List of top Physics Questions asked in CBSE Class XI

A hole is drilled in a copper sheet. The diameter of the hole is 4.24 cm at 27.0 °C. What is the change in the diameter of the hole when the sheet is heated to 227 °C? Coefficient of linear expansion of copper = 1.70 × \(10^{-5} K^{-1}.\)

Three girls skating on a circular ice ground of radius 200 m start from a point P on the edge of the ground and reach a point Q diametrically opposite to P following different paths as shown in Fig. 3.19. What is the magnitude of the displacement vector for each? For which girl is this equal to the actual length of the path skated?

Figure 2.15 gives a speed-time graph of a particle in motion along a constant direction. Three equal intervals of time are shown. In which interval is the average acceleration greatest in magnitude? In which interval is the average speed greatest ? Choosing the positive direction as the constant direction of motion, give the signs of v and a in the three intervals. What are the accelerations at the points A, B, C and D ?

Suggest a suitable physical situation for each of the following graphs :

A large steel wheel is to be fitted on to a shaft of the same material. At 27 °C, the outer diameter of the shaft is 8.70 cm and the diameter of the central hole in the wheel is 8.69 cm. The shaft is cooled using ‘dry ice’. At what temperature of the shaft does the wheel slip on the shaft? Assume coefficient of linear expansion of the steel to be constant over the required temperature range : α\(_{steel}\)= 1.20 × 10\(^{-5}\) K\(^{-1}\).

A steel tape 1m long is correctly calibrated for a temperature of 27.0 °C. The length of a steel rod measured by this tape is found to be 63.0 cm on a hot day when the temperature is 45.0 °C. What is the actual length of the steel rod on that day ? What is the length of the same steel rod on a day when the temperature is 27.0 °C ? Coefficient of linear expansion of steel = 1.20 × 10\(^{-5}\) K\(^{-1}\).

Two ideal gas thermometers A and B use oxygen and hydrogen respectively. The following observations are made :

Temperature	Pressure thermometer A	Pressure thermometer B
Triple-point of water	1.250 × 10\(^5\) Pa	0.200 × 10\(^5\) Pa
Normal melting point of sulphur	1.797× 10\(^5\) Pa	0.287 × 10\(^5\) Pa

What is the absolute temperature of normal melting point of sulphur as read by thermometers A and B?
What do you think is the reason behind the slight difference in answers of thermometers A and B ? (The thermometers are not faulty). What further procedure is needed in the experiment to reduce the discrepancy between the two readings?

Answer the following :

The triple-point of water is a standard fixed point in modern thermometry. Why ? What is wrong in taking the melting point of ice and the boiling point of water as standard fixed points (as was originally done in the Celsius scale) ?
There were two fixed points in the original Celsius scale as mentioned above which were assigned the number 0 °C and 100 °C respectively. On the absolute scale, one of the fixed points is the triple-point of water, which on the Kelvin absolute scale is assigned the number 273.16 K. What is the other fixed point on this (Kelvin) scale ?
The absolute temperature (Kelvin scale) T is related to the temperature \(t_c\) on the Celsius scale by
\(t_c\) = T – 273.15
Why do we have 273.15 in this relation, and not 273.16 ?
What is the temperature of the triple-point of water on an absolute scale whose unit interval size is equal to that of the Fahrenheit scale ?

The electrical resistance in ohms of a certain thermometer varies with temperature according to the approximate law :
R = \(R_0\) [1 + α (T – \(T_0\))]
The resistance is 101.6 Ω at the triple-point of water 273.16 K, and 165.5 Ω at the normal melting point of lead (600.5 K). What is the temperature when the resistance is 123.4 Ω ?

Two absolute scales A and B have triple points of water defined to be 200 A and 350 B. What is the relation between \(T_A \space and \space T_B\) ?

The triple points of neon and carbon dioxide are 24.57 K and 216.55 K respectively. Express these temperatures on the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales.

Give the location of the centre of mass of a (i) sphere, (ii) cylinder, (iii) ring, and (iv) cube, each of uniform mass density. Does the centre of mass of a body necessarily lie inside the body ?

A family uses 8 kW of power.
(a) Direct solar energy is incident on the horizontal surface at an average rate of 200 W per square meter. If 20% of this energy can be converted to useful electrical energy, how large an area is needed to supply 8 kW?
(b) Compare this area to that of the roof of a typical house.

A person trying to lose weight (dieter) lifts a 10 kg mass, one thousand times, to a height of 0.5 m each time. Assume that the potential energy lost each time she lowers the mass is dissipated.
(a) How much work does she do against the gravitational force ?
(b) Fat supplies 3.8 × 10\(^7\)J of energy per kilogram which is converted to mechanical energy with a 20% efficiency rate. How much fat will the dieter use up?

Assuming the earth to be a sphere of uniform mass density, how much would a body weigh half way down to the centre of the earth if it weighed 250 N on the surface ?

The escape speed of a projectile on the earth’s surface is 11.2 km s^-1. A body is projected out with thrice this speed. What is the speed of the body far away from the earth? Ignore the presence of the sun and other planets.

A satellite orbits the earth at a height of 400 km above the surface. How much energy must be expended to rocket the satellite out of the earth’s gravitational influence? Mass of the satellite = 200 kg; mass of the earth = 6.0×1024 kg; radius of the earth = 6.4 × 106 m; G = 6.67 × 10^-11 N m² kg^-2 .

Two stars each of one solar mass (= \(2\times 10^{30}\) kg) are approaching each other for a head on collision. When they are a distance 109 km, their speeds are negligible. What is the speed with which they collide ? The radius of each star is 104 km. Assume the stars to remain undistorted until they collide. (Use the known value of G).

Two heavy spheres each of mass 100 kg and radius 0.10 m are placed 1.0 m apart on a horizontal table. What is the gravitational force and potential at the mid point of the line joining the centres of the spheres ? Is an object placed at that point in equilibrium? If so, is the equilibrium stable or unstable ?

Choose the correct answer from among the given ones: The gravitational intensity at the centre of a hemispherical shell of uniform mass density has the direction indicated by the arrow in the below figure.

Glycerine flows steadily through a horizontal tube of length 1.5 m and radius 1.0 cm. If the amount of glycerine collected per second at one end is 4.0 × 10–3 kg s–1 , what is the pressure difference between the two ends of the tube ? (Density of glycerine = 1.3 × 103 kg m–3 and viscosity of glycerine = 0.83 Pa s). [You may also like to check if the assumption of laminar flow in the tube is correct].

Does it matter if one uses gauge instead of absolute pressures in applying Bernoulli’s equation ? Explain

A child sits stationary at one end of a long trolley moving uniformly with a speed \(\text V\) on a smooth horizontal floor. If the child gets up and runs about on the trolley in any manner, what is the speed of the CM of the (trolley + child) system ?

Can Bernoulli’s equation be used to describe the flow of water through a rapid in a river ? Explain.

In the HCl molecule, the separation between the nuclei of the two atoms is about 1.27 \(\AA\) (1 \(\AA\) = \(10^{-10}\) m). Find the approximate location of the CM of the molecule, given that a chlorine atom is about 35.5 times as massive as a hydrogen atom and nearly all the mass of an atom is concentrated in its nucleus.