GS 2024 – Physics question paper (PhD)

Section A
A1 Which of the following sheets of paper can be turned into a
regular octahedron (a three-dimensional regular polyhedron
with eight triangular faces, as shown on the right) by
folding along the marked lines?

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)
A2 A surface is given by

2𝑥 3 𝑧 + 4𝑦 2 𝑧 + 3𝑧 2 = 81

Which of the following is a vector tangential to it at the point on the surface with
coordinates (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = (1,2,3)?

(a) 2𝑖̂ − 3𝑗̂ + 3 𝑘̂

(b) 18𝑖̂ + 48𝑗̂ + 36 𝑘̂

(c) −3𝑖̂ + 2𝑗̂ + 6 𝑘̂

(d) −3𝑖̂ − 2𝑗̂ + 6 𝑘̂

A3 Consider the following differential equations:

𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦
= 𝑎𝑦(𝑡) , =𝑎
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

where 𝑎 is a positive constant. The solutions to these equations define a family of

curves in the x,y plane. What are these curves?

(a) Parabolas

(b) Circles

(c) Hyperbolas

(d) Ellipses
A4 Consider a mass m connected to a network of massless springs shown in the figure
below.
A
𝜃
𝜃 𝑚
B
A

The spring constant of spring A is 𝑘𝐴 , and that of spring B is 𝑘𝐵 . The springs are shown
in a relaxed position, and the angle 𝜃 in this position is 𝜋⁄3. The mass is displaced
horizontally by a small distance. What is the angular frequency of small oscillations of
m? (Ignore gravity and friction.)

(a) √(3𝑘𝐴 𝑘𝐵 )/[𝑚(2𝑘𝐵 + 3𝑘𝐴 )]

(b) √(𝑘𝐴 𝑘𝐵 )/[𝑚(𝑘𝐵 + 𝑘𝐴 )]

(c) √(2𝑘𝐴 𝑘𝐵 )/[𝑚(𝑘𝐵 + 2𝑘𝐴 )]

(d)
√(√3 𝑘𝐴 𝑘𝐵 )/[𝑚(𝑘𝐵 + √3 𝑘𝐴 )]
A5 Consider an object falling in air. In addition to gravity, it experiences an air resistance
force, 𝑅, given by 𝑅 = 𝑏𝑣, where 𝑣 is the speed and 𝑏 is a constant. If the object is
dropped from rest (𝑣 = 0 at 𝑡 = 0), the distance traversed by the object at 𝑡 = 𝑚/𝑏
is:

𝑚2 𝑔 1
(a) ( 2 )( )
𝑏 𝑒

𝑚2 𝑔 1
(b) ( 2 ) (1 − )
𝑏 𝑒

𝑚2 𝑔
(c) ( 2 ) (𝑒 − 1)
𝑏

𝑚2 𝑔 1
(d) ( 2 ) (2 − )
𝑏 𝑒
A6 A frictionless disk of mass m is balanced at rest on the edges of two platforms at
points A and B that are at equal height as shown below. The angle made by the line
joining the centre to point A (line CA) with the vertical is 𝜋/3.

What is the magnitude of the force exerted by point A on the disk?

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)
A7 Consider a particle of mass m moving in a one-dimensional potential of the form
1
𝑘𝑥 2 for 𝑥 > 0
𝑉(𝑥) = { 2
∞ for 𝑥 ≤ 0

In a quantum mechanical treatment, what is the ground state energy of the particle?

(a) 3 𝑘
ℏ√
2 𝑚

(b) 1 𝑘
ℏ√
2 𝑚

(c) 𝑘
ℏ√
𝑚

(d) 5 𝑘
ℏ√
2 𝑚
A8 The un-normalized energy eigenfunction of a one-dimensional simple quantum
harmonic oscillator in dimensionless units (𝑚 = ℏ = 𝜔 = 1) is

2/2
𝜓𝑎 (𝑥 ) = (2𝑥 3 − 3𝑥)𝑒 −𝑥

Which of the following are two other (un-normalized) eigenfunctions which are closest
in energy to 𝜓𝑎 ?

2/2 2/2
(a) (2𝑥 2 − 1)𝑒 −𝑥 ; (4𝑥 4 − 12𝑥 2 + 3)𝑒 −𝑥

2 /2 2/2
(b) 𝑒 −𝑥 ; (2𝑥 2 − 1)𝑒 −𝑥

2 /2 2/2
(c) 𝑥 𝑒 −𝑥 ; (4𝑥 5 − 20𝑥 3 + 15𝑥 )𝑒 −𝑥

2/2 2/2
(d) (2𝑥2 − 1) 𝑒 −𝑥 ; (4𝑥 5 + 20𝑥 3 + 15𝑥 )𝑒 −𝑥
A9 A quantum-mechanical state of a particle, with Cartesian coordinates x, y and z, is
described by the normalized wave function

𝛼 5/2 2 +𝑦 2+𝑧 2
𝜓(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = 𝑧𝑒 −𝛼√𝑥
√𝜋

For this state what are the angular quantum number ℓ, 𝐿2 and 𝐿𝑍 respectively?

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)
A10 A thin spherical shell of radius R has a constant surface charge density σ. This shell
is cut symmetrically into two pieces. What is the electrostatic force between the two
halves?

𝜋 𝜎 2 𝑅2
(a)
2 𝜖0

(b) 𝜋 𝜎 2 𝑅2
4 𝜖0

(c) 𝜎 2 𝑅2
𝜋
𝜖0

(d) 𝜎 2 𝑅2
2𝜋
𝜖0
A11 Consider a system of three electric charges: (i) a charge −𝑞 placed at the point
(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = (0,0, 𝑑), (ii) a charge +𝛼𝑞 placed at the origin and (iii) a charge −𝛽𝑞
placed at the point (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = (0,0, −𝑑).

𝑧
−𝑞

𝛼𝑞 𝑦

𝑥
−𝛽𝑞

The values of 𝛼 and 𝛽 are such that the monopole and dipole terms vanish in the
multipole expansion of the electrostatic potential.

What is the quadrupole term of the potential at a point (𝑥, 𝑦, 0)?

(a) 𝑞 𝑑2
4𝜋𝜖0 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )3/2

(b) 𝑞 𝑑2
2𝜋𝜖0 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )3/2

(c) 0

(d) 𝑞 1
4𝜋𝜖0 (𝑥 + 𝑦 2 )1/2
2
A12 In an infinite fluid of density there are two spherical gas bubbles of radii 𝑟1 and 𝑟2
respectively. The gas has density 𝜌𝑔 < 𝜌 . The centres of the bubbles are separated by
a distance 𝑅 ≫ 𝑟1 , 𝑟2 . If the space has no other forces than gravity, the bubbles will:

(a) Move towards each other due to an attractive gravitational force

4𝜋 2 𝑟13 𝑟23
2
𝐹 = 𝐺(𝜌 − 𝜌𝑔 ) ( )
3 𝑅2

(b) Move towards each other due to an attractive gravitational force

2 4𝜋 𝑟13 𝑟23
𝐹 = 𝐺(𝜌 − 𝜌𝑔 ) ( ) 2
3 𝑅

(c) Move away from each other due to a repulsive gravitational force

4𝜋 2 𝑟13 𝑟23
2
𝐹 = 𝐺(𝜌 − 𝜌𝑔 ) ( )
3 𝑅2

(d) Move away from each other due to a repulsive gravitational force

2 4𝜋 𝑟13 𝑟23
𝐹 = 𝐺(𝜌 − 𝜌𝑔 ) ( ) 2
3 𝑅
A13 A mass of 𝑀 kg of water at temperature 𝑇𝑎 is isobarically and adiabatically mixed
with an equal mass of water at temperature 𝑇𝑏 . The specific heat of water at constant
pressure is 𝐶𝑝 . What is the entropy change (Δ𝑆) of the system?

(𝑇𝑎 − 𝑇𝑏 )2
(a) Δ𝑆 = 𝑀𝐶𝑝 ln {1 + }
4𝑇𝑎 𝑇𝑏

(𝑇𝑎 + 𝑇𝑏 )2
(b) Δ𝑆 = 𝑀𝐶𝑝 ln {1 − }
4𝑇𝑎 𝑇𝑏

4𝑇𝑎 𝑇𝑏
(c) Δ𝑆 = 𝑀𝐶𝑝 ln {1 + }
(𝑇𝑎 − 𝑇𝑏 )2

𝑇𝑎 + 𝑇𝑏
(d) Δ𝑆 = 𝑀𝐶𝑝 ln { }
√𝑇𝑎 𝑇𝑏
A14 A string has 8 beads in a row, with 𝑛 identical red beads and (8 − 𝑛) identical blue
beads. When one of the red beads is replaced by a blue one, the entropy of the given
system changes from 𝑆 to 𝑆 + 𝑘𝐵 ln 2. All configurations of the beads are equally
probable. What is the value of n ?

(a) 6

(b) 2

(c) 4

(d) 8
A15 [In the previous version, the arrow on the segment MN was incorrectly marked.
This small typographical error has been fixed. The question and the correct
answer were clear from the text.]

An ideal gas on the Pressure (𝑃)-Volume (𝑉) diagram can be taken from point K to
point N along three different paths, as shown below. K → L → N, K → N, and K →
M → N. Which of the following options is a true statement?

(a) The change in internal energy is the same along each path

(b) The same work is done along each path

(c) The same amount of heat is added to each the gas along each path

(d) There is no work done along the path K → N

A16 A technician receives an electronic instrument on which the following circuit diagram
is drawn. Based on the shown timing diagram (binary values at pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 as a
function of time) measured by the technician, identify the fault in the instrument.

(a) An AND gate is used where an OR gate should have been used

(b) Input inverter acts like an OR gate

(c) Pin 4 shorted to ground

(d) Output inverter is faulty

A17 The minimum number of two input NAND gates required to obtain the output 𝑌 =
𝐴̅𝐵 + 𝐶̅ from three inputs 𝐴, 𝐵 and 𝐶 is:

(a) 3

(b) 7

(c) 4

(d) 6
A18 A student measures the radioactive decay of a material with a half-life of 13,000 years
with a Geiger counter. In the laboratory notebook, the student records the following
number of decays every 10 seconds:

158, 146, 145, 163, 154, 163, 160, 160, 152, 157, 154, 156, 149, 168, 152

The teacher suspects that the experiment was not done properly and the student
created the numbers manually.

Why would the teacher have such a suspicion?

(a) The variance is much less than the mean, unlike what is expected for a
Poisson distribution.

(b) The standard deviation is much less than the variance, as expected for a
Poisson distribution.

(c) The median is less than the mean, unlike what is expected for a Poisson
distribution.

(d) The median is greater than the mean, as expected for a Poisson distribution.
A19 Unpolarised light of intensity 200 W/m2 is incident on a set of two perfect polarisers
arranged one behind the other. The first polariser has its transmission axis at +55 0
with respect to the vertical and the second polariser has its transmission axis at +1000
with respect to the vertical. What is the intensity of the transmitted light?

(a) 50 W/m2

(b) 100 W/m2

(c) 1.98 W/m2

(d) 3.01 W/m2

A20 Two small loudspeakers A and B, separated by 15 cm, were pointed toward a small
microphone M at a distance 1.5 m away from the centre of the line AB, in the
perpendicular direction as shown in the sketch below.

A
M
B

The following sound intensity pattern was observed as a function of the position of the
microphone as it is moved parallel to AB.

The dips in the signal were repeated at the interval of 14.5 cm. The speed of sound in
the experiment’s background condition is 343 m/s. What can we conclude from this
information?

(a) The two loudspeakers are vibrating at frequency 23.65 kHz and they are out of
phase.

(b) The two loudspeakers are vibrating at frequency 23.65 kHz and they are in
phase.

(c) The two loudspeakers are vibrating at frequency 47.3 kHz and they are in
phase.

(d) The two loudspeakers are vibrating at frequency 47.3 kHz and they are out of
phase.
A21 The ionization potential of the H atom is 13.598 eV. If the mass of a proton is
1.673 × 10−27 kg, the mass of an electron is 9.109 × 10−31 kg and the mass of the
D nucleus is 3.344 × 10−27 kg, the ionization potential of the D atom is given by:

(a) 13.602 eV

(b) 13.594 eV

(c) 13.598 eV

(d) 27.188 eV
A22 Consider a spaceship S of length L is moving relativistically in the x direction with a
speed 𝑣𝑥 relative to an inertial reference frame F as shown in the figure. In S, a light
bulb is placed at the left end (point A) and a detector is placed at the right end (point
B). What is the time taken for light to travel from A to B in the reference frame F?

𝐿 1 + 𝑣𝑥 ⁄𝑐
(a) √
𝑐 1 − 𝑣𝑥 /𝑐

𝐿 𝑣2
(b) √1 − 𝑥
𝑐 𝑐2

𝐿 1 − 𝑣𝑥 ⁄𝑐
(c) √
𝑐 1 + 𝑣𝑥 /𝑐

𝐿 1
(d) 𝑐 √1 − 𝑣𝑥2 ⁄𝑐 2
A23 A beam of neutrons is incident normally upon a thick sheet of Cadmium. The mass
density of Cadmium is 𝜌 = 8.6 g cm−3 . The absorption cross-section of neutrons on
Cadmium nuclei is 2.5 × 10−20 cm2 . The atomic weight of Cadmium is known to be
112.40 g/mol. You may take 𝑁𝐴 = 6.02 × 1023 .

At what depth is the intensity of the beam reduced by a factor 1⁄𝑒 ?

(a) 9 𝜇m

(b) 9 fm

(c) 9 nm

(d) 900 fm
A24 An electron confined in a two-dimensional square box, is in the ground state. The
length of the side of this square is unknown, but it is seen that the electron jumps to the
first excited energy state by absorbing electromagnetic radiation of wavelength 4,040
nm. What is the length of one side of the square well?

(a) 1.91 nm

(b) 1.68 nm

(c) 2.55 nm

(d) 3.82 nm
A25 A student designed a new semiconductor with lattice constant 𝑎 that crystallizes in the
face-centered cubic (fcc) structure. The conduction band minimum of this
semiconductor lies at all momentum points equivalent to 𝑘⃗ = (0.5, 0,0) 𝜋/𝑎. How
many conduction band minimum points are inside the first Brillouin zone?

(a) 6

(b) 4

(c) 3

(d) 1
 Section C
C1 Consider the following matrix

1 5 −7 1
𝕄=(1 0 2 2)
9 −1 3 1
9 6 −7 −4

What is det 𝑒 𝕄?

(a) 1

(b) 𝑒

(c) 𝑒 1210

(d) 𝑒 −1210
C2 Let
+∞
2
𝐹 (𝜆) = ∫ 𝑑𝑥 𝑒 𝜆𝑥−𝑥
−∞

If the Taylor series expansion of 𝐹(𝜆) around 𝜆 = 0 is

𝐹 (𝜆) = 𝐹0 + 𝐹1 𝜆 + 𝐹2 𝜆2 + ∙∙∙∙

then the value of 𝐹2 is

+∞ 2 𝜋
(You might find the following integral useful: ∫−∞ 𝑑𝑥 𝑒 −𝛼𝑥 = √𝛼 for 𝛼 > 0)

(a) √𝜋/4

(b) √𝜋/8

(c) √𝜋/2

(d) √𝜋
C3 A horizontal constant force 𝐹 is applied on a uniform disc placed on a horizontal
surface. The mass of the disc is 𝑚, and the radius is 𝑟. The point of application of 𝐹 is
at a height ℎ (< 2𝑟) from the surface. The disc starts from rest at 𝑡 = 0 and rolls
without slipping. What is the speed of the centre of the disc at time 𝑡?

2𝐹ℎ𝑡
(a)
3𝑚𝑟

𝐹𝑡
(b)
𝑚

2𝐹𝑡
(c)
3𝑚

3𝐹ℎ𝑡
(d)
2𝑚𝑟
C4 A particle of mass m is attached to a massless
string of length L. The other end of the string
is fixed at a point P as shown in the figure. m
moves under gravity and the tension of the
string. The motion of the string is described
using the generalized coordinates 𝜃 and 𝜙
which change with time. 𝜃 is the polar angle
made by the string with the vertical and 𝜙 is
the azimuthal angle made by the projection of
the string on the xy plane. The conjugate
momenta to the variables (𝜃, 𝜙) are (𝑝𝜃 , 𝑝𝜙 ),
respectively.

Assuming that the string is tight throughout the motion, the Hamiltonian for the
system is given by:

1 𝜃
(a) [𝑝𝜃2 + 𝑝𝜙
2
cosec 2 𝜃] + 2𝑚𝑔𝐿 sin2 ( )
2𝑚 2

1 𝜃
(b) [𝑝𝜃2 + 𝑝𝜙
2
cosec 2 𝜃] − 2𝑚𝑔𝐿 sin2 ( )
2𝑚 2

1 𝜃
(c) [𝑝𝜃2 + 𝑝𝜙
2
sin2 𝜃] + 2𝑚𝑔𝐿 sin2( )
2𝑚 2

1 𝜃
(d) [𝑝𝜃2 + 𝑝𝜙
2
sin2 𝜃] − 2𝑚𝑔𝐿 sin2( )
2𝑚 2
C5 [In the previous version, the solution was erroneously marked as (a). This
typographical error has been fixed.]

Consider 𝑥̂ and 𝑝̂𝑥 as the quantum mechanical position and linear momentum operators
with eigenstates |𝑥 ⟩ and |𝑝𝑥 ⟩ and eigenvalues 𝑥 and 𝑝𝑥 , respectively.

The eigenvalue of 𝑥̂ acting on the state

|𝜓⟩ = 𝑒 𝑖𝑝̂𝑥 𝑎/2ℏ |𝑥 ⟩
is

𝑎
(a) 𝑥+
2

𝑎
(b) 𝑥−
2

(c) 𝑥+𝑎

(d) 𝑥−𝑎
C6 A particle of mass m moving in 1 dimension has the wavefunction

1 2 /2𝑎 2
𝜓 (𝑥 ) = 𝑒 𝑖𝑝𝑥 ⁄ℏ 𝑒 −𝑥
𝜋 1/4 √𝑎

Its average kinetic energy is given by

+∞ 2 𝜋
(You might find the following integral useful: ∫−∞ 𝑑𝑥 𝑒 −𝛼𝑥 = √𝛼 for 𝛼 > 0)

𝑝2 ℏ2
(a) +
2𝑚 4𝑎2 𝑚

2
√𝜋ℏ
(𝑝 + )
(b) 𝑎
2𝑚

2
√𝜋ℏ
(c) (−𝑝 + 𝑎 )

2𝑚

𝑝2 ℏ2 𝑝ℏ
(d) + 2 +
2𝑚 4𝑎 𝑚 2𝑚𝑎
C7 A smartphone emits electromagnetic radiation with a power of 1 Watt. What is the
approximate value of the r.m.s. magnetic field at a distance 25 cm from the phone?

(a) Tesla

(b) Tesla

(c) Tesla

(d) Tesla
C8 Each site of a linear chain of 𝑁 sites has a spin which can be in three different states
with energies 0, ±𝜖, as shown in the figure below.

The system has a constraint that the neighbouring spins cannot be in the same state. At
infinite temperature, the entropy of the system is given by:

3
(a) 𝑁 ln 2 + ln
2

(b) 𝑁 ln 3

(c) (𝑁 − 1) ln 2

(d) 𝑁 ln 2
C9 Consider a charge particle detection chamber as shown in the figure below. The
chamber is made of a set of parallel plates separated by 20 mm distance and connected
to the external resistance (R = 100 Ω) as shown in the figure along with the high voltage
power supply of 1 kV.

The chamber is filled with Argon (Ar) gas (ionization energy 16 eV). If a charged
particle passes through the chamber and loses sufficient energy, it ionizes the Ar atoms
and generates a small voltage pulse across the resistance R.

In an experiment, an alpha particle of energy 5.5 MeV enters the chamber at a distance
of 4 mm from the bottom plate, as shown, generating ion-electron pairs. If the effective
capacitance of the chamber is 100 pF, the measured voltage pulse shape would be best
described as:

(a) A sharp voltage pulse followed by a very weak broad pulse

(b) Two sharp voltage pulses of equal magnitude and opposite signs

(c) Two sharp voltage pulses of the same magnitude and sign

(d) No voltage pulse would be generated as both electrons and ions will neutralise
the charge collected by the capacitor
C10 A particular counting system has an average background rate of 50 counts/min. A
decaying radioisotope source was introduced and the total 168 counts were measured
in one minute. After a delay of 24 hrs, the system measured total 91 counts in one
minute. If these measurements were used for determining the half-life (𝜏) of the source
and if the average background rate, and the time have no errors, the % error
(100 × 𝜎𝜏 /𝜏) in the calculated half-life value due to counting statistics would be:

(a) 24.3 %

(b) 21.2 %

(c) 25.7 %

(d) 18.2 %
C11 The Hamiltonian for a Helium atom is given as 𝐻 = 𝐻0 + 𝐻𝐼 , where

(𝑝12 + 𝑝22 ) 2𝑒 2 2𝑒 2
𝐻0 = − −
2𝜇 4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟1 4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟2

and

𝑒2
𝐻𝐼 =
4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟12

where 𝜇 is the reduced mass of the electron, 𝑟1 and 𝑟2 are the distance of the electrons
from the nucleus, and 𝑟12 is the distance between the two electrons. The value of the
first ionization potential of the Helium atom is 24.6 eV.

What is the correction due to 𝐻𝐼 to the ground state energy of the Helium atom,
compared to 𝐻0 ?

(a) 29.8 eV

(b) −29.8 eV

(c) 84.2 eV

(d) −2.6 eV
C12 Oxygen (O) nuclei (𝑍 = 8) can be approximated as non-interacting protons and
neutrons filling up orbitals in the following order.

1𝑠1/2 , 1𝑝3/2 , 1𝑝1/2 , 1𝑑5/2 , 2𝑠1/2 , 1𝑑3/2 , …

where the subscript specifies the J quantum number. Given the binding energy of O
(𝐴 = 15) is 111.96 MeV, O (𝐴 = 16) is 127.62 MeV, and O (𝐴 = 17) is 131.76 MeV,
what is the difference between the energies of the 1𝑝1/2 and the 1𝑑5/2 orbitals?

(a) 11.52 MeV

(b) 15.66 MeV

(c) 4.14 MeV

(d) 19.81 MeV

C13 Consider a universe that always expands with a scale factor 𝑎 that increases with time
as 𝑎(𝑡) = 𝐶𝑡 2/3 where 𝐶 is a constant. Its expansion rate at time 𝑡 is defined by the
Hubble parameter
1 𝑑𝑎(𝑡)
𝐻 (𝑡 ) =
𝑎(𝑡) 𝑑𝑡

The current value of 𝐻(𝑡) in the universe is given by 𝐻0 = 975 km s−1 Mpc −1
where 1 Mpc = 3.1 × 1022 m. What is the approximate age of this universe?

(a) 109 years

(b) 107 years

(c) 1011 years

(d) 1013 years

C14 An X-ray of wavelength 3.1 Å incident on the (110) plane of a cubic lattice with lattice
constant a produces a second-order Bragg reflection at 𝜃 = 30° (𝜃 is the angle
measured from normal to the plane as shown in the figure).

What is the value of a?

(a) 5.06 Å

(b) 8.77 Å

(c) 3.58 Å

(d) 5.46 Å
C15 Consider an unstable bound state 𝐵 of a proton (𝑝) with an antiproton (𝑝̅), which is in
the S-state (ℓ = 0) in the spin-singlet configuration. When this state 𝐵 decays, which
of the following final states will NOT be possible?

(a) 𝛾+𝛾+𝛾

(b) 𝜇+ + 𝜇− + 𝛾

(c) 𝛾+𝛾

(d) 𝑒+ + 𝑒− + 𝛾