MCQEasyJEE 2023Electromagnetic Spectrum & Applications

JEE Physics 2023 Question with Solution

By what percentage will the transmission range of a TV tower be affected when the height of the tower is increased by 21%21\%?

  • A

    12%12\%

  • B

    15%15\%

  • C

    14%14\%

  • D

    10%10\%

Answer

Correct answer:D

Step-by-step solution

Standard Method

Given: The height of the TV tower is increased by 21%21\%.

Find: The percentage change in the transmission range.

For line-of-sight communication,

d=2Rhd = \sqrt{2Rh}

So,

dhd \propto \sqrt{h}

If the new height is

h=1.21hh' = 1.21h

then the new range becomes

d1.21h=1.21h=1.1hd' \propto \sqrt{1.21h} = \sqrt{1.21}\sqrt{h} = 1.1\sqrt{h}

Hence,

d=1.1dd' = 1.1d

Therefore, the percentage change in range is

ddd×100=1.1ddd×100=10%\frac{d' - d}{d} \times 100 = \frac{1.1d - d}{d} \times 100 = 10\%

Therefore, the transmission range increases by 10%10\%. The correct option is D.

Expanded Working

Given: Original tower height is hh and new height is 1.21h1.21h.

Find: By what percentage the transmission range changes.

The range in line-of-sight communication varies as the square root of height. Using the relation given in the solution:

R=2×h×dR = \sqrt{2 \times h \times d}

When height becomes 1.21h1.21h, the new range is

R=2×1.21h×dR' = \sqrt{2 \times 1.21h \times d} R=1.212hdR' = \sqrt{1.21}\, \sqrt{2hd} R=1.1RR' = 1.1R

Now calculate the percentage increase:

RRR×100=1.1RRR×100\frac{R' - R}{R} \times 100 = \frac{1.1R - R}{R} \times 100 =0.1×100=10%= 0.1 \times 100 = 10\%

Therefore, the transmission range is affected by 10%10\%, that is, it increases by 10%10\%.

Common mistakes

  • Using the height change directly as the range change. This is wrong because the transmission range is proportional to h\sqrt{h}, not hh. Use the square-root dependence before calculating the percentage change.

  • Calculating 1.21h\sqrt{1.21h} as 1.21h1.21\sqrt{h}. This is incorrect because ab=ab\sqrt{ab} = \sqrt{a}\sqrt{b}. Here, 1.21=1.1\sqrt{1.21} = 1.1, so the multiplying factor is 1.11.1, not 1.211.21.

  • Missing that the question asks how the range is affected, not the new range itself. Finding d=1.1dd' = 1.1d is only an intermediate step; you must convert it into percentage change using ddd×100\frac{d' - d}{d} \times 100.

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