1

CSIR NET-JRF GATE,JEST, TIFR

CLASSICAL MECHANICS
ASSIGNMENT - PROBLEMS ON GIVEN LAGRANGIAN
1. The dimension of action are 4. Lagrange’s equation of motion
(a) ML2T -2 (b) MLT -2 d  T  T
   Qi can also be written as
(c) MLT -1 (d) ML2T -1 dt  qi  qi

2. The potential energy of a classical particle moving T T T T

(a)    Qi (b) 2  Qi
in one dimension is kx4, where k is a constant. If qi qi qi qi
the particle moves from a point x1 at time t1 to a
T T T T
point x2 at time t2, the actual path followed by the (c)    Qi (d) 2   Qi
qi qi qi qi
particle is that which makes the following integral
extremum. 5. A particle of mass m moves in a potential
1 1
t2 1 2 4
V  x   m 2 x 2  m v 2 where x is the posi-
(a) 
t1  mv  kx  dt
2 
2 2
tion coordinate, v is the speed, and  and  are
constants. The canonical (conjugate) momentum
t2 1 2 4 of the particle is :
(b)  t1  mv  kx  dt
2  (a) p  m 1    v (b) p  mv
t2 1 2 3 (c) p  m  v (d) p  m 1    v
(c) 
t1  mv  4kx  dt
2  6. The Lagrangian of a point particle is
t2  1
3 1 2 1 2 2
(d) t1  mv  4kx  dt mx   x   x 4   xx 2
2
L
2  2 2
3. The Lagrangian of a particle of mass m moving in Its equaion of motion is
a plane is given by
(a) mx   x 2   2 x  4 x 3  0
L 1  2  m V X
2
 VY 2   a  XVY  YVX  , (b) mx   x 2   2 x  4 x 3  0
Where VX and VY are velocity components and (c)  m  2 x  
x   x 2   2 x  4 x3  0
a is a constant. The canonical momenta of the par-
ticle are given by : (d)  m   x  
x   x 2   2 x  4 x3  0
(a) PX  mVX and PY  mVY 7. With reference to a cylindrical polar coordinate

system, a particle of charge q and momentum p
(b) PX  mVX  ay and PY  mVY  aX is moving in an electric potential  ( r ) . Which of
(c) PX  mVX  aY and PY  mVY  aX the following are conserved?
(a) pr (b) p
(d) PX  mVX  aY and PY  mVY  aX
(c) pz (d) rp

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8. Lagrangian for a charged particle with charge e 13. The equaion of motion of a system described by
and mass m moving in an electromagnetic field with the time-dependent m r
Lagrangian

scalar potential   x, y, z  and A  x, y , z  vector 1 
L  e t  mx 2  V ( x )  is [NET Dec. 2014]
potential is given 2 
 1 e   dV
L  mv 2  e  A  v (a) mx   mx  0
2 c dx
dV
Expression for generalised momentum is (b) mx   mx  0
dx
(a) zero (b) mv dV
(c) mx   mx  0
 e   e  dx
(c) mv  A (d) mv  e  A dV
c c
(d) mx  0
dx
9. The Lagrangian of a particle moving in a plane un- 14. Lagrangian of a system is
der the influence of a central potential is given by .
1 1 
1 L  e t  mx 2  kx 2  where  , m and k are
2
 
L  m r 2  r 2 2  V ( r ) The generalized mo- 2 2 
positive constants. Equation of motion of system
menta corresponding to r and  are given by :
is,
(a) mr and mr 2 (b) mr and mr  k k
(a) 
x   x  x0 (b) 
x   x  x0
(c) mr and mr  (d) mr 2 and mr 2 2
2 2
m m
10. Generalised potential for a system is k k
(q  q ) 2 (c) 
x   x  x  0 (d) 
x   x  x  0
U (q, q )  , corresponding generalised m m
2 15. A particle of mass m moves along x-axis under
force is
(a) q  q (b) q  q 2k
the action of a force F  . Its motion is de-
x3
(c) q  q (d) q  q
scribed by the Lagrangian
11. A particle is moving under the action of a general-
(1  q ) m  dx  k
2
m  dx  2k
2
ized potential, V (q, q )  . The magnitude (a)    2 (b)    3
q2 2  dt  x 2  dt  x
of the generalized force is:
2 2
[GATE 2011] m  dx  k m  dx  2k
(c)    2 (d)    3
2(1  q ) 2(1  q ) 2  dt  x 2  dt  x
(a) (b)
q3 q3 16. Lagrangian of a system in cartesian coordinate is
2 q 1 1
(c)
q3
(d)
q3
L
2
 
m x 2  y 2  k  xy
2
 .
  yx
m r l mm2klplm
12. Lagrangian of a particle is Its Lagrangian in plane polar coordinates ( r, ) 
1 2 1 will be
L 
x  y 2   xy   , Then which of
  yx 1
2 2
2
2

(a) m r  r 
2 2
  12 kr 
2

the following option is correct?

1
d 2x
(a) 2  x  0
d 2 x dx
(b) 2  0 2
2

(b) m r  r 
2 2
  12 kr 
2

dt dt dt 1
3 2 3 2

(c) m r  r 
2 2 2
  12 kr 
2 2

d x d x d x dx
(c)  0 (d)  0 1
dt 3 dt 2 dt 3 dt
2
2

(d) m r  r 
2 2
  12 kr 
2 2

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17. If a generalised co-ordinate q is ignorable or cy-  
clic in a Lagrangian L, then the following is con- (a) (b)
 2
served.
 
L L (c) (d)
3 4
(a) (b)
q t
23. Lagrangian of a system is
L d  L  m 2 qB
(c) 
q
(d)  
dt  t  L
2
 
x  y 2  z 2  qEy 
c
yx . Which of
18. Ignorable coordinates of the system correspond- the following is not correct.
ing to the Lagrangian qBy
(a) mx   constant
1  2 2 2 1
  
   sin      cos   k cos   c
2
L
2 2 qBy
(b) mz  = constant
Where  ,  and  are generalized coordinates c
qBy
and k is a constant parameter, are (c) my   qEt  constant
(a)  and  (b)  and  c
qBy
(c)  and  (d)  ,  and  (d) my   qEt  constant
c
19. Lagarangian of a system is L  qk qk  1  qk2 , 24. A possible Lagrangian for a free particle is
[JEST 2017]
equation of motion of the system is
(a) qk  qk  0 (b) qk  0 (a) L  q 2  q 2 (b) L  q 2  qq
1
(c) qk  qk  0 (d) qk  qk qk  0 (d) L  q 
2
(c) L  q 2  q
q
20. Lagrangian of a particle is 25. Lagrangian of a particle is
1 2 1 1
L mx  m 2 x 2  m 2 xxt
 . If at t = 0, x L  
m x 2  y 2    xy  yx  . If at t = 0, x
2 2 2
= 0 and x  v0 then velocity of particle at the = 0, y = 0, x  v0 , y  0 then speed of the par-
moment particle is at x = A is ticle at t = t will be
(a) v0 (b)  A
t
(a) v0 (b) v0 cos
(c) zero (d) v  A
2
0
2 2
m
 t  t
t  1 1 2 2
(c) v e m  (d) v0 cos
The Lagrangian, L  e  mq  kq 
2
21. 0 m
2 2 
26. Lagrangian of a particle is
describes a
(a) simple harmonic oscillator of amplitude  1 1
L  mx 2  Kx2   x . If x  0 at x  0 then x
(b) dampe-driven oscillator of damping factor  2 2
and driving force sin  t 2 as a function of x can be written as
(c) driven oscillator of driving force sin  t  x  Kx 2  x  Kx 2
(a) (b)
(d) damped harmonic oscillator of damping factor m 2m
. 2 x  Kx 2
2 x  Kx 2
(c) (d)
1 2 1 2m m
Lagrangian of a particle is L  mx  m x
2 2
22.
2 2 27. The dynamics of a particle governed by the
. If at t  0, x  A, x  0, then at what time 1 2 1 2
Lagrangian L  mx  kx  kxxt
 describes
A 2 2
particle reaches x  for the first time. [NET Dec. 2016]
2
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4 444
(a) an undamped simple harmonic oscillator (b) x  c1e  c2t  c3
(b) a damped harmonic oscillator with a time vary- m r
ing damping factor (c) x  c1 sin  c2t  c3 
(c) an undamped harmonic oscillator with a time
dependent frequency (d) x  c1e  c2t sin  c2t  c3 
(d) a free particle
33. A system with one degree of freedom has
28. The Lagrangian of a particle is given by 1 2
Lagrangian, L  mx  mAtx . The equation of
L  q  qq . Which of the following statements
2
2
is true? [JEST 2015] x(t) under the initial conditions t = 0, x = 0, p =
(a) This is a free particle mv0, is
(b) The particle is experiencing velocity depen- A 3 A 3
dent damping (a) v0t  t (b) v0t  t
2 2
(c) The particle is executing simple harmonic mo- 3
A 3
At
tion (c)  v0t (d) t  v0t
6 3
(d) The particle is under constant acceleration 2
1  dq  1
29. The Lagrangian of a particle of mass m moving in 34. If the Lagrangian L0  m    m 2 q 2 is
2  dt  2
one dimensions is given by [NET June. 2013]
 dq 
1 2 modified to L  L0  aq   , which one of the
L mx  bx  dt 
2 following is TRUE? [GATE 2017]
Where b is a positive constant. The coordinate (a) Both the canonical momentum and equation of
of the particle x(t) at time t is given by : (in the motion do not change
following c1 and c2 are constants) (b) Canonical momentum changes, equation of
b 2 motion does not change
(a)  t  c1t  c2 (c) Canonical momentum does not change, equa-
2m
tion of motion changes
(b) c1t + c2
(d) Both the canonical momentum and equation
 bt   bt  of motion change
(c) c1 cos    c2 sin  
m m 35. The Lagrangian of a system is given by
 bt   bt  1 2 1
(d) c1 cos h    c2 sin h   L q  qq  q 2 .It describes the motion of
m m 2 2
30. Lagrangian of a particle is [GATE 2008]
1 (a) A harmonic oscillatior.
L
2
 
m r 2  r 2 2  V  r  . Which of the fol- (b) A damped harmonic oscillator.
(c) An anharmonic oscillator
lowing options is correct?
(d) Asystem with unbounded motion.
1 1
(a)   (b)   2
r r 1 2 1 2 m dL r l mm4klplm
36. If L  mx  kx then is equal to
(c)   r (d)   r 2 2 2 dt
1 2 1 2 kxp x kxpx
31. Lagrangian of a system is L  mx  kx Then x (a)  (b)
2 2 m m
versus x graph is 2kxp x 2kxpx
(a) straight line (b) circle (c)  (d)
m m
(c) ellipse (d) parabola
Lagrangian of a system is L  ax 2  bx 2 then 1 2
32. 37. If a Lagrangian of a system is L  qq , then
2
(a) x  c1t  c2t 2  c3 solution of Lagrange’s equation yields (if q = 0 at

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t=0)  ˆ 2 at t = 0. The action S of the particle,
a  10ims
(a) q  t 2 3 (b) q  t1 2 in units of J-s, at t = 2s is __________.
(c) q  t 2 (d) q  t 3 2 (Give your answer upto two decimal places).
[GATE 2016]
38. The Lagrangian of a system is given as
43. Three particles of mass m each situated at x1(t),
1
L
2
 
m x 2  y 2  z 2  mgz , then system has
x2(t) and x3(t) respectively are connected by two
springs of spring constant k and Un-streteched
rotational symmetry about length  . The system is free to oscillate only in
(a) x axis only (b) y axis only one dimension along the straight line joining all the
(c) z axis (d) x and y axis both three particles. The Lagrangian of the system is :
m  dx1   dx2   dx3  
2 2 2
39. The Lagrangian of a particle moving in a plane is (a) L       
given in Cartesian coordinates as 2  dt   dt   dt  
  x 2  y 2 . In polar coordinates the ex-
L  xy k k
 x1  x2      x3  x2   
2 2
pression for the canonical momentum pr (conju- 
2 2
gate to the radial coordinate r) is
m  dx1   dx2   dx3  
2 2 2

(b) L        
[NET Dec. 2015] 2  dt   dt   dt  
(a) r sin   r cos  k k
 x1  x3      x3  x2   
2 2

(b) r cos   r sin  2 2
(c) 2r cos 2  r sin 2  2 2 2

(c) L  m  dx1    dx2    dx3  
(d) r sin 2  r cos 2 2  dt   dt   dt  
k k
  x1  x2      x3  x2   
2 2
40. Four Lagrangian function are given to be
2 2
L1  f ( x, x ), L2  f ( x, x )  A( xy  yx )
m  dx   dx   dx  
2 2 2

L3  f ( x, x )  A( xx  yy ), (d) L   1    2    3  

2  dt   dt   dt  
L4  f ( x, x )  A( xy  yx )
k k
 x2  x1      x3  x2   
2 2
Which of these Lagrangian functions give same 
2 2
equation of motion 44. A mass m is connected on either side with a spring
(a) L1 and L2 (b) L1 and L3 only each of spring constants k1 and k2. The ends of
springs are tied to rigid supports. The displace-
(c) L1 , L3and L4 (d) L2 and L3
ment of the mass is x from equilibrium position.
41. A particle of mass m moving in one-dimensional x Which one of the following is TRUE?
1
is subjected to the Lagrangian L  m( x   x ) 2 ,
2 m
where  is a real constant. If it starts at the origin
at t = 0, its motion corresponds to the equation (a
(a) The force acting on the mass is  k1  k2  x
12
is a constant). [TIFR 2018]
(a) x  a exp  t
(b) The angular momentum of the mass is zero
(b) x  a 1  exp   t  about the equilibrium point and its Lagrangian is
(c) x  a sin t 1 2 1
mx   k1  k2  x 2
(d) x  a sinh t 2 2
42. A particle of mass m = 0.1 kg is initially at rest at 1 2
origin. It starts moving with a uniform acceleration (c) The total energy of the system is mx
2

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(d) The angular momentum of the mass is zero 1
(b) m  a  b    mga m r
2 2 2
and the Lagrangian of the system is
2
m 2 1
x   k1  k 2  x 2 1  b2  2
(c) m  2  1 z  mgz
2 2
Statement for Linked Answer Q.45 and Q.46 2 a 
A particle of mass m slides under the gravity with-
1  b2  2
out friction along parabolic path y = ax2 as shown (d) m  2  1 z  mgz
in the figure. Here a is a constant. 2 a 
[GATE 2012] 48. In the figure shown, two masses are suspended
y from a light pully of radius R, length of string is l.
Lagrangain of the system in terms of ‘x’ is
m

45. The Lagrangian for this particle is given by,

1 2
(a) L  mx  mgax 2 x
2
1
(b) L 
2
 
m 1  4a 2 x 2 x 2  mgax 2
m2
m1

1 2
(c) L  mx  mgax 2
2
1
1 (a)  m1  m2  x 2  m1 gx  m2 g    x   R 
2

(d) L  m 1  4a x x  mgax
2 2 2
2 2
1
46. The Lagrange’s equation of motion of the particle (b)  m1  m2  x 2  m1 gx  m2 g    x   R 
2
is
(a) 
x  2 gax 1
 m1  m2  x 2  m1 gx  m2 g   x   R 
(c)
2
(b) m 1  4a x  
x  2mgax  4ma 2 xx 2
2 2

1
(c) m 1  4a x
 m1  m2  x 2  m1 gx  m2 g    x   R 
2 2
 
x  2 mgax  4ma 2 xx 2
(d)
2
(d) 
x  2 gax 49. A particle of mass ‘m’ moves in horizontal plane
along the curve s   as shown in figure, where
47. A particle of mass ‘m’ moves under gravity along
a spiral curve shown in figure . The equation of  is angle made by tangent to the curve with x-
the spiral is z  a and r = b = constant . axis and s is the distance coverved along the curve.
Lagrangian of particle is
Lagrangian of the system is
z y m r l mm6klplm


x
r


y
1 1
(a) m 2 2 (b) m 2 sin 2   2
2 2
x
1
1 m 2 cos 2   2 (d) m 2 sin 2   2
2
2

(a) m a  b   mga
2 2
 (c)
2

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50. In previous question if equation of path of the par- 54. A ball of mass m slides under gravity without fric-
ticle be s  4 sin  then its lagrangian is tion inside a semicircular depression of radius a
inside a fixed block placed on a horizontal sur-
(a) 4m 2 2 1  cos 2  face, as shown in the figure. The equation of mo-
(b) 4m 2 2 1  cos 2 
tion of the ball in the x-direction will be
[TIFR 2013]
(c) 2m 2 1  cos 2  z
x
(d) 8m  2 cos 2 
2

51. The parabolic coordinates (  , ) are related to

the Cartesian coordinates (x, y) by x   and
1 2
y
2
 
   2 . The Lagrangian of a two-di-
(a) 
x
g x2
x 1 2 (b) 
x
g
x
a a a
mensional simple harmonic oscillator of mass m
and angular frequency  is g g x2
[NET Dec. 2016] (c) 
x x (d) 
x   x 1 2
a a a
1  2
(a)
2

m    2   2  2   2   55. A particle of mass m moves in a potential
1 1
V  x  m 2 x 2  m v 2 where x is the posi-
1 2  2 1 2 2 2 

2
2


2

4

(b) m               

 2 2
tion coordinate, v is the speed, and  and  are
constants. The canonical (conjugate) momentum
1  1 
(c)
2
 

m  2   2   2   2   2 
2 
of the particle is :
(a) p  m 1    v (b) p  mv
1 2  2 1 2
2


2

4 

(d) m          
2
(c) p  m  v (d) p  m 1    v
56. A particle of mass ‘m’ moves inside a bowl. If the
52. A particle of mass m moves in a tube that rotates surface of the bowl is given by the equation
in the x-y plane about the z-axis with a constant 1
angular velocity  . The Lagrangian equation for z
2
 
a x 2  y 2 , Where a is a constant, the
the system is given by
Lagrangian of the particle is:
(a) 
r   2r  0
1
(b) 
r   2r  0 (a)
2

m r 2  r 22  gar 2 
(c) 
r   2 r sin t  0
1 
(d) 
r   2 r cos t  0 (b)
2 
 
m 1  a 2 r 2 r 2  r 22 
53. A particle of mass M moves on a plane in the field
1

of force given by F   rˆ kr cos  , where k is a (c)
2

m r 2  r 2 2  r 2 sin 2  2  gar 2 
constant and r̂ is the radial unit vector. The cor--
1
(d) m 1  a r  r  r   gar 
2 2 2 2 2 2
responding Lagrangian equation for the coordi-
nate r reads. 2
57. Consider two frame of references S and S  . S 
(a) Mr  Mr 2  kr cos   0
(b) Mr  Mr 2  0 is moving with velocity v0iˆ with respect to S. If

(c) Mr  Mr 2  0 Lagrangian of a particle is L ( x, x , t ) in S frame

d then in S  frame its Lagrangian L( x, x , t ) will be

(d)
dt

Mr 2  0
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8 888
1 2 1 1 m r
 0
(a) L  mv0  mxv (a) Mx 2  kx 2
2 2 2
1 2 1 1
 0
(b) L  mv0  mxv (b)  M  m  x 2  kx 2
2 2 2
1 2 1 1 2 1 2
 0
(c) L  mv0  mxv (c) mx  kx
2 2 2 2
1 2 1 m 2 1 2
 0
(d) L  mv0  mxv (d)  M   x  kx
2 2 3 2
58. The Lagrangian of a particle with respect to a sta- 61. A rod of mass m and length l is suspended from
tionary frame S is L. If the motion of the particle is two massless vertical springs with a spring con-
studied from another inertial frame S  moving with stants k1 and k2. What is the Lagrangian for the
a constant relative velocity with respect to S un- system, if x1 and x2 be the displacements from
der the same potential, then equilibrium position of the ends of the rod ?
[JEST 2017]
(a) both the Lagrangian and the equations of mo-
tion remain unchanged. m 2 1 1
(b) the Lagrangian is modified by addition of a (a)
8
 
x1  2 x1 x2  x22  k1 x12  k 2 x22
2 2
total time derivative of a scalar function and the
equations of motion change. m 2 1
(c) the Lagrangian is modified by addition of a to- (b)
2
  
x1  x1 x2  x22   k1  k 2  x12  x22
4

tal time derivative of a scalar function and the equa-
m 2 1 1
tions of motion remain unchanged (c)
6
 
x1  x1 x2  x22  k1 x12  k2 x22
2 2
(d) the Lagrangian is modified by a constant fac-
tor and the equations of motion change. m 2 1
(d)
4
  
x1  2 x1 x2  x22   k1  k2  x12  x22
4

59. The Lagrangian of a particle of charge e and mass
m in applied electric and magnetic fields is given q2
Consider the Lagrangian, L  1  1  q 
2
1 2  62.
 2
by L  mv  eA.v  e , where A and  are
2 of a particle executing oscillations whose ampli-
the vector and scalr potentials corresponding to tude is A. if p denotes the momentum of the par-
the magnetic and electric fields, respectively. Which ticle, then 4p2 is [JEST 2018]
of the following statements is correct?
(a)  A  q  4  A  q 
2 2 2 2
[NET June. 2011]
(a) The canonically conjugate momentum of the (b)  A  q  4  A  q 
2 2 2 2
 
particle is given by p  mv
(c)  A  q  4  A  q 
2 2 2 2
(b) The Hamiltonian of the particle is given by

p2 e   (d)  A  q  4  A  qm 
2 2 2 2 r l mm8klplm
H  A. p  e
2m m Statement for Linked Q. 63 and Q. 64.
(c) L remains unchanged under a gauge A particle of mass m is constrained to move in a
transformotion of the potentials. vertical plane along a trajectory given by
(d) Under a gauge transformotion of the poten-
x  A cos  , y  A sin  , Where A is a constant :
tials, L changes by the total time derivative of a
function of r and t
[GATE]
63. The Lagrangian of the particle is :
60. A block of mass ‘M’ is attached to a spring of
1
mass ‘m’ and spring constant ‘k’. If ‘x’ be dis-
(a) mA2 2  mgA cos 
placement of block from mean position. Lagrangian 2
of the system is
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 9
1
(b) mA2 2  mgA sin  l
2 1
m
1
(c) mA 
2 2
l
2 2
m
1
(d) mA   mgA cos 
2 2

2 2g 2g
(a) 21  2  1  0, 1  2   2  0
64. The equation of motion of the particle is :  
2g g
(b) 21  2  1  0, 1  2   2  0
g g
(a)   cos   0 (b)   sin   0
 
A A
2g 4g
(c) 1  2  1  0, 1  2   2  0
g
(c)   0 (d)  
sin   0
 
A
65. A double pendulum consists of two point masses 2g 4g
m attached by massless strings of length l as shown (d) 1  22 
1  0, 1  2   2  0
 3
in the figure : [NET Dec. 2011] 68. The Lagrangian for a mechanical system is
L  aq 2  bq 4 , where q is a generalized coordi-
t
nate and a and b are constants. The equation of
1
m motion for this system is

t b 2 2b 3
(a) q  q (b) q  q
2 a a

2b 3 2b 3
The kinetic energy of the pendulum is : (c) q   q (d) q   q
a a
1 2 2 2
(a) m 1   2  69. Lagrangian of a charged particle moving in elec-
2 
1 2 2 2
tromagnetic potential A,  is  
(b) m  21   2  212 cos 1   2  
2 1 2   
1 2 2
L
2
mv  q  qA  v . If A,  are trans-  
(c) m 1  22  212 cos 1   2  
2

2 formed by using gauge transformation of electro-

magnetic potential
1 2 2  2
(d) m  21   2  212 cos 1   2        f ( r , t )
2    
A,   A,   , A  A  f  r , t  ,     
t
66. The Lagrangian for a symmetric top is given by
The transformed Lagrangian has cononical mo-
1 1
I1 ( 2   2 sin 2  )  I 3    cos   mentum.
2
L 
(b) mv
2 2 
(a) mv  qA
 Mgl cos       
(c) mv  qA  qf (d) mv  qA  qf
where  ,  , are the Euler angles. Then the fol-
70. Which of the following terms, when added to the
lowing are conserved quantities:
Lagrangian L  x, y, x, y  of a system with two
(a) p and p (b) p and p
degrees of freedom, will not change the equations
(c) p and p (d) p , p and p of motion? [NET DEC 2019]
67. Equations of motion for small oscillation of double
(a) xx  yy (b) xy  yx
pendulum shown in figure are
(c) xy  yx (d) yx 2  xy 2

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10 101010
71. The motion of a particle in one dimension is (a) Both L and L ' satisfy the Euler-Lagrange’s
described by the Langrangian m sr
equations of motion
1   dx  
2
(b) If pi is conserved, then pi' is necessarily con-
L      x 2  in suitable units. The value
2   dt  
 served
of the action along the classical path from x = 0 
(c) pi  pi  q g  qi , t 
'
at t = 0 to x = x0 at t  t0 , is i
[NET DEC 2018]
d
x02 1 2 (d) H '  H  g  qi , t 
(a) (b) x0 tan t0 dt
2sin 2 t0 2
75. A uniform block of mass M slides on a smooth
1 2 x 2 horizontal bar. Another mass m is connected to it
0
(c) x0 cot t0 (d) by an inextensible string of length l of negligible
2 2 cos 2 t0
mass, and is constrained to oscillate in the X-Y
72. The Lagrangian of a free relativistic particle (in one-
plane only. Neglect the sizes of the masses. The
dimension) of mass m is given by L  m 1  x 2 , number of degrees of freedom of the system is
where x  dx / dt . If such a particle is acted upon two and the generalized coordinates are chosen
by a constant force in the direction of its motion, as x and  as shown in the figure.
the phase space trajectories obtained from the x
M
corresponding Hamiltonian are
[NET June 2017] 0 X
(a) ellipses (b) cycloids 
(c) hyperbolas (d) parabolas
73. Consider the motion of a particle in two dimen-
sions given by the Lagrangian
m 2 
L
2
 x  y 2    x  y 
4
2 Y m
If px and p are the generalized momenta
where   0 . The initial conditions are given as corresponding to x and  , respectively, then the
y  0   0, x  0   42 meters, x  0   y  0   0 . correct option(s) is(are) [GATE 2021]
What is the value of x  t   y  t  at t = 25 sec- (a) p is conserved
onds in meters? [JEST 2019] (b) p  ml 2  ml cos  x
74. The time derivative of a differentiable function
(c) px is conserved
g  qi , t  is added to a Lagrangian L  qi , qi , t 
such that (d) px   m  M  x  ml cos

d 76. Which one of the following

m sets r correctly repre-
l mm10klplm
L '  L  qi , qi , t   g  qi , t  sents the Hamiltonian’s equations of motion ob-
dt
tained from the Lagrangian
where qi , qi , t are the generalized coordinates,
1 1
generalized velocitites and time, respectively. Let L   m 2 xy ?
mxy [JEST 2021]
2 2
pi be the generalized momentum and H the Hamil-
1
tonian associated with L  qi , qi , t  . If pi' and H ' (a) mx  2 p y , p x   m 2 y,
2
are those associated with L ' , then the correct 1
my  2 px , p y   m 2 x
option(s) is/are: [GATE 2021] 2

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 11

(a) 2mR   2kR 1  cos    mgR cos 2
2 2 2 2
1
(b) mx  2 p y , p x   m 2 x,
2 1
mR 2 2  2kR 2 1  cos    mgR cos 2
2
1 (b)
my  2 p x , p y   m 2 y 2
2
(c) mR 2 2  2kR 2 1  cos    mgR cos 2
2

(c) mx  p x , p x   m x,
2
1
mR 2 2  2kR 2 1  cos    mgR cos 
2
(d)
my  p y , p y  m 2 y 2
80. In previous question, equation of motion of bead
for small value of  is
(d) mx  p y , p x   m y ,
2

g 2g
my  px , p y   m 2 x (a)    0 (b)    0
R R
77. The Lagrangian of a particle of mass m moving in g 4g
two dimension is (c)    0 (d)    0
2R R
1 k
L
2
  
m x 2  y 2  x 2  y 2 .
2
 81. A particle of mass ‘ m’ moves on the inner surface
of inverted cone of half vertex angel  , if spheri-
If the particle has a finite angular momentum l about cal polar co-ordinates are taken as generalized co-
the origin, then we may conclude that it executes ordinates, Lagrangian of the system particle is
(a) Oscillatory motion about the origin r = 0
(b) Periodic motion with a constant value of r z
(c) Oscillatory motion along the x-axis.
(d) Oscillatory motion along the y-axis.
78. Lagrangian of a system is
  x2 x
 y
L  x, x   e  e  2 x  e  d  . Its equa-
 x2 O
2

 0 
tion of motion is
x
(a) 
x x 0 (b) 
xx0
(c)  (d) 
x  x 2  0 1
x  x2  0
(a)
2
 
m r 2  r 22 sin 2   mgr cos 
79. A bead of mass m moves along a fixed vertical
1
circle of radius ‘R’. The bead is attached to high-
est point of the circle with a light spring of spring
(b)
2
 
m r 2  r 22  mgr cos 
constant ‘k’. If  shown in figure is taken as gen-
1
eralized co-ordinate. What is lagrangian of the (c)
2
 
m r 2  r 22 sin 2   mgr cos 
system [Natural length of spring is 2R and gravi-
1
tation potential energy is taken to be zero at the
centre of circle].
(d)
2
 
m r 2  r 22 cos 2   mgr cos 

82. In cylinderical coordinate system lagrangian of

bead in previous question is
1
(a) m  z 2 tan 2   z 22 sec 2    mgz
 2 
1
m (b) m  z 2 tan 2   z 22 sec 2    mgz
2

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12 121212
1
(c) m  z sec   z  tan    mgz
2
2 2 2 2 2
(b)
1  2
2 
    
m r 1  4r 2 a 2  r 2  2   mgar 2m r

1 1
(d) m  z sec   z  tan    mgz
2
2 2 2 2 2
(c)
2
 
m r 2  r 2 sin 2  2  mgar 2

83. A bead of mass ‘m’ is sliding on a vertical circular

loop of radius R. The loop is rotated with constant
1
2

(d) m  r 1  4r a   r  sin    mgar
2 2 2 2 2 2
2

angular velocity  about a tangential axis shown

86. A hoop of radius a rotates with constant angular
in figure. Lagrangian of the bead is :
velocity  about the vertical axis as shown in the
figure. A bead of mass m can slide on the hoop
m
without friction. If g   2 a , at what angle 

apart from 0 and  is the bead stationary
R
 d d 2 
 i.e.,  2  0? [JEST 2016]
 dt dt 
 
(a) 2mR 2  2  sin 4  2  mgR sin 2

(b) 2mR   sin  .cos    mgR sin 2

2 2 4 2 2

(c) mR   sin    mgR sin 2

2 2 4 2
a
(d) 2mR   cos    mgR sin 2
2 2 4 2

84. A thin wire is free to rotate in a vertical plane as

shown in figure. A bead of mass ‘m’ slides on the
wire.
m (a) tan    g  2 a (b) s in  g  2 a
 r (c) cos   g  2 a (d) tan   g  2 a

87. A bead of mass ‘m’ can slide without friction along

a massless rod kept at 450 with the vertical as
shown in the figure. The rod is rotating about the
1 vertical axis with a constant angular speed  . At
(a) m  r 2  r 2 2   mgr cos 
2  any instant, r is the distance of the bead from the
origin. The momentum conjugate to ‘r’ is
1
(b) m  r 2  r 2 2   mgr cos  [GATE 2014]
2
z^
1
(c) m  r  r sin    mgr cos 
2 2 2 2

2 m r l mm12klplm
1
(d) m  r  r sin    mgr cos 
2 2 2 2

2 450
m
85. A wire whose equation is Z = a (x2 + y2 ) is ro- r
tated about z-axis with constant angular velocity x^
 . Z being vertical. A bead of mass m slides on 1
the wire. Lagrangian of the bead is (a) mr (b) mr
2
1 1
(a) m  r 2  r 2 2   mgar 2 (c) mr (d) 2mr
2  2
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88. The point of suspension of a simple pendulum is
1  x  2 mgx2 2
moved vertically upward with constant accelera- (a) m 1  2  x 
tion a0. Lagrangian of the pendulum is (Take in- 2  l  l
stantaneous position of suspenstion as reference
for potential energy) 1  2 x 2  2 mgx 2
(b) m  1  2  x 
2  l  l
a0
1  x 2  2 mgx 2
(c) m 1  2  x 
2  l  l

l 1  4 x 2  2 mgx 2
 (d) m  1  2  x 
2  l  l
m 1 2
91. Lagrangian of a particle is L  mx  bxx .
(a) 1 m 2 2  m  g  a0   cos  2
2 Shape of phase space trajectory of the particle is
1 (a) circle (b) parabola
(b) m  2 2  a02t 2  2a0t sin   (c) hyperbola (d) straight line
2
 mg  cos  92. The motion of a particle of mass m which moves
(c) 1 m  2 2  a 2t 2  2a t sin   vertically in the uniform gravitational field near the
2   surface of the earth can be described Lagrangian
0 0

 m  g  a0   cos  1 2
L mz  mgz .
1 2 2 2
(d) m   m cos  I. Action principle is invariant under the transfor-
2
89. A thin wire is rotated with uniform angular velocity mation z '  z  , where  is constant.
 in horizontal plane. A bead of mass ‘m’ slides II. Action principle is invariant under the transfor-
on the wire. Distance of the bead from the fixed
end of the wire as a function of time can be written mation z '  z  t , where  is constant.
as III. Action principle and the system both are in-
variant under the transformations z '  z   and

r z '  z  t . Which of the above staterments are

CORRECT.
(a) Only I (b) II and III
(c) Only III (d) I, II, and III
93. Two beads of masses 2m and m can move with-
(a) r  a cos t  B sin t
out friction along a horizontal wire. They are con-
(b) r  Aet nected to a fixed wall with two springs of spring
(c) r  Ae t  B et constants 2k and k as shown. The Lagrangian of
the system is
(d) r  A tanh( t )
90. A bead of mass ‘m’ is constrained to move 2k k
undergravity along a planar rigid wire that has para-
2m m
x1
x2 x2
bolic shape y  where ‘x’ and ‘y’ are respec-
l
 2 1 2 3 2 1 2
tively horizontal and vertical coordinates. (a) L  m  x1  x2   k  x1  x1 x2  x1 
Lagrangian of the system is  2  2 2 

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14 141414
1 2 1 2 1 2
(b) L  m  x1  x2   k  x1  x2  mx  mg  x cos   h 
2 2
(d) L  m r
2 2  2
96. A double pendulum consists of two equal masses
3 2 1 2
(c) L  m  x  x   k  x1  x1 x2  x2  ‘m’ suspended by two strings of length l. What is
2 2
1 2
2 2  the Lagrangian of this system for oscillations in a
(d) L  m  x1  x2   k  x1  x1 x2  x1  plane? Assume the angle 1 , 2 made by the two
2 2 2 2

94. A thin rod of length ‘ l’ and mass ‘m’ is suspended 2

from one end. The rod is deflected by 60 from o strings are small (you can use cos   1  ).
2
vertical position and released. If the rod rotates
freely about one end and motion remains confined g
Note 0  :
to vertical plane, then which of the following state- 
ments is NOT correct.
(a) Energy is conserved but angular momentum is 2  2 1 2 1 2 2
(a) L  m  1   2  0 1  0  2 
2 2

not conserved  2 2 
(b) Lagrangian of the rod in terms of angle  with
2  2 1  2   0212 1 2 2 
1 2  2 mg  (b) L  m 
 1  2  1 2   0  2 
downward vertical is L  m   cos   2 2 4 
6 2
(c) Angular velocity of the rod at the lowest point 2  2 1 2   1 2 2
(c) L  m  1   2  1 2  0 1  0  2 
2 2

3g  2 2 
is
   2 1  2   0212 1 2 2 
(d) L  m  1   2  1 2   0  2 
2
(d) Angular acceleration of the rod at the initial 2 2 4
 
3 3g 97. A uniform ladder of length ‘2a’ and mass ‘M’ slides
moment is 
4 against a smooth vertical wall as shown in the fig-
95. A particle of mass m is sliding on a frictionless ure. If angle made with vertical is taken as
inclined plane of angle of inclination  with the generalised coordinate, Lagrangian of the rod is
horizontal and height h. The distance x traveled
by the particle is measured from the top of the

inclined plane and along the inclination. If the po-
tential energy is zero at the bottom of the inclined
plane, the Lagrangian of the particle is given by

x 2
(a) Ma 22  Mga cos
3
m Ma 2  2
h (b)   Mga cos 
3 m r l mm14klplm

4
(c) Ma 2 2  Mga cos 
3
1 2
(a) L  mx  mg  x sin   h  Ma 2 2
2 (d)  Mga cos 
6
1 2
(b) L  mx  mg  h  x sin   98. A pendulum is created by hanging a heavy bob of
2 mass m from a rigid support (taken as zero level
1 2 of potential) symmetrically using two massless
(c) L  mx  mg  h  x cos   inextensible strings each of length l making an equi-
2
lateral triangles as shown in the figure below.
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 15
ANSWER KEY
l
1. (d) 2. (b) 3. (c)
l l
m 4. (b) 5. (c) 6. (c)
7. (b,c) 8. (c) 9. (a)
A correct Lagrangian for the angular oscillations 10. (d) 11. (c) 12. (d)
of the bob in the plane perpendicular to the paper 13. (a) 14. (c) 15. (a)
is [TIFR 2019] 16. (b) 17. (c) 18. (b)
19. (b) 20. (a) 21. (d)
3 2 2 2
(a) L  ml   mgl sec   3mgl sin 22. (c) 23. (a) 24. (b)
2

8 2 25. (a) 26. (d) 27. (d)

 28. (a) 29. (a) 30. (c)
(b) L  3ml   4mgl sin
2 2 2

2 31. (a) 32. (a) 33. (c)

34. (b) 35. (a) 36. (c)
3 2 2  37. (a) 38. (c) 39. (d)
(c) L  ml   3mgl sin 2
8 2 40. (c) 41. (d)
3 2 mg  42. (26.65 - 26.68) 43. (d)
(d) L  m  3 sin 2 44. (b) 45. (b) 46. (b)
4 l 2
47. (b) 48. (a) 49. (a)
99. The Lagrangian of a system described by 50. (d) 51. (b) 52. (c)
generalised coordinates q1 and q2 is given by 53. (a) 54. (d) 55. (d)
56. (d) 57. (a) 58. (c)
a 2 b2
L
2
 q1  q 22    q12  q22 

59. (d) 60. (d) 61. (c)
62. (a) 63. (b) 64. (a)
where a and b are constants. It follows that a con- 65. (c) 66. (a) 67. (b)
served quantity in this system is [TIFR 2020] 68. (d) 69. (c) 70. (b)
(a) q1q2  q2 q1 (b) q1q2  q2 q1 71. (c) 72. (c) 73. (42)
74. (a,c) 75. (c,d) 76. (a)
q1q2  q2q1
(d) 2  q1 q2  q2 q1 
2 2 77. (b) 78. (a) 79. (a)
(c) q12  q22 80. (a) 81. (a) 82. (d)
100. A particle of mass m is free to move without fric- 83. (a) 84. (b) 85. (b)
tion on the inside of a hemispherical bowl whose 86. (c) 87. (a) 88. (b)
axis is aligned along the vertical. The radius of the 89. (c) 90. (d) 91. (d)
hemisphere is R and the particle is located by the 92. (d) 93. (a) 94. (c)
polar angle  and the azimuthal angle  . The 95. (b) 96. (c) 97. (a)
98. (c) 99. (a) 100. (a)
Lagrangian of the hemispherical bowl is
mR 2 2 2
(a)
2

 sin    2  mgR cos  
mR 2 2 2
(b)
2

 sin    2  mgR cos  
2

(c) mR  sin     mgR cos 
2 2 2

(d) mR  sin      mgR sin 
2 2 2 2

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