PHYSICS QUESTIONS

Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.81 ms-2

Electron charge, e = 1.6 x 10-19C.
Mass of electron = 9.11 x 10-31kg
Mass of earth = 5.97 x 1024kg.
Planck’s constant, h = 6.6 x 10-34 Js.
Stefan’s constant, σ = 5.7 x 10-8Wm-2K-4
Radius of the sun = 7 x 108m.
Radius of earth = 6.4 x 106m.
Radius of earth’s orbit about the sun = 1.5 x 10 11m
Speed of light in a vacuum, c = 3 x 108 ms-1
Specific heat capacity of water = 4200J kg -1 K-1
Universal Gravitational constant, G = 6.67 x 10-11Nm2 kg-2
Avogadro’s Number NA = 6.02 x 1023 mol-1.
SECTION A

1. (a) (i) What is meant by dimensions of physical quantities (1)

(ii) The viscous Force, F acting on a spherical ball of radius, r falling
centrally with terminal velocity v through a viscous liquid is given by

F = 6πrηv

where η is the coefficient of viscosity of the liquid. Using the

method of dimensional analysis, find the dimensions of η. (3)

(b) (i) What is meant by limiting frictional force. (1)

(ii) State the laws of limiting friction. (3)
(iii) Describe briefly how you can determine the coefficient of limiting
friction between a block and a flat surface. (4)

(c) A uniform ladder of 4m and weight 10.0kg rests in equilibrium with its top
resting against a smooth vertical wall and the foot on a rough horizontal
ground 3.0m away from the wall. If a man of 60kg stands 1m from the
foot of the ladder as measured along the length of the ladder,
(i) draw a diagram to show the forces acting on the ladder. (2)
(ii) find the coefficient of limiting friction between the ladder and the
ground. (4)

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 (d) State four useful applications of frictions. (2)

2. (a) (i) What is meant by the terms displacement and uniform acceleration
as applied in linear motion. (2)
(ii) Sketch a displacement time graph for a body moving with uniform
acceleration. (2)

(b) (i) Distinguish between a vector and scalar quantities. Give one
example of each. (3)
(ii) Forces of 2.5N, 4.00N and 5.5N act on a particle O as shown in the
figure below. Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant
force on the particle. (6)

2.5N
y

45o

30o x

5.5 N

4.0 N

(c) (i) Define centre of gravity. (1)

(ii) Explain briefly what is meant by unstable equilibrium. (2)

(d) Describe simple experiment you can carry out to determine the centre of
gravity of an irregular lamina. (4)

SECTION B

3. (a) What is meant by the terms

(i) Thermometric property? (1)

(ii) Triple point of water? (1)

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 (b) (i) Describe the steps taken to establish a celsius scale of temperature.
(4)
(ii) Explain why two thermometers may give different readings for the
same unknown temperature. (2)

(c) Describe with the aid of a well labelled diagram how a constant volume
gas thermometer may be used to measure temperature. (6)

(d) The resistance of an element of a platinum thermometer is 2.00Ω at the ice

point and 2.73Ω at the steam point. What temperature on the platinum
resistance scale would correspond to a resistance of 8.34Ω? (4)

4. (a) (i) Define specific heat capacity and state its unit. (2)
(ii) Describe with the help of a well labelled diagram how specific heat
capacity of a liquid can be measured using the electric method.
(6)
(iii) What are three factors that determine the amount of heat absorbed
or loss by a substance? (3)

(b) A piece of copper of mass 100.0g is heated to 100 oC and then transferred
to a well lagged copper calorimeter of mass 50.0g containing 200.0g of
water at 10oC. Neglecting heat loss, calculate the final steady temperature
of the water after it has been well stirred. (5)
(Take specific heat capacity of copper and water to be 400J kg -1K-1 and
4200J kg-1 K-1 respectively)

SECTION C

4. (a) (i) With the aid of a labelled diagram, describe Millikan’s experiment
to determine electron charge on an oil drop. (5)
(ii) An oil drop of density, ρ fall in air of density, σ and coefficient of
viscosity, η, between two metal plates with a terminal velocity, v.
Derive an expression for the radius, r of the oil drop. (6)

(b). In an experiment to determine the electron charge using Millikan’s

experiment a potential difference of 1.5kV is applied between a horizontal

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 parallel metal plates 12mm apart. With the electric field switched off, an oil
drop of mass 1.0 x 10-14kg is observed to fall with a constant velocity of
4.0 x 10-4ms-1. When the electric field is switched on the drop rises with a
constant velocity of 8.0 x 10-5ms-1. Calculate the number of number of
charge on the drop. (5)
(Density of oil = 800kgm , coefficient of viscosity of air = 1.8 x 10 Nsm-2).
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(c). Explain how Millikan’s experiment proves that charge is quantised. (4)

END