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The industrial revolution in England and Western Europe more than two centuries ago was triggered by some key scientific and technological advances. What were these advances?
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The farthest objects in our Universe discovered by modern astronomers are so distant that light emitted by them takes billions of years to reach the Earth. These objects (known as quasars) have many puzzling features, which have not yet been satisfactorily explained. What is the distance in km of a quasar from which light takes 3.0 billion years to reach us?
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The principle of ‘parallax’ in section 2.3.1 is used in the determination of distances of very distant stars. The baseline AB is the line joining the Earth’s two locations six months apart in its orbit around the Sun. That is, the baseline is about the diameter of the Earth’s orbit ≈ 3 × 1011m. However, even the nearest stars are so distant that with such a long baseline, they show parallax only of the order of 1” (second) of arc or so. A parsec is a convenient unit of length on the astronomical scale. It is the distance of an object that will show a parallax of 1” (second) of arc from opposite ends of a baseline equal to the distance from the Earth to the Sun. How much is a parsec in terms of meters?
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The nearest star to our solar system is 4.29 light years away. How much is this distance in terms of parsecs? How much parallax would this star (named Alpha Centauri) show when viewed from two locations of the Earth six months apart in its orbit around the Sun?
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When the planet Jupiter is at a distance of 824.7 million kilometres from the Earth, its angular diameter is measured to be 35.72″ of arc. Calculate the diameter of Jupiter
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The position-time (x-t) graphs for two children A and B returning from their school O to their homes P and Q respectively, are shown in the figure. Choose the correct entries in the brackets below;

- (A/B) lives closer to the school than (B/A)
- (A/B) starts from the school earlier than (B/A)
- (A/B) walks faster than (B/A)
- A and B reach home at the (same/different) time
- (A/B) overtakes (B/A) on the road (once/twice).
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The figure shows the x-t plot of one-dimensional motion of a particle. Is it correct to say from the graph that the particle moves in a straight line for t < 0 and on a parabolic path for t > 0? If not, suggest a suitable physical context for this graph.

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A police van moving on a highway with a speed of 30 km h–1 fires a bullet at a thief’s car speeding away in the same direction with a speed of 192 km h–1. If the muzzle speed of the bullet is 150 m s–1, with what speed does the bullet hit the thief’s car? (Note: Obtain that speed which is relevant for damaging the thief’s car).
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Just as precise measurements are necessary in science, it is equally important to be able to make rough estimates of quantities using rudimentary ideas and common observations. Think of ways by which you can estimate the following (where an estimate is difficult to obtain, try to get an upper bound on the quantity):
the number of strands of hair on your head
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Just as precise measurements are necessary in science, it is equally important to be able to make rough estimates of quantities using rudimentary ideas and common observations. Think of ways by which you can estimate the following (where an estimate is difficult to obtain, try to get an upper bound on the quantity):-
the number of air molecules in your classroom.
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Suggest a suitable physical situation for the following graphs:

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Let us assume that our galaxy consists of 2.5 × 1011 stars each of one solar mass. How long will a star at a distance of 50,000 ly from the galactic centre take to complete one revolution? Take the diameter of the Milky Way to be 105 ly
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A comet orbits the Sun in a highly elliptical orbit. Does the comet have a constant (a) linear speed, (b) angular speed, (c) angular momentum, (d) kinetic energy, (e) potential energy, (f) total energy throughout its orbit? Neglect any mass loss of the comet when it comes very close to the Sun.
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A Saturn year is 29.5 times the earth year. How far is the Saturn from the sun if the earth is 1.50 ×108 km away from the sun?
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A body of mass 2 kg initially at rest moves under the action of an applied horizontal force of 7 N on a table with coefficient of kinetic friction = 0.1. Compute the
- Work done by the applied force in 10 s
- Work done by friction in 10 s
- Work done by the net force on the body in 10 s
- Change in kinetic energy of the body in 10 s and interpret your results.
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Explain why The blood pressure in humans is greater at the feet than at the brain
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Explain why Atmospheric pressure at a height of about 6 km decreases to nearly half of its value at the sea level, though the height of the atmosphere is more than 100 km
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Explain why Hydrostatic pressure is a scalar quantity even though the pressure is force divided by area.
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A 50 kg girl wearing high heel shoes balances on a single heel. The heel is circular with a diameter 1.0 cm. What is the pressure exerted by the heel on the horizontal floor?
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Toricelli’s barometer used mercury. Pascal duplicated it using French wine of density 984 kg m–3. Determine the height of the wine column for normal atmospheric pressure.
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