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IIT-JAM PHYSICS
Test : Modern Physics (Operators & Wavefunctions, 1-D Box)

Time : 60 Minutes
M.M. : 40
Instructions:

 Part-A contains 10 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ). Each question has 4 choices (a), (b), (c) and
(d), for its answer, out of which ONLY ONE is correct. For each correct answer you will be awarded
2 marks. For each incorrect answered 0.5 mark will be deducted.
 Part-B contains 5 Multiple Select Questions (MSQ). Each question has 4 choices (a), (b), (c) and (d)
for its answer, out of which ONE or MORE than ONE is/are correct. For each correct answer you will
be awarded 2 marks, there is no negative marking in this section.
 Part-C contains 5 Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions which contain 2 Marks for each, and there
is no negative marking.

PART-A [Multiple Choice Questions]

1. Consider three hermitian operators Aˆ , Bˆ and Ĉ . If the operators  and B̂ anti-commute with one
ˆ ˆ , Bˆ ] will be given by [ { Xˆ , Yˆ} denote the anti-commutator of X̂ and Yˆ ]
another, the commutator [ AC

(a) Aˆ{Bˆ , Cˆ } (b) Bˆ{ Aˆ , Cˆ }

Aˆ ˆ ˆ Bˆ ˆ ˆ
(c) {B, C} (d) { A, C}
2 2

2. A Hamiltonian is given by, H  | 0  0 |  |1 1|  2 | 2  2 |  i (| 0  1|  |1  0 |) where 0 , 1 and 2 are

orthonormal states. The eigenvalues of H are,
(a) 0, 1, –1 (b) 0, 2, –2
(c) 1, 1, –2 (d) –1, –1, 2
3. The wavefunction of a particle in a 1-D infinite potential well that extends from (–a) to (+a) is shown in
the figure below.

–a O a

If the energy of the particle in this state is 4eV, the lowest energy possible for the particle is
(a) 0.44 eV (b) 0.25 eV (c) 2 eV (d) 0.5 eV

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4. A particle of mass m is in a 1-D infinite potential well that extends from x  0 to x  L . If the wavefunction

3 i
of the particle is given by  ( x)   2 ( x)   3 ( x) [  2 ( x) and  3 ( x ) are the first and second excited
2 2
states of the 1-D well]. Then the uncertainty in energy of the particle is

3 5 2  2 5 3 2  2 3 2  2 5 2  2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
8mL2 8mL2 8 mL2 8 mL2
5. The state of a particle in a 1-D infinite potential well that spans from ‘0’ to ‘a’ is,

 x 
 ( x )  A sin 3   [A is normalization constant].
 a 

 2 2  2 
The probability that the particle will have an energy of  2   upon measuring energy is,
 ma 

A2 a 9 A2 a A2 a
(a) (b) (c) zero (d)
32 32 16

1
6. Consider a particle in a state    1   2  . If 1 and  2 are energy eigenstates having
2

eigenvalues E1 and E2, then x for the state  oscillates with an angular frequency of

| E1  E2 | | E1  E2 | | E1  E2 | | E1  E2 |
(a) (b) (c) (d)
  2 2

1/4
k 2 /2
7. The wavefunction of a particle in position space is given by  ( x)    e kx . The momentum space

wavefunction of the particle will be
(a) A Polynomial (b) A Gaussian
(c) A Lorentzian (d) Dirac-delta function

 1 a  2
8. The initial state of a particle is,    1  2  [ 1 and  2 are the ground state
 2 2  1  a2

mL2
and 1st excited states of a 1-D infinite potential well of width L]. If  (t )   0 at t  , the value
3
of ‘a’ is

2 4
(a) a   i (b) a  2 i (c) a   i (d) a   i
3 3

South Delhi : 28-A/11, Jia Sarai, Near-IIT Hauz Khas, New Delhi-16, Ph : 011-26851008, 26861009
North Delhi : 33-35, Mall Road, G.T.B. Nagar (Opp. Metro Gate No. 3), Delhi-09, Ph: 011-65462244, 65662255
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9. A 1-D infinite potential well spans from ‘0’ to ‘a’. If the probability density of position for a particle in a

1  6x  
stationary state in this potential is given by, P( x )  |  ( x ) |2   1  cos    . The energy of the particle
a  a 
is, [m is the particle’s mass]

2  2 2 2 2 9 2  2 8 2 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
2ma 2 ma 2 2ma 2 ma 2
10. A particle moving in a 1-D potential has a wavefunction of the form

 ( x a)2 

 2 
 ( x)  A  ( x 2  x  2)e 2 
 
 

[where A is normalization constant and  , a are constants of appropriate dimensionality]

The expectation value of momentum for this state is

  a2    a2 
(a) P  exp   2  (b) P  exp   2 
2 2  2  2  2 

2  a2 
(c) P  exp   2  (d) P  0
2  2 

PART-B [Multiple Select Questions]

11. If  is a hermitian operator and B̂ is an anti-hermitian operator, which of the following operator(s) is (are)
anti-hermitian? (Note that [ Aˆ , Bˆ ]  0 )

(a) i ( Aˆ 2 Bˆ  BA
ˆ ˆ2) (b) i ( Aˆ 2 Bˆ 2  Bˆ 2 Aˆ 2 )

(c) i ( Aˆ 2 Bˆ 2  Bˆ 2 Aˆ 2 ) (d) i ( Aˆ 2 Bˆ  BA
ˆ ˆ2)

12. Consider two operators  and B̂ that do not commute with another. Which of the following statement(s)
is(are) correct regarding them?
(a) The product of uncertainties of these operators for any normalized state  will be greater than or


equal to
2

(b) Â and B̂ cannot have a shared eigenstate

(c) The product of uncertainties for  and B̂ for normalized state  can never be zero.

(d) Â and B̂ cannot have a complete set of common eigenfunctions

South Delhi : 28-A/11, Jia Sarai, Near-IIT Hauz Khas, New Delhi-16, Ph : 011-26851008, 26861009
North Delhi : 33-35, Mall Road, G.T.B. Nagar (Opp. Metro Gate No. 3), Delhi-09, Ph: 011-65462244, 65662255
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13. Which of following functions qualify as a wavefunction? [A, B, C, D are normalization constants, a, k, m
are constants of appropriate dimensionality]

A sin(kx )
(a)  ( x)  2 2
(b)  ( x )  B
x a kx
2 2  k | x|
(c)  ( x)  Cx exp( mx ) (d)  ( x )  De
14. Consider an infinite 1-D potential well that extends from ( 2a) to ( 2a) . If a particle is in an energy

2  2
eigenstate with energy of , which of the following statements are correct?
2ma 2
(a) The number of nodes in the wavefunction of the particle is four
(b) The wavefunction is odd with respect to the centre of the well
(c) p  0 for this state

(d) x  0 for this state

15. Consider a potential of the form V ( x )  V ( x) . Which of the following statement (s) is/are not correct?
(a) The expectation value of position for any normalized state under this potential will be zero
(b) The wavefunctions of the stationary states can always be taken to be symmetric or anti-symmetric
under this potential
(c) Ground state of the system will not have any nodes
(d) Difference between consecutive energy eigenvalues will be constant

PART-C [Numerical Answer Type]

16.  is an eigenstate of the operator B̂ with an eigenvalue of ‘2’. If [ Aˆ , Bˆ ]  I , the expectation value of
ˆ
[ Aˆ , e B ] in the state  is ________________ (upto two decimal places)

[Assume    1 ]

0 0 0
17. Consider a Hamiltonian of the form H  V0  0 1 0  . The probability of getting 2V0 upon measuring the
 
0 0 2
 

 2
1  
energy of the state   1 is ________________ (upto two decimal places)
14  
 3

South Delhi : 28-A/11, Jia Sarai, Near-IIT Hauz Khas, New Delhi-16, Ph : 011-26851008, 26861009
North Delhi : 33-35, Mall Road, G.T.B. Nagar (Opp. Metro Gate No. 3), Delhi-09, Ph: 011-65462244, 65662255
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18. A particle of mass ‘m’ is in a 1-D infinite potential well width a . If the wavefunction of the particle at
3

1 2
t = 0.5 s is given by,  ( x)   2 ( x)  i  3 ( x ) . The expectation value of energy at that instant is,
3 3
__________ eV
[The answer should be an integer]
[Note: The ground state energy for the particle is E1 = 9eV.  2 ( x) and  3 ( x ) represent the first and
second excited states of the system, respectively]
19. The wavefunction of a particle in a 1-D infinite potential well which extends from ‘–a’ to ‘a’ is given by,

1  5x 
 ( x)  sin  
a  a 
If the particle jumps down to lower energy states, the number of different wavelengths that can be emitted
is _________________ [Consider only direct transitions between the final and initial states]
20. Ruchi weighs 45 kg on earth. If she is confined in a 1-D “room” of 10 m width. The amount of energy
necessary to take her to her first excited state from her ground state is ____________ × 10–65 J.
[Upto two decimal places] [Take  = 1.01 × 10–34 J-s]
[The average energy of a photon of ‘red colour’ is 1045 times higher than this]

South Delhi : 28-A/11, Jia Sarai, Near-IIT Hauz Khas, New Delhi-16, Ph : 011-26851008, 26861009
North Delhi : 33-35, Mall Road, G.T.B. Nagar (Opp. Metro Gate No. 3), Delhi-09, Ph: 011-65462244, 65662255
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IIT-JAM PHYSICS
Test : Modern Physics (Operators & Wavefunctions, 1-D Box)

Time : 60 Minutes Date : 28-10-2018

M.M. : 40

ANSWER KEY

PART-A [Multiple Choice Questions]

1. (a) 2. (b) 3. (b) 4. (b) 5. (c)

6. (b) 7. (b) 8. (a) 9. (c) 10. (d)

PART-B [Multiple Select Questions]

11. (a, c) 12. (d) 13. (a, b, c, d) 14. (b, c, d)

15. (a, d)

PART-C [Numerical Answer Type]

16. (7.36 to 7.40) 17. (0.63 to 0.66) 18. (66) 19. (9)
20. (3.33 to 3.37)

South Delhi : 28-A/11, Jia Sarai, Near-IIT Hauz Khas, New Delhi-16, Ph : 011-26851008, 26861009
North Delhi : 33-35, Mall Road, G.T.B. Nagar (Opp. Metro Gate No. 3), Delhi-09, Ph: 011-65462244, 65662255