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Kinetic Theory, Thermodynamics

IIT-JAM 2005
5
Q1. The molar specific heat of a gas as given from the kinetic theory is R. If it is not
2
specified whether it is CP or CV , one could conclude that the molecules of the gas
(a) are definitely monatomic (b) are definitely rigid diatomic
(c) are definitely non-rigid diatomic (d) can be monatomic or rigid diatomic
Ans. : (d)
5R
Solution: If molecule is mono atomic, then C p 
2
5R
And if molecule is rigid diatomic then CV 
2
Q2. The value of entropy at absolute zero of temperature would be
(a) zero for all the materials
(b) finite for all the materials
(c) zero for some materials and non-zero for others
(d) unpredictable for any material
Ans. : (a)
Solution: If system will achieve absolute zero then it is perfectly ordered system then entropy
will be zero.
Q3. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
(a) Indistinguishable particles obey Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics
(b) All particles of an ideal Bose gas occupy a single energy state at T  0
(c) The integral spin particles obey Bose-Einstein statistics
(d) Protons obey Fermi-Dirac statistics
Ans. : (a)
Solution: Distinguishable particles obey Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics.

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IIT-JAM 2006
Q4. A solid melts into a liquid via first order phase transition. The relationship between the
pressure P and the temperature T of the phase transition is P  2T  P0 , where P0 is a

constant. The entropy change associated with the phase transition is 1.0 J mole 1 K 1 . The

 dP 
Clausius-Clapeyron equation for the latent heat is L  T  v . Here v  vliquid  v solid
 dT 
is the change in molar volume at the phase transition. The correct statement relating the
values of the volumes is
(a) vliquid  v solid (b) vliquid  v solid  1
1
(c) vliquid  v solid  (d) v quid  v solid  2
2
Ans. : (c)
dP
Solution: Since P  2T  P0   2
dT
 dP  dL
It is given L  T  v  L  2T v   2v
 dT  dT
dQ mdL 1
Since dS  1.0 Jmole -1 K -1 , dS    1  1  2v  v  
T dT 2

IIT-JAM 2007
Q5. Experimental measurements of heat capacity per mole of Aluminum at low temperatures
show that the data can be fitted to the formula, CV  aT  bT 3 , where

a  0.00135 JK 2 mole 1 , b  2.48  105 JK 4 mole 1 and T is the temperature in Kelvin.

The entropy of a mole of Aluminum at such temperatures is given by the formula
b aT b 3
(a) aT  T 3  c, where c  0 is a constant (b)  T  c, where c  0 is a constant
3 2 4
b aT b 3
(c) aT  T 3 (d)  T
3 2 4
Ans. : (a)
cv dT aT  bT 3 b
Solution: ds   s dT  aT  T 3  c
T T 3

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IIT-JAM 2008
Q6. The chemical potential of an ideal Bose gas at any temperature is
(a) necessarily negative (b) either zero or negative
(c) necessarily positive (d) either zero or positive
Ans. : (b)
Solution: The chemical potential of an ideal Bose gas at any temperature is either zero or
negative.(zero in case of photon ).
Q7. A thermodynamic system is maintained at constant temperature and pressure. In
thermodynamic equilibrium, its
(a) Gibbs free energy is minimum (b) enthalpy is maximum
(c) Helmholtz free energy is minimum (d) internal energy is zero
Ans. : (a)
Solution: A thermodynamic system is maintained at constant temperature and pressure can be
defined by Gibbs energy dG   SdT  VdP  0 i.e. Gibbs free energy is minimum.

IIT-JAM 2009
Q8. A box containing 2 moles of a diatomic ideal gas at temperature T0 is connected to

another identical box containing 2 moles of a monatomic ideal gas at temperature 5T0 .
There are no thermal losses and the heat capacity of the boxes is negligible. Find the final
temperature of the mixture of gases (ignore the vibrational degrees of freedom for the
diatomic molecules).
(a) T0 (b) 1.5T0 (c) 2.5T0 (d) 3T0
Ans. : (c)
Solution: Internal energy of the system remains conserve i.e. U monoatomic  U diatomic  U mixture

U monotomic  n1CV1T1 , U diatomic  n2CV2 T2

5R 3R
Cv1  , Cv  , n1  n2  2 , T1  T0 , T2  5T0
2 2
2

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n1CV1  n2CV2
Let the common temperature of mixture is T and specific heat is CV  and
n1  n2

number of moles of mixture is n  n1  n2 , then

n1CV1 T1  n2CV2 T2  nCV T  T  2.5T0

1  V 
Q9. Isothermal compressibility kT of a substance is defined as kT    . Its value for
V  P T
n moles of an ideal gas will be
1 n 1 n
(a) (b) (c)  (d) 
P P P P
Ans. : (c)
1  V  1
Solution: PV  nRT and kT     .
V  P T P

IIT-JAM 2010
Q10. A gas of molecules each having mass m is in thermal equilibrium at a temperature T .

Let vx , v y , vz be the Cartesian components of velocity, v , of a molecules. The mean value

of v x  v y   v z  is
2

(a) 1   2   2  (b) 1   2   2 
k BT k BT
m m

(c)  2   2  (d)  2   2 
k BT k BT
m m
Ans. : (a)

Solution:  vx   v y   vz   vx2   2 v y2   2 v y2  2 vx v y  2  vz vx  2  v y vz
2

 vx   v y   vz     vx2    2  v y2    2  v y2   2  vx  v y   2   vz  vx   2   v y  vz 
2

k BT
 vx2    v y2    vz2   and  vx    v y    vz   0
m


 vx   v y   v z    1   2   2  kmT
2
B

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Q11. A trapped air bubble of volume V0 is released from a depth h measured from the water

surface in a large water tank. The volume of the bubble grows to 2V0 as it reaches just
below the surface. The temperature of the water and the pressure above the surface of
water ( 105 N / m 2 ) remain constant throughout the process. If the density of water is
1000 kg / m3 and the acceleration due to gravity is 10 m / s 2 , then the depth h is
(a) 1m (b) 10 m (c) 50 m (d) 100 m
Ans. : (b)
Solution: At depth h pressure P1  P0   gh and volume V1  V0

At surface pressure P2  P0 and volume V2  2V0

1 1  PV
Then, PV 2 2

P0V0 P 1 105
 P0   gh V0  P0 2V0  h   0   10 m
 gV0  g 10 103

P0  105 N / m 2 , g  10m / s 2 ,   1000kg / m3  h  10m

IIT-JAM 2011
Q12. Consider free expansion of one mole of an ideal gas in an adiabatic container from
volume V1 to V2 . The entropy change of the gas, calculated by considering a reversible

process between the original state V1 , T  to the final state V2 , T  , where T is the

temperature of the system is denoted by S1 . The corresponding change in the entropy of

the surrounding is S 2 . Which of the following combinations is correct?

(a) S1  R ln V1 / V2  , S 2   R ln V1 / V2 

(b) S1   R ln V1 / V2  , S 2  R ln V1 / V2 

(c) S1  R ln V2 / V1  , S 2  0

(d) S1   R ln V2 / V1  , S 2  0

Ans. : (c)

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Solution: Free expansion is irreversible process when gas expand V1 to V2 which can be
explained by choosing any path between two state (because entropy is state function). So
one can choose reversible isothermal process.
V2
So, S1  R ln . Hence it is free expansion so entropy of surrounding is S2  0 .
V1
Q13. A gas of molecular mass m is at temperature T . If the gas obeys Maxwell-Boltzmann
velocity distribution, the average speed of molecules is given by

k BT 2 k BT 2 k BT 8k B T
(a) (b) (c) (d)
m m m m
Ans. : (d)
Solution: The velocity distribution function

 mv 2
3/ 2
 m 
f v     4 v 2 dv, 0v
 2 kT  2kT
Now,
 3/ 2  mv 2
 m 
v   v   e 2 kT
, 4 v 2 dv
0  2 kT 
3/ 2   mv 2 3/ 2 2
 m   m  1  2kT 
 4  v e dv  4 
3
    2
2 kT

 2 kT  0  2 kT  2 m 
2
m  m  1  2kT  m  2kT  8kT
 4     1  2  
2 kT  2 kT  2  m  2 kT  m  m

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IIT-JAM 2012
Q14. For a liquid to vapour phase transition at Ttr , which of the following plots between
specific Gibbs free energy g and temperature T is correct?
g
(a) (b) g

Liquid Vapour Liquid Vapour

T T
Ttr Ttr

(c) g (d) g

Liquid Vapour Liquid Vapour

T T
Ttr Ttr

Ans. : (a)
Solution: dG  VdP  SdT 

Q15. A tiny dust particle of mass 1.4 1011 kg is floating in air at 300 K . Ignoring gravity, its
rms speed (in  m / s ) due to random collisions with air molecules will be closest to
(a) 0.3 (b) 3 (c) 30 (d) 300
Ans. : (c)

3kT 3  1.38  1023  300

Solution: vrms   11
 30  106 m / s
m 1.4  10
Q16. When the temperature of a blackbody is doubled, the maximum value of its spectral
energy density, with respect to that at initial temperature, would become
1
(a) times (b) 8 times (c) 16 times (d) 32 times
16

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Ans. : (c)
U1 T14 T4
Solution: U  T 4   4  U 2  U1 24  16U1
U 2 T2 T1

IIT-JAM 2013
Q17. A blackbody at temperature T emits radiation at a peak wavelength  . If the temperature
of the blackbody becomes 4T , the new peak wavelength is
1 1 1 1
(a)  (b)  (c)  (d) 
256 64 16 4
Ans. : (d)
1maxT1 T 
Solution: From wein Law, 1maxT1  2maxT2  2max   
T2 4T 4

Q18. Let N MB , N BE , N FD denote the number of ways in which two particles can be distributed
in two energy states according to Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac
statistics respectively. Then N MB : N BE : N FD is
(a) 4 : 3 : 1 (b) 4 : 2 : 3 (c) 4 : 3 : 3 (d) 4 : 3 : 2
Ans. : (a)
Solution: N  2, g  2, n  2
N n 2 2
For Maxwell, Boltzmann, W  g  2 4
n 2
n  g 1 2  2 1
For Boson, N  2, g  2, n  2 ; W  3
n g 1 2 2 1

g 2
For Fermion, N  2, g  2, n  2 ; W   1
g g n 21

Q19. Two thermally isolated identical systems have heat capacities which vary as
C v  T 3 (where   0 ). Initially one system is at 300 K and the other at 400 K . The
systems are then brought into thermal contact and the combined system is allowed to
reach thermal equilibrium. The final temperature of the combined system is………….
Ans. : 357 K  T  360 K

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Solution: There is not a unique value of temperature rather range of temperature

The maximum temperature when work done is zero so dQ1  dQ2  0

Tmax T4  300   400 

Tmax 4 4
m  T dT  m  T dT  0  2 max 
3 3
 0
300 400 4 4 4

 Tmax
4

 300 4   400 4  T  360 K
max
2
The minimum temperature of system, when process is reversible so change in entropy of
system is zero
 S1  S0  0

Tmin
m T 3 Tmin
dT  
m T 3
dT  0  Tmin
3

 300    400   T  357 K
2 2

 min
300 T 400 T 2
So 357 K  T  360 K
IIT-JAM 2014
Q20. In 1 - dimension, an ensemble of N classical particles has energy of the form
2
P 1
E  x  kx 2 . The average internal energy of the system at temperature T is
2m 2
3 1
(a) Nk B T (b) Nk B T (c) 3 Nk B T (d) Nk B T
2 2
Ans. : (d)
 Pn2 1 2 
Solution: Since, E    kx 
 2m 2 
1 1 kT kT
Now, E  Px2  k x 2    kT
2m 2 2 2
And for N - classical particle, E  NkT

Q21. A solid metallic cube of heat capacity S is at temperature 300 K . It is brought in contact
with a reservoir at 600 K . If the heat transfer takes place only between the reservoir and
the cube, the entropy change of the universe after reaching the thermal equilibrium is
(a) 0.69 S (b) 0.54 S (c) 0.27 S (d) 0.19 S
Ans. : (d)

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Solution: Heat taken by cube  S  600  300   300 S J

Q 300
entropy change of res    S  0.5 S
T 600
600
entropy change of cube  5ln  0.69 S
300
Suniv  0.5 S  0.69 S  0.19 S

Q22. A real gas has specific volume V at temperature T . Its coefficient of volume expansion
and isothermal compressibility are  and k T , respectively. Its molar specific heat at
constant pressure C p and molar specific heat at constant volume C v are related as

Tv
(a) C p  C v  R (b) C p  C v 
kT
Tv 2
(c) C p  C v  (d) C p  C v
kT
Ans. : (c)
Q23. At atmospheric pressure  10 5 Pa , aluminium melts at 550 K . As it melts, its density

decreases from 3 10 3 kg/m 3 to 2.9  10 3 kg/m 3 . Latent heat of fusion of aluminium is

24  103 J/kg . The melting point of aluminium at a pressure of 10 7 Pa is closest to

(a) 551.3 K (b) 552.6 K (c) 558.7 K (d) 547.4 K
Ans. : (a)
dp L fu 24000
Solution:  
dT T V  Vi 
f
 1 1 
T  
 2900 3000 
1
As V 

dp 2088  106 dT
  dp  2088 106
dT T T
or p  2088  106 ln T  C

At 105 Pa , T  550 K

 105  2088  106 ln 550  C

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 C  13.18  109
At 107 Pa , 107  2088  106 ln T  13.18  109
T  antilog  6.31

On solving, T  550.1 K

IIT-JAM 2015
Q24. A system consists of N number of particles, N  1 . Each particle can have only one of
the two energies E1 or E1     0  . If the system is in equilibrium at a temperature T ,
the average number of particles with energy E1 is
N N N
(a) (b)  / kT
(c)   / kT
(d) Ne  / kT
2 e 1 e 1
Ans. : (d)
 E2  E1   E1    E1  
Solution: N  Ne kT
 Ne kT
 N  Ne kT

Q25. A rigid and thermally isolated tank is divided into two compartments of equal volume V ,
separated by a thin membrane. One compartment contains one mole of an ideal gas A
and the other compartment contains one mole of a different ideal gas B . The two gases
are in thermal equilibrium at a temperature T . If the membrane ruptures, the two gases
mix. Assume that the gases are chemically inert. The change in the total entropy of the
gases on mixing is
3
(a) 0 (b) R ln 2 (c) R ln 2 (d) 2R ln 2
2
Ans. : (d)
Solution: For A , number of microstate after mixing is 2
For A , number of microstate before mixing is 1 A B
 S A  R ln 2  R ln1  R ln 2

Similarly, for B  S B  R ln 2  S  S A  S B  2 R ln 2

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Q26. A rigid triangular molecule consists of three non-collinear atoms joined by rigid rods.
The constant pressure molar specific heat C p  of an ideal gas consisting of such

molecules is
(a) 6 R (b) 5 R (c) 4 R (d) 3R
Ans. : (c)
6 RT  U 
Solution: D.O.F  6  U   CV     3R  CP  CV  R  4 R
2  T V
Q27. As shown in the P  V diagram AB and CD are two isotherms at temperatures T1 and
T2 , respectively T1  T2  . AC and BD are two reversible adiabats. In this Carnot cycle,
which of the following statements are true?
P A Q1
Q Q
(a) 1  2
T1 T2 B
T1
(b) The entropy of the source decreases
(c) The entropy of the system increases C
Q2 D T2
(d) Work done by the system W  Q1  Q2
V
Ans. : (a), (b) and (d)
Q28. In the thermodynamic cycle shown in the figure, one mole of a monatomic ideal gas is
taken through a cycle. AB is a reversible isothermal
Pressure

expansion at a temperature of 800 K in which the volume of

the gas is doubled. BC is an isobaric contraction to the A
P1
original volume in which the temperature is reduced to 300 K .
C B
P2
CA is a constant volume process in which the pressure and
temperature return to their initial values. The net amount of V 2V Volume
heat (in Joules) absorbed by the gas in one complete cycle is…………….
Ans. : 452
Solution: Process A  B is isothermal expansion
PA
TA  800 K , VA , PA and TB  800 K , VB  2VA , PB  , R  8.314 J / K
2
Process B  C is isobaric

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PA 5
PC  PB  , VC  VA , TC  300 K , n  1,  
2 2
C  A is Isochoric
V 
For process A  B , Q1  nRTA ln  B   4610 J
 VA 

n RT   
Q2  nCP T   R  300  800 = 10392 J
  1    1
R R
Q3  800  300   500  6235.5 J
  1   1
Total heat exchange is Q1  Q2  Q3  452

Q29. One gram of ice at 0 o C is melted and heated to water at 39 o C . Assume that the specific
heat remains constant over the entire process. The latent heat of fusion of ice is
80 Calories/gm. The entropy change in the process (in Calories per degree) is………….
Ans. : 0.39
ML 1 80 302 dT 302
Solution: S1   , S2  MC   S2  11ln
T 273 273 T 273
80 302
 S  S1  S 2  S   1.1ln  0.29  0.1  0.39
273 273

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Q30. A spherical closed container with smooth inner wall contains a monoatomic ideal gas. If
the collisions between the wall and the atoms are elastic, then the Maxwell speed-
 dn 
distribution function  v  for the atoms is best represented by:
 dv 
(a) (b)
dnv dnv
dv dv

0 v 0 v

(c) (d)
dnv dnv
dv dv

0 v 0 v
Ans. : (c)
dn  mv 2 
Solution:  v 2 exp   
dv  2kT 
Q31. For an ideal gas, which one of the following T - S diagram is valid?

(a) T (b) T
Isochor Isobar
Isobar Isochor
S S

(c) T Isochor (d) T Isochor

Isobar Isobar

S S
Ans. : (a)
 S   S 
Solution: CV  T   , CP  T   , CP  CV from the slope of T - S diagram one can plot
 T V  T  P
isochoric and isobaric plot.

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Q32. If U , F , H and G represent internal energy, Helmholtz free energy, enthalpy and Gibbs
free energy respectively, then which one of the following is a correct thermodynamic
relation?
(a) dU  PdV  TdS (b) dH  VdP  TdS
(c) dF   PdV  SdT (d) dG  VdP  SdT
Ans. : (b)
Solution: H  U  PV  dH  dU  PdV  VdP  TdS  PdV  PdV  VdP  dH  VdP  TdS
Q33. One mole of an ideal gas with average molecular speed v0 is kept in a container of fixed
volume. If the temperature of the gas is increased such that the average speed gets
doubled, then
(a) the mean free path of the gas molecule will increase
(b) the mean free path of the gas molecule will not change
(c) the mean free path of the gas molecule will decrease
(d) the collision frequency of the gas molecule with wall of the container remains
unchanged.
Ans. : (b)
Solution: For fixed volume if temperature is increased then pressure is also increased by same
amount so mean free path will not change.
kT

2 d 2 P
Q34. The P  V diagram below shows three possible paths for an ideal
gas to reach the final state f from an initial state i . Which among i
P 3
the following statements  s  is (are) correct? 2
1 f
(a) The work done by the gas is maximum along path - 3 .
V
(b) Minimum change in the internal energy occurs along path - 2 .
(c) Maximum heat transfer is for path - 1
(d) Heat transfer is path independent
Ans. : (a)

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Solution: Work done is area under curve so it is maximum in path 3 Hence change in internal
energy is same in all path so heat exchange is also maximum in path 3
Q35. A cylinder contains 16 g of O2 . The work done when the gas is compressed to 75% of

the original volume at constant temperature of 270 C is………………. J .

[Universal gas constant R  8.31 J /  mole K  ]

16
n  0.5, T  300 K
32
Ans. : 358
.75V dV 75 1
Solution: W  PdV  nRT   nRT ln   8.31 300  ln 0.75  358 J
V V 100 2

Q36. An aluminum plate of mass 0.1 kg at 950 C is immersed in 0.5 litre of water at 200 C
kept inside an insulating container and is then removed. If the temperature of the water is
found to be 230 C , then the temperature of the aluminum plate is………… 0 C
(The specific heat of water and aluminum are 4200 J / kg  K and 900 J / kg  K

respectively, the density of water is 1000 kg / m3 ).

Ans. : 94.36

   
Solution:  M a Sa Ta f  Tai  M w Sw Tw f  Twi  0.1 4200 Taf  368   0.5  900  296  293

  
  2100 Taf  368  450  3  Taf  368   450
700
 0.64

 Taf  368  .64  367.36  367.36  273  94.36

Q37. If there is a 10% decrease in the atmospheric pressure at a hill compared to the pressure
at sea level, then the change in the boiling point of water is………………. 0 C
(Take latent heat of vaporisation of water as 2270 kJ / kg and the change in the specific

volume at the boiling point to be 1.2 m3 / kg )

Ans. : 2
dP 1 L V  V 0.1 1.01 105  373 1.2
Solution:   dT  dP  T  2 1   0.02  102  20 C
dT T V2  V1 L 2270  103

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Q38. Consider a system of N particles obeying classical statistics, each of which can have an
energy 0 or E . The system is in thermal contact with a reservoir maintained at a
temperature T . Let k denote the Boltzmann constant. Which one of the following
statements regarding the total energy U and the heat capacity C of the system is correct?
NE NE e E / kT
(a) U  and C  k
1  e E / kT kT 1  e E / kT 2

NE E NE e E / kT
(b) U  and C  k
kT 1  e E / kT kT 1  e  E / kT 2

NE NE 2 e E / kT
(c) U  and C  k
1  e E / kT  kT  1  e E / kT 
2 2

NE NE 2 e E / kT
(d) U  and C  k
1  e E / kT  kT  1  e E / kT 
2 2

Ans. : (c), (d)

Solution: Since, E1  0, E2  E , For one particle,

 E   E   E 
E1  exp   1   E2  exp   2  E  exp   
U  kT   kT    kT   E
 E   E   E   E 
exp   1   exp   2  1  exp    1  exp  
 kT   kT   kT   kT 
NE  dU  NE 2 e E / kT
So for N Particle U  C     k
 E   dT V  kT  1  e E / kT 
2 2
1  exp  
 kT 
Q39. Consider two identical, finite, isolated systems of constant heat capacity C at
temperature T1 and T2 T1  T2  . An engine works between them until their temperatures

become equal. Taking into account that the work performed by the engine will be
maximum   Wmax  if the process is reversible (equivalently, the entropy change of the

entire system is zero), the value of Wmax is:

C T1  T2 
(a) C T1  T2     
2
(b) (c) C T1  T2  T1T2 (d) C T1  T2
2

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Ans. : (d)
 T f2 
Solution: For maximum, dS  C  ln   0  T f  T1T2
 T1T2 
 

   
dWmax  C T1  T f  C T2  T f  C T1  T2  2T f  
   
2
 C T1  T2  2 T2T1  C T1  T2

Q40. A white dwarf star has V and contains N electrons so that the density of electrons is
N
n . Taking the temperature of the star to be 0 K , the average energy per electron in
V
3 2
 3 2 n  , where m is the mass of the electron. The electronic
2/3
the star is  0 
10 m
pressure in the star is:
1 2
(a) n 0 (b) 2n 0 (c) n 0 (d) n 0
3 3
Ans. : (d)
3 2 3 2
   3N 2 
2/3 2/3 1
Solution: Since,  0  3 2
n  and U  N  0
10 m 10m V 2/3

d 3 2 2/3   2   2
P
dU
 N 0  N  3N  2      V 5/ 3   n 0
dV dV 10m  3  3
Q41. In the radiation emitted by a black body, the ratio of the spectral densities at frequencies
2 and  will vary with  as:
1 1
(a)  e h / kBT  1 (b)  e h / kBT  1 (c) eh / kBT  1 (d) eh / kBT  1
Ans. : (b)
Solution: The ratio of spectral density at the frequencies 2 and 
1
2h h h
exp  1 exp 1 exp 1 1
kT kT kT 1
    eh / kBT  1
2h h h h
 1  exp    
1
exp  1 exp  1  exp  1
h kT  kT  kT   kT 
exp 1
kT

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Q42. An isolated box is divided into two equal compartments by a partition (see figure). One
compartment contains a van der Waals gas while the other compartment is empty. The
partition between the two compartments is now removed. After the gas has filled the
entire box and equilibrium has been achieved, which of the following statement(s) is (are)
correct?
(a) Internal energy of the gas has not changed
(b) Internal energy of the gas has decreased
(c) Temperature of the gas has increased
(d) Temperature of the gas has decreased
Ans. : (a) and (d)
Solution: It is the example of free expansion, so Internal energy of the gas has not changed
a
dU  CV T  dV
V
a
For van der Waal gas, dU  CV dT  2 dV
V
For keeping internal energy constant, if dV increases then dT must decrease

Q43. Consider a Carnot engine operating between temperature of 600 K and 400 K . The
engine performs 1000 J of work per cycle. The heat (in Joules) extracted per cycle from
the high temperature reservoir is…………..
(Specify your answer to two digits after the decimal point)
Ans. : 3000
T2 W 400 1000 1000 2
Solution:   1    1     Q1  3000 J
T1 Q1 600 Q1 Q1 6

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Q44. Two boxes A and B contain an equal number of molecules of the same gas. If the
volumes are VA and VB and A and B denote respective mean free paths, then

A B A B
(a) A  B (b)  (c) 1/ 2
 (d) AVA  BVB
VA VB V A VB1/ 2
Ans. : (b)
kT 1 V N
Solution:        V , where n 
2 d P
2
2 d n
2
2 d N
2
V
A  KVA , B  KVB
A B

VA VB
Q45. Which one of the figures correctly represents the T  S diagram of a Carnot engine?
T T
(a) (b)

S S

T T

(c) (d)

Ans. : (b) S S
Solution:
P A T
B A B

D C C
D
V S
A  B Isothermal expansion
B  C Adiabatic expansion
C  D Isothermal compression
D  A Adiabatic compression

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 B
Q46. The equation of state for one mole of a non-ideal gas is given by PV  A 1   , where
 V
the coefficient A and B are temperature dependent. If the volume changes from V1 to V2
in an isothermal process, the work done by the gas is
1 1 V 
(a) AB    (b) AB ln  2 
 V1 V2   V1 

V  1 1  V V 
(c) A ln  2   AB    (d) A ln  2 1   B
 V1   V1 V2   V1 
Ans. : (c)
 B  A AB 
Solution: PV  A 1    P    2 
 V V V 
1 1
V2 2 V
A AB V
W  PdV   dV   2 dV  A ln 2  AB    
V1
V V1
V V1  V1 V2 
Q47. An ideal gas consists of three dimensional polyatomic molecules. The temperature is
such that only one vibrational mode is excited. If R denotes the gas constant, then the
specific heat at constant volume of one mole of the gas at this temperature is
7 9
(a) 3R (b) R (c) 4R (d) R
2 2
Ans.: (c)

Solution: For a polyatomic gas

CP   4  f  R

CV   3  f  R

As, f  1, CV  4 R
Q48. Consider an ensemble of thermodynamic systems each of which is characterized by the
same number of particles, pressure and temperature. The thermodynamic function
describing the ensemble is
(a) Enthalpy (b) Helmholtz free energy
(c) Gibbs free energy (d) Entropy

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Ans. : (c)
Solution: The variable
G  H  TS
dG  dH  TdS  SdT
 TdS  VdP  TdS  SdT
dG  VdP  SdT
Q49. Which of the following relations is (are) true for thermodynamic variables?
 P   V 
(a) TdS  CV dT  T   dV (b) TdS  CP dT  T   dP
 T V  T  P
(c) dF   SdT  PdV (d) dG   SdT  VdP
Ans. : (b), (d)
 S   S 
Solution: S  S T , V   dS    dT    dV
 T V  V T

 P 
TdS  CV dT  T   dV (a) is correct.
 T V

 S   S 
S  S T , P   dS    dT    dP
 T  p  P T
 S   S 
TdS  T   dT  T   dP
 T  P  P T

 V 
 C p dT  T   dP , (b) is correct.
 T  P
dF   SdT  PdV so (c) is incorrect
dG   SdT  PdV so (d) is correct
P
Q50. Consider a monoatomic ideal gas operating in a closed cycle as
P2
P
shown in the P  V diagram given below. The ratio 1 is _______. adiabatic
P2
P1
(Specific your answer upto two digits after the decimal point)
Ans. : 0.16
V
5 V1 3V1
Solution: For monoatomic gas r 
3

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1 1  PV
r r
For adiabatic problems PV 2 2
P
5/ 3
P1  V1  
5 S1
   3 3
 0 16
P2  V1  3 
P2

V1 3V1
V
IIT-JAM 2019
Q51. The Fermi-Dirac distribution function  n     is

( k B is the Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature and  F is the Fermi energy)

1 1
(a) n       F
(b) n      F 

e k BT  1 e k BT  1
1 1
(c) n       F
(d) n      F 

e k BT  1 e k BT  1
Ans. : (c)
Q52. In a heat engine based on the Carnot cycle, heat is added to the working substance at
constant
(a) Entropy (b) Pressure
(c) Temperature (d) Volume
Ans. : (c)
Q53. Isothermal compressibility is given by
1  V  1  P  1  V  1  P 
(a)   (b)   (c)    (d)   
V  P T P  V T V  P T P  V T
Ans. : (c)
Q54. A red star having radius rR at a temperature TR and a white star having radius rw at a

temperature Tw , radiate the same total power. If these stars radiate as perfect black bodies,
then
(a) rR  rw and TR  Tw (b) rR  rw and TR  Tw

(c) rR  rw and TR  Tw (d) rR  rw and TR  Tw

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Ans. : (c)
Solution: E   AT 4  1    4 rW2 TW4    4  rR2  TR4 as rW  rR
2
r 
TW  TR   R  TW  TR
 rW 
Q55. During free expansion of an ideal gas under adiabatic condition, the internal energy of the
gas.
(a) Decreases (b) Initially decreases and then increases
(c) Increases (d) Remains constant
Ans. : (d)
Solution: As W  U  Q
Q  0  W  U
Work is done at the expense of internal energy.
Q56. In the given phase diagram for a pure substance regions I, II, III, IV, P
respectively represent Critical
Point
(a) Vapour, Gas, Solid, Liquid (b) Gas, Vapour, Liquid, solid III
IV
II I
(c) Gas, Liquid, Vapour, solid (d) Vapour, Gas, Liquid, Solid
T
Ans. : (b)
Solution: IV – Solid
III – Liquid
II – Vapour
I – Gas (superheated dry vapour)
Q57. A thermodynamic system is described by the P, V , T coordinates. Choose the valid
expression(s) for the system.
 P   V   P   P   V   P 
(a)        (b)      
 V T  T  P  T V  V T  T  P  T V

 V   T   V   V   T   V 
(c)        (d)      
 T  P  P V  P T  T  P  P V  P T
Ans. : (a), (c)

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Q58. Two gases having molecular diameters D1 and D2 and mean free paths 1 and 2 ,
respectively, are trapped separately in identical containers. If D2  2 D1 , then
1
 _______.
2
(Assume there is no change in other thermodynamic parameters)
Ans. : 4
2
1 x d 
Solution: x  2  1   2   4
d x2  d1 

Q59. A di-atomic gas undergoes adiabatic expansion against the piston of a cylinder. As a
result, the temperature of the gas drops from 1150 K to 400 K . The number of moles of
the gas required to obtain 2300 J of work from the expansion is ______. (The gas

constant R  8.314 J mol-1 K 1 .)

(Round off to 2 decimal places)
Ans. : 0.1475
7
Solution:  
5
nR T2  T1 
W
1V
 400  1150 
 2300  n  8.314   n  0.1475
1  1.4
1 1
 
2 d N / V
2
d2

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Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics

JEST-2012
Q1. A monatomic ideal gas at 1700 C is adiabatically compressed to 1/ 8 of its original
volume. The temperature after compression is
(a) 2.10 C (b) 17 0C (c) 200.5 0C (d) 887 0C
Ans. : (d)
Solution: PV   costant , PV  RT
TV 
 costant
V
 TV  1  costant
x
 V1  5
   443   8   443  4
 1  1 1
 TV 
2/3
1 1 T V
2 2  T2  T1   443 8 3

 V2 
Temperature in 0 C  1772  273  1499
 Most appropriate answer is option (d)

Q2. Consider a system of particles in three dimensions with momentum p and energy

E  c p , c being a constant. The system is maintained at inverse temperature  , volume

V and chemical potential  . What is the grand partition function of the system?

(a) exp e  8 V /   ch   (b) e  6V /  ch 

3 2
 

(c) exp e  6 V /   ch   (d) e  8V /  ch 

3 2
 
Ans. : (a)
Solution: Canonical partition function,
1  H
h3 
zN  e dpx dp y dpz dxdydz , E  pc

 
V V 4 V 3 8 V
zN  3 
4 p 2 e  E dp  3  4 p 2 e   pc dp   
  c    hc 
3 3 3
h 0 h 0 h
     8V 
Grand canonical partition function, z u  exp e kT z N   exp e kT  
   hc 3 
 8V 
 exp e  
 hc 3 

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Q3. Consider a system maintained at temperature T, with two available energy states E1 and
E2 each with degeneracies g1 and g2. If p1 and p2 are probabilities of occupancy of the two
energy states, what is the entropy of the system?
(a) S  k B  p1 ln  p1 / g1   p 2 ln  p 2 / g 2 
(b) S  k B  p1 ln  p1 g1   p 2 ln  p 2 g 2 

  
(c) S   k B  p1 ln p1g1  p2 ln p2 g2  
(d) S  k B 1 / p1  ln  p1 / g1   1 / p 2  ln  p 2 / g 2 
Ans. : (a)
gi e   Ei
Solution: pi  , where z is partition function
z
 ln pi  ln gi   Ei  ln z

pi F
 ln    Ei   F  kT ln z 
gi kT

pi
 ln    Ei   F
gi

pi
 ln   F U   F  U  TS 
gi

pi  1 
ln
gi
    TS ,    kT 

pi  p   p p 
S  k ln  k   pi ln i    k  p1 ln 1  p2 ln 2 
gi  gi   g1 g2 

Q4. Efficiency of a perfectly reversible (Carnot) heat engine operating between absolute
temperature T and zero is equal to
(a) 0 (b) 0.5 (c) 0.75 (d) 1
Ans. : (d)
T2 0
Solution:   1   1  1
T1 T

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Q5. Consider an ideal gas of mass m at temperature T1 which is mixed isobarically (i.e. at

constant pressure) with an equal mass of same gas at temperature T2 in a thermally

insulated container. What is the change of entropy of the universe?
 T  T2   T  T2 
(a) 2mC p ln 1  (b) 2mC p ln 1 
2 TT  2 TT 
 1 2   1 2 

 T  T2   T  T2 
(c) 2mC p ln 1  (d) 2mC p ln 1 
 2T1T2  2 TT 
 1 2 
Ans. : (a)
Solution: Let us consider final temperature will be T
T1  T2
mC T1  T   mC T  T2   T 
2
T
S1  mC p
T
T T
dT dT
Now, S  S1  S 2  S  mC p   mC p 
T1
T T2
T

T  T 
 S  mC p ln    mC p ln  
 T1   T2 
2
T  T T   T T 
 S  2mC p ln  mC p ln  1 2   S  2mC p ln  1 2 
T1T2  2 TT   2 TT 
 1 2   1 2 
Q6. A collection of N two-level systems with energies 0 and E  0 is in thermal
equilibrium at temperature T . For T   , the specific heat approaches to,
3Nk B
(a) 0 (b) Nk B (c) (d) 
2
Ans.: (a)
Solution: Z   e  Ei  e   0  e  Ei  Z  1  e  E  ln z  ln 1  e  E 

  Ee   E
U  E 

ln z  

 
ln 1  e   E  
1
1  e  E
 e  E
  E  
1  e  E

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 
E

 U    Ee kT

Now,    CV 
 T V T  
E 

 1 e 
kT

 E 2 kTE E 2 kT2 E E 2 kT2 E  E 2 kT

E
 2e  2e  2e  e
 CV     C  kT 2
kT kT kT
V  CV T 
0
E 2 E 2
   
1  e 
kT 1  e kT 
 
 
 
Q7. A thermally insulated ideal gas of volume V1 and temperature T expands to another

enclosure of volume V2 through a porous plug. What is the change in the temperature of
the gas?
V  V   V V 
(a) 0 (b) T ln  1  (c) T ln  2  (d) T ln  2 1 
 V2   V1   V2 
Ans. : (c)
Solution: dH  TdS  VdP , for porous plug Joul Thomshon dH  0 and TdS  0 since it is
thermally insulated ideal gas
VdP  0
nRTdV
 VdP  0  nRdT  pdV  nRdT 
V
dV V2 dV V
dT  T  dT  T   dT  T ln 2
V V1 V V1

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JEST-2013
Q8. Consider a system of two particles A and B . Each particle can occupy one of three
possible quantum states 1 , 2 and 3 . The ratio of the probability that the two particles

are in the same state to the probability that the two particles are in different states is
calculated for bosons and classical (Maxwell-Boltzmann) particles. They are respectively
1 1 1
(a) 1, 0 (b) ,1 (c) 1, (d) 0,
2 2 2
Ans.: (c)
Solution: For two particle in same state:
AB 3 AB
3 3 3 3 3
AB 2 AB
2 2 2 2 2
AB AB
1 1 1 1 1 1
Boson Classical (Maxwell - Boltzman)
1/ 3
Probability ratio: 1
1/ 3
For two particle in different states
B B B A B A
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
B A B A A B
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
A A 1 A B A B
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Boson Classical (Maxwell-Boltzmann)
1/ 3 1
Probability ratio: 
2/3 2
Q9. For a diatomic ideal gas near room temperature, what fraction of the heat supplied is
available for external work if the gas is expanded at constant pressure?
1 5 3 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
7 7 4 7
Ans.: (d)
Solution: It is isobaric process (constant pressure). Then  Q  nC p T  W  nRT

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In this process  Q is heat exchange during process.

Function of heat supplied
W nRT R  1 1
     1
Q nC p T R   
 1

1  Cp R 
 1     Cp  
 2  CV   1
1  
 f 

f
 1 [ f  degree of freedom, for diatomic molecule f  5 ]
f 2
5 2
 1 
5 2 7
Q10. A metal bullet comes to rest after hitting its target with a velocity of 80 m / s . If 50% of
the heat generated remains in the bullet, what is the increase in its temperature? (The
specific heat of the bullet  160 Joule / kg / 0 C )

(a) 140 C (b) 12.50 C (c) 100 C (d) 8.20 C

Ans.: (c)
1 2 1 80  80
Solution: Conservation of momentum 50% of mv  mcT   160 T
2 2 2
80  80 1
 T    100 C
4 160
Q11. Consider a particle with three possible spin states: s  0 and 1 . There is a magnetic
field h present and the energy for a spin state s is  hs . The system is at a temperatureT .
Which of the following statements is true about the entropy S T  ?

(a) S T   ln 3 at T  0, and 3 at high T (b) S T   ln 3 at T  0, and 0 at high T

(c) S T   0 at T  0, and 3 at high T (d) S T   0 at T  0, and ln 3 at high T

Ans.: (d)
Solution: S  k ln  , where   number of microstates
S  k ln 3   3 , at height T and at T  0 , it is perfect ordered i.e. S  0

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Q12. Consider three situations of 4 particles in one dimensional box of width L with hard
walls. In case (i), the particles are fermions, in case (ii) they are bosons, and in case (iii)
they are classical. If the total ground state energy of the four particles in these three cases
are EF , EB and Ecl respectively, which of the following is true?

(a) EF  EB  Ecl (b) EF  EB  Ecl

(c) EF  EB  Ecl (d) EF  EB  Ecl

Ans.: (b)
Solution: For fermions, in 1-D box of width L , the ground state energy for single particle is
 2 2
written as, 0
2ml 2
 10 1 4 0 1 9 0 116 0  30 0

For Boson  40 , For Maxwell  40

EF  EB  Ecl

JEST-2014
Q13. A monoatomic gas consists of atoms with two internal energy levels, ground state E 0  0

and an excited state E1  E . The specific heat of the gas is given by

3 E 2 e E / kT
(a) k (b)
2 
kT 2 1  e E / kT 
2

3 E 2 e E / kT 3 E 2 e E / kT
(c) k (d) k
2 
kT 2 1  e E / kT 
2
2 
kT 2 1  e E / kT 2

Ans.: (c)
Solution: E0  0, E1  E
Then partition function is


z   e   Ei  z  e  0  e  E  ln z  ln 1  e   E1

  Ee   E
ln 1  e    1
U E  ln z   E
  E  e  E
    kBT 
  1  e  E  1  e  E

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 
E
  kET  E  
E

E
 E 
1  e k BT
 E.e . 
B
2 
 Ee k BT
e k BT
 2 
   k BT   k BT 
 U   
   C 
 T v
V 2
 
E

1  e k BT

 
 
E 2E 2E
E 2  k BT E 2  k BT E 2  k BT
 
E E
e e e 
k BT 2 k BT
k BT 2 k BT 2 k BT 2 E e 2
E e
CV  2
 2
 2
 
E
  
E
  E

 1  e k BT  k BT  1  e k BT
2
 k BT  1  e k B T
2

     
     
3
If gas will classically allowed, then CV  kB
2
E
2 k BT
E e
and quantum mechanically, CV  2
 E

k BT  1  e
2 k BT

 
 

3 E 2 e E / kT
 CV  kB 
 
2
2 kT 2 1  e E / kT

Q14. The temperature of a thin bulb filament (assuming that the resistance of the filament is
nearly constant) of radius r and length L is proportional to
(a) r 1 / 4 L1 / 2 (b) L2 r (c) L1 / 4 r 1 (d) r 2 L1
Ans.: (a)
Q15. Ice of density 1 melts at pressure P and absolute temperature T to form water of
density  2 . The latent heat of melting of 1 gram of ice is L . What is the change in the
internal energy U resulting from the melting of 1 gram of ice?
 1 1   1 1 
(a) L  P   (b) L  P  
  2 1    2 1 

 1 1   1 1 
(c) L  P   (d) L  P  
 1  2   1  2 
Ans.: (d)

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Solution: dU  dQ   W  dQ  PdV
2
 1  1 1 
dU  mL  PdV  dU  L  P    2 d  L  P  
1     1  2 
1 1
 V   dV   d
 2
Q16. What is the contribution of the conduction electrons in the molar entropy of a metal with
electronic coefficient of specific heat?
(a) T (b) T 2 (c) T 3 (d) T 4
Ans.: (a)
Solution: CV  BT 3  AT

Q17. Consider a system of 2N non-interacting spin 1 / 2 particles each fixed in position and
carrying a magnetic moment  . The system is immersed in a uniform magnetic field B .
The number of spin up particles for which the entropy of the system will be maximum is
(a) 0 (b) N (c) 2 N (d) N / 2
Ans.: (b)
Solution: Let us consider n number of spin out of 2 N particle have spin up remaining 2 N  n is
down.
 N 1
2 Cn for spin 2 (up)
Number of ways,    ,
2 NC 1
2 N  n for spin (down)
 2
Entropy, S  k ln   S  k ln 2N
C2 N  n  k ln 2N
Cn

  2N !   2N !  
S  k  ln   ln 
   n ! 2 N  n  !   n ! 2 N  n  ! 
S  2k ln 2 N ! ln n! ln 2 N  n !

S  2k  2 N ln 2 N  2 N  n ln n  n   2 N  n  ln  2 N  n    2 N  n 
 ln N !  N ln N  N !
S  2k  2 N ln 2 N  2 N  n ln n  n  2 N ln  2 N  n   n ln  2 N  n    2 N  n  

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S  2k  2 N ln 2 N  n ln n  2 N ln  2 N  n   n ln  2 N  n  

1
Now for maximum entropy at equilibrium for spin up particle,
2
dS
0
dn
 n
 1  ln  2 N  n 
dS 2N n
 2k    1  ln n   1 
dn  n 2N  n 2N  n 
 2N n 
 2k  1  ln n    ln  2 N  n  
 2N  n 2N  n 
 2N  n   2N  n 
 2k  1   ln  2 N  n   ln n   2k  1  1  ln 0
 2N  n   n 
 2k  0

 2N  n  2N  n
 ln 0  1  2 N  2n  n  N
 n  n
Q18. For which gas the ratio of specific heats C p / C v  will be the largest?

(a) mono-atomic (b) di-atomic (c) tri-atomic (d) hexa-atomic

Ans.: (a)
CP  2
Solution:    1   , where f is degree of freedom.
CV  f 
For monoatomic: f  3 , For diatomic: f  6 , For Triatomic: f  9
For hexaatomic: f  18

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JEST-2015
Q19. For a system in thermal equilibrium with a heat bath at temperature T , which one of the
 1 
following equalities is correct?    
 k BT 
 
E  E  E2 E  E2  E
2 2
(a) (b)
 
(c)


E  E2  E
2
(d)


E   E2  E  2

Ans.: (a)
i Ei e  Ei
Solution:  E 
 e  Ei i

 E E e  i
2  Ei
E e i
2  Ei
 e  Ei E e  i
2  Ei
E e i
2 2  Ei

 i
 i
 i
 i
 e   Ei
   Ei 
2
e   Ei
   Ei 
2

i e  i e 
 i   i 
 E
  E  E2
2


Q20. An ideal gas is compressed adiabatically from an initial volume V to a final volume V
and a work W is done on the system in doing so. The final pressure of the gas will be
 C 
   P 
 CV 

W 1  W  1 W 1  W  1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
V     V     V   V  
Ans.: (c)
Solution: Work done in adiabatic process,

2 2  PV
PV
W 1 1
1 

 V2 
  P1  P2  
  
2 2  PV
 PV 1 1  P1  P2 
 V1 
P2V  P2  V W 1   
W  P2 
1    V     

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Q21. A particle in thermal equilibrium has only 3 possible states with energies  , 0,  . If

the system is maintained at a temperature, T  , then the average energy of the
kB
particle can be approximated to,
2 2 2 2  2
(a) (b) (c) (d) 0
3k BT 3k BT k BT
Ans.: (b)


  kT
 

e  0  e 
  
kT kT kT
e e
Solution: E       

e kT  1  e kT  1  e  kT  e kT 
 
     
1  kT   1  kT   2 2
   
 E   
    3kT
1  1    1  
 kT   kT 
Q22. The blackbody at a temperature of 6000 K emits a radiation whose intensity spectrum
peaks at 600 nm . If the temperature is reduced to 300 K , the spectrum will peak at,
(a) 120m (b) 12  m (c) 12 mm (d) 120 mm
Ans.: (b)
1T1 600  6000
Solution: 1T1  2T2  2    12000 nm  12  m
T2 300
Q23. The entropy-temperature diagram of two Carnot engines, A and B , are shown in the
figure 4. The efficiencies of the engines are  A and  B respectively. Which one of the
following equalities is correct? S
B
(a)  A 
2 A B
(b)  A   B
(c)  A  3 B
(d)  A  2 B
T
Ans. : (d)

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W
Solution:   , where W = area under the curve , Q1 = area under high temperature
Q1

A 
 2T  T  3S  0   T 
1
and  B 
 4T  3T   3S  0   T  1
2T  3S  0  2T 2 4T  3S  0  4T 4
 A 1/ 2
   2   A  2B
 B 1/ 4
Q24. Electrons of mass m in a thin, long wire at a temperature T follow a one-dimensional
Maxwellian velocity distribution. The most probable speed of these electrons is,

 kT   2kT   8kT 
(a)   (b)   (c) 0 (d)   .
 2m   m   m 
Ans.: (c) f  vx 
1/ 2 mvx2
 m  
Solution: f  vx     e 2 kT
dvx ;   vx  
 2 kT 
Most probable speed vx  0 vx

JEST-2016
Q25. An ideal gas with adiabatic exponent  undergoes a process in which its pressure P is
related to its volume V by the relation P  P0  V , where P0 and  are positive
constants. The volume starts from being very close to zero and increases monotonically
P0
to . At what value of the volume during the process does the gas have maximum

entropy?
P0  P0  P0 P0
(a) (b) (c) (d)
 1     1     1     1   
Ans.: (c)
nRdT
Solution: TdS  nCV dT  PdV  TdS   PdV
  1
For maximum entropy, dS  0
For Ideal gas, PV  nRT  PdV  VdP  nRdT

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PdV  VdP PV  VdP

 TdS   PdV  dS  PdV 
   1 nR    1   1
Since, P  P0  V  dP   dV

PV  VdV dS  nRP nR
dS  PdV     V
nR   1    1 dV    1 PV   1 PV
dS
For maximum entropy,  0   P  V  0    P0  V   V
dV
 P0
V 
 1   
CP
Q26. An ideal gas has a specific heat ratio  2 . Starting at a temperature T1 the gas under
CV
goes an isothermal compression to increase its density by a factor of two. After this an
adiabatic compression increases its pressure by a factor of two. The temperature of the
gas at the end of the second process would be:
T1 T1
(a) (b) 2T1 (c) 2T1 (d)
2 2
Ans.: (b)
Solution: During the isothermal process, T  T1 is constant

Let us assume, the adiabatic process started at point A  P1 , T1  and at point B the
1 1 2
P   P  2
coordinate is  P2 , T2  , it is given P11 T1  P21 T2  T2   1  T1  T2   1  T1
 P2   2 P1 

 T2  2T1

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N 1
Q27. A two dimensional box in a uniform magnetic field B contains localised spin-
2 2
N
particles with magnetic moment  , and free spinless particles which do not interact
2
with each other. The average energy of the system at a temperature T is:

1  B  1  B 
(a) 3 NkT  N  B sinh   (b) NkT  N  B tanh  
2  k BT  2  k BT 

1 1  B  3 1  B 
(c) NkT  N  B tanh   (d) NkT  N  B cosh  
2 2  k BT  2 2  k BT 
Ans.: (c)
N N N
Solution: For free particles in two dimension, average energy is kT and for localized
2 2 2
1 1  B 
spin- particle, the average energy is  N  B tanh  
2 2  k BT 
Then average energy of system at temperature T is

NkT 1  B 
E   N  B tanh  .
2 2  k BT 
Q28. A gas of N molecules of mass m is confined in a cube of volume V  L3 at temperature
T . The box is in a uniform gravitational field  gzˆ . Assume that the potential energy of a

molecule is U  mgz where z   0, L  is the vertical coordinate inside the box. The

pressure P  z  at height z is:

  L   L
 mg  z  2    mg  z  2  
exp     exp    
 k B T   k B T 
   
(a) P  z  
N mgL   (b) P  z  
N mgL  
V 2  mgL  V 2  mgL 
sinh   cosh  
 2 k BT   2 k BT 
k BTN N
(c) P  z   (d) P  z   mgz
V V
Ans.: (c)

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Solution: The partition function of a system is given by,

3N N
 k BTV    mgl  
N
 2 mk BT  2
ZN      1  exp    
 h 
2
 mgL    k BT  
Helmohtz free energy is given by, F  kBT ln Z N

 F  k TN
Pressure is given by P      B
 V T , N V

 1
Q29. For a quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator with energies, En   n    , where
 2
n  0,1, 2... , the partition function is:
 
k BT   2 k BT
e e
(a) 
(b) e 2 k BT
1 (c) e 2 k BT
1 (d) 

e 2 k BT
1 e k BT
1
Ans.: (d)
    3   5   7 
Solution: z  exp     exp     exp     exp    ......
 2kT   2kT   2kT   2kT 

       2  
z  exp    1  exp     exp    ..... 
 2kT   kT   kT  

     
exp    exp  
z  2kT   1
  2kT 
           
1  exp   exp    exp    exp   1
 kT   2kT   2kT   kT 

JEST 2017
Part-A: 1-Mark Questions
Q30. After the detonation of an atom bomb, the spherical ball of gas was found to be of 15
meter radius at a temperature of 3  105 K . Given the adiabatic expansion coefficient
  5 / 3 , what will be the radius of the ball when its temperature reduces to 3  103 K ?
(a) 156 m (b) 50 m (c) 150 m (d) 100 m
Ans. : (c)

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1
3/ 2
 1  T   1 T 
Solution: TV
1 1  T2V2 1  V2   1  V1  V2   1  V1
 T2   T2 
1 1
 T 2  3 105  2
 R   1  V1  R   3 
15  150
 2
T  3  10 
Q31. If the mean square fluctuations in energy of a system in equilibrium at temperature T is
proportional to T  , then the energy of the system is proportional to

(a) T   2 (b) T 2 (c) T  1 (d) T 
Ans. : (c)
 U 
Solution:  E   kT 2CV  T  2  CV  T  2    1
2
 U T
 T V
Q32. Suppose that the number of microstates available to a system of N particles depends on
N and the combined variable UV 2 , where U is the internal energy and V is the volume
of the system. The system initially has volume 2m3 and energy 200 J . It undergoes an

isentropic expansion to volume 4m3 . What is the final pressure of the system in SI units?
Ans. : 25
Solution: Here,   UV 2  N  S  Nk ln UV 2 

From law of thermodynamics,

TdS  dU  PdV
S 1
   U  NkT …….(1)
U V T

S P
and   PV  2 NkT …….(2)
V U T
From equation (1) and (2),
PV  2U …….(3)
Now, from equation (3),
2U i 2  200
i i  2U i  Pi 
PV   200 atm …….(4)
Vi 2

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As the given process is isoentropic,

U
 TdS  0  dU  PdV   P
V S

and from equation (3),

U P V P V P 3P P V
   P     3
V S 2 2 V S 2 V 2 P V
On solving above equation, we have
PV 3  K (constant)
PV 3
200  23
 Pf V f 3  PV
i i  Pf 
3 i i
  25 atm
Vf 3 43
Q33. A cylinder at temperature T  0 is separated into two compartments A and B by a free
sliding piston. Compartments A and B are filled by Fermi gases made of spin 1/ 2 and
3 / 2 particles respectively. If particles in both the compartments have same mass, the
ratio of equilibrium density of the gas in compartment A to that of gas in compartment
B is
1 1 1
(a) 1 (b) (c) (d)
3 2/5
2 2/5
22 / 3
Ans. : (c)
Solution: Follow Pathria Page 198 equation 20 for  f

And equation (38) at pages 200

From equation (38) at T  0
2
p n f
5
2/3
2  6 2 n  2
 n  (using equation (24))
5  g  2m
for equilibrium  A   B
2/3 2/3
n  n 
 nA  A   nB  B 
 gA   gB 
5/ 3 2/3
 nA  g 
   A 
 nB   gB 

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1 5
g A  25  1  2   1  2 , g B  25  1  2   1  4
2 2
2 / 3 2 / 3
 gA   1 
2/3
n 1
    A  
 gB   2  nB  2 

nA 1
 2/5
nB 2

Q34. Two classical particles are distributed among N   2  sites on a ring. Each site can

accommodate only one particle. If two particles occupy two nearest neighbour sites, then
the energy of the system is increased by  . The average energy of the system at
temperature T is
2  e   2 N  e 
(a) (b)
 N  3  2e    N  3  2e  
 2  e  
(c) (d)
N  N  2   2e  
Ans. : (a)
Solution: Since two particle two nearest neighbour sites, which energy of system increased by ,
and remaining  N  3 particle has zero energy, then particle function is given
1
z  2e      N  3 e   .0   N  3  2e     
N 2

then E  KT 2  ln z 
T
KT 2         KT 2      
 . 0  2e .     .2e  2 
z  T  KT   z  KT 
2  e  
E 
 N  3  2e    

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JEST-2018
Q35. When a collection of two-level systems is in equilibrium at temperature T0 , the ratio of

the population in the lower and upper levels is 2 :1 . When the temperature is changed to
T , the ratio is 8 :1 . Then
(a) T  2T0 (b) T0  2T (c) T0  3T (d) T0  4T
Ans. : (c)
 E  N1  E  E1   E2  E1 
Solution: N  N 0 exp     exp  2   2  exp   , and
 k BT  N2  k BT0   kT0 
 E  E1  ln 2 T
8  exp  2    T0  3T
 kT  ln 8 T0
Q36. A collection of N interacting magnetic moments, each of magnitude  , is subjected to a
magnetic field H along the z direction. Each magnetic moment has a doubly degenerate
level of energy zero and two non-degenerate levels of energies   H and  H respectively.

The collection is in thermal equilibrium at temperature T . The total energy E T , H  of

the collection is
 H 
 HN sinh  
 k BT   HN
(a)  (b) 
 H    H 
1  cosh   2  1  cosh  
 k bT    kbT  
 H   H 
 HN cosh   sinh  
(c)   k BT 
(d)   HN  k BT 
 H   H 
1  cosh   cosh  
 kbT   kbT 
Ans. : (a)
  0    H   H   H 
Solution: Z1   2  exp     exp     exp      Z1   2  2 cosh 
  k BT   k BT   k BT   k BT 

 H 
N N  H sinh  
 H  2   ln Z N   k BT 
Z N   2  2 cosh  U  k BT   
H
 k BT   T  N ,V 1  cos
k BT

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Q37. In a thermodynamic process the volume of one mole of an ideal is varied as where
V  aT 1 a is a constant. The adiabatic exponent of the gas is  . What is the amount of
heat received by the gas if the temperature of the gas increases by T in the process?
RT RT 2
(a) RT (b) (c) (d) RT
1  2  1
Ans. : (d)
a a
Solution: V   dU   dT
T T2
PV  RT
RT RT 2  a 
W   PdV   dV  W      2  dT  W    RdT   RT
V a  T 
R
U  CV T  T
 1
R T  1   2 
Q  W  U   R T  RT   1  RT  
 1   1    1 
Q38. For a classical system of non-interacting particles in the presence of a spherically
symmetric potential V  r    r 3 , what is the mean energy per particle?  is a constant.

3 5 3 3
(a) k BT (b) k BT (c)  k BT (d)  k BT
2 2 2 2
Ans. : (b)
 r3

Solution: V   e k BT
4 r 2 dr
  r3   r3
 

 r e 4 r dr  r e
3 k BT 2 5 k BT
dr
 0
 r3
 0
 r3
put u  r 3 and solve the integral
   

e 4 r 2 dr r e
k BT 2 k BT
dr
0 0

1
 2  
 3a    k BT  k BT
1 a 
3a
Put u  r 3 or r  u1/ 3
 
5/ 3  au 1 2 / 3 1 13 1 1
0 u e
3
u dudr 
3
x 
3 0
ue au du

1 3 5
dr  u 2 / 3 du  k BT  k BT  k BT
3 2 2

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Q39. An ideal fluid is subjected to a thermodynamic process described by   CV  and

P  n  where  is energy density and P is pressure. For what values of n and  the
process is adiabatic if the volume is changed slowly?
(a)     1, n  1 (b)   1   , n  
(c)   1, n    1 (d)    , n  1  
Ans. : (c)
U
Solution: As    U  V  CV 1
V

  n      n  CV    ne V  
 

TdS  dU  PdV
TdS  0 , hence dU  PdV  0
dU  C 1    V  dV

PdV  neV  dV  C 1    V  dV  neV  dV  0

 CV  1    V 1    ne1  dV  0

This is true only if   1 and for   1 , 1    n  0

 n    1 . Therefore, correct option is (c).
Q40. A frictionless heat conducting piston of negligible mass and heat capacity divides a
vertical, insulated cylinder of height 2 H and cross sectional area A into two halves.
Each half contains one mole of an ideal gas at temperature T0 and pressure P0

corresponding to STP. The heat capacity ratio   C p / Cv is given. A load of weight W

is tied to the piston and suddenly released. After the system comes to equilibrium, the
piston is at rest and the temperatures of the gases in the two compartments are equal.
What is the final displacement y of the piston from its initial position, assuming
yW  T0Cv ?

2H H 2H
(a) (b) H  (c) (d)
  
Ans. : (c)

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P0V0 P2V2
Solution: 
T0 T2

P0 A  H P2  A  H  y  

T0 T2
T2  P0 H
Px  ….(i)
T0  H  y 

P0 A  H A H  y T PH
  P1 P1  2  0 ….(ii)
T0 T2 T0  H  y 

Total change in internal energy of the system = Net energy input = wy

2 xCV T2  T0   wy

As wy  CV T0 and n  1 mole

wy
T2  (A)
2CV
R
CV 
 1
w
Also as equilibrium, P2  P1 
A
Put the value of T2 in (i) and (A) and substitute (ii) from (i)

wy P0 H wy P0 H w
 
2CV T0  H  y  2CV T0  H  y  A

HP0 y  1 1  1
  
2CV T0  H  y H  y  A

A  H  P0 y  Hy  H  y 
   1 AH  V0
R  H 2  y2 
2 T
 1 0
P0V0 y 2 y   1 R  y 2   1
   1  1
T0 2 R  H 2  y 2  R  H 2  y2 
H
y 2  y 2  H 2  y 2  y 


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Q41. A theoretical model for a real (non-ideal) gas gives the following expressions for the
internal energy U  and the pressure  P  ,

2 5/ 3 2 1/ 3 2
U T , V   aV 2 / 3  bV 2 / 3T 2 and P T ,V  
aV  bV T
3 3
where a and b are constants. Let V0 and T0 be the initial volume and initial temperature
respectively. If the gas expands adiabatically, the volume of the gas is proportional to
(a) T (b) T 3/ 2 (c) T 3/ 2 (d) T 2
Ans. : (c)
2 5/ 3 2 1/ 3 2
Solution: U T , V   aV 2 / 3  bV 2 / 3T 2 and P T ,V   aV  bV T
3 3
TdS  dU  PdV
dU   PdV  ds  0 
U U 2 2 
dU  dT  dV    aV 5 / 3  bV 1/ 3T 2  dV
T V 3 3 
2
2  1 2 2 2
 2bV 2 / 3TdT aV 3 dV  bV 1/ 3T 2 dV   aV 5/ 3 dV  bV 1/ 3T 2 dV
3 3 3 3
T 2 2
2bV 2 / 3 2 dT  bV 1/ 3T 2 dV   bV 1/ 3T 2 dV
T 3 3
1/ 3
dT 4 bV
 dV
T 3 2bV 2 / 3
dT 2
  V 1dV
T 3
ln T  ln V 2 / 3
T  V 2 / 3  V  T 3 / 2

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Q42. In an experiment, certain quantity of an ideal gas at temperature T0 pressure P0 and

volume V0 is heated by a current flowing through a Wire for a duration of t seconds. The

volume is kept constant and the pressure changes to P1 . If the experiment is performed at

constant pressure starting with the same initial conditions, the volume changes from V0 to

V1 . The ratio of the specific heats at constant pressure and constant volume is

P1  P0 V0 P1  P0 V1 PV
1 1 PV
0 0
(a) (b) (c) (d)
V1  V0 P0 V1  V0 P1 PV
0 0 PV
1 1

Ans. : (a)
Solution: (I) Constant volume heating
P0 P1 P
  T1  1 T0
T0 T1 P0

P 
Q  CV T1  T0   CV  1  1 T0
 P0 
(II) Constant pressure heating
V0 V1 V
  T1  1 T0
T0 T1 V0

V 
Q   CP T1  T0   CP T0  1  1
 V0 
PdV  VdP  RdT
PdV  RdT
P P
dTP  dV  0  V1  V0 
R R
V V
dTV  dP  0  P1  P0 
R R
V0 P
CV   P1  P0   CP  0 V1  V0 
R R
CP V0  P1  P0   P1  P0  V0
  
CV P0 V1  V0   V1  V0  P0

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JEST-2019
Q43. Consider a system of N distinguishable particles with two energy levels for each particle,
a ground state with energy zero and an excited state with energy   0 . What is the
average energy per particle as the system temperature T   ?

(a) 0 (b) (c)  (d) 
2
Ans. : (b)
e  Ei
Solution: E   PE
i i  Pi 
i z
01 1
E  0  
 
1 e 1  e  
 
   / k BT
 at T  
1 e 2
Q44. Consider a diatomic molecule with an infinite number of equally spaced non-degenerate
energy levels. The spacing between any two adjacent levels is  and the ground state
energy is zero. What is the single particle partition function Z ?
1 1
(a) Z  (b) Z 
 
1 1 e k BT
k BT


1
1 kBT
(c) Z  (d) Z 
2

1 e k BT 1
kBT

Ans. : No option is matched

Solution: Z   gi e  i
i

gi  1

Z  1  e    e 2   ......
1
Z
1  e  

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Q45. Consider a grand ensemble of a system of one dimensional non-interacting classical

harmonic oscillators (each of frequency  ). Which one of the following equations is
correct? Here the angular bracket  indicate the ensemble average. N , E and T

represent the number of particles, energy and temperature, respectively. k B is the

Boltzmann constant.
k BT k BT
(a) E  N (b) E  N
2 2
(c) E  Nk BT (d) E  N k BT

Ans. : (d)
Px2 1 2
Solution: E  K .E.  P.E.  E   kx 1D 
2m 2
1 1
E kBT  kBT  kBT (Equiportion)
2 2
E  N k BT

Q46. Consider a non-relativistic two-dimensional gas of N electrons with the Fermi energy
EF . What is the average energy per particle at temperature T  0 ?

3 2 1
(a) EF (b) EF (c) EF (d) EF
5 5 2
Ans. : (c)
Q47. The energy spectrum of a particle consists of four states with energies 0,, 2 ,3  . Let

Z B T  , Z F T  and Z C T  denote the canonical partition functions for four non-

interacting particles at temperature T . The subscripts B, F and C corresponds to bosons,

  
fermions and distinguishable classical particles, respectively. Let y  exp    .
 k BT 
Which one of the following statements is true about Z B T  , Z F T  and Z C T  ?

(a) They are polynomials in y of degree 12, 6 and 12 , respectively.

(b) They are polynomials in y of degree 16,10 and 16 , respectively
(c) They are polynomials in y of degree 9, 6 and 12 , respectively.
(d) They are polynomials in y of degree 12,10 and 16 , respectively.

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Ans. : (a)
Solution:
oooo
3
Bose 2

0

y  e   / kBT

Number of particle N  4 

 ni  gi !
i ni ! gi !
Maximum energy  12
Z B  e 12 / kBT  

 y12   degree  12

Fermions
oo
3
oo
2

0

Maximum energy e 6 / kBT  4 / kBT  e  

Z F  y 6   degree  6

Classical oooo
3

2

Z C  y12  .....

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Q48. A diatomic ideal gas at room temperature, is expanded at a constant pressure P0 . If the

heat absorbed by the gas is Q  14 Joules, what is the maximum work in Joules that can
be extracted from the system?
Ans. : 4
5 7
Solution: Diatomic gas has Cv  R, C p  R
2 2
7
Q  C p T  14  RT
2
(Constant pressure process)
14  2 5
 T   0.481 0 c and U  Cv T  R  T
7  8.314 2
5
  8.314  0.481  9.99 J and Wmax  Q  U
2
Wmax  14  9.99  4 J

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THERMODYNAMICS AND STATISTICAL PHYSICS SOLUTIONS

GATE 2010
Q1. A system of N non-interacting classical point particles is constrained to move on the two-
dimensional surface of a sphere. The internal energy of the system is
3 1 5
(a) Nk BT (b) Nk BT (c) Nk BT (d) Nk BT
2 2 2
Ans: (c)
Solution: There are 2 N degree of freedom.
Nk BT Nk BT
The internal energy of the system is   Nk BT
2 2
Q2. Which of the following atoms cannot exhibit Bose-Einstein condensation, even in
principle?
(a) 1H1 (b) 4H2 (c) 23Na11 (d) 30K19
Ans: (d)
Solution: For Bose-Einstein condensation:
Number of electron + number of proton + number of neutron = Even
For 30 K19
Number of proton = 19, Number of electron = 19, Number of neutron = 11.
19 + 19 + 11 = 49 this is odd. So it will not exhibit Bose-Einstein condensation.
Q3. For a two-dimensional free electron gas, the electronic density n, and the Fermi energy EF,
are related by

 2mEF 
3/ 2
mE F
(a) n (b) n 
3 
2 3
 2

 2mEF 
3/ 2
mE F
(c) n  (d) n
2 2 
Ans: (c)
EF
2m
Solution: n   g ( E ) f ( E )dE ,
0
g ( E )dE 
h2
dE

1, if E  EF 2mE F mE
At T=0 , f  E    n  2 F2
0, if E  EF h 2
2 

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Q4. Which among the following sets of Maxwell relations is correct? (U-internal energy,
H-enthalpy, A-Helmholtz free energy and G-Gibbs free energy)
 U   U   H   H 
(a) T    and P    (b) V    and T   
 V  S  S V  P  S  S  P

 G   G   A   A 
(c) P    and V    (d) P    and S   
 V T  P  S  S T  P V
Ans: (b)
 H   H 
Solution: dH  TdS  VdP     T,  V
 S  P  P  S

 2V  k BT 
3

Q5. Partition function for a gas of photons is given as, ln Z  . The specific heat
453C 3
of the photon gas varies with temperature as
(a) (b)
CV CV

T T
(c) (d)

CV CV

T T
Ans: (a)
 ln z  U 
Solution: U  K B T 2 , CV     CV  T .
3

T  T  v
Q6. From Q. no. 5, the pressure of the photon gas is
 2 k B T 3  2 k B T 4  2 k B T 4  2 k B T 3 / 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
15 3 C 3 8 3 C 3 45 3 C 3 45 3 C 3
Ans: (c)

  ln z    k0T 
4
F
2

Solution: Since, P    P  KT   
V  V T 453C 3
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GATE 2011

Q7. A Carnot cycle operates on a working substance between two reservoir at temperatures T1
and T2 with T1 > T2. During each cycle, an amount of heat Q1 is extracted from the
reservoir at T1 and an amount Q2 is delivered in the reservoir at T2. Which of the
following statements is INCORRECT?
(a) Work done in one cycle is Q1 – Q2
Q1 Q2
(b) 
T1 T2

(c) Entropy of the hotter reservoir decreases

(d) Entropy of the universe (consisting of the working substance and the two reservoirs)
increases
Ans: (c)
Solution: Entropy of hotter reservoirs decreases.
Q8. In a first order phase transition, at the transition temperature, specific heat of the system
(a) diverges and its entropy remains the same
(b) diverges and its entropy has finite discontinuity
(c) remains unchanged and its entropy has finite discontinuity
(d) has finite discontinuity and its entropy diverges
Ans: (b)
Q9. A system of N non-interacting and distinguishable particle of spin 1 is in thermodynamic
equilibrium. The entropy of the system is
(a) 2kB ln N (b) 3kB ln N (c) NkB ln 2 (d) NkB ln 3
Ans: (d)
Solution: S  k B  ln  ,  =3 is number of microstate. S  1; Sz  1, 0, 1
i

The entropy of the system is NkB ln 3.

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Q10. A system has two energy levels with energies ε and 2ε. The lower level is 4-fold
degenerate while the upper level is doubly degenerate. If there are N non-interacting
classical particles in the system, which is in thermodynamic equilibrium at a temperature
T, the fraction of particles in the upper level is
1 1
(a) (b)
1  e  / k BT 1  2e  / k BT
1 1
(c)  / k BT
(d)
2e  4e 2  / k B T 2e  / k BT
 4e 2  / k B T
Ans: (b)
2e2/ kT 1
Solution: Partition function Z  4e / kT  2e / kT  P  2   / kT 2/ kT

4e  2e 1  2e/ kT
GATE 2012

Q11. The isothermal compressibility,  of an ideal gas at temperatures T0 and V0 is given by

1 V 1 V P P
(a)  (b) (c)  V0 (d) V0
V0 P T0 V0 P T0 V T0 V T0

Ans: (c)
 P 
Solution: Isothermal compressibility   V  
 V T
Q12. For an ideal Fermi gas in three dimensions, the electron velocity VF at the Fermi surface
is related to electron concentration n as,
(a) VF  n 2 / 3 (b) VF  n (c) VF  n1 / 2 (d) V F  n1 / 3
Ans: (d)
1
Solution: E F  mV F2  E F  n 2 / 3  VF2  n 2 / 3  VF  n1 / 3 .
2
Q13. A classical gas of molecules, each of mass m, is in thermal equilibrium at the absolute
temperature T. The velocity components of the molecules along the Cartesian axes are
v x , v y and v z . The mean value of v x  v y  is
2

k BT 3 k BT 1 k BT 2k B T
(a) (b) (c) (d)
m 2 m 2 m m
Ans: (d)

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Solution: Vx  Vy 
2k B T
 vx2  v y2  2 vx  v y  vx2  v y2  2 vx    v y 
2

m
2 k BT
 vx    v y  0 and Vx2  Vy2  .
m
Q14. The total energy, E of an ideal non-relativistic Fermi gas in three dimensions is given by
N 5/3
E , where N is the number of particles and V is the volume of the gas. Identify the
V 2/3
CORRECT equation of state (P being the pressure),
1 2 5
(a) PV  E (b) PV  E (c) PV  E (d) PV  E
3 3 3
Ans: (b)
5 5
 E  2  N 3 2N 3 2
Solution: P         PV   E.
 V  N 3  V  3 V23 3
Q15. Consider a system whose three energy levels are given by 0, ε and 2ε. The energy level ε
is two-fold degenerate and the other two are non-degenerate. The partition function of the
1
system with   is given by
k BT

(a) 1  2e   (b) 2e    e 2  (c) (1  e   ) 2 (d) 1  e    e 2 

Ans: (c)
Solution: E1  0, E 2   , E 3  2 ; g1  1, g 2  2, g 3  1 where g1 , g 2 and g 3 are degeneracy.


The partition function Z  g1e   E1  g 2 e   E2  g 3 e   E3  1  2e    e   2  1  e   
2

GATE 2013

Q16. If Planck’s constant were zero, then the total energy contained in a box filled with
radiation of all frequencies at temperature T would be ( k is the Boltzmann constant and
T is nonzero)
3
(a) zero (b) Infinite (c) kT (d) kT
2
Ans: (d)
Solution: If Planck’s constant were zero, then the system behaved as a classical system and the
energy is kT .
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Q17. Across a first order phase transition, the free energy is

(a) proportional to the temperature
(b) a discontinuous function of the temperature
(c) a continuous function of the temperature but its first derivative is discontinuous
(d) such that the first derivative with respect to temperature is continuous
Ans: (c)
Q18. Two gases separated by an impermeable but movable partition are allowed to freely
exchange energy. At equilibrium, the two sides will have the same
(a) pressure and temperature (b) volume and temperature
(c) pressure and volume (d) volume and energy
Ans: (a)
Q19. The entropy function of a system is given by S E   aE E0  E  where a and E0 are
positive constants. The temperature of the system is
(a) negative for some energies (b) increases monotonically with energy
(c) decreases monotonically with energy (d) Zero
Ans: (a)
Solution: From first and second law of thermodynamics
S
 dU  PdV       E  U
1 1
TdS  dU  PdV  dS 
T  E V T

 S 
S E   aE E0  E   
1
  a  E0  E   aE  a  E0  2 E   T  .
 E V a  E0  2 E 

Q20. Consider a linear collection of N independent spin ½ particles, each at a fixed location.
The entropy of this system is ( k is the Boltzmann constant)

(d) Nk ln 2 
1
(a) zero (b) Nk (c) Nk
2
Ans: (d)
particle, so entropy is given by Nk ln 2  .
1
Solution: There are two microstates possible for spin
2

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Q21. Consider a gas of atoms obeying Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics. The average value of
   
e a p over all the moments p of each of the particles (where a is a constant vector and a
is the magnitude, m is the mass of each atom, T is temperature and k is Boltzmann’s
constant) is,
1 3
 a 2 mkT  a 2 mkT
(a) one (b) zero (c) e 2
(d) e 2

Ans: (c)
  
f  px , p y , pz e p.a dpx dp y dpz where f  px , p y , pz  is Maxwell probability
   
Solution:  e   
p.a

  
distribution at temperature T.
 p x2  p 2y  p z2
    
 Ae  Ae  Ae
py ay
e  
p.a
x
2 mkT
e px ax
dpx y
2 mkT
e dp y z
2 mkT
e pz az dpz
  

 ( a x2  a 2y  a z2 ) mkT  ( px  mkTax )2  ( p y  mkTa y )2  ( pz  mkTa z ) 2

    
e   e  Ae  Ae  Ae
p.a 2
x
2 mkT
dpx y
2 mkT
dp y z
2 mkT
dpz
  

 ( ax2  a 2y  a z2 ) mkT 1
   a 2 mkT
e p .a
e 2
.1.1.1 = e 2

Common Data for Questions 22 and 23: There are four energy levels E , 2E , 3 E and
4 E (where E  0 ). The canonical partition function of two particles is, if these particles
are
Q22. Two identical fermions
(a) e 2 E  e 4 E  e 6 E  e 8 E (b) e 3 E  e 4 E  e 5 E  e 6 E  e 7 E

(c) e  E  e  2 E  e 3 E  e  4 E  (d) e 2 E  e 4 E  e 6 E  e 8 E
2

Ans: (b)
Solution: The possible value of Energy for two Fermions
E1  3E, E2  4 E , E3  5E, E4  6 E , E5  7 E

The partition function is Z  e 3E  e 4 E  2e 5 E  e 6 E  e 7 E , then the answer may

be option (b).
Q23. Two distinguishable particles
(a) e 2 E  e 4 E  e 6 E  e 8 E (b) e 3 E  e 4 E  e 5 E  e 6 E  e 7 E

(c) e  E  e  2 E  e 3 E  e  4 E  (d) e 2 E  e 4 E  e 6 E  e 8 E
2

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Ans: (c)
Solution: When two particles are distinguishable then minimum value of Energy is 2 E and
maximum value is 8 E .

So from checking all four options Z  e  E  e 2 E  e 3 E  e 4 E 

2

GATE 2014

Q24. For a gas under isothermal condition its pressure P varies with volume V as P  V 5 / 3 .
The bulk modules B is proportional to
(a) V 1 / 2 (b) V 2 / 3 (c) V 3 / 5 (d) V 5 / 3
Ans: (d)
dP
Solution: P  KV 5 / 3 , B  V B  V 5 / 3
dV
Q25. At a given temperature T , the average energy per particle of a non-interacting gas of
two-dimensional classical harmonic oscillators is _________ k B T

( k B is the Boltzmann constant)

Ans: 2
Q26. Which one of the following is a fermion?
(a)  particle (b) 4 Be 2 nucleus (c) Hydrogen atom (d) deuteron
Ans (d)
Solution: If total number of particles i.e., electron, proton and neutron is odd, then it is a
fermions: P  N  E  3
Q27. For a free electron gas in two dimensions the variations of the density of states. N E  as a
function of energy E , is best represented by

(a) N E  (b) N E 

E E

N E 
(c) (d) N E 

E E

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Ans. : (c)
Solution: N E   E 0
Q28. For a system of two bosons each of which can occupy any of the two energy levels 0 and
1
 . The mean energy of the system at temperature T with   is given by
k T

 e     2 e 2   1   e   2 e     e 2    e     2 e 2  
(a) (b) (c) (d)
1  2e     e  2   2e     e  2   2  e    e 2   2  e    e  2  
Ans. : None of the options are matched.
Solution: If both particle will in ground state the energy will 0 , which is non-degenerate. If one
particle is in ground state and other is in first excited state then energy is  and non
degenerate. If both particles will in first excited state, then energy will 2 , which is
non-degenerate.
Then partition function is Z  1  exp      exp  2  

exp    2 exp  2 
Average value of energy 
1  exp    exp  2 
No one answer is correct, but answer may be (a).
Q29. Consider a system of 3 fermions which can occupy any of the 4 available energy states
with equal probability. The entropy of the system is
(a) k B ln 2 (b) 2k B ln 2 (c) 2k B ln 4 (d) 3k B ln 4
Ans: (b)
Solution: Number of ways that 3 fermions will adjust in 4 available energy is 4 C3  4 so

entropy is k B ln 4 = 2k B ln 2
GATE 2015
Q30. In Boss-Einstein condensation, the particles
(a) have strong interparticle attraction
(b) condense in real space
(c) have overlapping wavefunctions
(d) have large and positive chemical potential
Ans.: (c)
Solution: In Bose- Einstein condensates, the particles have overlapping wave function.

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Q31. For a black body radiation in a cavity, photons are created and annihilated freely as a
result of emission and absorption by the walls of the cavity. This is because
(a) the chemical potential of the photons is zero
(b) photons obey Pauli exclusion principle
(c) photons are spin-1 particles
(d) the entropy of the photons is very large
Ans.: (a)
Solution: The chemical potential of photon is zero
1
Q32. Consider a system of N non-interacting spin  particles, each having a magnetic
2

moment  , is in a magnetic field B  Bzˆ . If E is the total energy of the system, then
number of accessible microstates  is given by
 E 
 N  !
N! B 
(a)   (b)   
1 E  1 E   E 
 N   !  N  !  N  !
2 B  2  B   B 

1 E  1 E  N!
(c)    N  !  N  ! (d)  
2 B  2  B   E 
 N  !
 B 
Ans.: (a)
1
Solution: Number of microstate is N
Cn1 , where n1 is number of particle in  state and
2
1
n2   N  n1  is number of state in  state.
2
1 E  1 E 
where n1   N   , n2   N 
2 B  2  B 
N
So, number of microstate 
1 E  1 E 
 N   N
2 B  2   B 

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Q33. The average energy U of a one dimensional quantum oscillator of frequency  and in
contact with a heat bath at temperature T is given by
1 1  1 1 
(a) U   coth    (b) U   sinh    
2 2  2 2 
1 1  1 1 
(c) U   tanh    (d) U   cosh   
2 2  2 2 
Ans.: (a)
  1
 Ei    n   
 1 1
Solution:  Z   e  e  2
where E   n     Z 
i 0  2    
2sinh  
 2 
 
   1      
U  ln Z   ln   coth  
        2  2 
2sinh  
  2  
Q34. The entropy of a gas containing N particles enclosed in a volume V is given by
 aVE 3 / 2 
S  Nk B ln  , where E is the total energy, a is a constant and k B is the
 N
5/ 2

Boltzmann constant. The chemical potential  of the system at a temperature T is given
by
  aVE 3 / 2  5   aVE 3 / 2  3
(a)    k B T ln    (b)    k B T ln   
  N   N
5/ 2 5/ 2
 2  2

  aVE 3/ 2  5    aVE 3 / 2  3
(c)   k BT ln  3/ 2 
  (d)   k B T ln   
  N   N
3/ 2
 2  2
Ans.: (a)

 G   aVE 3/ 2   aVE 3/ 2 
Solution:     S   Nk B ln  5/ 2 
 S  Nk B ln  5/ 2 
 T  P  N   N 

 aVE 3/ 2 
 G   Nk BT ln  5/ 2 
 ln A
 N 
  
 G    aVE 3/ 2  N 5 / 2  5 / 2  
  aVE 3/ 2  5 
      k BT ln  5/ 2 
 Nk BT . aVE    k BT ln
3/ 2

 N    N  aVE 3 / 2 N 7 / 2    5
 2
  N 2
 
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GATE-2016
Q35. The total power emitted by a spherical black body of radius R at a temperature T is P1 .
R
Let P2 be the total power emitted by another spherical black body of radius kept at
2
P1
temperature 2T . The ratio, is _______. (Give your answer upto two decimal places)
P2
Ans.: 0.25

P1 R12T14 R 2T 4 4 1
Solution: P  AT   2 4 
4
   0.25
P2 R2 T2  R  2
16 4
   2T 
4

2
Q36. The entropy S of a system of N spins, which may align either in the upward or in the
downward direction, is given by S   k B N  p ln p  1  p  In(1  p)  . Here k B is the

Boltzmann constant. The probability of alignment in the upward direction is p. The value
of p, at which the entropy is maximum, is _______. (Give your answer upto one decimal
place)
Ans.: 0.5
Solution: S   k B N  p ln p  1  p  In(1  p) 

dS 1 1
For maximum entropy,  0  ln p  p   ln 1  p   1  p    1  0
dp p 1 p

 p 
ln p  1  ln 1  p   1  0  ln    0  p  1  p  p  0.5
 1 p 
Q37. For a system at constant temperature and volume, which of the following statements is
correct at equilibrium?
(a) The Helmholtz free energy attains a local minimum.
(b) The Helmholtz free energy attains a local maximum.
(c) The Gibbs free energy attains a local minimum.
(d) The Gibbs free energy attains a local maximum.
Ans.: (a)
Solution: dF   SdT  PdV

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Q38. N atoms of an ideal gas are enclosed in a container of volume V . The volume of the
container is changed to 4V , while keeping the total energy constant. The change in the
entropy of the gas, in units of Nk B ln 2 , is _______, where k B is the Boltzmann constant.
Ans.: 2
1
Solution: S1   Nk B ln1, S2   Nk B ln  S  S2  S1  Nk B ln 4  2 Nk B ln 2
4
Q39. Consider a system having three energy levels with energies 0, 2 and 3 ,with
respective degeneracies of 2,2 and 3 . Four bosons of spin zero have to be
accommodated in these levels such that the total energy of the system is 10  . The
number of ways in which it can be done is ______.
Ans.: 18
Solution: The system have energy 10  , if out of four boson two boson are in energy level
2 and two boson are in energy level 3 and
ni  gi  1
W  , n1  2, g1  2 and n2  2, g 2  3
i ni gi  1

2  2 1 2  3 1
W   3  6  18
2 2 1 2 3 1
Q40. A two-level system has energies zero and E . The level with zero energy is non-
degenerate, while the level with energy E is triply degenerate. The mean energy of a
classical particle in this system at a temperature T is
E E E E
k BT k BT k BT k BT
Ee Ee 3Ee 3Ee
(a) E
(b) E
(c) E
(d) E

1  3e k BT
1 e k BT
1 e k BT
1  3e k BT

Ans.: (d)
Ei
 0 E E
 gi Ei e kT  
k BT
0e kT  3 E  e kT 3Ee
Solution: E  i
E
 0 E
 E
 i  
 gi e kT e kT  3 e kT
1  3e k BT
i

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GATE 2017
Q41. Consider a triatomic molecule of the shape shown in the figure in three
dimensions. The heat capacity of this molecule at high temperature
(temperature much higher than the vibrational and rotational energy scales
of the molecule but lower than its bond dissociation energies) is:
3 9
(a) kB (b) 3k B (c) kB (d) 6k B
2 2
Ans. : (d)
Solution: If given molecules are at lower temperature i.e. atoms are attached to rigid rod then
6 k BT
degree of freedom is 6 , so internal energy is , but at high temperature, vibration
2
mode will active, so there are three extra vibration mode will active, so total energy
U  3k BT  3k BT  6k BT

 U 
CV     6k B
 T V

Q42. A reversible Carnot engine is operated between temperatures T1 and T2 T2  T1  with a

photon gas as the working substance. The efficiency of the engine is

3/ 4 4/3
3T T T  T 
(a) 1  1 (b) 1  1 (c) 1   1  (d) 1   1 
4T2 T2  T2   T2 
Ans. : (b)
Solution: Efficiency of Carnot engine does not depends on nature of working substance rather
depends on temperature of source and sink
T1
  1
T2

Q43. Water freezes at 00 C at atmospheric pressure 1.01105 Pa  . The densities of water and

ice at this temperature and pressure are 1000 kg / m3 and 934 kg / m3 respectively. The

latent heat of fusion is 3.34 105 J / kg . The pressure required for increasing the melting

temperature of ice by 100 C is…………… GPa . (up to two decimal places)

Ans. : 0.01102

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p2
 dP  L L T2 dT L T
Solution:      dP    P2  P1  ln 2
 dT V T  v2  v1  P1  v2  v1  T1 T  v2  v1  T1
L T
 P2  P1  ln 2  1 105 Pa  0.01 102 GPa
 v2  v1  T1
Q44. Consider N non- interacting, distinguishable particles in a two-level system at
temperature T . The energies of the levels are 0 and  , where   0 . In the high
temperature limit  k BT    , what is the population of particles in the level with energy

?
N N 3N
(a) (b) N (c) (d)
2 4 4
Ans. : (a)

exp 
Solution: P     kT , population of particle in the level with energy  is

1  exp
kT
 
exp exp 
kT kT 1 N
NP     N , for  k BT    , NP     N N 
  11 2
1  exp 1  exp
kT kT
u
Q45. The energy density and pressure of a photon gas are given by u  aT 4 and P  . Where
3
T is the temperature and a is the radiation constant. The entropy per unit volume is given
by  aT 3 . The value of  is…………… (up to two decimal places)
Ans. : 1.33
 S   U 
Solution: TdS  dU  PdV  T     P
 V T  V T

 S  1  U  P aT 4 aT 4 4 3
         aT  1.33
 V T T  V T T T 3T 3

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Q46. Consider two particles and two non-degenerate quantum levels 1 and 2. Level 1 always
contains a particle. Hence, what is the probability that level 2 also contains a particle for
each of the two cases:
(i) when the two particles are distinguishable and (ii) when the two particles are bosons?
1 1 1 1
(a) (i) and (ii) (b) (i) and (ii)
2 3 2 2
2 1
(c) (i) and (ii) (d) (i) 1 and (ii) 0
3 2
Ans. : (c)
B A
2
Solution: (I): For distinguishable particle: A B AB , P  2 
3

A 1
(II): For indistinguishable particle (Bosons): , P  2 
A AA 2

GATE-2018

Q47. A microcanonical ensemble consists of 12 atoms with each taking either energy 0 state,
or energy  state. Both states are non-degenerate. If the total energy of this ensemble is
4  , its entropy will be _________ k B (up to one decimal place), where k B is the
Boltzmann constant.
Ans. : 6.204
Solution: The number of ways having total energy 4  , out of 12 atom is
12 12 1110  9
 12C4    495
48 4  3 2

Hence, entropy, S  k B ln w  k B ln  495   k B  6.204   6.204 k B

Q48. An air-conditioner maintains the room temperature at 270 C while the outside temperature
is 470 C . The heat conducted through the walls of the room from outside to inside due to
temperature difference is 7000 W . The minimum work done by the compressor of the
air-conditioner per unit time is__________ W .

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Ans. : 466.67
Solution: Q2  W  Q1 T1  47  273  323 k
Q2
Coefficient of performance of refrigerator  AC   Q1
W
T2
Also, coefficient of performance of refrigerator,  W
T1  T2
Q2  7000 J / S
300 7000
  Q2  Heat coming in room 
47  27 W
T2  27  273  300 k
7000  20 1400
W  J /s   466.67 W
300 3
Q49. Two solid spheres A and B have same emissivity. The radius of A is four times the
radius of B and temperature of A is twice the temperature of B . The ratio of the rate of
heat radiated from A to that from B is __________.
Ans. : 256
Rate of heat radiation from solid sphere  A  4 RA2TA4
Solution: 
Rate of heat radiation from solid sphere  B  4 RB2TB4

 RA  4 RB and TA  2TB

4 RA2TA4  4 RB    2TB 
2 4

   16  16  256
4 RB2TB4  RB   TB 
2 4

Q50. The partition function of an ensemble at a temperature T is

N
  
Z   2 cosh 
 k BT 


where k B is the Boltzmann constant. The heat capacity of this ensemble at T  is
kB

X Nk B , where the value of X is __________ (up to two decimal places).

Ans. : 0.42
N
   
Solution: The partition function, z   2 cosh  
  k BT  
  ln z 
The average energy, E  k BT 2
T

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       
Nk BT 2  2sinh    2 
  k B T    k BT    
   N  tanh  
    k BT 
2 cosh  
 k BT 
d E      
C   N  sec h 2   . 2 
dT  k BT   k B T 
 N 2
At T  , C  sec h 2 1  Nk sec h 2 1  0.42 Nk B
k k   / k 
2 2

GATE-2019
Q51. Consider a one-dimensional gas of N non-interacting particles of mass m with the
Hamiltonian for a single particle given by
p2 1
H  m 2  x 2  2 x 
2m 2
The high temperature specific heat in units of R  Nk B ( k B is the Boltzmann constant) is

(a) 1 (b) 1.5 (c) 2 (d) 2.5

Ans. : (c)
p2 1 1 NkT NkT
Solution: H   m 2 x 2  m 2 2 x    U0
2m 2 2 2 2

H  NkT

H
CV   NkT
T
Q52. A large number N of ideal bosons, each of mass m , are trapped in a three-dimensional
m 2 r 2
potential V  r   . The bosonic system is kept at temperature T which is much
2
lower than the Bose-Einstein condensation temperature TC . The chemical potential   

satisfies
3 3
(a)    (b) 2    
2 2
(c) 3    2 (d)   3

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Ans. : (a)
Q53. At temperature T Kelvin  K  , the value of the Fermi function at an energy 0.5 eV

above the Fermi energy is 0.01 . Then T , to the nearest integer, is __________
( k B  8.62 105 eV / K )

Ans.: 1262
1 1
Solution: F  E    e
E  EF  / k BT
1 
e  E  EF  / k B T
1 F E

  E  EF  / k B T 1 F E  EF  1 F  E  EF
e    ln   T 
F k BT  F   1 F 
k B ln  
 F 
0.5 0.5
 T 
 0.99  8.62  ln  99 
8.62 105 ln  
 0.01 
0.5 105
  1262.3 K
8.62  4.595
Q54. In a thermally insulated container, 0.01 kg of ice at 273 K is mixed with 0.1 kg of
water at 300 K . Neglecting the specific heat of the container, the change in the entropy
of the system in J / K on attaining thermal equilibrium (rounded off to two decimal
places) is____________
Ans. : 1.03
Solution: Teq  290.29 K (Heat gain  Heat lost)

mice L  miceC T  273  m C  300  T 

T  290.29 K
s   sice  swater

mice L T
 s ice   miceC ln i  14.85 J / K
Tice Tice
290.29
 S water  m C ln  13.82 J / K
300
S  1.03 J / K

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Q55. Consider two system A and B each having two distinguishable particles. In both the
systems, each particle can exist in states with energies 0,1, 2 and 3 units with equal
probability. The total energy of the combined system is 5 units. Assuming that the
system A has energy 3 units and the system B has energy 2 units, the entropy of the
system is k B ln  . The value of  is__________
Ans. : 12
Solution: EA  3 EB  2
A B 3
A B A B
  4  3  12 2
B A AB
1
S  ln   k B ln12 B A B A
0
  12 .
A  4 B  3

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THERMODYNAMICS AND STATISTICAL PHYSICS

NET/JRF (JUNE-2011)
Q1. Consider the transition of liquid water to steam as water boils at a temperature of 1000 C
under a pressure of 1 atmosphere. Which one of the following quantities does not change
discontinuously at the transition?
(a) The Gibbs free energy (b) The internal energy
(c) The entropy (d) The specific volume
Ans. : (a)
Solution: In first order transition Gibbs free energy is continuous.
Q2. A particle is confined to the region x  0 by a potential which increases linearly as
u x   u 0 x . The mean position of the particle at temperature T is

k BT k BT
(b) k B T  / u 0
2
(a) (c) (d) u 0 k B T
u0 u0

Ans. : (a)
p2 u x
1   0
Solution: Partition function Z   e 2 mkBT dp  e kBT dx and x   xp  x dxdpx
h
 0 x 2 
p2 u0 x   k BT 
 xe  te
k BT t
 
dx  u  dt
 xe dp  e
2 mk BT k BT
dx k BT
 x   0
 x  0 0



p2 u x
 0
  0  k BT  u0
e e
t
 e dt
k BT
2 mk BT
dp  e k BT
dx dx  u 
0 0 0

Q3. A cavity contains blackbody radiation in equilibrium at temperature T. The specific heat
per unit volume of the photon gas in the cavity is of the form CV  T 3 , where  is a
constant. The cavity is expanded to twice its original volume and then allowed to
equilibrate at the same temperature T. The new internal energy per unit volume is
T 4
(a) 4T 4
(b) 2T 4
(c) T 4
(d)
4
Ans. : (d)
T 4
Solution: du  C v dT   T 3dT  u 
4

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Q4. Consider a system of N non-interacting spins, each of which has classical magnetic
moment of magnitude  . The Hamiltonian of this system in an external magnetic field
 N
  
H is   i .H , where  i is the magnetic moment of the i th spin. The magnetization per
i 1

spin at temperature T is

 2H   H  k B T 
(a) (b)  coth    
k BT   k B T  H 
 H   H 
(c)  sinh  (d)  tanh 
 k BT   k BT 
Ans. : (b)
2 
 H cos 
   cos exp kT
sin  d d
Solution: For classical limit M  0 0
 H cos 
 exp kBT sin  d d
  H  k BT 
M   coth   
  k BT  H 
Q5. Consider an ideal Bose gas in three dimensions with the energy-momentum relation
  p s with s  0 . The range of s for which this system may undergo a Bose-Einstein
condensation at a non-zero temperature is
(a) 1  s  3 (b) 0  s  2 (c) 0  s  3 (d) 0  s  
Ans. : (a)
NET/JRF (DEC-2011)
bS 3
Q6. The internal energy E of a system is given by E  , where b is a constant and other
VN
symbols have their usual meaning. The temperature of this system is equal to
2
bS 2 3bS 2 bS 3 S
(a) (b) (c) 2 (d)  
VN VN V N N
Ans. : (b)
 E  3bS 2
Solution: TdS  dE  PdV  dE  TdS  PdV     T  T 
 S V VN

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Q7. Consider a Maxwellian distribution of the velocity of the molecules of an ideal gas. Let
Vmp and Vrms denote the most probable velocity and the root mean square velocity,

respectively. The magnitude of the ratio Vmp / Vrms is

(a) 1 (b) 2 / 3 (c) 2/3 (d) 3 / 2

Ans. : (c)

2kT 3kT V 2
Solution: For Maxwellian distribution Vmp  , Vrms   mb 
m m Vrms 3
Q8. If the number density of a free electron gas in three dimensions is increased eight times,
its Fermi temperature will
(a) increase by a factor of 4 (b) decrease by a factor of 4
(c) increase by a factor of 8 (d) decrease by a factor of 8
Ans. : (a)
2
 3N   2 3 N
Solution: Fermi energy E F    , where is number density and g is degeneracy
 4Vg  2m V
2 2

n n 
TF1 n1
EF  TF K  TF     TF  n  
3 2 3
3   1   4 since  8.
V  TF2  n2  n2
1
Q9. A system of N non-interacting spin - particles is placed in an external magnetic field H.
2
The behavior of the entropy of the system as a function of energy is given by
(a) S (b) S

E 
 BH BH  B H E  B H
S
(c) S (d)

 B H E BH  B H E

Ans. : (a)

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S  N  U  N  U  N  U  N  U 
Solution:  ln   ln   , where   H . S is symmetrical
Nk 2N  2  2 N  2N 
about E .
Q10. A gas of N non-interacting particles is in thermal equilibrium at temperature T . Each
particle can be in any of the possible non-degenerate states of energy 0, 2 and 4 . The
average energy per particle of the gas, when   1 , is
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 2 / 3 (d) 
Ans. : (a)
0  e  o  2 e2  4 e4
Solution: E1  0, E 2  2 , E 3  4 , Z  e 0   e 2   e 4   E 
e 0   e 2  e 4 1

2e 2   4e 4  2 1  2....  4 1   4  .... 2  4 6

 E      2
1  e  2   e  4  1  1  2....  1  4..... 111 3

where   1 .
Q11. A one-dimensional chain consists of a set of N rods each of length a . When stretched
by a load, each rod can align either parallel or perpendicular to the length of the chain.
The energy of a rod is  when perpendicular to it. When the chain is in thermal
equilibrium at temperature T , its average length is
(a) Na / 2 (b) Na 
(c) Na / 1  e 2 / k BT  
(d) Na 1  e 2 / k BT 
Ans. : (c)
Solution: Let n1 no. of rods are parallel and n2 no. of rods are perpendicular.
Energy of rod when it is perpendicular  
Energy of rod when it is parallel is  .
e      e e  
P     and P   
e      e   e  e  e   e  
n1ae   n2 ae  Nae  Na
Average length  n1aP     n2 aP       
   

e e e e 1  e 2 
Since P    P  so n2  N , n1  0 .

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Q12. The excitations of a three-dimensional solid are bosonic in nature with their frequency 
and wave-number k are related by   k 2 in the large wavelength limit. If the chemical
potential is zero, the behavior of the specific heat of the system at low temperature is
proportional to
(a) T 1/ 2 (b) T (c) T 3 / 2 (d) T 3
Ans. : (c)
Solution: If dispersion relation is   k s ,
At low temperature specific heat  T 3/ s
Q13. Gas molecules of mass m are confined in a cylinder of radius R and height L
(with R  L ) kept vertically in the Earth’s gravitational field. The average energy of the
gas at low temperatures (such that mgL  k BT ) is given by

(a) Nk B T / 2 (b) 3Nk B T / 2 (c) 2 Nk B T (d) 5 Nk B T / 2

Ans. : (d)
1 H
h3 
Solution: Z  e dpx dp y dpz dxdydz

  px2   p 2y   p z2 L mgz

Z e e e dpz  dx dy  e
2 mk BT 2 mk BT 2 mk BT k BT
dpx dp y dz
   0

 
mgL 
 
3 3
mgz
 mk T  1  e B
k T
 mk T  2 L  2
Z   R2  B 2   e k BT
dz  Z   R 2  B 2   
 2   0  2    mg 
 k T 
 B 
ZN  Z N ,

 ln z 5 Nk BT
 E  k BT 2  , since mgL  k BT
T 2

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NET/JRF (JUNE-2012)

Q14. Consider a system of non-interacting particles in d dimensional obeying the dispersion

relation   Ak s , where  is the energy, k is the wave vector; s is an integer and A is
constant. The density of states, N    , is proportional to
s d d s
1 1 1 1
(a)  d
(b)  s
(c)  s
(d)  d

Ans. : (b)
Solution: We can solve this problem with intuition for example   Ak 2
1 3
1
Density of state in 3-dimensional N(ε)    
2 2

2
1
Density of state in 2-dimensional N(ε)    
0 2

1 1
1
Density of state in 1-dimensional N(ε)    
2 2

d
1
Density of state in d-dimensional, where   Ak  N     
s s

Q15. The number of ways in which N identical bosons can be distributed in two energy levels,
is
N  N  1 N  N  1
(a) N  1 (b) (c) (d) N
2 2
Ans. : (a)
Solution: Number of boson  N , Number of energy level  g
N  g 1
So number of ways to distribute N boson into g level is, W  cN  N  1 since

g  2.
Q16. The free energy of the gas of N particles in a volume V and at a temperature T is

F  Nk B T ln a0V k B T 
5/ 2

/ N , where a 0 is a constant and k B denotes the Boltzmann
constant. The internal energy of the gas is
3 5
(a) Nk B T (b) Nk B T
2 2


(c) Nk B T ln a 0V k B T 
5/ 2

/N 
3
2
Nk B T 
(d) Nk B T ln a0V / k BT 
5/ 2

Ans. : (b)

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
Solution: F  Nk B T ln a0V k B T 
5/ 2

/ N , F  U  TS , U  F  TS

 F   F   F 
dF   SdT  PdV      S or S     U  F T 
 T V  T V  T V

F  Nk B T ln C T  a 0Vk B5 / 2
5/ 2
where C 
N
 F   F 
   Nk B ln CT
5/ 2

 Nk B T 
C 5 3/ 2
T  T   Nk B T ln CT
5/ 2 5
 Nk B T  
 T V CT  T V
5/ 2
2 2

 F  5  F  5
T   F  Nk B T  U  F  T     Nk B T .
 T V 2  T V 2

Q17. A system has two normal modes of vibration, with frequencies 1 and  2  21 . What

is the probability that at temperature T , the system has an energy less than 41 ?

[In the following x  e   1 and Z is the partition function of the system.]
(a) x 3 / 2 x  2 x 2  / Z (b) x 3 / 2 1  x  x 2  / Z

(c) x 3 / 2 1  2 x 2  / Z (d) x 3 / 2 1  x  2 x 2  / Z
Ans. : (d)
Solution: There is two normal mode so there is two degree of freedom.
 1  1
Energy of harmonic oscillator is E   n1  1   n2   2 .
 2  2
 1  1
E   n1  1   n2   21 where n1  0,1,2,3.... and n 2  0,1,2,3....
 2  2
31 51
Ground state energy E  , first excited state energy E  . Second excited state
2 2
71
energy E  which is doubly degenerate state so g  2 , other state have more
2
energy than 41 .
3  1 5  1 7  1

PE  41  
e

2
e

2
 2e

2

x
3
2
1  x  2 x 
2
where x  e   1 .
Z Z
Q18. Bose condensation occurs in liquid He 4 kept at ambient pressure at 2.17 K . At which

temperature will Bose condensation occur in He 4 in gaseous state, the density of which
is 1000 times smaller than that of liquid He 4 ? (Assume that it is a perfect Bose gas.)
(a) 2.17 mK (b) 21.7 mK (c) 21.7  K (d) 2.17  K
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Ans. : (b)
2
 N 3
Solution: For bosons T   
V 
Q19. Consider black body radiation contained in a cavity whose walls are at temperature T .
The radiation is in equilibrium with the walls of the cavity. If the temperature of the walls
is increased to 2T and the radiation is allowed to come to equilibrium at the new
temperature, the entropy of the radiation increases by a factor of
(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 8 (d) 16
Ans. : (c)

 8 5 k B4T 4  F   32 5 k B4  3
Solution: For Black Body, energy is given by F  V , S       VT .
45 2C 3  T V  45 C 
3 3

 S  T 3 , If temperate increase from T to 2T then entropy will incase S to 8S .

NET/JRF (DEC-2012)

Q20. The entropy of a system,  S  , is related to the accessible phase space volume  by

S  k B ln E , N , V  where E , N and V are the energy, number of particles and volume
respectively. From this one can conclude that 
(a) does not change during evolution to equilibrium
(b) oscillates during evolution to equilibrium
(c) is a maximum at equilibrium
(d) is a minimum at equilibrium
Ans. : (c)
Solution: Entropy is maximum at equilibrium.
Q21. Let W be the work done in a quasistatic reversible thermodynamic process. Which of
the following statements about W is correct?
(a) W is a perfect differential if the process is isothermal
(b) W is a perfect differential if the process is adiabatic
(c) W is always a perfect differential
(d) W cannot be a perfect differential

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Ans. : (b)
Solution: Work done is perfect differential in adiabatic process.
Q22. The free energy difference between the superconducting and the normal states of a

material is given by F  f S  f N      where  is an order parameter and
2 4

2
 and  are constants s.t.   0 in Normal and   0 in the super conducting state,
while   0 always, minimum value of F is

2 2 3 2 5 2
(a)  (b)  (c)  (d) 
 2 2 2
Ans. : (b)
 F 4
Solution: F        2   
2 4 3

2  2

2   2   0   
3 2


 2
 2 2
Putting the value, F     2  F 
 2  min
2
Q23. A given quantity of gas is taken from the state A  C reversibly, by two P
A
paths, A  C directly and A  B  C as shown in the figure.
During the process A  C the work done by the gas is 100 J and the heat
absorbed is 150 J . If during the process A  B  C the work done by the B C
gas is 30 J , the heat absorbed is V
(a) 20 J (b) 80 J (c) 220 J (d) 280 J
Ans. : (b)
Solution: During path AC , dU  dQ  dW  150  100  50 J
Since, internal energy is point function, so dU will same in all path
In path ABC , dQ  dU  dW  50  30  80 J .

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Q24. Consider a one-dimensional Ising model with N spins, at very low temperatures when
almost all spins are aligned parallel to each other. There will be a few spin flips with each
flip costing an energy 2 J . In a configuration with r spin flips, the energy of the system
is E   NJ  2rJ and the number of configuration is N C r ; r varies from 0 to N . The
partition function is
N N N
 J   J   J 
(a)   (b) e  NJ / k BT
(c)  sinh  (d)  cosh 
 k BT   k B T   k B T 

Ans. : (d)
Solution: Let us consider only three energy levels, E r  2 J  2rJ i.e. E 0  2 J , E1  0 and

E2  2J .

Q2 
Ce
2
0
  E0
 2C1e  E1  2C 2 e  E2   e  2J
 2e 0  e  2 J  

e J  e J  2


4 4
2
Cr
r 0

2
 e J  e J 
Q2     cosh  J 2  cosh  J 2  Q N  cosh  J  N .
 2 
Q25. Consider a system of three spins S1, S2 and S3 each of which can take values +1 and -1.
The energy of the system is given by E   J S1 S 2  S 2 S 3  S 3 S1  where J is a positive
constant. The minimum energy and the corresponding number of spin configuration are,
respectively,
(a) J and 1 (b) 3 J and 1 (c) 3 J and 2 (d) 6 J and 2
Ans. : (c)
Solution: If we take S1  S2  S3  1 i.e.   
S1 S2 S3

Then energy, E   J 1  1  1  1  1  1  3J

Again S1  S2  S3  1 , then   

Energy  E   3J

So, minimum energy is  3J  and there are two spin configuration.

If we take   
S1 S2 S3

Then we get Maximum energy E  J .

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Q26. Ten grams of ice at 00 C is added to a beaker containing 30 grams of water at 250 C .
What is the final temperature of the system when it comes to thermal equilibrium? (The
specific heat of water is 1 cal / gm / 0 C and latent heat of melting of ice is 80 cal / gm )

(a) 00 C (b) 7.50 C (c) 12.50 C (d) 1.250 C

Ans. : (a)
Solution: The amount of heat required to melt the ice of mass 10 gm at 00 C is
Q  m  L  10  80  800Cal , where L is the latent heat of melting of ice and m is the

mass of the ice. The amount of heat available in water of mass 30 gm at 250 C is

Q  m  Cv  T  30 1 25  750Cal
Since the heat available is less than the heat required to melt the ice therefore ice will not
melt as a result the temperature of the system will be at 00 C only.
Q27. A vessel has two compartments of volume V1 and V2 , containing an ideal gas at pressures
p1 and p 2 , and temperatures T1 and T2 respectively. If the wall separating the
compartments is removed, the resulting equilibrium temperature will be
p1T1  p 2T2 V1T1  V2T2 p1V1  p 2V2
(d) T1T2 
1/ 2
(a) (b) (c)
p1  p 2 V1  V2  p1V1 / T1    p 2V2 / T2 
Ans. : (c)
p1V1 p2V2
Solution: V  V1  V2 , n  n1  n2   , U1  U 2  U , n1CvT1  n2CvT2  nCvT ,
T1 T2
p1V1  p2V2
n1T1  n2T2  nT  T 
p1V1 p2V2

T1 T2

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Q28. For temperature T1  T2 , the qualitative temperature dependence of the probability

distribution F v  of the speed v of a molecule in three dimensions is correctly
represented by the following figure:

T2
T1
F(v)

F(v)
(a) T1 (b)
T2

v v

T1
T2 T1
F(v)

F(v)
(c) (d)
T2

Ans. : (a)
v v
Solution: Area under the F  v  is conserve and the mean velocity shift towards right for higher
temperature.
Q29. A system of non-interacting spin- 1/ 2 charged particles are placed in an external magnetic
field. At low temperature T , the leading behavior of the excess energy above the ground
state energy, depends on T as: ( c is a constant)
(a) cT (b) cT 3 (c) e  c / T (d) c (is independent of T )
Ans. : (c)
 kTB H  H
 B 
 H  e  e kT 
Solution: U    B H tanh B    B H   B H BH 
kT  e kT  e  kT 
 
Excess energy from the ground level

 kTB H  H
 B    B H  H
 B    H
 B 
e  e   (  H )   H 1   e  e    H  e
   B H  B H 
kT kT kT kT
2
  BH  B B   B  H  H  B  B H B H 
 e kT  e kT  
  e kT
e
 B
kT   e kT  e kT 
    
C
At low temperature, the lower value, U  e T
, where C   B H .

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Q30. Consider a system of two Ising spins S1 and S 2 taking values  1 with interaction energy
given by    JS1 S 2 , when it is in thermal equilibrium at temperature T . For large T , the
average energy of the system varies as C / k B T , with C given by

(a)  2 J 2 (b)  J 2 (c) J 2 (d) 4 J

Ans. : (b)
Solution: The interaction energy is given by E   J S1 S 2 where S1 and S 2 taking values  1 .
Possible values of the Energy of the system are
E1   J 11   J , E 2   J  1 1   J

E3   J 1  1   J , E 4   J  1  1   J
E
 r  J  J 
E g e r r
kT
2 Je
J
kT
 2 Je

J
kT
 kTJ
 e  e kT

J
 1  kT
  J 
 1 
 kT  

U  r
  J
E J J  J J   J   J 
 r 
 e kT  e  kT 
 gr e
r
kT
2e kT
 2e kT
  1 
 kT
 1 


 kT 
J2 J
 U   C   J 2 (For large T ,  1 )
kT kT
Q31. Consider two different systems each with three identical non-interacting particles. Both
have single particle states with energies  0 ,3 0 and 5 0 ,  0  0 . One system is populated

1
by spin  fermions and the other by bosons. What is the value of E F  E B where E F
2
and EB are the ground state energies of the fermionic and bosonic systems respectively?

(a) 6 0 (b) 2 0 (c) 4 0 (d)  0

Ans. : (b)
Solution: Energy of Fermion = 2 1 0  3 0  5 0
Energy of boson = 3 1 0  3 0
E F  E B = 5 0  3 0  2 0

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NET/JRF (DEC-2013)
1
Q32. Three identical spin- fermions are to be distributed in two non-degenerate distinct
2
energy levels. The number of ways this can be done is
(a) 8 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 2
Ans. : (b)
Solution: Total number of degeneracy
g  (Number of energy state (n))  (Number of degeneracy due to spin ( 2 s  1 ))
1 1
n  2, s  , g  2  (2.  1)  4
2 2
Number of particle, N  3 . So number of ways, g cN  4 c3  4
Q33. Consider the melting transition of ice into water at constant pressure. Which of the
following thermodynamic quantities does not exhibit a discontinuous change across the
phase transition?
(a) Internal energy (b) Helmholtz free energy (c) Gibbs free energy (d) Entropy
Ans. : (c)
Solution: Ice to water: 1st order phase transition.
So Gibbs free energy is continuous, so it doesn’t exhibit discontinuous change.
Q34. Two different thermodynamic systems are described by the following equations of state:
1 3RN 1 1 5RN 2 
1  1 and 2    2  where T
1, 2 
, N 1, 2  and U 1, 2  are respectively, the
T 2U T 2U
temperatures, the mole numbers and the internal energies of the two systems, and R is
the gas constant. Let U tot denote the total energy when these two systems are put in

U 1
contact and attain thermal equilibrium. The ratio is
U tot

5 N 2  3N 1 N 1 N 2 
(a) (b) (c) 1 (d) 1
3N 1  5 N 2  3N 1  5 N 2  N  N 2  N  N 2 
Ans. : (b)
1 3RN 1 1 5RN 2 
Solution:  and 
T 1 2U 1 T 2  2U 2 
3 5
Now U tot  U (1)  U  2  RN 1T 1  RN  2T  2
2 2

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1
3RN 1T 1 
U 1 2  3 N 1T 1
  
U tot 1 3N 1T 1  5 RN  2T  2  3N 1T 1  5 N  2T  2
2 
3N 1
At thermal equilibrium T 1  T  2 , thus
3N 1  5 N 2 
Q35. The speed v of the molecules of mass m of an ideal gas obeys Maxwell’s velocity
distribution law at an equilibrium temperature T . Let  vx , v y , vz  denote the components

 
2
of the velocity and k B the Boltzmann constant. The average value of  vx   v y , where

 and  are constants, is


(a)  2   2 k B T / m   
(b)  2   2 k B T / m

(c)     k B T / m (d)     k B T / m
2 2

Ans. : (b)
Solution: Ideal gas obeys Maxwell velocity distribution law at equilibrium temperature. Then

 
2
average value of  vx   v y

 v 
2
Now x  v y   2 v x2   2 v y2  2  v x v y

k BT
v x  0, v y  0 and vx2   v y2  vz2
m

 v 
2
Then x  v y   2 v x2   2 v y2  2 v x v y

 v    2 B   2   2 
2 k BT kT kT
x  v y  2
m m m
Q36. The entropy S of a thermodynamic system as a function of energy S
C
E is given by the following graph. The temperatures of the phases B
A
A, B and C denoted by T A , TB and TC respectively.
E
Satisfy the following inequalities:
(a) TC  TB  T A (b) T A  TC  TB (c) TB  TC  T A (d) TB  T A  TC
Ans. : (c)
Solution: Temperatures of phase are: TA , TB , TC

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 dS  1 S
Since,   C
 dE  T B
dS A
Hence, will be slope, then it will be zero for B - phase
dE E
So TB   and in C and A phases, internal energy of C phase is more, so TC  T A

Now TB  TC  T A

Q37. A system of N classical non-interacting particles, each of mass m , is at a temperature T

and is confined by the external potential V r   Ar 2 (where A is a constant) in three
1
2
dimensions. The internal energy of the system is
A  k BT 
(c) N 2mA k B T
3
ln 
3/ 2
(a) 3 Nk B T (b) Nk B T (d) N
2 m  m 
Ans. : (a)

Solution: V r  
1 2 1
2
 
Ar  A x 2  y 2  z 2 it is harmonic oscillator.
2
3N
1  kT 
So its partition function will be z N   
N   
 ln Z N
Internal energy, U  kT 2  3 NkT
T
Q38. A Carnot cycle operates as a heat engine between two bodies of equal heat capacity until
their temperatures become equal. If the initial temperatures of the bodies are T1 and T2 ,
respectively and T1  T2 , then their common final temperature is

(a) T12 / T2 (b) T22 / T1 (c) T1T2 (d)

1
T1  T2 
2
Ans. : (c)
Solution: For heat Carnot engine the change in entropy for source and sink
TF dT  T TF dT T 
dS1   and dS 2  
 log  F
  log  F 
T1 T   T1 T2 T
 T2 
T T
S  dS1  dS 2  log F  log F .
T1 T2
T 
2

Since, Carnot engine is reversible in nature, so log F  0  TF  T1T2

T1T2

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Q39. Which of the graphs below gives the correct qualitative behaviour of the energy density
E r   of blackbody radiation of wavelength  at two temperatures T1 and T2 T1  T2  ?
(a) (b)
T2
T2
Er  
Er  
T1

 
(c) (d)
T2
T2
Er   Er  
T1
T1

Ans. : (c)  
Q40. A system can have three energy levels: E  0,   . The level E  0 is doubly degenerate,
while the others are non-degenerate. The average energy at inverse temperature  is

 e   e      
(a)   tanh   (d)   tanh  
(b)
1  e 
e  
 (c) 0
 2 
Ans. : (d)
Solution: E  0,   , E  0 doubly degenerate

z   gi e   Ei  2  e   0  e    e 


z  2  e   e   ln z  ln 2  e   e  
   
Now E  

ln  z   


ln 2  e   e     
1

2 e  e

 
   e    e    

      

   
  e 2
 e 2

 e e
E   

         tanh   
 2    
  
  2 
  e 2  e 2     e 2
 e 2
 
  
   
  

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Q41. The free energy F of a system depends on a thermodynamic variable  as

F  a 2  b 6
with a, b  0 . The value of  , when the system is in thermodynamic equilibrium, is

(b)  a / 6b  (c)  a / 3b  (d)  a / b 

1/ 4 1/ 4 1/ 4
(a) zero
Ans. : (c)
Solution: Frequency F  a 2  b 6 , a, b  0

2 F F
F is equilibrium i.e.  0 , now  2a  6b 5
 2


F
1/ 4
a  a 
 0  2a  6b 5   4    
 3b  3b 
Q42. For a particular thermodynamic system the entropy S is related to the internal energy U
and volume V by
S  cU 3 / 4V 1 / 4
where c is a constant. The Gibbs potential G  U  TS  PV for this system is
3PU cU US
(a) (b) (c) zero (d)
4T 3 4V
Ans. : (c)
Solution: S  cU 3/ 4V 1/ 4 , dU  TdS  PdV

 S  1  S  1 c  3 1/ 4 1/ 4 4 U 1/ 4
        U V  T 
 U V T  U V T 4 3c V 1/ 4
1
5 / 4
 U  SV U S V 5 / 4 1/ 4
4

    P    P  U
 V  S c 3 c 3

4 U 1/4 S V 5/4 1/4 4 1

G U   cU V
3/4 1/4
 U V  U  U  U  0
3c V 1/4
c 3 3 3
Q43. The pressure of a non-relativistic free Fermi gas in three-dimensions depends, at T  0 ,
on the density of fermions n as
(a) n 5 / 3 (b) n1 / 3 (c) n 2 / 3 (d) n 4 / 3
Ans. : (a)

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2
Solution: Pressure P  nEF , EF  n 2 / 3 , at T  0
3
2 2
P  n  n 2 / 3  n 5 / 3  P  n5 / 3
3 3
Q44. The vander Waals’ equation of state for a gas is given by
 a 
 P  2 V  b   RT
 V 
where P, V and T represent the pressure, volume and temperature respectively, and a
and b are constant parameters. At the critical point, where all the roots of the above
cubic equation are degenerate, the volume is given by
a a 8a
(a) (b) (c) (d) 3b
9b 27b 2 27bR
Ans. : (d)

 a   P   2 P 
Solution:  P  2  V  b   RT , for critical volume    0,  2   0
 V   V   V 
a ab
PV   Pb  2  RT
V V
P a 2ab 2 P 2a 6ab 2a 6ab
 0  P  2  3  0,  0  3  4  0  3  4  Vc  3b
V V V V 2
V V V V

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NET/JRF (DEC-2014)
Q45. The pressure P of a fluid is related to its number density  by the equation of state
P  a  b 2
where a and b are constants. If the initial volume of the fluid is V0 , the work done on
the system when it is compressed, so as to increase the number density from an initial
value of  0 to 2  0 is

(a) a 0V0 (b) a  b 0  0V0

 3a 7  b 
(c)   0   0V0 (d) a ln 2  b 0  0V0
 2 3 
Ans. : (d)
n n2 n
Solution: P  a  b 2  P  a b 2  
V V V
V2 dV V2 dV n n
W   P  dV  an  bn 2  , where V1  , V2 
V1 V V1 V 2 0 2 0

 W   n  a ln 2  b 0    0V0  a ln 2  b0  ,  n  0V0

Work done on the system  W   a ln 2  b0  0V0

Q46. An ideal Bose gas is confined inside a container that is connected to a particle reservoir.
Each particle can occupy a discrete set of single-particle quantum states. If the probability
that a particular quantum state is unoccupied is 0.1 , then the average number of bosons
in that state is
(a) 8 (b) 9 (c) 10 (d) 11
Ans. : (b)
Q47. In low density oxygen gas at low temperature, only the translational and rotational modes
of the molecules are excited. The specific heat per molecule of the gas is
1 3 5
(a) kB (b) k B (c) kB (d) kB
2 2 2
Ans. : (d)
Solution: Total D.O.F. = 3 transition + 2 rotation i.e. f  5
k B T 5k B T U 5
U f   CV   kB
2 2 T 2

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Q48. When a gas expands adiabatically from volume V1 to V2 by a quasi-static reversible

process, it cools from temperature T1 to T2 . If now the same process is carried out
adiabatically and irreversibly, and T2 is the temperature of the gas when it has
equilibrated, then
V V  T2V1
(a) T2  T2 (b) T2  T2 (c) T2  T2  2 1  (d) T2 
 V2  V2
Ans. : (b)
Q49. A random walker takes a step of unit length in the positive direction with probability 2 / 3
and a step of unit length in the negative direction with probability 1 / 3 . The mean
displacement of the walker after n steps is
(a) n / 3 (b) n / 8 (c) 2n / 3 (d) 0
Ans. : (a)
2 1
Solution: P  1   P  1 
3 3
2 1 1 n
For one step  1    , for n step 
3 3 3 3
Q50. A collection N of non-interacting spins S i , i  1, 2, ....., N , S i  1 is kept in an
external magnetic field B at a temperature T . The Hamiltonian of the system is
B
H   B i S i . What should be the minimum value of for which the mean value
k BT
1
Si  ?
3
1 1
(a) N ln 2 (b) 2 ln 2 (c) ln 2 (d) N ln 2
2 2
Ans. : (c)
B B

e kT
e kT
Solution: P  Si  1  B B
, P  Si  1  B B
 
e kT
e kT e kT
 e kT
B B
 
1e kT
e kT
 B 
Si   Si    tanh 

B B
 kT 
e kT
 e kT
B
For N particle Si   N tanh
kT
S 1  B  1 B 1
According to question, i    tanh     ln 2
N 3  kT  3 kT 2

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NET/JRF (JUNE-2015)
Q51. A system of N non-interacting classical particles, each of mass m is in a two
dimensional harmonic potential of the form V  r    x 2  y 2 where  is a positive  
 1 
constant. The canonical partition function of the system at temperature T is    :
 k BT 
N N
   2    2m 
2N
  
N
 2m 2 
(a)    (b)   (c)   (d)  2 
 2m        2m     
Ans. (d)


Solution: V  r    x 2  y 2 
 px2  p 2y  x 2  y 2
1    
z1  2
h 
e 2 mkT dpx  e 2 mkT dp y  e
 
kT
dx  e

kT
dy

2 mkT 2 mkT 1 1 1 
 z1  2  2
h2 h 2
2  2 
kT kT
N
 2 2 m   2 2 m 
z1   2   kT   z N   2 2 
2

 h   h  
Q52. A system of N distinguishable particles, each of which can be in one of the two energy
levels 0 and  , has a total energy n  , where n is an integer. The entropy of the system
is proportional to

 N !  N! 
(a) N ln n (b) n ln N (d) ln 
 n ! N  n  ! 
(c) ln  
 n!   
Ans. : (d)
Solution: No of ways for above configuration is  N Cn

N N
W   Entropy=k ln
n N n n N n

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Q53. The condition for the liquid and vapour phases of a fluid to be in equilibrium is given by
dP Q
the approximate equation  1 (Clausius-Clayperon equation) where vvap is the
dT Tvvap

volume per particle in the vapour phase, and Q1 is the latent heat, which may be taken to
be a constant. If the vapour obeys ideal gas law, which of the following plots is correct?

ln P ln P
(a) (b) (c) ln P (d) ln P
O T O T O T O T

Ans. (c)
dP Q RT dP Ql P dP Ql dT C
Solution:  l , vap 
dT Tvap P
 
dT RT 2

P

R T 2
 ln P  
T


Q54. Consider three Ising spins at the vertices of a triangle which interact with each other with
a ferromagnetic Ising interaction of strength J . The partition function of the system at
 1 
temperature T is given by    :
 k BT 

(a) 2e3 J  6e   J (b) 2e 3 J  6e  J

(c) 2e3 J  6e 3 J  3e  J  3e   J (d)  2 cosh  J 

3

Ans. (b)
Solution: H  J  S1S 2  S1S3  S 2 S3 

S1 S2 S3 E
1 1 1 3J

1 1
1

1 1 1   J
1 1 1 
1 11

1 1 1  J
1 1 1
1 1 1 3J
 z  2e3 J  6e  J

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Q55. A large number N of Brownian particles in one dimension start their diffusive motion
from the origin at time t  0 . The diffusion coefficient is D . The number of particles
crossing a point at a distance L from the origin, per unit time, depends on L and time t
as
 L2 4 Dt  L2 4 Dt
N NL N
(a) e  4 Dt  (b) e L2
(c) e  4 Dt 
(d) Ne L2
4 Dt 4 Dt 16 Dt 3
Ans. (a)
Solution: From Einstein Smoluchowski theory

dx   x2 
p  x  dx  exp  
4 Dt  4 Dt 

N   L2 
Number of particle passing from point L at origin  .exp  
4 Dt  4 Dt 

Q56. An ideal Bose gas in d -dimensions obeys the dispersion relation  k  Ak s , where A  
and s are constants. For Bose-Einstein condensation to occur, the occupancy of excited
states
d s

 s
Ne  c  d
0 e 
   
1 
where c is a constant, should remain finite even for   0 . This can happen if
d 1 1 d 1 d 1 d
(a)  (b)   (c) 1 (d)  1
s 4 4 s 2 s 2 s
Ans. (c)
d s
  s
Solution: Ne  c  d
0
e      1
B.E. condensation is possible in 3-D
d s 1 d 3
1
For materlistic particle g  2    
s 2 s 2
d  s d
For massless particle g  2  2 3
s s
d
In both cases  1
s

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NET/JRF (DEC-2015)
Q57. The heat capacity of the interior of a refrigerator is 4.2 kJ / K . The minimum work that

must be done to lower the internal temperature from 18o C to 17o C , when the outside

temperature is 27o C will be

(a) 2.20 kJ (b) 0.80 kJ (c) 0.30 kJ (d) 0.14 kJ
Ans. : (b)
Q58. For a system of independent non interacting one-dimensional oscillators, the value of the
free energy per oscillator, in the limit T  0 , is
1 3
(a)  (b)  (c)  (d) 0
2 2
Ans. : (a)
N
       
Solution: For the given system Z N   2sinh   F  kT ln Z N  NkT ln  2sinh  
 2kT    2kT  
   


 
2 e 2 kT
 e 2 kT

       

 
 


 NkT ln  NkT ln  e 1  e    NkT ln e  NkT ln 1  e kT 
2 kT kT 2 kT
 

2
      
 

F      
  kT ln 1  e kT   0   kT  0 
N 2   2 2

Q59. The partition function of a system of N Ising spins is Z  1N  2N where 1 and 2 are

functions of temperature, but are independent of N . If 1  2 , the free energy per spin

in the limit N   is
 
(a)  k BT ln  1  (b)  k BT ln 2 (c)  k BT ln  12  (d)  k BT ln 1
 2 
Ans. : (d)

 
Solution: Z  1N  2N , F   kT ln 1N  2N , it is given 1  2

     N  2
 F  kT ln 1N  1   2    , 0
   1    1
 
F
F   kT ln 1N   NkT ln 1   kT ln 1
N
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1
Q60. The Hamiltonian of a system of N non interacting spin particles is H   0 B  Siz ,
2 i

where Siz  1 are components of i th spin along an external magnetic field B . At a

0 B

temperature T such that e kBT  2 . the specific heat per particle is

16 8 16
(c) k B  ln 2  k B  ln 2 
2 2
(a) kB (b) k B ln 2 (d)
25 25 25
Ans. : (d)
0 B
Solution: For the given system E   0 B tanh
kT

 B B
2

CV   0  Nk sec 2 h 0
 kT  kT
0 B
CV  0 B  0 B
2
4
  k e kT  2   ln 2
N  kT   0 B  B
 0 
2
kT
 e kT
 e kT

 

CV  0 B    B  16
2 2
4 2 16k 16
  ln 2  k  ln 2 
2
  k  0  k 
N  kT   1
2
 kT  25 25 25
 2  
 2
1
Q61. An ensemble of non-interacting spin - particles is in contact with a heat bath at
2
temperature T and is subjected to an external magnetic field. Each particle can be in one
of the two quantum states of energies  0 . If the mean energy per particle is  0 / 2 ,
then the free energy per particle is

(a) 2 0

ln 4 / 3  (b)  0 ln  3 / 2  (c) 2 0 ln 2 (d)  0
ln 2
ln 3 ln 3
Ans. : (a)
0
Solution: For the given system, partition function, Z n  2 N cosh
kT
   
Mean energy per unit particle    0    0 tanh 0
 2 kT
 
 1 e e 1
put 0    tanh     

kT 2 e e 2

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1  1 2 0
 e 2  3    ln 3  0  ln 3  kT 
2 kT 2 ln 3
F   
 kT ln  2 cosh 0    kT ln  2 cosh   b  4ac
2
It is given,
N  kT 
 e  e  
  kT ln  2 2
 
  kT ln e e  1   kT ln  e  3  1   kT ln e 4 
  

 2 
0 2
 kT ln e   ln 4   kT   kT ln 4  kT  kT ln 4  0  0 ln 4
kT ln 3
  3    16  
 ln     ln  3  
 ln 3  2 ln 4   16 
0   0     0    
 ln 3   ln 3   ln 3 
   
  4 2   4   4 
 ln    ln   ln  
F   3   3  3
   0  2 0  2 0
N  ln 3  ln 3 ln 3
 
 
Q62. Which of the following graphs shows the qualitative dependence of the free energy
f  h, T  of a ferromagnet in an external magnetic field h , and at a fixed temperature

T  TC , where TC is the critical temperature?

f f f f
h
(a) (b) (c) (d)
h h h
Ans. : (c)
Solution: For super conductor state one will find two local minima
f
Option (c) is correct.
h

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NET/JRF (JUNE-2016)
Q63. The specific heat per molecule of a gas of diatomic molecules at high temperatures is
(a) 8k B (b) 3.5k B (c) 4.5 k B (d) 3k B
Ans. : (b)
Solution: For high temperature all number are excited so degree of freedom for diatomic
molecule is 7 .
fk BT 7k T  U 
Internal energy is , U  B , CV     3.5k B
2 2  T V
Q64. When an ideal monoatomic gas is expanded adiabatically from an initial volume V0 to
T
3V0 , its temperature changes from T0 to T . Then the ratio is
T0
2 1
1  1 3  1 3
(a) (b)   (c)   (d) 3
3 3 3
Ans. : (b)
Solution: For adiabatic process PV   k , T0V0 1  k
 1 v 1
V  1
 T  3V0 
 1  1
T0V0  T  T0  0   T  T0  
 3V0  3
5
For monoatomic gas  
3
5 2
1 2/3
 1 3  1 3 T 1
T  T0    T0      
3 3 T0  3 
Q65. A box of volume V containing N molecules of an ideal gas, is divided by a wall with a
V
hole into two compartments. If the volume of the smaller compartment is , the
3
variance of the number of particles in it, is
N 2N N
(a) (b) (c) N (d)
3 9 3
Ans. : (b)
V 1
Solution: Probability that one particle is in smaller compartment having volume , so p 
3 3

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There are only two options either particle is in left half or right half, so for one particle
distribution is Bernoulli for Bernoulli’s distribution  2  p 1  p  . For N particle

distribution is
1  1 2N
 2  Np 1  p   N  1   ,  2 
3  3 9
Q66. A gas of non-relativistic classical particles in one dimension is subjected to a potential
 1 
V  x    x (where  is a constant). The partition function is    
 k BT 
4m 2m 8m 3m
(a) (b) (c) (d)
 h
3 2 2
 h
3 2 2
 h
3 2 2
 3 2 h 2
Ans. : (c)
 p2  x  x
1  x  1 
Solution: z   e 2 mkT dpx  e kT dx   2 mkT   e kT dx
1/ 2

h  
h 

1/ 2  x
 2 mkT  
 z 
 h
2 
 
e kT
dx

 x 0 x  x
   kT kT 2kT
e kT
dx  e kT
dx   e kT
dx   
  0
  
1
 2 mkT   2kT   8 m  2
1/ 2
1
z      2 3 2  , put  
 h     h    kT
2

Q67. The internal energy E T  of a system at a fixed volume is found to depend on the

temperature T as E T   aT 2  bT 4 . Then the entropy S T  , as a function of temperature,

is
1 2 1 4 4
(a) aT  bT (b) 2aT 2  4bT 4 (c) 2aT  bT 3 (d) 2aT  2bT 3
2 4 3
Ans. : (c)
Solution: From first law of thermodynamics,
TdS  dE  PdV , dE  TdS  PdV , it is given dV  0
1
dE  TdS  dS  dE
T
E  aT 2  bT 4  dE  2aTdT  4bT 3 dT
4bT 3
dS 
1
T

2aTdT  4bT dT  2adT  4bT dT  2aT 
3 2

3

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Q68. Consider a gas of Cs atoms at a number density of 1012 atoms/cc. when the typical inter-
particle distance is equal to the thermal de Broglie wavelength of the particles, the
temperature of the gas is nearest to (Take the mass of a Cs atom to be 22.7 1026 kg )

(a) 1 109 K (b) 7  105 K (c) 1 103 K (d) 2 108 K

Ans. : (d)
Solution: When de Broglie wavelength = thermal wavelength
g3 / 2  z   2.61
2/3
N h3 N h2
 2 mkT 3 / 2   2 mkT   
V 2.61 V   2.612 / 3

   
2/3 2
1 h2 1 1012 6.6  1034
T n 2/3

2 mk  2.612 / 3 2  3.14  22.7 1026 1.38 1023   2.612 / 3
 6.6  108 1064  1049
2
 6.6 2  107
 
6.28  22.7  1.38   2.61 6.28  22.7  1.38   2.61
2/3 2/3

0.221 107 0.221

   107  0.116  107  1.16 108
 2.61 2/3
1.895

NET/JRF (DEC-2016)
Q69. The partition function of a two-level system governed by the Hamiltonian
  
H 
 
is
 

(a) 2sinh   2   2
(b) 2 cosh       2 2

(c) cosh        sinh   

 2   2 
1 2 2

2 
(d) cosh        sinh   
1 2 2
 2  2
2 
Ans. : (b)
  
Solution: H  
   

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The eigen value is given by E1    2   2 and E2    2   2

Z  trace  e   H   e   E1  e  E2  e    2  2
e

    2  2   2 cosh   2  2

Q70. Consider a gas of N classical particles in a two-dimensional square box of side L . If the
total energy of the gas is E , the entropy (apart from an additive constant) is

 L2 E   LE  L E  E
(a) Nk B ln   (b) Nk B ln   (c) 2 Nk B ln   (d) L2 k B ln  
 N   N   N  N

Ans. : (c)
N
1  2 mkTL2  E
Solution: Z N    kT 
N h2  N
N
1  L2 E  2 m
ZN  1
N  N 
Assume
h2

 L2 E   L2 E 
ln Z   ln N  N ln     N ln N  N  N ln  
 N   N 
 L2 E 
 F  kT ln Z  NkT ln N  NkT  NkT ln  
 N 
E  NkT

U F EF  L2 E 
S   Nk  Nk ln N  Nk  Nk ln  
T T  N 
2
 L2 E  L E L E 
 Nk ln  2   Nk ln    2 Nk ln  
 N   N   N 
Q71. Consider a random walk on an infinite two-dimensional triangular lattice, a part of which
is shown in the figure below.

If the probabilities of moving to any of the nearest neighbour sites are equal, what is the
probability that the walker returns to the starting position at the end of exactly three steps?
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
36 216 18 12

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Ans. : (c)
Solution: For walker to return to starting position it must move along an equivalent triangle in
three steps.
For steps one any movement can result in equilateral triangle.
For step two, two out of six options will form equilateral triangle.
For step three, only one out of six options will form equilateral triangle
6 2 1 1
Total probability    
6 6 6 18
Q72. An atom has a non-degenerate ground-state and a doubly-degenerate excited state. The
energy difference between the two states is  . The specific heat at very low temperatures
   1 is given by
(a) k B    (b) k B e   (c) 2k B    e  
2
(d) k B

Ans. : (c)
Solution: Assume energy at ground state is 0 and energy at first excited state is  . The partition
function is Z  1  2e   
2 e   
Energy 
1  2e  
 
 1 2
 U 
2e kT
   2  e kT  2
kT 
2
kT
Specific heat, CV    
 T V  
  2
 
1  2e 
kT
1  2e 
kT

   
 

2   1  2e
kT

2    1  2e 
 
   kT  
 2k   e  2k    e
 kT  1  2e    
2 2
 

 1  2e 
kT

 

CV  2k    e    ,   
2

Q73. The electrons in graphene can be thought of as a two-dimensional gas with a linear
 
energy-momentum relation E  p v , where p   px , p y  and v is a constant. If  is the

number of electrons per unit area, the energy per unit area is proportional to
(a)  3/ 2 (b)  (c)  1/ 3 (d)  2

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Ans. : (a)
Solution: The number of k state in range k to k  dk :
2
 L 
In 2D , it is given by g  k  dk    2 kdk
 2 
Since, dispersion relation is E  P v  kv
2
 L  EdE L2
g  E  dE  2    2 
 2   v    v
2 2 2

The number of electron at T  00 K is

EF EF
L2 L2 N
N  g Ed E   EdE  EF2  2  2 v 2 . 2  EF2
0
 2v2 0
2  v
2 2
L

 N
EF2  2  2 v 2    2 
 L 
The average energy at T  0 K is
EF

 E  g  E  dE L2
EF
L2 EF3
Eav  0

N

N  2v 2 
0
E 2 dE 
3N  2v 2
L 2
2 L2
Eav   2  v  2  v  
2 2 2 2 1/ 2
2 v  3/ 2
3N  v
2 2
3N
E NEa v 2 E
 2  2 v  3/ 2    3/ 2
L2
L 3 L2

NET/JRF (JUNE-2017)
Q74. A thermodynamic function
G T , P, N   U  TS  PV

is given in terms of the internal energy U , temperature T , entropy S , pressure P ,

volume V and the number of particles N . Which of the following relations is true? (In
the following  is the chemical potential.)

G G G G
(a) S   (b) S  (c) V   (d)   
T N ,P T N ,P P N ,T N P ,T

Ans. : (a)
Solution: G  U  TS  PV

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dG  dU  Tds  sdT  PdV  VdP  TdS  PdV  TdS  SdT  PdV  VdP
dG   SdT  VdP
 G  G
    S and V
 T  N , P P N ,T

Q75. A box, separated by a movable wall, has two compartments filled by a monoatomic gas
CP
of   . Initially the volumes of the two compartments are equal, but the pressures are
CV

3P0 and P0 respectively. When the wall is allowed to move, the final pressures in the two
compartments become equal. The final pressure is
  
2 2  31/  
(c) 1  31/   P0
1 
(a)   P0 (b) 3   P0 (d)  1/  
P0
3 3 2  1 3 
Ans. : (c)
Solution: V1  V2  2V , V2  2V  V1 ,

3PV
0  PV1 , PV
0

 PV2

 P  2V  V1 
 
PV
0

From (i) and (ii)


 V1  1/  V1 1 2V  V1 2V 2V
3  3   1/     1  V1 
 2V  V1  2V  V1 3 V1 V1 1  1/ 31/  
put the value of V1 in (i)

 2V  3P0 P0
3PV
0

 P 1/ 
 1  1/ 3 
  P 
2
1  1/ 3 
1/  

2
1  3 
1/  

Q76. A gas of photons inside a cavity of volume V is in equilibrium at temperature T . If the

temperature of the cavity is changed to 2T , the radiation pressure will change by a factor
of
(a) 2 (b) 16 (c) 8 (d) 4
Ans. : (b)
Solution: For 3 dimensional system P  T 4
4
P2  2T 
   P2  P1 2  p1 16  16 P1
4

P1  T 

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Q77. In a thermodynamic system in equilibrium, each molecule can exist in three possible
states with probabilities 1/ 2, 1/ 3 and 1/ 6 respectively. The entropy per molecule is
1 2
(a) k B ln 3 (b) k B ln 2  k B ln 3
2 3
2 1 1 1
(c) k B ln 2  k B ln 3 (d) k B ln 2  k B ln 3
3 2 2 6
Ans. : (c)
Solution: S  k B  Pi ln Pi
i

1
P1  , P2  1/ 3 and P3  1/ 6 
2
1 
S  k B  ln1/ 2  1/ 3ln1/ 3  1/ 6 ln1/ 6  
2 
1 1 1
 kb   ln1  ln 2    ln1  ln 3   ln1  ln 6 
2 3 6

1 1 1 1  1 1 1 1 
 k B  ln 2  ln 3  ln 2  ln 3  k B  ln 2  ln 2  ln 3  ln 3
2 3 6 6  2 6 3 6 
 3ln 2  ln 2 2ln 3  ln 3   4 ln 2 3ln 3  2 1 
S  kB     kB     k B  ln 2  ln 3
 6 6   6 6  3 2 
Q78. The single particle energy levels of a non-interacting three-dimensional isotropic system,
labelled by momentum k , are proportional to k 3 . The ratio P /  of the average pressure
P to the energy density  at a fixed temperature, is
(a) 1/ 3 (b) 2 / 3 (c) 1 (d) 3
Ans. : (c)
Solution: E  p s , where p is momentum

sE
P    , where P is pressure
3V 
P s
 .
E 3
In problem, E  k 3 , so, s  3
3 E  E
pressure P     P    at fixed T .
3V  V 

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Q79. The Hamiltonian for three Ising spins S0 , S1 and S2 , taking values 1 , is
H   JS0  S1  S 2 
If the system is in equilibrium at temperature T , the average energy of the system, in

terms of    k BT  , is
1

1  cosh  2 J 
(a)  (b) 2 J 1  cosh  2 J  
2  sinh  2 J 
sinh  2 J 
(c) 2 /  (d) 2 J
1  cosh  2  J 
Ans. : (d)
Solution: H   JS0  S1  S 2    J  S0 S1  S0 S2  S0  1 S1   S 2  1

S0 S1 S2 E
1 1 1 2J
1 1 1 2J
1 1 1 0
1 1 1 0
1 1 1 0
1 1 1 0
1 1 1 2J
1 1 1 2 J
E1  2 J g1  2

E2  2 J g2  2

E3  0 g3  4
E g e
  Ei

U i i

g e  i
 Ei

0  2 J 2e 2  J   2 J  2e 2  J 4 J  e 2  J  e 2  J  8 J   sinh 2 J 
U  
4  2 e e 
2  J 2 J
4  2e  2e 2  J 2 J
4  4 cosh 2  J

2 J sinh 2 J
U 
1  cosh 2 J

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NET/JRF (DEC - 2017)

Q80. A monoatomic gas ‘of volume V is in equilibrium in a uniform vertical cylinder, the
lower end of which is closed by a rigid wall and the other by a frictionless piston. The
piston is pressed lightly and released. Assume that the gas is a poor conductor of heat and
the cylinder and piston are perfectly insulating. If the cross-sectional area of the cylinder
is A , the angular frequency of small oscillations of the piston about the point of
equilibrium, is
5
(a) 5 gA /  3V  (b) 4 gA /  3V  (c) gA / V (d) 7 gA /  5V 
3
Ans. : (a)

 P    V 
Solution: PV    P  P V  V   PV   P 1 

V 1  
 P   V 
 
 P  V   P  V   P  V 
 PV   PV  1  1    1  1    1  1  1   1
 P  V   P  V   P  V 
V P P V
1    1 (i)
V P P V
P V
For small oscillation, also neglect
P V
F mg
From equilibrium P  
A A
P V mg A dx
From (i), we get   , P  A   mg. V , P  A   . A.
P V A V
mgdx  mg
P  A   A F  Adx
V V
 gA 5 5 gA
 and      .
V 3 3 V
Q81. The relation between the internal energy U , entropy S , temperature T , pressure p ,
volume V , chemical potential  and number of particles N of a thermodynamic system
is dU  TdS  pdV   dN . That U is an exact differential implies that

p T U U
(a)   (b) p S
S V , N V S ,N T S ,N V S ,

U 1 U p T
(c) p  (d) 
T S ,N T V S , S V , N V S ,N

Ans. : (a)

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Solution: df  Adx  Bdy  Cdz

If f is perfect differential then, A  T , B   p, C  
x  S y V, z  N

 A   B 
   
 y  x , z  x  y , z

 A   C   B   C 
    ,   
 z  x , y  x  y , z  z  x , y  y  x , z

 T   P 
    
 V  S , N  S V , N
Q82. The number of microstates of a gas of N particles in a volume V and of internal energy
U , is given by
3N / 2
 aU 
 U , V , N   V  Nb  
N

 N 
(where a and b are positive constants). Its pressure P , volume V and temperature T ,
are related by
 aN   aN 
(a)  P   V  Nb   Nk BT (b)  P  2  V  Nb   Nk BT
 V   V 

(c) PV  Nk BT (d) P V  Nb   Nk BT

Ans. : (d)
3N
 aU  2
Solution:   u , v, N   V  Nb  
N

 N 
 3  aU 
S  k ln   Nk ln V  Nb   ln  
 2  N 
1 P
dS  dU  dV
T T
 S  1 3
    U  NkT
 U V T 2

 S  P P Nk
    
 V U T T V  Nb 

P V  Nb   NkT

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Q83. A closed system having three non-degenerate energy levels with energies E  0,   , is
at temperature T . For  2k BT , the probability of finding the system in the state with

energy E  0 , is
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) cosh 2 (d)
1  2 cosh 2   2 cosh 2  2 cosh 2

Ans. : (a)
  

 kT
 
 e e
kT kT
  1  2 cosh 
Solution: Partition function is z  1   e  e kT   z  1  2 
  kT
   2 
 
Probability that system has energy, E  0
1
P  E  0 

1  2 cosh
kT
put  2kT
1
P  E  0 
1  2 cosh 2
Q84. Two non-degenerate energy levels with energies 0 and  are occupied by N non-
interacting particles at a temperature T . Using classical statistics, the average internal
energy of the system is
N N 3
(a) (b) (c) N  e/ kBT (d) Nk BT

1  e/ kBT  
1  e/ kBT  2

Ans. : (a)
Solution: For one particle
 
exp   
Quantum mechanical energy is, U   kT 

1 e kT

 
N exp   
 kT   U  N
For N particle, U 
   
1  exp    1  exp  
 kT   kT 

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Q85. Consider a quantum system of non-interacting bosons in contact with a particle bath. The
probability of finding no particle in a given single particle quantum state is 106 . The
average number of particles in that state is of the order of
(a) 103 (b) 106 (c) 109 (d) 1012
Ans. : (b)

NET/JRF (JUNE-2018)
Q86. Which of the following statements concerning the coefficient of volume expansion 
and the isothermal compressibility  of a solid is true?
(a)  and  are both intensive variables
(b)  is an intensive and  is an extensive variable
(c)  is an extensive and  is an intensive variable
(d)  and  are both extensive variables
Ans. : (a)
1  dV  1  P 
Solution:    ,      both are intensive property
V  dT  V  V T
Q87. The number of ways of distributing 11 indistinguishable bosons in 3 different energy
levels is

(a) 311 (b) 113 (c)

13! (d)
11!
2!11 ! 3!8!
Ans. : (c)
Solution: n  11 g  3
n  g 1 11  3  1 13
w  
n g 1 11 2 11 2
 a 
Q88. The van der Waals equation for one mole of a gas is  p  2  V  b   RT . The
 V 
corresponding equation of state for n moles of this gas at pressure P , volume V and
temperature T , is
 an 2   a 
(a)  P  2  V  nb   nRT (b)  P  2  V  nb   nRT
 V   V 
 an 2   a 
(c)  P  2  V  nb   nRT (d)  P  2  V  nb   nRT
 V   V 

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Ans. : (a)
Solution: For n mole gas van der Wall equation is
 an 2 
 p   V  nb   nRT
 V 

Q89. In a system of N distinguishable particles, each particle can be in one of two states with
energies 0 and  E , respectively. The mean energy of the system at temperature T is
1

(a)  N 1  e / kBT
2
 (b)  NE 1  e / kBT  
1
(c)  NE
2
(d)  NE 1  e  / kBT 
Ans. : (d)
Solution: For one particle system
0

0  e k BT    E  e  E / k BT  E e E / k BT E  NE
E     E / k BT
E 
e 0 / k BT
e E / k BT
1  e E / k BT e 1 1  e  E / k BT
Q90. The pressure P of a system of N particles contained in a volume V at a temperature T
1 1
is given by P  nk B T  an 2  bn3 , where n is the number density and a and b are
2 6
temperature independent constants. If the system exhibits a gas-liquid transition, the
critical temperature is
a a a2 a2
(a) (b) 2 (c) (d) 2
bk B 2b k B 2bk B b kB
Ans. : (c)
1 1 N
Solution: P  nk BT  an 2  bn3 n
2 6 V
P 2P
For critical condition  0 and 0
V V 2
N 1 N2 1 N3
P k BT  a 2  b 3
V 2 V 6 V
P aN 2 bN 3
 0  Nk BT   2 (i)
V V 2V

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2 P 3aN 2 2bN 3
 0  2 Nk B T   2 (ii)
V 2 V V
From equation (i) and (ii)
bN
VC 
a
b
put the value of VC  N in equation (i)
a
a2
T
2k B b
Q91. Consider a particle diffusing in a liquid contained in a large box. The diffusion constant
of the particle in the liquid is 1.0  102 cm 2 / s . The minimum time after which the root-
mean-squared displacement becomes more than 6 cm is

(a) 10 min (b) 6 min (c) 30 min (d) 6 min

Ans. : (a)
Solution: r 2  6 Dt

r 2   r.m.s    6 c.m  D  1102 c.m 2 / sec

2 2

r2 6
2

t   600 sec  10 min

60 6 1102
Q92. A thermally insulated chamber of dimensions  L, L, 2 L  is partitioned in the middle. One

side of the chamber is filled with n moles of an ideal gas at a pressure P and
temperature T , while the other side is empty. At t  0 , the partition is removed and the
gas is allowed to expand freely. The time to reach equilibrium varies as

L P, T

2L
(a) n1/ 3 L1T 1/ 2 (b) n 2 / 3 LT 1/ 2 (c) n0 LT 1/ 2 (d) n L1T 1/ 2
Ans. : (c)

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m v2 m 3kT
Solution: From kinetic theory of gases F   MLt 2  where nM  m M is
L L M
molecular mass
t 2  L2T  t  LT 1/ 2
o
Q93. The maximum intensity of solar radiation is at the wavelength of s u n ~ 5000 A and

corresponds to its surface temperature Tsun ~ 104 K . If the wavelength of the maximum
o
intensity of an X -ray star is 5 A , its surface temperature is of the order of
(a) 1016 K (b) 1014 K (c) 1010 K (d) 107 K
Ans. : (d)
Solution: From Vein’s law, Tmax sun  constant
0
5000 A00 104  5 A  T

5000  104
T T  107 K
5

NET/JRF (DEC - 2018)

Q94. The heat capacity CV at constant volume of a metal, as a function of temperature, is

 T   T 3 , where  and  are constants. The temperature dependence of the entropy at

constant volume is
1
(a)  T   T 3 (b)  T   T 3
3
1 1 1 1
(c) T   T 3 (d) T   T 3
2 3 2 4
Ans. : (a)
Solution: CV   T   T 3

dQ CV dT
dS  
T T

 dS      T dT
2

1
S  T   T 3
3
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2
Q95. The rotational energy levels of a molecule are E      1 , where   0,1, 2,... and
2I0

I 0 is its moment of inertia. The contribution of the rotational motion to the Helmholtz
free energy per molecule, at low temperatures in a dilute gas of these molecules, is
approximately
2
 2  
(a)  k BT 1   (b) k BTe I 0 k BT

 I 0 k BT 
2

(c) k BT (d) 3k BTe I 0 k BT

Ans. : (d)
2
Solution: E      1   0,1, 2,...
2I0
   2    1

z    2  1 e 2 I0

 0

  2    1

z  1    2  1 e 2 I 0 k BT

 0

     1  2

F  k BT ln z   k BT ln  1    2  1 e 2 I0 kBT 
  1 
 
x2
ln 1  x   x   ...
2
For low temperature, higher temperature can be neglected
  2    1   2
  2
  
F   k BT   2  1 e 2 I 0 k BT
  k B T 3 e I 0 k BT
 ...  3k B T e I 0 k BT

 1  
 
Q96. The vibrational motion of a diatomic molecule may be considered to be that of a simple
harmonic oscillator with angular frequency  . If a gas of these molecules is at
temperature T , what is the probability that a randomly picked molecule will be found in
its lowest vibrational state?
 
     1   
(a) 1  e k BT
(b) e 2 k BT
(c) tanh   (d) cosec h  
 k BT  2  2 k BT 
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Ans. : (a)
 1
Solution: E   n    n  0,1, 2,..
 2
  3  5 
 k BT
ze 2 k BT
e 2 k BT
e
   
 
e 2 k BT e 2 k BT 1
P  G.S .    3 
    
  1  e k BT
  1
e 2 k BT
e 2 k BT
 ... e 2 kBT 1  e kBT  ...   
 
  1 e k BT

Q97. Consider an ideal Fermi gas in a grand canonical ensemble at a constant chemical
potential. The variance of the occupation number of the single particle energy level with
mean occupation number n is
1
(a) n 1  n  (b) n (c) n (d)
n
Ans. : (a)
1  z  1
Solution: n  k BT       / kBT
z   V ,T e 1

 dn 
Variance  k BT    n 1  n 
 d  V ,T
Note: This may also be divided using simple Bernoulli distribution.

Q98. The Hamiltonian of a one-dimensional Ising model of N spins ( N large) is

N
H   J   i i 1
i 1

1
where the spin  i  1 and J is a positive constant. At inverse temperature   ,
k BT

the correlation function between the nearest neighbor spins  i i 1  is

e  J
(a) (b) e 2  J
 e  J  e  J 
(c) tanh   J  (d) coth   J 

Ans. : (c)

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Solution:  i   i 1 
 i   i 1

 i   i 1
N  1 
11
(i)
N 1 N  JN
For such an Ising model for N  1

z   cosh  J 
N


Average Energy  ln z

1
 N sinh  J  J
cosh  J
  NJ tanh  J (ii)
 Nj tanh  j
 i   i 1   tanh  j
 jN
Q99. A particle hops on a one-dimensional lattice with lattice spacing a . The probability of
the particle to hop to the neighboring site to its right is p , while the corresponding
probability to hop to the left is q  1  p . The root-mean squared deviation

x  x2  x
2
in displacement after N steps, is
q p

O
(a) a Npq (b) aN pq (c) 2a Npq (d) a N
Ans. : (c)
Solution: The standard deviation of Binomial distribution  Npq

Step size  2a (L & R)

Mean square displacement  2a Npq

Q100. The energy levels accessible to a molecule have energies E1  0, E2   and E3  2

(where  is a constant). A gas of these molecules is in thermal equilibrium at
temperature T . The specific heat at constant volume in the high temperature limit
 k BT    varies with temperature as
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
T 3/ 2
T3 T T2

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Ans. : (d)

Solution: z  e0  e  / kBT  e 2  / kBT  1
kBT

z  1  e  / kBT  e 2  / kBT
A  k BT ln z  k BT ln 1  e  / kBT  e 2  / kBT 

  2 
A   k B T ln 1  1  ....  1  ...
 kBT kBT 

 3 
  k BT ln 3  
 k BT 

 
   3  1 3 
  k B 1ln 3    T   
T   kBT  3 k B T 2 
3
 kBT 
 

 
  2  1 3 1 3 3  3  3 
2

  k      1  3   
 3  3 k BT 3 k BT 2 k BT
B
T 2 2
3  k B T  k B T 2

 k BT k BT 

kB  2 kB  2
 
T  k BT    T  k B2T 2
2

2 A 1
CV  T  2
T 2
T

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