IIT-JAM-PH SERIES
Physics

Mechanics

33 previous year questions.

Volume: 33 Ques
Yield: High

High-Yield Trend

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2025
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2020
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2017

Chapter Questions
33 MCQs

01
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

The linear mass density of a rod of length varies from one end to the other as , where is the distance from one end with tensions and in them (see figure), and is a constant. The rod is suspended from a ceiling by two massless strings. Then, which of the following statement(s) is (are) correct?

1
The mass of the rod is .
2
The center of gravity of the rod is located at .
3
The tension in the left string is .
4
The tension in the right string is .
02
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
An object of mass with non-zero angular momentum is moving under the influence of gravitational force of a much larger mass (ignore drag). Which of the following statement(s) is (are) correct?
1
If the total energy of the system is negative, then the orbit is always circular.
2
The motion of always occurs in a two-dimensional plane.
3
If the total energy of the system is 0, then the orbit is a parabola.
4
If the area of the particle’s bound orbit is , then its time period is .
03
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
The linear mass density of a rod of length varies from one end to the other as , where is the distance from one end with tensions and in them (see figure), and is a constant. The rod is suspended from a ceiling by two massless strings. Then, which of the following statement(s) is (are) correct?
1
The mass of the rod is .
2
The center of gravity of the rod is located at .
3
The tension in the left string is .
4
The tension in the right string is .
04
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
At , a particle of mass having velocity starts moving through a liquid kept in a horizontal tube and experiences a drag force . It covers a distance before coming to rest. If the times taken to cover the distances and are and , respectively, then the ratio (ignoring gravity) is:
05
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

To demonstrate Bernoulli's principle, an instructor arranges two circular horizontal plates of radii each with distance ( ) between them (see figure). The upper plate has a hole of radius in the middle. On blowing air at a speed through the hole so that the flow rate of air is , it is seen that the lower plate does not fall. If the density of air is , the upward force on the lower plate is well approximated by the formula (assume that the region with does not contribute to the upward force and the speed of air at the edges is negligible):

1

2

3

4

06
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

To demonstrate Bernoulli's principle, an instructor arranges two circular horizontal plates of radii each with distance ( ) between them (see figure). The upper plate has a hole of radius in the middle. On blowing air at a speed through the hole so that the flow rate of air is , it is seen that the lower plate does not fall. If the density of air is , the upward force on the lower plate is well approximated by the formula (assume that the region with does not contribute to the upward force and the speed of air at the edges is negligible):

1

2

3

4

07
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
At , a particle of mass having velocity starts moving through a liquid kept in a horizontal tube and experiences a drag force . It covers a distance before coming to rest. If the times taken to cover the distances and are and , respectively, then the ratio (ignoring gravity) is:
08
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
For a proton to capture an electron to form a neutron and a neutrino (assumed massless), the electron must have some minimum energy. For such an electron the de Broglie wavelength in picometers is:
09
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
A particle of unit mass is moving in a one-dimensional potential . The minimum mechanical energy (in the same units as ) above which the motion of the particle cannot be bounded for any given initial condition is:
10
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Sand falls on a conveyor belt at the rate of 1.5 kg/s. If the belt is moving with a constant speed of 7 m/s, the power needed to keep the conveyor belt running is:
11
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
An object of mass with non-zero angular momentum is moving under the influence of gravitational force of a much larger mass (ignore drag). Which of the following statement(s) is (are) correct?
1
If the total energy of the system is negative, then the orbit is always circular.
2
The motion of always occurs in a two-dimensional plane.
3
If the total energy of the system is 0, then the orbit is a parabola.
4
If the area of the particle’s bound orbit is , then its time period is .
12
PYQ 2017
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Consider a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator of angular frequency . If identical particles occupy the energy levels of this oscillator at zero temperature, which of the following statement(s) about their ground state energy is (are) correct?
1
If the particles are electrons,
2
If the particles are protons,
3
If the particles are spin-less fermions,
4
If the particles are bosons,
13
PYQ 2018
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

Three planets orbit a star at distances . Their orbital periods are proportional to . If the smallest planet has period , after how long will all three be aligned again?

1

2

3

4

14
PYQ 2018
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

A particle of mass is constrained to move on the surface of a cylinder under a force as shown in the figure ( is a positive constant). Neglect friction. Which of the following statements is correct?

1
Total energy of the particle is not conserved.
2
The motion along direction is simple harmonic.
3
Angular momentum of the particle about increases with time.
4
Linear momentum of the particle is conserved.
15
PYQ 2018
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

A planet has the same average density as Earth but only the mass of Earth. If and are the surface gravities on the planet and Earth, then ............ (Specify your answer up to one digit after decimal.)

16
PYQ 2018
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

A body of mass 1 kg moves in an elliptical orbit with semi-major axis 1000 m and semi-minor axis 100 m. The orbital angular momentum is 100 kg m s . The time period of motion is ............. hours. (Specify answer up to two digits after the decimal point.)

17
PYQ 2018
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

A particle of mass moves in a circular orbit with and observed in inertial frame . Another frame moves with velocity with respect to , and origins coincide at . The angular momentum at as observed in about its origin is . Then is ............. (Specify answer up to two digits after decimal.)

18
PYQ 2018
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
The moon moves around the earth in a circular orbit with a period of 27 days. If m is Earth's radius and m/s , and if is the moon's orbital radius, find . (Specify answer up to one digit after decimal point.)
19
PYQ 2018
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
A raindrop falls under gravity and captures water molecules from the atmosphere. Its mass changes at the rate , where is a positive constant and is the instantaneous mass. Assume gravity is constant and captured water is at rest before capture. Which of the following statements is correct?
1
The speed of the raindrop increases linearly with time.
2
The speed of the raindrop increases exponentially with time.
3
The speed of the raindrop approaches a constant value when .
4
The speed of the raindrop approaches a constant value when .
20
PYQ 2020
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Two planets and having masses and revolve around the Sun in elliptical orbits, with time periods and , respectively. The minimum and maximum distances of planet from the Sun are and , respectively, whereas for planet , these are and , respectively, where is a constant. Assuming and are much smaller than the mass of the Sun, the magnitude of is:
1

2

3

4

21
PYQ 2020
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
For a particle moving in a central potential, which one of the following statements is correct?
1
The motion is restricted to a plane due to the conservation of angular momentum.
2
The motion is restricted to a plane due to the conservation of energy only.
3
The motion is restricted to a plane due to the conservation of linear momentum.
4
The motion is not restricted to a plane.
22
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
In a two-level atomic system, the excited state is 0.2 eV above the ground state. Considering the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, the temperature at which 2% of the atoms will be in the excited state is _____ K. (up to two decimal places)
(Boltzmann constant eV/K)

23
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-

At a particular temperature T, Planck's energy density of black body radiation in terms of frequency is at Hz. Then Planck's energy density at the corresponding wavelength ( ) has the value \rule{1cm}{0.15mm} . (in integer)
[Speed of light m/s]
(Note: The unit for in the original problem was given as J/m³, which is dimensionally incorrect for a spectral density. The correct unit J/(m³·Hz) or J·s/m³ is used here for the solution.)

24
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
A particle is moving with a constant angular velocity 2 rad/s in an orbit on a plane. The radial distance of the particle from the origin at time t is given by where and are positive constants. The radial component of the acceleration vanishes for \rule{1cm{0.15mm} rad/s. (in integer)}
25
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
A planet rotates in an elliptical orbit with a star situated at one of the foci. The distance from the center of the ellipse to any foci is half of the semi-major axis. The ratio of the speed of the planet when it is nearest (perihelion) to the star to that at the farthest (aphelion) is \rule{1cm{0.15mm}. (in integer)}
26
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Neutrons of energy 8 MeV are incident on a potential step of height 48 MeV. As they penetrate the classically forbidden region, the distance at which the probability density of finding neutrons decreases by a factor of 100 is \rule{1cm{0.15mm} fm. (up to two decimal places)
(Take MeV fm, and the rest mass energy of neutron = 1 GeV.)}
27
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Two solid cylinders of the same density are found to have the same moment of inertia about their respective principal axes. The length of the second cylinder is 16 times that of the first cylinder. If the radius of the first cylinder is 4 cm, the radius of the second cylinder is \rule{1cm{0.15mm} cm. (in integer)}
28
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Two particles of masses and , interacting via gravity, rotate in circular orbits about their common center of mass with the same angular velocity .
For masses and , respectively, \begin{itemize

and are the constant distances from the center of mass,
and are the magnitudes of the angular momenta about the center of mass, and
and are the kinetic energies.
Which of the following is(are) correct?
(G is the universal gravitational constant)}
1
2
3
4

29
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
A particle of mass m is subjected to a potential V(x). If its wavefunction is given by

,
then V(x) is ( , and are constants of appropriate dimensions)
1
2
3
4

30
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Two non-relativistic particles with masses and move with momenta and , respectively, in an inertial frame S. In another inertial frame S', moving with a constant speed with respect to S, the same particles are observed to have momenta and , respectively.
Galilean invariance implies that
1
2
3
4

31
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
One end of a long chain is lifted vertically from flat ground to a height H with constant speed v by a force of magnitude F. Assume that the length of the chain is greater than H and that it has a uniform mass per unit length . The magnitude of the force F at height H is
(g is the acceleration due to gravity)
1
2
3
4

32
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Two masses, and , are connected through a massless spring of spring constant k, as shown in the figure below. The mass is at rest against a rigid wall. Both and are on a frictionless surface. The mass is pushed towards by a distance x from its equilibrium position and then released. After leaves the wall, the speed of the center of mass of the composite system is
1
2
3
4

33
PYQ 2025
medium
physics ID: iit-jam-
Three particles of equal mass M, interacting via gravity, lie on the vertices of an equilateral triangle of side d, as shown in the figure below. The whole system is rotating with an angular velocity about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the system and passing through the center of mass. The value of , for which the distance between the masses remains d, is
(G is the universal gravitational constant)

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