Cambridge GCE O Level: Physics

Modified from Paper 1, October/November 2010

Each question is changed, but it is still based on the same topic.

In the actual exam, the time given for this paper is 1 hour. Use this stopwatch to time yourself.

STOPWATCH



1. When the jaws of a vernier caliper are closed, the scales look like this:

The zero error is
  1. 0.05 cm
  2. 0.04 cm
  3. 0.15 cm
  4. 0.14 cm
2. Which of these have only vector quantities?
  1. distance, force, speed
  2. force, length, time
  3. length, mass, speed
  4. velocity, displacement, acceleration
3. Mary puts dots on a long strip of paper at uniform time intervals with a pen. John pulls the strip slowly, then quickly, then slowly.

Which of these do they get?

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D
4. A ball is dropped, hits the ground, and bounces up. Which of these is correct?

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D
5. An aeroplane flies faster and faster at the same height.

Which of the following is correct?
  1. Lift is equal to weight. Thrust is equal to air resistance.
  2. Lift is larger than weight. Thrust is larger than air resistance.
  3. Lift is equal to weight. Thrust is larger than air resistance.
  4. Lift is larger than weight. Thrust is equal to air resistance.
6. A cyclist stops the bicycle by pulling at the brake levers. If he pulls harder, which of the following stays the same?
  1. braking distance
  2. braking force
  3. stopping distance
  4. thinking distance
7. A boy weighs 300 N. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg. At the top of a mountain, this decreases to 9.98 N/kg. What are his mass and weight there?
  1. 30 kg, 299.4 N
  2. 30 kg, 300 N
  3. 30.1 kg, 299.4 N
  4. 30.1 kg, 300 N
8. The volume of a box is 1200 cm³. There is a piece of wood. The volume of air inside is 720 cm³. Density of the wood is 8 g/cm³.

What is the mass of the wood?
  1. 2840 g
  2. 3840 g
  3. 4840 g
  4. 5840 g
9. A block of wood is stable if it
  1. has a large base area.
  2. has a large base area and a low centre of mass.
  3. is heavy and has a large base area.
  4. has a low centre of mass.
10. A uniform rod is 1 m long. It is balanced by a 1.5 N weight like this:

How heavy is the rod?
  1. 1 N
  2. 2 N
  3. 3 N
  4. 4 N
11. The weight of this piece of stone is 96 N.

What is the pressure on the floor?
  1. 3 kPa
  2. 4 kPa
  3. 5 kPa
  4. 6 kPa
12. A fish tank is filled with water.

The pressure at X depends on the
  1. depth of the water.
  2. surface area of the water.
  3. length of the tank.
  4. thickness of the wall.
13. There are a few balls on a mountain track. Which one has the minimum potential energy?

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D
14. The mass of a nucleus drops by 17.8 x 10-30 kg. What is the equivalent energy? Speed of light = 3 x 108 m/s.
  1. 15.8 x 10-16 J
  2. 15.8 x 10-15 J
  3. 15.8 x 10-14 J
  4. 15.8 x 10-13 J
15. Efficiency of a machine is related to the input and output energy. Which of these are correct?
  1. 30 J input, 6 J output, 0.1 efficiency
  2. 30 J input, 6 J output, 0.2 efficiency
  3. 30 J input, 6 J output, 0.3 efficiency
  4. 30 J input, 6 J output, 0.4 efficiency
16. When water evaporates, it cools. Why?
  1. Air removes heat from water.
  2. Energy is lost to wind.
  3. Water molecules with higher energyy leaves.
  4. There is less space for the molecules.
17. Solar heating panels are painted black. Why?
  1. black object is good at absorbing heat
  2. black object is good at conducting heat
  3. black object is good at emitting heat
  4. black object is good at reflecting heat
18. A clinical thermometer is more sensitive when
  1. the constriction is narrower.
  2. the bore is narrower.
  3. the glass tube is longer.
  4. the glass tube is thicker.
19. A solid in a cup is warmed slowly.

  1. boiling only.
  2. melting only.
  3. evaporation only.
  4. melting and evaporation.
20. Which of these happens when a substance expands?
  1. the resistance of a wire decreases
  2. the pressure of a gas in a cylinder increases
  3. a fuse blows
  4. hot air rises
21. Sound wave hits a wall.

When it is reflected,
  1. it goes faster and the wavelength gets shorter.
  2. it goes slower and the wavelength gets longer.
  3. it goes at the same speed and the wavelength gets longer.
  4. it goes at the same speed and the wavelength stays the same.
22. Light falls on water. The angle of incidence is 30°. The refractive index is 1.33. What is the angle of refraction?
  1. 22.08°
  2. 23.08°
  3. 24.08°
  4. 25.08°
23. I am short sighted. My spectacles are concave lenses. The images of the things I see are
  1. real, inverted, magnified
  2. real, upright, diminished
  3. virtual, inverted, magnified
  4. virtual, upright, diminished
24. Which of these travel at the same speed?
  1. alpha particle and X ray
  2. X ray and microwave
  3. ultra violet wave and sound
  4. ultra violet wave and alpha particle
25. A boy sees a flash of lightning, and hears the thunder after 5 seconds. The speed of sound is 340 m/s. How far is the lightning?
  1. 1500 m
  2. 1600 m
  3. 1700 m
  4. 1800 m
26. When a sensitive instrument is placed in a metal box, magnetic field outside the box cannot reach the instrument.
  1. The metal is copper. It works by guiding the field around the instrument.
  2. The metal is copper. It works because it is non-magnetic.
  3. The metal is iron. It works by guiding the field around the instrument.
  4. The metal is iron. It works because it is non-magnetic.
27. A metal ball P positively-charged. It is moved close to, but not touching, a sphere Q that is uncharged. A girl touches Q with her bare finger for a second.
  1. Q becomes positively charged.
  2. Q becomes negatively charged.
  3. Q remains uncharged.
  4. Q is positive on one side, negative on the other side.
28. The power rating of a light bulb is 24 W. In 30 s, a battery connected to the bulb sends 60 C of charge through it. The voltage of the battery is
  1. 11 V
  2. 12 V
  3. 13 V
  4. 14 V
29. A battery is connected to a light bulb. In this circuit,
  1. the electrons are negative, and flow from negative pole of the battery to positive pole.
  2. the electrons are negative, and flow from positive pole of the battery to negative pole.
  3. the electrons are positive, and flow from negative pole of the battery to positive pole.
  4. the electrons are positive, and flow from positive pole of the battery to negative pole.
30. When 2 identical resistors are in series, the combined resistance is 4 Ω. When connected in parallel, the combined resistance is
  1. 0.5 Ω
  2. 1 Ω
  3. 2 Ω
  4. 4 Ω
31. The earth wire in an electric cable is connected to the metal case of an electric kettle. How does the earth wire work?
  1. A current flows through it to earth, so the kettle can continue working.
  2. A large current flows through it to earth, and blows the fuse.
  3. It protects the fuse.
  4. It makes the current very small.
32. Two parallel wires X and Y are vertical. They both have electric current flowing downwards. The current in X exerts a force on Y. This force is
  1. downwards.
  2. upwards.
  3. away from X.
  4. towards X.
33. In a motor, there is a moment on the coil. The magnitude of this moment does not depend on
  1. which direction the current flows.
  2. how many turns the coil has.
  3. how big the current is.
  4. how strong the magnetic field is.
34. An a.c. generator is connected to a resistor.
  1. The voltage across the resistor does not change direction.
  2. More turns in the coil gives bigger voltage.
  3. As the coil turns, the voltage stays the same.
  4. If there is an iron cylinder in the coil, the voltage stays the same.
35. To transmit electricity over a large distance, high voltage a.c. is used in the cable.
  1. High voltage gives a higher current. a.c. reduces the resistance.
  2. High voltage gives a higher current. a.c. means a transformer can change the voltage.
  3. High voltage wastes less energy. a.c. reduces the resistance.
  4. High voltage wastes less energy. a.c. means a transformer can change the voltage.
36.

The electrons are deflected
  1. into the page.
  2. out of the page.
  3. to the bottom.
  4. to the top.
37.

When switch A is opened,
  1. Iron moves to the right. Bulb lights up.
  2. Iron moves to the right. Bulb dims.
  3. Iron moves to the left. Bulb lights up.
  4. Iron moves to the left. Bulb dims.
38. When no radioactive sources is around, the reading on a detector is low. An alpha particle source is then placed in front of the detector, with a thick cardboad in between them.
  1. The detector gives a low reading because it detects only background radiation.
  2. The detector gives a low reading because it detects some alpha particles.
  3. The detector gives zero reading because it detects no alpha particles.
  4. The detector gives zero reading because it detects no background radiation.
39. 168O is a nuclide of oxygen. In an neutral atom of 168O, the number of electrons is
  1. 8
  2. 9
  3. 10
  4. 16
40. The radioactive nuclide P has a half life of 1 day. The radioactive nuclide Q has a half life of 2 days. In the beginning, there are 32000 atoms of P and 4000 atoms of Q. The number of P nuclides and Q nuclides will be equal after
  1. 1 days
  2. 2 days
  3. 6 days
  4. 8 days

Score = correct, out of 40 questions.

(Remember to check the stopwatch above to see how long you have taken.)

Correct answers:

Copy and paste the results below to Notepad.
Then look up the explanations here: SOLUTIONS