Engineering Physics Numerical Questions

Chapter 1: Oscillation
1. An oscillatory motion of a body is represented by y=aeiwt, where y is displacement in time
t and w is angular velocity. Show that the motion is simple harmonic.
2. Show that the velocity of simple harmonic oscillator at any instant leads the displacement
by a phase angle of 𝝅/𝟐. Hence find the general expression for the velocity of a simple
harmonic oscillator.
3. At t=0, the displacement x(0) of the block in linear oscillator is -8.50cm. The block’s
velocity v(0) then is -0.920m/s and its acceleration a(0) is 47m/s2. Find (a) angular
frequency (b) Phase constant.
4. A 0.12kg body undergoes simple harmonic motion of amplitude 8.5cm and period 0.20sec.
a) What is the magnitude of the maximum force acting on it? b) If the oscillations are
produced by a spring, what is the spring constant? Ans.10N,120N/m
5. A block on a horizontal surface that is moving back and forth horizontally with SHM of
frequency 2Hz. The coefficient of static friction between block and surface is 0.5. How great
can the amplitude of SHM be if the block is not to slip along the surface? Ans. 0.031m
6. An oscillator consists of a block attached to a spring of spring constant 400N/m. At some
time t, the position (measured from the system’s equilibrium location), velocity and
acceleration of the block are x=0.1m, v=-13.6m/s and a=-123m/s2. Calculate (a) the
frequency of oscillation, (b) the mass of the block and (c) the amplitude of motion.
Ans: 35.07rad/s, 0.325kg, 0.4m
7. The motion of the particle in simple harmonic motion is given by x=Asint. If it has a
speed u when the displacement is x1 and speed v when the displacement is x2. Show that
the amplitude A of the motion is

𝒗 𝟐 𝒙𝟐 −𝒖𝟐 𝒙𝟐
A=√ 𝟏 𝟐
𝒗𝟐 −𝒖𝟐

8. When the displacement is half the amplitude, what fraction of the total energy is K.E. and
what fraction is P.E. in SHM? At what displacement is the energy half K.E. and half P.E.
Ans. ¾, ¼ , A/√𝟐
9. A meter stick swings about a pivot point at one of its end. What is the time period of
oscillation? What is the distance of the pivot point from the centre of oscillation of the
stick? Ans. 1.642s ,66.7cm
10. A uniform circular disc of diameter 20cm vibrates about a horizontal axis perpendicular
plane and at a distance of 5cm from the centre. Calculate, the time period of oscillation
and the equivalent length of the simple pendulum. Ans. 0.782sec.
15cm
11. A thin, straight, uniform rod of length l=1m and mass 160gm hangs from a pivot at one
end. What is the period for small oscillations? What is the length of simple pendulum that
will have the same time period. Ans. 1.64sec 66.67cm

1 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

12. A stick of length 1.85m oscillates as a physical pendulum. a) what is the length of
pendulum that gives the least time period? b) what is the minimum time period? Ans.
0.53m 2.1sec
13. A heavy circular ring of radius R oscillates in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis at a
distance x from the centre, Show that the time period is minimum when x=R.
14. A uniform thin rod of length 120cm and width 6cm is swinging in a vertical plane on
pendulum about a point A at some distance from one end. If the time of swing is minimum,
find the distance A from the end of the rod. Ans. 25.31cm
15. A simple pendulum of length l and mass m is suspended in a car that is travelling with a
constant speed v around a circle of radius R. If the pendulum undergoes small oscillations
𝟏 𝒈𝒙
about its equilibrium position x, prove that the frequency of oscillation is f=𝟐𝝅 √ 𝒍𝑹 .
16. A simple pendulum of length 20cm and mass 5gm is suspended in a car travelling with
constant speed 70m/s around a circle of radius 50m. If the pendulum undergoes small
oscillations in a radial direction about its equilibrium position, what is the frequency of
oscillation? Ans: 3.5Hz
17. A simple pendulum of 1m length is suspended in an elevator. If the elevator is ascending at
an acceleration of 3 m/s2, what is the period of oscillation of the pendulum? Ans.1.756sec.
18. A metallic disc of mass 0.5kg and radius 0.1m is suspended by a wire of length 40 cm and
radius 1mm. The torsion oscillations of the disc are found to have a period of 2.5sec. Find
the modulus of rigidity of the wire. Ans.4.02x109N/m2
19. A wire has a torsional constant of 2Nm/rad. A disc of radius 5cm and mass 100gm is
suspended at its centre. What is the frequency of torsional oscillations? Ans.
20.13Hz
20. A solid sphere of mass 2kg and diameter 0.30m is suspended on a wire. Find the period of
angular oscillation for small displacements if the torque constant of the wire is 6x10 -
3Nm/rad. Ans. 10.9sec
21. Two identical springs are attached to a block of mass m horizontally. Show that the
𝟏 𝟐𝒌
frequency of oscillation on the frictionless surface is given by f= 𝟐𝝅 √ 𝒎
22. A 2kg mass hangs from a spring. A 300gm body hung below the mass stretches the spring
2cm further. If the 300gm body is removed and the mass is set in oscillation, find the
period of motion. Ans. 0.73sec.
23. A mass of 1 kg is suspended from a spring of spring constant 25N/m. If the undamped
frequency is 2/√𝟑 times the damped frequency, what will be the damping factor?
Ans.5kg/sec
24. A 0.5kg block is attached to a spring of spring constant 12.5N/m. The damped frequency is
0.2% lower than the natural frequency.(a) Calculate the damping constant (b) How does
the amplitude vary in time? (c) What is critical damping constant? Ans:0.316kg/s,3.16kg/s
25. A mass of 0.2 kg is suspended from a spring of spring constant 80N/m. The body is
subjected to a resistive force. Calculate the value of undamped frequency and the value of
relaxation time if the damped frequency is √𝟑/2 times the undamped frequency.
Ans:3.18Hz,0.05s

2 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

26. A 750gm block oscillates one end of a spring whose force constant is 56N/m. The mass
moves in a fluid which offers a resistive force F=-bv, where b=0.162Ns/m. What the
period of motion. Ans. 0.727sec
27. Consider the solution of differential equation in free vibration is represented by 𝑥 =
𝑎𝑒 −𝑚𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡. The equation for displacement of a point on a damped oscillator is given by
𝜋 𝑇
𝑥 = 5𝑒 −0.25𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑛 2 𝑡 meter. Find the velocity of the oscillating point at = 4 , where T is time
period of oscillator. Ans:-0.974m/s
28. The energy of guitar string of frequency 256 Hz reduces to half its initial value in 2
seconds. What is the Q value of the string? Ans.4640
29. The quality factor of a piano wire of frequency 500 Hz is 5000. In what time will its energy
reduce to 1/e of its value because of damping? Ans.1.6sec
30. A simple pendulum has a period of 1 sec and amplitude 10º. After 10 complete oscillations
its amplitude is reduced to 5º. What is the relaxation time of the pendulum and the quality
factor. Ans.
𝟏𝟐.𝟓
31. Show that damping reduces the frequency of oscillator by %.
𝑸𝟐
32. The quality factor of a tuning fork is 50000. Calculate the number of vibrations after which
its energy becomes 1/10th of the initial value. Ans.
33. If the ratio of mass to damping coefficient of the damped harmonic oscillator is 50sec, find the
time period for which a)the amplitude falls to 1/e times the initial value b) energy falls to
1/e4 times the initial value c) the energy falls to 1/e times the initial value.
Ans. 100sec, 200sec,50sec
34. For damped oscillator, m=250gm, k=85N/m, and b=70g/sec. a)what is the period of motion?
b) how long does it take for the amplitude of the damped oscillations to drop to half its
initial value? C) How long does it take for the mechanical energy to drop to one half its
initial value? Ans. 0.34sec,5sec, 2.5sec
35. The amplitude of a lightly damped oscillator decreases by 3% during each cycle. What
percent of the mechanical energy of the oscillator is lost in each cycle? Ans. 6%
36. If Q of an oscillator be 40, calculate the ratio of the amplitude of forced vibration and the
amplitude at resonance when the frequency of the applied force is 99% of the natural
frequency in the absence of damping. Ans.0.78
37. An object of mass 0.1kg hung from a spring whose spring constant is 100N/m. A resistive
force –bv acts on the object and b=1Ns/m. The object is subjected to a harmonic driving
force of the form 𝑭𝟎 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝎𝒕 where 𝑭𝟎 = 𝟐𝑵 and 𝝎 = 𝟓𝟎𝒓𝒂𝒅/𝒔. In the steady state, what
is the amplitude of oscillation and phase relative to applied force.
38. A mass 1 kg is attached to a spring of spring constant 300N/m, the damping constant
1.5kg/s. It is driven by a sinusoidal force of maximum value 8N and angular frequency 9
rad/sec. Find the resonant frequency and amplitude of vibration at resonance.

3 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

Chapter 2: Acoustics
1. A hall of floor is 15x30m2 along with height of 6m, in which 500 people occupy upholstered seat and
remainder seat on wooden chairs. Optimum reverberation time for orchestral music is 1.36 sec and
absorption coefficient per person is 0.44. (a) calculate the coefficient of absorption to be provided
by the walls, floor and ceiling when the hall is fully occupied. (b) Calculate the reverberation time if
only the half upholstered seats are occupied. (The absorption coefficient for each wooden chair is
0.02) 93.68 SI unit ,2.04s
2. A reverberation time of 2.3 seconds is observed in a hall of volume 5500 m3. The sound absorbing
surface of the hall has an area of 750m2. Calculate the average absorption coefficient. 0.504
3. Calculate the reverberation time for a hall of volume 1400m3, which has seating capacity of 110
persons with full capacity of audience and when audience are occupying only cushioned seats.
Relevant data can be taken from the following table
Surface area(m2 ) coefficient of absorption
Plastered wall 98 0.03
Plastered ceiling 144 0.04
Wooden door 15 0.06
Cushioned chairs 88 1.00
Audience 150 (Person) 0.47(Per person)

Ans. 1.48sec.

4. The volume of a room is 980m3. The wall area of the room is 150m2, ceiling area 95m2 and
floor area is 90 m2. The average sound absorption coefficient a) for wall is 0.03, b) for
ceiling is 0.80 and c) for the floor is 0.06, calculate the average sound absorption
coefficient and reverberation time. Ans. 0.256 , 1.8sec

5. How much acoustic power enters the window of area 1.58 m2, via the sound wave
(standard intensity level = 10-16W/cm2). The window opens on a street where the street
noise results in an intensity level at the window of 60dB. Ans. 1.58x10 -6W
6. A room has dimensions of 6x4x5 m. Find a) the mean free path of the sound wave in the
room. b) no. of reflections made per second wave with the walls of the room. Given
velocity of sound in air=350ms-1 Ans. 3.242m,108
7. The time of reverberation of an empty hall without and with 500 audience is 1.5sec and
1.4sec respectively. Find the reverberation time with 800 audience in the hall.
8. The time of reverberation of an empty hall is 1.5sec. With 500 audience present in the
hall, the reverberation time falls down to 1.4 sec. Find the no of persons present in the
hall if the reverberation time falls down to 1.312sec.
9. A lecture hall of volume 12x104m3 has a total absorption of 13200m2 of open window unit.
Entry of students in the hall rises the coefficient by another 13200m 2 of open window unit.
Find the change in reverberation time.Ans.0.718s
10. Entry of people in an auditorium hall of volume 1.6x105ft3 and total absorption of 1000 ft2 of
open window raises the absorption by 600 ft2. Find the change in reverberation time.
Ans. 3sec

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11. A baby’s mouth is 30 cm from his father’s ear and 1.5m from his mother’s ear. What is the
difference between sound intensity levels heard by the father and mother when the baby is
crying? Ans. 14dB

12. An engineer set a record for the loudest speech program in a hall, the sound level 46m in
front of the speaker system was 120dB. What is the ratio of the intensity at that spot to the
intensity of traffic sound level of 92 dB? Ans.630
13. A loudspeaker produces sound level of 8dB above reference level at a point 40m from it.
Find the intensity level at a point 30m from the source. Ans. 10.5dB
14. A source of sound emits energy in all direction at a rate of 0.638J/s. Find the intensity level
at a distance11.5m from the source. ( take I0=1.2x10-12 W/m2) Ans. 85.05dB

Chapter 3: Heat and Thermodynamics

1. An engine consumes 25 litres of petrol per hour. The calorific value of petrol is 6 × 106 calories per
litre. The output of the engine is 35kilowatts. Calculate the efficiency of the engine. 20%
2. If the Einstein’s temperature of a solid is 100℃, calculate Einstein’s frequency. 7.77 × 1012 𝐻𝑧
3. For copper, Einstein’s frequency is 2.49 × 1012 𝐻𝑧. Calculate the characteristic temperature 𝜃𝐸 .
119.1

4. A solid has Einstein’s temperature 473K, calculate its specific heat at 373K. 21.8J/mole K

5. Calculate the kinetic energy of one mole of (i) oxygen and (ii) argon at 127℃. 8310𝐽, 4980𝐽
6. Calculate kinetic energy of translation of an oxygen molecule at 27℃ (b) the total kinetic energy
of an oxygen molecule at 27℃ and (c) the total kinetic energy of a gram molecule of oxygen at
27℃. 6.2 × 10−21 𝐽, 10.35 × 10−21 𝐽, 6232.5𝐽
7. Calculate the values of molar heat capacities 𝐶𝑃 & 𝐶𝑉 of a gas, if the ratio of heat capacities is
1.33. What is the atomicity of the gas? Given, R=8.31J/mol-K. 33.49 J/mol-K, 25.18 J/mol-K, 6
8. Calculate the Vander Waal’s constants for dry air, given that
𝑁
𝑇𝑐 = 132𝐾, 𝑃𝑐 = 37.2 atmospheres. Ans: 13.51 × 10−2 𝑚2 𝑚6, 3.65 × 10−5 𝑚3

9. Calculate critical temperature for CO2, given that a=0.00874 atmosphere cm6, and b=0.0023 cm3.

Ans: 305.7𝐾 = 32.7℃

10. The Vander Waal’s constants a and b for 1 gram molecule of hydrogen are a=0.245 atms-litre2-mol-2
and b=2.67×10-2litre-mole-1. Calculate the critical temperature. Ans:33.14𝐾 = −239.86℃
11. Calculate the values of Vander Waal’s constants a and b when 𝑃𝑐 = 0.23 × 106 𝑁/𝑚2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉𝑐 =
58 × 10−8 𝑚3 /𝑚𝑜𝑙. Ans:2.32 × 10−7 𝐽𝑚3 𝑚𝑜𝑙 −2 , 19.33 × 10−8 𝑚3 /𝑚𝑜𝑙

12. Calculate the critical constants of a gas if Vander Waal’s coefficients are a=13.31×
105 𝑎𝑡𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑚6 and b=36.42cm3 and R=82.07 cm3 atmosphere/K.
Ans: 𝑉𝑐 = 109.23cm3, 𝑃𝑐 = 37.2 𝑎𝑡𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠, 𝑇𝑐 = 132𝐾
13. Calculate the change in entropy when 5kg of water at 100℃ is converted into steam at the same
temperature. Given, latent heat of steam = 540cal/gm. 𝟕𝟐𝟑𝟖. 𝟔 cal/K

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14. 1 kg of water at 273K is brought in contact with a heat reservoir at 373K. Calculate the change in
entropy of water when its temperature reaches to 373K. 1310.8J/K
15. Calculate the change in entropy when 10gm of ice at 0℃ is converted into steam at 100℃.
20.52 cal/K
16. Calculate the change in entropy when 10gm of water at 60℃ is mixed with 30 gm of water at 20℃.
0.0577cal/K

17. Calculate under what pressure ice freezes at 272K if the change in specific volume when 1 kg of
water freezes is 91× 10−6 𝑚3 . Given, latent heat of ice is 3.36 × 105J/kg. 136.2 Atmosphere
18. 18. Calculate the change in boiling point of water when the pressure is increased by 1 atmosphere.
Boiling point of water is 373K. Specific volume of steam is 1.671 m3 and latent heat of steam is
2.268 × 106 J/kg. 27.47𝐾
19. Calculate the increase in boiling point of water at 100℃ when the pressure is increased by 1 atm.
Latent heat of vaporization is 540 cal/gm and 1 gm of steam occupies a volume of 1677cm3. 27.56𝐾
20. Calculate the pressure required to lower the melting point of ice at 1℃ if L=3.36*105J/kg, specific
volume of water at 0℃ = 10−3 𝑚3 𝑘𝑔−1 , specific volume of ice at 0℃ = 1.091 × 10−3 𝑚3 𝑘𝑔−1.
135.2 × 105 𝑁𝑚−2
21. Calculate the change in melting point of ice when it is subjected to a pressure of 100 atmosphere.
Density of ice = 0.917gm/cm3 latent heat of ice=336J/gm. 𝐴𝑛𝑠: −0.7326𝐾 = −0.7326℃
22. Calculate the specific heat of saturated steam given that specific heat of water at 100℃ is 1.01 and
the latent of vaporization decreases with rise in temperature at the rate of 0.64 cal/Kgm. The latent
heat of vaporization of steam = 540cal/gm. 𝐴𝑛𝑠: −1.077 𝑐𝑎𝑙/𝑔𝑚
23. A slab of compressed cork 5cm thick and 2 m2 area be as a heating coil at one face. A current of 1.18
A at 20 V passes through the coil in lees disc experiment of thermal conductivity. If two faces of the
coil attain steady state temperature of 0℃ and 12.5℃. Calculate the thermal conductivity of the
cork. 0.047 W/m-K
24. If the thermal conductivity of Pyrex glass at 0℃ is 2.9 × 10−3 𝑐𝑎𝑙/𝑠 −cm℃, rhen calculate the R
value for a ¼ inch sheet of such glass. 5.3 𝐾𝑚2 /W
25. If two rods of equal lengths and diameters having thermal conductivities 2 and 3 units respectively
are joined in series, what will be the thermal conductivity of the combination? 2.4 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠
26. If two rods of equal length and diameter having thermal conductivities 2 and 3 units respectively are
joined in parallel, what will be the thermal conductivity of the combination? 2.5 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠
27. If the surface area of a human body is 1.20 m2 and surface temperature is 27℃, (i) find the total rate
of radiation of energy from the body. If the temperature of surrounding is at 20℃ (ii) what is the net
rate of loss of heat from the body by radiation? 551.1𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡 ,49.67𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡
28. An iron furnace radiates 1.53× 105 cal/hr through an opening of cross-section 10−4 𝑚2. If the
relative emittance of the furnace is 0.8, calculate the temperature of furnace. 2500K
29. Calculate the temperature of sun assuming the sun as a perfect black body having radius 6.88 ×
105 𝑘𝑚, the distance between sun and earth is 1.50 × 108 𝑘𝑚 and the solar constant 𝜌 =
1.33𝑘𝑊𝑚−2 . 5760𝐾

6 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

Chapter 4: Optics
INTERFERENCE
1. Light of wavelength 624nm is incident perpendicularly on a soap film (µ=1.33) suspended
in air. What are the a)least and b) second least thickness of the film for which the
reflections from the film undergo fully constructive interference? Ans. 0.117µm, 0.352µm
2. White light falls normally on a film of soapy water whose thickness is 5x10 -5 cm and
µ=1.33. Which wavelength in the visible region will be reflected most strongly?
Ans.5320Aº
3. A soap film 5x10-5cm is viewed at an angle of 35º to the normal. Find the wavelengths of
light in the visible spectrum which will be absent from the reflected light if µ of soap film
is 1.33. Ans. 600nm.400nm
4. A thin film suspended in air is 0.41µm thick and is illuminated with white light incident
perpendicularly on its surface. The r,i. of the film is 1.5. At what wavelength will visible light
that is reflected from the two surfaces of the film undergo fully constructive interference?
Ans. 492nm
5. A 600nm thick film (µ=1.4)in air is illuminated with white light in a direction perpendicular
to the film. For how many different wavelengths in the 300 to 700nm range is there a)fully
constructive interference and b)fully destructive interference in the reflected light?

6. A beam of parallel rays is incident at an angle of 30º with the normal on a plane parallel film
of thickness 4x10-5cm and r.i. 1.50. Show that the reflected light whose wavelength is
7.539x10-5cm, will be strengthened by reinforcement.
7. White light is incident on a soap film at an angle sin-1(4/5) and the reflected light on
examination by a spectrometer shows a dark bands. The consecutive dark bands
corresponds to wavelength 6.1x10-5cm and 6x10-5cm overlap. If µ=1.333 for the film,
calculate its thickness. Ans. 1.72x10 -2mm
8. A wedge shaped film of air is produced by placing a fine wire of diameter D between the
ends of two flat glass plates of length L=20cm. When the film is illuminated with light of
wavelength 550nm, there are 12 dark fringes per cm. Find D. Ans. 6.6x10 -5m
9. Two glass plate enclosing a wedge shaped air film touching at one edge are separated by a
wire of 0.03mm diameter at a distance of 15cm from the edge. Monochromatic light of
λ=600nm from a broad source falls normally on the film. Calculate the fringe width. 0.15cm
10. Interference fringes are produced with monochromatic light falling normally on a wedge
shaped film of cellophase with r. i. 1.4. The angle of the wedge is 40seconds of an arc and
the distance between the successive fringes is 0.125cm. Calculate the wavelength of light.
6787Aº
11. Light of wavelength 6000Aº falls normally on a thin wedge shaped film of refractive index
1.4 forming fringes that are 2mm apart. Find the angle of wedge. Ans. 1.07x10-4rad
12. A glass wedge of angle 0.01 radian is illuminated by monochromatic light of 600nm falling
normally on it. At what distance from the edge of the wedge will the tenth fringe be observed by
reflected light? 3x10-4m

7 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

13. In Newton’s ring exp., the radius of curvature R of the lens is 5m and the lens diameter is
20mm. a) How many bright rings are produced? Assume that λ=589nm. B) How many
bright fringes would be produced if the arrangement were immersed in water(n=1.33)
Ans.33,45
14. A plano-convex lens of radius 300cm is placed on an optically flat glass plate and is
illuminated by monochromatic light. The diameter of 8th dark ring in the transmitted
system is 0.72cm. Calculate the wavelength of light used. Ans. 5760 Aº
15. Newton’ rings formed by sodium light viewed normally. What is the order of the dark ring
which will have double the diameter of 40th ring. Ans. 160
16. In Newton’s ring experiment the diameter of 5th dark ring is reduced to half of its value after
introducing a liquid below the convex surface. Calculate the refractive index of the liquid.
Ans:4
17. When oil is introduced into the space between the lens and the plate in Newton’s
arrangement, the radius of the 8th dark ring decreases from 1.80cm to 1.64cm. What is the
refractive index of the oil? Ans.1.20
18. A Newton’s rings apparatus is to be used to determine the radius of curvature of a lens. The
radii of nth and (n+20)th bright rings are measured and found to be 0.162 and 0.368 cm
respectively, in light of λ=546nm. Calculate the radius of curvature of the lower surface of
the lens. Ans. 100cm
19. Show that the diameters of the Newton's rings when two surfaces of radii R 1 and R2 are
placed in contact are related by the relation (1/R1)-(1/R2) = (4m𝛌/d2m), where n is the
integer number of the & fringes.
20. In Newton’s ring arrangement a source emitting two wavelengths 𝝀𝟏 and 𝝀𝟐 is used. It is
found that nth dark ring due to one wavelength coincides with (n+1)th dark ring due to
other. Find the radius of the nth dark ring if radius of curvature of lens is R.
𝝀 𝝀 𝑹
Ans: √𝝀𝟏−𝝀
𝟐
𝟏 𝟐
21. In Newton’s ring arrangement a source emitting two wavelengths 6x10-7m and 5.9x10-7m
is used. It is found that nth dark ring due to one wavelength coincides with (n+1)th dark
ring due to other. Find the diameter of the nth dark ring if radius of curvature of lens is
0.9m
22. In a Newton’s ring experiment, the diameter of the 15 th ring was found to be 0.590cm and
that of the 5th ring was 0.336cm. if the radius of the plano-convex lens is 100cm, calculate
the wavelength of light used. Ans. 5880Aº

DIFFRACTION
1. Light of wavelength 600nm is incident normally on a slit of width 0.1mm a) what is the
angular position of the first minimum? b) What is the position of the second order minimum
on a screen 3m from the slit? Ans. 0.34º 3.6cm

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2. Light of wavelength 750nm passes through a slit of width 1× 10−3 𝑚𝑚. Find the angular and
linear width of central maximum on a screen at 20cm from the slit. Ans. 98º , 46cm
3. The distance between the first and fifth minima of a single slit diffraction pattern is 0.35mm
with the screen 40cm away from the slit, when light of wavelength 550nm is used. a) Find
the slit width. b) Calculate the angle of the first diffraction minimum.
Ans. 2.5mm, 2.2x10-4rad.
4. A plane wave of wavelength 590nm is incident on a slit with a width of 0.4mm. A thin
converging lens of focal length70cm is placed between the slit and a viewing screen focuses
the light on the screen. a) How far is the screen from the lens? b) What is the distance on
the screen from the center of the diffraction pattern to the first minimum? Ans. 70cm,
1mm
5. Diffraction pattern of a single slit of width 0.5cm is formed by a lens of focal length 40cm.
Calculate the distance between the first dark and the next bright fringe from the axis.
Wavelength = 4890Aº Ans. 1.596x10-2mm
6. What must be ratio of the slit width to wavelength for a single slit to have 1 st minimum at
45º.
7. Light of wavelength 600nm is incident normally on a slit of width 0.1mm. What is the
intensity at 𝜽=0.2º. Ans. 0.27I0
8. Hydrogen gas in a discharge tube emits a red line at 656.2nm. The light passes through a
single slit of width 0.08mm.a) at what angle is the 1st minimum? b) What is the intensity at
half the angle formed in a? Ans. 0.47º 0.406I0
9. Monochromatic light with wavelength 538nm is incident on a slit with width 0.025mm.the
distance from the slit to a screen is 3.5m. Consider a point on a screen 1.1cm from the
central maximum. Calculate a) 𝜃 for that point b) α c) the ratio of the intensity at that point
to the intensity at the central maximum. Ans. 0.18º,0.46rad.,0.93
10. Calculate the first and second order angles for light of wavelength 400nm and 700nm,if the
grating contains 10,000lines/cm. Ans. 23.6º,44º,53º
11. A diffraction grating 20mm wide has 6000rullings. Light of wavelength 589nm is incident
perpendicularly on a grating. What are the a) largest, b) second largest and c)third largest
values of 𝜃 at which maxima appear on a distance viewing screen?
Ans.62.1º,45º,32º
12. A grating places a spectral line of wavelength 460nm at 11º in 1st order. At what angle is a
line of λ=490nm observed in 2nd order.17º
13. A diffraction grating 3cm wide produces the second order at 330 with light of wavelength
600nm.What is the total no of lines in the grating. 13600
14. A diffraction grating used at normal incidence gives a line 6000Aº in a certain order
superimposed on another line 4500Aº of the next higher order. If the angle of diffraction
is 30º, how many lines are there in a cm in the grating? Ans. 2778lines/cm
15. Assume that the limits of the visible spectrum are arbitrarily chosen as 430 and 680nm.
Calculate the number of rulings per mm of a grating that will spread the first order
spectrum trough an angle of 20º. Ans. 1.09x10 3 rulings/mm
16. How many complete orders are formed for the visible range by a grating that has 6000
lines /cm. Ans.2.

9 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

17. A diffraction grating has 8900 slits across 1.2cm. If light with a wavelength of 500nm is sent
through it, how many orders (maxima) lie on one side of central maxima?2
18. How many orders will be visible if the wavelength of incident light is 5x10 -7m and no. of
lines /inch on the grating is 2620? Ans.19
19. Light is incident normally on a grating 0.5cm wide with 2500lines. Find the angles of
diffraction for the principal maxima of the two sodium lines in the first order spectrum.
(λ1=5890Aº and λ2=5896Aº). Also calculate the angular separation between the lines.
Ans. 17.1º, 17.2º ,0.1º ,
20. Light which is a mixture of two wavelengths 5000Aand 5200A is incident normally on a
plane transmission grating having 10000lines/cm. A lens of focal length 150cm is used to
observe the spectrum on a screen. Calculate the separation in cm of the two lines in the
first order spectrum. 4.695cm
21. For a NaCl crystal, molar mass is 58.5g, density 2.17g/cm3, calculate the a) crystal spacing b)
angle of glancing for first order and c) Miller indices of the reflecting plane if lattice
parameter is 2.81 and incident wavelength of x-rays is 0.98Aº. 2.81Aº,11.8º ,(100)
22. In first order reflection occurs in a crystal at Bragg angle 3.4º, at what angle does 2 nd order
reflection occur from the same family of reflecting planes. Ans.6.8º
23. What is the smallest Bragg angle for x rays of wavelength 30pm to reflecting planes spaced
0.3nm apart in a calcite crystal? 2.9º
24. X-rays with wavelength 0.58Aº are used for calculating d200 in nickel. The angle of reflection
is 9.5º. What is the size of unit cell? Ans. 3.5Aº
25. The spacing of atomic planes in a crystal is 3.1× 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟎 m. When the monochromatic beam
of X-ray is incident on them at incident angle 82030’ second order image is produced.
Calculate the glancing angle for the 4th order image.

POLARIZATION
1. If the polarizing angle of a piece of glass for green light is 60º, Find the angle of minimum
deviation for a 60º prism made of same material of glass. Ans. 60º
2. At a certain temperature, the critical angle of water for total internal reflection is 48º for
certain wavelength. What is the polarizing angle and angle of refraction for light incident
on water at polarizing angle. Ans. 53º22’, 36º38’
3. Unpolarized light passes through two polarized; the axis of one is vertical and that of the
other is at 60º to the vertical. What is the intensity of transmitted light? I 0/8
4. A horizontal beam of vertically polarized light of intensity 43W/m2 is sent through two
polarizing sheets. The polarizing direction of first is at 70º to vertical and that of second
is horizontal. What is the intensity of light transmitted by the pair of sheets?
4.4W/m2
5. A beam of polarized light is sent into a system of two polarizing sheets. Relative to the
polarization direction of that incident light, the polarizing directions of the sheets are at
angles 𝜽 for the first sheet and 900 for the second sheet. If 0.1 of the incident intensity is
transmitted by the two sheets, what is 𝜽. Ans:200

10 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

6. Two polarizing sheets are placed together with their transmission axes crossed. A third
Sheet is inserted between them with its transmission axis at an angle of 450 with respect
to each of the other axes. Find the fraction of incident unpolarised light intensity
transmitted by the combination. 1/8
0
7. If the plane of vibration makes an angle 45 with the optic axis, compare the ratio of the
intensities of o and e rays. 1:1
8. If the r.i. for o-ray and e-ray is 1.65 and 1.55 when incident on retardation plate.
Calculate the thickness such that I) the emergent ray is plane polarized II) emergent ray is
elliptically polarized. (λ=6oooAº) Ans. 3x10-6m , 1.5x10-6m
9. The refractive index of Calcite crystal of thickness 0.01mm is 1.648 for ordinary ray and
1.486 for extraordinary ray. For what wavelengths in the visible region will this plate
behaves as a) quarter wave plate b) a half wave plate?
10. A beam of plane polarized light is converted into circularly polarized light by passing it
through a crystal slice of thickness 3x10-5m. Calculate the difference in the r.i. of the two
rays inside the crystal assuming the above thickness to be the minimum value required
to produce the effect. (λ=600nm) 5x10-3
11. Plane polarized light is incident on a piece of quartz cut parallel to the axis. Find the least
thickness for which the o-ray and e-ray combine to form a plane polarized light. Given
µo=1.5442, µE=1.5533, λ=5x10-5cm
12. Calculate the thickness of i) a quarter wave plate and ii) a half wave plate given that
µo=1.544, µE=1.553, λ=5x10-5cm
13. A quarter-wave plate is meant for λ0=5.893x10-5cm. What phase retardation will show
for λ=4.358x10-5cm? (neglect changes of µo and µE with λ)
14. A sheet of cellophane is a half plate for light of wavelength 4000A0. If the refractive index
do not change with wavelength, explain how the sheet would behave with respect to light
of wavelength 8000A0.
15. Find the specific rotation of a given sample of sugar solution if plane of polarization is
turned through 26.4º. The length of the tube containing 20% sugar solution is 20cm.66º
16. A 200mm long tube and containing 48cm3 of sugar solution produces and optical rotation
of 11º when placed on a sacchari meter. If the specific rotation of the sugar solution is
66º, calculate the quantity of sugar contained in the tube in the form of solution.
Ans.4gm
17. A 20cm long tube having a sugar solution rotates the plane of polarization by 10º. If the
specific rotation of sugar is 66º, calculate the strength of solution. Ans. 0.075gm/cc
18. A sugar solution in a tube of length 20cm produces optical rotation of 13º. The solution is
then diluted to 1/3 of its previous concentration. Find the optical rotation produced by
30cm long tube containing the diluted solution. 6.5º
19. A length of 25cm of solution containing 50gm of solute/liter causes a rotation of plane of
polarization by 5º. Find the plane of polarization by a length of 75cm of similar solution
containing 100gm solute/liter. Ans. 30º
20. A 200mm long glass tube is filled with a solution of sugar, containing 15gram of sugar in
100ml of water. The plane of polarized light, passing through this solution, is rotated
through 20030’. Find the specific rotation of sugar.

11 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

Lense System
1. Two thin convex lenses having focal lengths 10cm and 4cm are coaxially separated by a
distance of 5cm. Find the equivalent focal length of the combination. Determine also
the position of the principle points. Ans. 4.4cm, 5.5cm, -2.2cm
2. Two thin lenses of focal lengths 8cm each are identical and coaxially separated by 4cm.
Determine the equivalent focal length of this lens combination and illustrate the
principle points. If the image is formed at infinity at a particular position of the object,
find the object distance. 2.27cm,-2.27cm -5.33cm
3. A coaxial lens system placed in air has two lenses of equal focal length f are separated
by a distance 2f/3. Find the positions of the cardinal points. Ans. f/2, -f/2 ,f/4, f/4
4. Two thin converging lenses of focal length 20cm each are set coaxially 5cm apart. An
image of an upright pole 200m distant and 10m high is formed by the combination. Find
the position of the principal point, focal planes and the image. Also find the size of
image.Ans. -20002.85cm,11.4cm 8.55cm, -0.569cm
5. Two thin converging lenses of focal length 3cm and 4cm respectively are placed
coaxially in air and separated by a distance of 2cm. An object is placed 4cm in front of
the first lens. Find the position, nature of the image and its lateral magnification.
Ans. -5.20cm,real,-0.8576
6. A convex lens A of focal length 20cm and concave lens B of focal length 5cm are kept
along the same axis with distance d between them. If a parallel beam of light falling on A
leaves B as parallel beam, what will be the value of d? Ans.15cm
7. A thin convex and thin concave lens, each of focal length 50cm are coaxially situated
and separated by 1Ocm. Find the position and nature of the final image formed if an
object placed 20cm from the convex lens.
8. What is the power of combination of lenses of focal lengths 50cm and 10cm which are
separated by a distance 10cm. Ans. 10D
9. Dispersive powers of two different glass types are 0.0163 and 0.0243 respectively. How
can you design an achromatic contact doublet of focal length 50cm. Ans. 16.5cm, -
24.5cm
10. An achromatic doublet of focal length 90cm is to be made of two lenses, the material of
one having 1.5 times the dispersive power of the other. Find the focal length of each
lenses. Ans. 30cm,-45cm
11. It is required to form a converging achromatic system of focal length 0.30m consisting of
two lenses made of the same material. If one of the lens be convex and of focal length
0.2m, find a) the focal of the other, b) the distance between lenses. Ans. 0.6m,0.4m
12. Two lenses of focal lengths +4.5cm and +1.5cm are separated by a finite distance. Find
the position of principle points if the combination makes an achromatic combination.
Ans. d=3cm

12 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

 13. Two thin lenses of focal length f1 and f2 separated by a distance d have an equivalent
focal length 50cm. The combination satisfies the conditions for no chromatic aberration
and minimum spherical aberration. Find the values of f 1, f2 and d. Assume that both the
lenses are of the same material. Ans. 66.67cm, 1oocm, 33.33cm
14. A crown glass convex lens has radii of curvature 20cm and 30 cm. If 𝝁𝒃 =1.523 and
𝝁𝒓 =1.513, find the longitudinal chromatic aberration produced by the lens.
Ans. 0.44cm

FIBER OPTICS
1. A silica glass optical fiber has core of refractive index 1.50 and the cladding of refractive
index 1.45. Calculate the critical angle for core cladding interface, the acceptance angle in
air, corresponding angle of obliqueness, the numerical aperture of fiber and percentage
of light collected by fiber w.r.t. the incident light. Ans.75º,23º, 15º,0.3841,14.75%
2. Calculate the refractive indices of the core and cladding materials of a fiber from
following data. NA=0.22 and fractional refractive index change=0.012. Ans. 1.42, 1.40
3. Calculate the numerical aperture and acceptance angle of fiber, given µ core=1.62 and
µcladding=1.52. Ans. 34.1º
4. The light ray enters from air to a fiber. The refractive index of air is 1.0 The fiber has
refractive index of core equal to 1.5 and that of cladding equal to 1.48. Calculate the
critical angle, the refractive index change, the acceptance angle and the numerical
aperture. Ans. 80.63º,0.013,0.2441,
14.13º
5. An optical fiber has a numerical aperture of 0.2. The cladding has the r.i.1.48. Calculate
the acceptance angle in water with r.i.4/3. Also calculate the critical angle at core
cladding interface.
6. A glass clad fiber is made with a core glass of r.i.1.5 and the cladding is doped to give a
fractional index change 5x10-4. Determine a) cladding index b) critical internal
reflection angle c) external critical acceptance angle and d) NA Ans.
7. Find the core diameter necessary for single mode operation at 450µm in step index fiber
with n1=1.48 and n2=1.47. What is NA and maximum acceptance angle of this fiber?
Given V-number=2.405.

13 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

Chapter 5: Electrostatics
Electric Force & Field
1. If a copper coin has mass 3.11g, what is the number of atoms and total charge on the
nucleus of the atoms in the coin? (Z=29,M=63.5gm/mol for copper and Na=6.02x10 23
atom/mol) Ans:18.56x1023,1.37x105C
2. Two charges 2.1x10-8C and -8.4x10-8C are placed at a separation of 50cm. Find the point
along the straight line passing through the two charges at which electric field is zero.
Ans:50cm from first charge
3. Two point charges 6 𝝁C and -24 𝝁C are 18cm apart. Locate the position of zero
potential on the line joining between them.
4. Two similar balls of mass m are hung from silk threads of length 1m and carry similar
𝟑 𝒒𝟐 𝒍
charges q. Prove that the separation of the balls is x= √𝟐𝝅𝝐 .
𝟎 𝒎𝒈

5. An electric dipole consists of charges +2e and -2e separated by 0.78nm. It is in electric
field of strength 3.4x106 N/C . Calculate the magnitude of the torque on the dipole
when the dipole moment is (a) parallel, (b) at right angle and (c) opposite to the
electric field. Ans:0,8.486x10-22Nm,0
6. How much work is required to turn an electric dipole 180 0 in a uniform electric field of
magnitude 46N/C if dipole moment is 3.02x10-25Cm and the initial angle is 640?
7. For the system of two positive charges separated by a distance d, find an expression
for an electric field along its axial line at a distance r from the center and prove that
𝟏 𝟐𝒒
E=𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝒓𝟐 for r>>d.
8. Calculate the electric field due to a uniformly charged rod of length l at a point along
its long axis at a distance a from its nearest end.
𝟏 𝒒
Ans: 𝟒𝝅𝝐𝟎 𝒂(𝒍+𝒂)
9. At what distance along the central axis of a uniform charged plastic disk of radius a is
the electric field strength equal to half the value of the field at the center of the disk.
Ans: a/√3
10. If a disk of radius 2.5cm had a surface charge density 5.5𝜇Cm-2 on its upper surface,
what is the electric field (i) at a point on the central axis at a distance 12cm from the
disk and (ii) at the surface of the disk. Ans:
6300N/C,300000N/C

14 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

 11. Four charges 12nC,-24nC, 31nC and 17nC are placed at the corners of a square of side
1.3m. Calculate the potential at the center of the square.
Ans:350V
12. If the electric field intensity of a charged disk of radius a at point P at a distance x along
𝜎 𝑥
its axis from the center is E=2𝜖 [1 − √𝑥 2 ]. Find the electric potential at point P.
0 +𝑎2
𝜎
Ans: 2𝜖 [√𝑥 2 + 𝑎2 − 𝑥]
0
13. Two large parallel plates are separated by a distance of 5cm. The plates have equal
but opposite charges that create an electric field in the region between the plates. An
alpha particle (q=3.2x10-19,m=6.68x10-27kg) is released from the positively charged
plate, and it strikes the negatively charged plate 2x10-6s later. Assuming that the
electric field between the plates is uniform and perpendicular to the plates, what is
the strength of electric field?
14. Calculate the electric potential at a point due to a uniform line of charge of length L at
a distance D from its one end which lies in perpendicular line.
15. A spherical drop of water carrying a charge of 30pC has a potential of 500V at its
surface. (a) What is the radius of the drop? (b) if two such drops of the same charge
and radius combine to form a single spherical drop, what is the potential at the
surface of the new drop? Ans:5.4x10 -4m, 790V
16. What is the magnitude of electric field at point (3i-2j+4k) m if the electric potential is
given by V=2xyz2, where V is in volts and x, y, and z are in meters.
Ans:150N/C
17. The potential in a region between x=0m and x=6m is V=a+bx 2 where a=10 and b = -
7v/m. Determine (i) the potentials at x= 0m, 3m and 6m and (ii) the magnitude of
electric fields at x:=0m, 3m and 6m.
18. What is the magnitude of the electric field at point (3,2) m if the electric potential is
given by V= 2x-5xy+3y2 volts. What acceleration does an electron experiences in the x-
direction.
19. Over certain region of space, the electric potential is V=5x-3x2y+2yz2. Find the
expressions for the x, y and z components of the electric field over this region. What is
the magnitude of the field at the point P that has coordinates (1,0,-2)m?
Ans:7.07N/C
20. A particle of charge –q and mass m is placed midway between two equal positive
charges q0 of separation d. If the negative charge –q is displaced in perpendicular
direction to the line joining them and released, show that the particle describes a SHM
𝝅𝟑 𝒅𝟑 𝒎𝝐𝟎
with a period T=√ 𝒒𝒒𝟎

15 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

 21. For the system of charges as shown in fig, prove that the potential at point p for r>>d
𝒒 𝟐𝒅
is V=𝟒𝝅𝝐 𝒓 [𝟏 + ]
𝟎 𝒓

22. A plastic rod contains uniformly distributed charge –q. the rod has been bent in 1200
circular arc of radius R as in fig. Prove that the magnitude of electric field E produced
𝟎.𝟖𝟑𝒒
at the center of the bent rod is E=𝟒𝝅𝝐 𝟐
.
𝟎𝑹

Capacitors
1. A sheet of paper 40mm wide and 1.5x10-2mm thick between metal plates of the same
width is used to make a 2𝜇𝐹 capacitor. If the dielectric constant of the paper is 2.5, what
is the length of paper required? Ans. 33.91m
2. Into a parallel plate capacitor of separation d and plate area A, an uncharged copper
plate of thickness b is inserted, midway between plates. Find the change in capacitance.
𝟎 𝝐 𝑨𝒃
Ans:𝒅(𝒅−𝒃)
3. A parallel plate capacitor is filled with is filled with two dielectric having dielectric
constant k1 and k2 in the way as in fig. prove that the capacitance is given by (a)
𝟐𝝐𝟎 𝑨 𝒌 𝒌 𝝐𝟎 𝑨 𝒌𝟏 +𝒌𝟐
(𝒌 𝟏+𝒌𝟐 ) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐛) ( )
𝒅 𝟏 𝟐 𝒅 𝟐

16 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

 4. An air filled parallel plate capacitor has an capacitance of 1.32pF. The separation of the
plates is doubled and wax is inserted between them. The new capacitance is 2.57pF.
Find the dielectric constant of the wax. Ans:3.89
5. When a dielectric slab of thickness 0.5cm and dielectric constant 2.5 is inserted
between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor of area 100 cm2 and separation 1.5cm.
Calculate the resultant capacitance.
6. If a parallel plate capacitor is to be designed to operate in an environment of fluctuating
temperature, prove that the rate of change of capacitance C with temperature T is given
𝒅𝑪 𝟏 𝒅𝑨 𝟏 𝒅𝒙
by 𝒅𝑻=C[𝑨 𝒅𝑻 − 𝒙 𝒅𝑻].
7. A long cylindrical conductor has length 1m and is surrounded by a co-axial cylindrical
conducting shell with inner radius double that of long cylindrical conductor. Calculate
the capacitance of this capacitor assuming that there is a vacuum in space between
cylinders. Ans:80pF
8. The space between two concentric conducting spherical shells of radii 1.7cm and 1.2cm
is filled with a substance of dielectric constant K=23.5. A potential difference V=73V is
applied across the inner and outer shells. Determine (a) the capacitance of the device,
(b) the free charge q on the inner shell, and (c) the charge q’ induced along the surface
of inner shell. Ans:0.107nF,7.79nC,7.45nC
9. A parallel plate capacitor has a capacitance of 100 pF, a plate area of 100 cm2 and a mica
dielectric. At 50 volts potential difference calculate the magnitudes of (a) E in the mica
(b) the free charge on the plates and (c) the induced surface charge(d) Displacement
vector (e) polarization vector, if dielectric constant for mica, k = 5.4]
10. A parallel plate capacitor of plate area 115 cm2 and separation 1.24 cm is charged by a
p.d. 85.5V. The battery is disconnected then a dielectric slab of dielectric constant 2.61
and thickness 0.78mm is inserted between the plates. Calculate (a) the capacitance
before the slab is inserted (b) the induced electric field and (c) the capacitance when
the slab is inserted. Ans.:8.20pF, 4253V/m, 8.53pF
11. Two capacitors having capacitance 25 𝝁𝑭 and 5 𝝁𝑭 are connected in parallel and
charged with a 100V power supply. Calculate the total energy stored in the two
capacitors. Ans:150mJ
12. A cylindrical capacitor has radii a and b. Show that the half the stored potential energy
lies with a cylinder of radius r=√𝒂𝒃.
13. A fully charged capacitor stores energy W0. How much energy remains when its charge
has decrease to ½ its original value.
14. A capacitor of capacitance C is charged through a resister of resistance R. After how
many time constants is the stored energy ¼ of its initial value?
Ans:0.693𝝉𝒄

17 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal

 15. A capacitor C is discharged through a resistor R. After how many time constants does its (i)
charge falls to ½ of its initial value (ii) the store energy drop to ½ of its initial value.
Ans:0.69𝜏𝑐 0.35𝜏𝑐
16. How many time constants must elapse before a capacitor in an RC circuit is charged for
99% of its maximum charge?
Ans:4.61𝜏𝑐

Chapter 6: Electromagnetism
1. A solenoid 1.3m long 2.6cm in diameter carries a current of 18 A. The magnetic field inside
the solenoid is 23mT. Find the length of the wire forming the solenoid and self inductance
of the solenoid. Ans:108m
2. A toroid has number of turns 1250, intenal radius 52 mm, external radius 95 mm and
thickness of the ring 13 mrn, calculate the inductance.
3. A circular loop of wire of radius 5cm carries a current of 100A. What is the energy density at
the center of the loop?
Ans:0.63J/m3
4. Calculate the energy required to set up in a cube of 10cm edge (a) a uniform electric field of
105V/m (b) a uniform magnetic field of 1T.
Ans:4.5x10-5J,400J
5. A loop of wire of radius r is placed in a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to its plane. The
magnitude of the field varies with time according to 𝐵 = 𝐵0𝑒 −𝑡/𝜏 where 𝐵0 and 𝜏 are constant. Find
AB0
the emf in the loop as a function of time. Ans: 𝜏
𝑒 −𝑡/ 𝜏
6. A helicopter has blades of length 3m extending out from a central hub and rotating at 2rev/s. If the
vertical component of earth’s magnetic field is 50𝜇𝑇, what will be the induced emf between the
blade tip and central hub. Ans: 2.83mV
7. An inductance L is connected to a battery of emf E through a resistance R. Show that the
𝑹𝒕
potential difference across the inductance after time t is VL=E𝒆− 𝑳 . At what time is the p.d.
across the inductance equal to that across the resistance such that i=i 0/2.
8. A solenoid having an inductance of 6.3𝝁H is connected in series with a 1.2 kΩ resistor. (a)
If a 14V battery is connected across the pair, how long will it take for the current through
the resistor to reach 80% of its final value? (b) What is the current resistor at time t=𝝉L?
Ans:8.45x10-9Sec, 7.37x10-3A

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9. A series circuit has 25ohm resistance and 0.1henry inductance. What will be the initial
rate of increase of current if the circuit contains a 12V steady source? What time is
required for the current to attain a value of 100mA?
10. A parallel plate capacitor with circular plates of radius R be charged, prove that the
induced magnetic field at radius r in the region between the plates is
𝟏 𝒅𝑬
B=𝟐 𝝁0𝝐0r 𝒅𝒕 for r≤ 𝑹 and
𝟏 𝒅𝑬
B=𝟐𝒓 𝝁0𝝐0R2 𝒅𝒕 for r≥ 𝑹
11. Calculate the displacement current between the circular plates of area 1.5x10-2 and rate
of electric field change is 1.5x1012 V/ms. Also calculate the displacement current density
and induced magnetic field for r=R=69mm. Ans:199mA,
12. The induced magnetic field at radial distance 6mm from the central axis of a circular
parallel plate capacitor is 2x10-7T. The plates have radius 3mm. At what rate is the electric
field between the plates changing? Ans:2.4x1013V/ms
13. As a parallel plate capacitor with circular plates 20cm in diameter is being chatged, the
current density of the displacement current in the region between the plates is uniform
and has a magnitude of 20A/m2. (a) Calculate the magnitude B of the magnetic field at a
distance r=50mm for the axis of symmetry of this region. (b) Calculate dE/dt in this region.
Ans:63x10-7T,2.3x1012V/ms
14. A parallel plate capacitor with circular plates of 10cm radius is charged by varying electric
field of 1.5x1012V/ms. Evaluate induced magnetic field if the radius of the plate is 55mm
and displacement current in this situation.
Ans:459nT, 126mA
15. A circular parallel plate capacitor of area 154cm2 is being charged has a uniform current
density of a displacement current, having magnitude 20 Am-2. Calculate (a) the magnitude
of magnetic field at a distance r=50mm about the central axis between the plates. (b)
dE/dt in this region.
16. A parallel plate capacitor with circular plates is charged by current i. (a) what is the
magnitude of ∮ 𝑩. 𝒅𝒔 in terms of µ0 and i between the plates if r=a/5 from the center? (b)
What is the magnitude of induced magnetic field for r=a/5 in terms of displacement
current. µ0i/25, µ0i/10𝝅𝒂
17. If a test charge revolves round a circular path of radius 8.5cm where the magnetic field
increases at steady rate 0.13T/s, calculate the magnitude of induced electric field at a
point 12.5cm and 4cm.
18. A long solenoid of radius 2cm has 1000 turns/m and carries a sinusoidally varying current
𝑰 = 𝟓𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟏𝟎𝟎𝝅𝒕 , where 𝑰 is in Ampere and t is in second. Determine the magnitude of
induced electric field at a radius r=1cm and r=3cm from its central axis.
19. An air cored solenoid with length 25cm, area of cross-section 30cm2 and number of turns
490 carries a current of 20A. The current is suddenly switched off in a brief time of 10 -3

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 sec. How much is the average back emf induced across the ends of the open switch in the
circuit?
20. An LR circuit having inductance 4H, resistance 1 ohm and applied D.C. emf of 6V is
switched at t=0. Find the power dissipated in the circuit at t=4sec Ans: 14.36W
21. In a certain cyclotron, a proton moves in a circle of radius 0.5m. The magnitude of
magnetic field is 1.2 T. (a) What is the oscillator frequency? (b) What is the K.E. of the
proton, in eV? Ans:1.83x107Hz,1.72x107eV
22. A physicist designed a cyclotron to accelerate protons to 1/10th the speed of light. The
magnet used will produce a field of 1.4T Calculate (a) the radius of the cyclotron (b) the
corresponding oscillator frequency. Ans:22cm,21MHz
23. A cyclotron is operated at an oscillator frequency of 12MHz and has radius 53cm. (a) What
is the magnitude of magnetic field needed for deuterons to be accelerated in the
cyclotron? (b) What is the resulting K.E. of deuterons? Ans:1.6T,17MeV
24. Deuterons in a cyclotron describe a circle of radius 0.32m just before emerging from dees.
The frequency of the applied emf is 10MHz. Find the flux density of the magnetic field and
the velocity of deuterons emerging out of the cyclotron. Mass of deuteron=3.32x10 -27Kg,
charge=1.6x10-19C. Ans:1.303T,2.01x107m/s
25. An electron with kinetic energy 2.5KeVcircles ina a plane perpendicular to a uniform
magnetic field. The radius of the orbit is 25cm. Calculate(i) the speed of the electron(ii)
the flux density of magnetic field (iii0 the number of revolutions per second.
26. A 10eV electron is circulating in a plane at right angles to a uniform field of magnetic
induction 1x10-4 Wb/m2. Calculate the orbital radius, cyclotron frequency, and period of
revolution.
27. A cyclotron in which the flux density is 1.4wb/m2 is employed to accelerate process. How rapidly
should the electric field between the dees be reversed? Mass of proton =1.67x10-27Kg and
charge=1.6x10-19C. Ans:2.3x10-8 s
28. What radius is needed in proton synchrotron to atom particle energy of10GeV, assuming
that a guide field of 1.8wb/m2 is available? Ans:20.3m

Chapter 7: Electromagnetic Waves

1. The earth’s mean radius is 6.37x106m and mean earth-sun distance is 1.5x108km. What
fraction of the radiation emitted by the sun is intercepted by the disk of the earth?
Ans:4.51x10-10
2. The intensity of direct solar radiation that is not absorbed by the atmosphere on a
particular summer day is 100W/m2. How close would you stand to a 1KW electric heater

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 to feel the same intensity for uniform distribution of heater radiation?
Ans:89cm
3. A space probe 2x1010m from a star measures the total intensity of em radiation from the
star to be 5x103 W/m2. If the star radiates uniformly in all directions, what is the total
average power output? Ans:2.5x1025J
4. Sunlight just outside the earth’s atmosphere has an intensity of 1.4KW/m 2. Calculate the
magnitude of pointing vector, maximum electric field and maximum magnetic fields for
sunlight, assuming it to be a plane wave.
Ans:1.4KW/m2,1.03KV/m,3.43𝝁𝑻
5. Calculate the magnitude of pointing vector and amplitudes of electric and magnetic fields
at a distance of 3Km from a radio station which a radar power of 105W uniformly
radiates in all direction. Ans. 8.84× 𝟏𝟎−𝟒 W/ m2 , 0.81 V/m , 2.72× 𝟏𝟎−𝟗 T
6. Sunlight strikes the earth outside its atmosphere with an intensity of 2cal/cm 2-min.
Calculate the magnitudes of electric and magnetic fields.
7. The maximum electric field 10m from an isotropic point source is 2V/m. What are (a) the
maximum value of magnetic field (b) average intensity of light and (c) power of the
source? Ans:6.7x10-9T,5.3x10-3W/m2,6.7W
8. A certain radio station broadcasts at a frequency of 10 20 Hz. At a point some distance
from the transmitter, the maximum magnetic field of the em wave is 1.6x10-4T. (a) What
is the speed of the propagation of the the wave (b) What is the wavelength? (c) What is
the maximum electric field? Sns:3x108m/s,294.12m,4.8x104V/m
9. Calculate the power per unit area delivered by a laser pulse of energy 4x10-3J and the pulse
length in time 10-9s when the pulse is focused on target to a very small spot of radius
1.5x10-5m. Ans: 5.7x1015W/m2
10. A certain plane wave emitted by a microwave antenna has a wavelength of 3cm and
maximum magnitude of electric field 2x10-4V/m.(a) What is the frequency of wave? (b)
What is the maximum magnetic field? (c) What is maximum energy density? (d) What is
intensity of wave? Ans:1010Hz,0.67x10-10T,1.77x10-15J,5.33x10-7W/m2
11. An isotropic point source emits light at wavelength 500nm at the rate of 200W. A light
detector is positioned 400m from the source. What is the maximum rate at which
magnetic component of the light changes with time at the detector’s location?
Ans:3.44x106T/s
12. What is the radiation pressure 1.5m away from a 500W light bulb? Also calculate the
amplitudes of electric and magnetic field there.
Ans:5.9x10-8Pa
13. The sun delivers about 103W/m2 of energy to the earth’s surface through EM radiation.
Calculate (a) the total power incident on a roof of dimensions 8mx20m. (b) radiation
pressure and force exerted on the roof, assuming roof is perfect absorber.

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14. The relative permittivity of distilled water is 81. Calculate the refractive index and velocity
of light in it. Ans: 9, 3.33x10 7 m/s

Photons and Matter Waves

1. Find the de-Broglie wavelength of a 15KV proton. Ans:0.0023A 0
2. Prove that the group speed of a wave packet is identical to the speed of a particle.
3. An electron and a photon have a wavelength of 0.2nm. What is the momentum of the (a)
electron and (b) Photon? What is the energy in eV of (c) electron and (d)
Photon?Ans:3.3x10-24kgm/s,3.3x10-24kgm/s,38eV,6.2KeV
4. A non relativistic particle is moving three times as fast as an electron. The ratio of the
de-Broglie wavelength of the particle to that of electron is 1.813x10-4. By calculating its
mass, identify the particle. Ans: Neutron
5. Calculate permitted energy levels of an electron in one dimensional potential well of
width 2A0. Ans:1.5x10-8n2J
6. An electron is confined to an infinite height box of size 0.1nm. Calculate the ground
state energy of the electron and radiation frequency. How this electron can be put to
the third energy level? Ans:37eV
7. An electron is confined to an one dimensional region in which its ground state energy is
2eV. (a) what is the length of the region? And (b) how much energy is required to
promote the electron to its first excited state? Ans:0.43nm,6eV
8. Write down the expression for the energy level of a 1gm particle in the infinite potential
well of width 1cm. If the energy of the particle is 1J, what is the value of quantum
number at that state? Ans:1.3x1030
9. A football of 500gm is confined between two impenetrable walls of Dasharath
Rangashala that can be modeled as a box of length 100m. Calculate the minimum
speed of the ball. Ans:6.63x10-36m/s
10. A beam of electrons having energy of each 3eV is incident on a potential barrier of
height 4eV. If the width of the barrier is 20A0, calculate the percentage transmission of
the beam through the barrier. Ans:3.82x10-9
11. A beam of electrons having energy of each 3eV is incident on a potential barrier of
height 4eV. If the width of the barrier is 10A0, calculate the probability of reflection and
interpret your result.
12. For an electron confined to an infinite potential well of width 0.1nm, determine the
uncertainty in measuring momentum and kinetic energy.
Ans:1.054x10-24kgms-1, 3.81eV

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 13. The uncertainty in the location of a particle moving with a velocity 7.28x10 7m/s is double
of its de-Broglie wavelength. Find out the uncertainty in measuring the velocity.
Ans:5.96x106ms-1
14. Calculate the smallest possible uncertainty in the position of an electron moving with
3x107m/s. Ans:3.8x10-12m
15. A proton is confined to a nucleus of radius 𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 m. Calculate the minimum uncertainty in
its momentum. Also calculate the minimum kinetic energy of proton should have.
𝟏. 𝟎𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟐𝟎 kgm/s , 0.206MeV
16. The position and momentum of a 1 keV electron are simultaneously determined. If its
position is located to within 1A0, what is the percentage of uncertainty in its
momentum?

23 Prepared by Gunanidhi Lamsal