CONTENTS

1. Kinematics....................................................................................................................... 1-17

Kinematics in one and two dimensions; projectiles; relative motion.
2. Newton’s Laws of Motion and Friction......................................................................... 18-35
Newton's laws of motion; inertial and uniformly accelerated frames of reference; static and dynamic
friction.
3. Circular Motion, Work Energy & Power........................................................................ 36-50
Circular motion; kinetic and potential energy; work and power; conservation of mechanical energy.
4. Centre of Mass and Collisions ..................................................................................... 51-70
Conservation of linear momentum; systems of particles; center of mass and its motion; impulse;
elastic and inelastic collisions.
5. Rotation........................................................................................................................ 71-98
Rigid body; moment of inertia; parallel and perpendicular axes theorems; moment of inertia of
uniform bodies with simple geometrical shapes; angular momentum; torque; conservation of
angular momentum; dynamics of rigid bodies with a fixed axis of rotation; rolling of rings, cylinders,
and spheres; equilibrium of rigid bodies; collision of point masses with rigid bodies.
6. Simple Harmonic Motion............................................................................................ 99-118
Linear and angular simple harmonic motions; forced and damped oscillation (in one dimension).
7. Fluid Mechanics & Properties of Liquid.................................................................... 119-137
Pressure in a fluid; Pascal's law; buoyancy; surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact,
drops, bubbles, and capillary rise; viscosity, Stoke's law; terminal velocity; streamline flow, equation
of continuity; Bernoulli's theorem and its applications.
8. Thermal Physics and Properties of Solids................................................................. 138-156
Hooke's law; Young's modulus; modulus of rigidity and bulk modulus in mechanics; thermal expansion
of solids, liquids, and gases; calorimetry, latent heat; heat conduction in one dimension; elementary
concepts of convection and radiation; Newton's law of cooling; ideal gas laws; specific heats (Cv and
Cp for monoatomic and diatomic gases); isothermal and adiabatic processes, bulk modulus of gases;
equivalence of heat and work; the first law of thermodynamics and its applications (only for ideal
gases); the second law of thermodynamics, reversible and irreversible processes; Carnot engine
and its efficiency; blackbody radiation: absorptive and emissive powers; Kirchhoff's law; Wien's
displacement law, Stefan's law.
9. Electrostatics............................................................................................................. 157-174
Coulomb's law; electric field and potential; electrical potential energy of a system of point charges
and of electrical dipoles in a uniform electrostatic field; electric field lines; flux of electric field;
Gauss's law and its application.
10. Gravitation................................................................................................................ 175-183
Law of gravitation; gravitational potential and field; acceleration due to gravity; Kepler's laws,
geostationary orbits, motion of planets and satellites in circular orbits; escape velocity.
11. Current Electricity..................................................................................................... 184-197
Electric current; Ohm's law; series and parallel arrangements of resistances and cells; Kirchhoff's
laws and applications; heating effect of current; electric instruments.
12. Capacitor................................................................................................................... 198-213
Capacitance; parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectrics; capacitors in series and parallel;
energy stored in a capacitor.
13. Magnetism................................................................................................................ 214-231

Biot-Savart law and Ampere's law; magnetic field near a current-carrying straight wire, along
the axis of a circular coil, and inside a long straight solenoid; force on a moving charge and on a
current-carrying wire in a uniform magnetic field. Magnetic moment of a current loop; effect of a
uniform magnetic field on a current loop; moving coil galvanometer, voltmeter, ammeter, and their
conversions.
14. Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Current................................................. 232-257

Electromagnetic induction: Faraday's law, Lenz's law; self and mutual inductance; RC, LR, LC, and LCR
(in series) circuits with DC and AC sources; resonance.
15. Geometric Optics...................................................................................................... 258-271

Rectilinear propagation of light; Reflection and refraction at plane and spherical surfaces; Total
internal reflection; Deviation and dispersion of light by a prism; Thin lenses; Combinations of mirrors
and thin lenses; Magnification.
16. Mechanical Waves.................................................................................................... 272-287

Wave motion (plane waves only), longitudinal and transverse waves, superposition of waves;
progressive and stationary waves; vibration of strings and air columns; resonance; beats; speed of
sound in gases; Doppler effect.
17. Electromagnetic Waves & Wave Optics................................................................... 288-307

Electromagnetic waves and their characteristics. Electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves,
microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays) including facts about their uses. Wave
nature of light: Huygens' principle, interference with Young's double-slit experiment. Diffraction due
to a single slit. Polarization of light, plane polarized light; Brewster's law, Polaroids.
18. Modern Physics......................................................................................................... 308-323

Atomic nucleus; α, β, and γ radiations; Law of radioactive decay; Decay constant; Half-life and mean
life; Binding energy and its calculation; Fission and fusion processes; Energy calculation in these
processes. Photoelectric effect; Bohr's theory of hydrogen-like atoms; Characteristic and continuous
X-rays; Moseley's law; de Broglie wavelength of matter waves.
19. Dimensions, Errors & Experiments........................................................................... 324-342

General units and dimensions, dimensional analysis; least count, significant figures; methods of
measurement and error analysis for physical quantities pertaining to the following experiments:
Experiments based on using Vernier callipers and screw gauge (micrometre), determination of g
using a simple pendulum, Young's modulus - elasticity of the material, surface tension of water by
capillary rise and effect of detergents, specific heat of a liquid using a calorimeter, focal length of a
concave mirror and a convex lens using the u-v method, speed of sound using a resonance column,
verification of Ohm's law using a voltmeter and ammeter, and specific resistance of the material of
a wire using a meter bridge and post office box.
 15 Geometric Optics

1. When a ray of light is incident on a surface, there 5. When Incident ray is rotated by angle q, keeping
are three phenomenon which occurs mirror stationary. The image rotates by same
(a) Reflection (b) Refraction angle q in opposite sense
(c) Absorption Whereas,
2. Laws of Reflection:  the mirror is rotated by angle q keeping object
If
Normal stationary, image rotates by 2q in same direction
of rotation.
IR L r RR 6. For a plane mirror, image is of opposite nature as
of object, it is of same size as of object, at same
distance as of object from mirror. These properties
♦ Angle of incidence = Angle of Reflection can be utilised to determine the velocity of image,
♦ Incident ray, reflected ray and normal all lies when object or mirror is moving.
in same plane.
7. The relationships between angle of incidence and
3. Let two plane mirror are inclined to each other at focal length.
angle q.
R R
Method to find number of images f = R−
≈ (Paraxial Rays)
360 = n 2 cos i 2
q i
n = even n = odd
No of images = n–1
object lying object lying f
symmetrically unsymmetrically
R
No of images = n –1 no of images = n
4. Deviation of ray after reflection: 8. For reflection through spherical surface certain
sign convention rules are used which can be
i considered same for all future case.
i
(a) δ δ = 180 – 2i Sign Convention
♦ Direction of incident ray will be same as
direction to be considered to be positive.
♦ All distance are measured from pole/optical
i centre.
(b) δ1 q>i
♦ Distances measured in direction of IR will be
δ = δ 1 + δ2
q δ2 measured positive anti-parallel to direction of
= 360 – 2q IR, will be considered negative.
 ♦ Distances measured vertically upward from If angle of incidence is greater than critical
principal axis will be positive whereas angle, light is reflected back in denser medium.
measurement vertically downward will be This phenomenon is called TIR (Total Internal
taken as nagative. Reflection).
9. For spherical surface Reflection: 12. Area of visible region from under water
r
1 1 1 mr
(a) Mirror formula is = +
f v u
md

f = focal length from pole
qc

v = Image distance from pole h qc

u = object distance from pole
(b) To Relate height of object & Image we use
lateral magnification. h ×1
radius =
hi −v  µd 
2
mLateral = =
ho u  µ  − 1
r

(c) To Relate thickness along PA for object and 13. For refraction through prism, we need to mention
Image we have Longitudinal magnification some important points
valid for small thickness only.
A
tI −v 2 (Only valid for
mLong = = 2 small thickness)

Geometric Optics
to u d
i
r1 r e
(d) If object moves parallel or perpendicular or 2

at any angle to principle axis of mirror. We m

can relate velocities of image & object using
magnifications. ♦A = r1 + r 2
Velocity of image parallel to PA = mLong× ♦δ = i + e – (r1 + r2)
velocity of object parallel to PA. ♦δ=i+e–A
Velocity of image perpendicular to PA. = mLateral ♦sini = msinr1
× velocity of object perpendicular to PA. ♦msinr2 = sine.
10. Laws of Refraction: ♦For minimum deviation i = e
(a) Incident Ray, Normal Ray, Refracted Ray all A/2 = r
lies in same plane. δmin = 2i – A

(b) Snell's Law: product of Refractive Index  A + δ min 
 
and sine of angle made with normal is always 2
µ = sin

const  A
sin  
 2
m sinq = constant
d
11. When light moves from denser medium to rarer
dmax
medium, it shifts away from normal. At a certain
angle from denser medium emergent ray grazes
out from surface called critical angle. ♦
dmin
−1 
µ 
θc = sin  r 
µ
 d i=e i=p/2

259
 Exercise Questions
Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the diagram shown, the object is performing SHM according

to the equation y = 2A sin(ωt) and the plane mirror is performing
π
SHM according to the equation Y = − A sin  ωt −  . The diagram
 3
shows the state of the object and the mirror at time t = 0 sec. The
minimum time from t = 0 sec after which the velocity of the image
becomes equal to zero?
π 3π
(a) (b)
3ω ω
π 2π
(c) (d)
6ω 3ω

2. A practically very small source (S) of light is kept in front of a

plane mirror. But due to imperfect manufacturing, there is a small

Geometric Optics
spherical bulge (radius of curvature 80 mm). The situation is as
shown in the figure. You can assume that principal axis of bulge
is perpendicular to the plane mirror. Find the separation between
the images formed.
(a) 10.025 mm (b) 20.025 mm
(c) 40.025 mm (d) 80.025 mm

3. The refractive index of the medium within a certain region x > 0,

y > 0, changes continuously with y. A thin light ray travelling in
air in the x-direction strikes the medium at right angles and moves
through the medium along a circular arc of radius R.

(a) Refractive index of medium varies with y as

(b) Refractive index of medium varies with y as

(c) If refractive index of medium can increase up to a value

3R
n = 2.5, the maximum value of y is
5
(d) If refractive index of medium can increase up to a value
n = 2.5, the maximum value of y is 5R

261
 8. An optical bench is used to estimate the focal length of a convex
mirror. First an object needle (O), convex lens L and image
needle I are placed and parallax is removed. Now convex mirror
is introduced between L and I and the mirror is moved so that
image as seen from left of O has no parallax with O. Which of the
following readings is/are required to estimate the focal length of
mirror and random error in it?
(a) O (b) L
(c) M (d) I
9. As shown below, a point light source (S) is inside a glass block
3
of refractive index nG = , at a distance 2 mm from the optical
2
axis and distance x = 3 cm from the flat surface. A thick plano-
convex lens made of transparent plastic material of refractive index
nP = 2, is placed near the source as shown. The thickness of the
lens is d, and the radius of convex surface is R = 15 cm. The width
of air gap between the glass block and the lens is ‘t’. The width of
air gap t and thickness of lens d is adjusted so that light (paraxial
rays) from point source forms always a parallel beam after passing
through the lens. Select correct option(s).
(a) For d = 16cm, width of air gap t = 5 cm.
(b) For thickness d = 10 cm, width of air gap t = 8 cm.

Geometric Optics
(c) The maximum adjustable value of d = 26 cm.
(d) The maximum adjustable value of d = 16 cm.
10. An object and a concave mirror is moving with velocities uiˆ and
2uiˆ respectively as shown in figure. The image formed by the
concave mirror:
(a) will have speed greater than the speed of the object
(b) may have speed greater than the speed of the object
(c) will have speed greater than the speed of the mirror
(d) must move away from the mirror.
11. A silvered, hollow glass sphere (mirror), having radius R, has a
round hole as shown in the figure. Radius of round hole makes α
(acute) angle at the centre. Into this round hole a parallel beam of
ray falls, perpendicular to the plane of the hole. Part of rays having
undergone one reflection, (portion crossing the smaller circle of
radius r2) exits the sphere back through the hole. (Assume 100 %
reflection). Choose the correct option.

α
(a) r2 = R sin  
2
4r 3
(b) r1 = 3r2 − 22
R
R2
(c) r1 = sin(α)
r2
(d) Fraction of the power of the incoming beam, which exit
2
 sin(α / 3) 
through the hole after one reflection is  
 sin α 

263
 12. A monochromatic point light source S is placed at a distance
2f from a screen as shown. A convex lens of focal length f is
placed in between source and screen as shown. Assume complete
transmission of light through lens.
(a) Intensity at point P on the screen before and after placing lens
will be same
(b) Intensity at point P on the screen after placing lens will become
two times that of before placing lens
(c) Intensity at point P on the screen after placing lens will become
four times that of before placing lens
(d) Intensity at point P on the screen before and after placing lens
is not comparable

13. Light passes from air into flint glass with index of refraction n.
The angle of incidence must the light have for the component of
its velocity perpendicular to the interface to remain same in both
mediums is

(a) sin–1 n (b) sin–1  1 

 
n
(c) cos–1 n (d) –1
tan n
Supernova Physics

14. Parallel to each other there are four thin lenses along the same
optical axis, as shown in the figure. The radii of the curvatures of
each lens are 5 cm, and 10 cm. Two of the lenses are air lenses
which are in glass of refractive index of n = 1.5 and the other two
lenses are made of glass of the same refractive index. In the glass
there is a point-like light source on the optical axis at a distance
of 60 cm from the fist air lens which is thinner in the middle. The
boundary of the glass is at a distance of 10 cm from the other air
lens as shown. From the boundary of glass at a distance of 10 cm
there is the concave glass lens and the fourth glass lens is at a
distance of 20 cm from the third one.

(a) The image of the light source created by the four lenses is
virtual
(b) The image of the light source created by the four lenses is
inverted w.r.t. object
(c) The image of the light source created by the four lenses is real
(d) The image of the light source created by the four lenses is at
a distance of 40 cm from the last lens

264
 15. A ray of light, travelling parallel to diameter of a sphere enters the
sphere through a hole at point A as shown in the figure. The inner
surface of the sphere is made perfectly reflecting. Find the number
of reflections suffered by the ray before coming out of the sphere.
(a) 180 (b) 20
(c) 179 (d) 19

16. An equi-concave lens of radii of curvature of the two surfaces

numerically equal to 7 cm and refractive index μ = 1.5 has a small
silver dot on the rear surface. As a result of this, a ray of light
incident parallel to the principal axis gets reflected from its rear
surface and then reflected also from the inner front surface. The ray
after the second reflection emerges out of the thin lens and appears
to focus at a point P on the principal axis. The point P lies
(a) 1 cm before the lens (b) 2 cm before the lens
(c) 1 cm beyond the lens (d) at none of these

Paragraph Type Questions

Passage for (Q. 1 - 2): A point source of light is as shown in the figure

Geometric Optics
reflected light form the mirror M forms a patch on the wall. As mirror
approaches the wall from a distance:

1. Mark the correct statement

(a) The patch will increase in size
(b) The patch will remain the same size
(c) The size of the patch will increase then decreases
(d) The size of the patch will decrease then increase
2. Mark the correct statement
(a) Patch will become brighter
(b) Patch will become dimmer
(c) Brightness of the patch will remain the same.
(d) Patch will first become brighter then dimmer

Numericals & Subjective Questions

1. A thin hemispherical bowl of transparent plastic floats on water in

a tank. The radius of the bowl is 50 cm and the depth of the bowl
in water is 10 cm. The depth of the water (μ = 1.33) in the tank is
170 cm. An object 1 cm long is on the bottom of the tank directly
below the bowl. The object is viewed from directly above the bowl.
Ignore the refractive effects of the plastic.
What is the size (in cm) of the image?

265
 2. Parallel beam of light falls normally on a wall of a dark room
and illuminates on it a round spot of radius r = 4 cm. when a ball
(radius = 5cm) whose surface is mirrored is placed so that its center
is on the axis of the beam and at a distance of d = 11 cm from the
wall, a large part of the wall is illuminated but at the center is
formed a circular shadow of radius R cm. Find R in cm.

3. A point object O is placed at a distance of 41 cm from a convex

lens of focal length f = 20 cm on its principal axis. A glass slab of
thickness 3 cm and refractive index μ = 1.5 is placed between the
lens and the object with its faces perpendicular to the principal axis
of the lens. Image of the object is formed at point I1. Now the glass
slab is tilted by an angle of θ = 1° (as shown in the figure) and the
final image is formed at I2. Calculate the distance (in mm) between
π
points I1 and I2. (Take = 0.017 ). Consider only paraxial rays
180
for the lens and near normal incidence for the glass slab.
4. An isosceles triangular glass prism stands with its base in water
as shown. The angles that its two equal sides make with the base
are θ each. An incident ray of light parallel to the water surface
internally reflects at the glass-water interface and subsequently
re-emerges into the air. Taking the refractive indices of glass and
Supernova Physics

3 4
water to be and respectively, find maximum possible value
2 3
of cos2 θ for this to happen?

5. Travelers in the desert sometimes observe what appears to be a

sea or lake. At what distance (in m) from the observer does such a
mirage appear? Assume that the speed of light near the ground in
the desert varies according to the formula c(z) = c0 (1 – az), where
c0 is the speed of light at the ground and z is the altitude above the
ground. Assume rays were travelling parallel to ground near the
1
ground. [h = 2 m, a = m–1, (where h is height of man eye
2500
from ground)]

6. A laser beam propagates through a spherically symmetric medium,

as shown in the figure. The refractive index varies with the distance
r
to the symmetric centre C by the law µ(r ) = µ 0   where μ0 = 1,
 r0 
r0 = 3 cm, r0 ≤ r < ∞. The beam’s trajectory lies in the plane that
includes C. At distance r1 = 8 2 cm the beam makes an angle
φ = 30° with radial direction as shown in figure. Find the minimum
distance (in cm) the beam reaches relative to the symmetry centre C.

7. A ray of light is incident on a glass sphere of refractive index

µ = 3 such that the directions of the incident ray and emergent
ray when produced meet the surface at the same one point. The
θ
value of angle of incident is θ. Calculate the value of .
30°

266
 8. Point object O is as shown in diagram. At distance x the object
should be placed such that its final image coincides with it. If the
value of x is 5n then find the value of n?

9. An isosceles right angled triangular glass (µ = 1.6) prism has a

cavity inside it in the shape of a thin convex lens whose both
surfaces have radius of curvature equal to 20 cm. The cavity has
been filled with a transparent liquid of refractive index 2.4. S is
a point object and there is an opaque sheet having a small hole
such that the source and the hole both lie on the principal axis of
the lens. The small hole in the opaque sheet is there to ensure that
only paraxial rays are incident on the original system. However,
the size of hole is large enough to neglect diffraction effects. At
what perpendicular distance (in cm) from line BC, the observer P

Geometric Optics
will see the image?

10. Consider an equilateral prism ABC as shown in the figure. A ray

of light is incident on the face AB and gets transmitted into the
prism. Then total internal reflection takes place at the face BC and
the ray comes out of prism through the face AC. The total angle of
deviation is 120°. Find the angle of incidence of light on the prism
(in degree). (Refer Fig.: 15.10)

11. A capillary tube is made of glass with the index of refraction n’.
The outer radius of the tube is R. The tube is filled with a liquid
with the index of refraction n < n’. What should be the minimum Fig.: 15.10
internal radius of the tube r so that any ray that hits the tube would
enter the liquid?

12. A parallel beam of monochromatic light strikes a transparent prism.

The cross section of the prism is a regular hexagon. The beam is
parallel to the “top” and “bottom” faces of the prism, and points A
and B in the diagram are the midpoints of the corresponding edges.
After the refraction, two separate parallel beams of light emerge
from the prism. What is the minimum index of refraction of the
material of the prism that allows such an effect?

13. Two converging lenses have focal lengths f and f0. The optical axes
of the lenses coincide. This lens system is used to form an image
of an object. It turns out that the size of the image does not depend
on the distance between the lens system and the object. Find the
distance x between the lenses.

267
 14. A thin glass lens is formed by two convex surfaces that have
equal radii of curvature. When the lens is in the air, the distance
between its foci is 2f1. When the same lens is immersed in water,
that distance changes to 2f2. What is the distance d between the
foci of the lens when the lens is placed on the boundary between
the water and the air? The index of refraction of air is 1.00; that of
water is 1.33.
15. A small source of light is mounted inside a cylindrical container
of height h. The bottom of the container is covered with a mirror.
Initially, the container is empty. Then a clear liquid with the index
of refraction n is slowly poured into the container. The level of liquid
rises steadily, reaching the top of the container in time T. Find the speed
of the image of the source during this process. Consider all cases.
16. On a distant plane, the index of refraction of the atmosphere
depends on the altitude as n(h) = n0 – bh, where b is a constant
coefficient (b << n0/h). An alien scientist shines a laser beam
horizontally from the top of the highest mountain on the planet.
The scientist is surprised to discover that the laser beam orbits the
planet and hits the back of his head. How high is the mountain?
The radius of the planet is R.
17. A fish tank of length L contains a vertical partition with an
Supernova Physics

embedded lens. An arrow is taped to the left wall of the tank. When
only the left section of the tank is filled with water, a sharp image
of the arrow appears on the right wall of the tank. The length of
that image is l1. If instead only the right section of the tank is filled
with water, another sharp image of the arrow appears on the right
wall. Find (a) the distance between the lens and the left wall, (b)
the length of the second image, and (c) the length of the arrow. The
index of refraction of water is n.
18. A tank of water is filled up to 80 cm above the hole. The radius of
tank is 1 m and radius of hole is 1 mm. A circular light beam of
radius 1 mm which covers the hole completely is incident on the
hole from inside water. It is seen that the beam is travelling along
the water stream like in an optical fibre. At what level of water y (in
mm) will the light beam begin to emerge from the curved surface
4
of water stream? nwater =
3
19. A ray strikes a system of two mirrors inclined at 24° starting from
position as shown in the figure.

(a) Find total number of reflections before ray exits the system.
(b) Find minimum distance between the ray and apex point.

268
 Answer Keys
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. (d) 2. (b) 3. (b, c) 4. (a, c) 5. (a, b, d 6. (a, b, c, d) 7. (a, b, d) 8. (c, d)
9. (a, b, c) 10. (a, c) 11. (b, d) 12. (c) 13. (d) 14.(b, c, d)
15. (d) 16. (a)

PARAGRAPH TYPE QUESTIONS

1. (b) 2. (d)

NUMERICALS & SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS

1. 0.55 to 0.56 2. 52.00 3. 0.17 4. 0.81 5. 49.96 to 50.00 6. 8.00 7. 2.00
R 13
8. 6.00 9. 6.80 to 6.95 10. 30.00 11. r = 12. n = 13. L = f1 + f2
n 2

14. d = 4.66 f1 f 2
f 2 + 1.33 f1
15. Water level below the source
h1 
Supernova Physics

V =2  − 1
T n 
Water level above the source
h1 
V=  − 1
T n 

n0 − bR L
16. h = 17. (a) d = (b) l2 = l1 (c) h = l1 18. 2.57 19. reflections = 6, dmin = 9cm
2b 2 n2 n
20. x = 30 cm (inverted), x = 28.57 cm (erect) 21. r = r1r2 (β A − β B )
r1 β B − r2 β A

270