🔹 Chapter 1: Measurements
Q1: What is the difference between base and derived quantities?
A: Base quantities are independent physical quantities (e.g., mass, length, time), while derived
quantities depend on base quantities (e.g., velocity, acceleration).
Q2: Define least count.
A: It is the smallest measurement that an instrument can make accurately.
Q3: What is the difference between accuracy and precision?
A: Accuracy is closeness to the true value; precision is repeatability of measurements.
Q4: What are significant figures?
A: All the digits in a measurement including the certain and the uncertain one are called
significant figures.
Q5: What is systematic error?
A: Errors that occur due to faulty instruments or predictable factors, affecting all measurements
similarly.
🔹 Chapter 2: Vectors and Equilibrium
Q1: Define unit vector.
A: A vector with magnitude 1 in a specific direction.
Q2: Differentiate between scalar and vector quantities.
A: Scalars have magnitude only; vectors have both magnitude and direction.
Q3: State the triangle law of vector addition.
A: If two vectors are represented by two sides of a triangle taken in order, the third side
represents their resultant.
Q4: What is the moment of force (torque)?
A: Torque = Force × Perpendicular distance from the pivot point.
Q5: Define couple.
A: A pair of equal and opposite forces whose lines of action do not coincide, causing rotation.
🔹 Chapter 3: Motion and Force
Q1: What is inertia?
A: Tendency of a body to resist any change in its state of motion.
Q2: State Newton’s first law of motion.
A: A body remains at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force.
Q3: Write the mathematical form of Newton’s second law.
A: F = ma
Q4: Define friction and give its types.
A: A force that resists motion. Types: static, kinetic, rolling.
Q5: What is limiting friction?
A: The maximum static friction before an object starts moving.
🔹 Chapter 4: Work and Energy
Q1: Define work. Write its SI unit.
A: Work = Force × displacement × cos(θ); SI unit is joule.
Q2: What is the condition for zero work?
A: If displacement is zero or perpendicular to force.
Q3: State the law of conservation of energy.
A: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only change forms.
Q4: Define power and write its SI unit.
A: Rate of doing work; SI unit is watt.
Q5: What is meant by efficiency?
A: Efficiency = (useful output energy / total input energy) × 100%
🔹 Chapter 5: Circular Motion
Q1: Define centripetal force.
A: A force that keeps an object moving in a circular path, directed toward the center.
Q2: What is angular velocity?
A: Rate of change of angular displacement; unit is rad/s.
Q3: Why is centrifugal force called a fictitious force?
A: It appears only in a rotating frame and has no real source.
Q4: Write the expression for radial acceleration.
A: a = v² / r
🔹 Chapter 6: Fluid Dynamics
Q1: Define viscosity.
A: Internal resistance of a fluid to flow.
Q2: State Bernoulli’s theorem.
A: In a steady flow, the sum of pressure energy, kinetic energy, and potential energy is constant.
Q3: What is streamlined or laminar flow?
A: Smooth, regular fluid flow in parallel layers.
Q4: What is terminal velocity?
A: The constant velocity of a falling object when the net force is zero.
Q5: What is drag force?
A: The resistance force caused by the motion of a body through a fluid.
🔹 Chapter 7: Oscillations
Q1: Define simple harmonic motion (SHM).
A: A type of periodic motion where restoring force is proportional to displacement and directed
toward equilibrium.
Q2: What is the restoring force?
A: Force that tries to bring the system back to equilibrium.
Q3: Write the expression for time period of mass-spring system.
A: T = 2π√(m/k)
Q4: Define amplitude and frequency.
A: Amplitude is maximum displacement; frequency is number of oscillations per second.
🔹 Chapter 8: Waves
A: Transverse: vibration ⊥ direction of wave. Longitudinal: vibration ∥ direction of wave.
Q1: Differentiate between transverse and longitudinal waves.
Q2: What is the formula for wave speed?
A: v = fλ
Q3: Define frequency and wavelength.
A: Frequency: oscillations per second. Wavelength: distance between two crests or troughs.
Q4: What is the principle of superposition?
A: When two or more waves overlap, the resultant displacement is the sum of individual
displacements.
🔹 Chapter 9: Physical Optics
Q1: What is interference of light?
A: The combination of two light waves to form a resultant of greater or lesser intensity.
Q2: Define diffraction.
A: Bending of waves around obstacles or through slits.
Q3: What is polarization?
A: Restricting the vibrations of light to one direction.
Q4: What is meant by coherent sources?
A: Sources that emit waves of same frequency and constant phase difference.
🔹 Chapter 10: Thermodynamics
Q1: Define heat capacity and specific heat.
A: Heat capacity: amount of heat needed to raise a body’s temp by 1°C.
Specific heat: heat required to raise 1 kg by 1°C.
Q2: State the first law of thermodynamics.
A: ΔQ = ΔU + W
Q3: Difference between isothermal and adiabatic processes?
A: Isothermal: temperature constant; Adiabatic: no heat exchange.
Q4: What is internal energy?
A: Sum of kinetic and potential energies of molecules inside a system.
🔹 Chapter 11: Electrostatics
Q1: State Coulomb’s law.
A: F = k(q₁q₂/r²), force between two charges.
Q2: Define electric field and field intensity.
A: Electric field: region around a charge where other charges experience a force.
Field intensity: force per unit charge.
Q3: What is electric potential?
A: Work done in bringing unit charge from infinity to a point.
Q4: Define capacitance.
A: Ability of a body to store charge per unit potential.
🔹 Chapter 12: Current Electricity
Q1: Define Ohm’s Law.
A: V = IR; current is directly proportional to voltage at constant temperature.
Q2: What is resistance?
A: Opposition to the flow of electric current. Unit: ohm (Ω).
Q3: Define emf and potential difference.
A: emf: energy per charge supplied by the source.
Potential difference: energy used per charge between two points.
Q4: What is the function of a fuse?
A: To protect circuits by melting and breaking the circuit during overcurrent.
