(a) When two bodies at different temperatures T1 and T2 are brought in thermal contact, heat flows from the body at the higher temperature to the body at the lower temperature till equilibrium is achieved, i.e., the temperatures of both the bodies become equal. The equilibrium temperature is equal to the mean temperature (T1 + T2)/2 only when the thermal capacities of both the bodies are equal.
(b) The coolant in a chemical or nuclear plant should have a high specific heat. This is because higher the specific heat of the coolant, higher is its heat-absorbing capacity and vice versa. Hence, a liquid having a high specific heat is the best coolant to be used in a nuclear or chemical plant. This would prevent different parts of the plant from getting too hot.
(c) When a car is in motion, the air temperature inside the car increases because of the motion of the air molecules. According to Charles’ law, temperature is directly proportional to pressure. Hence, if the temperature inside a tyre increases, then the air pressure in it will also increase.
(d) A harbour town has a more temperate climate (i.e., without the extremes of heat or cold) than a town located in a desert at the same latitude. This is because the relative humidity in a harbour town is more than it is in a desert town.
What amount of heat must be supplied to 2.0 x 10-2 kg of nitrogen (at room temperature) to raise its temperature by 45 °C at constant pressure? (Molecular mass of N2 = 28; R = 8.3 J mol-1 K-1.)
An electric heater supplies heat to a system at a rate of 100W. If system performs work at a rate of 75 Joules per second. At what rate is the internal energy increasing?
A steam engine delivers 5.4 x 108 J of work per minute and services 3.6 x 109 J of heat per minute from its boiler. What is the efficiency of the engine? How much heat is wasted per minute?
A refrigerator is to maintain eatables kept inside at 9°C. If room temperature is 36° C, calculate the coefficient of performance.
In changing the state of a gas adiabatically from an equilibrium state A to another equilibrium state B, an amount of work equal to 22.3 J is done on the system. If the gas is taken from state A to B via a process in which the net heat absorbed by the system is 9.35 cal, how much is the net work done by the system in the latter case? (Take 1 cal = 4.19 J)
A geyser heats water flowing at the rate of 3.0 litres per minute from 27 °C to 77 °C. If the geyser operates on a gas burner, what is the rate of consumption of the fuel if its heat of combustion is 4.0 x 104 J/g?
Some of the most profound statements on the nature of science have come from Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time. What do you think did Einstein mean when he said : “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible”?
The sign of work done by a force on a body is important to understand. State carefully if the following quantities are positive or negative:
(a) work done by a man in lifting a bucket out of a well by means of a rope tied to the bucket.
(b) work done by gravitational force in the above case,
(c) work done by friction on a body sliding down an inclined plane,
(d) work done by an applied force on a body moving on a rough horizontal plane with uniform velocity,
(e) work done by the resistive force of air on a vibrating pendulum in bringing it to rest.
Estimate the fraction of molecular volume to the actual volume occupied by oxygen gas at STP. Take the diameter of an oxygen molecule to be 3Å.
A constant force acting on a body of mass 3.0 kg changes its speed from 2.0 m s–1 to 3.5 m s–1 in 25 s. The direction of the motion of the body remains unchanged. What is the magnitude and direction of the force?
It is claimed that two cesium clocks, if allowed to run for 100 years, free from any disturbance, may differ by only about 0.02 s. What does this imply for the accuracy of the standard cesium clock in measuring a time-interval of 1 s?
State if each of the following statements is true or false. Give reasons for your answer.
(a) In an elastic collision of two bodies, the momentum and energy of each body is conserved.
(b) Total energy of a system is always conserved, no matter what internal and external forces on the body are present.
(c) Work done in the motion of a body over a closed loop is zero for every force in nature.
(d) In an inelastic collision, the final kinetic energy is always less than the initial kinetic energy of the system.
A jet airplane travelling at the speed of 500 km h-1 ejects its products of combustion at the speed of 1500 km h-1 relative to the jet plane. What is the speed of the latter with respect to an observer on ground?
A SONAR (sound navigation and ranging) uses ultrasonic waves to detect and locate objects under water. In a submarine equipped with a SONAR the time delay between generation of a probe wave and the reception of its echo after reflection from an enemy submarine is found to be 77.0 s. What is the distance of the enemy submarine? (Speed of sound in water = 1450 m s-1).
Textbooks on science may give you a wrong impression that studying science is dry and all too serious and that scientists are absent-minded introverts who never laugh or grin. This image of science and scientists is patently false. Scientists, like any other group of humans, have their share of humorists, and many have led their lives with a great sense of fun and adventure, even as they seriously pursued their scientific work. Two great physicists of this genre are Gamow and Feynman. You will enjoy reading their books listed in the Bibliography.
A stone dropped from the top of a tower of height 300 m high splashes into the water of a pond near the base of the tower. When is the splash heard at the top given that the speed of sound in air is 340 m s-1? (g= 9.8 m s-2)
A woman starts from her home at 9.00 am, walks with a speed of 5 km h-1 on a straight road up to her office 2.5 km away, stays at the office up to 5.00 pm, and returns home by an auto with a speed of 25 km h-1. Choose suitable scales and plot the x-t graph of her motion.
The sign of work done by a force on a body is important to understand. State carefully if the following quantities are positive or negative:
(a) work done by a man in lifting a bucket out of a well by means of a rope tied to the bucket.
(b) work done by gravitational force in the above case,
(c) work done by friction on a body sliding down an inclined plane,
(d) work done by an applied force on a body moving on a rough horizontal plane with uniform velocity,
(e) work done by the resistive force of air on a vibrating pendulum in bringing it to rest.
Given below are some functions of x and t to represent the displacement (transverse or longitudinal) of an elastic wave. State which of these represent (i) a traveling wave, (ii) a stationary wave or (iii) none at all:
(a) y = 2 cos (3x) sin (10t)
(b) y = 2 underroot(x -vt)
(c) y = 3 sin (5x - 0.5t) + 4 cos (5x - 0.5t)
(d) y = cos x sin t + cos 2x sin 2t
A
A T1>>T2 B T1>T2 C T1