Units & Dimensions

Note : ** Problems require knowledge of quantities from the syllabus of class XII.

 Marked Questions can be used as Revision Questions.

PART - I : SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
**1. Complete the cross word :
1 2

3 4

6 7

8 9

10 11

12

13

14

15 16

Across Down
N
1. Unit of pressure 2 = .........(6) 1. 10–12 m = One ........(9)
m
2. A unit of length measures atomic
distances .......(8)
3. Unit of a physical quantity whose
dimension is M'L2T–3 .......(4)
3. Unit of magnetic flux .......(5)
4. Unit of magnetic field .......(5)
5. A unit of distance that is equal to
3.08 × 1016m, and is used to measure astro
nominal distances .......(6)
 1 
6. Unit of conductance   
 Re sis tance 
which is equivalent to Siemens ......(3)
A quantity whose dimension is same as that
7.
of energy. .......(6)
8. A unit of pressure (1mm of Hg pressure) 9. Number of particles is expressed in.......(4)
.......(4)
10. Abbreviation used for 10–6 .......(5) 11. Unit of a physical quantity which is
dimensionless ......(6)
12. Nuclear distances are measured in .....(5) 12 Unit of capacitance .......(5)
13. Unit of luminous intensity ........(7)
14. Angular speed of a fan is usually written in
........(3)
15. erg/cm = ........(4)
16. Unit of inductance ........(5)
Units & Dimensions
2. If the velocity of light 'c', Gravitational constant 'G' & Plank's constant 'h' be chosen as fundamental
units, find the dimensions of mass, length & time in this new system .

3. Test if the following equations are dimensionally correct :

RT Pr 4 t mg
(a) s = rgh / cos (b) v = (c) V = (d) f =
M0  

where h = height, S = surface tension, v = Speed of sound,  = density, P = pressure, V = volume,

 = coefficient of viscosity, f = frequency and  = moment of inertia.

PART - II : ONLY ONE OPTION CORRECT TYPE

1. Which of the following sets can’t enter into the list of fundamental quantities in any system of units?
(A) length, mass and velocity (B) length, time and velocity
(C) mass, time and velocity (D) length, time and mass

2. A dimensionless quantity

(A) never has a unit (B) always has a unit (C) may have a unit (D) does not exit

3. A unit less quantity

(A) never has a nonzero dimension (B) always has a nonzero dimension
(C) may have a nonzero dimension (D) does not exit

4. Which pair of following quantities has dimensions different from each other.
(A) Impulse and linear momentum (B) Plank’s constant and angular momentum
(C) Moment of inertia and moment of force (D) Young’s modulus and pressure

5. The velocity of water waves may depend on their wavelength , the density of water  and the
acceleration due to gravity g. The method of dimensions gives the relation between these quantities as
(A) v2 = k–1 g –1 –1 (B) v2 = k g  (C) v2 = k g  (D) v2 = k3 g–1–1
where k is a dimensionless constant

6. The value of G = 6.67 × 10–11 N m2 (kg)–2 . Its numerical value in CGS system will be :
(A) 6.67 × 10–8 (B) 6.67 × 10–6 (C) 6.67 (D) 6.67 × 10–5

7. Force applied by water stream depends on density of water (), velocity of the stream (v) and
cross-sectional area of the stream (A). The expression of the force can be
(A) Av (B) Av2 (C) 2Av (D) A2v

8. If unit of length and time is doubled, the numerical value of 'g' (acceleration due to gravity) will be :
(A) doubled (B) halved (C) four times (D) remain same
Units & Dimensions

PART - III : MATCH THE COLUMN

1. Match the following :
Physical quantity Dimension Unit
(1) Gravitational constant 'G' (P) M1L1T–1 (a) N.m
(2) Torque (Q) M–1L3T–2 (b) N.s
(3) Momentum (R) M1 L–1T–2 (c) Nm2/kg2
(4) Pressure (S) M1L2T–2 (d) pascal

2**. Match the following :

Physical quantity Dimension Unit
(1) Stefan's constant '' (P) M1L1T–2A–2 (a) W/m2
(2) Wien's constant 'b' (Q) M1L0T–3K–4 (b) K.m.
(3) Coefficient of viscosity '' (R) M1L0T–3 (c) tesla .m/A
(4) Emissive power of radiation (S) M0L1TºK1 (d) W/m2.K4
(Intensity emitted)
(5) Mutual inductance 'M' (T) M1L2T–2A–2 (e) poise
(6) Magnetic permeability '0' (U) M1L–1T–1 (f) henry

 Marked Questions can be used as Revision Questions.

PART - I : ONLY ONE OPTION CORRECT TYPE
1. Force F is given in terms of time t and distance x by F = A sin C t + B cos Dx. Then the dimensions of
A C
and are given by
B D
(A) MLT–2, M0L0T–1 (B) MLT–2, M0L–1T0 (C) M0L0T0, M0L1T–1 (D) M0L1T–1, M0L0T0

2.** What are the dimensions of electrical resistance?

(A) ML2T–2A2 (B) ML2T–3A–2 (C) ML2T–3A2 (D) ML2T–2A–2

x dx x 
3.  2ax  x
 an sin1   1 . The value of n is :
2 a 
(A) 0 (B) –1 (C) 1 (D) none of these
You may use dimensional analysis to solve the problem.
2ma  2 
4. An unknown quantity "" is expressed as  = log 1 
ma 
where m = mass, a = acceleration,
 
 = length. The unit of  should be
(A) meter (B) m/s (C) m/s2 (D) s–1

e2 h
5._ A quantity  is defined as  = , where e is electric charge,  is the reduced Planck's
40 c 2
constant and c is the speed of light. The dimensions of  are [Olympiad (State-1) 2017]
(A) [M0 L0 T0 0] (B) [M1 L–1 T2 –2] (C) [M2 L1 T–1 0] (D) [M0 L3 T–1 –2]
Units & Dimensions
6._ The equation correctly represented by the following graph is (a and b are constants)

long y

long x
[Olympiad (State-1) 2017]
(A) x + y = b (B) ax2 + by2 =0 (C) x + y = ab (D) y = axb

7._ The physical quantity that has unit volt-second is [Olympiad (State-1) 2017]

(A) energy (B) electric flux (C) magnetic flux (D) inductance

PART - II : SINGLE AND DOUBLE VALUE INTEGER TYPE

a
nRT  RTV
1. In the formula; p  e , find the dimensions of 'a' and 'b', where p = pressure, n = no. of moles,
V b
T = temperature, V = volume and R = universal gas constant.

2. A particle is performing SHM along the axis of a fixed ring. Due to gravitational force, its displacement
at time t is given by x = a sin t.
r

x=0

In this equation  is found to depend on radius of the ring (r), mass of the ring (m) and gravitational
constant (G). Using dimensional analysis, find the expression of  in terms of m, r and G.

PART - III : ONE OR MORE THAN ONE OPTIONS CORRECT TYPE

1. Choose the correct statement(s):
(A) All quantities may be represented dimensionally in terms of the base quantities.
(B) A base quantity cannot be represented dimensionally in terms of the rest of the base quantities.
(C) The dimension of a base quantity in other base quantities is always zero.
(D) The dimension of a derived quantity is never zero in any base quantity.

2. Choose the correct statement(s) :

(A) A dimensionally correct equation may be correct.
(B) A dimensionally correct equation may be incorrect.
(C) A dimensionally incorrect equation may be correct.
(D) A dimensionally incorrect equation must be incorrect.
Units & Dimensions
h
3. A parameter  is given by =
4
(here = Stefan’s constant, h = Planck's constant,  = absolute temperature) then
(A) Dimension of ‘’ will be L2 T2
(B) Unit of ‘’ may be m2 s2

(Weber)()2 (Farad)2
(C) Unit of ‘’ may be
(Tesla)

 R i
(D) Dimension of ‘’ will be equal to dimension of   where R = gas constant, i = Electrical current,
 m 
m = magnetic flux

PART - IV : COMPREHENSION
Comprehension
 a 
The Vander waal equation for 1 mole of a real gas is  P  2  (V – b) = RT where P is the pressure,
 V 
V is the volume, T is the absolute temperature, R is the molar gas constant and a, b are Vander waal
constants.

1. The dimensions of a are the same as those of

(A) PV (B) PV2 (C) P2V (D) P/V

2. The dimensions of b are the same as those of

(A) P (B) V (C) PV (D) nRT

3. The dimensional formula for ab is

(A) ML2 T–2 (B) ML4 T–2 (C) ML6 T–2 (D) ML8 T–2
Units & Dimensions

 Marked Questions can be used as Revision Questions.

* Marked Questions may have more than one correct option.
PART - I : JEE (ADVANCED) / IIT-JEE PROBLEMS (PREVIOUS YEARS)
1.** Some physical quantities are given in Column  and some possible SI units in which these quantities
may be expressed are given in Column . Match the physical quantities in Column  with the units in
Column . [IIT-JEE-2007; 6/184]
Column  Column 
(A) GMeMs (p) (volt) (coulomb) (metre)
G - universal gravitational constant,
Me - mass of the earth,
Ms - mass of the Sun
3RT
(B) (q) (kilogram) (metre)3 (second)–2
M
R - universal gas constant,
T - absolute temperature,
M - molar mass

F2
(C) (r) (metre)2 (second)–2
q2B2
F - force,
q - charge,
B - magnetic field
GMe
(D) (s) (farad) (volt)2 (kg)–1
Re

G - universal gravitational constant,

Me - mass of the earth
Re - radius of the earth

2. Match List with List and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists :
List    List  [JEE (Advanced) 2013; 4/60]
P. Boltzmann constant 1. [ML2T–1]
Q. Coefficient of viscosity 2. [ML–1T–1]
R. Planck constant 3. [MLT–3K–1]
S. Thermal conductivity 4. [ML2T–2K–1]
Codes :
P Q R S
(A) 3 1 2 4
(B) 3 2 1 4
(C) 4 2 1 3
(D) 4 1 2 3
Units & Dimensions
3. To find the distance d over which a signal can be seen clearly in foggy conditions, a railways engineer
uses dimensional analysis and assumes that the distance depends on the mass density  of the fog,
intensity (power/area) S of the light from the signal and its frequency f. The engineer find that d is
proportional to S1/n. The value of n is: [JEE (Advanced) 2014, P-1, 3/60]
4.* Planck's constant h, speed of light c and gravitational constant G are used to from a unit of length L and
a unit of mass M. Then the correct options(s) is (are) [JEE (Advanced) 2015 ; P-1, 4/88, –2]
(A) M  c (B) M  G (C) L  h (D) L  G
5.* In terms of potential difference V, electric current , permittivity 0, permeability 0 and speed of light c,
the dimensionally correct equations(s) is(are) [JEE (Advanced) 2015 ; P-2, 4/88, –2]
(A) 0 2  0 V 2 (B) 0   0 V (C)   0 V (D) 0c  0 V

6. Consider an expanding sphere of instantaneous radius R whose total mass remains constant. The
expansion is such that the instantaneous density  remains uniform throughout the volume. The rate of
 1 d 
fractional change in density   is constant. The velocity v of any point on the surface of the
  dt 
expanding sphere is proportional to [JEE (Advanced) 2017; P-2, 3/61, –1]
(A) R3 (B) R (C) R2/3 (D) 1/R
PARAGRAPH “X”
In electromagnetic theory, the electric and magnetic phenomena are related to each other. Therefore,
the dimensions of electric and magnetic quantities must also be related to each other. In the questions
below, [E] and [B] stand for dimensions of electric and magnetic fields respectively, while [0] and [0]
stand for dimensions of the permittivity and permeability of free space respectively. [L] and [T] are
dimensions of length and time respectively. All the quantities are given in SI units.
(There are two questions based on PARAGRAPH “X”, the question given below is one of them)
[JEE (Advanced) 2018; P-1, 3/60, –1]
7. The relation between [E] and [B] is
(A) [E] = [B] [L] [T] (B) [E] = [B] [L]−1 [T] (C) [E] = [B] [L] [T]−1 (D) [E] = [B] [L]−1 [T]−1
8. The relation between [0] and [0] is
(A) [0] = [0] [L]2 [T]−2 (B) [0] = [0] [L]−2 [T]2 (C) [0] = [0]−1 [L]2 [T]−2 (D) [0] = [0]−1 [L]−2 [T]2

PART - II : JEE (MAIN) / AIEEE PROBLEMS (PREVIOUS YEARS)

1. Which of the following units denotes the dimensions ML2/Q2, where Q denotes the electric charge?
[AIEEE-2006, 3/180]
(1) H/m2 (2) Weber (Wb) (3) Wb/m2 (4) Henry (H)

2. The dimension of magnetic field in M, L, T and C (Coulomb) is given as [AIEEE-2008, 3/105]
(1) MT2C–2 (2) MT–1C–1 (3) MT–2C–1 (4) MLT–1C–1

3. Let [  0] denote the dimensional formula of the permittivity of vacuum. If M = mass, L = length, T = time
and A = electric current, then : [JEE(Main) 2013, 4/120, –1]
(1) [0] = [M–1L–3T2A] (2) [0] = [M–1L–3T4A2] (3) [0] = [M–1L2T–1A–2] (4) [0] = [M–1L2T–1A]

4. A man grows into a giant such that his linear dimensions increase by a factor of 9. Assuming that his
density remains same, the stress in the leg will change by factor of : [JEE (Main) 2017, 4/120, –1]
1 1
(1) (2) 9 (3) (4) 81
81 9
Units & Dimensions

EXERCISE-1 EXERCISE-2
PART - I PART - I
1. 1. (C) 2. (B) 3. (C)
1 2
P A S C A L 4. (A) 5. (A) 6. (D)
 3 4 7. (C)
N W A T T
5
C G P E E
O S A B S PART - II
6
M 7
T O R Q U E 1. [a] = ML5T–2mol–1[b] = L3
H O L
E R S R A Gm
8 9
2.  = (some number) .
T O R R O E M r3
R 10
M  C R O11
PART - III
12
F E R M  A L
13
1. (ABC) 2. (ABD) 3. (ABC)
A C A N D E L A
14
R P M  PART - IV
A A 1. (B) 2. (B) 3. (D)
15 16
D Y N E H E N R Y
EXERCISE-3
2. [M] = [h1/2.C1/2.G–1/2] ; [L] = [h1/2. C–3/2.G1/2] ;
PART – I
[T] = [h1/2 . C–5/2 . G1/2] 1. (A)  (p), (q) ; (B) (r), (s) ;

3. All are dimensionally correct. (C) (r), (s) ; (D)  (r), (s)
2. (C) 3. 3 4. (ACD)
PART - II 5. (AC) 6. (B) 7. (C)
1. (B) 2. (C) 3. (A) 8. (D)
4. (C) 5. (B) 6. (A)
7. (B) 8. (A)
PART - II
PART - III 1. (4) 2. (2) 3. (2)
4. (2)
1. (1)  (Q)  (c) ; (2) (S) (a)
(3) (P) (b) ; (4) (R) (d)
2. (1)  (Q)  (d) ; (2) (S) (b)
(3) (U) (e) ; (4) (R) (a)
(5) (T) (f) ; (6) (P) (c)