NCERT Solutions Class 11 Physics Chapter 1 Physical World

Question

NCERT Solutions Class 11 Chapter 1 Physical World is one of the best preparation study materials. It is an introductory chapter, which gives an overview of all the topics we will be studying in the NCERT Solutions Class 11. This chapter discusses everything that exists in the universe, how those things work, and what is the principal of their working. We have also discussed here the fundamental forces of nature as well as the laws governing them.  It is prepared by our subject matter expert at Sarthaks with utmost concern to make it easy to understand for the students.

In this NCERT Solutions Class 11 Physics Chapter 1 Physical World We have discussed all the concepts in such a way that it is very intuitive and easy to understand. We have concised the chapter with a complete discussion of all important topics.

• The study of science is dated back to the existence of the human species. Ancient civilizations all around the world like Indian civilizations, Greek civilizations, Mesopotamian civilizations, and Egypt civilizations have made significant contributions to the field of science.
• We will understand the spirit of science and will try to explain it using scientific methods.
• We will discuss natural science like physics, chemistry, and biology.
• We will discuss how some forces change to different situations while some remain constant.
• Discussion about the fundamental forces of nature such as gravitational force, mechanical force, electromagnetic force, strong Nuclear force, weak nuclear force, and unification of forces.
• Relationship between physics, technology, and society, and we will also discuss how some concepts of physics are also developed due to necessity.
• Discussion on how classical physics deals with macroscopic elements of the universe and on the other hand quantum physics deals with microscopic elements of the universe.
• We will also study classical physics along with the discussion of topics like thermodynamics, electrodynamics, optics, and mechanics.

Our NCERT Solutions Class 11 Physics is the best way to understand and learn difficult concepts related to physics. We have designed the study material in such a way that it is very concise and easy to learn, and also use for revision. As suggested by our subject matter expert one must completely go through all the concepts and topics discussed here to secure good marks in their CBSE board examination and also for preparation of competitive exams like NTSE, JEE Mains, JEE Advance, Olympiad, etc.

All the solutions are at your fingertip, get started now.

Answer 1

NCERT Solutions Class 11 Physics Chapter 1 Physical World

1. 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”?

Solution:

The Physical world around us is full of different complex natural phenomena so the world is in-comprehensible. But with the help of study and observations it has been found that all these phenomena are based on some basic physical laws and so it is comprehensible.

2. “Every great physical theory starts as a heresy and ends as a dogma". Give some examples from the history of science of the validity of this incisive remark.

Solution:

The statement above is true. Validity of this incisive remark can be validated from the example of moment of inertia. It states that the moment of inertia of a body depends on its energy. But according to Einstein's mass-energy relation , energy depends on the speed of the body.

3. Politics is the art of the possible”. Similarly, "Science is the art of the soluble”. Explain this beautiful aphorism on the nature and practice of science.

Solution:

It is well known that to win over votes, politicians would make anything and everything possible even when they are least sure of the same. and in Science the various natural phenomena can be explained in terms of some basic laws. So as 'Politics is the art of possible' similarly 'Science is the art of the soluble.

4. Though India now has a large base in science and technology, which is fast expanding, it is still a long way from realizing its potential of becoming a world leader in science. Name some important factors, which in your view have hindered the advancement of science in India.

Solution: 

Some important factors in our view which have hindered the advancement of science in India are: 

• Proper funds are not arranged for the development of research work and laboratories. The labs and scientific instruments are very old and outdated. 
• Most of the people in India are uneducated and highly traditional. They don't understand the importance of Science. 
• There is no proper employment opportunity for the science educated person in India. 
• There are no proper facilities for science education in schools and colleges in India.

5. No physicist has ever “seen” an electron. Yet, all physicists believe in the existence of electrons. An intelligent but superstitious man advances this analogy to argue that ‘ghosts’ exist even though no one has ‘seen’ one. How will you refute his argument?

Solution: 

No physicist has ever seen an atom but there are practical evidences which prove the presence of electron. Their size is so small, even powerful microscopes find it difficult to measure their sizes. But still its effects could be tested On the other end there is no phenomena which can be explained on the basis of existence of ghosts.

6. The shells of crabs found around a particular coastal location in Japan seem mostly to resemble the legendary face of a Samurai. Given below are two explanations of this observed fact. Which of these strikes you as a scientific explanation? 

a) A tragic sea accident several centuries ago drowned a young Samurai. As a tribute to his bravery, nature through its inscrutable ways immortalized his face by imprinting it on the crab shells in that area. 

b) After the sea tragedy, fishermen in that area, in a gesture of honor to their dead hero, let free any crab shell caught by them which accidentally had a shape resembling the face of a Samurai. Consequently, the particular shape of the crab shell survived longer and therefore in course of time the shape was genetically propagated. This is an example of evolution by artificial selection. 

Solution: 

Explanation (b) is correct is a scientific explanation of the observed fact

7. 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 ? 

Solution: 

More than two centuries ago, England and Western Europe invented steam engine, electricity, theory of gravitation and the explosives. Steam engines helped them in the field of hat and thermodynamics, theory of gravitation in field of motion and making guns and These progresses brought about industrial revolution in England and Western Europe.

8. It is often said that the world is witnessing now a second industrial revolution, which will transform the society as radically as did the first. List some key contemporary areas of science and technology, which are responsible for this revolution. 

Solution: 

Some of the key contemporary areas of science and technology which may transform the society radically are: 

• Development of super-fast computers 
• Internet and tremendous advancement in information technology 
• Development in Biotechnology 
• Development of super-conducting materials at room temperature 
• Development of robots.

9. Write in about 1000 words a fiction piece based on your speculation on the science and technology of the twenty-second century. 

Solution: 

Imagine you along with your friends are in a spaceship which is moving towards Mars. The body of the spaceship is made of a specially designed matter which becomes more harder as its temperature increases. The spaceship is using nuclear fuel and there are three nuclear power plants in a spaceship. Two of them work alternatively and the third is for emergency. The speed of the spaceship is very high and all of you are very happy. The energy produced in power plants is converted into electric energy which runs the motors of the spaceship. You along with your friends reach safely on Mars, collects data, takes photographs and then returns to the Earth. On the return journey, the spaceship collides with an object in the space due to which two power plants stop to work. Now, only one power plant is working and due to overheating its efficiency is decreasing continuously. You and your friends try to reduce the temperature of the power plant by flowing air in the plant and try to repair the fuse of the other power plants. Finally, fuse of one other plant is repaired and start to work before the first plant crosses the danger limit of an excess of temperature. Finally, you and your friends return safely to Earth

10. Attempt to formulate your ‘moral’ views on the practice of science. Imagine yourself stumbling upon a discovery, which has great academic interest but is certain to have nothing but dangerous consequences for the human society. How, if at all, will you resolve your dilemma? 

Solution: 

In our view a type of discovery which is of great academic interest but harmful for human society should not be made public because Science is for the society, society is not for science. 

11. Science, like any knowledge, can be put to good or bad use, depending on the user. Given below are some of the applications of science. Formulate your views on whether the particular application is good, bad or something that cannot be so clearly categorized: 

(a) Mass vaccination against small pox to curb and finally eradicate this disease from the population. 

(b) Television for eradication of illiteracy and for mass communication of news and ideas. 

(c) Prenatal sex determination 

(d) Computers for increase in work efficiency 

(e) Putting artificial satellites into orbits around the Earth 

(f) Development of nuclear weapons 

(g) Development of new and powerful techniques of chemical and biological warfare. 

(h) Purification of water for drinking 

(i) Plastic surgery 

(j) Cloning

Solution: 

(a) Good 

(b) Good 

(c) Bad 

(d) Good 

(e) Good 

(f) Bad 

(g) Bad 

(f) Good 

(g) Good 

(h) Good

Answer 2

12. India has had a long and unbroken tradition of great scholarship - in mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, logic and ethics. Yet, in parallel with this, several superstitious and obscurantist attitudes and practices flourished in our society and unfortunately continue even today - among many educated people too. How will you use your knowledge of science to develop strategies to counter these attitudes? 

Solution: 

Poverty and illiteracy are the two major factors which make people superstitious in India. So to remove the superstitious and obscurantist attitude we have to first overcome these factors. Everybody should be educated, so that one can have scientific attitude. Knowledge of science can be put to use to prove people's superstitious wrong by showing them the scientific logic behind everything happening in our world. 

13. Though the law gives women equal status in India, many people hold unscientific views on a woman’s innate nature, capacity and intelligence, and in practice give them a secondary status and role. Demolish this view using scientific arguments, and by quoting examples of great women in science and other spheres; and persuade yourself and others that, given equal opportunity, women are on par with men. 

Solution: 

Some people in our society have the view that women do not have the innate nature, capacity and intelligence. To demolish this view there are many examples of women who have proven their abilities in Science and other fields. Madam Curie, Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi, Marget Thatcher, Rani Laxmi Bai, Florence Nightingale are some examples. So in this era women are definitely not behind man in any field.

14. “It is more important to have beauty in the equations of physics than to have them agree with experiments”. The great British physicist P. A. M. Dirac held this view. Criticize this statement. Look out for some equations and results in this book which strike you as beautiful. 

Solution: 

An equation which agrees with experiment must also be simple and hence beautiful. We have some simple and beautiful equations in Physics such as 

E = mc² (Energy of light) 

E = hv (Energy of a photon) 

KE = 1/2 mv² (Kinetic energy of a moving particle) 

PE = mgh (Potential energy of a body at rest) 

W = F d (Work done) 

All have the same dimensions. One experiment shows dependency of energy on speed, the other shows dependency on frequency & displacement. That's the beauty of equations in Physics coming from different experiments.

15. Though the statement quoted above may be disputed, most physicists do have a feeling that the great laws of physics are at once simple and beautiful. Some of the notable physicists, besides Dirac, who have articulated this feeling, are : Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Chandrasekhar and Feynman. You are urged to make special efforts to get access to the general books and writings by these and other great masters of physics. Their writings are truly inspiring ! 

Solution: 

It is absolutely true that great laws of physics are simple and beautiful. Few examples are given below. 

(i) Einstein's mass-energy equivalence relation E = mc² is simple and beautiful. 

(ii) According to Max Planck's quantum, the energy of a photon is E = hv, is also a simple and beautiful equation. 

(iii) De-Broglie wavelength associated with a particle of mass m is given by λ=h/mv . It is also a simple and beautiful equation.

16. 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. 

Solution: 

It is true that scientists like any other group of humans have their share of humorists. Two great physicists of this genre are Gamow and Feynman. Few other scientists whose name can be added in this list are CV Raman, Einstein, Bohr, former Indian president. APJ Abdul Kalam etc.