SOLVED OBJECTIVE EXAMPLES

Example 1: An energy of 24.6 eV is required to remove one of the electrons from the neutral helium
atom. The energy in eV to remove both the electrons from a neutral helium atom is
(a) 38.2 (b) 49.2
(c) 51.8 (d) 79.0

Solution: Energy required to remove one electron = E1 = 24.6 eV

Energy E2 required to remove the second electron from hydrogen-like helium atom is given
by
 1 1
E2 = Z2 Rhc  2  
 (1) 
= (2)  13.6 eV
2

= 54.4 eV
 Total energy required = E1 + E2 = 24.6 + 54.4
= 79.0 eV
The answer is (d)

Example 2: Which energy state of the triply ionised beryllium, B+++, has the same electron orbital radius
as that for the ground state of hydrogen?
(a) n = 2 (b) n = 3
(c) n = 4 (d) n = 6

Solution: The radius of nth orbital is given by

n 2 h 2 0
rn =
 mZe 2
h 2 0
For hydrogen, Z = 1, n = 1, rH =
 me2
n 2 h 2 0
For berylluim, Z = 4, n = ?, rBe =
4 me2
As rH = rBe
h 2 0 n 2 h 2 0
=
 me2 4m e 2
n2 = 4 or n = 2
The answer is (a)

Example 3: When an electron jumps from a level n = 4 to n = 1, momentum of the recoiled hydrogen
atom will be
(a) 12.75  10–19 kg m/s (b) 13.6  10–19 kg m/s
(c) 6.8  10 –27 kg m/s (d) 13.6  10–27 kg m/s

Solution: The energy of transition from n = 4 to n = 1 is given by

 13.6   –13.6 
E = E4 – E1 =   2  –  2 
 (4)   (1) 
 E = –0.85 + 13.6
= 12.75 eV
= 12.75  1.6  10–19 J
Recoil momentum due to radiation
E 12.75  1.6  1019
= =
c 3  108
= 6.8  10–27 kg m/s
The answer is (c)

Example 4: The work function of a metal is 1.0 eV. A light of wavelength 3000Å is incident on this
metal surface. The velocity of emitted photoelectrons will be approximately
(a) 100 m/s–1 (b) 1000 m/s–1
(c) 104 m/s–1 (d) 106 m/s–1

Solution: If v is the velocity of photoelectron emitted, then

1 2 hc
mv = –W
2 
 6.63  1034  3  108 
= 7 19  – 1.0 eV
 3  10  1.6  10 
= 4.14 – 1.0 = 3.14 eV
= 3.14  1.6  10–19 J

2  3.14 1.6 1019

v =  106 ms–1
9.11031
The answer is (d)

Example 5: The work function of a substance is 4.0 eV. The longest wavelength of light that can cause
photoelectron emission from this substance is approximately
(a) 220 nm (b) 310 nm
(c) 400 nm (d) 540 nm

hc 6.6  1034  3  108

Solution: max = 
W 4.0  1.6  1019
= 3.10  10–7 m
= 310 nm
The answer is (b)

Example 6: When a monochromatic source of light is placed at a distance of 0.2 m from a photoelectric
cell, the cut-off voltage and the saturation current are 0.6 V and 18 mA respectively. If the
same source is placed 0.6 m away from the cell, then
(a) the stopping potential is 0.2 V and the saturation current is 18 mA
(b) the stopping potential is 0.6 V and the saturation current is 18 mA
(c) the stopping potential is 0.2 V and the saturation current is 2 mA
(d) the stopping potential is 0.6 V and the saturation current is 2 mA.
Solution: The stopping potential depends upon the wavelength or frequency of incident waves. It is
independent of the distance of the source from the cell. The stopping potential is 0.6 V.
The saturation current varies inversely as the square of distance of the source from the
photocell.
2
 0.2m 
 The saturation current at a distance of 0.6 m = 18 mA    = 2 mA
 0.6m 
The answer is (d)

Example 7: When a one-cm thick surface is illuminated with a light of wavelength , the stopping potential
is V. When the same surface is illuminated by a light of wavelength 2, the stopping potential
V
is . The threshold wavelength of the surface is
3
4 8
(a) (b)
3 3
(c) 4 (d) 6

Solution: If  is incident wavelength and 0 is the threshold wavelength, then

hv = eV + W
Or eV = hv – W = hv – hv0
1 1 
eV = hc    (i)
  0 
V
When,  = 2, ,V =
3
1 1 
eV = hc    
  0 

eV  1 1
= hc    (ii)
3  2 0 
From (i) and (ii)
1 1  1 1
 = 3   
 0  2 0 
2 3 1 1
 – 
0 2  2
 0 = 4
The answer is (c)

Example 8: A particle of mass M at rest decays into two particles of masses m1 and m2 having non-
zero velocities. The ratio of de Broglie wavelengths of the particles is
m1 m2
(a) (b)
m2 m1

m2
(c) 1.0 (d)
m1
Solution: If v1 and v2 are the respective velocities of the two particles, from the law of conservation
of momentum,
m2 v2
m1v1 + m2v2 = 0, = –1.0
m1v1

m2 v2
= 1.0
m1v1

m2 v2
 = 1.0
m1v1

h 1 m2 v2
As de Broglie wavelength,  = ,  
mv 2 m1v1 = 1.0
The answer is (c)
 EXERCISE

Section A
Choose the Correct Answer
1. A proton and an alpha particle have kinetic energy in the ratio of 16 : 1. Assuming that the mass of an
alpha particle is equal to four times that of a proton, the ratio of de Broglie wavelength of a proton to
that of an alpha particle is
(a) 1 : 4 (b) 1 : 2 (c) 2:1 (d) 4:1

2. The ratio of momentum of an electron of mass me and an alpha particle of mass m which are
accelerated from rest by a potential difference of 250 V, is ...

me me 2me me
(a) (b) (c) (d)
m m m 2m
3. A proton and an -particle are accelerated through the same potential difference. The ratio of their de
Broglie wavelength is
(a) 2 (b) 1/ 2 (c) 2 2 (d) 2
o
4. A photon of a light of wavelength 10000 A has energy equal to 1.23 eV. When a light of wavelength
o
5000 A and an intensity I0 falls on a photoelectric cell, the saturation current is 4.0  10–7 A and the
stopping potential is 1.36 V. Then, the work function is
(a) 0.43 eV (b) 1.1 eV (c) 1.36 eV (d) 2.47 eV

5. Consider the spectral line resulting from the transition n = 2  n = 1 in the atoms and ions given below.
The shortest wavelength is produced by
(a) a hydrogen atom (b) a deuterium atom
(c) a singly ionised helium (d) a doubly ionised lithium

6. When a monochromatic beam of light of frequency v is incident on a photoelectric material of threshold

frequency v0 such that v = 2v0, photoelectrons are emitted with a maximum velocity of
4  106 ms–1. If the frequency of the incident light is 5v0, the maximum velocity of a photoelectron will
be
(a) 4  106 m/s (b) 8  106 m/s (c) 9  106 m/s (d) 2  107 m/s

7. In Bohr’s model of a hydrogen atom, which of the following statement(s) is(are) incorrect?
(a) the radius of the nth orbit is proportional to n2
(b) the total energy of the electron in the nth orbit is proportional to n
h
(c) the angular momentum of an electron in an orbit is an integral multiple of
2π
(d) the magnitude of the potential energy of an electron in any orbit is greater than its kinetic energy
8. The ratio of the longest and shortest wavelengths of Lyman series is approximately
(a) 4/3 (b) 9/4 (c) 9/5 (d) 16/7
9. The ionisation potential for a hydrogen atom is 14 V. The k-level for an atom with Z = 80 should,
therefore, be closest to
(a) 1.1 keV (b) 10 keV (c) 35 keV (d) 90 keV
10. The wavelength of the first line of Balmer series of a hydrogen atom is  angstrom units. The wavelength
of this line of a doubly ionised lithium atom (Z = 3) is
λ λ λ λ
(a) (b) (c) (d)
3 9 8 27
11. The first excitation potential of an atom is 10.2 V. Its ionisation potential is
(a) 40.8 V (b) 30.6 V (c) 20.4 V (d) 13.6 V
12. If the first excitation potential of an atom is E, its ionisation potential will be
E 2E 4E
(a) (b) (c) E (d)
3 3 3
13. The maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons emitted from a surface when photons of energy 6 eV
fall on the surface is 4 eV. The stopping potential in volts is
(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6 (d) 10
14. An electron jumps from the fourth to the second orbit of a hydrogen atom. If the Rydberg constant
R = 107 m–1, the frequency (in hertz) of the emitted radiation is
(a) (3/16)1015 (b) (3/4)1015 (c) (9/4)1015 (d) (9/16)1015
15. The wavelength of the first line of Lyman series for hydrogen is the same as that of the second line of
Balmer series of some hydrogen-like atom X. The Z-value of X is
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5
16. A hydrogen-like atom has one electron revolving around a stationary nucleus. The energy required to
excite the electron from the second orbit to the third orbit is 47.2 eV. The atomic number of the atom
is
(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6
17. According to the Bohr’s model, the minimum energy in eV required to remove an electron from the
ground state of a doubly ionised lithium atom with Z = 3 is
(a) 1.51 (b) 13.6 (c) 40.8 (d) 122.4

18. When the electron is a hydrogen atom jumps from the second orbit to the first, the wavelength of the
radiation emitted is . When the electron jumps from the third orbit to the first, the wavelength of the
radiation emitted is
9 4 27 32
(a) λ (b) λ (c) λ (d) λ
4 9 32 27
Section B
Choose the Correct Answer
1. The ratio of the time taken by the electron in a hydrogen atom to complete one revolution in orbits
corresponding to the ground state and the first excited state is
(a) 1 : 4 (b) 4 : 1 (c) 1 : 8 (d) 8:1
2. When a certain metallic surface is illuminated with a monochromatic light of wavelength , the stopping
potential for photoelectric current is 3V0. When the same surface is illuminated with a light of wavelength
2, the stopping potential is V0. The threshold wavelength of this surface for photoelectric effect is
λ
(a) (b)  (c) 2 (d) 4
2
3. If the kinetic energy of photoelectrons is E1 and E2 with the wavelength of incident lights
1 and 2 respectively, the work function of the metal is
E11 – E2 2 E1 E2 ( E1 – E 2 )12  E 1 2 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
2  1 1  2 1  2 (   ) E
1 2 2

4. The longest wavelength of Lyman series is approximately

o o o o
(a) 920 A (b) 1020 A (c) 1220 A (d) 1420 A
5. Hydrogen atoms in a ground state are excited by a monochromatic radiation of wavelength
o
975 A . The number of lines in the resulting spectrum will be
(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 6 (d) 10
o
6. A light of wavelength 6000 A from a sodium lamp falls on a photocell and results in emission of
o
photoelectrons, for which the stopping potential is 0.5 V. When a light of wavelength 4000 A from a
mercury lamp is incident, the stopping potential is 1.5 V. The work function of the surface of the
photocell is
(a) 0.75 eV (b) 1.5 eV (c) 2.5 eV (d) 3.0 eV
7. The photoelectrons emitted by a metal surface are fully stopped when a retarding potential of 3.0 V is
applied. The photoelectric effect begins in this metal at a frequency of
6  1014 Hertz. The frequency of light which ejects electrons from the surface of this metal is
(a) 1015 Hertz (b) 1016 Hertz (c) 1.325  1015 Hertz (d) 2.65  1015 Hertz

8. The energy levels A, B, and C of a certain atom correspond to the increasing values of energy,
that is, EA < EB < EC. If 1, 2, and 3 are the wavelengths of radiation corresponding to the transitions
C  B, B  A, and C  A respectively, then
λ1 λ 2
(a) 3 = 1 + 2 (b) 3 =
λ1 +λ 2 (c) λ 32  λ12  λ 22 (d) λ1  λ 2  λ 3

o
9. If the wavelength of the first line of Balmer series of hydrogen is 6561 A , the wavelength of the
second line of the series is
o o o o
(a) 13122 A (b) 4860 A (c) 3280 A (d) 2187 A
10. Monochromatic radiations of two photons of energy twice and five times the work function of a metal
are incident successively on the metal surface. The ratio of the maximum velocity of photoelectrons
emitted in the two cases will be
(a) 1 : 4 (b) 4 : 1 (c) 1:2 (d) 2:1
11. The electron in the hydrogen atom makes a transition n1  n2, where n1 and n2 are the principal
quantum number of two states. Assume that Bohr’s model holds true. The time period of
the electron in the initial state is eight times that in the final state. The possible values of
n1 and n2 are respectively
(a) 4, 3 (b) 8, 2 (c) 8, 1 (d) 6, 3
12. The ionisation energy of a hydrogen atom is 13.6 eV. Hydrogen atoms in the ground state are excited
by a monochromatic radiation of photon of energy 12.1 eV. The number of spectral lines emitted by
hydrogen atoms will be
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 6
o
13. The first spectral line of sodium is 5890 A . The first excitation potential of sodium is
(a) 2.1 V (b) 3.7 V (c) 4.1 V (d) 7.4 V
14. A hydrogen atom in its ground state absorbs 10.2 eV of energy. Its orbital angular momentum is
increased by (given h = 6.6  10–34 Js)
(a) 1.05  10–34 Js (b) 3.16  10–34 Js (c) 2.11  10–34 Js (d) 4.22  10–34 Js
 ANSWER KEY

SECTION A
1. b 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. d
6. b 7. b 8. a 9. d 10. b
11. d 12. d 13. b 14. d 15. a
16. c 17. d 18. c

SECTION B
1. c 2. d 3. a 4. c 5. c
6. b 7. c 8. b 9. b 10. c
11. d 12. c 13. a 14. a