ISC 2016 Physics Question Paper for Class 12

About this paper

This is ISC Class 12 Physics Paper 1 (Theory), code 861A, from the 2016 CISCE board examination. It carries 70 marks and runs for three hours plus fifteen minutes of reading time. Part I (20 marks) is a compulsory question of five multiple-choice items, one based on a carbon resistor's colour bands, and fifteen brief answers. In Part II (50 marks) candidates answer ten five-mark questions: four from Section A on electricity, magnetism and AC, three from Section B on optics, and three from Section C on modern physics and electronics. Questions include a Kirchhoff's-law circuit, a neutral point between two parallel wires and a radioactive decay calculation. Log tables may be used and useful constants are printed at the end.

Exam

ISC Class 12

Subject

Physics

Year

2016

Paper code

861A

Maximum marks

70

Time allowed

3 hours + 15 min reading

Questions

15

Pages

8

Answers included

No, questions only

Paper pattern

• Part I

  20 marks

  Question 1, compulsory: 5 multiple-choice items and 15 short answers

• Part II – Section A

  20 marks

  Questions 2–7, five marks each; answer any four

• Part II – Section B

  15 marks

  Questions 8–11, five marks each; answer any three

• Part II – Section C

  15 marks

  Questions 12–15, five marks each; answer any three

Topics covered

• Electric field, Gauss' law and capacitors
• Current electricity and Kirchhoff's laws
• Potentiometer and galvanometer
• Magnetic effects of current and magnetic materials
• Electromagnetic induction and AC circuits
• Electromagnetic spectrum
• Huygens' principle, interference, diffraction and polarisation
• Prisms, lenses and optical instruments
• Photoelectric effect and de Broglie waves
• Bohr model, hydrogen spectrum and X-rays
• Radioactivity and nuclear binding energy
• Transistors and logic gates

Questions from this paper

1. A coil has a self-inductance of 0.05 H. Find the magnitude of the emf induced in it when the current through it changes at the rate of 100 A/s.
2. Two point charges Q₁ = 400 µC and Q₂ = 100 µC are kept fixed 60 cm apart in vacuum. Find the intensity of the electric field at the midpoint of the line joining them.
3. A metallic wire has a resistance of 3.0 Ω at 0 °C and 4.8 Ω at 150 °C. Find the temperature coefficient of resistance of its material.
4. A ray of ordinary light travelling in air is incident on an air–glass interface at a polarising angle of 56°. Find the angle of refraction in glass.
5. Monochromatic light of wavelength 198 nm falls on a metallic cathode whose work function is 2.5 eV. What potential difference must be applied between the cathode and anode of the photocell to just stop the photocurrent?
6. The half-life of a certain radioactive material is 8 hours. Find its disintegration constant, and how much of 600 g of it will disintegrate in one day.