CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PHYSICS: WORKBOOK

Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. In examinations, the way marks are awarded
may be different.

Workbook answers
Chapter 1
150 000
Exercise 1.1 Speed calculations vi speed = = 2.38 × 101 m s −1
(1.75 × 3600 )
4000
1 a average speed = = 32 m s −1 b [slowest] athlete, truck, spacecraft, Earth,
125
alpha-particle, light [fastest]
b 0.8%
c 32.3 or 32.26 m s−1 Exercise 1.2 Measuring speed in
d 0.258 × 100 / 32 = 0.8% the laboratory
2 a Speed does not change (steady speed). 1 a I t is difficult to judge the moment at which
the trolley passes the start and stop points;
b distance = 8100 × 60 × 60 = 2.9 × 107 m
there is a time delay (reaction time) before
c t otal distance of one orbit = 2 × π × you press the stop/start control.
6.75 × 106 = 4.24 × 107 m
b  he time is shorter so the error will be a
T
distance 4.24 × 107 bigger fraction of the measured time.
time = = = 5235 s
speed 8100
2 a  hen the front edge of the interrupt card
W
= 87.3 minutes passes through the first light gate, it breaks
120 the light beam and the timer starts. When
3 a =
distance in one minute = 2.0 km the same edge passes through the second
60
gate, it breaks the beam and the timer stops.
2000
b =
distance in one second = 33.3 m b  he time taken by the trolley to travel
T
60 from one light gate to the other.
3000 c  he distance between the light gates; use a
T
c average speed = = 31.25 m s −1
96 ruler/metre rule/tape measure.

d Speed limit = 33.3 m s–1; the car’s average distance

d speed =
speed was less than this so it was not time
speeding. However, it may have been
e  he trolley’s speed may be changing as it
T
moving faster than the speed limit at some
moves between the two light gates, so the
point during the 3.0 km.
value calculated can only be an average.
4 a i speed =
 300 000 000 m s–1 3 a interrupt card light gate
= 3.0 × 108 m s–1
ii speed =
 11 km s–1 = 11 000 m s–1 trolley
= 1.1 × 104 m s–1
iii speed = 100 / 10.41 = 9.6 m s–1 b  he timer starts as the front edge of the
T
(or 9.6 × 100 m s–1) interrupt card passes through the light gate.
It stops as the back edge leaves the light gate.
5.0 × 10 −2
iv speed = = 1.16 × 106 m s −1
 0.043 × 10 −6 c  easure the length of the interrupt card.
M
Timer shows time for which the beam is
1.07 × 108 length
v speed = = 2.97 × 10 4 m s −1 broken. Calculate average speed = .
3600 time

1 Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics – Sang & Jones © Cambridge University Press 2020
 CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PHYSICS: WORKBOOK

4 a paper tape dots evenly spaced Exercise 1.4 Adding and

subtracting vectors
1 a distance
b 0.02 s
b speed
c distance = 12 cm = 0.12 m
time = 5 × 0.02 s = 0.10 s c s calars: mass, density, energy
0.12 vectors: force, acceleration, weight
average speed = = 1.20 m s −1
0.10 2 a six squares
(Note that there are five intervals from the
b three squares
first dot to the sixth.)
c 6 .7 cm (by Pythagoras) at 26.6° to
Exercise 1.3 Displacement–time horizontal
graphs d 1 8 cm (approximately); using a piece
of string
1 a s = displacement; t = time
3 a 20 + 12 = 32 km
b  s = change in displacement; Δt = change
Δ
in time b
c 12 km
45°
Displacement, s

Δs

Δt displacement
0 20 km
0 Time, t

2 a The graph is a straight line.

10 km
b s faster

c 29.7 km
4 a 950 − 100 = 850 km h–1
not moving
b 950 + 100 = 1050 km h–1
c i resultant
0
0 t 100 km h−1
950 km h−1
c  he horizontal straight line can be
T
ii  y Pythagoras, speed2 = 9502 + 1002
b
anywhere on the graph.
= 912 500; speed = 955 km h–1
3 a 600 m
5 6.2 m at 346° (N24°W or 24° W of N)
b 25 s
c 8.0 m s–1 10 m
4 a
800
Displacement, m

600 resultant 30°

5m
400

200

0 5m
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time, s

b greatest speed = gradient of steepest part

of graph = 16.0 m s–1

2 Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics – Sang & Jones © Cambridge University Press 2020
 CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PHYSICS: WORKBOOK

Exam-style questions 3 a 3.0 h

distance b 70 km
1 a speed =
time c 23.3 km h–1
b  he leading edge of the card breaks the
T d 50 km h–1
beam, starting the timer. Then, after the
trailing edge leaves the gate, the beam is e 0.5 h
restored, stopping the timer. f 25 km
10 4 a  scalar quantity has magnitude only; a
A
c average speed = = 13.2 cm s −1
0.76 vector quantity has both magnitude and
direction.
d  he trolley’s speed may have been
T
changing as it moved. b  isplacement: the distance travelled in a
d
particular direction
2 a
Displacement / km

200 c 120 km; 72 km

150 d

100

50 72 km

0
0 1 2 3 4 θ
Time / h
120 km
b 1.43 h
e 140 km at θ = 31° N of E

3 Cambridge International AS & A Level Physics – Sang & Jones © Cambridge University Press 2020