Name: __________________________________ ( ) Class: _____

HWA CHONG INSTITUTION

PHYSICS Sample Paper For Fun

Paper 1

Level: Secondary Four

Duration: 45 mins

Do not open this booklet until you are told to do so.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Write in soft pencil.

Do not use staples, paper-clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid.

Write your name and index number on the Answer Sheet in the spaces provided.

There are thirty questions in this paper. Answer all questions. For each question there are
four possible answers, A, B, C and D. Choose the one you consider correct and record your
choice in soft pencil on the OAS form provided.

Read the instructions on the OAS form carefully.

Each correct answer will score one mark. A mark will not be deducted for a wrong answer.
Any rough working should be done in this booklet.

_________________________________________________________________________

This question paper consists of 15 printed pages, including this page.

Answer ALL questions in the OAS provided (30 Marks)

1 A mass of 2.0 x 10-6 kg is the same as

A 2.0 x 10-3 g B 2.0 x10-6 g

C 0.20 mg D 2.0 mg

2 Dimensions of a cylindrical coin are measured and used to determine its volume.
The diagrams of the instruments are shown below.

cm 3
0 1 2 10

mm
5

0 10

Thickness Diameter

Which of the following correctly states the volume of the coin? (Assume  = 3.142)

A 10.0 mm3 B 15.5 mm3

C 655 mm3 D 1000 mm3

3 The diagram below shows a velocity-time graph of a train over a distance of 2.0 km.
It has an acceleration of 0.20 m s-2 and a deceleration of 1.0 m s-2. Determine the
time taken for it to travel 2.0 km?

Velocity/ ms-1

Time/s

A 26 s B 77 s
C 156 s D 384 s

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4 A first stone is dropped from a tall building. A second stone, at a lower level, is
dropped the moment the first stone passes by it. Three students make some
observations as follows:

Student X: The distance between the stones will always be constant regardless of
time.
Student Y: The time taken by the second stone to reach the ground is the time
interval between the releases.
Student Z: The distance between the stones will follow a linear relationship with
time.

Which statement/s is/are correct?

A Y only
B Z only
C X and Y only
D Y and Z only

5 A ball is thrown horizontally off a cliff at different speeds. The trajectories of the balls
are shown as dotted lines.

Ignoring air resistance, which of the following diagram shows the positions of the
balls after some time t?

A B

C D

Legend:
ball

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6 The diagram below shows two boxes each of mass 2.0 kg accelerating to the right at
0.25 m s-2 along a rough surface. A force of 3.0 N is applied onto the first box. The
boxes are connected by an inextensible string of negligible mass.

Inextensible string

3.0 N
2.0 kg 2.0 kg

What is the tension in the string?

A 0.8 N B 1.0 N
C 1.5 N D 2.0 N

7 A 3.0 kg object acted on by three forces travels at a constant velocity of 0.20 m s-1.
Which diagram shows the three possible forces?

A B 0.60 N
0.50 N

106 0.60 N 120 0.60 N

0.50 N
0.60 N

C 0.60 N D

0.60 N
0.60 N 0.60 N
0.60 N

0.60 N

4
8 The diagram below shows the velocity-time graph of a 0.75 kg object that was
dropped down from a tall building.
Velocity / m s-1

25

Time / s
0 3.0

What is the rate of work done by air resistance after 3.0 s?

A 6.3 W B 19 W
C 63 W D 190 W

9 The diagram below (not drawn to scale) shows a barometer that was placed in a
laboratory on a normal day when the atmospheric pressure was 760 mmHg.

Which point most likely corresponds to a pressure of 10 mmHg?

 A
 B

 C

 D

 D

10 The diagram below shows the side view of a styrofoam cuboid placed under water.
Which arrow indicates the likely direction that the cuboid will move the instant it is
released?

B C
A D
Styrofoam cuboid

water

5
11 The table below shows a list of mediums and their absolute refractive indexes.

Medium Refractive Index

P 1.3
Q 1.4
R 1.8
S 2.1

Which order of combination will yield the smallest critical angle?

A S to P
B S to R
C R to P
D Q to R

12 Which of the following states the components of the electromagnetic spectrum in

order of increasing wavelength?

A gamma, infrared, ultraviolet, mircrowave

B gamma, ultraviolet, x-ray, microwave
C x-ray, ultraviolet, microwave, radiowave
D x-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, microwave

13 An electric pendulum is set into motion such that it took 1.2 s for the pendulum bob to
swing from A to B and back to A. It is brought near to the surface of a large body of
water such that the pendulum bob just touches the water surface when it is at its
lowest point.
Electric
Path of lowest pendulum set to
point of a periodic time of
pendulum bob 1.2 s

A
B

Water surface

A circular ripple was observed with the wavelength observed to be 3.0 cm.

What is the speed of the wave?

A 1.3 cm s-1 B 1.8 cm s-1

C 2.5 cm s-1 D 5.0 cm s-1

6
14 The diagram below shows the positions of wave particles P and Q at a point in time.

P
Q

In which direction will particles P and Q move if the wave moves to the left?

P Q
A up up
B up down
C down up
D down down

15 SONAR from a stationary submarine is used to detect an underwater object. The

diagram below shows the amplitude of emitted and reflected pulse over a period of
time. The pulses are emitted at 1.00 s interval.

amplitude

Time / s
0.00 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.45 3.00

Given that the speed of sound in water is 1500 m s-1, what is the rate of change of
distance between the submarine and the underwater object?

A 38 m s-1 B 75 m s-1
C 150 m s-1 D 1100 m s-1

7
16 A gold leaf electroscope can be used to determine the nature of an electric charge.
In one case, an object was brought near a charged electroscope.

cap

leaf
stem

A Charged Electroscope

Which of the following observations would fit the inference?

Observations Inference

A Leaf deflects more Total charge on the electroscope increases

B Leaf deflects more Object has the same charge as electroscope
C Leaf deflects less Object induces opposite charges on the leaf
D Leaf deflects less Object induces like charges on the cap.

17 A 3.0 V cell is connected to a circuit consisting of two 3.0 Ω resistors and one 1.5 Ω
resistor as shown in the diagram below.

3.0 V

3.0 Ω

1.5 Ω

3.0 Ω

What is the amount of energy dissipated in the 1.5 Ω resistor after 1.0 min?

A 90 J C 120 J
C 180 J D 270 J

8
18 A 100 m long copper wire of 2.0 mm diameter was reshaped into copper threads of
0.5 mm diameter.

If the resistance of the 100 m coil of copper wire is R, which of the following correctly
expresses the new resistance of the coil of copper thread?

A 0.63R
B R
C 16R
D 256R

19 The diagram below shows a filament bulb connected in series to a variable resistor
and an ammeter.

Constant DC
Source

The resistance of the variable resistor is decreased at a constant rate. Which of the
following describes the change in the ammeter reading?

A It decreases at a decreasing rate.

B It increases at a constant rate.
C It increases at an increasing rate.
D It increases at a decreasing rate.

9
20 The logic table below shows the requirements by an owner.

External Lighting 5 W lamp 10 W lamp

High On Off
Low Off On

Which of the following design when attached to an electrical source would possibly
meet the requirement of the owner?

A B

10 W

5W 10 W 5W

C D

5W

10 W 5W
10 W

21 An electrician wants to replace the fuse for a table lamp rated at 12 V 24 W. What is
the rating of the fuse he should use?

A 1A B 3A
C 13 A D 20 A

10
22 In making an effort to reduce electrical energy consumption, instead of turning on the
electrical alarm clock for 24 hours a day, a student decides to only plug and switch on
his 12 W electrical alarm clock when he sleeps from 10 pm and fully disconnect it
when he wakes up at 6 am.

How much money will he save in a year if the cost per kWh of electricity is $0.27?

A $7 B $ 19
C $ 28 D $ 52

23 A cook installs a new electric oven in the kitchen but realizes the fuse melts when the
electric oven is switched on.

Which of the following can help to identify or correct the fault?

A Checking for a short circuit in the oven.

B Switching off other appliances using the same power line.
C Changing the oven’s fuse to one of higher rating.
D Checking the plug for wrong wirings.

24 A soft iron rod XY is first placed in a solenoid as shown in the diagram below. After a
short while, it is removed, flipped around and freely suspended near the end of the
solenoid from where it was removed.

Some time
X Y Y X
later

D.C. source D.C. source

Which of the following describes the behavior of the freely suspended rod when it is
brought near the solenoid?

A Repelled
B Attracted
C Spins around
D Remains in the same position

11
25 Plotting compass is placed in the centre, C, of a hollow – core cylindrical magnet.
The magnet is laid in such a manner that the south pole is on the right and the north
pole is on the left. You may ignore any effects of the Earth’s magnetic field.

N C S
C C

How will the plotting compass appear to be?

A B

C D

26 A heated piece of metal is removed from an oven and placed at room temperature.
Which of the following statements correctly describes the behavior of the atoms over
some time?

I the atoms move around at lower speeds

II the atoms move closer together
III the atoms spin and realign themselves in one direction

A I only
B II only
C I and II only
D II and III only

12
27 Which of the following is not a possible design for a thermocouple?

A B

V V
Cu Cu Cu Cu

Fe Fe

Hot Cold Hot Cold

Junction Al Junction Junction Junction

C D
V
V
Cu Cu
Fe Al
Cu
Hot Cold
Temperature Junction Junction
Junction

13
28 A student designs a thermometer made up of a liquid and a suspended hollow steel
ball. He suggested that the position of the ball in the liquid would reflect the
temperature of the surroundings as both liquid and ball have different rates of
expansion.

Space for liquid

expansion
Hollow
steel ball
initially liquid
suspends
in liquid

Which one of the following statements is correct?

A The apparatus will work as density changes will cause the object to stay at
different heights.

B The apparatus will not work as density changes cannot cause the object to
stay at different heights.

C The apparatus will not work as the solid will never be in thermal equilibrium
with the liquid and the surroundings.

D The apparatus will not work as it cannot be calibrated.

14
29 The diagram below shows ice placed into a cup containing oil and water at room
temperature.

Oil

Ice cube

Water

Which of the following correctly identifies the main cooling process within the oil and
water?

Oil Water
A conduction convection
B convection conduction
C radiation convection
D conduction conduction

30 The picture below shows three campers equidistant from a campfire. They are all
wearing jackets as described.

Description of Jackets:

Camper 1 White nylon, loose fitting

Camper 2 Black nylon, tight fitting
Camper 3 Black nylon, loose fitting

source: http://www.recreation.gov

Which of the following correctly ranks the campers in terms of increasing heat gain?

Lowest heat gain - - - - - - - > Highest heat gain

A 1 2 3
B 2 3 1
C 2 1 3
D 1 3 2

End of Paper

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