Wah Yan College, Kowloon

S2 Integrated Science
Second Term Uniform Test 2021-2022

Time allowed: 45 minutes

Scope of Assessment:
8.1 Simple Circuit
8.2 Current
8.3 Voltage
Unit 8 Textbook 2A
8.4 Resistance
Making use of Electricity p. 73-141
8.5 Electrical circuit
8.6 Household Electricity
(‘8.7 Power and Efficiency’ is excluded)
10.1 Sense and Sense Organs
10.2 Sight
Unit 10 Textbook 2B
10.3A Production of sound
Sensing the Environment p. 63-101
10.3B Transmission of sound
(10.3C-F are excluded)

Parts of Uniform Test: (Total: 65 Marks)

Part A: Multiple Choice Questions (20 Marks)

Write your answers in the spaces provided.
Part B: True or false Questions (10 Marks)
Put a ‘T’ for a true statement and an ‘F’ for a false statement in the bracket.
Part C: Fill in the blanks (10 Marks)
Fill in the blanks with no more than two words.
Part D: Long Questions (25 Marks)
Write your answers in the spaces provided.

Points to note:
1. Calculators are allowed in the Examination
2. You should bring pen, pencil and a ruler to the Examination.

For full understanding on topics in the scope of assessment of the UT,

please refer to textbooks ‘New Mastering Science 2A and 2B’

 8 Making use of electricity

8.1 Simple circuit

1 A complete path and a source of electrical energy (e.g. a cell) are necessary for an electrical appliance
to work.
2 A circuit with a complete path is called a closed circuit (Fig a) while an incomplete circuit is called an
open circuit (Fig b).

 Fig a  Fig b

3 Materials that conduct electricity are electrical conductors. Metals, graphite and salt solution are
examples of electrical conductors.
4 Materials that do not conduct electricity are electrical insulators. Wood, cotton and plastics are
examples of electrical insulators.
5 A switch is a used to open or close an electric circuit.
6 The circuit symbols of some common circuit components:

Circuit component Circuit symbol Circuit component Circuit symbol

Cells / Batteries Connecting wire

Switch Bulb
7 Some skills of drawing circuit diagrams:
 Draw the circuit symbol for each component in the same position as it appears in the
circuit.

 Use a straight line to →

represent a connecting ←  Put a solid dot at each
wire. wire junction.

8.2 Current
1 In a closed circuit with a cell, the electric current flows from the positive terminal of the cell to the
negative terminal through the circuit.
2 We use an ammeter to measure the size of a current.

3 The unit of current is the ampere (A).

 An ammeter

4 Some skills in connecting an ammeter:

• The red knob of the ammeter should lead to the positive terminal of the cell, and the black knob
to the negative terminal.
switch
switch

black ammeter ammeter

knob black
red red
knob
knob knob

• Never connect the ammeter across the cell directly. ammeter

Otherwise, a large current may flow through the ammeter
and damage it.

cell
5 Current is a flow of electric charges.

6 The parts of the water flow model represent:

water pump
current connecting wire
cell
water flow

water pipe bulb

turbine

 water flow model  circuit diagram

Part in the
water flow pump water flow turbine water pipe
model
Part in the
cell current bulb connecting wire
electric circuit
supplies provides path for
Function transfers energy consumes energy
energy water flow / current
7 When a current passes through a conductor, the temperature of the conductor increases. Some
electrical energy is changed to thermal energy.

8 An electric kettle makes use of the heating effect of the current. This effect becomes greater when the
current is increased.

9 When a current passes through a coil of wire, the coil works like a magnet. This is called an
electromagnet. The magnetic effect of current is stronger if the coil is wound around an iron core (e.g.
iron nail).

iron
nail

pap
er
insulated copper
wire
 An experimental set-up to demonstrate the magnetic effect of electric current
 8.3 Voltage
1 The voltage of a cell indicates how much energy is supplied by the cell to the electric charges in a
circuit.
2 We use a voltmeter to measure the size of voltage.

3 The unit of voltage is the volt (V).

 A voltmeter

4 Skills of connecting a voltmeter:

• A voltmeter should be connected across a
cell.
• The red knob of the voltmeter should be
connected to the positive terminal of the
cell, and the black knob to the negative
terminal. Otherwise, the voltmeter may get
damaged.
5 When more cells are connected in the same direction, the voltage across the cells is higher.
6 The higher the voltage, the larger the current flowing through the circuit.

8.4 Resistance
1 Resistance shows the opposition of a material to the flow of current. Its unit is the ohm (Ω).
2 A resistor is a circuit component that has a certain value of resistance.
3 The circuit symbol of a resistor:
4 If a resistor with a higher resistance is connected to a cell, it will result in a smaller current in the
circuit.
5 Resistors are used to control the size of current in a circuit.
Some factors affect resistance:
Е
Factor How it affects the resistance of a wire

Material of wire A copper wire has a lower resistance than a nichrome wire of the same
length and thickness.

Thickness of wire A thinner wire has a higher resistance than a thicker wire of the same
material and length.

Length of wire A longer wire has a higher resistance than a shorter wire of the same
material and thickness.
Е 6 A rheostat is a resistor with an adjustable resistance. It is used to adjust the current in a circuit.

Е 7 The circuit symbol of a variable resistor or a rheostat:

Е 8 Volume controls and dimmer switches are the examples of the use of rheostat.

8.5 Electrical circuits

1 In a series circuit,
• current flows along one path only;
• the current is the same at all points;
• the sum of the voltage across each electrical appliance is equal to the voltage of the energy source.

2 If a series circuit is broken at any point, current will not flow in the circuit.

current

 Circuit diagram of the circuit on the left

(arrows show the current direction)

3 In a parallel circuit,
• the current has more than one path to flow;
• the current in the main loop is equal to the sum of the currents in the branches;
• the current flowing in the branch with a higher resistance is smaller;
• the voltage across each branch is the same.

4 If a parallel circuit is broken at any branch, current will still flow in other branches.

current

 Circuit diagram of the circuit on the left

(arrows show the current direction)
8.6 Household electricity
1 All electrical appliances are energy converters. They convert electrical energy to other forms of energy.
2 For example, a hair dryer converts electrical energy to the kinetic energy of the fan, the thermal energy
given out by the heating coil and the sound energy given out by different parts of the hairdryer.
3 Electrical appliances are supplied with mains electricity when we insert their plugs into the mains
sockets.
4 The mains voltage in Hong Kong is 200 V.
5 All sockets are connected in parallel in domestic circuits. Switching off one of the appliances does not
affect the operation of the others.
6 The parts of the three-pin plug:

earth pin

live pin
neutral pin

 A three-pin plug
7 The parts of the mains socket:

earth hole

neutral hole live hole

 A mains socket

8 The wires of a three-pin plug with its colour:

 earth wire
(green and yellow)

fuse
neutral wire (blue)

flex grip live wire (brown)

9 Electricity is supplied to our homes through the live wire and the neutral wire.
10 When the number of branches in a parallel circuit increases, the current flowing through the cell
increases.
11 In the photo below, several electrical appliances are connected to a single mains socket via a universal
adaptor:

If too many electrical

the current flowing through the
appliances are connected to a
circuit may become very large.
single mains socket,

The strong heating effect of the

Overloading may occur.
large current may result in a
fire.

12 The diagram below shows a short circuit:

 This wire provides a path with
thin nichrome wire
very low resistance.
the bulb does not light up

The large current causes the thin nichrome

A large current will pass wire to heat up and glow. The bulb is said to
through this path. be short-circuited.

13 A short circuit may overheat and damage the circuit or even cause a fire.
14 A fuse is used to break a circuit when the current in the circuit becomes too large.

metal wire with a

low melting point  Circuit symbol of a fuse

15 Fuse rating shows the maximum current the fuse can stand.
16 The working principle of the fuse:

When the current passing through the the metal wire in the fuse
fuse is larger than the fuse rating, melts and the fuse blows.

Current is cut off to prevent the circuit

The circuit becomes open.
from overheating.

17 A suitable fuse should have a rating slightly higher than the current passing through the electrical
appliance when it is operating normally.
 18 A circuit breaker turns to the ‘OFF’ mode
and cuts off the current when the current
exceeds its rating.

19 We can reset the circuit breaker by

switching it back to the ‘ON’ mode.

 Switches of circuit

20 The earth wire connects the metal case of an appliance to the ground.

21 Function of the earth wire:

b the circuit is shorted by the earth wire.

Current flows to the ground through
the earth wire and blows the fuse.

a If the live wire is damaged and c The current from the mains is
it touches the metal case of an cut off. This protects us from
electrical appliance, an electric shock.

22 Some safety precautions in using electricity:

We should ... We should NOT …

✓ use three-pin plugs with earth wire. ✗ overload sockets.

✓ switch on an electrical appliance only after ✗ cover electrical appliances at work.

firmly plugging it into a socket outlet.

✗ let water seep into an electrical
✓ use fuses with suitable fuse ratings. appliance.

✓ ask a registered electrical worker to ✗ touch sockets or switches with wet

 immediately replace damaged cables, hands.
sockets and plugs.

10 Sensing the environment

10.1 Senses and sense organs

1 Living things can detect and respond to changes in the environment. This ability helps them find food,
find mates and escape from danger.

2 Environmental changes that cause living things to respond are called stimuli. Humans have specialized
sensory cells in different sense organs to detect stimuli.

3 When sensory cells detect a stimulus, messages are sent along the nerve to the brain and a sense is
produced.

4 Different sense organs detect different stimuli. Different senses are produced:

Sense organ Stimulus / Stimuli detected Sense(s) produced

Eye Light Sight
Ear Sound Hearing
Nose Chemicals in air Smell
Tongue Chemicals in food Taste
Skin Touch, pressure, pain and temperature Touch, pressure, pain, hot and cold

10.2 Sight
1 Structures protecting the front surface of our eye:
 eyebrow
prevents sweat from
getting into the eye

eyelid
eyelashes can be closed to
trap small objects and protect the eye from
prevent them from dirt and strong light
entering the eye

2 Functions of different parts of our eye:

Cornea
Sclera
It allows light to enter the eye.
It is a tough white coat.
Its curved surface helps focus
It protects the eyeball.
light onto the retina.

Iris
It controls the size of Retina
the pupil. It contains light-sensitive
cells to detect light.
Pupil
It is an opening at the
centre of the iris. It
allows light to enter the Blind spot
eye. It is a point on the retina
where the optic nerve
leaves the eye. It does not
Lens have light-sensitive cells.
It focuses light onto the
retina. Optic nerve
Jelly-like fluid Messages from light-
sensitive cells are sent
It maintains the shape of the eyeball.
along it to the brain.

3 The process of how we see:

bend the light

and focus
it onto
light from an object cornea and lens retina

contains

upright image of the

brain light-sensitive cells
object
interprets the stimulated by the light
messages as and send messages to

Е 4 The lens of our eye is elastic. When we see objects at different distances, its thickness changes to focus
light onto the retina.
• When we see near objects, the lens becomes thicker so that the light is focused onto the retina.
 light from a point on
a near object

lens becomes thicker

• When we see distant objects, the lens becomes thinner so that the light is focused onto the
retina.

light from a point on

a distant object

lens becomes thinner

Е 5 There are two types of light-sensitive cells on the retina:

Rod cells Cone cells

⚫ One type only. ⚫ Three types.

⚫ Sensitive to red, green and blue light

respectively.

⚫ Responsible for black and white vision. ⚫ Responsible for colour vision.

⚫ Sensitive to dim light. ⚫ Sensitive to bright light.

6 We cannot see clearly when an object is too near, too far away or too small.

7 Some instruments and their uses are designed to extend our vision:

Instrument Use
 Hand lens Help us see small parts of an insect.

Microscope Help us see the cells in a tissue.

Binoculars Help us see a bird flying in the sky more clearly.

Astronomical telescope Help us see the details of a planet in space.

8 The blind point is the point where the optic nerve leaves the eye. There are no light-sensitive cells on
it. Therefore, we cannot see the object when its image is formed on it.

blind spot

Е 9 Short sight may be caused by the lens being too thick or the eyeball being too long, or both. People
with short sight cannot see distant objects clearly.

image formed in
front on the retina
light from
a distant
object

Short sight can be corrected by

wearing concave lens. concave
lens
sharp image
formed on
the retina

Е 10 Long sight may be caused by the lens being too thin or the eyeball being too short, or both. People
with long sight cannot see near objects clearly.
 light from image formed
a near object behind the retina

Long sight can be corrected by

convex
wearing convex lens. lens
sharp image
formed on
the retina

Е 11 People with colour blindness cannot distinguish some or all colours. The most common form is red-
green colour blindness. People with this defect have difficulty in distinguishing between red and green.
Colour blindness is an inherited defect.

Е 12 People with astigmatism have blurred vision.

Е 13 Cataract is an eye disease in which the lens becomes cloudy. People with this disease have blurred
vision.

14 Some suggestions about eye care:

• Make sure there is sufficient light when you are reading or using an electronic screen product.
• Keep enough distance between your eyes and the book or electronic screen product.
• Give your eyes a rest by looking at distant objects every 30 minutes when reading or using an
electronic screen product.
• Wear sunglasses when you are outdoors in bright sunlight.
• Do not rub your eyes as this can cause infection.
• Have regular eye checks.

10.3 Hearing
1 Sound is produced by vibration of objects.

2 Sound needs a medium to travel. The medium can be gases, liquids or solids.

3 Sound travels the fastest in solids, slower in liquids, and the slowest in gases.

4 Transmission of sound in air:

vibration of air particles

vibration of
the gong

5 Sound cannot travel through a vacuum. There are no particles present to transmit the vibrations of
objects.