XII MODULE - IV

MODERN PHYSICS

Modus Operandi for Practice

(Suggested Ideal Approach)

Step – I CatalyseR 's Practice Sheets & NCERT

{while Chapter is running in Class-Room}
(Mandatory)

Step – II CatalyseR 's Module & Exercise of Concepts of Physics

by Dr. HC verma
(Mandatory)

Step – III Previous Years’ JEE Subjective & Objective Questions,

Fundamentals of Physics by Rensnick, Halliday & Walker
(Mandatory)

Step – IV After Completion of Step – III, if time permits, students can solve
questions from previous year’s INPHO, IPHO papers, Physics books by
(Optional) DC Pandey sir, General Problems in physics by I.E. Irodov etc.

This Study Package is Prepared by

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 MODERN PHYSICS
INDEX

 CONCEPTS IN BRIEF (Modern Physics) 1 – 19

 SOLVED EXAMPLES 20 – 28
 EXERCISE # 01 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 01) 29 – 33
 EXERCISE # 02 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 02) 34 – 39
 EXERCISE # 03 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 03) 40 – 47
 EXERCISE # 04 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 01) 48 – 51
 EXERCISE # 05 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 02) 52 – 56
 EXERCISE # 06 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 03) 57 – 60
 EXERCISE # 07 KVPY, OLYMPIADS & INPHO QUESTIONS 61 – 62
 EXERCISE # 08 JEE (MAIN) CORNER 64 – 70
 EXERCISE # 09 JEE (ADVANCED) CORNER 71 – 81
 ANSWER KEYS 82 – 87

WEIGHTAGE OF ‘MODERN PHYSICS’ IN JEE (MAIN & ADVANCED) in Last Three Years

JEE (MAIN) Formely known as AIEEE

MARK /
YEAR No. Of Qs.
PHYSICS TOTAL MARKS
2015 2 8/120
2016 2 8/120
2017 3 12/120

JEE (ADVANCED)

MARK /
YEAR No. Of Qs.
PHYSICS TOTAL MARKS
2015 6 22/168
2016 7 23/124
2017 2 6/122
 MODERN PHYSICS 1

MODERN PHYSICS
1.1 | WAVE PARTICLE DAULITY

Despite their wave nature, electromagnetic radiations, have properties alike to those of particles.
Electromagnetic radiation is an emission with a dual nature i.e. it has both wave and particle
aspects. In particular, the energy conveyed by an electromagnetic wave is always carried in
packets whose magnitude is proportional to frequency of the wave. These packets of energy are
called photons.

Energy of photon is E  h. f , where h is Planck’s constant, and f is frequency of wave.

According to de-Broglie

As wave behaves like material particles, similarly matter also behaves like waves. According to
him, a wavelength of the matter wave associated with a particle is given by
h h
  ,
p mv
where m is the mass and v is velocity of the particle.
If an electron is accelerated through a potential difference of V volt,
1
then me v 2  eV
2
2eV
or v
me

h h
  
me v 2eVm e
(It is assumed that the voltage V is not more than several tens of Kilovolt)

1.2 | PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon of emission of electrons by a metallic surface under
the action of light.

Observation of the experiments on Photo-Electric Effect:

(i) The emission of photoelectrons is instantaneous.

(ii) the number of photoelectrons emitted per second is proportional to the intensity of the
incident light.
(iii) The maximum velocity with which electrons emerge is dependent only on the frequency
and not on the intensity of the incident light.
(iv) There is always a lower limit of frequency called threshold frequency below which no
emission takes place, whatever high the intensity of the incident radiation may be.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

2 MODERN PHYSICS

1.2.1 | WORK FUNCTION

The minimum amount of work or energy necessary to take a free electron out of a
metal against the attractive forces of surrounding positive ions inside metals is called
the work function of the metal.
W0  h0 ,
where 0 is the threshold frequency.
An electron can undergo collisions with other electrons, protons or macroscopically with
the atom. In this process it will fritter away its energy.
Therefore, electrons with K.E. ranging from 0 to K. E.max will be produced.

1.2.2 | EINSTEIN’S PHOTOELECTRIC EQUATION

According to Einstein, photon energy is utilized for two purposes.

(i) Partly for getting the electron free from the atom and away from the metal
surface. This energy is known as the photoelectric work function of the metal and
is represented by W0 .

(ii) The balance of the photon energy is used up in giving the electron a Kinetic
1
Energy of mv 2 .
2
1
h  W0  mv 2 .
2
In the case the photon energy is just sufficient to liberate the electron only, the
Kinetic Energy of the electron is zero.
i.e., h0  W0

where 0 is the threshold frequency and W0 is the work function. If the

frequency of incident light is less than 0 , no photoelectric emission takes place.
Kinetic Energy of photoelectrons is KE  hf  hf 0  h(f  f0 )

1 1  1 1 
 hc     12400    eV .
  0    0 

1.2.3 | STOPPING POTENTIAL

This is the value of negative potential difference which just stops the electrons with
maximum kinetic energy from reaching the anode. If Vs is the stopping potential, then
1 2
eVs  mv max .
2

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 MODERN PHYSICS 3

1.3 | BOHR’S MODEL OF HYDROGEN LIKE ATOMS

Bohr postulated in his H-atom model.

1. The electron is revolving round the nucleus in stationary orbits.
2. When an electron makes a transition from a higher orbit to a lower stable orbit, the
difference in the energy of the electron is radiated as a photon of energy h .
3. The angular momentum of the electron in the stationary orbits are quantised.
h
mvr  n where   . ( h is Planck’s constant).
2
n is called the quantum number; n  1 for the first stable orbit, 2 for the second orbit, etc.
The Bohr model is applicable not only for hydrogen but all hydrogen-like atoms i.e., atoms which
have been ionized to have a single electron revolving round the nucleus.

1.3.1 | CIRCULAR ORBITS

The atom consists of central nucleus, containing the entire positive charge and almost
all the mass of the atom. The electrons revolve around the nucleus in certain discrete
circular orbits. The necessary centripetal force for circular orbits is provided by the
Coulomb attraction between the electron and nucleus. So,
mv 2 1 (Ze)(e)

r 40 r2
where, m  mass of electron
r  radius of circular orbit,
v  speed of electron in circular orbit,
Ze  charge on nucleus,
Z = atomic number,
e  charge on electron  1.6  1019 C

1.3.2 | STATIONARY ORBITS

The allowed orbits for the electrons are those in which the electron does not radiate
energy. These orbits are also called stationary orbits.

1.3.3 | QUANTUM CONDITION (BOHR’S QUANTISATION RULE)

The stationary orbits are those in which angular momentum of the electron is an
integral multiple of
h
( )
2
 h 
i.e., mvr  n   , n being integer
 2 
or the principle quantum number

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

4 MODERN PHYSICS

1.3.4 | RADIUS OF ORBIT

mv 2 1 (Ze)(e) nh
Since, we have  …(i) and mvr  …(ii)
r 40 r2 2
nh
From (ii), v
2mr
n2h2 0 n2
Putting in (i), we get rn   rn  (0.53) Å
me2 Z Z
n2
So, for H-like atoms rn  .
Z

1.3.5 | VELOCITY OF ELECTRON IN NTH ORBIT

nh n2h2 0
Since V  and r
2mr me2 Z
 e2  Z
 V  
 2h0  n
 e2   cZ 
 V   
 2h0 c   n 
 cZ 
 V   
 n 
e2
where   is the Summerfield’s fine structure constant (a pure number) whose
2h0 c
1
value is .
137
 1  cZ
 V  
 137  n
c c
i.e. velocity of electron in Bohr’s First Orbit is , in Second Orbit is and so on.
137 274

1.3.6 | KINETIC ENERGY OF ELECTRON

Since, we have
mv 2 1 (Ze)(e) 1 Ze2
  mv 2 
r 40 r2 2 8 0r

1 Ze2
 EK  mv 2  .
2 8 0r

1.3.7 | POTENTIAL ENERGY (U) OF ELECTRON IN NTH ORBIT

1 (Ze)(e) Ze2
U  U
40 r 40r

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 MODERN PHYSICS 5

1.3.8 | TOTAL ENERGY (E) OF ELECTRON IN NTH ORBIT

Total Energy = K.E. + P.E.

Ze2 Ze2 Ze2
 E   E
8 0r 40r 80r
1
So, we conclude that Total Energy = – K.E.  (P.E.)
2
n2h2 0
Further, since r 
me2 Z
 me4  Z2 Z2
 E   2 2  2  E  (13.6) eV
 8h 0 n n2

 me 4  Z2 Z2
Also E    2 3  ch 2  E  (Rch)
 80 ch  n n2
where R  Rydberg’s constant
me4
  1.097  107 m 1 and
802ch3
Rch  Rydberg’s Energy  2.17  10 18 J  13.6 eV is the electron energy in first orbit of
H atom.

1.3.9 | FREQUENCY OF EMITTED RADIATION

If electron makes a transition (jumps) from final state nf to the initial state ni , then
frequency of emitted radiation v is given by
Ei  E f  hv

Ei  E f  1 1
or v  Z 2Rc  2  2 
h n
 f ni 

If c is the speed of light and  the wavelength of emitted or absorbed radiation, then
c  1 1
v  Z 2Rc  2  2 
 n
 f n i 

So, wave number (v) is given by

1  1 1
v  Z2R  2  2 
  nf ni 
This relation holds for radiations emitted by hydrogen-like atoms i.e.
H(Z  1), He (Z  2),Li (Z  3)
and Be   (Z  4)
If the electron makes a transition from n  1 to the higher states, it is absorption.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

6 MODERN PHYSICS

1.3.10 | HYDROGEN SPECTRUM

Initial Final Wavelength First Member- Series Limit Maximum Lines

State State Formula Second Member ni   to nf Wavelength Found
(nf  1) to nf in

ni = 2, 3, nf = 1 1 1 1 ni = 2 to nf = 1 From  to 1 From 2 to 1 UV
Lyman

 R 2  2 
4 4 Region
4, 5, 6,   1 ni  ni = 3 to nf = 1  
….. R 3R
  911Å   1216Å
ni = 3, 4, nf = 2 1  1 1 ni = 3 to nf = 2 From  to 2 From 3 to 2 Visible
Balmer

 R 2  2 
4 36 Region
5, 6, 7,  2 ni  ni = 4 to nf = 2  
….. R 5R
  3646Å   6563Å
ni = 4, 5, nf = 3 1  1 1 ni = 4 to nf = 3 From  to 3 From 4 to 3 IR
Paschen

 R 2  2 
6, 7, 8,  3 ni  ni = 5 to nf = 3 9 144 Region
 
….. R 7R
  8204Å   18753Å
ni = 5, 6, nf = 4 1  1 1 ni = 5 to nf = 4 From  to 4 From 5 to 4 IR
Brackett

 R 2  2 
16 400 Region
7, 8, 9,  4 ni  ni = 6 to nf = 4  
….. R 9R
  14585Å   40515Å
ni = 6, 7, nf = 5 1  1 1 ni = 6 to nf = 5 From  to 5 From 6 to 5 Far IR
Pfund

 R 2  2 
8, 9, 10,  5 ni  ni = 7 to nf = 5 25 900 Region
 
.... R 11R
  22790Å   74583Å

1.3.11 | RYDBERG CONSTANT

Rydberg Constant is given by

me4
R
802ch3
where m is mass of electron.

1.3.12 | RITZ COMBINATION PRINCIPLE

If electron is initially in an excited state with say n  3 , then it may transit downward
from n  3 level to n  1 level directly. Alternatively, it may first transit from
n  3  n  2 and subsequently from n  2  n  1 . In the first case if v 31 be the
frequency of the photon emitted
hv 31  E3  E1 …(i)

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 MODERN PHYSICS 7

In the second case, two different spectral lines (photons) of frequency v32 and v 21
respectively would be emitted given by
hv 32  E3  E2 and hv 21  E2  E1 …(ii)
(i) can be rewritten as
hv 31  (E3  E2 )  (E2  E1 )
 hv 31  hv 32  hv 21
 v 31  v 32  v 21

n=3
v32
n=2

v31 v21

n=1
Ritz made this discovery empirically (1908) long before Bohr proposed his theory and is
known as Ritz combination principle.
Generalizing, we may write, labeling the photon frequency by appropriate integers, as
follows:
hv sm  Es  Em
 hv sm  (Es  En )  (En  Em )
 hv sm  hv sn  hvnm (m  n  s) …(iii)
Since all combinations predicted by (iii)are not actually observed, there has been an
imposition of some rules, the so-called selection rules, to eliminate certain
combinations. Bohr’s theory provides, as discussed above, a proper explanation of the
combination principle.

1.4 | X - RAYS

X-rays are electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength (0.1Aº to 100 Aº ) and high energy
which are emitted when fast moving electrons or cathode rays strike a target of high atomic mass.

1.4.1 | RITZ COMBINATION PRINCIPLE

X-rays were discovered by Roentgen (1895) who found that a discharge tube,
operating at low pressure and high voltage, emitted a radiation that caused a florescent
screen in the neighborhood to glow brightly. Crystals of barium platinocyanide also
showed fluorescence. Results were same, if the discharge tube is wrapped in black
paper, to prevent visible light. This indicated that some unknown radiation (X-rays)
were responsible for fluorescence. Roentgen then confirmed that X-rays are emitted,
when cathode rays (electrons) strike the wall of discharge tube.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

8 MODERN PHYSICS

1.4.2 | PRODUCTION OF X-RAYS (COOLIDGE’S TUBE)

X-rays are produced when energetic (fast moving) electrons strike a target such as a
metal piece. When electrons collide with the atoms of solid, they loose their kinetic
energy which is converted into radiant energy in the form of X-rays. The figure shown
essential features of a modern X-ray tube developed by Coolidge.
Coolidge’s X-ray tube consists of a glass bulb exhausted to nearly perfect vacuum. The
cathode C is the source of electrons by using a heated filament getting supply from
battery B . The anode is made of solid copper bar A . A high melting metal like
platinum or tungsten is embedded at the end of copper rod and serves as target T . A
high d.c. voltage V(50 kV) is maintained between cathode and anode.
V

B
F C e
e A
e

X-rays

The energetic electrons strike the target T and the X-ray are produced. Only about 1-
10% of the energy of the electrons is converted to X-rays and the rest is converted into
the heat. The target T as a result becomes very hot and therefore should have high
melting point. The heat generated is dissipated through the copper rod and the anode
is cooled by water flowing through the anode.
The nature of emitted X-rays depends on:
(i) the current in the filament F
(ii) the voltage between the filament and the anode.

* An increase in the filament current increase the number of electrons it emits. Larger
number of electrons means an intense beam of X-rays is produced. This way we can
control the quantity of X-rays i.e. Intensity of X-rays.

* An increase in the voltage of the tube increase the kinetic energy of electrons
(eV  1/ 2mv 2 ) . When such highly energetic beam of electrons are suddenly stopped
by the target, an energetic beam of X-rays is produced. This way we can control the
quality of X-rays i.e. penetration power of X-rays .

 Based on penetrating power, X-rays are classified into two types. HARD-rays and
SOFT-X-rays. The first one having high energy and hence high penetration power are
HARD-X-rays and another one with low energy and hence low penetration power are
SOFT-X-rays.

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 MODERN PHYSICS 9

1.4.3 | PROPERTIES OF X-RAYS

1. These are highly penetrating rays and can pass through several materials which
are opaque to ordinary light.
2. They ionize the gas through which they pass. While passing through a gas, they
knock out electrons from several of the neutral atoms, leaving these atoms with
+ve charge.
3. They cause fluorescence in several materials. A plate coated with barium
platinocyanide, ZnS (zinc sulphide) etc becomes luminous when exposed to X-
rays.
4. They affect photographic plates especially designed for the purpose.
5. They are not deflected by electric and magnetic fields, showing that they are not
charged particles.
6. They show all the properties of the waves except refraction. They show
diffraction patterns when passed through a crystal which behaves like a grating.

1.4.4 | APPLICATION OF X-RAYS

X-rays have important and useful applications in surgery, medicine, engineering and
studies of crystal structures.

1. Scientific Applications:
The diffraction of X-rays at crystals opened new dimension to X-rays
crystallography. Various diffraction patterns are used in determining internal
structure of crystals. The spacing and despositions of atoms of a crystal can be
precisely determined used Bragg’s Law: n  2dsin  .

2. Industrial Applications:
Since X-rays can penetrate through various materials, they are used in industry
to detect defects in metallic structures is big machines, railway tracks and
bridges. X-rays are used to analyse the composition of alloys and pearls.

3. In Radio Therapy:
X-rays can cause damage to the tissues of body (cells are ionized and molecules
are broken). So X-rays damages the malignant growths like cancer and tumors
which are dangerous to life, when it used in proper and controlled intensities.

4. In Medicine and Surgery:

X-rays are absorbed more in heavy elements than the lighter ones. Since bones
(containing calcium and phosphorus) absorb more X-rays than the surrounding
tissues (containing light elements like H,C,O ), their shadow is casted on the
photographic plate. So the cracks or Fracture in bones can be easily located.
Similarly intestine and digestive system abnormalities are also detected by X-
rays.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

10 MODERN PHYSICS

1.4.5 | X-RAY OBSERPTION

The intensity of X-rays at any point may be defined as the energy falling per second per
unit area held perpendicular to the direction of energy flow. The intensity of a X-rays
beam decreases during its passage through the sheet of any material. The decrease in
the intensity of X-rays is due to the absorption of X-rays by the material.

Let I0 be the intensity of incident beam and I be the intensity of beam after penetrating
a thickness x of the material, then I  I0 e x ; where  : coefficient of absorption or
absorption coefficient of a material. The absorption coefficient depends upon wave
length of X-rays, density of material and atomic number of material. The elements of
high atomic mass and high density absorb X-rays to a higher degree.

1.4.6 | X-RAY DIFFRACTION & BRAGG’S LAW

X-rays are electromagnetic radiation of low wavelength (0.1Aº to 100Aº ) . For studying
the diffraction pattern of X-rays, we require size of slit equal to or order of the
wavelength of X-rays. The spacing of atoms or molecules in crystals is of the order of a
few angstroms (Aº). Thus the crystals are used to measure the wavelengths of X-rays,
just like gratings are used to determine wavelengths of visible radiations.

X-rays emanating from X-ray tube pass through two holes in two lead screens
and then falls on the crystal. After emerging from the crystal (showing diffraction), X-
rays falls on the photographic plate to produce a wavelike circular patterns. These
patterns were called as Laue’s pattern. This experiment also confirms the wave nature
of X-rays.

The simplified version and diagram of X-rays spectrometer is shown here. It is

used to determine wavelength of X-rays. From a tube, narrowed down to a fine line by
means of simple stopper slits, S1 and S2 are incident on a crystal at an angle  . The
crystal is mounted on a graduated turn table. The reflected X-rays pass through a
detector which contains a ionization chamber. The position of ionization chamber and
tube is kept lined. The gas in ionization chamber gets ionized due to diffracted X-rays
and the intensity of reflected X-rays is measured by electrometer. The angle ‘  ’ of the
reflected X-rays is calculated from graduated turn table for maximum intensity.
ionisation
chamber

reflected
x-ray

x-ray incident
x-ray 
crystal

S1 S2
turn table

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 MODERN PHYSICS 11

1.4.7 | BRAGG’S LAW AND SPECTROMETER

When beam of x-rays is incident on a crystal. The path N
difference between the two rays AOA and BOB is
A A
PO  PO  2dsin  . If the path difference is m  , one
gets constructive interference.  

2dsin   m   B d
B
where  = grating angle P P
d = interatomic distance O
m = order of diffraction

1.4.8 | BRAGG’S LAW OF X-RAY DIFFRACTION

The crystal behaves like a grating. The interatomic distance should be of the same
order as  . Different crystals are used for different wavelength regions. For each
wavelength even third orders.
At higher orders the wavelength will overlap as in the optical diffraction.
I
1st order
m=1
2nd order
m=2

1 3 
2

1.4.9 | X-RAY SPECTRA AND ORIGIN OF X-RAYS

Experimental observation and studies of spectra of X-rays reveal that X-rays are of two
types and so are their respective spectras are Characteristic X-rays and Continuous X-
rays.
Characteristic X-rays:
The spectra of this group consists of several radiations with specific sharp wavelengths
and frequency similar to the spectrum (line) of atoms like hydrogen. The wavelengths of
this group show characteristic discrete radiations emitted by the atoms of the target
material. The characteristic X-rays spectra helps us to identify the element of target
material.
Origin of Characteristic X-rays:
When the atoms of the target material are bombard with high energy electrons (or hard
X-rays), which posses enough energy to penetrate into the atom, knockout the electron of
inner shell (say K shell, n = 1). When an electron is missing in the ‘ K ’ shell, an electron
from next upper shell makes a quantum jump to fill the vacancy in ‘ K ’ shell. In the
transition process the electron radiates energy whose frequency lies in the X-rays region.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

12 MODERN PHYSICS

 1 1
The frequency of emitted radiation (i.e. of photon) is given by v  RZ 2e  2  2  ; where
 n1 n2 
R is constant and Z e is effective atomic number. Generally Z e is taken to be equal to
Z   , where Z is proton number or atomic number of the element and  is called the
screening constant. Due to the presence of the other electrons. The charge of the
nucleus as seen by the electron will be different is different shells.
ek

hv
(x-ray)
K L
K L
ei

ei
-
Knocking out e of K shell by incident electron ei emission of X-ray photon (K  - series)

Another vacancy is now created in the ‘ L ’ shell which is again filled up by another
electron jump from one of the upper shell (M) which results in the emission of another
photon, but of different X-rays frequency. This transition continues till outer shells are
reached. Thus resulting in the emission of series of spectral line.
The transitions of electrons from various outer shells to the inner most ‘ K ’ shell produces
a group of X-rays lines called as K-series. These radiations are most energetic and most
penetrating. K -series is further divided into K  , K  ,K  …. depending upon the outer shell
from which the transition is made.
The jump of electrons from outer shells to ‘ L ’ shell results in L-Series X-rays and so on.
n=
N
n=4 N
M M
n=3 M
L L M-series
 L
n=2 L
L-series

K
K K
 K

n=1 K
K-series
X-ray Series
If we plot v of K  X-rays as a function of Z , the atomic number of material, we obtain a

straight line. The relation of straight line is expressed as v  a(Z  b) , where a and b
are constant. This relation is called as Moseley’s Law. It helps to determine the atomic
number Z of an atom. Here b is the screening constant.

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 MODERN PHYSICS 13

Continuous X-rays:

In addition to characteristic X-rays, tubes emit a continuous spectrum also. The

characteristic line spectra is superimposed on a continuous X-rays spectra of varying
intensities. The wavelength of the continuous X-rays spectra are independent of material.

One important feature of continuous X-rays is that they end abruptly at a certain lower
wavelength for a given voltage.
X-ray photon
hv

K
K
Target
atom

Origin of Continuous X-rays:

If an electron beam of energy e V (electron volts) is incident on the target material; the
electrons are suddenly stopped. If the whole of the energy is converted to continuous
radiation, then min (corresponding to energy maximum)  hc / Ve where V is the
voltage applied.

The classical theory of electromagnetism states that the suddenly accelerated or

decelerated electrons emit radiations of electromagnetic nature called as Bremsstrahlung
(braking radiation) and wavelength of such radiation is continuous because the loss in
energy is statistical. At the peak, the probability of maximum number of electrons
producing radiation.

The wavelength of X-rays emitted is minimum corresponding to the electron which hits
the target with maximum speed. This electron is completely stopped and will emit the
photon of highest energy.

As the electrons lose energy by collision, longer wavelength are produced. The shape of
the curve is statistical.
K
50 kV
Relative intensity

K 40 kV
L
Intensity

K L 30 kV
M
20 kV

0.01  min 0.1 1.0 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10

Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)

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14 MODERN PHYSICS

1.5 NUCLEAR PHYSICS

1.5.1 | THE NUCLEUS

It exists at the centre of an atom, containing entire positive charge and almost the
whole of the mass. The electrons revolve around the nucleus to form an atom. The
nucleus consists of protons (+ve charge) and neutrons. (no charge)
 A proton has positive charge equal in magnitude to that of an electron,
(1.6  1019 C) and a mass equal to 1836 times that of an electron.
 A neutron has no charge and its mass is approximately equal to that of the
proton (1.6726  10 27 kg) . (1837 times that of an electron)
 The number of protons in a nucleus of an atom is called as the atomic number
(Z) of that atom. The number of protons and neutrons (together called Nucleons)
in the nucleus of an atom is called the mass number (A) of the atom.
 A particular set of nucleons forming an atom is called a nuclide. It is represented
as Z XA .
 The nuclides having same number of protons (Z), but different number of
nucleons (A) are called isotopes.
 The nuclides having the same number of nucleons (A), but different number of
protons(Z) are called isobars.
 The nuclides having the same number of neutrons (A–Z) are called isotones.

1.5.2 | MASS DEFECT & BINDING ENERGY

The nucleons are bound together in a nucleus and the energy has to be supplied in
order to break apart the constituents into free nucleons. The energy with which
nucleons are bound together in a nucleus is called Binding Energy (B.E.). In order to
free nucleons from a bound nucleus, this much of energy ( = B.E.) has to be supplied.

It is observed that the mass of a nucleus is always less than the mass of its constituent
(free) nucleons. This difference in mass is called as mass defect and is denoted as
m .

If mn = mass of neutron and mp = mass of a proton

M(Z, A) = mass of bound nucleus

Then, m  Z.mP  (A  Z).mn  M(Z, A)

This mass-defect is in form of energy and is responsible for binding the nucleons
together. From Einstein’s mass-energy relation,
E  mc 2 ( c speed of light; m mass)
 binding energy  m.c 2

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 MODERN PHYSICS 15

Generally, m is measured in amu units. So let us calculate the energy equivalent to 1

amu. It is calculated in eV (electron volts; 1eV  1.6  10 19 J )

1 1.67  10 27 (3  108 )2

E( 1amu)  eV  931 106 eV  931Me V
1.6  1019
 B.E.  m(931)MeV

There is another quantity which is very useful in predicting the stability of a nucleus called
as Binding energy per nucleons.
m(931)
B.E. per nucleons  MeV .
A

From the plot of B.E./Nucleons Vs mass number (A), we observe that:

 B.E./Nucleons increases on an average and reaches a maximum of about 8.7

MeV for A  50  80 .
 For heavier nuclei, B.E./nucleons decreases slowly as A increases. For the
heaviest natural element U238 it drops to about 7.5 MeV.
 From above observation, it is following that nuclei in the region of atomic masses
50-80 are most stable.
8.5 MeV

8
B.E.
A 6
(in MeV)
4
2

20 60 180 A
mass number

1.5.3 | NUCLEAR FORCES

The protons and neutrons are held together by the strong attractive forces inside the
nucleus. These forces are called as nuclear forces.

 Nuclear forces are short-ranged. They exist in small region (of diameter
10 15 m  1fm ). The nuclear force between two nucleons decrease rapidly as the
separation between them increases and becomes negligible at separation more
than 10 fm.

 Nuclear force are much stronger than electromagnetic force and gravitational
attractive forces.

 Nuclear force are independent of charge. The nuclear force between two proton
is same as that between two neutrons or between a neutron and proton. This is
known as charge independent character of nuclear forces.

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16 MODERN PHYSICS

1.5.4 | IN A TYPICAL NUCLEAR REACTION

 In nuclear reactions, sum of masses before reaction is greater than the sum of
masses after the reaction. The difference in masses appears in form of energy
following the Law of inter-conversion of mass & energy. The energy released in a
nuclear reaction is called as Q value of a reaction and is given as follows.
If difference in mass before and after the reaction is m amu
( m = mass of reactants minus mass of products)
then Q value  m(931)MeV
 Law of conservation of momentum is also followed.
 Total number of protons an neutrons should also remain same on both sides of a
nuclear reaction.

1.5.5 | NUCLEAR FISSION

The breaking of a heavy nucleus into two or more fragments of comparable masses,
with the release of tremendous energy is called as nuclear fission. The most typical
fission reaction occurs when slow moving neutrons strike 92 U235 . The following nuclear
reaction takes place.

92 U235  0 n1  56 Ba141  36 Kr 92  30 n1  200MeV

 If more than one of the neutrons produced in the above fission reaction are
capable of inducing a fission reaction (provided U235 is available), then the
number of fissions taking place at successive stages goes increasing at a very
brisk rate and this generates a series of fissions. This is known as chain reaction.
If mass of U235 sample greater than a certain size called the critical size then it is
capable of continuous fission by itself.

 If the number of fission in a given interval of time goes on increasing

continuously, then a condition of explosion is created. In such cases, the chain
reaction is known as uncontrolled chain reaction. This forms the basis of atomic
bomb.

 In a chain reaction, the fast moving neutrons are absorbed by certain substances
known as moderators (like heavy water), then the number of fissions can be
controlled and the chain reaction is such cases is known as controlled chain
reaction. This form the base of a nuclear reactor.

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 MODERN PHYSICS 17

1.5.6 | NUCLEAR FISSION

The process in which two or more light nuclei are combined into a single nucleus with
the release of tremendous amount of energy is called as nuclear fusion. Like a fission
reaction, the sum of masses before the fusion (i.e. of light nuclei) is more than the sum
of masses after the fusion (i.e. of bigger nucleus) and this difference appears as the
fusion energy. The most typical fusion reaction is the fusion of two deuterium nuclei into
helium.
H2 1 H2  2 He 4  21.6MeV
1

For the fusion reaction to occur, the light nuclei are brought closer to each other (with a
distance of 1014 m). This is possible only at very high temperature to counter the
repulsive force between nuclei. Due to this reason, the function reaction is very difficult
to perform. The inner core of sun is at very high temperature, and is suitable for fusion,
in fact the source of sun’s and other start’s energy is the nuclear fusion reaction.

1.6 | RADIOACTIVITY

The phenomenon of spontaneous emission of radiation or particles from the nucleus is called
radioactivity. The substances which emit these radiations are called as radioactive substances. It
was discovered by Henry Becquerel for atoms of radium. Later it was discovered that many
naturally occurring compounds of heavy elements like radium, thorium etc also emit radiations.

At present, it is known that all the naturally occurring elements having atomic number greater
than 82 are radioactive. For example some of them are; radium, polonium, thorium, actinium,
uranium, radon etc. Later on Rutherford found that emission of radiation always accompanied by
transformation of one element (transmutation) into another. Actually radioactivity is the result of
disintegration of an unstable nucleus. Rutherford studied the nature of these radiations and found
that these mainly consist of , ,  rays.

1.6.1 |   PARTICLES  2 He 4 
These carry a charge of 2e and mass equal to 4m p . These are nuclei of helium
atoms. The energies of  – particles vary from 5 MeV to 9 MeV and their velocities
vary from 0.01 – 0.1 times of c (velocity of light). They can be deflected by electric and
magnetic fields and have lower penetrating power but high ionizing power.

1.6.2 |   PARTICLES  1 e0 
These are fast moving electrons having charge equal to e and mass me  9.1
10 31 kg . Their velocities vary from 1% to 99% of the velocity of light (c). They can also
be deflected by electric and magnetic field. They have low ionizing power but high
+
penetrating power.  particles are positrons.

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18 MODERN PHYSICS

1.6.3 |   RADIATION  
0
0

These are electro-magnetic waves of nuclear origin and of very short wavelength. They
have no charge and no mass. They have maximum penetrating power and minimum
ionising power. The energy released in a nuclear reaction is mainly emitted in form of
 radiation.

1.6.4 | LAWS OF RADIOACTIVE DECAY

1. RUTHERFORD – SODDY LAWS (Statistical Laws):

 The disintegration of a radioactive substance is random and spontaneous.

 Radioactive decay is purely a nuclear phenomenon and is independent of
any physical and chemical conditions.
 The radioactive decay follows first order kinetics, i.e., the rate of decay is
proportional to the number of undecayed atoms in a radioactive substance
at any time t . If dN be the number of atoms (nuclei) disintegrating in time
dt , the rate of decay is given as dN / dt . From first order of kinetic rate
law:
dN
 N where  is called as decay or disintegration constant.
dt
Let N0 be the number of nuclei at time t  0 and Nt be the number of nuclei after time
t , then according to integrated first order rate law, we have:
N0 N
Nt  N0 e t  t  ln  2.303log 0
Nt Nt
The half life (t1/2 ) period of a radioactive substance is defined as the time in which one-
half of the radioactive substance is disintegrated. If N0 be the number of nuclei at t  0
, then in a half life T , the number of nuclei decayed will be N0 / 2 .
N0
Nt  N0 e t …(i)   N0 e T …(ii)
2
t /T n
N  1  1
from (i) and (ii) t      n : number of half lives
N0  2  2
The mean life (Tm ) of a radioactive substance is equal to the sum of lift times of all
atoms divided by the number of all atoms Tm  1/ 

2. SODDY FAJAN LAWS (Group-Displacement Laws):

 When a nuclide emits one  – particle ( 2 He 4 ) , its mass number (A)

decreases by 4 units and atomic number (Z) decreases by 2 units.
Z X A  Z  2 Y A  4  2 He4  Energy

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 MODERN PHYSICS 19

 When a nuclide emits a  - particle, its mass number remains unchanged

but atomic number increases by one unit.
Z X A  Z 1 Y A  1 e0  v  Energy where v is antineutrino.
In the nucleus, due to conversion of neutron into proton, antineutrino is
produced. It has no charge or mass, but has momentum. When a proton is
converted to a neutron, a neutron and a +ve  -particle is produced, which
is called as positron.  rays are electrons and  are the antielectrons or
positrons.
0 n1 1 p1  1 e0  v (antineutrino)

1 p1 0 n1  1 e0 (positron) + (neutrino)
 When a  particle is produced, both atomic and mass number remain
constant.
Antineutrino and neutrino share the energy of electrons and positrons. That
is the reason why the energy of  is continuous and  rays has an energy
maximum.

1.6.5 | ACTIVITY OF A RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPE

The activity of a radioactive substance (or radioisotope) means the rate of decay per
second or the number of nuclei disintegrating per second. It is generally denoted by A.
dN
 A
dt
If a time t  0 , the activity of a radioactive substance be A 0 and after time t  t sec,
 dN   dN 
activity be A 0 then: A 0     N0 A t     Nt  A t  A 0 et .
 dt  t 0  dt  t  t

1.6.6 | UNIT OF ACTIVITY

The activity is measured in terms of Curie (Ci). 1 curie is the activity of 1 gm of a freshly
prepared sample of radium Ra226 (t1/2  1602 yrs.)
1 curie  1Ci  3.7  1010 dps (disintegration per second)
1 dps is also known as 1 Bq (becquerel)  1Ci  3.7  1010 Bq



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20 MODERN PHYSICS

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Ex. 1. How may different wavelengths may be observed in the spectrum from a hydrogen sample if the
atoms are excited to states with principal quantum number n ?
Sol. From the n th state, the atom may go to (n  1) th state, …., 2nd state or 1st state. So there are
(n  1) th possible transitions staring from the n th sate. The atoms reaching (n  1) th state may
13.6Z2
make (n  2) different transit En   ions. Similarly for other lower states. The total number
n2
n(n  1)
of possible transitions is (n  1)  (n  2)  (n  3)  .....2  1  .
2

Ex. 2. A doubly ionized lithium atom is hydrogen-like with atomic number Z = 3. Find the wavelength of
the radiation required to excite the electron in Li2 from the first to the third Bohr orbit. Given the
ionization energy of hydrogen atom as 13.6 eV.
Sol. The energy of nth orbit of a hydrogen-like atom is given as
Thus for Li2 atom, as Z = 3, the electron energies for the first and third Bohr orbits are :
13.6  (3)2
For n = 1, E1   eV  122.4 eV
12
13.6  (3)2
For n = 3, E3   eV  13.6 eV
(3)2
Thus the energy required to transfer an electron from E1 level to E3 level is,
E  E1  E3  13.6  ( 122.4)  108.8 eV
Therefore the radiation needed to cause this transition should have photons of this energy.
hv = 108.8 eV
The wavelength of this radiation is
hc hc (6.63  1034 )  (3  108 )
  108.8 eV or    m  113.74 A.
 108.8 eV 108.8  1.6  1019

Ex. 3. A moving hydrogen atom makes a head-on inelastic collision with a stationary hydrogen atom.
Before collision both atoms are in the ground state and after collision they move together. What is
the minimum velocity of the moving hydrogen atom if one of the atoms is to be given the
minimum excitation energy after the collision?
Sol. Let u be the velocity of the hydrogen atom before collision and  the velocity of the two atoms
moving together after collision. By the principle of conservation of momentum, we have :
u
Mu  M  0  2M or 
2
The loss in kinetic energy E due to collision is given by
1 1
E  Mu2  (2M)2
2 2
1 1 1 1 1
As   u / 2 , we have, E  Mu2  (2M) (u / 2)2  Mu2  Mu2  Mu2
2 2 2 4 4

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 MODERN PHYSICS 21

This loss in energy is due to the excitation of one of the hydrogen atoms. The ground state
 n  1 energy of a hydrogen atom is :
E1  13.6 eV
The energy of the first excited level ( n  2 ) is :
E2  3.4 eV
Thus the minimum energy required to excite a hydrogen atom from ground state to first excited
state is :
E2  E1  [ 3.4  (13.6)] eV
 10.2 eV
 10.2  1.6  10  19 J
 16.32  10 19 J
As per problem, the loss in kinetic energy in collision is due to the energy used up in exciting one
1 4  16.32  10 19
of the atoms. Thus E  E2  E1 or Mu2  16.32  10 19 or u2 
4 M
The mass of the hydrogen atom is 1.0078 amu or 1.0078 1.66  10 27 kg.
4  16.32  10 19
 u2   39.02  108 or u  6.246  10 4 ms-1 .
1.0078  1.66  10 27

Ex. 4. A particle of charge equal to that of an electron, -e, and mass 208 times the mass of electron
(called  - meson) moves in a circular orbit around a nucleus of charge +3e. (Take the mass of
the nucleus to be infinite). Assuming that Bohr model of the atom is applicable to this system:
(i) derive an expression for the radius of the nth Bohr orbit.
(ii) find the value of n for which the radius of the orbit is approximately the same as that of
the first Bohr orbit for the hydrogen atom.
(iii) find the wavelength of the radiation emitted when the  - meson jumps from the third orbit
to the first orbit.
(Rydberg’s constant = 1.097  107 m 1 )
n 2 h2  0
Sol. (i) We have the radius of the nth orbit given by rn 
me 2 z
1 0n2h2
Substituting k  , Z  3 and m  208me , we get rn  .
40 624me e2
0h 2
(ii) The radius of first Bohr orbit for hydrogen is : r1 
me e2
For rn (  -mesonic atom) = r1 (hydrogen atom), we have
0 n2h2 0 h2
 or n2  624 or n  25
624me e2 me e2

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22 MODERN PHYSICS

mk 2 Z2 e 4
(iii) The energy for the nth orbit is given by En  
2n2 2
1 h 234m e4
Substituting m  208ee , Z  3, k  and   , we get En   2 2 e 2
4 0 2 0 n h
 m e 4  hc 1872Rhc m e4
 1872  2e 3  2   2
where R  2e 3 is the Rydberg’s constant.
 8 0h c  n n 8 0h c
When the  - meson jumps from the third orbit to the first orbit, the difference in energy is
radiated as a photon of frequency v given by hv  E3  E1
c hc 1 1 1  1
As v  , we have  E3  E1  1872Rhc  2  2  or  1872R  1  
  1 3    9
9 9
or    0.5478  10 10 m  0.5478 Å.
1872  8  R 1872  8  (1.097  107 )

ke 2
Ex. 5. Suppose the potential energy between electron and proton at a distance r is given by . Use
3r 3
Bohr’s theory to obtain energy levels of such a hypothetical atom.
Sol. As we know that negative of potential energy gradient is force for a conservative field.
dU
 F
dr
ke 2 dU  ke2  ke2
It is given that U Hence, force F     3   4
3r 3 dr  3r  r
According to Bohr’s theory this force provides the necessary centripetal force for orbital motion.
ke2 m2
  …(i)
r4 r
nh
Also mr  …(ii)
2
nh
Hence,  …(iii)
2mr
Substituting this value in Eq. (i), we get
mn 2h2 ke 2 42 e2km
 or r
4  2m2r 2r r4 n2h2
n3 h3
Substituting this value or r in Eq. (iii), we get  
82km2 e 2
2 3
1 ke 2 m  n3 h3  ke2  n2h2 
Total energy E  KE  PE  m 2  3   3 2 2    
2 3r 2  8 km e  3  ke2m42 

(n)6  h 
 where    .
6(ke 2 )2 m  2 

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 MODERN PHYSICS 23

Ex. 6. Consider a hypothetical hydrogen-like atom. The wavelength in A for the spectrial lines for
1500p2
transitions from n  p to n  1 are given by   where p = 2, 3, 4, ….
p2  1
(a) find the wavelength of the least energetic and the most energetic photons in this series.
(b) construct an energy level diagram for this element representing at least three energy
levels.
(c) what is the ionization potential of this element ?
hc 1500p2
Sol. As we know energy of a photon is given by E  From the given condition  
 p2  1

hc hc  1 10 hc  1  1
Hence, E    1  2   10 J  19 
1  2   1010 eV  8.28  1  2  eV
 1500  p  (1500)(1.6  10 )  p   p 
8.28
Hence energy of nth state is given by En  eV.
n2
(a) Maximum energy is released for transition from p   to p  1; hence wavelength of most
energetic photon is 1500 Å.
Least energy is released for transition from n  2 to n  1 transition.
For p  2   2000 Å
(b) The energy level diagram is shown in the figure.
(c) The ionization potential corresponds to energy required to liberate an electron from its
ground state.
i.e., ionization energy = 8.28 eV Hence, ionization potential = 8.28 V
n=3 -0.92 eV
n=2 -2.07 eV

n=1 -8.28 eV

Ex. 7. Calculate the wavelength of the emitted characteristic X-ray from a tungsten (Z = 74) target when
an electron drops from an M shell to a vacancy in the K shell.
Sol. Tungsten is a multielectron atom. Due to the shielding of the nuclear charge by the negative
charge of the inner core electrons, each electron is subject to an effective nuclear charge Z eff
which is different for different shells.
Thus, the energy of an electron in the nth level of a multielectron atom is given by
13.6Z2eff
En   eV
n2
For an electron in the K shell (n  1), Zeff  (Z  1) .
(74  1)2  13.6
Thus, the energy of the electron in the K shell is : EK    72500 eV
12
For an electron in the M shell ( n  3 ), the nucleus is shielded by one electron of the n  1 state
and eight electrons of the n  2 state, a total of nine electrons, so that Zeff  Z  9 . Thus the
(74  9)2  13.6
energy of an electron in the M shell is : EM    6380 eV
32

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

24 MODERN PHYSICS

Therefore, the emitted X-ray photon has an energy given by

hv  EM  EK  6380 eV  (72500 eV)  66100 eV
hc
or  66100  1.6  10 19 J

hc (6.63  10 34 )  (3  10 8 )
  m  m  0.0188  10 9 m.
66100  1.6  1019 66100  1.6  10 19

Ex. 8. If the short series limit of the Balmer series for hydrogen is 3646 Å, calculate the atomic no. of the
element which gives X-ray wavelength down to 1.0 A. Identify the element.
Sol. The short limit of the Balmer series is given by
 1 1 
v  1/   R  2  2  R / 4  R  4 /   (4 / 3646)  1010 m-1
2  
Further the wavelengths of the k  series are given by the relation
1 1 1
v  R(Z  1)2  2  2 
 1 n 
The maximum wave number correspondence to n   and, therefore, we must have
1 1 3646  10 10
v  R(Z  1)2 or (Z  1)2    911.5
 R 4  1 10 10
 (Z  1)  911.5  30.2 or Z  30.2  31
Thus the atomic number of the element concerned is 31.
The element having atomic number Z = 31 is Gallium.

Ex. 9. The disintegration rate of a radioactive sample at a certain instant is 4750 disintegration per
minute. Five minute later the rate becomes 2700 disintegration per minute. Calculate
(i) the decay constant, and
(ii) the half life of the sample. Given log10 1.76  0.2455 .
Sol. The rate of disintegration R is given by R  R 0 et where R0 is the initial rate at t = 0.
R0
(i) This equation gives  et
R
Taking the logarithm of both sides, we get
R0
loge  t
R
1 R 2.303 R
or   loge 0  log10 0
t R t R
According to problem, R0  4750, R  2700, t  5 min
2.303 4750 2.303 2.303
  log10  log10 (1.76) or    0.2455  0.1131 per min
5 2700 5 5
(ii) Half life is given by
loge 2 0.693
T1/2    6.13 min.
 0.1131

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 MODERN PHYSICS 25

Ex. 10. The mean lives of a radioactive substance are 1620 year and 405 year for  - emission and  -
emission respectively. Find the time during which three-fourth of a sample will decay if it is
decaying both by  - emission and  - emission simultaneously.
Sol. The decay constant  is the reciprocal of the mean life  .
1 1
Thus,   per year and   per year
1620 405
 Total decay constant,       
1 1 1
or    per year
1620 405 324
3
When th part of the sample has disintegrated, N  N0 / 4
4
N0
  N0 e t or e t  4
4
Taking logarithm of both sides, we get t  loge 4
1 2
or t loge 22  loge 2  2  324  0.693  449 year.
 

Ex. 11. There is a stream of neutrons with a kinetic energy of 0.0327 eV. If the half life of neutron is 700
second, what fraction of neutrons will decay before they travel a distance of 10 m? Given mass of
neutron = 1.675  10 27 kg.
Sol. From the given kinetic energy of the neutrons we first calculate their velocity. Thus
1
m2  0.0327  1.6  10 19
2
2  0.0327  1.6  10 19
 2   625  10 4 or   2500 m / s
1.675  10 27
with this speed, the time taken by the neutrons to travel a distance of 10 m is,
10
t   4  10 3 s
2500
N
The fraction of neutrons decayed in time t second is,  t
N
0.693
also, 
T1/2
N 0.693 0.693
  t   (4  103 )  3.96  106 .
N T1/2 700

Ex. 12. In the chain analysis of a rock, the mass ratio of two radioactive isotopes is found to be 100 : 1.
The mean lives of the two isotopes are 4  109 year and 2  109 year respectively. If it is
assumed that at the time of formation of the rock, both isotopes were in equal proportion,
calculate the age of the rock. Ratio of atomic weights of the two isotopes is 1.02 : 1. (
log10 1.02  0.0086 ).

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26 MODERN PHYSICS

Sol. At the time of formation of the rock, both isotopes have the same number of nuclei N0 . Let 1 and
 2 be the decay constants of the two isotopes. If N1 and N2 are the number of their nuclei after a
N1
time t, we have N1  N0 e1t and N2  N0 e2t   e( 1 2 )t …(i)
N2
Let the masses of the two isotopes at time t be m1 and m2 and let their respective atomic weights
be M1 and M2 . We have m1  N1M1 and m2  N2M2
N1 m1 M2
  . …(ii)
N2 m2 M1
N1 100 1 100
Substituting the value given in the problem, we get,  . 
N2 1 1.02 1.02
Let 1 and 2 be the mean lives of the two isotopes.
1 1
Then 1  and 2 
1 2
1  2 2  109  4  109
Which gives 1   2    0.25  109
12 (2  109 )  (4  109 )
Setting this value in Eqn. (i), we get
N1 9 1  100 
 e(0.2510 )t or t 9
loge  9
  18.34  10 year.
N2 0.25  10  1.02 

Ex. 1.3. The nuclear reaction, n 10 7 4

5 B 3 Li  2 He is observed to occur even when very slow-moving

neutrons ( Mn  1.0087u ) strike a boron atom at rest. For a particular reaction in which K n  0 , the
helium ( MHe  4.0026u ) is observed to have a speed of 9.30  10 6 m / s . Determine
(a) the kinetic energy of the (lithium MLi  7.0160u ), and
(b) the Q-value of the reaction.
Sol. (a)
Since the neutron and boron are both initially at rest, the total momentum before the reaction is
zero, and afterward is also zero. Therefore,
MLi Li  MHe He
We solve this for Li and substitute it into the equation for kinetic energy. We can use classical
kinetic energy with little error, rather than relativistic formulas, because He  9.30  10 6 m/s is not
close to the speed of light c, and Li will be even less since MLi  MHe .
Thus we can write:
2
1 1 M   M2 2
K Li  MLi Li2  MLi  He He   He He
2 2  MLi  2MLi

We put in numbers, changing the mass in u to kg and recalling that 1.60  10 13 J = 1 MeV:
(4.0026u)2 (1.66  1027 kg / u)2 (9.30  106 m/s)2
K Li   1.64  1013 J=1.02MeV
2(7.0160 u)(1.66  1027 kg / u)

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 MODERN PHYSICS 27

(b) We are given the data K a  K X  0, so Q  K Li  KHe where

1 2 1
K He  MHe He  (4.0026 u)(1.66  1027 kg / u)(9.30  106 m/s)2
2 2
 2.87  10 13 J=1.80MeV
Hence, Q  1.02MeV+1.80MeV=2.82 MeV

Ex. 14. A radioactive source in the form of metal sphere of diameter 10 3 m emits beta of metal sphere of
diameter 10 3 m emits beta particle at a constant rate of 6.25  1010 particles per second. If the
source is electrically insulated, how long will it take for its potential to rise by 1.0 volt, assuming
that 80% of the emitted beta particles escape from the source?
Sol. Let t  time for the potential of metal sphere to rise by one volt.
Now   particles emitted in this time
 (6.25  1011 )  t
Number of  -particles escaped in this time

 (80 / 100)  (6.25  1010 )t

 5  1010 t
 Charge acquired by the sphere in t sec.
Q  (5  1010 t)  (1.6  10 19 )
 8  10 19 t coulomb …(i)
( emission of  -particle lends to a charge e on metal sphere)
The capacitance C of a metal sphere is given by C  4 0  r
3
 1   10 
 9    
 9  10   2 
10 12
 farad …(ii)
18
we know that Q  C  V
{Here V  1 volt}
12
 10 
 (8  10 9 )t     1.
 18 
Solving it for t , we get t  6.95  sec.

Ex. 15. A small quantity of solution containing Na 24 radionuclide (half life 15 hours) of activity 1.0
3
microcurie is injected into the blood of a person. A sample of the blood of volume 1 cm taken
after 5 hours shows an activity of 296 disintegrations per minute. Determine the total volume of
blood in the body of the person. Assume that the radioactive solution mixes uniformly in the blood
of the person. (1 curie  3.7  1010 disintegrations per second).

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28 MODERN PHYSICS

Sol. We know that

0.693 0.693 0.693
T1/ 2  or     1.283  10 5 sec .
 T1/2 15  3600
dN
Now activity A   N0
dt
where A  1 micro curie  1 3.7  10 4  3.7  10 4 disintegrations/sec
 3.7  10 4  1.283  10 5 N0

3.7  10 4
N0   2.883  109
1.283  10 5
Let the number of radioactive nuclei present after 5 hours be N1 in 1cc sample of blood.
dN 296 0.693 296  15  3600
Then  N1 or  N1 or N1   3.844  105
dt 60 15  3600 60  0.693

Let N0 be the number of radioactive nuclei in per cc of sample, then

t /T
N1  1 
  or N0  (2) t/T  N1
N0  2 
 N0  (2)5/15  N1  (2)1/3  3.844  10 5  1.269  3.844  105 [  (2)1/3  1.269 ]
 4.878  105
N0 2.883  109 3
Volume of blood V    0.5910  10 4 cm = 5.91 litres.
N0 4.878  105

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 MODERN PHYSICS 29

EXERCISE # 01 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 01)

1. A proton and an electron are accelerated by same potential difference have de-Broglie
wavelength  p and  e .
(A) e  p (B)  e  p (C) e  p (D) none of these

2. In a photo-emissive cell, with exciting wavelength , the maximum kinetic energy of electron is K.
3
If the exciting wavelength is changed to the kinetic energy of the fastest emitted electron will
4
be:
(A) 3K/4 (B) 4K/3 (C) less than 4K/3 (D) greater than 4K/3

3. If the frequency of light in a photoelectric experiment is doubled, the stopping potential will
(A) be doubled (B) halved
(C) become more than doubled (D) become less than double

4. If h is Planck’s constant is SI system, the momentum of a photon of wavelength 0.01 Å is:

(A) 102 h (B) h (C) 102 h (D) 1012 h

5. The stopping potential for the photo electrons emitted from a metal surface of work function 1.7
eV is 10.4 V. Identify the energy levels corresponding to the transitions in hydrogen atom which
will result in emission of wavelength equal to that of incident radiation for the above photoelectric
effect
(A) n = 3 to 1 (B) n = 3 to 2 (C) n = 2 to 1 (D) n = 4 to 1

6. When a photon of light collides with a metal surface, number of electrons, (if any) coming out is
(A) only one (B) only two
(C) infinite (D) depends upon factors

7. Two radioactive material A1 and A 2 have decay constants of 10  0 and 0 . If initially they have
same number of nuclei, the ratio of number of their undecayed nuclei will be (1/e) after a time
1 1 1
(A) (B) (C) (D) 1
0 90 100

8. The frequency and the intensity of a beam of light falling on the surface of photoelectric material
are increased by a factor of two. This will :
(A) increase the maximum energy of the photoelectrons, as well as photoelectric current by a
factor of two.
(B) increase the maximum kinetic energy of the photo electrons and would increase the
photoelectric current by a factor of two.
(C) increase the maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons by a factor of greater than two
and will have no effect on the magnitude of photoelectric current produced.
(D) not produce any effect on the kinetic energy of the emitted electrons but will increase the
photoelectric current by a factor of two.

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30 MODERN PHYSICS

9. Let K 1 be the maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons emitted by a light of wavelength 1

and K 2 corresponding to 2 . If 1  2 2 , then :
K2
(A) 2K1  K 2 (B) K1  2K 2 (C) K1  (D) K1  2K 2
2

10. Radiation of two photon energies twice and five times the work function of metal are incident
sucessively on the metal surface. The ratio of the maximum velocity of photoelectrons emitted is
the two cases will be
(A) 1 :2 (B) 2 : 1 (C) 1 : 4 (D) 4 : 1

11. By increasing the intensity of incident light keeping frequency (v > v0) fixed on the surface of
metal
(A) kinetic energy of the photoelectrons increases
(B) number of emitted electrons increases
(C) kinetic energy and number of electrons increases
(D) no effect

12. In a photoelectric experiment, electrons are ejected from metals X and Y by light of intensity I and
frequency f. The potential difference V required to stop the electrons is measured for various
frequencies. If Y has a greater work function than X ; which one of the following graphs best
illustrates the expected results?

(A) (B) (C) (D)

13. Monochromatic light with a frequency well above the cutoff frequency is incident on the emitter in
a photoelectric effect apparatus. The frequency of the light is then doubled while the intensity is
kept constant. How does this affect the photoelectric current?
(A) The photoelectric current will increase.
(B) The photoelectric current will decrease.
(C) The photoelectric current will remain the same.
(D) None of these

14. de-Broglie wavelength of an electron in the nth Bohr orbit is  n and the angular momentum is Jn ,
then:
1
(A) Jn n (B) n  (C)  n  Jn2 (D) none of these
Jn

3h
15. The angular momentum of an electron in the hydrogen atom is . Here h is Planck’s constant.
2
The kinetic energy of this electron is:
(A) 4.53 eV (B) 1.51 eV (C) 3.4 eV (D) 6.8 eV

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 MODERN PHYSICS 31

16. Consider the following electronic energy level diagram of H-atom: Photons
associated with shortest and longest wavelengths would be emitted from
the atom by the transitions labelled:
(A) D and C respectively (B) C and A respectively
(C) C and D respectively (D) A and C respectively

17. If the electron in a hydrogen atom were in the energy level with n = 3, how much energy in joule
would be required to ionise the atom? (Ionisation energy of H-atom is 2.18  10 18 J ):
(A) 6.54  10 19 (B) 1.43  10 19
(C) 2.42  1019 (D) 3.14  1020

18. In hydrogen and hydrogen like atoms, the ratio of difference of energies E4n  E2n and E2n  En
varies with its atomic number z and n as:
(A) z 2 / n2 (B) z 4 / n4 (C) z/n (D) z0n0
th th
19. Difference between nth and  n  1 Bohr’s radius of ‘H’ atom is equal to it’s  n  1 Bohr’s
radius. the value of n is:
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4

20. The radius of Bohr’s first orbit is a0 . The electron in nth orbit has a radius:
a0
(A) na0 (B) a0 / n (C) n2 a 0 (D)
n2

21. The ionisation potential of hydrogen atom is 13.6 volt. The energy required to remove an electron
from the second orbit of hydrogen is:
(A) 3.4 eV (B) 6.8 eV (C) 13.6 eV (D) 27.2 eV

22. Electron in a hydrogen atom is replaced by an identically charged particle muon with mass 207
times that of electron. Now the radius of K shell will be
(A) 2.56  10 3 A (B) 109.7A (C) 1.21 10 3 A (D) 22174.4A

23. The frequency of revolution of electron in nth Bohr orbit is v n . The graph between logn and
log  v n / v 1  may be

(A) (B) (C) (D)

24. Consider the spectral line resulting from the transition n  2  n  1 in the atoms and ions given
below. The shortest wavelength is produced by :
(A) hydrogen atom (B) deuterium atom
(C) singly ionized helium (D) doubly ionized lithium

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32 MODERN PHYSICS

25. In an atom, two electrons move around the nucleus in circular orbits of radii R and 4R. The ratio
of the time taken by them to complete one revolution is : (neglect electric interaction)
(A) 1 : 4 (B) 4 : 1 (C) 1 : 8 (D) 8 : 1

26. The electron in hydrogen atom in a sample is in nth excited state, then the number of different
spectrum lines obtained in its emission spectrum will be :
(A) 1 + 2 + 3 + ..........+(n – 1) (B) 1 + 2 + 3 + ....................+ ( n )
(C) 1 + 2 + 3 + ..........+(n + 1) (D) 1 × 2 × 3 × ...................× (n – 1)

27. The "K  " X-rays emission line of tungsten occurs at   0.021nm. The energy difference
between K and L levels in this atom is about :
(A) 0.51 MeV (B) 1.2 MeV (C) 59 keV (D) 13.6 eV

28. Consider the nuclear reaction X200  A110  B90

If the binding energy per nucleon for X, A and B is 7.4 MeV, 8.2. MeV and 8.2 MeV respectively,
what is the energy released ?
(A) 200 MeV (B) 160 MeV (C) 110 MeV (D) 90 MeV

29. The binding energies of nuclei X and Y are E1 and E 2 respectively. Two atoms of X fuse to give
one atom of Y and an energy Q is released. Then:
(A) Q  2E1  E2 (B) Q  E2  2E1 (C) Q  2E1  E2 (D) Q  2E2  E1

30. Radius of the second Bohr obit of singly ionised helium atom is

(B) 1.06A (C) 0.265A

(A) 0.53A (D) 0.132A

31. An electron in Bohr’s hydrogen atom has an energy of 3.4 eV. The angular momentum of the
electron is
h h
(A) (B)
 2
nh 2h
(C) ( n is an integer) (D)
2 

32. In the uranium radioactive series the initial nucleus is 92 U238 , and the final nucleus is 82 Pb206 .
When the uranium nucleus decays to lead, the number of   particles emitted is.. and the
number of   particles emitted...
(A) 6, 8 (B) 8, 6
(C) 16, 6 (D) 32, 12

33. The radioactive sources A and B of half lives of 2 hr and 4 hr respectively, initially contain the
same number of radioactive atoms. At the end of 2 hours, their rates of disintegration are in the
ratio :
(A) 4 : 1 (B) 2 : 1
(C) 2:1 (D) 1:1

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 MODERN PHYSICS 33

34. In a RA element the fraction of initiated amount remaining after its mean life time is
1 1 1 1
(A) 1  (B) (C) (D) 1
e e2 e e2

R2
35. Activity of a radioactive substance is R1 at time t1 and R 2 at time t 2  t 2  t1  . Then the ratio
R1
is:
t2 t t 
(A) (B) e ( t1  t 2 ) (C) e 1 2  (D) e (t1  t 2 )
t1   

A0
36. The activity of a sample reduces from A 0 to in one hour. The activity after 3 hours more will
3
be
A0 A0 A0 A0
(A) (B) (C) (D)
3 3 9 9 3 27

226
37. The number of  and   emitted during the radioactive decay chain starting from 88 Ra and
206
ending at 82 Pb is
(A) 3  & 6  (B) 4 & 5   (C) 5 & 4  (D) 6 & 6  

38. A fraction f1 of a radioactive sample decays in one mean life, and a fraction f2 decays in one
half-life.
(A) f1  f2 (B) f1  f2 (C) f1  f2
(D) May be (A), (B) or (C) depending on the values of the mean life and half life

39. The decay constant of the end product of a radioactive series is

(A) zero (B) infinite
(C) finite (non zero) (D) depends on the end product.

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34 MODERN PHYSICS

EXERCISE # 02 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 02)

1. Let nr and nb be respectively the number of photons emitted by a red bulb and a blue bulb of
equal power in a given time.
(A) nr  nb (B) nr  nb (C) nr  nb (D) data insufficient


2. 103 W of 5000A light is directed on a photoelectric cell. If the current in the cell is 0.16A, the
percentage of incident photons which produce photoelectrons, is :
(A) 0.4% (B) .04% (C) 20% (D) 10%

3. Two electrons are moving with the same speed v. One electron enters a region of uniform electric
field while the other enters a region of uniform magnetic field, then after sometime if the de–
Broglie wavelengths of the two are 1 and 2 , then:
(A) 1   2 (B) 1   2
(C) 1  2 (D) 1  2 or 1   2

4. An electron with initial kinetic energy of 100 eV is acceleration through a potential difference of 50
V. Now the de-Broglie wavelength of electron becomes
   
(A) 1A (B) 1.5 A (C) 3A (D) 12.27A

5. Light coming from a discharge tube filled with hydrogen falls on the cathode of the photoelectric
cell. The work function of the surface of cathode is 4eV. Which one of the following values of the
anode voltage (in Volts) with respect to the cathode will likely to make the photo current zero.
(A) – 4 (B) – 6 (C) – 8 (D) – 10

6. A point source of ligth is used in a photoelectric effect. If the source is removed farther from the
emitting metal, the stopping potential :
(A) will increase (B) will decrease
(C) will remain constant (D) will either increase or decrease.

7. A point source causes photoelectric effect from a small metal plate. Which of the following curves
may represent the saturation photocurrent as a function of the distance between the source and
the metal ?

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

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 MODERN PHYSICS 35

8. In a photoelectric experiment, the potential difference V that must be maintained between the
illuminated surface and the collector so as just to prevent any electron from reaching the collector
is determined for different frequencies f of the incident illumination. The graph obtained is shown.
The maximum kinetic energy of the electrons emitted at frequency f1 is

V1
(A) hf1 (B) (C) h  f1  f0  (D) eV1  f1  f0 
(f1  f0 )

9. Cut off potentials for a metal in photoelectric effect for light of wavelength 1,  2 and 3 is found to
be V1, V2 and V3 volts if V1, V2 and V3 are in Arithmetic Progression and 1,  2 and 3 will be:
(A) Arithmetic Progression (B) Geometric Progression
(C) Harmonic Progression (D) None

10. Photons with energy 5 eV are incident on a cathode C , on a photoelectric cell. The maximum
energy of the emitted photoelectrons is 2 eV. When photons of energy 6 eV are incident on C, no
photoelectrons will reach the anode A if the stopping potential of A relative to C is
(A) 3 V (B) – 3V (C) – 1V (D) 4 V

11. In a photoelectric experiment, the collector plate is at 2.0V with respect to the emitter plate made
of copper   4.5 eV ). The emitter is illuminated by a source of monochromatic light of
wavelength 200nm.
(A) the minimum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons reaching the collector is 0.
(B) the maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons reaching the collector is 3.7eV.
(C) if the polarity of the battery is reversed then answer to part A will be 0.
(D) if the polarity of the battery is reversed then answer to part B will be 1.7eV.

12. In a hypothetical system a particle of mass m and charge –3q is moving around a very heavy
particle having cahrge q. Assuming Bohr’s model to be true to this system, the orbital velocity of
mass m when it is nearest to heavy particle is
3q2 3q2 3q 3q
(A) (B) (C) (D)
2 0h 40 h 2 0h 40 h

13. In a hydrogen atom, the binding energy of the electron in the nth state is En , then the frquency of
revolutionof the electron in the nth orbits is:
(A) 2En / nh (B) 2En n/ h
(C) En / nh (D) En n/ h

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

36 MODERN PHYSICS

14. In a hydrogen atom, the electron is in nth excited state. It may come down to second excited state
by emitting ten different wavelengths. What is the value of n:
(A) 6 (B) 7 (C) 8 (D) 5

15. An electron in hydrogen atom after absorbing energy photons can jump between energy states
n1 andn 2 n 2  n1  . Then it may return to ground state after emitting six different wavelengths in
emission spectrum. the energy of emitted photons is either equal to, less than or greater than the
absorbed photons. Then n1 andn2 are:
(A) n2  4,n1  3 (B) n2  5,n1  3
(C) n2  4,n1  2 (D) n2  4,n1  1

16. The electron in a hydrogen atom makes transition from M shell to L. The ratio of magnitudes of
initial to final centripetal acceleration of the electron is
(A) 9 : 4 (B) 81 : 16 (C) 4 : 9 (D) 16 : 81

17. The electron in a hydrogen atom makes a transition n1  n2 whose n1 and n2 are the principal
quantum numbers of the two states. Assume the Bohr model to be valid. The frequency of orbital
motion of the electron in the initial state is 1/27 of that in the final state. The possible values of n1
and n2 are
(A) n1  4,n2  2 (B) n1  3,n2  1
(C) n1  8,n2  1 (D) n1  6,n2  3

18. Monochromatic radiation of wavelength  is incident on a hydrogen sample containing in ground

state. Hydrogen atoms absorb the light and subsequently emit radiations of ten different
wavelengths. The value of  is:
(A) 95 nm (B) 103 nm (C) 73 nm (D) 88 nm

19. When a hydrogen atom, initially at rest emits, a photon resulting in transition n  5  n  1, its
recoil speed is about
(A) 104 m / s (B) 2  10 2 m / s (C) 4.2 m / s (D) 3.8  10 2 m / s

20. An electron collides with a fixed hydrogen atom in its ground state. Hydrogen atom gets excited
and the colliding electron loses all its kinetic energy. Consequently the hydrogen atom may emit a
photon corresponding to the largest wavelength of the Balmer series. The min. K.E.of colliding
electron will be
(A) 10.2 eV (B) 1.9 eV (C) 12.1 eV (D) 13.6 eV

21. The total energy of a hydrogen atom in its ground state is  13.6eV. If the potential energy in the
first excited state is taken as zero then the total energy in the ground state will be :
(A)  3.4eV (B) 3.4 eV
(C)  6.8eV (D) 6.8eV

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 MODERN PHYSICS 37

22. A neutron collides head on with a stationary hydrogen atom in ground state
(A) If kinetic energy of the neutron is less than 13.6eV, collision must be elastic
(B) if kinetic energy of the neutron is less than 13.6eV, collision may be inelastic.
(C) inelastic collision takes place when initial kinetic energy of neutron is greater than 13.6eV.
(D) perfectly inelastic collision cannot take place.

23. The electron in a hydrogen atom make a transition from an excited state to the ground state.
Which of the following statement is true ?
(A) Its kinetic energy increases and its potential and total energies decrease
(B) Its kinetic energy decreases, potential energy increases and its total energy remains the
same.
(C) Its kinetic and toal energies decrease and its potential energy increases.
(D) Its kinetic potential and total energies decreases.

24. The magnitude of angular momentum, orbit radius and frequency of revolution of electron in
hydrogen atom corresponding to quantum number n are L, r and f respectively. Then according to
Bohr's theory of hydrogen atom,
(A) fr 2L is constant for all orbits (B) f r L is constant for all orbits
2
(C) f rL is constant for all orbits (D) f r L2 is constant for all orbits

25. In a characteristic X– ray spectra of some atom superimposed on continuous X– ray spectra:
(A) P represents K  line
(B) Q represents K  line
(C) Q and P represents K  and K  lines respectively
(D) Relative positions of K  and K  depend on the particular atom

26. The binding energy per nucleon for C12 is 7.68 MeV and that for C13 is 7.5 MeV. The energy
required to remove a neutron from C13 is
(A) 5.34 MeV (B) 5.5 MeV (C) 9.5 MeV (D) 9.34 MeV

27. If each fission in a U235 nucleus releases 200 MeV, how many fissions must occurs per second to
produce a power of 1 KW
(A) 1.325  1013 (B) 3.125  1013 (C) 1.235  1013 (D) 2.135  1013

28. The rest mass of the deuteron 12 H, is equivalent to an energy of 1876 MeV, the rest mass of a
proton is equivalent to 939 MeV and that of a neutron to 940 MeV. A deuteron may disintegrate
to a proton and a neutron if it :
(A) emits a   ray photon of energy 2 MeV
(B) captures a   ray photon of energy 2 MeV
(C) emits a   ray photon of energy 3 MeV
(D) captures a   ray photon of energy 3 MeV

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38 MODERN PHYSICS

29. In an   decay the Kinetic energy of  particle is 48 MeV and Q-value of the reaction is 50
MeV. The mass number of the mother nucleus is: (Assume that daughter nucleus is in ground
state)
(A) 96 (B) 100 (C) 104 (D) none of these

30. 90% of a radioactive sample is left undecayed after time t has elapsed. What percentage of the
initialsample will decay in a total time 2t:
(A) 20% (B) 19% (C) 40% (D) 38%

31. A radioactive material of half-life T was produced in a nuclear reactor at different instants, the
quantity produced second time was twice of that produced first time. If now their present activities
are A1 and A 2 respectively then their age difference equals:

T A A1
(A) ln 1 (B) T ln
ln 2 A 2 A2

T A A2
(C) ln 2 (D) T ln
ln 2 2A 1 2A 1

32. There are two radionuclei A and B. A is an alpha emitter and B is a beta emitter. Their
distintegration constants are in the ratio of 1 : 2. What should be the ratio of number of atoms of
two at time t = 0 so that probabilities of getting  and  particles are same at time t = 0.
(A) 2:1 (B) 1:2 (C) e (D) e 1

33. Half life of radium is 1620 years. How many radium nuclei decay in 5 hours in 5 gm radium?
(Atomic weight of radium = 223)
(A) 9.1 1012 (B) 3.23  1015 (C) 1.72  1020 (D) 3.3  1017

34. Half life for certain radioactive element is 5 min. Four nuclei of that element are observed at a
certain instant of time. After five minutes
Assertion (A): It can be definitely said that two nuclei will be left undecayed.
Reasoning (R): After half life i.e. 5 minutes, half of total nuclei will disintegrate. So only two
nuclei will be left undecayed. Then
(A) A is correct & R is correct explanation of A.
(B) Both are correct. But R is not correct explanation of A.
(C) A is incorrect & R is correct.
(D) Both are incorrect.

35. A certain radioactive nuclide of mass number mx disintegrates, with the emission of an electron
and  radiation only, to give second nuclied of mass number m y . Which one of the following
equation correctly relates mx and m y ?
(A) my  mx  1 (B) my  mx  2 2
(C) my  mx  1 (D) my  mx

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 MODERN PHYSICS 39

36. The activity of a sample of radioactive material is A1 at time t1 and A 2 at time t 2  t 2  t1  . Its
mean life is T.
A1  A 2
(A) A1t1  A 2 t 2 (B)  constant
t 2  t1

(C) A 2  A 1 e(t1  t 2 )/T (D) A 2  A 1 e( t1 /Tt 2 )

37. A radioactive substance is being produced at a constant rate of 10 nuclei/s. The decay constant
of the substance is 1/ 2 sec 1 . After what time the number of radioactive nuclei will become 10?
Initially there are no nuclei present. Assume decay law holds for the sample.
1
(A) 2.45 sec (B) log (2) sec (C) 1.386 sec (D) sec
ln(2)

38. The radioactivity of a sample is R1 at time T1 and R 2 at time T2 . If the half life of the specimen is
T. Number of atoms that have disintegrated in time  T2  T1  is proportional to:

(A) R1T1  R2 T2  (B) R1  R2  T

(C) R1  R2  / T (D) R1  R2  T1  T2 

39. At time t  0, N1 nuclei of decay constant 1 & N2 nuclei of decay constant  2 are mixed . The
decay rate of the mixture is :
 1  2  t  N       t
(A) N1 N2 e (B)  1  e 1 2
 N2 

(C) 
 N1 1 e
1 t
 N2  2 e
2 t
 (D) + N11 N2  2e
  1  2  t



Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

40 MODERN PHYSICS

EXERCISE # 03 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 03)

ASSERTION AND REASON

Instruction for Assertion - Reason Type Questions :

(A) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is True; Statement-2 is a correct explanation for
Statement-1
(B) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is True; Statement-2 is NOT a correct explanation for
Statement-1
(C) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is false.
(D) Statement-1 is False, Statement-2 is True.

1. Statement – 1 : For pair production energy of  rays is greater than 1.02 MeV.
Statement – 2 : In pair production energy is converted into mass.

2. Statement – 1 : Classical physics is not able to explain photoelectric effect.

Statement – 2 : Maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons emitted should increase with
increasing intensity of incident light, according to classical physics.

3. Statement – 1 : Balmer series lies in visible regionn of electromagnetic spectrum.

1  1 1
Statement – 2 : Wavelength of lines in Balmer series is given by  R  2  2  and
 R n 
n  3,4,........

4. Statement – 1 : Out of nuclei 3 X7 and 3 Y 4 former is more stable.

Statement – 2 : Size of 3 X7 is larger than that of 3 Y 4 .

5. Statement – 1 : The unit of decay constant is s1.

Statement – 2 : It represents rate of disintegration.

6. Statement – 1 : 1 amu is equivalent to energy of 931 MeV.

Statement – 2 : Energy is released during nuclear fission.

7. Statement – 1 : A certain radioactive substance has half life period of 30 days. Its
disintegration constant is 0.0231day 1.
Statement – 2 : Decay constant varies inversely as half life.

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 MODERN PHYSICS 41

MULTIPLE CORRECT ANSWERS TYPE

8. In photoelectric effect, stopping potential depends on :

(A) frequency of the incident light
(B) intensity of the incident light by varies source distance
(C) emitter’s properties
(D) frequency and intensity of the incident light

9. An electron in hydrogen atom first jumps from second excited state to first excited state and then,
from first excited state to ground state. Let the ratio of wavelength, momentum and energy of
photons in the two cases be x, y and z, then select the wrong answer/(s) :
(A) z = 1/x (B) x = 9/4 (C) y = 5/27 (D) z = 5/27

10. An electron is in an excited state in hydrogen-like atom. It has a total energy of –3.4 eV. If the kinetic
energy of the electron is E and its de-Broglie wavelength is  , then
(A) E  6.8 eV,   6.6  10 10 m (B) E  3.4 eV,   6.6  10 10 m
(C) E  3.4 eV,   6.6  10 11m (D) E  6.8 eV,   6.6  10 11m

11. A particular hydrogen like atom has its ground state binding “energy 122.4eV. Its is in ground state.
Then:
(A) Its atomic number is 3
(B) An electron of 90eV can excite it.
(C) An electron of kinetic energy nearly 91.8eV can be brought to almost rest by this atom.
(D) An electron of kinetic energy 2.6eV may emerge from the atom when electron of kinetic
energy 125eV collides with this atom.

12. A beam ofultraviolet light of all wavelengths passes through hydrogen gas at room temperature, in
the x-direction. Assume that all photons emitted due to electron transition inside the gas emerge in
the y-direction. Let A and B denote the lights emerging from the gas in the x and y directions
respectively.
(A) Some of the incident wavelengths will be absent in A.
(B) Only those wavelengths will be present in B which are absent in A.
(C) B will contain some visible light. (D) B will contain some infrared light.

13. If radiation of allow wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared is passed through hydrogen agas at room
temperature, absorption lines will be observed in the :
(A) Lyman series (B) Balmer series (C) both (A) and (B) (D) neither (A) nor (B)

14. In the hydrogen atom, if the reference level of potential energy is assumed to be zero at the ground
state level. Choose the incorrect statement.
(A) The total energy of the shell increases with increase in the value of n
(B) The total energy of the shell decrease with increase in the value of n.
(C) The difference in total energy of any two shells remains the same.
(D) The total energy at the ground state becomes 13.6 eV.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

42 MODERN PHYSICS

15. Choose the correct statement(s) for hydrogen and deuterium atoms (considering motion of nucleus)
(A) The radius of first Bohr orbit of deuterium is less than that of hydrogen
(B) The speed of electron in the first Bohr orbit of deuterium is more than that of hydrogen.
(C) The wavelength of first Balmer line of deuterium is more than that of hydrogen
(D) The angular momentum of electron in the first Bohr orbit of deuterium is more than that of
hydrogen.

A 
16. Let A n be the area enclosed by the nth orbit in a hydrogen atom. The graph of ln  n  agains ln
 A1 
(n).
(A) will pass through origin
(B) will be a stright line will slope 4
(C) will be a monotonically increasing nonlinear curve
(D) will be a circle.

17. A neutron collides head-on with a stationary hydrogen atom in ground state. Which of the following
statements are correct (Assume that the hydrogen atom and neutron has same mass) :
(A) If kinetic energy of the neutron is less than 20.4 eV collision must be elastic.
(B) If kinetic energy of the neutron is less than 20.4 eV collision may be inelastic.
(C) Inelastic collision may be take place only when initial kinetic energy of neutron is greater
than 20.4 eV.
(D) Perfectly inelastic collision can not take place.

18. When a nucleus with atomic number Z and mass number A undergoes a radioactive decay process:
(A) both Z and A will decrease, if the process is  decay:
(B) Z will decrease but A will not change, if the process is   decay
(C) Z will decrease but A will not change, if the process is   decay
(D) Z and A will remain unchanged, if the process is  decay.

19. In a Coolidge tube experiment, the minimum wavelength of the continuous X-ray spectrum is equal
to 66.3 pm, then
(A) electrons accelerate through a potential difference of 12.75 kV in the Coolidge tube
(B) electrons accelerate through a potential difference of 18.75 kV in the Coolidge tube
(C) de-Broglie wavelength of the electrons reaching the anticathode is of the order of 10m .

(D) de-Broglie wavelength of the electrons reaching the anticathode is 0.01A

20. The potential difference applied to an X-ray tube is increased. As a result, in the emitted radiation:
(A) the intensity increases
(B) the minimum wave length increases
(C) the intensity decreases
(D) the minimum wave length decreases

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 MODERN PHYSICS 43

21. When the atomic number A of the nucleus increases

(A) initially the neutron-proton ratio is constant = 1
(B) initially neutron-proton ratio increases and later decreases
(C) initially binding energy per nucleon increases and later decreases
(D) the binding energy per nucleon increases when the neutron-proton ratio increases.
20
22. Let mp be the mass of a proton, mn the mass of a neutron, M1 the mas of a 10 Ne nucleus and M2
40
the mass of a 20 Ca nucleus. Then

(A) M2  2M1 (B) M2  2M1 (C) M2  2M1 (D) M1  10  mn  mp 

1
23. The decay constant of a radio active substance is 0.173  years  . Therefore :
(A) Nearly 63% of the radioactive substance will decay in (1/0.173) year.
(B) half life of the radio active substance is (1/0.173) year.
(C) one -forth of the radioactive substance will be left after nearly 8 years.
(D) all the above statements are true.
COMPREHENSION TYPE

COMPREHENSION # 01

A radioactive nucleus X decays to nucleus Y which further decays to a stable nucleus Z as given
below:
1
1 Y  sec 1
 x  0.1sec
X  30
 Y  Z  stable  .

Initially the sample contains nuclei of X only and its population is N0  1020. Further the
population of Y as function of time is given by
N0  x
NY  t  
x  y

e Y t  e X t 
Choose the correct answer :

24. If Nx ,NY and NZ represent population of X, Y and Z respectively at any instant of time t then -
dNY NY dNY N
(A)  (B)  0.1Nx  Y
dt 30 dt 30
dNY N dNY N
(C)  Y (D)  0.1NY  Y
dt 30 dt 30

25. The time at which population of Y is maximum is -

(A) ln 3 (B) ln 5 (C) 15 ln 3 (D) 5 ln 3

26. Population of X at instant when NY is maximum is :

10 20 3 1020
(A) (B) (C) 1020 3 (D) None of these
9 3

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

44 MODERN PHYSICS

COMPREHENSION # 02

The scatterting of photon by an electron is called comptom effect. Energy and momentum are conserved
in such an event and as a result the scattered photon has lesser energy (longer wavelength) than incident
photon.

h
Applying conservation of energy and momentum we get     1  cos   where  is wavelength of
m0 c
incident photon,  is wavelength of scattered photon, m0 is rest mass of electron. Now, consider
scattering of X rays of photon 10 pm.

27. The wavelength of X rays scattered through 45 is -

(A) 10.7 pm (B) 10.4 pm (C) 11.3 pm (D) None of thses

28. The maximum wavelength present in scattered X rays is -

(A) 11.3 pm (B) 12.4 pm (C) 114.9 pm (D) 14.86 pm

29. The maximum kinetic energy of recoil electrons is -

(A) 24.2 keV (B) 36.4 keV (C) 40.5 keV (D) None of these

COMPREHENSION # 03

An electron is orbiting in circular orbit of radius r under influence of constant transverse magnetic field B.
Assuming that Bohr’s postulate regarding the quantisation of angular momentum holds good for this
electron (h plancks constant, e is charge on electron and m is mass of electron)

30. Radius of nth orbit of electron will be -

2nh nh neh 2eh
(A) (B) (C) (D)
Be 2Be 2Be B

31. Kinetic energy of electron in nth orbit will be -

nhBe nhBe nhB nhB
(A) (B) (C) (D)
4m 2m 2em 4em

32. The potential energy of interaction between magnetic moment of orbital current due to electron
moving in its nth orbit and magnetic field may be -
nhB nhBe nhB nhBe
(A) (B)  (C)  (D) 
2me 4 m 2me 2m

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 MODERN PHYSICS 45

COMPREHENSION # 04

Work function of metal X is equal to 3.4 eV. Work function of metal Y is equal to ionization energy of He 
ion in second orbit. Photons of same energy E are incident on both X and Y. Maximum kinetic energy of
photoelectrons emitted from X is twice that of photoelectrons emitted from Y.

Choose the correct answer :

33. Work function of metal Y is -

(A) 3.4 eV (B) 3.4 eV (C) 13.6 eV (D) 13.6 eV

34. Value of E (in eV) is -

(A) 20.8 (B) 32.2 (C) 24.6 (D) 23.8

35. The difference in maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons from X and from Y -
(A) Increases with increase in E
(B) Decreases with increase in E
(C) First increases then decreases with increase in E
(D) Remains constant

COMPREHENSION # 05

A gas of hydrogen like ions is prepared in such a way that the ions are only in the ground state and the

first excited state. A light of wavelength 1216A is absorbed by the ions. The ions are lifted to higher
excited state and emit radius of 6 wavelengths some higher and some lower then the wavelength
absorbed.

Choose the correct answer :

36. Find the nuclear charge on the ions -

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 4 (D) 14

37. The principal quantum number of all excited state is -

(A) 1, 2, 3, 4 (B) 2, 3, 4, 5 (C) 1, 2, 3 (D) 1, 2

38. The maximum and minimum wavelength is -

   
(A) 4700A ,542 A (B) 7400A ,245 A
   
(C) 4700A ,245 A (D) 5670A ,245 A

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

46 MODERN PHYSICS

MATRIX MATCH TYPE

39. Match the following -

Column-I Column-II
(A) Photoelectric effect (P) Ionisation
(B) Saturation photo current (Q) Usually veryless
(C) Photon efficiency (R) Intenity of radiation
(D) Work function (S) Quantum nature of light
(T) Threshold frequency

40. Match the following -

Column-I Column-II
(A) Characteristic X-rays (P) X-ray tube voltage
(B) Continuous X-rays (Q) Knock out of e


(C) Cut-off wave length (R) Bremsstrahlung radiation

(D) X-ray production (S) Moseley’s law
(T) Duane Hunt law

41. Match the following -

Column-I Column-II
(A) Atomic excitation (P) Stationary orbit
(B) Lyman series (Q) Absorption spectrum
(C) Rydberg constant (R) Inelestic collision
(D) Bohr’s atomic model (S) Depends on mass of electron
(T) Line spectrum

42. Consider Bohr’s model to be valid for a hydrogen like atom with atomic number Z. Match
quantities given in Column-I to those given in Column - II.

Column-I Column-II
(A) Z3 (P) Angular speed
n5
(B) Z2 (Q) Magnetic field at the centre due to revolution of electron
n2
(C) Z2 (R) Potential energy of an electron in n th orbit
n3
(D) Z (S) Speed of an electron in n th orbit
n
(T) Frequency of revolution of electron

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 MODERN PHYSICS 47

INTEGER TYPE

43. The recoil speed (in m/s) in integer is when hydrogen atom emits a photon during the transition from
n = 5 to n = 1 is -

44. E, P and r are the energy, linear momentum and orbital radius of an electron in a hydrogen atom

corresponding to the quantum number ‘n’ then EPr is proportional to n then, find x -

45. In a coolidge tube the potential difference across the tube is 20 kV and 10 mA current flows through
the voltage supply. Only 0.5% of the energy carried by the electron striking the target in converted
into X-ray. Then the X-ray beem carries a power of x W. Find x -

46. In a sample of radioactive material, the fraction of the initial number of active nuclei will remain
1
undisintegrated after half of a half life of the same is .
x

 

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48 MODERN PHYSICS

EXERCISE # 04 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 01)

1. A parallel beam of uniform, monochromatic light of wavelength 2640 A has an intensity of
200W / m2 . The number of photons in 1mm3 of this radiation are ........................

2. When photons of energy 4.25eV strike the surface of a metal A, the ejected photoelectrons have
maximum kinetic energy Ta eV and de Broglie wavelength a . The maximum kinetic energy of
photoelectrons liberated from another metal B by photons of energy 4.7eV is Tb   Ta  1.5  eV. If
the De Broglie wavelength of these photoelectrons is b  2a , then find -
(a) The work function of a (b) The work function of b is (c) T a and T b

3. When a monochromatic point source of light is at a distance of 0.2 m from a photoelectric cell, the
cut off voltage and the saturation current are respectively 0.6 volt and 18.0 mA. If the same
source is placed 0.6 m away from the photoelectric cell, then find
(a) the stopping potential
(b) the saturation current

4. An isolated metal body is illuminated with monochromatic light and is observed to become
charged to a steady positive potential 1.0 V with respect to the surrounding. The work function of
the metal is 3.0 eV. The frequency of the incident light is ______________.

5. 663 mW of light from a 540 nm source is incident on the surface of a metal. If only 1 of each
5  109 incident photons is absorbed and causes an electron to be ejected from the surface, the
total photocurrent in the circuit is ________.

6. Light of wavelength 330 nm falling on a piece of metal ejects electrons with sufficient energy
which requires voltage V0 to prevent a collector. In the same setup, light of wavelength 220 nm,
ejects electrons which require twice the voltage V0 to stop them in reaching a collector. Find the
numerical value of voltage V0 .(Take plank's constant, h  6.6  1034 Js and 1eV  1.6  10 19 J )

7. A hydrogen atom in a state having a binding energy 0.85eV makes a transition to a state of
excitation energy 10.2eV. The wave length of emitted photon is ....................nm.

8. A hydrogen atom is in 5 th excited state. When the electron jumps to ground state the velocity of
recoiling hydrogen atom is ................ m/s and the energy of the photon is ............eV.

9. The ratio of series limit wavlength of Balmer series to wavelength of first line of paschen series is
.............

10. An electron joins a helium nucleus to form a He  ion. The wavelength of the photon emitted in
this process if the electron is assumed to have had no kinetic energy when it combines with
nucleus is .........nm.

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 MODERN PHYSICS 49

11. Three energy levels of an atom are shown in the figure. The wavelength corresponding to three
possible transition are 1,  2 and  3 . The value of  3 in terms of 1 and  2 is given by ______.

12. Imagine an atom made up of a proton and a hypothetical particle of double the mass of an
electron but having the same charge as the electron. Apply the Bohr atom model and consider a
possible transitions of this hypothetical particle to the first excited level. Find the longest
wavelngth photon that will be emitted  (in terms of the Rydberg constant R.)

13.  making 1016 revolution per

In a hydrogen atom, the electron moves in an orbit of radius 0.5A
second. The magnetic moment associated with the orbital motion of the electron is _______.

14. The positron is a fundamental particle with the same mass as that of the electron and with a
charge equal to that of an electron but of opposite sign. When a positron and an electron collide,
they may annihilate each other. The energy corresponding to their mass appears in two photons
of equal energy. Find the wavelength of the radiation emitted.
 
[Take : mass of electron  0.5 / C2 MeV and hC  1.2  10 12 MeV.m where h is the Plank's
constant and C is the velocity of light in air]

15. A small 10W source of ultraviolet light of wavelength 99 nm is held at a distance 0.1 m from a
metal surface. The radius of an atom of the metal is approximately 0.05 nm. Find
(i) the average number of photons striking an atom per second.
(ii) the number of photoelectrons emitted per unit area per second if the efficiency of liberation of
photoelectrons is 1%.

16. The surface of cesium is illuminated with monochromatic light of various wavelengths and the
stopping potentials for the wavelengths are measured. The results of this experiment is plotted as
shown in the figure. Estimate the value of work function of the cesium and Planck’s constant.

17. A hydrogen like atom has its single electron orbiting around its stationary nucleus. The energy to
excite the electron from the second Bohr orbit to the third Bohr orbit is 47.2 eV. The atomic
number of this nucleus is ______________.

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50 MODERN PHYSICS

18. A single electron orbits a stationary nucleus of charge Ze where Z is a constant and e is the
electronic charge. It requires 47.2eV to excite the electron from the 2nd Bohr orbit to 3rd Bohr
orbit. Find
(i) the value of Z,
(ii) energy required to excite the electron from the third to the fourth orbit
(iii) the wavelength of radiation required to remove the electron from the first orbit to infinity
(iv) the kinetic energy, potential energy and angular momentum in the first Bohr orbit
(v) the radius of the first Bohr orbit.

19. A hydrogen like atom (atomic number Z) is in higher excited state of quantum number n. This
excited atom can make a transition to the first excited state by successively emitting two photons
of energy 22.95eV and 5.15eV respectively. Alternatively, the atom from the same excited state
can make transition to the second excited state by successively emitting two photons of energies
2.4eV and 8.7eV respectively. Find the values of n and Z.

20. Find the binding energy of an electron in the ground state of a hydrogen like atom in whose
spectrum the third of the corresponding Balmer series is equal to 108.5nm.

21. Which level of the doubly ionized lithium has the same energy as the ground state energy of the
hydrogen atom. Find the ratio of the two radii of corresponding orbits.

22. The binding energies per nucleon for deuteron H

1
2
and helium  2 He 4  are 1.1 MeV and 7.0
MeV respectively. The energy released when two deuterons fuse to form a helium nucleus
 2 He 4  is ________.

23. A radioactive decay counter is switched on at t = 0. A   active sample is present near the
counter. The counter registers the number of   particles emitted by the sample. The counter
registers 1 105   particles at t  36s and 1.11 105   particles at t  108s. Find T1/2 of this
sample

24. An isotopes of Potassium 40

19 K has a half life of 1.4  109 year and decays to Argon 40
18 Ar which is
stable.
(i) Write down the nuclear reaction representing this decay.
(ii) A sample of rock taken from the moon contains both potassium and argon in the ratio 1/7. Find
age of rock

25. At t = 0, a sample is placed in a reactor. An unstable nuclide is produced at a constant rate R in

the sample by neutron absorption. This nuclide   decays with half life . Find the time required
to produce 80% of the equilibrium quantity of this unstable nuclide.

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 MODERN PHYSICS 51

26. Suppose that the Sun consists entirely of hydrogen atom and releases the energy by the nuclear
reaction, 4 11H 
 24He with 26 MeV of energy released. If the total output power of the Sun is
assumed to remain constant at 3.9  10 26 W, find the time it will take to burn all the hydrogen.
Take the mass of the Sun as 1.7  1030 kg.

27. Assuming that the source of the energy of solar radiation is the energy of the formation of helium
from hydrogen according to the following cyclic reaction :
6 C12  1H1  7 N13  6 C13  1 e0

6 H13  1H1  7 N14

7 N14  1H1  8 O15  7 N15  1 e0

7 N15  1H1  6 C12  2He 4

Find how many tons of hydrogen must be converted every second into helium. The solar constant
is 8J / cm2 min. Assume that hydrogen forms 35% of the sun's mass. Calculate in how many
years this hydrogen will be used up if the radiation of the sun is constant. me  5.49  10 4 amu,
atomic masses mH  1.00814 amu, mHe  4.00388 amu, mass of the sun  2  1030 kg, distance
between the sun and the earth  1.5  1011m. 1 amu = 931 MeV.

28. An electron of mass "m" and charge "e" initially at rest gets accelerated by a constant electric
field E. The rate of change of DeBroglie wavelength of this electron at time t is .................



Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

52 MODERN PHYSICS

EXERCISE # 05 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 02)

1. Find the force exerted by a light beam of intensity I, incident on a cylinder (height h and base
radius R) placed on a smooth surface as shown in figure if:

(a) surface of cylinder is perfectly reflecting

(b) surface of cylinder is having reflection coefficient 0.8. (assume no
transmission)

2. A small plate of a metal (work function = 1.17 eV) is placed at a distance of 2m from a
monochromatic light source of wave length 4.8  107 m m and power 1.0 watt. The light falls
normally on the plate. Find the number of photons striking the metal plate per square meter
per sec. If a constant uniform magnetic field of strength 104 tesla is applied parallel to
the metal surface. Find the radius of the largest circular path followed by the emitted
photoelectrons.

3. Electrons in hydrogen like atoms (Z = 3) make transitions from the fifth to the fourth orbit & from
the fourth to the third orbit. The resulting radiations are incident normally on a metal plate & eject
photo electrons. The stopping potential for the photoelectrons ejected by the shorter wavelength
is 3.95 volts. Calculate the work function of the metal, & the stopping potential for the
photoelectrons ejected by the longer wavelength. (Rydberg constant  1.094  107 m1 )

4. A beam of light has three wavelengths 4144A , 4972A & 6216A with a total intensity of
3.6  103 W.m2 equally distributed amongst the three wavelengths. The beam falls normally on
an area 1.0c m 2 of a clean metallic surface of work function 2.3 eV. Assume that there is no loss
of light by reflection and that each energetically capable photon ejects one electron. Calculate
the number of photoelectrons liberated in two seconds.

5.  falls on a photocell operating in saturating

Monochromatic radiation of wavelength 1  3000A
mode. The corresponding spectral sensitivity of photocell is J  4.8  10 3 A / w. When another
 and power P  5  10 3 W is incident, it is
monochromatic radiation of wavelength  2  1650A
found that maximum velocity of photoelectrons increases n = 2 times. Assuming efficiency of
photoelectron generation per incident photon to be same for both the cases, calculate
(i) threshold wavelength for the cell.
(ii) saturation current in second case.

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 MODERN PHYSICS 53

6. A monochromatic point source S radiating wavelength 6000 Å with power 2 watt, an aperture
A of diameter 0.1 m & a large screen SC are placed as shown in figure. A photoemissive detector
D of surface area 0.5 cm2 is placed at the centre of the screen. The efficiency of the detector for
the photoelectron generation per incident photon is 0.9.

(i) Calculate the photon flux density at the centre of the screen and
the photocurrent in the detector .
(ii) If a concave lens L of focal length 0.6 m is inserted in the aperture as shown, find the new values
of photon flux density & photocurrent Assume a uniform average transmission of 80% for the
lens.
(iii) If the work-function of the photoemissive surface is 1 eV, calculate the values of the stopping
potential in the two cases (without & with the lens in the aperture).

7. A small 10 W source of ultraviolet light of wavelength 99 nm is held at a distance 0.1 m from a

metal surface. The radius of an atom of the metal is approximaterly 0.05 nm. Find :
(i) the number of photons striking an atom per second.
(ii) the number of photoelectrons emitted per second if the efficiency of liberation of photoelectrons is
1%.

8. A neutron with kinetic energy 25 eV strikes a stationary deuteron. Find the de Broglie
wavelengths of both particles in the frame of their centre of mass.

9. Two identical nonrelativistic particles move at right angles to each other, possessing De Broglie
wavelengths, 1 & 2 . Find the De Broglie wavelength of each particle in the frame of their
centre of mass.

10. A stationary He  ion emitted a photon corresponding to the first line its Lyman series. That photon
liberated a photoelectron from a stationary hydrogen atom in the ground state. Find the velocity of
the photoelectron.

11. A gas of identical hydrogen like atoms has some atoms in the lowest (ground) energy level A &
some atoms in a particular upper (excited) energy level B & there are no atoms in any other
energy level. The atoms of the gas make transition to a higher energy level by the absorbing
monochromatic light of photon energy 2.7eV. Subsequently, the atoms emit radiation of only six
different photon energies. Some of the emitted photons have energy 2.7 eV. Some have energy
more and some have less than 2.7 eV.
(i) Find the principal quantum number of the initially excited level B.
(ii) Find the ionisation energy for the gas atoms.
(iii) Find the maximum and the minimum energies of the emitted photons.

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54 MODERN PHYSICS

12. A hydrogen atom in ground state absorbs a photon of ultraviolet radiation of wavelength 50 nm.
Assuming that the entire photon energy is taken up by the electron, with what kinetic energy will
the electron be ejected ?

13. A monochromatic light source of frequency n illuminates a metallic surface and ejects
photoelectrons. The photoelectrons having maximum energy are just able to ionize the hydrogen
atoms in ground state. When the whole experiment is repeated with an incident radiation of
5
frequency   , the photoelectrons so emitted are able to excite the hydrogen atom beam which
6
then emits a radiation of wavelength of 1215A . Find the work function of the metal and the
frequency  .

14. An energy of 68.0 eV is required to excite a hydrogen like atom from its second Bohr orbit to the
third. The nuclear charge Ze. Find the value of Z, the kinetic energy of the electron in the first
Bohr orbit and the wavelength of the electro magnetic radiation required to eject the electron from
the first Bohr orbit to infinity.

15. A classical model for the hydrogen atom consists of a single electron of mass me in circular
motion of radius r around the nucleus (proton). Since the electron is accelerated, the atom
continuously radiates electromagnetic waves. The total power P radiated by the atom is given by
e6
P  P0 r 4 where P0  (C = velocity of light)
96 3 03 C3m e 2
(i) Find the total energy of the atom.
(ii) Calculate an expression for the radius r (t) as a function of time. Assume that at t = 0, the radius
is r0 = 10–10 m.
(iii) Hence or otherwise find the time t0 when the atom collapses in a classical model of the hydrogen
atom.
 2 e2 1 
Take :  · 2
 re  3  10 15 m 
 3 4   0 me C 

16. Simplified picture of electron energy levels in a certain atom is shown in

the figure. The atom is bombarded with high energy electrons. The
impact of one of these electron has caused the complete removal of
K-level is filled by an electron from the L-level with a certain amount of
energy being released during the transition. This energy may appear as
X-ray or may all be used to eject an M-level electron from the atom. Find :
(i) the minimum potential difference through which electron may be accelerated from rest to cause
the ejectrion of K-level electron from the atom.
(ii) energy released when L-level electron moves to fill the vacancy in the K-level.
(iii) wavelength of the X-ray emitted.
(iv) K.E. of the electron emitted from the M-level.

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17. U238 and U235 occur in nature in an atomic ratio 140 : 1. Assuming that at the time of earth’s
formation the two isotopes were present in equal amounts. Calculate the age of the earth
(Half life of u238  4.5  109 yrs & that of U235  7.13  108 yrs )

18. The kinetic energy of an   particle which flies out of the nucleus of a Ra226 atom in radioactive
disintegration is 4.78 MeV. Find the total energy evolved during the escape of the   particle.

19. A small bottle contains powdered beryllium Be & gaseous radon which is used as a source of
a-particles. Neutrons are produced when   particles of the radon react with beryllium. The yield
of this reaction is 1/ 4000  i.e. only one   particle out of 4000 induces the reaction. Find the

amount of radon Rn222   originally introduced into the source, if it produces 1.2  106 neutrons

per second after 7.6 days. T1/2 of Rn  3.8 days

20. An experiment is done to determine the half - life of radioactive substance that emits one
  particle for each decay process. Measurement show that an average of 8.4  are emitted
each second by 2.5 mg of the substance. The atomic weight of the substance is 230. Find the
half life of the substance.

21. When thermal neutrons (negligible kinetic energy) are used to induce the reaction ;
10
5 B 10 n  73Li  24 He   particles are emitted with an energy of 1.83 MeV.

Given the masses of boron neutron & He 4 as 10.01167, 1.00894 & 4.00386 u respectively. What
is the mass of 73 Li ? Assume that particles are free to move after the collision.

22. In a fusion reactor the reaction occurs in two stages :

(i) Two deuterium  D
2
1 nuclei fuse to form a tritium  T  nucleus with a proton as product. The
3
1

reaction may be represented as D (D, p) T.

(ii) A tritium nucleus fuses with another deuterium nucleus to form a helium  4
2 
He nucleus with
neutron as another product. The reaction is represented as T(D , n) . Find :
(a) The energy release in each stage .
(b) The energy release in the combined reaction per deuterium &
(c) What % of the mass of the initial deuterium is released in the form of energy.
Given :  D
2
1 = 2.014102 u ;  T  = 3.016049 u
3
1 ;  4
2 
He = 4.002603 u ;

 P1
1 = 1.00785 u ;  n = 1.008665 u
1
0

23. A wooden piece of great antiquity weighs 50 gm and shows C14 activity of 320 disintegrations per
minute. Estimate the length of the time which has elapsed since this wood was part of living tree,
assuming that living plants show a C14 activity of 12 disintegrations per minute per gm. The half
life of C14 is 5730 yrs.

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56 MODERN PHYSICS

24. Show that in a nuclear reaction where the outgoing particle is scattered at an angle of 90° with
the direction of the bombarding particle, the Q-value is expressed as
 m   mI 
Q  KP  1  P   K I 1  
 MO   MO 

Where, I = incoming particle, P = product nucleus, T = target nucleus, O = outgoing particle.

25. When Lithium is bombarded by 10 MeV deutrons, neutrons are observed to emerge at right angle
to the direction of incident beam. Calculate the energy of these neutrons and energy and angle of
  
recoil of the associated Beryllium atom. Given that : m 0 n1  1.00893 amu ; m 3 Li7  7.01784 
   
amu ; m 1H2  2.01472 amu ; and m 4 Be8  8.00776 amu.

26. A body of mass m0 is placed on a smooth horizontal surface. The mass of the body is decreasing
exponentially with disintegration constant  . Assuming that the mass is ejected backward with a
relative velocity v. Initially the body was at rest. Find the velocity of body after time t.

27. A radionuclide with disintegration constant  is produced in a reactor at a constant rate a nuclei
per sec. During each decay energy E0 is released. 20% of this energy is utilised in increasing the
temperature of water. Find the increase in temperature of m mass of water in time t. Specific heat
of water is S. Assume that there is no loss of energy through water surface.



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 MODERN PHYSICS 57

EXERCISE # 06 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 03)

1. The temperature of one of the two heated black bodies is T1  2500K. Find the temperature of
the other body if the wavelength corresponding to its maximum emissive capacity exceeds by
  0.50 m the wavelength corresponding to the maximum emissive capacity of the first black
body.

2. The spectral composition of solar radiation is much the same as that of a black body whose
maximum emission corresponds to the wavelength 0.48 m. Find the mass lost by the Sun every
second due to radiation. Evaluate the time interval during which the mass of the Sun diminishes
by 1 per cent.

3. An isotropic point source emits light with wavelength   589nm. The radiation power of the
source is P  10 W. Find :
(a) The mean density of the flow of photons at a distance r  2.0m from the source;
(b) The distance between the source and the point at which the mean concentration of photons
is equal to n  100 cm3 .

4. A laser emits a light pulse of duration   0.13 ms and energy E = 10 J. Find the mean pressure
exerted by such a light pulse when it is focused into a spot of diameter d  10 m on a surface
perpendicular to the beam and possessing a reflection coefficient   0.50.

5. A short light pulse of energy E = 7.5 J falls in the form of a narrow and almost parallel beam on a
mirror plate whose reflection coefficient is   0.60. The angle of incidence is 30. In terms of the
corpuscular theory find the momentum transferred to the plate.

6. A plane light wave of intensity I  0.20 W / cm2 falls on a plane mirror surface with reflection
coefficient   0.8. The angle of incidence is 45. In terms of the corpuscular theory find the
magnitude of the normal pressure exerted b light on that surface.

7. A plane light wave of intensity I  0.70 W / cm2 illuminates a sphere with ideal mirror surface. The
radius of the sphere is R = 0.5 cm. From the standpoint of the corpuscular theory find the force
that light exerts on the sphere.

8. An isotropic point source of radiation power P is located on the axis of an ideal mirror plate. The
distance between the source and the plate exceeds the radius of the plant   fold. In terms of
the corpuscular theory find the force that light exerts on the plate.

9. A voltage applied to an X-ray tube being increased   1.5 times, the short-wave limit of an X-ray
continuous spectrum shifts by   26pm. Find the initial voltage applied to the tube.

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58 MODERN PHYSICS

10. Find the photoelectric threshold for zinc and the maximum velocity of photoelectrons liberated
from its surface by electromagnetic radiation with wavelength 250 nm.

11. Electromagnetic radiation of wavelength   0.30m falls on a photocell operating in the

saturation mode. The corresponding spectral sensitivity of the photocell is J = 4.8 mA/W. Find the
yield of photoelectrons, i.e. the number of photoelectrons produced by each incident photon.

12. A particle of mass m moves along a circular orbit in a centro-symmetrical potential field
U  r   kr 2 / 2. Using the Bohr quantization condition, find the permissible orbital radii and energy
levels of that particle.

13. Calculate for a hydrogen atom and a He  ion:

(a) The radius of the first Bohr orbit and the velocity of an electron moving along it;
(b) The kinetic energy and the binding energy of an electron in the ground state;
(c) The ionization potential, the first excitation potential and the wavelength of the resonance
line  n  2  n  1 .

14. To what series does the spectral spectral line of atomic hydrogen belong if its wave number is
equal to the difference between the wave numbers of the following two lines of the Balmer series:
486.1 and 410.2 nm? What is the wavelength of that line?

15. For the case of atomic hydrogen find:

(a) The wavelengths of the first three lines of the Balmer series;
(b) The minimum resolving power  /  of a spectral instrument capable of resolving the first
20 lines of the Balmer series.

16. What element has a hydrogen-like spectrum whose lines have wavelengths four times shorter
than those of atomic hydrogen?

17. How many spectral lines are emitted by atomic hydrogen excited to the n-th energy level?

18. What lines of atomic hydrogen absorption spectrum fall within the wavelength range from 94.5 to
130.0 nm?

19. Find the quantum number n corresponding to the excited state of He  ion if on transition to the
ground state that ion emits two photons in succession with wavelengths 108.5 and 30.4 nm.

20. What hydrogen like ion has the wavelength difference between the first lines of the Balmer and
Lyman series equal to 59.3 nm?

21. Find the binding energy of an electron in the ground state of hydrogen like ions in whose
spectrum the third line of the Balmer series is equal to 108.5 nm.

22. The binding energy of an electron in the ground state of He atom is equal to E0  24.6 eV. Find
the energy required to remove both electrons from the atom.

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23. Find the velocity of photoelectrons liberated by electromagnetic radiation of wavelength

  18.0nm from stationary He  ions in the ground state.

24. At what minimum kinetic energy must a hydrogen atom move for its inelastic head-on collision
with another, stationary, hydrogen atom to make one of them capable of emitting a photon? Both
atoms are supposed to be in the ground state prior to the collision.

25. A stationary hydrogen atom emits a photon corresponding to the first line of the Lyman series.
What velocity does the atom acquire?

26. From the conditions of the foregoing problem find how much (in per cent) the energy of the
emitted photon differs from the energy of the corresponding transition in a hydrogen atom.

27. A stationary He  ion emitted a photon corresponding to the first line of the Lyman series. That
photon liberated a photoelectron from a stationary hydrogen atom in the ground state. Find the
velocity of the photoelectron.

28. Calculate the de Broglie wavelengths of an electron, proton, and uranium atom, all having the
same kinetic energy 100 eV.

29. What amount of energy should be added to an electron to reduce its de Broglie wavelength from
100 to 50 pm?

30. A neutron with kinetic energy T = 25 eV strikes a stationary deuteron (heavy hydrogen nucleus).
Find the de Broglie wavelengths of both particles in the frame of their centre of inertia.

31. Two identical non-relativistic particles move at right angles to each other, possessing de Broglie
wavelengths 1 and 2 . Find the de Broglie wavelength of each particle in the frame of their
centre of inertia.

32. Find the de Brogile wavelength of hydrogen molecules, which corresponds to their most probable
velocity at room temperature.

33. Find the wavelength of the K  line in copper (Z = 29) if the wavelength of the K  line in iron (Z =
26) is known to be equal to 193 pm.

34. Proceeding from Moseley’s law find :

(a) the wavelength of the K  line in aluminium and cobalt:
(b) the difference in binding energies of K and L electrons in vanadium.

35. How many elements are there in a row between those whose wavelengths of K  lines are equal
to 250 and 179 pm?

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60 MODERN PHYSICS

36. Find the voltage applied to an X-ray tube with nickel anticathode if the wavelength difference
between the K  line and the short-wave cut-off of the continuous X-ray spectrum is equal to 84
pm.

37. At a certain voltage applied to an X-ray tube with aluminium anticathode the short-wave cut-off
wavelength of the continuous X-ray spectrum is equal to 0.50 nm. Will the K series of the
characteristic spectrum whose excitation potential is equal to 1.56 kV be also observed in this
case?

38. When the voltage applied to an X-ray tube increased from V1  10kV to V2  20kV, the
wavelength interval between the K  line and the short-wave cut-off of the continuous X-ray
spectrum increases by a factor n = 3.0. Find the atomic number of the element of which the
tube’s anticathode is made.

39. Find the binding energy of an L electron in titanium if the wavelength difference between the first
line of the K series and its short-wave cut-off is   26pm.

40. Knowing the decay constant  of a nucleus, find :

(a) The probability of decay of the nucleus during the time from 0 to t;
(b) The mean lifetime  of the nucleus.

41. (a) What isotope is produced from the alpha-radioactive Ra 226 as a result of five alpha-
disintegrations and four   disintegrations?
(b) How many alpha-and   decays does U238 experience before turning finally into the stable
Pb 206 isotope?

42. An alpha-particle with kinetic energy T  7.0MeV is scattered elastically by an initially stationary
Li6 nucleus. Find the kinetic energy of the recoil nucleus if the angle of divergence of the two
particles is   60.

43. Find the energy of the reaction Li7  p  2He4 if the binding energies per nucleon in Li7 and He 4
nuclei are known to be equal to 5.60 and 7.06 MeV respectively.

44. Find the number of neutrons generated per unit time in a uranium reactor whose thermal power is
P = 100 MW if the average number of neutrons liberated in each nuclear splitting is   2.5. Each
splitting is assumed to release an Energy E = 200 MeV.




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 MODERN PHYSICS 61

EXERCISE # 07 KVPY, OLYMPIADS QUESTIONS

1. A nuclear decay is possible if the mass of the parent nucleus exceeds the total mass of the decay
particles. If M  A,Z  denotes the mass of a single neutral atom of an element with mass number
A and atomic number Z, then the minimal condition that the  decay
X AZ 
 YZA1     v e
Will occur is ( me denotes the mass of the  particle and the neutrino mass mv can be
neglected): [KVPY 2013]

(A) M  A,Z   M  A,Z  1  m e (B) M  A,Z   M  A,Z  1

(C) M  A,Z   M  A,Z  1  Zm e (D) M  A,Z   M  A,Z  1  me

2. In a photocell circuit the stopping potential, V0 , is a measure of the maximum kinetic energy of
the photoelectrons. The following graph shows experimentally measured values of stopping
potential versus frequency v of incident light.

The values of Planck’s constant and the work function as determined from the graph are (taking
the magnitude of electronic charge to be e  1.6  10 19 C ) [KVPY 2013]
(A) 6.4  10 34 Js,2.0 eV (B) 6.0  10 34 Js,2.0 eV
(C) 6.4  10 34 Js,3.2eV (D) 6.0  10 34 Js,3.2eV

3. Two species of radioactive atoms are mixed in equal number. The disintegration constant of the
first species is  and of the second is  / 3 . After a long time the mixture will behave as a
species with mean life of approximately [KVPY 2013]
(A) 0.70 /  (B) 2.10 /  (C) 1.00 /  (D) 0.52 / 

4. Photons of energy 7 eV are incident on two metals A and B with work functions 6 eV and 3 eV
respectively. The minimum de Broglie wavelengths of the emitted photoelectrons with maximum
energies are  A and  B respectively where  A / B is nearly [KVPY 2013]
(A) 0.5 (B) 1.4 (C) 4.0 (D) 2.0

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62 MODERN PHYSICS

5. A singly ionized helium atom in an excited state  n  4  emits a photon of energy 2.6 eV. Given
that the ground state energy of hydrogen atom is 13.6 eV , the energy  E f  and quantum

number  n  of the resulting state are respectively, [KVPY 2013]

(A) Ef  13.6 eV, n  1 (B) Ef  6.0 eV, n  3
(C) Ef  6.0 eV, n  2 (D) Ef  13.6 eV, n  2

6. The half life of a particle of mass 1.6  1026 kg is 6.9 s and a stream of such particles is travelling
with the kinetic energy of a particle being 0.05 eV. The fraction of particles which will decay when
they travel a distance of 1 m is [KVPY 2014]
(A) 0.1 (B) 0.01 (C) 0.00 (D) 0.0001

7. The wavelength of the first Balmer line caused by a transition from the n  3 level to the n  2
level in hydrogen is 1 . The wavelength of the line caused by an electronic transition from n  5
to n  3 is [KVPY 2014]
375 125 64 128
(A) 1 (B) 1 (C) 1 (D) 1
128 64 125 375

8. The binding energy per nucleon of 5 B10 is 8.0 MeV and hat of 5 B11 is 7.5 MeV. The energy
required to remove a neutron from is (mass of electron and proton are 9.11 1031 kg and
1.67  10 27 kg, respectively) [KVPY 2014]
(A) 2.5 MeV (B) 8.0 MeV
(C) 0.5 MeV (D) 7.5 MeV

o
9. A 1.5 kW (kilo-watt) laser beam of wavelength 6400 A is used to levitate a thin alumininum disk
of same area as the cross section of the beam. The laser light is reflected by the aluminum disk
without any absorption. The mass of the foil is close to [KVPY 2014]
(A) 10 9 kg (B) 10 3 kg (C) 10 4 kg (D) 10 6 kg

10. When ultraviolet radiation of a certain frequency falls on a potassium target, the photoelectrons
released can be stopped completely by a retarding potential of 0.6 B. If the frequency of the
radiation is increased by 10%, this stopping potential rises to 0.9 V. The work function of
potassium is [KVPY 2014]
(A) 2.0 eV (B) 2.4 eV
(C) 3.0 eV (D) 2.8 eV

11. The dimensions of Stefan-Boltzmann constant  can be written in terms of Planck’s constant h,
Boltzmann constant k B and the speed of light c as   hK B c  . Here [KVPY 2014]
(A)   3,   4 and   3 (B)   3,   4 and   2
(C)   3,  4 and   2 (D)   2,   3 and   1

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 MODERN PHYSICS 63

12. Carbon-11 decays to boron-11 according to the following formula. [KVPY 2015]
11 11 
6 C  B  e  v e  0.96MeV
5

Assume that positrons e  


produced in the decay combine with free electrons in the atmosphere
and annihilate each other almost immediately. Also assume that the neutrinos  v e  are massless
12
and do not interact with the environment. At t  0 we have 1g of 6 C. If the half-life of the
decay process is t 0 , the net energy produced between time t  0 and t  2t 0 will be nearly

(A) 8  1018 MeV (B) 8  1016 MeV (C) 4  1018 MeV (D) 4  1016 MeV

o
13. A 160 watt infrared source is radiating light of wavelength 50000 A uniformly in all directions.
The photon flux at a distance of 1.8 m is of the order of [KVPY 2015]
2 1 10 2 1 15 2 1
(A) 10m s (B) 10 m s (C) 10 m s (D) 10 20 m 2 s 1

14
14. The age of an organic material is usually determined by measuring its C content (carbon
14
dating). The ratio of the number of stable isotope of C atoms present to the number of
14 14
radioactive C atoms in a certain material is found to be 3:1. If the half life of C atoms is 5730
years, the age of the material under investigation is [NSEP 2014]
(A) 7944 years (B) 17190 years (C) 11460 years (D) 13972 years

15. A beam of 28 keV electrons strikes a target generating X rays. The minimum wave length min
(called cutoff wavelength) of the X rays generated is- [NSEP 2014]
(A) 4.4 nm (B) 44 nm (C) 0.044 nm (D) 0.44 nm

16. When photons each with energy 4.25 eV strike the surface of a metal A, the photoelectrons given
out have maximum kinetic energy TA and the corresponding de Broglie wave length is  A . When
another metal surface B is irradiated with photons each with energy 4.70 eV, the corresponding
maximum kinetic energy TB is 1.50 eV less than TA . If the de Brogile wave length  B of these
photoelectrons is twice that of  A , then - [NSEP 2015]
(A) work function of metal A is 2.25 eV.
(B) work function of metal A is 4.20 eV.
(C) TA  2.0 eV.
(D) The radiation incident on metal A has a wavelength 292 nm.

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64 MODERN PHYSICS

EXERCISE # 08 JEE (MAIN) CORNER

17. The threshold frequency for a metallic surface corresponds to an energy of 6.2 eV, and the
stopping potential for a radiation incident on this surface 5 V. The incident radiation lies in -
[2006]
(A) X-ray region (B) ultra-violet region
(C) infra-red region (D) visible region

18. The energy spectrum of β-particles [number N(E) as a function of β-energy E] emitted from a
radioactive source is [2006]

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

19. When 3 Li7 nuclei are bombarded by protons, and the resultant nuclei are 4 Be8 , the emitted
particles will be [2006]
(A) neutrons (B) alpha particles (C) beta particles (D) gamma photons

20. The anode voltage of a photocell is kept fixed. The wavelength λ of the light falling on the cathode
is gradually changed. The plate current I of the photocell varies as follows : [2006]

(A) (B) (C) (D)

7 4
21. If the binding energy per nucleon in 3 Li and 2 He nuclei are 5.60 MeV and 7.06 MeV
respectively, then in the reaction p  73Li  2 42He energy of proton must be [2006]
(A) 39.2 MeV (B) 28.24 MeV (C) 17.28 MeV (D) 1.46 MeV

22. If M0 is the mass of an oxygen isotope 8 O17 ,Mp and MN are the masses of a proton and a
neutron respectively, the nuclear binding energy of the isotope is [2007]
(A) M 0  8Mp  C2 (B)  M0  8Mp  9MN  C2

(C) M0 C2 (D)  M0  17MN  C2

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 MODERN PHYSICS 65

23. In gamma ray emission from a nucleus [2007]

(A) both the neutron number and the proton number change
(B) there is no change in the proton number and the neutron number
(C) only the neutron number changes
(D) only the proton number changes

24. Photon of frequency v has a momentum associated with it. If c is the velocity of light, the
momentum is [2007]
(A) v/c (B) hvc (C) hv / c 2 (D) hv / c

25. The half-life period of a radio-active element X is same as the mean life time of another radio-
active element Y. Initially they have the same number of atoms. Then [2007]
(A) X will decay faster than Y (B) Y will decay faster than X
(C) X and Y have same decay rate initially (D) X and Y decay at same rate always

26. Which of the following transitions in hydrogen atoms emit photons of highest frequency?
[2007]
(A) n  2 to n  6 (B) n  6 to n  2 (C) n  2 to n  1 (D) n  1 to n  2

27. This question contains Statement-1 and Statement -2. Of the four choices given after the
statements, choose the one that best describes the two statements. [2008]
Statement –1: Energy is released when heavy nuclei undergo fission or light nuclei undergo
fusion.
and
Statement –2: For heavy nuclei, binding energy per nucleon increases with increasing Z while for
light nuclei it decreases with increasing Z.
(A) Statement –1 is true, Statement- 2 is true; Statement -2 is not a correct explanation for
Statement-1
(B) Statement –1 is true, Statement- 2 is false
(C) Statement –1 is false, Statement- 2 is true
(D) Statement –1 is true, Statement- 2 is true; Statement -2 is a correct explanation for
Statement-1
28. The above is a plot of binding energy per nucleon Eb , against the nuclear mass M; A, B, C, D, E,
F correspond to different nuclei. Consider four reactions: [2009]
(i) A B  C  (ii) C  A B  (iii) DE F  (iv) F DE 

where  is the energy released? In which reactions  is positive?

(A) (i) and (iv) (B) (i) and (iii) (C) (ii) and (iv) (D) (ii) and (iii)

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66 MODERN PHYSICS

29. The transition from the state n = 4 to n = 3 in a hydrogen like atom results in ultraviolet radiation.
Infrared radiation will be obtained in the transition from [2009]
(A) 2 1 (B) 3  2 (C) 42 (D) 54

30. The surface of a metal is illuminated with the light of 400 nm. The kinetic energy of the ejected
photoelectrons was found to be 1.68 eV. The work function of the metal is  hc  1240eV nm 
[2009]
(A) 3.09 eV (B) 1.41 eV (C) 151 eV (D) 1.68 eV

Directions : Questions number 15-16 are based on the following paragraph.

M
A nucleus of mass M + ∆m is at rest and decays into two daughter nuclei of equal mass each.
2
Speed of light is c.

31. The speed of daughter nuclei is [2010]

m m 2m m
(A) c (B) c (C) c (D) c
M  m M  m M M

32. The binding energy per nucleon for the parent nucleus is E1 and that for the daughter nuclei is
E2 . Then [2010]
(A) E1  2E2 (B) E2  2E1 (C) E1  E2 (D) E2  E1

33. Statement-1 : When ultraviolet light is incident on a photocell, its stopping potential is V0 and the
maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons is K max . When the ultraviolet light is replaced by
X – rays, both V0 and K max increase. [2010]
Statement-2 : Photoelectrons are emitted with speeds ranging from zero to a maximum value
because of the range of frequencies present in the incident light.
(A) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is false
(B) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is true; Statement-2 is the correct explanation of
Statement-1
(C) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is true; Statement-2 is the not the correct explanation of
Statement-1
(D) Statement-1 is false, Statement-2 is true

34. If a source of power 4 kW produces 10 20 photons/second, the radiation belongs to a part of the
spectrum called [2010]
(A)   rays (B) X  rays (C) Ultraviolet rays (D) Microwaves

35. A radioactive nucleus (initial mass number A and atomic number Z) emits 3 α-particles and 2
positrons. The ratio of number of neutrons to that of protons in the final nucleus will be [2010]
AZ4 A Z8 AZ4 A  Z  12
(A) (B) (C) (D)
Z2 Z4 Z8 Z4

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 MODERN PHYSICS 67

36. Energy required for the electron excitation in Li from the first to the third Bohr orbit is:
[2011]
(A) 36.3 eV (B) 108.8 eV (C) 122.4 eV (D) 12.1 eV

37. The half life of a radioactive substance is 20 minutes. The approximate time interval  t2  t1  the
2 1
time t 2 when of it has decayed and time t1 and of it had decayed is : [2011]
3 3
(A) 14 Min. (B) 20 Min. (C) 28 Min. (D) 7 Min.

38. This question has Statement – 1 and Statement – 2. Of the four choices given after the
statements, choose the one that best describes the two statements. [2011]
Statement-1 : A metallic surface is irradiated by a monochromatic light of frequency v  v0 (the
threshold frequency). The maximum kinetic energy and the stopping potential are K max and v 0
respectively. If the frequency incident on the surface doubled, both the K max and v 0 are also
doubled.
Statement-2 : The maximum kinetic energy and the stopping potential of photoelectrons emitted
from a surface are linearly dependent on the frequency of incident light.
(A) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is true; Statement-2 is the correct explanation of
Statement-1.
(B) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is true; Statement-2 is not the correct explanation of
Statement-1.
(C) Statement-1 is false, Statement-2 is true.
(D) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is false.

39. Hydrogen atom is excited from ground state to another state with principal quantum number
equal to 4. Then the number of spectral lines in the emission spectra will be [2012]
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 5 (D) 6

40. This question has statement 1 and statement 2. Of the four choices given after the statements,
choose the one that best describes the two statements [2012]
Statement 1 : Davisson – germer experiment established the wave nature of electrons.
Statement 2 : If electrons have wave nature, they can interfere and show diffraction.
(A) Statement 1 is false, Statement 2 is true
(B) Statement 1 is true, Statement 2 is false
(C) Statement 1 is true, Statement 2 is the correct explanation for statement 1
(D) Statement 1 is true, Statement 2 is true, Statement 2 is not the correct explanation for
statement 1.

41. Assume that a neutron breaks into a proton and an electron. The energy released during this
process is (Mass of neutron  1.6725  10 27 kg; mass of proton  1.6725  10 27 kg; mass of
electron  9  10 31 kg ) [2012]
(A) 0.73 MeV (B) 7.10 MeV (C) 6.30 MeV (D) 5.4 MeV

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68 MODERN PHYSICS

42. The anode voltage of a photocell is kept fixed. The wavelength λ of the light falling on the cathode
is gradually changed. The plate current I of the photocell varies as follows : [2013]

(A) (B) (C) (D)

43. The I − V characteristic of an LED is : [2013]

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

44. In a hydrogen like atom electron makes transition from an energy level with quantum number n to
another with quantum number  n  1 . If n  1, the frequency of radiation emitted is proportional
to : [2013]
1 1 1 1
(A) (B) (C) (D)
n n2 n3/ 2 n3

45. The radiation corresponding to 3  2 transition of hydrogen atom falls on a metal surface to
produce photoelectrons. These electrons are made to enter a magnetic field of 3  104 T . If the
radius of the largest circular path followed by these electrons is 10.0 mm, the work function of the
meal is close to: [2014]
(A) 1.6 eV (B) 1.8 eV (C) 1.1 eV (D) 0.8 eV

46. Hydrogen  H ,
1
1
Deuterium  H ,
1
2
singly ionized Helium  2 He4  and doubly ionized lithium
 
 3 Li6  all have one electron around the nucleus. Consider an electron transition from n = 2 to n

= 1. If the wave lengths of emitted radiation are 1, 2 , 3 and  4 respectively then approximately
which one of the following is correct? [2014]
(A) 1  22  3 3  4 4
(B) 41  2 2  23   4
(C) 1  2 2  2 3   4
(D) 1   2  43  9 4

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 MODERN PHYSICS 69

47. As an electron makes a transition from an excited state to the ground state of a hydrogen - like
atom/ion : [2015]
(A) its kinetic energy increases but potential energy and total energy decrease
(B) kinetic energy, potential energy and total energy decrease
(C) kinetic energy decreases, potential energy increases but total energy remains same
(D) kinetic energy and total energy decrease but potential energy increases

48. Match List - I (Fundamental Experiment) with List - II (its conclusion) and select the correct option
from the choices given below the list : [2015]
LIST - I LIST - II
(A) Franck-Hertz Experiment. (i) Particle nature of light
(B) Photo-electric experiment. (ii) Discrete energy levels of atom
(C) Davison-Germer Experiment (iii) Wave nature of electron
(iv) Structure of atom

(A) (A) - (i), (B) - (iv), (C) - (iii) (B) (A) - (ii), (B) - (iv), (C) - (iii)
(C) (A) - (ii), (B) - (i), (C) - (iii) (D) (A) - (iv), (B) - (iii), (C) - (ii)

49. Radiation of wavelength  , is incident on a photocell. The fastest emitted electron has speed v.
3
If the wavelength is changed to , the speed of the fastest emitted electron will be : [2016]
4
1
2
4  4 2
(A)  v  (B)  v 
3 3
1 1
 4 2  3 2
(C)  v  (D)  v 
3  4

50. Half-lives of two radioactive elements A and B are 20 minutes and 40 minutes, respectively.
Initially, the samples have equal number of nuclei. After 80 minutes, the ratio of decayed numbers
of A and B nuclei will be : [2016]
(A) 1 : 16 (B) 4 : 1
(C) 1 : 4 (D) 5 : 4

51. A radioactive nucleus A with a half lige T, decays into a nucleus B. At t = 0, there is no nucleus B.
At sometime t, the ratio of the number of B to that of A is 0.3. Then, t is given by : [2017]
T T log 2
(A) t (B) t
log 1.3 2 log1.3
log1.3
(C) t T (D) t  T log 1.3
log 2

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70 MODERN PHYSICS

52. An electron beam is accelerated by a potential difference V to hit a metallic target to produce X-
rays. If min is the smallest possible wavelength of X-ray in the spectrum, the variation of log min
with log V is correctly represented in : [2017]

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

53. Some energy levels of a molecule are shown in the figure. The ratio of the wavelengths
r  1 / 2 , is given by : [2017]

1 4 2 3
(A) r (B) r (C) r (D) r
3 3 3 4


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 MODERN PHYSICS 71

EXERCISE # 09 JEE (ADVANCED) CORNER

1. The graph between 1/ and stopping potential (V) of three metals having work functions 1, 2
and 3 in an experiment of photo-electric effect is plotted as shown in the figure. Which of the
following statement(s) is/are correct? [Here is the wavelength of the incident ray]. [2006]

(A) Ratio of work functions 1 : 2 : 3 = 1 : 2 : 4

(B) Ratio of work functions 1 : 2 : 3 = 4 : 2 : 1
(C) tan  is directly proportional to hc/e, where h is Planck’s constant and c is the speed of light
(D) The violet colour light can eject photoelectrons from metals 2 and 3.

2. In hydrogen-like atom (z = 11), nth line of Lyman series has wavelength  equal to the de-
Broglie’s wavelength of electron in the level from which it originated. What is the value of n?
[Take: Bohr radius (r0) = 0.53 Å and Rydberg constant (R) = 1.1 × 107 m–1] [2006]

3. The largest wavelength in the ultraviolet region of the hydrogen spectrum is 122 nm. The smallest
wavelength in the infrared region of the hydrogen spectrum (to the nearest integer) is [2007]
(A) 802 nm (B) 823 nm (C) 1882 nm (D) 1648 nm

4. STATEMENT-1 [2007]
If the accelerating potential in an X-ray tube is increased, the wavelengths of the characteristic X-
rays do not change.
because
STATEMENT-2
When an electron beam strikes the target in an X-ray tube, part of the kinetic energy is converted
into X-ray energy
(A) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is True; Statement-2 is a correct explanation for
Statement-1
(B) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is True; Statement-2 is NOT a correct explanation for
Statement-1
(C) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is False
(D) Statement-1 is False, Statement-2 is True

5. Electrons with de-Broglie wavelength  fall on the target in an X-ray tube. The cut-off wavelength
of the emitted X-rays is [2007]
2mc 2 2h 2m2c 2 3
(A) 0 = (B) 0 = (C) 0 = (D) 0 = 
h mc h2

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72 MODERN PHYSICS

6. Which one of the following statements is WRONG in the context of X-rays generated from a X-ray
tube ? [2008]
(A) Wavelength of characteristic X-rays decreases when the atomic number of the target
increases
(B) Cut-off wavelength of the continuous X-rays depends on the atomic number of the target
(C) Intensity of the characteristic X-rays depends on the electrical power given to the X-rays
tube
(D) Cut-off wavelength of the continuous X-rays depends on the energy of the electrons in the
X-ray tube
Paragraph for Qs.7 to 9

In a mixture of H – He+ gas (He+ is singly ionized He atom), H atoms and He+ ions are excited to their
respective first excited states. Subsequently, H atoms transfer their total excitation energy to He+ ions (by
collisions). Assume that the Bohr model of atom is exactly valid.

7. The quantum number n of the state finally populated in He+ ions is [2008]
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5

8. The wavelength of light emitted in the visible region by He+ ions after collisions with H atoms is
[2008]
(A) 6.5 × 10–7 m (B) 5.6 × 10–7 m
(C) 4.8 × 10–7 m (D) 4.0 × 10–7 m

9. The ratio of the kinetic energy of the n = 2 electron for the H atom to that of He+ ion is
[2008]
1 1
(A) (B) (C) 1 (D) 2
4 2

Paragraph for Qs. 10 to 12

Scientist are working hard to develop nuclear fusion reactor. Nuclei of heavy hydrogen, 12 H, known as
deuteron and denoted by D, can be thought of as a candidate for fusion reactor. The D-D reaction is
2 2 3
1 H 1 H  2H  n  energy. In the core of fusion reactor, a gas of heavy hydrogen is fully ionized into

deuteron nuclei and electrons. The collection of 12 H nuclei and electrons is known as plasma. The
nuclei move randomly in the reactor core and occasionally come close enough for nuclear fusion to
take place. Usually, the temperatures in the reactor core are too high and no material wall can be used
to confine the plasma. Special techniques are used which confine the plasma for a time t 0 before the
particles fly away from the core. If n is the density (number/volume) of deuterons, the product nt 0 is
called Lawson number. In one of the criteria, a reactor is termed successful if Lawson number is greater
than 5  1014 s / cm 3 . It may be helpful to use the following: Boltzmann constant k  8.6  10 5 eV / K;
e2
 1.44  109 eVm.
40

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 MODERN PHYSICS 73

10. In the core of nuclear fusion reactor, the gas becomes plasma because of - [2009]
(A) strong nuclear force acting between the deuterons
(B) Coulomb force acting between the deuterons
(C) Coulomb force acting between deuteron-electron pair
(D) The high temperature maintained inside the reactor core

11. Assume that two deuteron nuclei in the core of fusion reactor at temperature T are moving
towards each other, each with kinetic energy 1.5 kT, when the separation between them is large
enough to neglect Coulomb potential energy. Also neglect any interaction from other particles in
the core. The minimum temperature T required for them to reach a separation of 4  10 15 m is in
the range [2009]
9 9 9 9
(A) 1.0  10 K  T  2.0  10 K (B) 2.0  10 K  T  3.0  10 K
9 9
(C) 3.0  10 K  T  4.0  10 K (D) 4.0  10 9 K  T  5.0  10 9 K

12. Results of calculations for four different designs of a fusion reactor using D-D reaction are given
below. Which of these is most promising based on Lawson criterion? [2009]
(A) deuteron density  2.0  1012 cm3 , confinement time  5.0  10 3 s
(B) deuteron density  8.0  1014 cm3 , confinement time  9.0  10 1 s
(C) deuteron density  4.0  1022 cm3 , confinement time  1.0  10 11 s
(D) deuteron density  1.0  1024 cm3 , confinement time  4.0  10 12 s

Paragraph for Qs. 13 to 15

When a particle is restricted to move along x-axis between x  0 and x  a, where a is of nanometer
dimension, its energy can take only certain specific values. The allowed energies of the particle moving
in such a restricted region, correspond to the formation of standing waves with nodes at its ends x  0
and x  a. The wavelength of this standing wave is related to the linear momentum p of the particle
according to the de Broglie relation. The energy of the particle of mass m is related to its linear
p2
momentum as E  . Thus, the energy of the particle can be denoted by a quantum number ‘n’
2m
taking values 1, 2, 3, …. (n = 1, called the ground state) corresponding to the number of loops in the
standing wave.
Use the model described above to answer the following three questions for a particle moving in the line
x  0 to x  a. Take h  6.6  10 34 Js and e  1.6  10 19 C.

13. The allowed energy for the particle for a particular value of n is proportional to [2009]
2 3/ 2
(A) a (B) a
(C) a 1 (D) a 2
14. If the mass of the particle is m  1.0  1030 kg and a  6.6nm, the energy of the particle in its
ground state is closest to [2009]
(A) 0.8 meV (B) 8 meV (C) 80 meV (D) 800 meV

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74 MODERN PHYSICS

15. The speed of the particle, that can take diserete values, is proportional to [2009]
3/2 1 1/2
(A) n (B) n (C) n (D) n

16. Photoelectric effect experiments are performed using three different metal plates p, q and r
having work functions p  2.0 eV, q  2.5 eV and r  3.0 eV , respectively. A light beam
containing wavelengths of 550 nm, 450 nm and 350 nm with equal intensities illuminates each of
the plates. The correct I-V graph for the experiment is:
[Take hc = 1240 eV nm] [2009]

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

17. An   particle and a proton are accelerated from rest by a potential difference of 100 V. After
p
this, their de Broglie wavelengths are  and  p respectively. The ratio , to the nearest

integer, is- [2010]

dN  t 
18. To determine the half life of a radioactive element, a student plots a graph of n versus t.
dt

dN  t 
Here is the rate of radioactive decay at time t. If the number of radioactive nuclei of this
dt
element decreases by a factor of p after 4.16 years, the value of p is [2010]

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 MODERN PHYSICS 75

Paragraph for Qs. 19 to 21

The key feature of Bohr’s theory of spectrum of hydrogen atom is the quantization of angular
momentum when an electron is revolving around a proton. We will extend this to a general rotational
motion to find quantized rotational energy of a diatomic molecule assuming it to be rigid. The rule to be
applied is Bohr’s quantization condition.

19. A diatomic molecule has moment of inertia I. By Bohr’s quantization condition its rotational energy
in the nth level (n = 0 is not allowed) is [2010]
1  h2  1  h2   h2   h2 
(A)   (B)   (C) n 2  (D) n2  2 
n2  8 2I  n  82I   8 I   8 I 

20. It is found that the excitation frequency from ground to the first excited state of rotation for the CO
4
molecule is close to  1011Hz. Then the moment of inertia of CO molecule about its center of

mass is close to (Take h  2   10 34 Js ) [2010]
 46 2 46 2
(A) 2.76  10 kgm (B) 1.87  10 kgm
(C) 4.67  1047 kgm2 (D) 1.17  1047 kgm2

21. In a CO molecule, the distance between C (mass = 12 a.m.u.) and O (mass = 16 a.m.u.), where 1
5
a.m.u.   1027 kg, is close to [2010]
3
(A) 2.4  1010 m (B) 1.9  1010 m (C) 1.3  1010 m (D) 4.4  1011 m


22. The wavelength of the first spectral line in the Balmer series of hydrogen atom is 6561 A . The
wavelength of the second spectral line in the Balmer series of singly-ionized helium atom is
[2011]
 
(A) 1215 A (B) 1640 A
 
(C) 2430 A (D) 4687 A

23. The activity of a freshly prepared radioactive sample is 1010 disintegrations per second, whose
mean life is 10 9 s. The mass of an atom of this radioisotope is 10 25 kg. The mass (in mg) of the
radioactive sample is - [2011]

24. A proton is fired from very far away towards a nucleus with charge Q  120e, where e is the
electronic charge. It makes a closest approach of 10 fm to the nucleus. The de Broglie
5
wavelength (in units of fm) of the proton at its start is : (take the proton mass, mp     10 27 kg;
3
h 1
 4.2  10 15 J.s / C;  9  109 m / F; fm  10 15 m ) [2012]
e 40

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76 MODERN PHYSICS

Paragraph for Qs. 25 & 26

The   decay process, discovered around 1900, is basically the decay of a neutron (n). In the laboratory,

a proton (p) and an electron e   are observed as the decay products of the neutron. Therefore,
considering the decay of a neutron as a two-body decay process, it was predicted theoretically that the
kinetic energy of the electron should be a constant. But experimentally, it was observed that the electron
kinetic energy has a continuous spectrum. Considering a three-body decay process,
i.e. n  p  e  v e ,

around 1930, Pauli explained the observed electron energy spectrum. Assuming the anti-neutrino v e   to
be massless and possessing negligible energy, and the neutron to be at rest, momentum and energy
conservation principles are applied. From this calculation, the maximum kinetic energy of the electron is
0.8  10 6 eV. The kinetic energy carried by the proton is only the recoil energy.

25. What is the maximum energy of the anit-neutrino? [2012]

(A) Zero
(B) Much less than 0.8  10 6 eV.
(C) nearly 0.8  10 6 eV.
(D) Much larger than 0.8  10 6 eV.

26. If the anti-neutrino has a mass of 3 eV / c 2 (where c is the speed of light) instead of zero mass,
what should be the range of the kinetic energy, K, of the electron? [2012]
(A) 0  K  0.8  106 eV (B) 3.0eV  K  0.8  106 eV
(C) 3.0eV  K  0.8  106 eV (D) 0  K  0.8  10 6 eV

27. The work functions of Silver and Sodium are 4.6 and 2.3 eV, respectively. The ratio of the slope
of the stopping potential versus frequency plot for Silver to that of Sodium is [2013]

28. A freshly prepared sample of a radioisotope of half-life 1386 s has activity 103 disintegrations per
second. Given that ln 2 = 0.693, the fraction of the initial number of nuclei (expressed in nearest
integer percentage) that will decay in the first 80 s after preparation of the sample is - [2013]

29. The radius of the orbit of an electron in a Hydrogen-like atom is 4.5a0 , where a0 is the Bohr
3h
radius. Its orbital angular momentum is . It is given that h is Planck constant and R is Rydberg
2
constant. The possible wavelength(s), when the atom de-excites, is(are) [2013]
9 9
(A) (B)
32R 16R
9 4
(C) (D)
5R 3R

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 MODERN PHYSICS 77

Paragraph for Qs. 30 & 31

The mass of a nucleus A

Z X is less than the sum of the masses of  A  Z  number of neutrons
and Z number of protons in the nucleus. The energy equivalent to the corresponding mass difference is
known as the binding energy of the nucleus. A heavy nucleus of mass M can break into two light nuclei of
masses m1 and m2 only if  m1  m2   M. Also two light nuclei of masses m3 and m4 can undergo

complete fusion and form a heavy nucleus of mass M only if  m3  m4   M. The masses of some
neutral atoms are given in the table below:
1 2 3 4
H
1
1.007825u 1 H 2.014102u 1 H 3.016050u 2 He 4.002603u
6 7 70 82
3 Li 6.015123u 3 Li 7.016004u 30 Zn 69.925325u 34 Se 81.916709u
152 206 209 210
64 Gd 151.919803u 82 Pb 205.974455u 83 Bi 208.980388u 84 Po 209.982876u

1u  932MeV / c 
2

30. The correct statement is [2013]

6
(A) The nucleus Li can emit an alpha particle.
3

210
(B) The nucleus 84 Po can emit a proton.
(C) Deuteron and alpha particle can undergo complete fusion.
70 82
(D) The nuclei 30 Zn and 34 Se can undergo complete fusion.

210
31. The kinetic energy (in KeV) of the alpha particle, when the nucleus 84 Po at rest undergoes alpha
decay, is [2013]
(A) 5319 (B) 5422 (C) 5707 (D) 5818

32. Match List I of the nuclear processes with List II containing parent nucleus and one of the end
products of each process and then select the correct answer using the codes given below the
lists : [2013]
List - I List – II
P. Alpha decay 1. 15
8
15
O  N  ......
7

Q.   decay 2. 238
92
234
U  90 Th  ......
R. Fission 3. 185
83 Bi  184
82 Pb  ......

S. Proton emission 4. 239

94 Pu  140
57 La  ......

Codes :
P Q R S
(A) 4 2 1 3
(B) 1 3 2 4
(C) 2 1 4 3
(D) 4 3 2 1

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78 MODERN PHYSICS

33. A metal surface is illuminated by light of two different wavelengths 248 nm and 310 nm. The
maximum speeds of the photoelectrons corresponding to these wavelengths are u1 and u2 ,
respectively. If the ratio u1 : u2  2 : 1 and hc  1240 eV nm, the work function of the metal is
nearly [2014]
(A) 3.7 eV (B) 3.2 eV (C) 2.8 eV (D) 2.5 eV

34. If  Cu is the wavelength of K  X-ray line of copper (atomic number 29) and Mo is the
Cu
wavelength of the K  X  ray line of molybdenum (atomic number 42), then the ratio is close
Mo
to - [2014]
(A) 1.99 (B) 2.14 (C) 0.50 (D) 0.48

35. Consider a hydrogen atom with its electron in the nth orbital. An electromagnetic radiation of
wavelength 90 nm is used to ionize the atom. If the kinetic energy of the ejected electron is 1.04
eV, then the value of n is (hc = 1242 eV nm) [2015]

36. A nuclear power plant supplying electrical power to a village uses a radioactive material of half life
T years as the fuel. The amount of fuel at the beginning is such that the total power requirement
of the village is 12.5% of the electrical power available from the plant at that time. If the plant is
above to meet the total power needs of the village for a maximum period of nT years, then the
value of n is - [2015]

37. For photo-electric effect with incident photon wavelength  , the stopping potential is V0 . Identify
1
the correct variation(s) of V0 with  and . [2015]


(A) (B) (C) (D)

38. Match the nuclear processes given in column I with the appropriate option(s) in column II.
[2015]
Column - I Column - II
(A) Nuclear fusion (P) Absorption of thermal neutrons by 235
92 U
(B) Fission in a nuclear reactor (Q) 60
27 Co nucleus
(C)   decay (R) Energy production in stars via hydrogen
conversion to helium
(D)   ray emission (S) Heavy water
(T) Neutrino emission

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 MODERN PHYSICS 79

39. For a radioactive material, its activity A and rate of change of its activity R are defined as
dN dA
A and R   , where N t  is the number of nuclei at time t. Two radioactive sources
dt dt
P (mean life  ) and Q (mean life 2 ) have the same activity at t  0. Their rates of change of
RP n
activities at t  2 are RP and RQ , respectively. If  , then the value of n is - [2015]
RQ e

236
40. A fission reaction is given by 92 U  140 94
54 Xe  38 Sr  x  y, where x and
y are two particles.
236
Considering 92 U to be at rest, the kinetic energies of the products are denoted by

K Xe,K Sr ,K x  2MeV  and K y  2MeV  , respectively. Let the binding energies per nucleon of
236
92 U, 140
54 Xe and
94
38 Sr be 7.5 MeV, 8.5 MeV and 8.5 MeV, respectively. Considering different
conservation laws, the correct option(s) is(are) - [2015]

(A) x  n, y  n,K Sr  129MeV,K Xe  86MeV (B) x  p, y  e ,K Sr  129MeV,K Xe  86MeV
(C) x  p, y  n,K Sr  129MeV,K Xe  86MeV (D) x  n, y  n,K Sr  86MeV,K Xe  129MeV

41. In a historical experiment to determine Planck’s constant, a metal surface was irradiated with light
of different wavelengths. The emitted photoelectron energies were measured by applying a
stopping potential. The relevant data for the wavelength  of incident light and the

corresponding stopping potential  V0  are given below : [2016]

  m V0 (Volt)

0.3 2.0
0.4 1.0
0.5 0.4

Given that c  3  108 ms 1 and e  1.6  10 19 C, Planck’s constant (in units of J s) found from
such an experiment is -
(A) 6.0  10 34 (B) 6.4  10 34
(C) 6.6  10 34 (D) 6.8  10 34

42. Highly excited states for hydrogen-like atoms (also called Rydberg states) with nuclear charge
Ze are defined by their principal quantum number n, where n  1. Which of the following
statement(s) is (are) true? [2016]
(A) Relative change in the radii of two consecutive orbitals does not depend on Z
1
(B) Relative change in the radii of two consecutive orbitals varies as
n
1
(C) Relative change in the energy of two consecutive orbitals varies as
n3
1
(D) Relative change in the angular momenta of two consecutive orbitals varies as
n

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80 MODERN PHYSICS

12 12 12
43. The isotope 5 B having a mass 12.014 u undergoes   decay to 6 C. 6 C has an excited state

of the nucleus  12
6 
C* at 4.041 MeV above its ground state. If 12
5 B decays to 12
6 C * , the

( 1u  931.5 MeV / c 2 , where c is the speed of light in vacuum). [2016]


44. A hydrogen atom in its ground state is irradiated by light of wavelength 970 A . Taking
hc / e  1.237  10 6 eV m and the ground state energy of hydrogen atom as 13.6 eV, the
number of lines present in the emission spectrum is [2016]

45. The electrostatic energy of Z protons uniformly distributed throughout a spherical nucleus of
radius R is given by [2016]
3 Z  Z  1 e
2

E
5 4 0R
The meaused masses of the neutron, 11H, 15
7 N and
15
8 O are 1.008665 u, 1.007825 u, 15.000109 u
15 15
and 15.003065 u, respectively. Given that the radii of both the 7 N and 8 O nuclei are same,

1u  931.5MeV / c 2 (c is the speed of light) and e2 /  40   1.44MeV fm. Assuming that the
15 15
difference between the binding energies of 7 N and 8 O is purely due to the electrostatic energy,


the radius of either of the nuclei is 1fm  10 15 m 
(A) 2.85 fm (B) 3.03 fm (C) 3.42 fm (D) 3.80 fm

46. An accident in a nuclear laboratory resulted in deposition of a certain amount of radioactive

material of half-life 18 days inside the laboratory. Tests revealed that the radiation was 64 times
more than the permissible level required for safe operation of the laboratory. What is the
minimum number of days after which the laboratory can be considered safe for use? [2016]
(A) 64 (B) 90 (C) 108 (D) 120

47. Light of wavelength  ph falls on a cathode plate inside a vacuum tube as shown in the figure. The
work function of the cathode surface is  and the anode is a wire mesh of conducting material
kept at a distance d from the cathode. A potential difference V is maintained between the
electrodes. If the minimum de Broglie wavelength of the electrons passing through the anode is
e , which of the following statement(s) is(are) true? [2016]
(A)  e decreases with increase in  and  ph
(B)  e is approximately halved, if d is doubled
(C) For large potential difference  V   / e  ,  e is approximately halved if V is made four
times
(D)  e increases at the same rate as  ph for  ph  hc / 

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 MODERN PHYSICS 81

48. An electron in a hydrogen atom undergoes a transition from an orbit with quantum number ni to
another with quantum number nf . Vi and Vf are respectively the initial and final potential
vi
energies of the electron. If  6.25, then the smallest possible nf is ……………. . [2017]
vf

49. A photoelectric material having work function 0 is illuminated with light of wavelength

 hc 
   . The fastest photoelectron has a de Broglie wavelength d . A change in wavelength
 0 
of the incident light by  results in a change  d in d . Then the ratio  d /  is proportional
to : [2017]
3 2 2 2 3
(A)  /
d (B)  /
d (C) d /  (D)  /
d



Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

82 MODERN PHYSICS

ANSWER KEYS
EXERCISE # 01 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 01)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
C D C D A A B C C A
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
B A B A B C C D D C
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
A A C D C B C B B B
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
A B C C D B C A A

EXERCISE # 02 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 02)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
C B D A D C D C C B
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
B A A A C D B A C C
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
C A A B C A B D B B
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
C A B D D C C B C

EXERCISE # 03 OBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 03)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
B A B C C B B AC B B
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
ACD ACD A B A AB AC ABD B AD
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
AC CD AC B C A A D C B
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
A D D D D B A C
39 40
A-(ST), B-(R), C-(Q), D-(PT) A-(QS), B-(RT), C-(P), D-(PQRS)
41 42
A-(R), B-(QT), C-(S), D-(P) A-(Q), B-(R), C-(PT), D-(S)

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 MODERN PHYSICS 83

43 44 45 46
4 1 1 2

EXERCISE # 04 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 01)

Q.1 885 Q.2 (a) 2.25eV, (b) 4.2eV, (c) 2.0 eV, 0.5 eV

Q.3 (a) 0.6 volt, (b) 2.0 mA

Q.4 when the potential is steady, photo electric emission just stop when h = (3 + 1)eV = 4.0 eV

Q.5 5.76 × 10–11 A Q.6 15/8 V Q.7 487.06 nm Q.8 4.26 m/s, 13.2 eV

12
Q.9 7 : 36 Q.10 22.8 nm Q.11 Q.12 18/(5R)
1  2

Q.13 1.257 × 10–23 Am2 Q.14 2.48 ×10–12 m

5 10 20
Q.15 , Q.16 2 eV, 6.53 × 10–34 J-s Q.17 5
16 80

h
Q.18 (i) 5, 16.5 eV, 36.4 A, 340 eV, – 680 eV, 1.06 × 10–11 m
2
Q.19 z = 3, n = 7 Q.20 54.4 eV Q.21 n = 3, 3 : 1 Q.22 23.6 MeV

Q.23 ( T1/2 = 10.8 sec) Q.24 (i)

40
19
40
K  18 Ar + +1e0 +  (ii) 4.2 × 109 years

 ln 5 
Q.25 t=   Q.26 8 3 1018 sec Q.27 1.14 × 1018 sec Q.28 – h/eEt2
 ln 2 
EXERCISE # 05 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 02)
38 I R h
Q.1 8IhR/3C Q.2 4.8 × 1016, 4.0 cm Q.3 1.99 eV, 0.760 V
15 C

Q.4 1.1 × 1012 Q.5 (i) 4125Å, (ii) 13.2 A

Q.6 (i) 1.33 × 1016 photons/m2  s ; 0.096 Å

(ii) 2.956 × 1015 photons/m2s ; 0.0213 A (iii) 1.06 volt

Q.7 (i) 5/16 photon/sec, (ii) 5/1600 electrons/sec Q.8 deutron = neutron = 8.6 pm

2 1 2
Q.9 = Q.10 3.1 × 106 m/s Q.11 (i) 2 ; (ii) 23.04 ×10–19J ; (iii) 4  1 , 4  3
12  2 2

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84 MODERN PHYSICS

Q.12 11.24 eV Q.13 6.8 eV, 5 × 1015 Hz Q.14 489.6 eV, 25.28 Å

1/3
1 e2  3C re 2t  –10 100 sec
Q.15 (i) – , (ii) r0  1  3  , (iii) 10 ×
8 0 r  r0  81

Q.16 (i) 1.875 × 104 V, (ii) 2.7 × 10–15 J, (iii) 0.737 Å, (iv) 2.67 × 10–15 J

Q.17 6.04 × 109 yrs Q.18 4.87 MeV Q.19 3.3 × 106g

Q.20 1.7 × 1010 years Q.21 7.01366 amu

Q.22 (a) 4 MeV , 17.6 (b) 7.2 MeV (c) 0.384 % Q.23 5196 yrs

Q.25 Energy of neutron = 19.768 MeV ; Energy of Beryllium = 5.0007 MeV;

Angle of recoil = tan–1(1.034) or 46°

  
Q.26 v = ut Q.27 T = 0.2 E0  t  (1  e   t ) 
  

EXERCISE # 06 SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE (LEVEL # 03)

ANS.1. T2  bT1 /  b  T1   1.75 kK .

ANS.2. 5 109 kg / s, about 1011 years.

ANS.3. (a)  j  P / 8 2 chr 2  6 .1013 cm2 s 1;

(b) r  P / 2hn / 2 c  9m.

ANS.4.  p  4 1    E /  d 2c  50 atm.

ANS.5. p   E / c  1   2  2  cos 2  35 nN .s.

ANS.6. p   I/ c 1    cos 2   0.6 nN / cm2

ANS.7. F   R 2 I / c  0.18 N.

ANS.8. F  P / 2 c 1   2 

ANS.9. V  2 hc 1  1/   / e  16kV .

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 MODERN PHYSICS 85

ANS.10. 332 nm, 6.6  105 m / s

ANS.11.   2 chJ / e  0.020.

ANS.12. rn  nh / m , En  nh , where n  1, 2,......,   k / m.

ANS.13.

r1 , pm  ,106 m / s T , ev Eb , eV i , v i , v  , nm

H 52.9 2.18 13.6 13.6 13.6 10.2 121.5

26.5 4.36 54.5 54.5 54.5 40.8 30.4

He 

ANS.14. The Brackett series, 64  2.63 m.

ANS.15. (a) 657, 487 and 434 nm; (b)  /   1.5  103

ANS.16. He 

ANS.17. N  1/ 2 n  n  1

ANS.18. 97.3, 102.6 and 121.6 nm.

ANS.19. n = 5

ANS.20. Z  176 / 15   c / R  3, Li  .

ANS.21. Eb  54.4 eV  He  

ANS.22. E  E0  4hR  79 eV .

ANS.23. v  2  h  4hR  / m  2.3  106 m / s, where   2 c/  .

ANS.24. Tmin  3 / 2hR  20.5 eV .

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86 MODERN PHYSICS

ANS.25. v  3hR / 4mc  3.25m / s, where m is the mass of the atom.

ANS.26.       /   3hR / 8mc 2  0.55 106%, where m is the mass of the atom.

ANS.27. v  2 hR / m  3.1106 m / s, where m is the mass of the electron.

ANS.28. 123, 2.86 and 0.186 pm.

ANS.29. 0.45 keV.

ANS.30. For both particles   2 h 1  mn / md  / 2mnT  8.6 pm.

ANS.31.   212 / 12  22 .

ANS.32.   2 h / 2mkT  128 pm.

ANS.33.   154 pm.

ANS.34. (a) 843 pm for Al, 180 pm for Co; (b)  5 keV.

ANS.35. Three

ANS.36. V  15 kV .

ANS.37. Yes

ANS.38. Z  1  2  n  1 eV1 / 3hR  n  V1 / V2   29.

2
ANS.39. EL  h  2 c /   1  0.5 keV , where   3 / 4 R  Z  1 .

ANS.40. (a) P  1  exp  t  ; (b)   1/ .

ANS.41. (a) Pb206 ; (b) eight alpha decays and six beta decays.

2
ANS.42. T / T / 1   M  m  / 4mM cos 2    6.0 MeV , where m and M are the masses of an
 
alpha particle and a lithium nucleus.

ANS.43. Q  8   7 Li  17.3 MeV . ANS.44. N  vP / E  0.8  1019 s 1.

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 MODERN PHYSICS 87

EXERCISE # 07 KVPY, OLYMPIADS CORNER

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
B B B D B B A B
11 12 13 14 15 16
C D C C ABCD

EXERCISE # 08 JEE (MAIN) CORNER

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
B D D C C B B D B C
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
B A D B C D A B C B
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
B B D C A D A D C D
31 32 33 34 35 36 37
A C A D C B A

EXERCISE # 09 JEE (ADVANCED) CORNER

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
AC n = 24 B B A B C C A D
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
A B A B D A 3 8 D B
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
C A 1 7 C D 1 4 AC C
31 32 33 34 35 36 37
A C A B 2 3 C
38 39 40
(A)-(R) OR (R) and (T), (B) – (P) and (S), (C) – (Q) and (T), (D) – (R) 2 A
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49
B ABD 8 OR 9 6 C C C 5 A

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!