THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL

FIRST MIDTERM ASSESSMENTS

SESSION 2021 – 2022
PHYSICS
(5054)

Level: O. II Max. Marks: 25

Name: ________________________ Time: 40 min

Q.1 Fig. 1.1 shows a metal coffee cup on a metal warming plate.

Fig.1. 1 Fig.1.2
There is a small electrical heater inside the warming plate that keeps the plate hotter than the
coffee.
(a) Describe how heat is transferred through the metal and then to all of the liquid in the cup.

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(b) A cup of a different shape is placed on the same heater, as shown in Fig. 1.2. The two cups
are made of the same metal and contain the same amount of coffee.
Explain why the coffee in the cup in Fig. 1.2 is not kept as warm as the coffee in the cup in Fig.1.1.

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(c) The outside surface of the cup can be either black or white and can be either dull or shiny.
(i) Underline which colour and which type of surface is best to keep the coffee warm.

black white dull shiny [1]

(ii) Explain your answer to (c)(i).

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[Total: 6]
Q.2 Fig. 2.1 shows a domestic hot water system.

Fig. 2.1
(a) The heater is placed at the bottom of the storage tank.
Explain how the water at the top of the storage tank becomes hot. Include the word density in your
answer.

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(b) Hot water storage tanks are often covered in a material such as polystyrene or a ‘jacket’ made
from a woollen material.

(i) State the purpose of this covering.

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(ii) Suggest two reasons why the use of such a material is important.

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[Total: 6]

Q.3 A student compares the conduction of heat through different metals.

Fig shows the apparatus used.

Fig.4. 1
Four rods of different metals each have one end fixed through a cork into a metal box. The metal
box contains hot water. Each rod has a pea attached to it by wax.

(a) Heat from the hot water is conducted to the end of each rod.
Describe what happens to the wax and to the pea on one of the rods.

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(b) State two factors that should be the same for all the rods in this experiment.

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(c) State how the experiment shows which of the metals is the best conductor of heat.

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(d) The student is asked to suggest an improvement to the experiment.

He suggests placing several peas along each rod, as shown in Fig.4. 2.
 Fig.4. 2
Explain how this gives a better comparison of the conduction of heat through the different metals.

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[Total: 5]
Q.4 Fig. 4.1 shows a gas contained in a cylinder enclosed by a piston.

Fig.4. 1
At first, the length of cylinder containing the gas is 100 cm. The pressure of the gas, shown by the
pressure gauge, is 300 kPa. The area of cross-section of the cylinder is 0.12 m2.
(a) (i) Describe the motion of the molecules of the gas.

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(ii) Explain how the molecules exert a force and pressure on the walls of the cylinder.

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(iii) Calculate the force exerted by the gas on the piston.

force = ...........................................................[2]

(b) The piston is moved so that the new length of cylinder occupied by the gas is 50 cm. The
temperature of the gas is unchanged.
(i) Calculate the new pressure of the gas.

pressure = ...........................................................[2]
(ii) Explain, in terms of the behaviour of the molecules, why the pressure has changed.

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[Total: 8]