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Statistical Assignment-01 .

1. A cavity of volume V contains blackbody radiation at an absolute temperature T. Which of

the following option is incorrect? [GATE 1991]

(a) The internal energy of the radiation is proportional to 𝑇𝑇4

(b) The specific heat of radiation is proportional to 𝑇𝑇3

(c) The pressure of the radiation is proportional to 𝑇𝑇4

(d) Although the radiation is in thermal equilibrium, the number of photons in the cavity is
not constant in time.
2. The distribution function 𝑓𝑓(𝜀𝜀) for a photon gas is given by [GATE 1995]
1
(a) exp (−𝜀𝜀/𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘) (b)
exp (𝜀𝜀/𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘)+1

1 1
(c) (d)
exp (𝜀𝜀/𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘)−1 exp (−𝜀𝜀/𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘)−1

3. A microcanonical ensemble represents [GATE 1997]

(a) a system in contact with a heat reservoir
(b) an isolated system in equilibrium
(c) a system that can exchange particles with its surroundings
(d) a system under constant external pressure
4. A system has 𝑁𝑁 distinguishable particles. Each particle can occupy one of the two non-
degenerate states with an energy difference of 0.1𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒. If the system is in thermal equilibrium
at room temperature, the approximate fraction of particles in the higher energy state is:
[GATE 1998]
(a) exp (−10) (b) exp (−4) (c) exp (−2) (d) zero

5. Bose Einstein condensation temperature 𝑇𝑇𝐵𝐵 refers to the temperature below which:
[GATE 1998]
(a) an assembly of Bose gas condenses to the liquid state
(b) there is an appreciable occupation of the ground state in an electron system
(c) there is a significantly large occupancy of the ground state in a system of bosons
(d) the bosons essentially behave like fermions
6. Choose the correct alternatives [GATE 1999]
At the same temperature

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(a) a fermion gas will exert the greatest pressure

(b) a boson gas will exert the greatest pressure
(c) a fermion gas will exert least pressure
(d) a boson gas will exert the least pressure
7. Two particles are said to be distinguishable when [GATE 2000]
(a) the average distance between them is large compared to their de Broglie wavelength
(b) the average distance between them is small compared to their de Broglie wavelength
(c) they have overlapping wave packets
(d) their total wave function is symmetric under particle exchange
8. In canonical ensemble [GATE 2000]
(a) the energy and the temperature are constants
(b) the entropy and, the energy are constants
(c) the temperature and the density are constants

(d) the density and the entropy are constants

9. The Fermi energy of a free electron gas depends on the electron density 𝛿𝛿 as
[GATE 2000]

(a) 𝑃𝑃1/2 (b) 𝑃𝑃2/3 (c) 𝑃𝑃−1/3 (d) 𝑃𝑃−2/3

10. For an energy state 𝐸𝐸 of a photon gas, the density of states is proportional to
[GATE 2001]

(a)√3 (b) 𝐸𝐸 (c) 𝐸𝐸1/2 (d) 𝐸𝐸2

11. The rotational partition function of a diatomic molecule of moment of inertia 𝐼𝐼 at a
temperature 𝑇𝑇 is given by [GATE 2001]
𝐼𝐼𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 2𝐼𝐼𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 3𝐼𝐼𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 𝐼𝐼𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇
(a) (b) (c) (d)
ℏ2 ℏ2 ℏ2 2ℏ2

12. In a classical micro-canonical ensemble for a system of 𝑁𝑁 non-interacting particles, the

fundamental volume in phase space which is regarded as “equivalent to one micro-state” is
(in case of 3D) [GATE 2002]

(a) ℎ3𝑁𝑁 (b) ℎ2𝑁𝑁 (c) ℎ𝑁𝑁 (d) ℎ

where ℎ is the Planck’s constant.
13. Which of the following statements is true? [GATE 2002]

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(a) In a micro-canonical ensemble, the total number of particles 𝑁𝑁 and the energy 𝐸𝐸 are
constants while in a canonical ensemble 𝑁𝑁 and temperature 𝑇𝑇 are constants
(b) In a micro-canonical ensemble the total number of particles 𝑁𝑁 is a constant but the
energy 𝐸𝐸 is variable while in a canonical ensemble 𝑁𝑁 and 𝑇𝑇 are constants
(c) In a macro-canonical ensemble 𝑁𝑁 and 𝐸𝐸 are constants while in a canonical ensemble 𝑁𝑁
and 𝑇𝑇 both vary
(d) In a micro-canonical ensemble 𝑁𝑁 and 𝐸𝐸 are constants while in canonical ensemble 𝑁𝑁 is a
constant but 𝑇𝑇 varies
14. Which of the following relations between the particle number density 𝑛𝑛 and temperature
𝑇𝑇 must hold good for a gas consisting of non-interacting particles to be describe by quantum
statistics? [GATE 2002]

(a) 𝑛𝑛/𝑇𝑇 1/2 << 1 (b) 𝑛𝑛/𝑇𝑇 3/2 << 1

(c) 𝑛𝑛/𝑇𝑇 3/2 >> 1 (d) 𝑛𝑛/𝑇𝑇 3/2 and 𝑛𝑛/𝑇𝑇 1/2 can have any value
15. Which of the following conditions should be satisfied by the temperature 𝑇𝑇 of a system of
𝑁𝑁 non-interacting particles occupying a volume V, for Bose-Einstein condensation to take
place? [GATE 2002]
2/3 3/2
ℎ2 𝑁𝑁 ℎ2 𝑁𝑁
(a) 𝑇𝑇 < 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋𝑘𝑘 � 3 � (b) 𝑇𝑇 < 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋𝑘𝑘 � 3 �
𝐵𝐵 𝑉𝑉𝜍𝜍 � � 𝐵𝐵 𝑁𝑁𝜍𝜍 � �
2 2

1/2 1/2
ℎ2 𝑁𝑁 ℎ2 𝑁𝑁
(c) 𝑇𝑇 < 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋𝑘𝑘 � 3 � (d) 𝑇𝑇 < 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋𝑘𝑘 � 3 �
𝐵𝐵 𝑉𝑉𝜍𝜍 � � 𝐵𝐵 𝑁𝑁𝜍𝜍 � �
2 2

where 𝑚𝑚 is the mass of each particle of the system, 𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 is the Boltzmann constant, ℎ is the
Plank’s constant and 𝜍𝜍 is the well known Zeta function.
16. Consider the Fermi-Dirac distribution function 𝑓𝑓(𝐸𝐸) at room temperature (300K) where
𝐸𝐸 refers to energy If 𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 is the Fermi energy, which of the following is true? [GATE 2003]
(a) 𝑓𝑓(𝐸𝐸) a step function
(b) 𝑓𝑓(𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 ) has a value of 1/2
(c) States with 𝐸𝐸 < 𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 are filled completely
(d) 𝑓𝑓(𝐸𝐸) is large and tends to infinity as 𝐸𝐸 decreases much below 𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹
17. Consider black body radiation in a cavity maintained at 2000𝐾𝐾. If the volume of the cavity
is reversibly and adiabatically increased from 10𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚3 to 640𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚3 , the temperature of the
cavity changes to [GATE 2004]
(a) 800 𝐾𝐾 (b) 700 𝐾𝐾 (c) 600 𝐾𝐾 (d) 500 𝐾𝐾

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18. The number of states for a system of 𝑁𝑁 identical free particles in a three dimensional
space having total energy between 𝐸𝐸 and 𝐸𝐸 + 𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿(𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿 << 𝐸𝐸) is proportional to
[GATE 2005]
3𝑁𝑁 𝑁𝑁 1
(a) �𝐸𝐸 2 −1 � 𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿 (b) 𝐸𝐸 2 𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿 (c) 𝑁𝑁𝐸𝐸 2 𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿 (d) 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿

19. The total number of accessible states of 𝑁𝑁 non interacting particles of spin 1/2 is
[GATE 2005]

(a) 2𝑁𝑁 (b) 𝑁𝑁2 (c) 2𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁/2 (d) 𝑁𝑁

20. The dimension of phase space of ten rigid diatomic molecules is [GATE 2005]
(a) 5 (b) 10 (c) 50 (d) 100
21. A one dimensional random walker takes steps to left or right with equal probability. The
probability that the random walker starting from origin is back to origin after 𝑁𝑁 even number
of steps is [GATE 2005]
𝑁𝑁! 1 𝑁𝑁 𝑁𝑁! 1 2𝑁𝑁 1 𝑁𝑁
(a) 𝑁𝑁 𝑁𝑁 � � (b) 𝑁𝑁 𝑁𝑁 (c) 2𝑁𝑁! � � (d) 𝑁𝑁! � �
� �!� �! 2 � �!� �! 2 2
2 2 2 2

22. If the partition function of a harmonic oscillator with frequency ω at a temperature 𝑇𝑇 is

𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
, then the free energy of 𝑁𝑁 such independent oscillators is : [GATE 2005]
ℏ𝜔𝜔
3 ℏ𝜔𝜔 ℏ𝜔𝜔 ℏ𝜔𝜔
(a) 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 (b) 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 ln (c) 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 ln (d) 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 ln
2 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 2𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘

23. The partition function of two Bose particles each of which can occupy any of the two
energy levels 0 and 𝜀𝜀 is: [GATE 2005]
−2𝜀𝜀� −𝜀𝜀� −2𝜀𝜀� −𝜀𝜀�
(a) 1 + 𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 + 2𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 (b) 1 + 𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 + 𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘

−2𝜀𝜀� −𝜀𝜀� −3𝜀𝜀� −𝜀𝜀�

(c) 2 + 𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 + 𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 (d) 𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 + 𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘

24. A system of non-interacting Fermi particles with Fermi energy 𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 has the density of states
proportional to √𝐸𝐸 where 𝐸𝐸 is the energy of a particle. The average energy per particle at
temperature 𝑇𝑇 = 0 is: [GATE 2005]
1 1 2 3
(a) 𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 (b) 𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 (c) 𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 (d) 𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹
6 5 5 5

25. The pressure for a non-interacting Fermi gas with internal energy 𝑈𝑈 at temperature 𝑇𝑇 is :
[GATE 2005]
3 𝑈𝑈 2 𝑈𝑈 3 𝑈𝑈 1 𝑈𝑈
(a) 𝑃𝑃 = (b) 𝑃𝑃 = (c) 𝑃𝑃 = (d) 𝑃𝑃 =
2 𝑉𝑉 3 𝑉𝑉 5 𝑉𝑉 2 𝑉𝑉

26. A monatomic crystalline solid comprises of 𝑁𝑁 atoms out of which 𝑛𝑛 atoms are in interstitial
positions. If the available interstitial sites are 𝑁𝑁 ′ then number of possible microstates is:
[GATE 2006]
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(𝑁𝑁′ +𝑛𝑛)! (𝑁𝑁+𝑛𝑛)! (𝑁𝑁 ′ +𝑛𝑛)! 𝑁𝑁! 𝑁𝑁! 𝑁𝑁 ′ !

(a) (b) (c) (d)
𝑛𝑛!𝑁𝑁! 𝑛𝑛!(𝑁𝑁’−𝑛𝑛)! 𝑛𝑛!(𝑁𝑁’−𝑛𝑛)! (𝑁𝑁 ′ +𝑛𝑛)! 𝑛𝑛!(𝑁𝑁−𝑛𝑛)! 𝑛𝑛!(𝑁𝑁’−𝑛𝑛)!

27. The phase diagram of free particle of mass m and kinetic energy E moving in one
dimensional box which perfectly elastic walls at 𝑥𝑥 = 0 and 𝑥𝑥 = 𝐿𝐿 is given by [GATE 2006]

28. Each of the two isolated vessels, 𝐴𝐴 and 𝐵𝐵 of fixed volumes, contains 𝑁𝑁 molecules of a
perfect monatomic gas at pressure P. The temperature of 𝐴𝐴 and 𝐵𝐵 are 𝑇𝑇1 and 𝑇𝑇2 , respectively.
The two vessels are brought into thermal contact. At equilibrium, the change in entropy is :
[GATE 2006]
3 𝑇𝑇 2 +𝑇𝑇 2 𝑇𝑇
(a) 𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln � 4𝑇𝑇
1 2
� (b) 𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln �𝑇𝑇2 �
2 𝑇𝑇 1 2 1

1 𝑇𝑇 2 +𝑇𝑇 2
(c) 𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln � 4𝑇𝑇
1 2
� (d) 2𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵
2 𝑇𝑇 1 2

1
29. A system 𝑁𝑁 localized, non-interacting spin ions of magnetic moment 𝜇𝜇 each is kept in an
2
external magnetic field H. If the system is in equilibrium at temperature 𝑇𝑇, then Helmholtz
free energy of the system is: [GATE 2006]
𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇
(a) 𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 ln �cos h � (b) −𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 ln �2cos h �
𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇

𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇
(c) 𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 ln �2cos h � (d) −𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 ln �2 sin h �
𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇

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1
30. The free energy of a photon gas enclosed in a volume V is given by 𝐹𝐹 = − 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 4 where
3
𝑎𝑎 is a constant and 𝑇𝑇 is the temperature of the gas. The chemical potential of photon gas is.
[GATE 2006]
4 1
(a) 0 (b) 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 3 (c) 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 3 (d) 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 −4
3 3

31. A system has energy level 𝐸𝐸0 , 2𝐸𝐸0 , 3𝐸𝐸0 …. where the excited states are triply degenerate.
Four non-interacting bosons are placed in the system. If the total energy of these bosons is
interacting 5𝐸𝐸0 , the number of microstates is: [GATE 2006]
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5
32. It is necessary to apply quantum statistics to a system of particles if? [GATE 2007]
(a) There is substantial overlap between the wavefunctions of the particles.
(b) The mean free path of the particles is comparable to the inter-particle separation.
(c) The particles have identical mass and charge.
(d) The particles are interacting.
𝑎𝑎
33. The free energy for a photon gas is given by 𝐹𝐹 = − � � 𝑉𝑉𝑇𝑇 4 , where 𝑎𝑎 is a constant. The
3
entropy 𝑆𝑆 and the pressure 𝑃𝑃 of the photon gas are: [GATE 2007]
4 𝑎𝑎 1 4𝑎𝑎
(a) 𝑆𝑆 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 3 , 𝑃𝑃 = 𝑇𝑇 4 (b) 𝑆𝑆 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 4 , 𝑃𝑃 = 𝑇𝑇 3
3 3 3 3
4 𝑎𝑎 1 4𝑎𝑎
(c) 𝑆𝑆 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 4 , 𝑃𝑃 = 𝑇𝑇 3 (d) 𝑆𝑆 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 3 , 𝑃𝑃 = 𝑇𝑇 4
3 3 3 3

34. Thermodynamic variables of a system can be volume V, pressure 𝑃𝑃, temperature 𝑇𝑇,
number of particles 𝑁𝑁, internal energy 𝐸𝐸 and chemical potential 𝜇𝜇, etc. For a system to be
specified by microcanonical (MC), Canonical (CE) and Grand Canonical (GC) ensembles, the
parameters required for the respective ensembles are : [GATE 2008]
(a) 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀: (𝑁𝑁, 𝑉𝑉, 𝑇𝑇); 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶: (𝐸𝐸, 𝑉𝑉, 𝑁𝑁); 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺: (𝑉𝑉, 𝑇𝑇, 𝜇𝜇)
(b) 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀: (𝐸𝐸, 𝑉𝑉, 𝑁𝑁); 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶: (𝑁𝑁, 𝑉𝑉, 𝑇𝑇); 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺: (𝑉𝑉, 𝑇𝑇, 𝜇𝜇)
(c) 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀: (𝑉𝑉, 𝑇𝑇, 𝜇𝜇); 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶: (𝑁𝑁, 𝑉𝑉, 𝑇𝑇): 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺: (𝐸𝐸, 𝑉𝑉, 𝑁𝑁)
(d) 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀: (𝐸𝐸, 𝑉𝑉, 𝑁𝑁); 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶: (𝑉𝑉, 𝑇𝑇, 𝜇𝜇): 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺: (𝑁𝑁, 𝑉𝑉, 𝑇𝑇)
35. A photon gas is at thermal equilibrium at temperature T. The mean number of photons
in an energy state 𝜀𝜀 = ℏ𝜔𝜔) is : [GATE 2008]
ℏ𝜔𝜔 ℏ𝜔𝜔 ℏ𝜔𝜔 −1 ℏ𝜔𝜔 −1
(a) exp � �+1 (b) exp � �−1 (c) �exp �𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇� + 1� (d) �exp �𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇� − 1�
𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵

36. Two identical particles have to be distributed among three energy levels, let 𝑟𝑟𝐵𝐵, 𝑟𝑟𝐹𝐹 and
𝑟𝑟𝐶𝐶 represent the ratios of probability of finding two particles to that of finding one particle
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in a given energy state. The subscripts 𝐵𝐵, 𝐹𝐹 and 𝐶𝐶 correspond to whether the particles are
bosons, fermions and classical particles, respectively. The 𝑟𝑟𝐵𝐵: 𝑟𝑟𝐹𝐹 : 𝑟𝑟𝐶𝐶 is equal to: [GATE 2008]
1 1 1 1 1
(a) : 0: 1 (b) 1: : 1 (c) 1: : (d) 1: 0:
2 2 2 2 2

37. Consider a system of two non-interacting classical particles which can occupy any of the
three energy-levels with energy values 𝐸𝐸 = 0, 𝜀𝜀 and 2𝜀𝜀 having degeneracies 𝑔𝑔(𝐸𝐸) = 1,2 and
4 respectively. The mean energy of the system is: [GATE 2008]
4exp �−𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�+8exp �−2𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�
(a) 𝜀𝜀 � 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵
�
1+2exp �−𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�+4exp �−2𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�
𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵

2exp �−𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�+8exp �−2𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�

(b) 𝜀𝜀 � 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵
�
1+2exp �−𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�+4exp �−2𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�
𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵

2
2exp �−𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�+4exp �−2𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�
(c) 𝜀𝜀 � 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵
�
1+2exp �−𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�+4exp �−2𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�
𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵

exp �−𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�+2exp �−2𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�

(d) 𝜀𝜀 � 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵
�
1+exp �−𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�+exp �−2𝜀𝜀�𝑘𝑘 𝑇𝑇�
𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵

38. The probability that an energy level 𝜀𝜀 at a temperature 𝑇𝑇 is unoccupied by a fermion of

chemical potential 𝜇𝜇 is given by
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
𝑒𝑒 (𝜀𝜀−𝜇𝜇)/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 +1 𝑒𝑒 (𝜀𝜀−𝜇𝜇)/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 −1 𝑒𝑒 (𝜇𝜇−𝜀𝜀)/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 +1 𝑒𝑒 (𝜇𝜇−𝜀𝜀)/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 −1

39. Consider the electron gas in a simple metal at room temperature:

(a) This is a degenerate Fermi-Dirac gas.
(b) The gas displays paramagnetism owing to the spins of the electrons.
(c) All the electrons are in the same single particle energy level.
(d) The electrons have wavefunctions localized about the lattice positions of the positive ions.
40. Which of the following atoms cannot exhibit Bose-Einstein condensation, even in
principle? [GATE 2010]

(a) 11𝐻𝐻 (b) 42𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 (c) 23

11𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 (d) 40
19𝐾𝐾

41. For a two-dimensional free electron gas, the electronic density 𝑛𝑛, and the Fermi energy
𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 , are related by: [GATE 2010]
(2𝑚𝑚𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 )3/2 𝑚𝑚𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 𝑚𝑚𝐸𝐸 23/2 (𝑚𝑚𝐸𝐸𝐹𝐹 )1/2
(a) 𝑛𝑛 = (b) 𝑛𝑛 = (c) 𝑛𝑛 = 2𝜋𝜋ℏ𝐹𝐹2 (d) 𝑛𝑛 =
3𝜋𝜋2 ℏ2 𝜋𝜋ℏ2 𝜋𝜋ℏ

42. Across a first order phase transition, the free energy is: [GATE 2013]
(a) proportional to the temperature

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(b) a discontinuous function of the temperature

(c) a continuous function of the temperature but its derivative is discontinuous
(d) such that the first order derivative with respect to temperature is continuous
43. Two gases separated by an impermeable but movable partition are allowed to freely
exchange energy. At equilibrium, the two sides will have the same [GATE 2013]
(a) pressure and temperature (b) volume and temperature
(c) pressure and volume (d) volume and energy
44. The entropy function of a system is given by 𝑆𝑆(𝐸𝐸) = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎(𝐸𝐸0 − 𝐸𝐸) where 𝑎𝑎 and 𝐸𝐸0 are
positive constants. The temperature of the system is: [GATE 2013]
(a) negative for some energies (b) increases monotonically with energy
(c) decreases monotonically with energy (d) zero
45. Consider a linear collection of 𝑁𝑁 independent spin 1/2 particles, each at a fixed location.
The entropy of this system is ( 𝑘𝑘 is the Boltzmann constant) [GATE 2013]
1
(a) Zero (b) 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 (c) 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 (d) 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 ln(2)
2

46. The number of distinct ways of placing four indistinguishable balls into five distinguishable
boxes is __________ .

47. For a gas under isothermal conditions, its pressure 𝑃𝑃 varies with volume V as 𝑃𝑃 ∝ 𝑉𝑉 −5/3.
The bulk modulus 𝐵𝐵 is proportional to [GATE 2014]

(a) 𝑉𝑉−1/2 (b) 𝑉𝑉−2/3 (c) 𝑉𝑉−3/5 (d) 𝑉𝑉−5/3

48. At a given temperature, 𝑇𝑇, the average energy per particle of a non-interacting gas of two
dimensional classical harmonic oscillator is _________ 𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵𝑇𝑇. [GATE 2014]
49. The energy dependence of the density of states for a two dimensional non- relativistic
electron gas is given by, 𝑔𝑔(𝐸𝐸) = 𝐶𝐶𝐸𝐸𝑛𝑛 , where 𝐶𝐶 is constant. The value of 𝑛𝑛 is _________.
[GATE 2015]
50. For a system at constant temperature and volume, which of the following statements is
correct at equilibrium? [GATE 2016]
(a) The Helmholtz free energy attains a local minimum
(b) The Helmholtz free energy attains local maximum
(c) The Gibbs free energy attains a local minimum
(d) The Gibbs free energy attains a local maximum

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51. A two-level system has energy zero and E. The level with zero energy is non-degenerate,
while the level with energy 𝐸𝐸 is triply degenerate. The mean energy of a classical particle in
this system at a temperature 𝑇𝑇 is: [GATE 2016]
𝐸𝐸𝑒𝑒 −𝐸𝐸/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 𝐸𝐸𝑒𝑒 −𝐸𝐸/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 3𝐸𝐸𝑒𝑒 −𝐸𝐸/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 3𝐸𝐸𝑒𝑒 −𝐸𝐸/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇
(a) 1+3𝑒𝑒−𝐸𝐸/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵𝑇𝑇 (b) 1+𝑒𝑒 −𝐸𝐸/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵𝑇𝑇 (c) 1+𝑒𝑒 −𝐸𝐸/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵𝑇𝑇 (d) 1+3𝑒𝑒−𝐸𝐸/𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇

52. Suppose temperature of the sun goes down by a factor of two, then the total power
emitted by the sun will go down by a factor of [GATE 1997]
(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 8 (d) 16
53. A system of 𝑁𝑁 non-interacting and distinguishable particles of spin 1 is in thermodynamic
equilibrium. The entropy of the system is: [GATE 2011]
(a) 2𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln 𝑁𝑁 (b) 3𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln 𝑁𝑁 (c) 𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln 2 (d) 𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln 3
54. The total energy, 𝐸𝐸 of an ideal non-relativistic Fermi gas in three dimensions is given by
5
𝑁𝑁 �3
𝐸𝐸 ∝ 2 where 𝑁𝑁 is the number of panicles and 𝑉𝑉 is the volume of the gas. Identify the
𝑉𝑉 �3
CORRECT equation of state (𝑃𝑃 being the pressure), [GATE 2012]
1 2 5
(a) 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 𝐸𝐸 (b) 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 𝐸𝐸 (c) 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 𝐸𝐸 (d) 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 𝐸𝐸
3 3 3

55. Consider a gas of atoms obeying Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics. The average value of 𝑒𝑒𝑖𝑖𝑎𝑎�⃗⋅𝑝𝑝�⃗
over all the momenta 𝑝𝑝⃗ of each of the particles (where 𝑎𝑎⃗ is a constant vector and 𝑎𝑎 is its
magnitude, 𝑚𝑚 is the mass of each atom, 𝑇𝑇 is temperature and 𝑘𝑘 is Boltzmann’s constant) is,
[GATE 2013]
1 2 3 2
(a) One (b) Zero (c) 𝑒𝑒−2𝑎𝑎 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
(d) 𝑒𝑒−2𝑎𝑎 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

56. Consider a system of 3 fermions, which can occupy any of the 4 available energy states
with equal probability. The entropy of the system is [GATE 2014]
(a) 𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln 2 (b) 2𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln 2 (c) 3𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln 2 (d) 3𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 ln 4
57. For a black body radiation in a cavity, photons are created and annihilated freely as a
result of emission and absorption by the walls of the cavity. This is because [GATE 2015]
(a) the chemical potential of the photons is zero
(b) photons obey Pauli exclusion principle

(c) photons are spin-1 particles

(d) the entropy of the photons is very large
58. In Bose-Einstein condensation, the particles [GATE 2015]
(a) have strong interparticle attraction (b) condense in real space

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(c) have overlapping wavefunctions (d) have large and positive chemical potential
59. The total power emitted by a spherical black body of radius 𝑅𝑅 at a temperature 𝑇𝑇 is 𝑃𝑃1 .
Let 𝑃𝑃2 be the total power emitted by another spherical black body of radius 𝑅𝑅/2 kept at
temperature 2𝑇𝑇. The ratio 𝑃𝑃1 /𝑃𝑃2 is ____________. (Give your answer upto two decimal
places) [GATE 2016]
60. The energy density and pressure of a photon gas are given by 𝑢𝑢 = 𝑎𝑎𝑇𝑇 4 and 𝑃𝑃 = 𝑢𝑢/3,
where 𝑇𝑇 is the temperature and 𝑎𝑎 is the radiation constant. The entropy per unit volume is
given by 𝛼𝛼𝛼𝛼𝑇𝑇 3 . The value of 𝛼𝛼 is _______. (up to two decimal places). [GATE 2017]
61. Consider 𝑁𝑁 non-interacting, distinguishable particles in a two-level system at temperature
𝑇𝑇. The energies of the levels are 0 and 𝜀𝜀, where 𝜀𝜀 > 0. In the high temperature limit (𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇 >
> 𝜀𝜀) , what is the population of particles in the level with energy 𝜀𝜀 ?
[GATE 2017]
𝑁𝑁 𝑁𝑁 3𝑁𝑁
(a) (b) 𝑁𝑁 (c) (d)
2 4 4

62. Consider two particles and two non-degenerate quantum levels 1 and 2. Level 1 always
contains a particle. Hence, what is the probability that level 2 also contains a particle for each
of the two cases: [GATE 2017]
(i) when the two particles are distinguishable and
(ii) when the two particles are bosons?
(a) (i) 1/2 and (ii) 1/3 (b) (i) 1/2 and (ii) 1/2
(c) (i) 2/3 and (ii) 1/2 (d) (i) 1 and (ii) 0
63. The phase space trajectory of an otherwise free particle bouncing between two hard walls
elastically in one dimension is a [GATE 2017]
(a) straight line (b) parabola (c) rectangle (d) circle

64. Consider a 2-dimensional electron gas with a density of 1019 𝑚𝑚−2 . The Fermi energy of the
system is __________𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (up to two decimal places). [GATE 2017]

(𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑒 = 9.31 × 10−31 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘, ℎ = 6.626 × 10−34 𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽, 𝑒𝑒 = 1.602 × 10−19 𝐶𝐶)
65. Two solid spheres A and B have same emissivity. The radius of A is four times the radius
B, and temperature of A is twice the temperature of B. The ratio of the rate of heat radiated
from A to that from B is ___________. [GATE 2018]
66. The energy-wavevector (E-k) dispersion relation for a particle in two dimensions is 𝐸𝐸 =
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶, where 𝐶𝐶 is a constant. If its density of states 𝐷𝐷(𝐸𝐸) is proportional to 𝐸𝐸𝑝𝑝 then the value of
𝑝𝑝 is ___________. [GATE 2019]

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Answer Key

1 A 21 A 41 B 61 A
2 C 22 C 42 C 62 C
3 B 23 B 43 A 63 C
4 * 24 D 44 A 64 2.32 to 2.38
5 C 25 B 45 D 65 256 to 256
6 A 26 D 46 70 66 1
7 A 27 A 47 D 67
8 C 28 C 48 1.99 to 2.01 68
9 B 29 B 49 0 69
10 D 30 A 50 A 70
11 B 31 B 51 D 71
12 A 32 B 52 D 72
13 A 33 A 53 D 73
14 C 34 B 54 B 74
15 A 35 D 55 C 75
16 B 36 D 56 B 76
17 D 37 B 57 A 77
18 A 38 C 58 A 78
19 A 39 A 59 0.25 79
20 D 40 D 60 1.30 to 1.36 80

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