Joint Entrance Screening Test 2023

Subject: Physics
Section A
Correct answer: +3, wrong answer: −1.

1. The position and velocity vectors of a particle changes from R ⃗ 1 to R

⃗ 2 and ⃗v1 to ⃗v2 respectively
as time flows from t1 to t2 . If ⃗r(t), ⃗v (t), and ⃗a(t) are the instantaneous position, velocity and
acceleration vectors of the particle, compute the integral:
Z t2
⃗
I= ⃗r × ⃗a dt.
t1

Mark the correct answer.

(a) I⃗ = R
⃗ 2 × ⃗v2 − R
⃗ 1 × ⃗v1 (c) I⃗ = 0
(b) ⃗ ⃗
I = R1 × ⃗v1 − R ⃗ 2 × ⃗v2 (d) ⃗ = |R
|I| ⃗ 1 × ⃗v1 | + |R
⃗ 2 × ⃗v2 |

2. A beam of light is propagating through a block of glass with refractive index n. The block is
moving with a constant speed v in the direction opposite to that of the beam. The speed of the
light beam in the block as measured by an observer in the laboratory frame is:
c c c c − nv
(a) (b) (c) (d) v
2n n 2n n−
c

3. A right-angled prism is placed in air (the refractive index of air is 1) and a light beam is incident
perpendicular to the base of the prism as shown in the figure. In order to get the light beam
totally reflected, the minimum value of the refractive index of the prism should be

√ π √
(a) 1 3 (c) (d) 2
(b) 2
2

   
β β iα
4. Consider a spin-1/2 particle in the quantum state |ψ(β, α)⟩ = cos |↑⟩ + sin e |↓⟩
2 2
where 0 ≤ β ≤ π and 0 ≤ α ≤ 2π. For which values of (δ, γ) is the state |ψ(δ, γ)⟩ orthogonal
to |ψ(β, α)⟩?

1
 (a) (π + β, π − α) (b) (π − β, π − α) (c) (π + β, π + α) (d) (π − β, π + α)

5. Consider a system of classical non-interacting particles constrained to be in the XY plane sub-

ject to the potential:
1
V (x, y) = α(x − y)2 .
2
If they are in equilibrium with a thermal bath at temperature T , what is the average energy per
particle? The Boltzmann constant is kB .
5 1 (c) 2kB T 3
(a) kB T (b) kB T (d) kB T
2 2 2

6. There are three states of energy E, 0, −E available for the population of two identical noninter-
acting spinless fermions. If they are in equilbrium at temperature T , what is the average energy
1
of the system? The Boltzmann constant is kB and consider β to be .
kB T
(a) 0 E(e−βE − eβE )
βE −βE (c)
E(e − e ) 1 + e−βE + eβE
(b) E(2e−βE + e−βE − eβE − 2e2βE )
1 + e−βE + eβE (d)
2e−βE + e−βE + 2 + eβE + e2βE

7. Consider a free particle in one dimension described by the wavefunction:

ipx −ipx
ψ(x, t = 0) = A exp + B exp
ℏ ℏ
The probability current density corresponding to ψ(x, t) at a later time t is:

p(|A|2 − |B|2 )
 2 
p p(|A|2 + |B|2 )
(a) cos t (c)
m 2mℏ m
2
+ |B|2 )
 2 
2
p(|A| − |B| )2 p(|A| p
(b) (d) cos t
m m 2mℏ

8. Consider all possible Boolean logic gates with 2 inputs and one output. How many such gates
can be constructed?

(a) 16 (b) 4 (c) 2 (d) 8

9. If linearly polarized light is sent through two polarizers, the first at 45◦ to the original axis
of polarization and the second at 90◦ to the original axis of polarization, what fraction of the
original intensity passes through the last polarizer?
1 1 (c) 0 1
(a) (b) (d)
2 4 8

2
 c
10. A rocket is moving in free space with speed . After a fuel tank is gently detached, the rocket
2
c
is found to be moving with a speed with respect to the detached fuel tank. What is the final
4
speed of the rocket in the original frame of reference?
2 2 3 4
(a) c (b) c (c) c (d) c
7 3 4 5

11. Two identical magnetic dipoles of length ℓ, which are free to rotate, are kept fixed at a distance
d (d ≫ ℓ). In their minimum energy configuration, they will orient themselves

(a) anti-parallel to each other and perpendicular to the line joining them
(b) parallel to each other and aligned to the line joining them
(c) anti-parallel to each other and aligned to the line joining them
(d) parallel to each other and perpendicular to the line joining them

12. The force experienced by a mass confined to move along the x-axis is of the form F (x) =
−k1 x − k2 xn where x is the displacement of the mass from x = 0, k1 and k2 are positive
constants and n is a positive integer. For small displacements, the motion of the mass remains
symmetric about x = 0

(a) when n is any positive integer. (c) only when n = 1.

(b) when n is an odd positive integer. (d) when n is an even positive integer.

13. A silicon crystal sample has 50 billion silicon atoms and 5 million free electrons. The silicon
crystal is additionally doped with 5 million pentavalent atoms. Assume that the ambient thermal
energy is much smaller than the bandgap of silicon. How many free electrons and holes are there
inside the silicon crystal?

(a) Number of electrons is 30 million and number of holes is zero.

(b) Number of electrons is 10 million and number of holes is zero.
(c) Number of electrons is 10 million and number of holes is 5 million.
(d) Number of electrons is 5 million and number of holes is 5 million.

14. Calculate the contour integral

cos2 (z) − z 2
I
I= dz
(z − a)3
C

where the clockwise contour C is encircling the point z = a in the complex plane.

(a) −(sin 2a + 1)2πi (c) −(cos 2a + 1)2πi

(b) (cos 2a + 1)2πi (d) (sin 2a + 1)2πi

15. What is the 2′ s complement representation of 11010110?

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 (a) 11010101 (b) 00101001 (c) 00101010 (d) 01101011

16. A quantum particle moving in one dimension is in a state having the wave function

−ax4 + bx + ipx
ψ(x) = sinh(λx) exp( )
ℏ
where a, b, λ and p are all positive real numbers. What is the expectation value of momentum?

(a) ℏλ (b) p (c) b (d) −p

17. Two particles of mass m and 4m confined to move along the x-axis are subjected to the force
F (x) = −kx. At time t = 0, the smaller mass m starts from rest at x1 (t = 0) = A and the
larger mass 4m starts from rest at x2 (t = 0) = −A. The point on the x-axis where the first
collision between the two particles occurs is:
A A A (d) x = 0.
(a) x = . (b) x = − . (c) x = − .
2 2 4

18. A point charge q is located at the apex of a cone of height h and base radius h. The flux of the
electric field through the cone due to the point charge is

1 q 1 πq 1 q 1 q
(a) (1 − √ ) (b) (1 − √ ) (c) √ (d) (1 − √ )
2 2πϵ0 2 2ϵ0 2 2ϵ0 2 2ϵ0

19. Which of the following vanishes identically?

((y + x)î + (y − x)ĵ) (xî + y ĵ)

(a) ∇ × (c) ∇ × 2
x2 + y 2 " x +y
2
#
(y î − xĵ) (xî + y ĵ + z k̂)
(b) ∇ × 2 (d) ∇ ·
x + y2 (x2 + y 2 + z 2 )3/2

20. Consider a two-level quantum system described by the Hamiltonian:

H = H0 + H ′

where     

1 0 1 0 ′ 0 1
H0 = α +ω , H = ϵΓ .
0 1 0 −1 1 0

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 H ′ is a small perturbation to the free Hamiltonian H0 . ϵ is a small positive dimensionless
number, while α, ω and Γ have dimensions of energy and are positive quantities. If we treat
this problem perturbatively in the parameter ϵ, which of the following statements about the
corrections to ground state energy is true?
ϵ2 Γ2
(a) First-order correction is ϵΓ; second-order correction is − .
2ω
(b) First-order correction is ϵΓ; second-order correction is 0.
ϵ2 Γ2
(c) First-order correction is 0; second-order correction is − .
2ω
2 2
ϵΓ
(d) First-order correction is 0; second-order correction is .
2ω

Q 21 has been cancelled due to typographical error.

21. The spatial part of a two-electron state is anti-symmetric under exchange. If |↑⟩ and |↓⟩ rep-
resent the spin-up and the spin-down states respectively of each electron, the spin part of the
two-electron state cannot be:
1 1
(a) √ (|↑⟩ |↓⟩ + (|↑⟩ |↓⟩) (c) √ (|↑⟩ |↓⟩ − (|↑⟩ |↓⟩)
2 2
(b) |↑⟩ |↑⟩ (d) |↓⟩ |↓⟩

Q 21 has been cancelled due to typographical error.

22. How many independent real parameters are required to describe an arbitrary N × N Hermitian
matrix?

(a) N 2 − N (b) N 2 (c) 2 N (d) N 2 − 1

23. Two fair six-faced dice are thrown simultaneously. The probability that one of the dice yields
an outcome that is a multiple of 2 and the other yields a multiple of 3 is:
1 1 13 11
(a) (b) (c) (d)
6 3 36 36

24. Convert the octal number 37208 to its decimal equivalent.

(a) 100010 (b) 200010 (c) 202010 (d) 190010

25. A steam engine takes steam from a boiler at 200◦ C (pressure 1.5 × 106 Pa) and exhausts directly
into the air at 100◦ C (pressure 105 Pa) . The maximum possible efficiency is closest to:

(a) 78% (b) 21% (c) 50% (d) 93%

Section B
Correct answer: +9, wrong answer: −3.

5
26. A gas is in equilibrium at temperature T . Using the kinetic theory of gasses, compute the
following quantity:
⟨|⃗v |⟩2
⟨|vx |⟩2 + ⟨|vy |⟩2 + ⟨|vz |⟩2
where ⃗v represents the velocity vector with the components vx , vy , vz and ⟨...⟩ represents the
thermal average of the quantity.

(a) 0 4 (c) 1 1
(b) (d)
3 3

27. Using the first law of thermodynamics dU = T dS − P dV , and the definitions of the thermo-
dynamic potentials H = U + P V , F = U − T S, G = H − T S, work out the four Maxwell
relations. Using these compute:
 ∂T   ∂T   ∂P   ∂V 
χ= + + + .
∂V S ∂P S ∂T V ∂T P
Which of the following does χ equal?
 ∂S   ∂S   ∂V   ∂P   ∂S   ∂S   ∂V   ∂P 
(a) − + − (c) + + −
 ∂V
∂S 
T
 ∂P
∂S 
T ∂S P  ∂S V
 ∂V ∂P  ∂V
∂S 
T
 ∂P
∂S 
T ∂S P
 ∂V ∂S V
 ∂P
(b) − + + (d) + + +
∂V T ∂P T ∂S P ∂S V ∂V T ∂P T ∂S P ∂S V

28. Compute the contour integral: I

zdz
I=
sinh(2πz)
3
where the contour is a circle of radius centred around the origin and the direction is counter-
4
clockwise.

(a) 0 (b) −1 (c) π (d) 1

29. Solve the differential equation,

dy
= xy + xy 2 .
dx
√ e
If y(x = 2) = where e is the base of natural logarithms, compute y(x = 0).
2−e
(a) −1 (b) 1 (c) e (d) 0

30. One mole of an isolated ideal gas in equilibrium at pressure P1 , volume V1 , and temperature T1
undergoes a process that changes its state. In the final state the gas is in equilibrium at pressure
P2 , volume V2 , and temperature T2 . Suppose the ratios of the final and initial temperatures and
pressures are:
T2 P2
ηT = , ηP = .
T1 P1
Work out the change in entropy ∆S in the process. Take the heat capacities of the gas at constant
pressure and constant volume to be Cp and Cv respectively, and the ideal gas constant to be R.

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 (a) Cp ln(ηT ) − R ln(ηP ) (c) Cv ln(ηT ) − R ln(ηP )
(b) Cp ln(ηT ) + R ln(ηP ) (d) Cv ln(ηT ) + R ln(ηP )

31. Two linear polarizers are placed coaxially with the transmission axis of the first polarizer in
the vertical orientation and the second polarizer in the horizontal orientation. A half waveplate
placed coaxially between these crossed polarizers is rotating about its axis at an angular fre-
quency ω. At t = 0, the fast axis of the half waveplate was oriented vertically. A beam of
unpolarized light of intensity I0 is incident along the axis of this optical system. The output
intensity measured by a detector after the beam passes through this optical system is
I0 I0 I0 I0
(a) [1 + cos (ωt)] (b) [1−cos (2ωt)] (c) [1−cos (4ωt)] (d) [1 − cos (ωt)]
4 4 4 2

√
32. A particle of mass 1 kg, angular momentum L = 2 kg m2 /s and total energy E = 3 J
is subjected to a central force field F⃗ = −k⃗r where k = 2 kg/s2 . Which of the following
statements is true? [Note: The centres of all the circles in the options below are at the origin.]
=
r √
3+ 5
(a) The particle is constrained to be in the region outside the circle with radius R = .
2
(b) The particle is bounded within
r the annular region described by the two circles with radii
r √ √
5− 3 5+ 3
r1 = and r2 = .
2 2
(c) The particle is bounded within
r the annular region described by the two circles with radii
r √ √
3− 5 3+ 5
r1 = and r2 = .
2 2 r √
5+ 3
(d) The particle is constrained to be in the region outside the circle with radius R = .
2
=

33. If a power series

∞
X
y= aj x j
j=0

analysis is carried out of the following differential equation

d2 y 1 dy 4
+ − y = 0,
dx2 x2 dx x2
which of the following recurrence relations results?
4 − j(j + 1) 4 − j(j + 1)
(a) aj+1 = aj , j = 0, 1, 2, · · · (c) aj+2 = aj , j = 0, 1, 2, · · ·
j+1 j+1
4 − j(j − 1) 4 − j(j − 1)
(b) aj+2 = aj , j = 0, 1, 2, · · · (d) aj+1 = aj , j = 0, 1, 2, · · ·
j+1 j+1

34. Two semi-infinite wires are placed on the x- axis, one from −∞ to the −d, and the the other
from d to ∞. Both wires carry a steady current I in the same direction. The magnitude of

7
 the magnetic field at a distance d away from the center of this gap in the y-z plane (ignore the
charge accumulation) is:
µ0 I √ µ0 I 1 µ0 I 1
 
µ0 I 1
(a) 2 (b) 1− √ (c) √ (d)
πd 2πd 2 πd 2 πd 2

35. The action corresponding to the motion of a particle in one dimension is:
Z tf h
1 2
i
S= dt mẋ − V (x) + αxẍ + βxẋ
ti 2
where m is the mass of the particle, α, β are constants, and V (x) is a potential which is a
function of x. The position and velocity are held fixed at the end points of the trajectory. The
equation of motion of the particle is
dV dV
(a) (2α + m)ẍ − =0 (c) (2α − m)ẍ − β ẋ − =0
dx dx
dV dV
(b) (2α − m)ẍ + β ẋ − =0 (d) (2α − m)ẍ − =0
dx dx

36. A stationary body explodes into two fragments, each of rest mass m. The two fragments move
apart at speeds ηc (where c is the speed of light and 0 < η < 1) relative to the original body.
The rest mass of the original body is:
2m
p
(a) 2m 1 − η 2 (b) 2m(1 − η 2 ) (c) p (d) 2m
1 − η2

37. Calculate the magnitude of the force experienced by a point charge +q placed at a distance d
from the center of a grounded conducting sphere of radius a (< d).
q 2 ad q2 q2 (d) 0
(a) (b) (c)
4πϵ0 (d2 − a2 )2 4πϵ0 (d − a)2 4πϵ0 d2

38. Consider a quantum particle incident from the left on a step potential given by V0 θ(x), with
energy E(> V0 ); here θ(x) is the unit step function. The scattering state of the particle is given
by
−ipx

ipx
exp
 + r exp , x<0
ψ(x) = ℏ′ ℏ
ip x
t exp
 x>0
ℏ
where p and p′ are the momenta of the particle corresponding to the energy E. Which of the
following is true?
p′ 2 2 p
(a) |r|2 + |t|2 = 1 (b) |r| + |t| = 1 (c) |r|2 + ′ |t|2 = 1 (d) r + t = 1
p
p

39. Consider a spin-1 system whose Ŝz eigenstates are given by |−1⟩ , |0⟩ , |+1⟩ corresponding to
the eigenvalues −ℏ, 0, ℏ. The normalized general state |ψ⟩ of the system can be expressed as
|ψ⟩ = c−1 |−1⟩ + c0 |0⟩ + c+1 |+1⟩ ,

8
 and c−1 , c0 , c+1 are complex numbers. Subjected to the condition ⟨ψ| Ŝz |ψ⟩ = 0, which of the
following statements is true?

(a) |c+1 |2 + 2|c0 |2 = 1 (c) 2|c−1 |2 + |c+1 |2 = 1

(b) |c−1 |2 + 2|c0 |2 = 1 (d) 2|c−1 |2 + |c0 |2 = 1

40. Consider the Op-Amp differentiator presented in Figure (a). Take C = 0.002 µF and Rf = 2
kΩ. For a triangular wave input shown in the figure (b),

a) b)

determine the output voltage waveform.

(a)

(b)

(c)

9
 (d)

41. A beam of light of intensity I0 = 120 W/m2 is incident on the optical system shown in the
figure. BS1 , BS2 , BS3 , and BS4 are ideal, 50/50 beamsplitters (reflects 50% and transmits 50%
of incident light intensity). I1 , I2 , I3 , and I4 are the total intensities measured by detectors.
What will be the intensity I3 ?

(a) 32 W/m2 (b) 20 W/m2 (c) 16 W/m2 (d) 12 W/m2

42. A rod of length l = 1 meter is held on a frictionless horizontal surface at an angle of θ =

60o with the horizontal, as shown in the figure. Take the point of contact of the rod with the
horizontal plane as the origin (x = 0). As the support holding the rod is suddenly removed, the
rod comes in contact with the horizontal surface. What will be the coordinate of the left end of
the rod at the moment of contact?

(a) -0.15 m (b) -0.5 m (c) -0.2 m (d) -0.25 m

43. Consider a particle subjected to the symmetric one-dimensional infinite square well potential:
(
0, |x| ≤ L2
V (x) =
∞, |x| > L2 .
Find the time evolution of the wavefunction ψ(x, t), if at time t = 0 the particle is prepared in
an equal superposition of the ground and the first excited states:
1
ψ(x, 0) = √ (ϕ1 (x) + ϕ2 (x))
2

10
 where ϕ1 (x) and ϕ2 (x) are normalized eigenfunctions of the ground state and the first excited
state respectively. If τ is the smallest time at which the particle is equally likely to be in either
half of the well, select the correct value of
τh
,
mL2
where h is the Planck’s constant, m is the mass of the particle and L is the width of the well as
defined above.
2 1 1 4
(a) (b) (c) (d)
3 3 6 3

44. A conducting spherical soap bubble of radius R with a wall thickness of W (≪ R) is charged
to a potential of V0 . The bubble bursts and becomes a spherical drop with potential Vd . Select
the correct value of the ratio
V 3W
η = d3 .
V0 R
1 1 1 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
3 6 4 3

45. Consider the operator S · n̂ with eigenkets |±⟩n̂ and eigenvalues ± ℏ2 where n̂ is a unit vector
and S is the spin operator. A partially polarized beam of spin- 12 particles contains a 25-75
mixture of two pure ensembles, one with |+⟩ẑ and the other with |+⟩x̂ respectively. What is the
ensemble average of
S · x̂
?
ℏ
1 3 1 3
(a) (b) (c) (d)
3 8 4 16

46. Given the vector ⃗v = y î + 3xĵ, what is the value of the line integral
I
⃗v · d⃗r

along the unit circle (centered at the origin) in an anti-clockwise direction?

2π (b) π (c) 0 (d) 2π
(a)
3

 
1 1 1 2 3

 12 2 3 2 1 

47. Choose the largest eigenvalue of the matrix M = 
 0 0 0 2 2 .

 0 0 3 0 3 
0 0 0 0 1

(a) 3 (b) 5 (c) 8 (d) 10

11
48. A cylinder of height L and cross-section A placed vertically along the central axis is filled
with noninteracting particles each of mass m which are acted upon by a gravitational force of
magnitude mg in the downward direction. The system is maintained at a temperature T . What
is the ratio
Cv (T → 0)
,
Cv (T → ∞)
where Cv is the specific heat at constant volume.
3 3 1 5
(a) (b) (c) (d)
5 2 3 3

49. System A consists of 3 identical non-interacting bosons. System B consists of 2 identical

non-interacting bosons. They both have identical energy spectra - three non-degenerate energy
levels 0, ϵ, 2ϵ. The particles of A and B are distributed in various energy levels in such a way
that the total energy of the combined system is 4ϵ. The average energy of the system A in units
of ϵ is

(a) 2.2 (b) 2.3 (c) 2.1 (d) 2.4

50. Consider the circuit shown in the figure below. C is the capacitance of the capacitor, E is the
voltage provided by the battery and all the resistors are identical. What is the charge stored in
the capacitor in units of CE, once it is fully charged.

3 5 3 5
(a) (b) (c) (d)
4 8 8 4

12
Joint Entrance Screening Test 2023
Subject: Physics
Section A
Correct answer: +3, wrong answer: −1.

Version I
Question
1 (a)
2 (d)
3 (d)
4 (d)
5 (d)
6 (c)
7 (b)
8 (a)
9 (b)
10 (b)
11 (b)
12 (b)
13 (b)
14 (c)
15 (c)
16 (b)
17 (b)
18 (d)
19 (c)
20 (c)
21 (c)
22 (b)
23 (d)
24 (b)
25 (b)
26 (b)
27 (a)
28 (a)
29 (b)
30 (a)
31 (c)
32 (c)
33 (d)
34 (b)
35 (d)
36 (c)
37 (a)
38 (a)
39 (d)
40 (a)
41 (c)

1
 Version I
Question
42 (d)
43 (a)
44 (a)
45 (b)
46 (d)
47 (b)
48 (d)
49 (b)
50 (b)