑅 (1,1), 𝑅 (2,1), 𝑅 (1,4) and 𝑅 (2,2), respectively.
Assume free space.
 Telegram: https://t.me/physicsupsc_official
Email: [email protected]
physicsupsc.com
b) Derive the expression for the inductance per unit length of two
long parallel wires each of radius a, separated by distance d
10
from their axes and carrying equal and opposite current I.
c) Show that Continuity equation is embedded in Maxwell's
equations. 10
d) Using Zeroth law of thermodynamics, introduce the concept of
temperature. Explain how the isotherms of two different 10
systems can be drawn.

e) Write down the expressions for the Fermi-Dirac distribution

and the Bose-Einstein distribution. Plot the distributions as a
function of the energy. 10

6. a) Two inductors having inductances L and L are connected in 15

parallel. The inductors have a mutual inductance M. Derive the
expression for the effective inductance. Assume the inductors
have negligible resistances.

b) (i) Define Joule-Kelvin coefficient. Write it in its mathematical

form. 5

(ii) Determine the Joule-Kelvin coefficient for a van der Waals

gas. Hence, obtain an expression for temperature of inversion. 10
Discuss the conditions under which heating or cooling is
produced.

c) Consider the interaction of an electromagnetic wave at the 20

interface of two dielectric media. If electric field 𝐸⃗ is parallel to
the plane of incidence, obtain Fresnel's equations and
Brewster's law of polarization.

7. a) A neutral atom consists of a point nucleus +𝑞 surrounded by a 15

uniformly charged spherical cloud (−𝑞) of radius 𝑟. Show that
when such an atom is placed in a weak external electric field 𝐸⃗ ,
the atomic polarizability of the atom is proportional to the
volume of the sphere.

b) A piston-cylinder device initially contains air at 150𝑘𝑃𝑎 and

27∘ 𝐶. At this state, the piston is resting on a pair of stops, as 20
shown in the figure, and the enclosed volume is 400 𝐿. The
mass of the piston is such that a 350𝑘𝑃𝑎 pressure is required to
move it. The air is now heated until the volume is doubled.
Determine:
a. the final temperature,
b. the work done by the air, and
c. the total heat transferred to air

Given:
U = 214 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 and Ufinal = 1113 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
i. Gas constant of air, 𝑅 = 0.287𝑘𝑃𝑎. m /𝑘𝑔. 𝐾
 Telegram: https://t.me/physicsupsc_official
Email: [email protected]
physicsupsc.com

c) A spherical shell of radius 𝑅, carrying a uniform surface charge

𝜎, is set spinning at angular velocity 𝜔 about its axis. Find the 15
vector potential it produces at point r⃗.

8. a) A circular ring of radius 𝑅 lying on the x−𝑦 plane and centred 20

at the origin, carries a uniform line charge 𝜆. Find the first
three terms (monopole, dipole and quadrupole) of the
multipole expansion of potential 𝑉(𝑟, 𝜃).
b) Two charges Q = 3𝑛𝐶 and Q = 4𝑛𝐶 are placed at the 15
cartesian points (0,2,2)𝑚 and (0, −2,4)𝑚, respectively. The 𝑧 =
0 plane is connected to the ground. Calculate the electric
potential and the electric field at the point (3,2,4)𝑚 using the
method of images.
c) Use the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution to find the number of
oxygen molecules whose velocities lie between 195 𝑚/𝑠 and 15
205 𝑚/𝑠 at 0∘ 𝐶. The given mass of oxygen gas is 0.1 𝑘𝑔.
(Assume mass of proton to be 1.66 × 10 𝑘𝑔 )
 Telegram: https://t.me/physicsupsc_official
Email: [email protected]
physicsupsc.com

UPSC CSE Main 2023 – Paper 2 – Physics Optional

Section A
1 (a) Calculate the zero-point energy for a particle in an infinite 10
potential well for the following cases:
(i) a 100 g ball confined on a 5 m long line.
(ii) an oxygen atom confined to a 2 × 10 m lattice.
(iii) an electron confined to a 10 m atom.
Why zero point energy is not important for macroscopic
objects? Comment.

1 (b) Consider a particle of mass 𝑚 and charge 𝑞 moving under the 10

influence of a one dimensional harmonic oscillator potential.
Assume it is placed in a constant electric field 𝐸. The
Hamiltonian of this particle is therefore given by 𝐻 = +
𝑚𝜔 𝑋 − 𝑞𝐸𝑋. Obtain the energy expression and the wave
function of the 𝑛th excited state of the particle.

1 (c) A particle of mass 𝑚 is in a spherically symmetric attractive 10

potential of radius 𝑎. Find the minimum depth of the potential
needed to have two bound states of zero angular momentum.

1 (d) A beam of hydrogen atoms emitted from an oven at 400k is sent 10

through a Stern-Gerlach experiment having magnet of length
1 m and a gradient field of 10tesla/m. Calculate the transverse
deflection of an atom at the point where the beam leaves the
magnet.

1 (e) If an atom is placed in a magnetic field of strength 0.1 weber 10

/m , then calculate the rate of precession and torque on an
electron with 𝑙 = 3 in the atom.

Given that the magnetic moment of the electron makes an angle

of 30∘ with the magnetic field.

2 (a) An operator 𝑃 describing the interaction of two spin particles 15

is 𝑃 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝜎⃗ ⋅ 𝜎⃗ , where 𝑎 and 𝑏 are constants, and 𝜎⃗ and 𝜎⃗
are Pauli matrices of the two spins. The total spin angular
momentum 𝑆⃗ = 𝑆⃗ + 𝑆⃗ = ℏ(𝜎⃗ + 𝜎⃗ ). Show that 𝑃, 𝑆 and 𝑆
can be measured simultaneously.

2 (b) Consider a stream of particles of mass 𝑚 each moving in the 15

positive 𝑥-direction with kinetic energy 𝐸 towards the potential
barrier
 Telegram: https://t.me/physicsupsc_official
Email: [email protected]
physicsupsc.com

𝑉(𝑥) = 0 for 𝑥⩽0

3𝐸
𝑉(𝑥) = for 𝑥>0
4

Find the fraction of particles reflected at 𝑥 = 0.

2 (c) 0, 0 < 𝑥 < 𝑎 20

Consider the potential 𝑉(𝑥) =
∞, elsewhere
(a) Estimate the energies of the ground state as well as those of
the first and the second excited states for
(i) an electron enclosed in a box of size 𝑎 = 10 m.
(ii) a 1 g metallic sphere which is moving in a box of size 𝑎 =
10 cm.
(b) Discuss the importance of the Quantum effects for both of
these systems.
(c) Estimate the velocities of the electron and the metallic
sphere using uncertainty principle.

3 (a) What is vector atom model? How the principal features of 5+10
vector atom model were explained by Stern-Gerlach
experiment?

3 (b) What is Lande's 𝑔 factor? Evaluate the Lande's 𝑔 factor for the 5+5+5
𝑃 level in the 2𝑝3𝑠 configuration of the C atom. Also
calculate the splitting of the level when the atom is placed in an
external magnetic field of 0.1 tesla.

3 (c) What is Raman effect? Explain Quantum theory of Raman 5+10+5

effect and Rotational Structure of a Raman spectrum.

4 (a) A particle constrained to move along 𝑥-axis in the domain 0 ⩽ 15

𝑥 ⩽ 𝐿 has a wave function 𝜓(𝑥) = sin , where 𝑛 is an
integer. Normalize the wave function and evaluate the
expectation value of momentum of the particle.

4 (b) Evaluate the most probable distance of the electron of the 15

hydrogen atom in its 2𝑝 state. What is the radial probability
density at that distance?

4 (c) What is nuclear magnetic resonance? Explain its working 5+5+10

principle and use in magnetic resonance imaging systems.
 Telegram: https://t.me/physicsupsc_official
Email: [email protected]
physicsupsc.com

Section B
5 (a) How could you establish that 𝑣 and 𝑣‾ are two different 10
particles?

5 (b) What is the age of a fossil that contains 6 g of carbon C and 10

has a decay rate of 27 decays per minute?
Given : Ratio = 1 ⋅ 3 × 10 , Half life 𝑇 / of 𝐶 = 5730
yrs.

5 (c) (i) 𝐾 ⟶ Π + Π + Π 10
(ii) Π + 𝜌 ⟶ Π + Π + 𝑛
(iii) Π + 𝜌 ⟶ Δ ⟶ Π + 𝜌
(iv) Σ∘ ⟶ 𝜆∘ + 𝛾
(v) Σ ⟶ 𝜆∘ + 𝑒 + 𝑣
(vi) 𝐾 + 𝜌 ⟶ 𝐾 + 𝐾 ∘ + Ω
(vii) Π ∘ ⟶ 𝛾 + 𝑒 + 𝑒
(viii) Σ ⟶ 𝑛 + 𝑒 + 𝑣‾
(ix) 𝜆∘ ⟶ 𝜌 + 𝑒 + 𝑣‾
(x) 𝑒 + 𝑒 ⟶ 𝛾 + 𝛾
Name the interactions via which the above nuclear decays
occur:

5 (d) Derive diffraction conditions using reciprocal lattice concept. 10

What are these conditions known as?

5 (e) Show that the Fermi level shifts upward, closer to the 10
conduction band in an 𝑛-type semiconductor and shifts
downward, closer to the valence band in a 𝑝-type
semiconductor.

6 (a) Establish the Rutherford's scattering cross section formula for 20

𝛼-particle by considering the standard assumptions and
symbols.

6 (b) By assuming the nucleus as a cubical box of length equal to the 15

nuclear diameter 10 cm, calculate the kinetic energy of the
highest level occupied nucleon of iron-56 nucleus.

6 (c) What do you understand by nuclear forces? Explain meson 5+10

theory of exchange forces.

7 (a) Explain classical theory of diamagnetism. Show that the 5+8+2

susceptibility of diamagnetic substances is directly proportional
to the atomic number. Why all the electrons in an atom
contribute to diamagnetism?

7 (b) Derive an expression for the specific heat of a solid based on the 15+3+2
Debye theory and show how it agrees with the experimental
values. What is the most important assumption of Debye theory
in comparison to Einstein theory? Is there any drawback of
Debye theory?
 Telegram: https://t.me/physicsupsc_official
Email: [email protected]
physicsupsc.com

7 (c) With a neat circuit diagram, explain the working of Wien- 15

Bridge oscillator.

8 (a) What do you understand by the critical size of a reactor? 5+15

Explain the main features of nuclear reactors.

8 (b) What is superconductivity? Explain Meissner effect. Why 15

superconductors should be a diamagnetic material?

8 (c) 10+5

(i) Determine the input and output impedances of the amplifier

in given figure. The op-amp datasheet gives 𝑍in = 2MΩ, 𝑍out =
75Ω and 𝐴ol = 200,000 (open loop voltage gain).
(ii) Find the closed-loop voltage gain.