Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

No. Questions & Answers

1. What is the smallest division in a stopwatch
Answer:
0.2 s

2. What is the function of the tail in a vernier caliper?

Answer:
To measure the depth of test tube

3. What is function of the jaws in a vernier caliper?

Answer:
To measure the inner length(diameter) and external length(diameter)

4. What is zero error?

Answer:
The zero error of a measuring instrument is the measure that it shows when it should
actually be showing zero.
5. Give example of a systematic error.
Answer:
Zero error: A voltmeter might show a reading of 1 volt even when it is disconnected in
a circuit. This means the systematic error is 1 volt and all measurements shown by this
voltmeter will be a volt higher than the true value.

6. What is one oscillation of a swing?

Answer:
One repetition of an oscillation as an object travels from any point (in a certain
direction) back to the same point and begins to move again in the original direction.

7. What is momentum?
Answer:
The product of the mass of an object and its velocity.
8. Give two types of collision.
Answer:
Elastic collision and inelastic collision
9. What is principle of conservation of momentum?
Answer:
If objects collide, the total momentum before the collision is the same as the total
momentum after the collision
(provided that no external forces - for example, friction - act on the system).

1
 Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

10. What is kinetic energy?

Answer:
The energy possessed by an object due to its motion.
11. What is gravitational potential energy?
Answer:
Gravitational potential energy is energy an object possesses because of its position in
a gravitational field.
12. What is principle of conservation of energy?
Answer:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy can be transformed from one form to
another.The total energy in a closed system is constant .
13. Give 2 characteristics of graph velocity against time.
Answer:
The gradient of graph v-t is acceleration and the area under graph v-t is displacement
14. What is frictional force?
Answer:
Frictional Force is the force that opposes motion between two surfaces.
15. What is resolution of force?
Answer:
The separation of a single force into two perpendicular components called the vertical
and the horizontal component

16. What is resultant force?

Answer:
A single force the represents in magnitude and direction two or more forces acting on
an object
17. What is equilibrium of forces?
Answer:
Situation in which an object is satationary or moves with a constant velocity in a
straight line.
18. What is impulse?
Answer:
The change of momentum
19. What is impulsive force?
Answer:
The rate of change of momentum
20. What is density?
Answer:
Mass per unit volume
21. What is atmospheric pressure?
Answer:
Pressure caused by the weight of the atmosphere

2
 Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

22. Explain why atmospheric pressure at higher level is lower.

Answer:
At higher altitudes, the density and the temperature of the air are lower. As a result,
the frequency of collisions of the molecules is lower. Hence, atmospheric pressure is
lower.
23. Explain the application of atmospheric pressure in drinking
straw.
Answer:
When we suck through a straw, the air pressure in
the straw is lowered.
Then the pressure of the atmosphere acting on the
surface of the drink in the glass pushes the water
up the straw and into our mouth.

24. Explain the application of atmospheric pressure in vacuum cleaner.

Answer:
A vacuum cleaner produces only a partial vacuum. The
fan inside the cylinder blows air out of the vents.
Which less air inside, the air pressure there drops.
The atmospheric pressure outside then pushes air into
the cleaner hose, carrying dust and dirt with it.

25. What is specific heat capacity?

Answer: The Specific Heat Capacity is the amount of heat required to change 1 kg of
a substance by 1°C in temperature

26. What is the relationship between specific heat capacity, c and time of a substance to be hot?
Answer:
The higher the specific heat capacity, the longer the time of a substance to be hot.
e.g: water has a higher specific heat capacity, use as a coolant because difficult to
heat up.
27. Give the formula to calculate specific heat capacity, c? Answer: c= Q/mθ
28. State the relationship between specific heat capacity, c and mass, m, difference in temperature,θ ,
quantity of heat, Q.
Answer: Look at the formula in 27.
29. What is specific latent heat of fusion and vaporization?
Answer:

30. Give the formula to calculate specific latent heat, l

Answer: l= Q/m

3
 Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

31. State the relationship between l and m and Q

Answer: Find from the formula in Question 30. Use variation method to find out the
relationship.
32. Explain the experiment to determine the specific heat capacity of solid
Answer:

33. Explain the experiment to determine the latent heat of fusion of solid
Answer:

34.
Answer:
- Phenomena where the direction of light is changed when it crosses the boundary
between two materials of different optical densities.
- It due to the change in the velocity of light as it passes from one medium into
another.

35. Draw a ray diagram to show the image of a coin at the base of a beaker containing water.

image

object

36. What is refractive index, n?

Answer: The refractive index of a medium is a measure of how much the speed of light
(or other waves such as sound waves) is reduced inside the medium.
37. State the relationship between refractive index and density of an object.
Answer: The higher the density of an object, the higher the refractive index
38. State all equations involving refractive index.
Answer: n = sin i/sin r and n = apparent depth/real depth and n = 1/sin c
39. Explain how a man shoots a fish in water so that he hits the target.
Answer:
As light travels from one medium into another, it bends or refracts, so the fish that
the man see from the surface is actually the refracted image of the fish in the water
(apparent fish). The actual fish is deeper in the water than the apparent fish.
Therefore, he should shoot a target at lower position from the image of the fish.
40. What is focal length?
Answer: The distance between the focal point and the optical centre

4
 Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

41. Draw a ray diagram to show the formation of image in plane mirror.
42. Draw a ray diagram to show the formation of image in convex mirror.
43. Draw a ray diagram to show the formation of image in concave mirror
44. Draw a ray diagram to show the formation of image in concave lens
45. Draw a ray diagram to show the formation of image in convex lens
46. Draw a ray diagram to show the reflection of light in a torch light
Answer: (Torchlight and car head lamp use a concave mirror to reflect all light rays to one
direction)

47. Draw a ray diagram to show the reflection of light in a car head lamp
Answer: (Same like torchlight)
48. What is frequency?
Answer:
The number of cycles of an oscillating motion which occur per second.
49. What is wavelength?
Answer: The horizontal distance between two successive equivalent points on a wave
50. What is damping?
Answer:
Energy loss from an oscillating system to the surrounding in the form of heat energy
51. What cause damping to happen?
Answer: External frictional force like air resistance and internal frictional force
52. Draw a graph amplitude against time to show damping process.
Answer:

53. Explain how bright and dark region is produced on the screen of a ripple tank
Answer:
-The water acts as a lens to produce a pattern of bright and dark.
-Water waves have crests and troughs.
-A crest is the highest position of the wave acts as a convex lens, whereas a trough is
the lowest position acts as a concave lens.

5
 Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

-Light rays from the lamp on top will focus onto the
white screen below. The bright lines correspond to
the crests, and the dark lines correspond to the
troughs.

54. What is interference?

Answer: The phenomena in which two sets of coherent waves meet/combine
55. Give equation of interference. Answer: λ = ax/D
56. What is the relationship between x, a, λ and D.
Answer:
From formula in Question 55, use variation method to find out the relationship.
57. Name two types of wave.
Answer: Longitudinal wave and transverse wave
58. Give an example of longitudinal wave and transverse wave.
Answer:Longitudinal wave – sound wave Transverse wave – water wave
59. Explain how sound waves can travel.
Answer:
Sound waves are produced when a vibrating object causes the air molecules around it
to vibrate.
• When an object vibrates, layers of air vibrate and the sound energy is propagated
through the air around it in the form of waves.
• When the tuning fork moves forwards, the air is compressed.
• When the tuning fork moves backwards, the air layers are pulled apart and cause a
rarefaction.
• Therefore, a series of compression and rarefactions will produce sound.
60. Explain an experiment to show refraction of sound waves.
Answer: By using a lens-shaped balloon filled with carbon dioxide to bring sound waves
to a focus.
P At position Q, the ‘tick’ sound from clock
is heard more clearly than P and R because
Q the sound wave refracted and focuses at
Q.
Lens-shaped balloon filled with
carbon dioxide R

6
 Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

61. Explain why sound from distant object sound clearly at night compare to daytime.
Answer:
Sound waves travel faster in warm air than in cold air.
On a hot day, the hot surface of the Earth causes the layer of air near the surface to
be warmer.
This causes sound waves too be refracted away from the Earth.
On a cool night, the sound waves travel slower in the cooler layer of air near the
surface of the Earth than in the upper, warmer air. The waves are refracted towards
the Earth. Hence, sound can be heard over a longer distance on a cold night compared
with a hot day.
62. What is electromagnetic wave?
Answer:
Waves which consist of a joint electric and magnetic fields which oscillate
perpendicular to each other

63. What is the type of electromagnetic wave use in radar system

Answer: Microwave
64. Why the wave in question 63 was used.
Answer:
- Microwave has short wavelength and high frequency.
- It can be reflected
- Microwaves can penetrate haze, light rain and snow, clouds and smoke.
65. Compare series and parallel circuit in term of voltage, current and resistance.
Answer:

66. Explain why parallel circuit is used in a house wiring system

Answer:
-Effective resistance is much smaller when connected in parallel circuit.
-If any devices/components broke down, others can still be used.
-The circuit breaker / fuse can be connected to each path for safety.
-Only certain devices that are not in used can be switched off. The current can still
flow through the other path
67. What is electrical power?
Answer: The rate of electrical energy dissipated or transferred
68. What is meant by 240V 1000W?
Answer: The electrical appliance use 240 V of voltage to generates 100W of power
69. Give the equation to calculate electrical power and energy Answer: P = IV , E =P/t E=IV/t
70. Give an equation to calculate energy loss in a wire.
Answer: E = Pt
71. What is a fuse?
Answer: A metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows, which

7
 Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

interrupts the circuit in which it is connected.

72. Give the factors that affect the resistance of a wire.
Answer: Length, diameter of wire, type of wire and temperature of wire
73. What is magnetic field?
Answer: A region round a current –carrying conductor in which a magnetic force acts
74. Draw the magnetic field pattern of a current carrying conductor
Answer:
75. State the rule used to determine the direction of magnetic field of a current carrying conductor and a
coin carrying current
76. State the rule used to determine the direction of magnetic field in a solenoid.

77. What is cathode ray?

Answer: The beam of electrons which moves from cathode to anode at high speed
across a vacuum
78. Explain hot a green spot is produced on the screen of a CRO. Answer: Electron beam from the
cathode hits the fluorescent screen; the phosphor on the screen is excited and light is
emitted from that point. This conversion of kinetic energy into light allows us to write
with points or lines of light on an otherwise darkened screen
79. What is peak voltage, Vp.
Answer:

80. What is the meaning of a CRO set at Y-gain 2V/div?

Answer:

81. What is the meaning of a CRO set at time-base 5ms/div?

Answer:

82. What is transistor?

Answer:
An electronic device which has three terminals labelled base, collector and emitter,
made by fusing the n-type and p-type semiconductors
83. Give two uses a transistor.
Answer: Automatic switch and current ampifier
84. What is the characteristic of a LDR resistor?
Answer:
85. Give an equation to determine voltage in a voltage divider circuit.
Answer:
 Rx 
Vx =  V
R +R 
 x y 
86. What is a characteristic of Beta ray?
Answer:
- Negatively charge

8
 Checklist Fizik SPM 2010

- Attracted to positive terminal plate

- Can stop using Aluminium plate
87. What is decay process?
Answer: The process in which an unstable nucleus changes into a more stable nucleus
by emitting radiation
88 Give an equation of Beta decay.
Answer:

89. What is mass defect in decay process?

Answer: Sum of the masses before reaction – sum of the masses after reaction
90. Give an equation to calculate energy released. Answer: E=mc2
91. What is half-life?
Answer: The time taken for the number of the undecayed nuclei in the sample to be
reduced to half of its original number

92. Explain how to determine the half life of a substance from graph activity against time.
Answer:e.g