Total marks: 60 · Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Instructions to candidates
- This paper has 60 questions. Answer ALL questions.
- Each question is worth ONE mark.
- For each question there are four options, A, B, C and D. Choose the ONE you think is correct and record it on your answer sheet.
- You may use a silent, non-programmable electronic calculator.
- Take g = 10 N/kg (10 m/s²) where needed.
- Where a question describes a graph, circuit or diagram in words, you may find it helpful to sketch it.
Paper
Section A — Mechanics
1. Which of the following is a vector quantity?
A) Energy
B) Mass
C) Speed
D) Displacement
2. The SI unit of power is the
A) watt
B) newton
C) joule
D) pascal
3. Which instrument is MOST suitable for measuring the diameter of a thin copper wire?
A) Micrometer screw gauge
B) Measuring tape
C) 30 cm ruler
D) Metre rule
4. A car accelerates uniformly from rest to 20 m/s in 8 s. Its acceleration is
A) 160 m/s²
B) 12 m/s²
C) 0.4 m/s²
D) 2.5 m/s²
5. A car travels at a constant 12 m/s for 5 s. It then slows down uniformly and stops 4 s later. The total distance travelled is
A) 60 m
B) 84 m
C) 108 m
D) 48 m
6. A stone is dropped from rest and falls for 3.0 s. Taking g = 10 m/s² and ignoring air resistance, the distance it falls is
A) 15 m
B) 30 m
C) 45 m
D) 90 m
7. A resultant force gives a 15 kg trolley an acceleration of 2.0 m/s². The size of the force is
A) 17 N
B) 7.5 N
C) 13 N
D) 30 N
8. A rock has a mass of 5 kg. On the Moon, the gravitational field strength is 1.6 N/kg. The weight of the rock on the Moon is
A) 8 N
B) 5 kg
C) 3.1 N
D) 50 N
9. A passenger lurches forward when a bus brakes suddenly. This is BEST explained by
A) inertia (Newton's first law)
B) Newton's third law
C) friction from the seat
D) the weight of the passenger
10. A 2.0 kg trolley moving at 3.0 m/s collides with a stationary 1.0 kg trolley. They stick together. Their velocity immediately after the collision is
A) 3.0 m/s
B) 1.5 m/s
C) 2.0 m/s
D) 6.0 m/s
11. A uniform metre rule is balanced at its 50 cm mark. A 4.0 N weight hangs at the 20 cm mark. Where must a 6.0 N weight hang to balance the rule?
A) At the 60 cm mark
B) At the 30 cm mark
C) At the 80 cm mark
D) At the 70 cm mark
12. A force of 250 N pushes a box 12 m in the direction of the force. The work done is
A) 262 J
B) 238 J
C) 20.8 J
D) 3000 J
13. A crane lifts a load of mass 800 kg through a height of 15 m in 20 s. Taking g = 10 N/kg, the useful power output of the crane is
A) 12 000 W
B) 120 000 W
C) 600 W
D) 6000 W
14. An electric motor uses 500 J of energy and does 350 J of useful work. Its efficiency is
A) 35%
B) 30%
C) 70%
D) 143%
15. A ball of mass 0.5 kg moves at 8 m/s. Its kinetic energy is
A) 2 J
B) 16 J
C) 4 J
D) 32 J
16. In a hydroelectric power station, the main energy change is
A) kinetic → chemical → electrical
B) gravitational potential → kinetic → electrical
C) chemical → heat → electrical
D) electrical → kinetic → gravitational potential
17. A box of weight 600 N rests on a floor. The area of the box in contact with the floor is 0.20 m². The pressure on the floor is
A) 0.00033 Pa
B) 3000 Pa
C) 600 Pa
D) 120 Pa
18. Water has density 1000 kg/m³. Taking g = 10 N/kg, the pressure due to the water at a depth of 3.0 m is
A) 3000 Pa
B) 3 000 000 Pa
C) 30 000 Pa
D) 300 Pa
19. A spring stretches 4.0 cm when a 2.0 N load is hung from it. It obeys Hooke's law. What is its extension with a 5.0 N load?
A) 10 cm
B) 8.0 cm
C) 20 cm
D) 2.5 cm
20. A metal block of mass 240 g has a volume of 30 cm³. Its density is
A) 7200 g/cm³
B) 8.0 g/cm³
C) 210 g/cm³
D) 0.125 g/cm³
Section B — Thermal Physics and Kinetic Theory
21. According to the kinetic theory, a gas exerts a pressure on the walls of its container because its particles
A) expand when heated
B) are at rest
C) are attracted to the walls
D) collide with the walls
22. Which statement about evaporation is correct?
A) It takes place at any temperature, from the surface of the liquid
B) It takes place only at the boiling point
C) It warms the liquid that remains
D) It takes place throughout the liquid
23. How much heat is needed to raise the temperature of 2.0 kg of water from 20 °C to 70 °C? (Specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J/(kg °C))
A) 168 000 J
B) 420 000 J
C) 588 000 J
D) 8400 J
24. How much energy is needed to melt 0.50 kg of ice at 0 °C? (Specific latent heat of fusion of ice = 3.4 × 10⁵ J/kg)
A) 6.8 × 10⁵ J
B) 1.7 × 10³ J
C) 3.4 × 10⁵ J
D) 1.7 × 10⁵ J
25. A temperature of 27 °C is equal to
A) 300 K
B) 27 K
C) −246 K
D) 246 K
26. A fixed mass of gas has a volume of 2.0 m³ at a pressure of 100 kPa. It is compressed to 0.50 m³ at constant temperature. Its new pressure is
A) 50 kPa
B) 200 kPa
C) 400 kPa
D) 25 kPa
27. A fixed mass of gas has a volume of 300 cm³ at 300 K. It is heated to 400 K at constant pressure. Its new volume is
A) 400 cm³
B) 700 cm³
C) 300 cm³
D) 225 cm³
28. During a sunny day on a Caribbean coast, a sea breeze blows from the sea towards the land because
A) the land heats up faster than the sea, so warm air rises over the land
B) the sea heats up faster than the land, so warm air rises over the sea
C) the land and sea are at the same temperature
D) cold air sinks over the land
29. The vacuum between the walls of a vacuum flask mainly reduces heat transfer by
A) conduction and convection
B) conduction only
C) evaporation only
D) radiation only
30. Which surface is the BEST emitter of thermal radiation?
A) Shiny silver
B) Dull black
C) Shiny white
D) Gloss white
31. The collector panels of a solar water heater are painted dull black because dull black surfaces
A) reflect thermal radiation well
B) prevent convection
C) are good conductors of heat
D) absorb thermal radiation well
32. A liquid-in-glass thermometer works because the
A) resistance of the liquid changes with temperature
B) volume of the liquid changes with temperature
C) mass of the liquid changes with temperature
D) colour of the liquid changes with temperature
Section C — Waves and Optics
33. A wave has a frequency of 25 Hz and a speed of 150 m/s. Its wavelength is
A) 0.17 m
B) 125 m
C) 6.0 m
D) 3750 m
34. The loudness of a sound depends mainly on its
A) speed
B) wavelength
C) amplitude
D) frequency
35. Which of the following is a transverse wave?
A) A compression wave in a spring
B) Ultrasound
C) Light
D) Sound in air
36. A girl shouts towards a cliff and hears the echo 0.50 s later. The speed of sound in air is 340 m/s. How far is she from the cliff?
A) 680 m
B) 85 m
C) 170 m
D) 340 m
37. Ultrasound is sound with a frequency
A) below 20 Hz
B) of exactly 20 kHz
C) above 20 kHz
D) between 20 Hz and 20 kHz
38. A ray of light passes from air into glass and bends towards the normal. This shows that
A) glass is less optically dense than air
B) the frequency of the light increases in glass
C) light travels more slowly in glass than in air
D) light travels faster in glass than in air
39. A ray of light enters a glass block with an angle of incidence of 50° and an angle of refraction of 30°. The refractive index of the glass is
A) 1.67
B) 1.53
C) 0.65
D) 1.20
40. A glass has refractive index 1.5. Its critical angle is
A) 33.7°
B) 48.2°
C) 90°
D) 41.8°
41. The image of an object in a plane mirror is
A) virtual and magnified
B) real and the same size as the object
C) real and inverted
D) virtual and the same size as the object
42. An object is placed 15 cm from a converging lens of focal length 10 cm. The image is formed
A) 6 cm from the lens, on the same side as the object
B) 6 cm from the lens, on the opposite side from the object
C) 30 cm from the lens, on the opposite side from the object
D) 30 cm from the lens, on the same side as the object
43. For the lens and object in the previous question, the magnification of the image is
A) 1.5
B) 0.5
C) 2
D) 3
44. Which electromagnetic waves have the LONGEST wavelength?
A) Gamma rays
B) X-rays
C) Visible light
D) Radio waves
Section D — Electricity and Magnetism
45. A charge of 30 C passes a point in a circuit in 1 minute. The current is
A) 1800 A
B) 0.5 A
C) 2 A
D) 30 A
46. A potential difference of 12 V is applied across a 4.0 Ω resistor. The current is
A) 3.0 A
B) 16 A
C) 0.33 A
D) 48 A
47. Two 6 Ω resistors are connected in parallel. This combination is connected in series with a 3 Ω resistor. The total resistance is
A) 4 Ω
B) 6 Ω
C) 15 Ω
D) 2 Ω
48. A kettle is rated 1500 W, 230 V. The current it draws is about
A) 0.15 A
B) 345 000 A
C) 6.5 A
D) 153 A
49. A 2.0 kW heater is used for 3.0 hours. Electricity costs $0.50 per kWh. The cost is
A) $3.00
B) $6.00
C) $0.30
D) $1.50
50. An appliance normally draws a current of 6.5 A. Which fuse should be fitted?
A) 30 A
B) 3 A
C) 5 A
D) 10 A
51. The earth wire in a household plug is a safety feature because it
A) carries current safely to earth if a metal casing becomes live
B) carries the current to the appliance
C) switches the appliance off when it is not in use
D) stops the appliance using too much power
52. Two positively charged balloons are brought close together. They will
A) not affect each other
B) repel each other
C) lose their charge
D) attract each other
53. The magnetic field lines around a long straight wire carrying a current are
A) concentric circles around the wire
B) straight lines parallel to the wire
C) straight lines pointing away from the wire
D) loops that start and end on the wire
54. Two long parallel wires carry currents in opposite directions. The wires will
A) experience no force
B) repel each other
C) rotate about each other
D) attract each other
55. A transformer has 200 turns on its primary coil and 1000 turns on its secondary coil. An alternating p.d. of 12 V is applied to the primary. The secondary p.d. is
A) 60 V
B) 12 V
C) 240 V
D) 2.4 V
56. An e.m.f. is induced in a coil when
A) the coil is made of iron
B) a magnet is held still inside the coil
C) a steady current flows in the coil
D) the magnetic field through the coil changes
Section E — The Physics of the Atom
57. Most alpha particles fired at a thin gold foil pass straight through. This shows that
A) atoms are solid spheres
B) most of the volume of an atom is empty space
C) the nucleus is negatively charged
D) most of the mass of an atom is in its electrons
58. The nucleus of the sodium atom ²³₁₁Na contains
A) 11 protons and 23 neutrons
B) 23 protons and 11 neutrons
C) 11 protons and 12 neutrons
D) 12 protons and 11 neutrons
59. A radioactive sample has a mass of 80 g of the isotope and a half-life of 5 days. How much of the isotope remains after 15 days?
A) 5 g
B) 40 g
C) 10 g
D) 20 g
60. When a nucleus emits an alpha particle, its
A) nucleon number decreases by 2 and proton number decreases by 4
B) nucleon number stays the same and proton number increases by 1
C) nucleon number and proton number both stay the same
D) nucleon number decreases by 4 and proton number decreases by 2
END OF TEST