Form 3 First Term Examination 2009-2010

PHYSICS
Question-Answer Book
4th January, 2010
8:25 am − 9:55 am (1½ hours)

Section A

Name
1. All questions carry equal marks.
2. ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS. You
Class
should mark all your answers on the MC
Answer Sheet. Class No
3. You should mark only ONE answer for
each question. If you mark more than
one answer, you will receive NO Section B Mark
MARKS for that question.
4. No marks will be deducted for wrong 1
answers.
2

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Section B
4
1. Answer ALL questions. Write all your
answers in the spaces provided in this 5
Question-Answer Book.
2. Unless otherwise specified, numerical Total
answers should be either exact or correct
to 3 significant figures.

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Section A Multiple Choice Questions (40%)
1. Which of the following is/are base SI unit(s)?
(1) Metre (2) Gram (3) Watt

A. (1) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only

2. 0.0007 cm is equivalent to

A. 0.7 mm
B. 7 mm
C. 0.7 µm
D. 7 µm

3. 30 kW h is equivalent to

A. 108 kJ
B. 108 MJ
C. 1800 kJ
D. 180 MJ

4. Estimate the order of magnitude of the number of CDs (compact discs) that can just cover a
basketball court. Neglect the gaps between CDs.

A. 102
B. 103
C. 104
D. 105

5. The average kinetic energy of air particles depends on their

(1) density (2) temperature (3) mass

A. (2) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only

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6. In Fahrenheit scale, the temperatures are measured as 32 oF at the ice point and 212 oF at the steam
point. What is the room temperature in Fahrenheit scale when it is at 26 oC?

A. 68.4 oF
B. 78.8 oF
C. 89.5 oF
D. 172.3 oF

7. Which of the following substances is a liquid at room temperature?

Substance Melting point Boiling point

A. 70 K 90 K
B. -50 oC 5 oC
C. 230 K 330 K
D. 50 oC 600 oC

8. Which of the following statements about internal energy is/are true?

(1) The internal energy of a body is increased if it is heated up.
(2) The internal energy of a body depends on its mass.
(3) The internal energy of a larger body should be higher than that of a smaller body.

A. (1) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only

9. Which of the following properties can be used in measuring temperature?

(1) The resistance of a thermistor
(2) The density of mercury
(3) The bending of a bimetallic strip

A. (1) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

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10. Which of the following statements about liquid-in-glass thermometers is/are true?
(1) A mercury-in-glass thermometer can measure lower temperature than an
alcohol-in-glass thermometer.
(2) Water is a good thermometric liquid.
(3) The sensitivity of a liquid-in-glass thermometer can be increased by using a larger glass bulb.

A. (3) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

11. Which type of thermometer is most suitable for monitoring the temperature within a computer?

A. Resistance thermometer
B. Thermocouple thermometer
C. Thermistor thermometer
D. Alcohol-in-glass thermometer

12. Which of the followings can reduce the time of response of a liquid-in-glass thermometer?
(1) Use a glass bulb with thinner glass wall.
(2) Decrease the diameter of the capillary tube.
(3) Use mercury instead of alcohol as the liquid.

A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1) , (2) and (3)

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13. Three bodies (A, B and C) are heated by heaters of the same power. Their changes in temperature
with time are shown in the following graph. (The lines for A and B are parallel.)

Temperature A
B

Time
0

The mass ratio of A: B: C is 3: 2: 1. Which of the following is/are correct?

(1) A and B have the same specific heat capacity.
(2) C has the greatest specific heat capacity.
(3) The ratio of the heat capacities of A and B is 2: 3.

A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

14. Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(1) Heating is the only process to increase the internal energy of an object.
(2) Heat is the energy transferred to an object due to a temperature difference.
(3) Heat is the energy of all the molecules inside an object.

A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

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15. A block is made of 2 kg of aluminium and 3 kg of copper. Given that the specific heat capacity of
aluminium is 900 J kg-1 °C-1 and the specific heat capacity of copper is 390 J kg-1 °C-1. Find the heat
capacity of the block.

A. 594 J °C-1
B. 645 J °C-1
C. 1290 J °C-1
D. 2970 J °C-1

16. 100 g of milk at 5 °C is added to a cup of coffee at 90 °C, the final temperature is 80 °C. Find the
heat capacity of the coffee. Given that the specific heat capacity of milk is 3800 J kg-1 °C-1.

A. 211 J °C-1
B. 2850 J °C-1
C. 3230 J °C-1
D. 21100 J °C-1

17. Which of the following is/are the application of high specific heat capacity of water?
(1) As a coolant of car engines
(2) Produce the upper fixed point for Celsius temperature scale
(3) To cook food in a hot pot

A. (1) only
B. (2) and (3) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

18. Given that the specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J kg-1 °C-1. Find the total energy, in kW h,
required to raise the temperature of 500 g of water by 10 °C.

A. 0.00583
B. 0.007
C. 5.83
D. 63

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19. Two objects, A and B, are made of the same material. Given that A is heavier than B and the
temperature of A is higher than that of B. Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(1) The molecular kinetic energy of A is higher than that of B.

(2) The average molecular kinetic energy of A is higher than that of B.
(3) The internal energy of A is higher than that of B.

A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

20. An electric kettle with power of 1500 W is used to increase 5 kg of water from
25 °C to 100 °C. The time required is 1.5 minutes longer than the theoretical value. Given that the
specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J kg-1 °C-1. Find the percentage of energy lost in the heating
process.
energy lost
(percentage of energy lost = × 100% )
total energy supplied

A. 0.143%
B. 7.89%
C. 8.57%
D. 14.3%

END OF SECTION A

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Section B Structured Questions (60%)
1. A pot of soup is taken out from a refrigerator and is then heated up by a flame. The temperature of
the soup is measured and recorded in every 30 seconds as shown below:
Time t / s 0 30 60 90 120 150 180
o
Temp T / C 5 9.4 13.1 16.7 21.0 25.5 28.2

(a) Plot a graph to show how the temperature of the soup varies with time. (4 marks)

(b) Find the y-intercept of the graph. (1 mark)

(c) What is the physical meaning of the y-intercept. (1 mark)

(d) Find the slope of the graph. (2 marks)

(e) Write down the equation relating the time and temperature of the soup. (1 mark)

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2. The principle of a constant-volume gas thermometer is that the pressure of a gas at constant
volume increase with temperature. One version of such a thermometer is shown below

Some gas is trapped in a flask which is in turn connected to

a U tube partially filled with mercury. When we want to
measure the temperature of a substance, we should place
the gas flask in thermal contact with the substance and then
raise or lower the right arm of the U tube B until the top of
the mercury column in the left arm A is at zero on the scale.
This step is necessary to ensure the volume occupied by the
gas is constant. The excess height h of the mercury column
in the right arm indicates the pressure of the trapped gas.
Knowing the pressure, we can find the temperature of the
substance with a calibration graph.

Experiments show that the thermometer readings are nearly independent of the type of gas used, as
long as the gas pressure is low and the temperature is well above the point at which the gas
liquefies. Also, the constant-volume gas thermometer is very accurate as the pressure of a gas at
constant volume does change linearly with temperature in degree Celsius.

(a) What is the thermometric property used in a constant-volume gas thermometer? (1 mark)

(b) State two uses of the U tube partially filled with mercury and is connected to the gas flask.
(2 marks)

(c) What is the disadvantage of using the constant-volume gas thermometer? (1 mark)

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(d) Describe briefly how to construct a calibration graph for the gas thermometer with the ice
point and steam point of water. (4 marks)

3. The figure shows a thermometer at two different temperatures. The corresponding lengths of
liquid column measured from the reference level are also shown.

9 cm

Reference level

3 cm

(a) Find the length of the liquid column measured from the reference level at 37 °C. (3 marks)

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(b) Calculate the temperature when the length of the liquid column is 4 cm below the reference level.
(3 marks)

(c) The size of the bulb of the thermometer is much larger than the inner diameter of the glass
tube. What are the advantage and disadvantage of this design? (2 marks)

(d) A student said, ‘The reference level for measuring the length of liquid column must be within
the length of the thermometer (glass tube).’ Comment on this statement. (2 marks)

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4. You are given the following apparatus and materials as shown.
holes

thermometer

a power supply

aluminium block
whose mass is given. heater whose
wooden block stop watch
output power is given.

* (a) Describe how you should conduct an experiment to estimate the specific heat capacity of
aluminium with the help of a diagram showing the experimental setup. You should specify
all measurements that you have to take and write down an equation for calculating the
specific heat capacity. (6 marks)

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 (b) In fact there must be heat loss to surroundings when you perform the experiment suggested in
part (a). Briefly explain how this would affect the value obtained from the experiment.
(2 marks)

5. A secondary school is currently using an electrical hot water system to provide warm water to
students for shower. In the electrical hot water system, tap water is heated up and becomes hot water
which is then mixed with tap water again to give warm water. A physics teacher does a simple
research to calculate the cost to operate the system in one year. The following information about the
water heating system is extracted from his research:

The specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J kg−1 °C−1

Average mass of water consumed for shower (per day) = 36 000 kg
Average mass of hot water heated for shower (per day) = 8000 kg
Average temperature of the hot water that the system provides = 80 °C
Average temperature of tap water = 20 °C
Average operation time of the system (per annum) = 220 days
Cost of electricity = $1.08 per kW h

(a) What is the average mass of unheated tap water for shower (per day)? (1 mark)

(b) What is the average temperature of the warm water for shower? (3 marks)

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(c) Assuming that all energy consumed by the electrical hot water system is transferred to the
water, calculate the average energy consumed by the system per day in joule. (3 marks)

(d) Calculate the average cost for the electricity to run the electrical hot water system in one
year. (3 marks)

End of Paper

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