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Pharmaceutics & Physical Pharmacy (Pharmacy & Pharmacology) Solved Questions & Notes (2026) - Apex Rankers

Medical & Health Sciences > Pharmacy & Pharmacology > Pharmaceutics & Physical Pharmacy

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Pharmaceutics & Physical Pharmacy

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Q. 1 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
According to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), a Class II drug is characterized by:
A
High solubility and high permeability
B
Low solubility and high permeability
✓ Correct
C
High solubility and low permeability
D
Low solubility and low permeability
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Class I = High Solubility/High Permeability; Class II = Low Solubility/High Permeability; Class III = High Solubility/Low Permeability; Class IV = Low Solubility/Low Permeability.
Q. 2 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
The rate of dissolution of a solid drug in a solvent is quantitatively described by which equation?
A
Henderson-Hasselbalch equation
B
Noyes-Whitney equation
✓ Correct
C
Michaelis-Menten equation
D
Stokes' law
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
The Noyes-Whitney equation (dC/dt = DA(Cs - C)/h) describes the rate of dissolution of spherical solid particles in a diffusion layer.
Q. 3 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
The partial or complete separation of the top or bottom crowns of a tablet from the main body is termed:
A
Capping
✓ Correct
B
Lamination
C
Mottling
D
Sticking
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Capping is the partial or complete detachment of the top or bottom face of a tablet from the main body due to air entrapment during compression.
Q. 4 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
Which mathematical law governs the sedimentation rate of particles in a pharmaceutical suspension?
A
Fick's first law of diffusion
B
Stokes' law
✓ Correct
C
Poiseuille's law
D
Beer-Lambert law
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Stokes' Law determines the sedimentation velocity (v) of spherical particles suspended in a liquid medium under the influence of gravity.
Q. 5 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
In emulsion formulation, a surfactant with a Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance (HLB) value of 3 to 6 is best suited as a:
A
Solubilizing agent
B
Water-in-oil (w/o) emulsifier
✓ Correct
C
Oil-in-water (o/w) emulsifier
D
Detergent
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Surfactants with low HLB values (3-6) are lipophilic and favor water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions, whereas high HLB values (8-16) favor oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions.
Q. 6 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
Which tablet coating defect is characterized by an uneven distribution of color on the tablet surface?
A
Picking
B
Orange peel effect
C
Mottling
✓ Correct
D
Bridging
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Mottling is an unequal distribution of coloring on a tablet surface with light or dark spots appearing on a uniform background.
Q. 7 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
Which of the following excipients is primarily used as a superdisintegrant in solid oral dosage forms?
A
Microcrystalline cellulose
B
Crosscarmellose sodium
✓ Correct
C
Magnesium stearate
D
Talc
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Crosscarmellose sodium, sodium starch glycolate, and crospovidone are superdisintegrants that rapidly swell upon contact with water to break tablets apart.
Q. 8 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
Which official test assesses the physical strength of tablets against mechanical shock and abrasion during manufacturing and shipping?
A
Disintegration test
B
Friability test
✓ Correct
C
Dissolution test
D
Hardness test
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Friability testing, performed using a Roche friabilator, measures weight loss (standard limit is normally < 1.0%) after tumbling tablets at 25 rpm for 4 minutes (100 revolutions).
Q. 9 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
The bacterial endotoxin test (BET) in pharmaceutical sterile products primarily utilizes:
A
Rabbit pyrogen test
B
Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) reagent
✓ Correct
C
Gram staining technique
D
Gas chromatography
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
The LAL test uses an aqueous extract of blood cells (amebocytes) from the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) to detect minute amounts of bacterial endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides).
Q. 10 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
What is the primary mechanism of microbial killing in dry heat sterilization using a hot air oven?
A
Protein coagulation
B
Oxidative destruction of cellular constituents
✓ Correct
C
Disruption of DNA via alkylation
D
Cell wall lysis via osmotic shock
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Dry heat sterilization destroys microorganisms primarily through cellular oxidation and desiccation, whereas moist heat (autoclave) kills via protein coagulation and denaturation.
Q. 11 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
Which type of water is official in the pharmacopoeia for the compounding and preparation of injectable parenteral solutions?
A
Purified water
B
Sterile Water for Injection (SWFI)
✓ Correct
C
Potable tap water
D
Bacteriostatic Water for Irrigation
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Water for Injection (WFI) or Sterile Water for Injection (SWFI) is pyrogen-free, sterile purified water obtained by distillation or reverse osmosis meeting strict endotoxin limits (< 0.25 EU/mL).
Q. 12 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Hard (1 Mark)
In rheology, a fluid whose viscosity decreases as shear rate increases without a yield value is called:
A
Dilatant (shear-thickening)
B
Pseudoplastic (shear-thinning)
✓ Correct
C
Newtonian
D
Bingham plastic
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Pseudoplastic flow (shear-thinning) is exhibited by polymeric solutions where viscosity decreases with increasing shear stress, essential for injectable suspensions and ophthalmic drops.
Q. 13 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
Which polymer is widely utilized as an enteric coating material because it remains insoluble in gastric acid (pH < 5.5) but dissolves in intestinal juice?
A
Cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP)
✓ Correct
B
Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)
C
Polyethylene glycol (PEG)
D
Ethyl cellulose
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP) and Eudragit L/S are polycarboxylic polymers with free acid groups that are un-ionized and insoluble at low stomach pH, but ionize and dissolve in the duodenum.
Q. 14 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
The electrical potential existing at the shear plane (slipping plane) of a colloidal particle in suspension is known as:
A
Nernst potential
B
Zeta potential
✓ Correct
C
Streaming potential
D
Donnan potential
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Zeta potential governs the electrostatic repulsion between adjacent, similarly charged particles. In flocculated suspensions, zeta potential is typically around +/- 20 to 30 mV.
Q. 15 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
Lyophilization is a pharmaceutical drying process operating on the principle of:
A
Evaporation under atmospheric pressure
B
Sublimation of frozen ice crystals directly into vapor under vacuum
✓ Correct
C
Spray drying with hot circulating air
D
Centrifugal fluidization
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Lyophilization (freeze-drying) dries thermolabile products (proteins, antibiotics) by freezing the solution and sublimating ice directly to water vapor below the triple point of water.
Q. 16 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
According to the USP, what is the maximum permissible percentage weight loss for standard compressed tablets in the friability test?
A
0.1%
B
0.5%
C
1.0%
✓ Correct
D
2.0%
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
According to USP/BP pharmacopoeial standards, the maximum acceptable limit for tablet friability is not more than 1.0% of the initial weight, with no broken or cracked tablets.
Q. 17 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
Which of the following is an example of an oil-soluble antioxidant frequently incorporated into oily pharmaceutical vehicles?
A
Ascorbic acid
B
Sodium metabisulfite
C
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
✓ Correct
D
Sodium thiosulfate
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene), BHA, and Tocopherols (Vitamin E) are lipid-soluble antioxidants, while ascorbic acid and sodium metabisulfite are water-soluble antioxidants.
Q. 18 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
The phenomenon where an emulsion separates into two distinct phases that cannot be re-homogenized upon shaking is called:
A
Creaming
B
Flocculation
C
Cracking (breaking)
✓ Correct
D
Phase inversion
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Cracking or breaking is an irreversible destruction of the protective emulsifying film where globules coalesce into separate bulk phases. Creaming, by contrast, is reversible upon shaking.
Q. 19 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
Which parenteral route of administration offers 100% systemic bioavailability by definition?
A
Intramuscular (IM)
B
Subcutaneous (SC)
C
Intravenous (IV) bolus
✓ Correct
D
Intradermal (ID)
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
By pharmacologic definition, intravenous (IV) administration places 100% of the active drug dose directly into the systemic circulation, meaning bioavailability F = 1.0 (100%).
Q. 20 Pharmacy
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
Vesicular carrier systems composed of concentric phospholipid bilayers enclosing an aqueous core are designated as:
A
Micelles
B
Liposomes
✓ Correct
C
Niosomes
D
Microemulsions
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Liposomes are microscopic vesicular drug delivery carriers formed by concentric phospholipid bilayers capable of entrapping hydrophilic drugs in the core and lipophilic drugs in the bilayer.
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