Department of Science Physics Grade 8

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 ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS

1. A train travels 9 km from station A to station B.

It takes 15 minutes.
(a) (i) State the equation linking average speed, distance moved and time taken.
(1 mark)

(ii) Calculate the average speed of the train and give its unit. (3 marks)

Speed = …………….
(iii) The maximum speed of the train must be higher than the value you have
calculated.
Explain why. (2 marks)

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 (b) The train continues along a straight track from station B to station C.
The graph shows how the velocity of the train changes with time during this part of
the journey.

(i) Use the graph to calculate the acceleration of the train, in m/s², during the
first 100 seconds after it leaves station B. (3 marks)

Acceleration = ………….m/s²

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 (ii) Use the graph to calculate the distance, in m, between station B and station C.
(4 marks)

Distance = ……………. m

(Total 12 marks)

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 2. A boy steps off a high board into a swimming pool.
Fig.2 shows the forces acting on the boy at one point in his fall.

Fig 2

(a) The 540 N force is caused by gravitational attraction.

State the cause of the 100 N force. (1 mark)

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(b) Calculate the mass of the boy. (3 marks)

Mass of the boy = ………..

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 (b) Calculate the resultant force on the boy.
State its direction. (3 marks)

Resultant force = ……………

Direction = ……………….

(c) What is meant by resultant force? (2 marks)

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(Total 9 marks)

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 3. A student investigates the extension of a spring for different forces.
(a) List the laboratory apparatus that the student needs for this investigation.
(3 marks)

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(b) Explain how the student can investigate whether the spring obeys Hooke’s law.
(5 marks)

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 (c) The student finds that the spring obeys Hooke’s law.
Draw a graph on the axes to show the Hooke’s law relationship.
Label the axes. (4 marks)

(d) The student concludes that the spring shows elastic behaviour.
Explain what is meant by the term elastic behaviour. (2 marks)

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(Total 14 marks)

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4. A car driver sees the traffic in front is not moving and brakes to stop his car.

(a) Stopping distance = …………………………………………………… (1 mark)

(b) What is meant by the ‘braking distance’? (2 marks)

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(i) The braking distance of a car depends on the speed of the car and the braking
force.
State one other factor that affects braking distance. (1 mark)

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(ii) How does the braking force needed to stop a car in a particular distance depend
on the speed of the car? (1 mark)

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 (c) Figure 4 shows the distance–time graph for the car in the 10 seconds before the
driver applied the brakes.

Fig 4

Use Figure 4 to calculate the speed the car was travelling at.
Show clearly how you work out your answer. (3 marks)

Speed = ……………

(Total 8 marks)

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 5. Fig. 5 shows two cars, A and B, before they collide

Fig 5
Car B, of mass 1200 kg, is stationary. Car A, of mass 2000 kg, is travelling towards
car B at 18 m / s.

(a) Calculate the momentum of car A. (3 marks)

Momentum = ………….

(b) The cars collide and car B experiences an impulse.

Car A continues to move in the same direction, with a momentum of
21 000 kg m / s.

(i) Calculate the momentum of car B immediately after the collision (2 marks)

Momentum of car = ……..Kgm/s

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 (ii) Determine the impulse experienced by car B during the collision.
State the unit (2 marks)

Impulse =…………….

(iii) The cars are in contact for 0.20 s.

Calculate the average resultant force experienced by car B during the
collision. (2 marks)

Force = ………………..

(c) A modern car is designed so that, during a collision, the front section of the car is
crushed and the time of contact increases.

Explain the benefit of increasing the time of contact for the people in the car.
(3 marks)

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(Total 12 marks)

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 6. The diagram shows a boat pulling a water skier.

(a) The arrow represents the force on the water produced by the engine propeller.
This force causes the boat to move. Explain why. (2 marks)

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(b) The boat accelerates at a constant rate in a straight line.

This causes the velocity of the water skier to increase from 4.0 m/s to 16.0 m/s in
8.0 seconds.
(i) Calculate the acceleration of the water skier and give the unit.
(3 marks)

Acceleration = ………

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 (ii) The water skier has a mass of 68 kg.
Calculate the resultant force acting on the water skier while accelerating.
(3 marks)

Force = …………..

(iii) Draw a ring around the correct answer to complete the sentence.
The force from the boat pulling the water skier forwards will be
less than
the same as
greater than the answer to part (b)(ii).

Give the reason for your answer (3 marks)

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(Total 11 marks)

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 7. The diagram shows a box attached to a parachute, falling at constant velocity.

(a) State the name for this constant velocity. (1 mark)

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(b) Explain, in terms of forces, why the box and parachute fall at constant velocity.

(5 marks)

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(Total 6 marks)

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 8. Answer the following questions.

(a) State two differences between speed and velocity (4 marks)

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(b) What is the meaning of the statement

Momentum is conserved (2 marks)

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(c) Name the force (2 marks)

(i) Causes objects to fall towards the earth

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(ii) Stops a vehicle sinking in to the road surface

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 (d) Give two examples of things that it would be impossible to do without friction.
(2 marks)

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(e) What is meant by unbalanced force? (2 marks)

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(f) How does an elastic collision differ from an inelastic collision

(2 marks)

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(g) State Newton’s third law of motion (2 marks)

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(Total 16 marks)

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 9. Solve the following questions.

(a) Calculate the weight of an object of mass 500 grams on the moon

(g = 1.6 N/kg) (3 marks)

(b) A plane starting from rest accelerates at 3 m/s² for 25 seconds.

By how much has the velocity increased after 5 seconds (4 marks)

(c) A snail crawls at a speed of 0.0004 m/s. How long will it take to climb a garden
cane 1.6 m high? (4 marks)

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 (d) What acceleration is produced by a force of 250 N acting on a mass of
25 Kg? (4 marks)

(Total 15 marks)

TOTAL FOR THE PAPER = 100 MARKS

Department of Science Physics Grade 8

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Department of Science Physics Grade 8

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