May/June 2024

A measuring cylinder partly filled with water is set on a top-pan balance. An object is then lowered into the measuring cylinder. What are the mass and the volume of the object?

Physical quantities and measurement techniques

An object with mass $5.0\,\text{kg}$ is pushed up a slope at a constant speed of $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Which calculation is used to find the change in gravitational potential energy between the bottom and the top?

Energy

A student with a mass of $60\,\text{kg}$ climbs a flight of steps. He moves $2.0\,\text{m}$ horizontally and rises $1.5\,\text{m}$ vertically. What is the work done against the force of gravity?

Work

Which electricity-generating method does not use a turbine?

Energy resources

A lamp receives an input power of $6.0\,\text{W}$. Over $3.0\,\text{s}$, it loses $2.7\,\text{J}$ of energy as waste. Calculate the efficiency of the lamp.

Efficiency

A camera is lowered into water and left at a depth of $8.0\,\text{m}$. Atmospheric pressure $= 100\,000\,\text{Pa}$. Density of water $= 1000\,\text{kg m}^{-3}$. Calculate the total pressure acting on the camera.

Pressure

In which example do the particles stay in fixed positions?

States of matter

A gas undergoes slow expansion while its temperature stays unchanged. What happens to the particles of the gas?

Particle model

Air in each of four syringes is compressed slowly, keeping the air temperature constant. The table shows the volume of the air before and after compression for each syringe. At the start, the air in all four syringes is at the same pressure. Which syringe has the smallest change in pressure?

Particle model

A liquid-in-glass thermometer is used to measure the temperature of a substance. Which physical property varies so that the temperature can be determined?

Thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases

Boiling and evaporation are different processes. Which of the statements below is correct?

Melting, boiling and evaporation

Which quantity is a vector quantity?

Physical quantities and measurement techniques

Water is in a glass beaker. If the middle of the base of the beaker is heated, a convection current forms. Which statement accounts for this?

Convection

A hot meal is provided in a container made from shiny metal foil. Why does the container help to keep the food hot?

Radiation

Which quantity is defined as the number of wavelengths that pass a point each second?

General properties of waves

A plane mirror produces an image of an object. What are the characteristics of the image produced?

Reflection of light

A light ray falls on the surface of a glass block with an angle of incidence of $45^\circ$. The refractive index of the glass is $1.8$. What is the angle of refraction inside the block?

Refraction of light

Which diagram illustrates light rays passing through a converging lens?

Thin lenses

A beam of white light falls on a glass prism. X and Y are the two ends of the visible spectrum. Which statement is correct?

Dispersion of light

Which parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are employed for communication between a remote controller and a television set, and between the Earth and a satellite?

Electromagnetic spectrum

A student strikes his hands together while standing near a wall and hears the echoes return. He makes each clap at exactly the instant he hears the echo from the clap before it. A different student begins a stop-watch at the first clap and stops it at the eleventh clap. The stop-watch shows $9.4\ \text{\,s}$, and the speed of sound is $320\ \text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the distance $x$ between the student and the wall?

Sound

A compass is positioned near a strong bar magnet and turns to the arrangement shown. What kind of magnet is a compass needle, and what is pole X?

Simple magnetism and magnetic fields

The table gives the distance covered by a car in each $2\,\text{s}$ interval over a $12\,\text{s}$ period of its journey. Which statement describes the car's motion?

Motion

Plastic and wool act as insulating materials. When samples of plastic and wool are rubbed together, electrons are transferred. Which row indicates the direction of electron transfer and the final charge on each material?

Electrical charge

Which circuit includes both a heater and a fuse?

Circuit diagrams and circuit components

A light-dependent resistor (LDR) is to be used as an input sensor in an intruder alarm circuit. If no light falls on the LDR, the lamp turns on. The resistance of the fixed resistor is lower than the resistance of the lamp. Which diagram represents the circuit?

Circuit diagrams and circuit components

A potential difference of $4.0\,\text{V}$ causes a current of $3.0\,\text{A}$ to flow through a resistor. How much energy is transferred into thermal energy in $10\,\text{s}$?

Electromotive force and potential difference

The diagram illustrates a generator. What do X and Y represent?

The a.c. generator

The diagram illustrates a loudspeaker that is making a sound. A student makes four statements about the loudspeaker. Which of the statements are correct?

Sound

A step-down transformer converts $240\,\text{V}$ a.c. into $12\,\text{V}$ a.c. The primary coil has $600$ turns. How many turns does the secondary coil have?

The transformer

Alpha particles are aimed at a thin sheet of gold foil. Only a very small fraction of the alpha particles are scattered through very large angles. Which statement about the nuclei of the gold atoms is not a conclusion drawn from this experiment?

The nucleus

A radioactive source that emits only gamma radiation is placed before a radiation detector that records the count rate. What has to happen for the count rate to rise?

Detection of radioactivity

Nuclear fusion is one method of generating energy. What does nuclear fusion mean?

Fission and fusion

Cubes $X$ and $Y$ each have the same mass, and the side length of $X$ is twice the side length of $Y$. What is the value of the ratio $\dfrac{\text{density of } X}{\text{density of } Y}$?

Density

Which of the following statements is correct?

Physical quantities and measurement techniques

An object moves down a frictionless slope, as illustrated. When the object exerts a force on the surface, the surface exerts a force on the object in return. In which direction does the surface exert this force on the object?

Forces

A car, moving along a straight road, brakes and finally stops. Which row shows the expression used to calculate the thinking distance and names a variable that affects thinking distance?

Motion

A spring of natural length $15.0\,\text{cm}$ extends by $4.0\,\text{cm}$ when a mass weighing $6.0\,\text{N}$ is hung from it. The spring does not go beyond the limit of proportionality. What is the full length of the spring when the suspended mass has a weight of $3.0\,\text{N}$?

Elastic deformation

Which of the following statements about the moment of a force about a pivot are correct?

Turning effect of forces

There are four objects with the same shape but different mass distributions. The dot labelled G shows the centre of gravity of each object. Which object is the most stable?

Centre of gravity

What quantity is measured with a micrometer?

Physical quantities and measurement techniques

The graph illustrates how the extension of four different threads varies with the load applied. Which thread is hardest to stretch across the range of loads shown?

Elastic deformation

A satellite moves round a planet along a circular path, as shown. Its speed remains constant. The planet exerts a force on the satellite. In which direction does the force on the satellite act when it is at the position shown?

Circular motion

A crane carries a $5800\,\text{N}$ counterweight, placed $2.3\,\text{m}$ from the tower on a horizontal jib. The centre of gravity $P$ of the crane jib is shown. What horizontal distance must separate the $2300\,\text{N}$ load from $P$ for the moment about $P$ to be zero?

Turning effect of forces

A car with mass $750\,\text{kg}$ moves $400\,\text{m}$ at $25\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. It then speeds up to $35\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ and goes a further $400\,\text{m}$. What is the change in the momentum of the car due to acceleration?

Momentum

A ball is released from rest at the top of a building. Air resistance may be ignored. The ball has a velocity of $14\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ as it reaches the ground. What is the height of the building?

Motion

Which energy source is available at all times throughout a 24-hour period?

Energy resources

A $15\,\text{W}$ lamp is switched on for $30$ minutes. It wastes $7000\,\text{J}$ of energy. Calculate the lamp’s efficiency.

Efficiency

Which quantity is not given in joules (J)?

Physical quantities and measurement techniques

Which statement correctly describes a liquid?

States of matter

A clear box has a partition wall at its centre. Each side contains a different gas, as shown. The partition is taken away. The box is then left undisturbed for a long time. The gases do not undergo any reaction. What is observed in the box after this?

Particle model

Two people are pulling on ropes to shift a boat along a canal. The boat travels with constant velocity. The vector diagram showing the tension in the ropes is displayed. Which vector represents the drag force acting on the boat?

Balanced and unbalanced forces

A bottle filled with a cold liquid is left on a table on a warm day. Water droplets appear on the outside of the bottle. Which process makes the droplets appear?

Melting, boiling and evaporation

What does the term specific heat capacity of a liquid mean?

Specific heat capacity

Which statement regarding infrared radiation is correct?

Electromagnetic spectrum

In air, the speed of sound is $330\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Which sound is regarded as ultrasound?

Sound

Which diagram shows how light from a distant object produces an image in a normal eye?

Thin lenses

The colour of visible light depends on its wavelength. Which list of colours is arranged in order of increasing wavelength?

Electromagnetic spectrum

A thin converging lens is used as a magnifying glass. Which row shows the image’s nature and an expression for the linear magnification?

Thin lenses

Which application is not a use of ultrasound?

Sound

Which equation is correct for potential difference (p.d.)?

Electromotive force and potential difference

The diagrams depict five electrical circuits. Every resistor shown is identical. Which circuits have the same resistance?

Series and parallel circuits

The graph illustrates how the speed of a car moving in a straight line varies with time. Which section indicates the greatest acceleration?

Motion

Which electrical appliance operates by using the heating effect of electricity?

Uses of electricity

What amount of energy, in kilowatt-hours, is consumed by a $1000\,\text{W}$ heater when it is connected to a $230\,\text{V}$ supply for $30$ minutes?

Power

What safety precautions should be followed when wiring an electric kettle with a stainless-steel outer casing?

Electrical safety

What does the earth wire in a plug connected to an appliance do?

Electrical safety

The diagram illustrates a wire carrying a current in a magnetic field. In which direction does the force act on the wire?

Forces on a current-carrying conductor

The diagram depicts a simple d.c. motor. What is the component marked Q?

The d.c. motor

The diagram depicts a transformer. A student records four statements about the way the transformer operates. 1. An alternating voltage across the primary coil leads to an unchanging voltage across the secondary coil. 2. An alternating voltage across the primary coil creates a changing magnetic field in the iron core. 3. A changing magnetic field in the iron core leads to an alternating voltage across the secondary coil. 4. An unchanging voltage across the primary coil creates a changing magnetic field across the secondary coil. Which statements describe how the transformer works?

The transformer

Which particle is the lightest?

The atom

Which pair of atoms are isotopes of the same element?

The nucleus

The following four kinds of ionising radiation are given: - alpha particles - beta particles - X-rays - gamma rays Which of these radiations may be released by the unstable nuclei of a radioactive substance?

The three types of emission

A man travels along a path from X to Y. The diagram shows the path viewed from above. He records the distance travelled and the time taken. Which quantity can be worked out using only this information?

Motion

Which nuclear reaction provides the Sun with its energy?

Fission and fusion

Which property of an object decides how strongly it resists any change in its state of rest or motion?

Mass and weight

The diagram illustrates a moon buggy that astronauts use. On Earth, the moon buggy has a mass of $210\,\text{kg}$. The gravitational field strength on the Moon is $\frac{1}{6}$ of the value on Earth. What is the moon buggy’s weight on the Moon?

Mass and weight

A car moves along a road. The force exerted on the car by the engine is $800\,\text{N}$. The car’s motion depends on the magnitude of the total resistive force $R$. Which row indicates the car’s motion for the stated value of $R$?

Balanced and unbalanced forces

The four gravitational forces acting between objects in the Solar System are given below. P: the force on the Moon due to the Earth. Q: the force on the Earth due to the Sun. R: the force on the Earth due to the Moon. S: the force on the Moon due to the Sun. Which two forces form a Newton’s third law pair?

Forces

A box is pushed up a rough incline from X to Y. The diagram indicates four forces acting on the box. Which of these forces is the frictional force on the box?

Friction

A ball is let go from rest at point A and travels along the smooth track ABCDE shown in Fig. 1.1. The ball is shown at point A and again after it has passed point B. The ball stays in contact with the track at all times and air resistance is negligible. Fig. 1.2 gives the distance-time graph for the ball as it moves from A to E.

Motion

A small aircraft lifts off from the level deck of a ship. Before it can take off, a holdback bar keeps the aircraft fixed in position. Once the holdback bar is let go, the aircraft is drawn along the deck by a steam-driven piston, as shown in Fig. 2.1. The steam applies a very large pressure to the piston.

Pressure

An ice-filled pan at $-15^\circ\text{C}$ is shown in Fig. 3.1 and is resting on a gas heater.

Conduction

An ultrasound wave with frequency $30\,\text{kHz}$ has a wavelength of $0.011\,\text{m}$ in air.

General properties of waves

Fig. 5.1 shows a section of a circuit with a $240\,\text{V}$ a.c. mains supply linked to a lamp and two heaters with resistances of $40\,\Omega$ and $60\,\Omega$.

Electrical safety

Fig. 6.1 illustrates the arrangement of a basic electric motor. As current passes through the coil, the coil begins to rotate. A student sees that the coil moves in the direction indicated by the curved arrow in Fig. 6.1.

Forces on a current-carrying conductor

Table 7.1 presents four separate nuclei.

Radioactivity

Table 8.1 presents data for three planets: Mercury, Venus and Earth.

Earth and the Solar System

Fig. 1.1 depicts two trolleys. A wooden rod is attached to the front of trolley A, while trolley B is initially stationary. When trolley A moves to the right, the rod goes into the modelling clay. Trolley A slows down and trolley B begins to move. The two trolleys then stay stuck together and keep travelling to the right. Fig. 1.1 labels: trolley A, trolley B, wooden rod, modelling clay. Fig. 1.2 presents the speed-time graph for the two trolleys. The vertical axis shows speed in m/s and the horizontal axis shows time $t$/s. The lines are labelled trolley A, trolley B, and trolley A and B. The trolleys begin to collide at time $t = 0.30\,\text{s}$. At $t = 0.50\,\text{s}$, both trolleys are moving at the same speed.

Motion

Fig. 2.1 shows a small swimming pool filled with water. The pool measures 2.1 m by 4.0 m. The water depth in the pool is $0.80\,\text{m}$. The density of water is $1000\,\text{kg m}^{-3}$.

Specific heat capacity

Fig. 3.1 illustrates a solar-powered charger linked to a cell phone (mobile phone). The battery inside the cell phone receives charge from the solar-powered charger. Fig. 3.2 presents an energy transfer diagram with boxes labelled: "[blank] energy in Sun" → light from Sun → "electric field in charger" → electrical current → "[blank] energy in battery".

Energy

Fig. 4.1 illustrates a triangular glass prism with light travelling through it. The prism has points P, Q and R marked, and the rays entering and leaving the prism are shown.

Refraction of light

A rubber balloon that starts off uncharged is rubbed against a woollen cloth, as shown in Fig. 5.1. After rubbing, the balloon becomes negatively charged. Fig. 5.1 includes boxes with the words: "balloon gains [blank] and becomes negatively charged" and "woollen cloth loses [blank] and becomes [blank] charged".

Electrical charge

Fig. 6.1 presents a circuit diagram that includes a battery, a light-dependent resistor (LDR) and a fixed resistor with resistance $240\,\Omega$ joined in series. A lamp is positioned close to the circuit. When the lamp is turned on, light from it falls on the LDR. Fig. 6.2 gives the current-voltage graph for the LDR with the lamp turned on and with the lamp turned off. The vertical axis shows current/A and the horizontal axis shows voltage/V.

Resistance

A plotting compass contains a needle. That needle is a tiny magnet that can turn around its centre. Fig. 7.1 shows the plotting compass positioned near a bar magnet. A point P is marked. Fig. 7.2 shows the apparatus used by a student to generate an alternating current (a.c.). The apparatus contains a magnet, a coil and a centre-zero ammeter. The magnet is pushed into and pulled out of the coil.

Electromagnetic induction

Fig. 8.1 shows a nebula that was produced by a supernova.

Stars

Alpha particles may be released from the nuclei of radioactive elements. This emission happens at random and is spontaneous.

Radioactivity

A student determines the volume of a small glass ball (marble) using two separate methods.

Physical quantities and measurement techniques

A student examines how the surrounding temperature changes the rate at which water cools.

Consequences of thermal energy transfer

A student is determining the focal length of a lens.

Thin lenses

Plan an experiment to determine how the thickness of a metal wire influences its resistance.

Resistance

A student examines how the resistance of a diode changes when different currents pass through it. The student arranges the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1.

Resistance

A student examines how quickly hot water cools inside a test-tube in a range of different conditions.

Transfer of thermal energy

A student studies how a metre rule balances when a load of mass $M$ is attached to it at the 5.0 cm mark.

Turning effect of forces

A student is working with a converging (convex) lens and wants to find its focal length. The focal length $f$ of a lens is obtained from the equation: $f = \frac{uv}{u + v}$ where $u$ is the separation between the object and the lens and $v$ is the separation between the focussed image of the object and the lens.

Thin lenses