GATE-PH 2001 QUESTION PAPER 1

SECTION-A
1. This question consists of TWENTY FIVE sub-questions (1.1 to 1.25) of ONE mark each. For each
of these sub-questions, four possible answers (a, b, c and d) are given, out of which only one is
correct. [25×1 = 25]

1.1. If S is the closed surface enclosing a volume V and n̂ is the unit normal vector to the surface and r is

ˆ is
the position vector, then the value of the following integral  r  ndS
s

(a) V (b) 2V (c) 0 (d) 3V

+
1.2. For any operator A, i(A – A) is
(a) Hermitian (b) anti-Hermitian (c) unitary (d) orthogonal
1.3. The value of the integral  z10 dz , where C is the unit circle with the origin as the centre is
C

(a) 0 (b) z11/11 (c) 2iz11 / 11 (d) 1/11

1 1 1
1.4. Consider the set of vectors (1,1, 0), (0,1,1) and (1, 0,1)
2 2 2
(a) The three vectors are orthonormal
(b) The three vectors are linearly independent
(c) The three vectors cannot form a basis in a three-dimensional real vector space
1 1 1
(d) (1,1,0) can be written as a linear combination of (0,1,1) and (1, 0,1)
2 2 2
1.5. The Lagrangian for the Kepler problem is given by
1 2 22 
L
2
 r

r  r   , (  0),

where ( r , ) denote the polar coordinates and the mass of the particle is unity. Then
(a) p  2r 2  (b) pr  2r
(c) the angular momentum of the particle about the centre of attraction is a constant
(d) the total energy of the particle is time dependent
1.6 Which of the following equations is relativistically invariant? (  ,  ,  and  are constants of suitable
dimensions)
( x, t )  2 ( x, t )  2 ( x, t )  2( x, t )
(a)  (b)  
t x 2 t 2 x 2

 2 ( x, t ) ( x, t ) ( x, t )  3( x, t )

(c) 2
 (d) 
t x t x 3
1.7. The Lagrangian for a three particles system is given by:
1 2
L
2
  1   22   32   a2 (12  22  32  13 ),
where a is real. Then one of the normal coordinates has a frequency  given by
2 2
(a) 2  a 2 (b) 2  a 2 / 2 (c) 2  2a 2 (d)   2a
GATE-PH 2001 QUESTION PAPER 2

1.8. Two point charges Q1 = 1nC and Q2 = 2nC are kept in free space such that the distance between them
is 0.1 m.
(a) The force on Q2 is along the direction from Q2 to Q1
(b) The force on Q2 is the same in magnitude as that on Q1
(c) The force on Q1 is attractive
(d) A point charge Q3 = –3nC, placed at the midpoint between Q1 and Q2, experiences no net force

1.9. A current I flows in the anticlockwise direction through a square loop of side a lying in the xoy plane with
its centre at the origin. The magnetic induction at the centre of the square loop is

2 2 0 I 2 2 0 I 2 2 0 I 2 2 0 I
(a) eˆx (b) eˆz (c) eˆz (d) eˆx
a a a 2 a 2
1.10. A thin conducting wire is bent into a circular loop of radius r and placed in a time dependent magnetic field
of magnetic induction.

B(t )  B0e t eˆz , ( B0  0 and   0),

such that, the plane of the loop is perpendicular to B (t ) . Then the induced emf in the loop is

(a) r 2 B0 e t (b) r 2 B0 e t (c) r 2 B0 e t (d) r 2 B0 e t

1.11. Consider an electric field E existing in the interface between a conductor and free space. Then the electric

field E is
(a) external to the conductor and normal to the conductor’s surface
(b) internal to the conductor and normal to the conductor’s surface
(c) external to the conductor and tangential to the conductor’s surface
(d) both external and internal to the conductor and normal to the conductor’s surface
1.12. A spinless particle moves in a central potential V(r)
(a) The kinetic energy and the potential energy of the particle cannot simultaneously have sharp values
(b) The total energy and the potential energy of the particle can simultaneously have sharp values
(c) The total energy and the square of the orbital angular momentum about the origin cannot simultaneously
have sharp values.
(d) The total energy of the particle can have only discrete eigenvalues
1.13. Which of the following functions represents acceptable wave function of a particle in the range   x   .
(a) ( x)  A tan x, A  0 (b) ( x)  B cos x, B real
2
(c) ( x)  C exp( D / x ), C  0, D  0 (d) ( x)  E x exp( Fx 2 ), E , F  0
1.14. A quantum harmonic oscillator is in the energy eigenstate n . A time independent perturbation  (at a)2 acts

on the particle, where  is a constant of suitable dimensions and a and a† are lowering and raising
operators respectively. Then the first order energy shift is given by
2
(a) n (b)  n (c) n 2 (d) ( n)2
1.15. Two particles are said to be distinguishable when
(a) the average distance between them is large compared to their de Broglie wavelengths
(b) the average distance between them is small compared to their de Broglie wavelengths
(c) they have overlapping wavepackets
(d) their total wave function is symmetric under particle exchange
GATE-PH 2001 QUESTION PAPER 3
1.16. For an energy state E of a photon gas, the density of states is proportional to
(a) E (b) E (c) E 3/2 (d) E 2
1.17. X-rays were produced using Cobalt (Z = 27) as target. It was observed that the X-ray spectrum contained
a strong K  line of wavelength 0.1785 nm and a weak K  line of wavelength 0.1930 nm. Then, the weak
K  line is due to an impurity whose atomic number is
(a) 25 (b) 26 (c) 28 (d) 30
1.18. A sample of Silicon of thickness 200m is doped with 10 Phosphorous atoms per m3. If the sample is
23

kept in a magnetic field of 0.2 Wb/m2 and a current of 1 mA is passed through the sample, the Hall voltage
produced is
(a) 62.5 V (b) 6.25 V (c) 6.25 V (d) 62.5 V
1.19. The probability that a state which is 0.2 eV above the Fermi energy in a metal atom at 700K is
(a) 96.2% (b) 62.3% (c) 3.5% (d) 37.7%
1.20. The distance between the adjacent atomic planes in CaCO3 is 0.3 nM. The smallest angle of Bragg
scattering for 0.03 nm X-ray is
(a) 2.9º (b) 1.5º (c) 0.29º (d) 5.8º
1.21. Infrared absorption can be observed in which of the following molecules?
(a) N 2 (b) O 2 (c) HCl (d) C 2
1.22. The cross-sections of the reactions p       K  and p         K – at a given energy are the
same due to
(a) baryon number conservation (b) time-reversal invariance
(c) charge conjugation (d) parity conservation
1.23. RAM and ROM are
(a) charge coupled devices used in computers (b) computer memories
(c) logic gates (d) binary counters used in computers
1.24. In an n-p-n transistor, the leakage current consists of
(a) electrons moving from the base to the emitter
(b) electrons moving from the collector to the base
(c) electrons moving from the collector to the emitter
(d) electrons moving from the base to the collector
1.25. A piece of semiconducting material is introduced into a circuit. If the temperature of the material is raised,
the circuit current will
(a) increase (b) remain the same (c) decrease (d) cease to flow

2. This question consists of TWENTY FIVE sub-questions (2.1 to 2.25) of ONE mark each. For each
of these sub-questions, four possible answers (a, b, c and d) are given, out of which only one is
correct. [25×2 = 50]
 
2.1. If A  x eˆx  y eˆy  z eˆz , then 2 A equals
(a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 0 (d) –3
sin z
2.2. The value of the residue of is
z6

1 1 2i 2i
(a)  (b) (c) (d) 
5! 5! 5! 5!
GATE-PH 2001 QUESTION PAPER 4

1
f ( x )e ikx dx, then Fˆ [ f ( x)] is equal to
2
2.3. If F [ f ( x )]  
2 

(a) f ( x) (b)  f ( x) (c) f ( x) (d) [ f ( x)  f (  x )] / 2

2.4. A particle of mass m is constrained to move on the plane curve xy  C (C  0) under gravity (y axis
vertical). The Lagrangian of the particle is given by

1 2  C 2  mgC 1 2  C 2  mgC
(a) m x 1  4   (b) m x 1  4  
2  x  x 2  x  x

1 2  C  mgC 1 2  C  mgC
(c) m x 1  2   (d) m x 1  2  
2  x  x 2  x  x

2.5. If poisson bracket [ q, f ( p )]   f ( p ), where  is a scalar then f  p  is equal to

p p
(a) ep (b) ep (c) e (d) e

2.6. x and p are two operators which satisfy [ x, p ]  i . The operators X and P are defined as
X  x cos   p sin  and Y   x sin   p cos , for  real. Then [ X , Y ] equals
(a) 1 (b) –1 (c) i (d) –i
2.7. A quantum particle of mass m is confined to a square region in xoy-plane whose vertices are given by
(0, 0), (L, 0), (L, L) and (0, L). Which of the following represents an admissible wave function of the
particle (for l, m, n positive integers)?
2  nx   my  2  l x   ny 
(a) sin   cos   (b) cos   cos  
L  L   L  L  L   L 

2  mx   ny  2  nx   l y 

(c) sin   sin   (d) cos   sin  
L  L   L  L  L   L 

2.8. Let L  ( Lx , Ly , Lz ) denote the orbital angular momentum operators of a particle and let L  Lx  iL y and
L–  Lx – iLy . The particle is in an eigenstate of L2 and Lz eigenvalues  2 (  1) and  respectively. The
expectation value of L+ L– in this state is
(a)  2 (b) 2  2 (c) 0 (d)  

2.9. A normalized state of a particle moving in a potential V(x) is given by  ( x, t )   Cn n ( x)e  Ent / h
n 0

where n ( x) ’s are the normalized eigenfunctions of the particle corresponding to the energies En’s. Then

(a) | C n |2  1
n 0


(b) The average energy of the particle in the state  ( x, t ) is | C
n 
n | En

(c)  ( x, t ) is an eigenfunction of the Hamiltonian of the particle

(d)  ( x, t ) is an eigenfunction of the momentum operator
GATE-PH 2001 QUESTION PAPER 5
2.10. A coaxial cable of uniform cross-section contains an insulating material of dielectric constant 3.5. The radius
of the central wire is 0.01 m and that of the sheath is 0.02 m. The capacitance per kilometer of a cable
is
(a) 280.5 nF (b) 28.05 nF (c) 56.10 nF (d) 2.805 nF

2.11. The xoy plane carries a uniform surface current of density K  50eˆz A/m. The magnetic field at the point

z  0.5m is
(a) 10 106 Wb (b) 1 106 Wb (c) 106 Wb (d) 10 106 Wb
2.12. Four point charges are placed at the corners of a square whose center is at the origin of a Cartesian

coordinate system. A point dipole p is placed at the centre of the square as shownq–in the figure.q–Then,
(a) there is no force acting on the dipole
(b) there is no torque about the centre of O on the dipole
x O
p
(c) the dipole has minimum energy if it is in eˆx direction
(d) the force on the dipole is increased if the medium is replaced q q
by another medium with larger dielectric constant z
2.13. The electric field E (r , t ) at a point r at time t in a metal due to the passage of electrons can be described
by the equation
 
2
  1   2 E (r , t ) 2
  
 E r ,t   2    E (r , t ) 
c  t 2 
where  is a characteristic associated with the metal and c is the speed of light in vacuum. The dispersion
 
relation corresponding to the plane wave solutions of the form exp i (k  r  t ) is given by

(a) 2  c 2 k 2  2 (b) 2  c 2 k 2  2 (c)   ck   (d)   ck  

–6 2
2.14. A copper wire of uniform cross-sectional area 1.0 × 10 m carries a current of 1A. Assuming that each
copper atom contributes one electron to the electron gas, the drift velocity of the free electrons (density of
copper is 8.94 × 103 kg/m3 and its atomic mass is 1.05 × 10–25 kg) is
(a) 7.4 × 10–4 m/s (b) 74 × 10–4 m/s (c) 74 × 10–3 m/s (d) 7.4 × 10–5 m/s
2.15. The number of hyperfine components observed in the electronic transition 2 p1/ 2  2 S1/ 2 of an atom with

1
nuclear spin is
2
(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 6 (d) 5
2.16. Which of the following functions describes the nature of interaction potential V(r) between two quarks inside
a nucleon? (r is the distance between the quarks and a and b positive constants of suitable dimensions)

a a a a
(a) V (r )   br (b) V (r )    br (c) V (r )   br (d) V (r )    br
r r r r
2.17. Which of the following reactions violates lepton number conservation?
–
(a) e   e      (b) e  p    n

(c) e  n  p   (d)    e     
GATE-PH 2001 QUESTION PAPER 6
2.18. The Lande g-factor for the 3P1 level of an atom is
(a) 1/2 (b) 3/2 (c) 5/2 (d) 7/2
2.19. The pure rotational levels of a molecule in the far-infrared region follows the formula F(J) = BJ (J+1), where
F(J) is the energy of the rotational level with quantum number J and B is the rotational constant. The lowest
rotational energy gap in rotational Raman spectrum is
(a) 2B (b) 4B (c) 6B (d) 8B
2.20. The total number of Zeeman components observed in an electronic transition 2 D5/ 2  2 P3/ 2 of an atom in
a weak field is
(a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 12 (d) 10
2.21. A resistance of 600 is parallel to an inductance of reactance 600    applied voltage, then the total
impedance of the circuit is
(a) 628 (b) 268 (c) 424  (d) 300
2.22. An n-channel silicon (dielectric constant = 12) FET with a channel width a = 2 × 10–6 m is doped with
1021 electrons / m3. The pinch-off voltage is
(a) 0.86V (b) 0.68V (c) 8.6V (d) 6.8V
2.23. The solution of the system of differential equations
dy dz
 y  z and  4 y  z
dx dx
is given by (for A and B are arbitrary constants)
3x x 3x x
(a) y ( x)  Ae3 x  Be  x ; z ( x)  2 Ae3 x  2 Be x (b) y ( x)  Ae  Be ; z ( x)  2 Ae  2 Be
3x x 3x x
(c) y ( x)  Ae3 x  Be  x ; z ( x)  2 Ae3 x  2 Be  x (d) y ( x)  Ae  Be ; z ( x)  2 Ae  2 Be
2.24. If u ( x, y, z , t )  f ( x  i y  vt )  g ( x  i y  vt ), where f and g are arbitrary and twice differentiable
functions, is a solution of the wave function

 2 u  2 u 1  2u
  then  is
x 2 y 2 c 2 t 2

1/ 2
 v
1/ 2
 v  v2   v2 
(a)  1   (b) 1   (c)  1  2  (d)  1  c 2 
 c  c  c   
2.25. The rotational partition function for a diatomic molecule of moment of inertia I at a temperature T is given
by
Ik BT 2 Ik BT 3Ik BT Ik BT
(a) (b) (c) (d)
2 2 2 2 2
GATE-PH 2001 QUESTION PAPER 7
SECTION-B
This section consists of TWENTY questions of FIVE marks each. ANY FIFTEEN out of these
questions have to answered on the Answer Book provided. [75 Marks]
 
3. Given A  y 2 eˆx  2 yxeˆy  ( xye z  sin x )eˆz , calculate the value of  
S

  A  nˆ ds over the part of the

sphere x 2  y 2  z 2  1 above the xoy plane.

4. Find the matrix of the linear transformation T on V3(R) (i.e., three dimensional real vector space) defined

a a b 1 0 0

         
as T  b    b  c  , with respect to the basis B  {eˆ1 , eˆ2 , eˆ3 }, where eˆ1   0  , eˆ2   1  and eˆ3   0  .
c c a  0 0 1
         
Also calculate the matrix representation of T–1.
2
5. Find the general solution of 4 x d y2  2 dy  y  0, using the Frobenius power series method.
dx dx
2
q ln  q 
6. Consider the Lagrangian L   q  qf (q ), where f ( q ) is an arbitrary function and   0 .
2
(a) Write down the Euler-Lagrange equation of motion
(b) Does the Lagrangian transform covariantly under the transformation q   q for  a real constant?
(c) Calculate the Hamiltonian of the system
(d) Is total energy a constant of motion?
7. A square lamina OABC of side l and negligible thickness is lying in the XOY plane of a Cartesian coordinate
system such that O is at the origin and the sides OA and OC are along the positive X and Y directions
respectively. Calculate the moment of inertia tensor and the directions of the three principal moments. The
mass of the lamina is m.
8. A particle of mass m is subjected to a potential V ( x )  k x , k  0

(a) If H is the Hamiltonian of the particle, calculate [ H , V ( x)]


(b) Use the uncertainty principle in the form x p ~ to estimate the ground state energy of the particle.
2
9. A particle of mass m in the one-dimensional energy well
0 0  x  L
V ( x)  
 elsewhere,
is in a state whose coordinate wave function is given by ( x)  Cx( L  x), where c is the normalization
constant.
(a) Determine the expectation value of the energy in the state ( x)
(b) Calculate the probability that on measurement of energy, the particle will be found in its ground state.
L L
 2 2 L3 4 L3 
Standard Integrals :  dx x sin( x / L )  L / ,  dx x sin( x / L )   3 
 0 0
  
GATE-PH 2001 QUESTION PAPER 8

10. Consider the harmonic oscillator in the form H  ( p 2  x 2 ) / 2 (we have set m  1,   1 and   1 ). The
harmonic oscillator is in its nth energy eigenstate and subjected to a time-independent perturbation
 ( xp  px), for  real. Calculate the first-order energy shift and first-order correction to the wave function.
11. An ideal electron gas is confined to an area A in a two-dimensional plane at temperature T. Calculate
(a) the density of states
(b) N, the number of electrons
(c) EF, the Fermi energy as a function of N
12. Write down the partition function of a particle of mass m whose potential energy is given by
V ( x, y , z )  ax 2  b( y 2  z 2 )1/ 2 , where a and b are positive constants of suitable dimensions. Also calculate
the average energy of the particle.

 2 2 
Standard Integral :  dx e  x / 2  2 
  
13. Given that the molecular weight of K Cl is 74.6 and its density is 1.99 × 103 kg/m3, calculate the following:
(a) the distance between the atomic planes
(b) the lattice constant
14. The reaction 3 H ( p, n)2 He has a Q value of –0.764 MeV. Calculate the threshold energy of incident
protons for which neutrons are emitted in the forward direction.
15. A circular conducting loop C1 of radius 2m is located in the XOY plane such that its centre is at
(0, 0, 0). Another circular conducting loop C2 of radius 2m is located at (0, 0, 4) such that the plane of
C2 is parallel to the XOY plane. A current of 5A is flowing in each of these loops such that the positive

Z-axis lies to the left of the directions of the currents. Find the magnetic induction B produced at
(0, 0, 0), neglecting the mutual induction of the loops.
16. Draw the electrical circuits for each of the following ************ source (battery), a detector (lamp),
and switch (es).
(a) AND (b) OR (c) NOT (d) NAND (e) NOR
17. The pinch-down voltage of a p-channel junction FET is VP = 5V and the drain-to-source saturation current
IDSS = –40mA. The value of drain-source voltage VDS is such that the transistor is operating in the saturated
region. The drain current is given as ID = –15 mA. Find the gate-source voltage VGS.
18. A narrow beam of electrons, accelerated under a potential difference, incident on a crystal whose grating
space is 0.3 nm. If the first diffraction ring is produced at an angle 5.8º from the incident beam, find the
momentum of the electrons and the potential difference applied.
19. The region z  0 of a Cartesian coordinate system contains a linear isotropic dielectric of dielectric constant
2.0. The region z  0 is the free space. A free space charge density of 5nC/m2 is at the interface z  0 .

If the displacement vector in the dielectric is D2  3eˆx  4eˆy  6eˆz nC/m2, find the corresponding displacement

vector D1 in the free space.
20. The series limit of the Balmer series for hydrogen atom is given as 360 nm. Calculate the atomic number
of the element that gives the lowest x-ray wavelength at 0.1 nm of the K-series.
21. The first few electronic energy states for neutral copper atom (Z = 29) are given as E1 < E2 < E3, where
E1 being the ground electronic state. The states E2 and E3 are doubly degenerate due to spin splitting. Write
the electron configuration of the states and arrange the spectral terms of the split levels following Hund’s
rules. Explain why E2 < E3.
22. The rotational lines of the CN band system at 3883.4Å is represented by a formula v = (25798 + 3.850m
+ 0.068 m2) cm–1, where m is a running number. Calculate the values of the rotational constants Bv and
Bv , the location of the band head and the degradation of the band.