Section A and B:

Physical measurements, units and

mechanics
1 Dividing 9 ⫻ 10–2 by 3 ⫻ 10–8 gives:
A 3 ⫻ 10–10
B 3 ⫻ 10–6
C 3 ⫻ 10–4
D 3 ⫻ 106

2 Which one of the following would NOT give rise to a systematic error in an experiment?
A A stopwatch that runs slow.
B A ruler marked only to the nearest half centimetre.
C Air resistance when you measure g by dropping an object.
D Heat loss to the room when you measure the power of a heater by finding how
quickly it will warm up some water.

3 A spring is 100 mm long when unstretched. A 40 N load is hung from it, and its total length
increases to 120 mm. A different load on the spring causes it to become 150 mm long. If the
spring obeys Hooke’s Law, this second load is:
A 50 N
B 60 N
C 80 N
D 100 N

4 Two separate forces are acting on a bar to cause it to rotate clockwise. One force is 20 N, at a
distance of 3 m out from the pivot; the second force, 2 m further out, is 10 N.Their combined
moment is:
A 80 Nm
B 110 Nm
C 80 Nm–1
D 110 Nm–1
5 A girl whose weight is 250 N walks up a slope 40 m long onto a platform 3 m high.
Her gain in gravitational potential energy is:
A 750 J
B 7500 J
C 10 000 J
D 100 000 J

6 In which one of the following four cases would the pressure be greatest?

Liquid Density of liquid / kg m–3 Depth below surface / m

A 13 000 2
B 3 000 9
C 2 000 11
D 1 000 24

7 A boy throws a cricket ball straight up in the air. At the very top of its flight:
A the ball’s velocity and acceleration are both zero.
B the ball’s velocity is at a minimum and its acceleration is at a maximum.
C the ball’s velocity is about to change sign and its acceleration is g.
D the ball’s velocity and acceleration are both about to change sign.

8 Which one of the following is NOT a vector quantity?

A force
B velocity
C kinetic energy
D acceleration

9 Which one of these four statements is NOT true?

A A passenger in a speeding car possesses a forward force due to his motion.
B If you exert a 30 N push on a wall, the wall pushes back on you with a force of 30 N.
C The force of gravity is the cause of a satellite’s circular motion.
D On the Moon, a feather and a piece of rock would both fall at the same rate.
10 A force of 100 N starts to act on a body of mass 20 kg which is initially at rest. After 10 s its
velocity will be:
A 20 ms–1
B 25 ms–1
C 50 ms–1
D impossible to work out from the information given.
Section C:
Thermal physics and kinetic theory
11 The following statements describe an ordinary mercury-in-glass laboratory thermometer.Which
one of them is NOT true?
A The glass walls of the bulb are thick, so it can be used for stirring liquids.
B Mercury is a metal, which helps it to respond more quickly to changing temperatures.
C The hole up the glass stem is very thin, so the degree marks are well spaced.
D The hole up the glass stem is of uniform diameter, so the degree marks are evenly
spaced out.

12 The following statements describe the molecules in a gas at around room temperature. Which
one is NOT true?
A They are well spaced out on average.
B If the temperature rises, they expand slightly.
C They move very quickly.
D Their motion is random.

13 You look through a microscope to view the Brownian motion of smoke in a container of air.
Which one of the following statements is NOT true?
A You are seeing tiny lumps of solid being bombarded by invisible molecules of air.
B If the air pressure was increased, the specks would on average move further between
each change in direction.
C If the air was much warmer, the motion of the specks would appear more lively.
D If all the air was removed from the container, the motion of the specks would cease.

14 Sweating can help to cool the body. This cooling is achieved mainly by:
A conduction.
B convection.
C evaporation.
D radiation.
15 The air temperature on a particular day is 27 °C. An air bubble trapped in a tube by a thread of
liquid is able to expand freely if it is heated. At what temperature would you expect the volume
of the air bubble to double?
A 54 °C
B 127 °C
C 227 °C
D 327 °C

16 The specific heat capacity of a particular liquid is 3000 J kg–1 K–1. A large beaker containing
2 kg of the liquid has to be warmed from 25 °C to 35 °C. A 100 W heater is used. If all the
thermal energy could be transferred to the liquid, how long would it take?
A 100 s
B 300 s
C 600 s
D 900 s

17 The units of specific latent heat are:

A J kg–1
B J kg–1 K–1
C W kg–1
D W kg–1 K–1

18 Boiling and evaporation both involve a liquid turning into a vapour (i.e. a gas).The following
statements relate to water.Which one is NOT true?
A Evaporation can happen only at the surface of the water.
B Boiling occurs within the main body of the water.
C Evaporation of water happens at all temperatures, but does so more rapidly when warm.
D Boiling of water can only happen at exactly 100 °C.
Section D:
Light and waves
19 Which one of the following statements about light passing down an optical glass fibre is NOT
true?
A The light cannot escape from the walls of the fibre due to total internal reflection.
B The glass fibre must have a higher refractive index than the medium surrounding it.
C The light must be incident on the walls at an angle less than the critical angle.
D The light travels more slowly down the fibre than it would through air.

20 The splitting of a beam of white light into the colours which make it up is called:
A dispersion.
B deviation.
C diffraction.
D divergence.

21 Which one of these statements is true for ALL electromagnetic waves?

A They all travel through space at the same speed.
B They can all cause ionisation.
C They can all pass through glass.
D They can all blacken a photographic film.

22 A lens forms a real image of magnification ⫻3.Which one of the following statements is NOT
true?
A The lens is a converging lens.
B The image is further from the lens than the object is.
C The image is upright.
D The image could be cast on a screen.

23 When we focus on a near object, the lens in our eye:

A becomes thinner.
B becomes fatter.
C moves closer to the retina.
D moves further from the retina.
24 A ripple travels over the surface of some water. Its wavelength is 2 m, its amplitude is 0.1 m and
its frequency is 0.5 Hz.The speed of the ripple is:
A 0.2 m s–1
B 0.25 m s–1
C 1 m s–1
D 2 ms–1

25 A loudspeaker emits a steady note. A girl sings a note which is of lower pitch but higher volume.
The sound wave she is producing has:
A a larger frequency and a larger amplitude.
B a smaller frequency and a larger amplitude.
C a larger frequency and a smaller amplitude.
D a smaller frequency and a smaller amplitude.

26 The lowest and the highest frequencies a typical young person’s ear can detect are
approximately:
A 10 Hz to 100 Hz.
B 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz.
C 25 Hz to 2500 Hz.
D 50 Hz to 50 000 Hz.

27 Which one of the following statements about diffraction is true?

A It happens with light but not with sound.
B It is caused by a change in the speed of a wave.
C It is more noticeable with short wavelengths than with long ones.
D It causes some light to enter into a shadow zone.

28 Which one of the following statements about constructive interference is NOT true?
A It happens when two identical sets of waves reach a point in phase.
B With radio waves it would result in good reception.
C It is a consequence of the principle of superposition.
D It can happen with transverse waves but not with longitudinal ones.
Sections E1 and E2:
Electricity and magnetism
29 A current of 2 mA is flowing through a wire. How long will it take for 6 coulombs of charge to
pass?
A 0.003 s
B 3s
C 5 min
D 50 min

30 When a metal wire carries an electric current, charges flow through it.The moving charges are:
A positive ions.
B protons.
C negative ions.
D electrons.

31 Which one of the following statements about an ammeter is NOT true?

A It should be put into the actual circuit, so the current to be measured flows through it.
B In a circuit comprising just a battery and a bulb, its reading will be the same after the
bulb as before it.
C You must connect the terminal marked ‘+’ (or coloured red) to the negative side
of the battery.
D The lower the resistance of an ammeter the better.

32 Two resistors, one of 4 ⍀ and one of 6 ⍀, are connected in parallel.Their combined resistance
is:
A 0.42 ⍀
B 1.5 ⍀
C 2.4 ⍀
D 24 ⍀

33 Which one of the following is NOT a magnetic material?

A copper
B nickel
C steel
D cobalt
34 The following statements describe a magnetic field plot, showing the lines of force.Which one is
true?
A It tells you the direction of the field, but nothing about its strength.
B In a plot of the earth’s field, the arrows point toward the earth’s magnetic north.
C The arrows on the lines tell you the direction in which a magnet would move along the line.
D The lines of force must run from one magnetic pole to another, and can never go in a
closed circle.

35 What would be the best materials to use for making the coil and the core of an electromagnet?

Coil Core
A copper steel
B copper iron
C iron steel
D iron iron

36 In Fleming’s Left Hand Rule describing the motor effect, the directions are:

Thumb First finger Second finger

A force magnetic field current
B magnetic field force current
C magnetic field current force
D current force magnetic field

37 Which one of the following statements about a voltmeter is NOT true?

A The lower a voltmeter’s resistance the better.
B It does not form part of the actual electrical circuit.
C Its ‘+’ (or red) terminal should be connected to the side closest to the positive of
the battery.
D It will give a reading across the terminals of the battery even when the switch in the
circuit is turned off.
38 The graph shows the results of an experiment to investigate
the relationship between the voltage placed across a light bulb
and the current which then flows through it.Which one of the
following statements is NOT true?
A You can use this graph to deduce the power of the bulb at
any voltage.
B The gradient of the graph close to the origin can tell you
the resistance of the bulb’s filament at room temperature.
C If the voltage kept increasing, the graph would eventually
become horizontal before the filament melts.
D The shape of the curve indicates that as the voltage
increases the resistance of the filament rises.

39 An electron, with its charge of 1.6 ⫻ 10–19 C, is moved from one place at +8 V to a different
place which is at 0 V.The energy released will be:
A 1.3 ⫻ 10–18 J
B –1.3 ⫻ 10–18 J
C 2.0 ⫻ 10–20 J
D –2.0 ⫻ 10–20 J

40 A 10 V battery delivers a steady current of 2 A. How long will it be before 1.0 kJ of energy is
supplied to the circuit?
A 0.05 s
B 50 s
C 100 s
D 200 s

41 A dynamo connected to a circuit is being turned.Which one of the following would NOT
generate a greater e.m.f.?
A Reducing the resistance of the circuit.
B Turning the dynamo faster.
C Using stronger magnets in the dynamo.
D Increasing the number of turns in the coil of the dynamo.

42 The following statements refer to the laminated core of a transformer.Which one of them is
NOT true?
A It is made from a large number of separate flat sheets.
B It is made of iron.
C It is designed to reduce energy losses due to eddy currents generated in it.
D It is a horseshoe shape with a short gap for the poles.
43 The statements refer to a fuse.Which one is true?
A The wire in it is made of tungsten, like the wire in a bulb filament.
B The fuse must always be in the live line and not in the neutral (return).
C Its purpose is to protect you if you get an electric shock.
D If the fuse gets a little warm there must be a problem.

44 For the combination of an AND gate and an OR gate as shown, which one of the four lines in
the table is correct?

Input P Input Q Output X Output Y

A 0 0 0 1
B 0 1 0 1
C 1 0 0 1
D 1 1 1 0
Section F:
The physics of the atom
45 The existence of a neutral particle named the neutron was first confirmed experimentally by:
A Thomson
B Rutherford
C Bohr
D Chadwick

46 A certain nucleus has 12 protons and 16 neutrons.Which one of the following statements about
the nucleus is NOT true?
A If it is part of a neutral atom, the nucleus will have 12 electrons in orbit round it.
B An atom having a nucleus with 11 protons and 16 neutrons is another isotope of it.
C Two different isotopes of the same element will have identical chemical properties.
D If the original nucleus emitted a ␤ particle, it would now have 13 protons and 15 neutrons.

47 The nucleus of a carbon atom has six protons and eight neutrons.Which one of the following
describes it?

Atomic no. (Z) Mass no. (A)

A 6 8
B 8 6
C 6 14
D 8 14

48 Which one of the following statements about ␣ particles is NOT true?

A An alpha particle is identical to a hydrogen nucleus.
B Alpha particles are emitted at high speed, typically around 1/10 the speed of light.
C Alpha particles will be deflected by electric fields because they carry a charge.
D Alpha particles will be deflected by magnetic fields due to the motor effect.
49 A detector close to a sample of radioactive material records 76 counts per second (cps).
Precisely 2 days later the count rate has fallen to 22 cps.The count rate due to background
radiation, taken immediately before and after the experiment, averaged 4 cps. The half-life of the
material is:
A a little over 1 day.
B exactly 1 day.
C a little under 1 day.
D exactly 0.5 day.

50 The method by which certain uranium and plutonium nuclei can release energy in a reactor is
known as:
A nuclear fission.
B nuclear emission.
C nuclear decay.
D nuclear fusion.