8c Physics

Multiple choice questions.

1 A car accelerates at 5.0 m/ s2 along a straight, horizontal road and reaches a velocity of 20 m/s in a time
of 4.0s. During this time, its total displacement is 40m.
Which quantity is a scalar?
A a displacement of 40m
B a time of 4.0s
C a velocity of 20m/s

D an acceleration of 5.0m/ s2

2 The diagram shows the resultant R of a 3.0N force and a 4.0N force acting at a point.

The angle between the 3.0N force and the 4.0N force can be any value from 0° to 90°.
Which value of R is not possible?
A 4.0N B 5.0N C 6.0N D 7.0N

3 A micrometer is used to measure the diameter of a uniform wire.

What is done to obtain an accurate answer?
A Make the micrometer horizontal and then use the scales to find the reading.
B Subtract the fixed-scale reading from the rotating-scale reading.
C Subtract the rotating-scale reading from the fixed-scale reading.
D Use the scales to find the reading and add or subtract any zero error.

4 The diagram shows the distance-time graph of a car.

The car is travelling along a straight road up a hill.

Which quantity for the car is constant and greater than zero?
A acceleration
B gravitational potential energy
C kinetic energy
D resultant force

5 The diagram shows a speed-time graph for an object moving with uniform acceleration.

What is the distance travelled in the first 4.0s? A 0.67m B 1.5m C 12m D 24m
6 A hanging basket is fixed to a wall by a bracket.

The weight of the basket is 80N. The weight of the bracket is 20N.
What is the size of the upwards force exerted on the bracket by the wall?
A 60N B 70N C 90N D 100N

7 A train of mass 240000kg is travelling at a speed of 60m/s. The brakes are applied and it decelerates for
10 minutes until it comes to rest. What is the average resultant force?
A 24000N B 40000N C 480000N D 720000N

8 A car travels at a constant speed along a circular, horizontal path.

Which statement describes the forces acting on the car?

A They are balanced as the car is moving at constant speed.
B They are unbalanced with a resultant in the direction away from the centre.
C They are unbalanced with a resultant in the direction of travel of the car.
D They are unbalanced with a resultant in the direction towards the centre.

9 The diagram shows a block of wood resting on a sloping board.

Which arrow shows the direction of the gravitational force acting on the block?

10 On the Earth’s surface, the gravitational field strength is 10N/kg. On the surface of Mars, the
gravitational field strength is 3.8N/kg. A robot vehicle has a weight of 2000N on Earth.
What is the weight of the robot vehicle on Mars?
A 200N B 760N C 7600N D 76000N
11. Which list contains only scalar quantities?
A acceleration, displacement, velocity
B distance, force, speed
C force, length, time
D length, mass, speed

12. A manufacturer measures the three dimensions of a wooden floor tile using three different
instruments.

The approximate dimensions of the tile are shown.

Which instruments are used to measure accurately each of these dimensions?

13. The speed-time graph represents a short journey.

Which distance-time graph represents the same journey?

 14. A free-fall skydiver jumps from a plane. As he falls there is a force acting upwards and a force acting
downwards on his body. These produce a resultant force.

Before he reaches terminal velocity, how do the sizes of the forces change?
15 The diagram shows two objects on a beam balance.

The beam balance is in equilibrium. Which quantities may be different?

A the masses of the two objects
B the moments about the pivot of the two objects
C the volumes of the two objects
D the weights of the two objects

16. Two blocks are joined together.

One block has a density of 6.0 g / cm3 and the other has a density of 9.0 g / cm3.

What is the overall density of the two blocks joined together?

A 7.0 g / cm3 B 7.5 g / cm3 C 8.0 g / cm3 D 15 g /
cm3

17 A diver of weight 500 N stands at the end of a springboard that is 2.0 m long and is fixed at point P.

The springboard has a weight of 500 N. The centre of mass of the springboard is in the centre of the
board.
What is the total moment about point P of the diver and the board?
A 500 N m B 750 N m C 1000 N m D 1500 N m

18 A tennis ball of mass 56 g is travelling at 1500 metres / minute. Which expression is equal to the
kinetic energy, in joules, of the tennis ball?
A 2 1 × 0.056 × (25)^2
B 2 1 × 0.056 × (1500)^2
C 2 1 × 56 × (25)^2
D 2 1 × 56 × (1500)^2

19 In a hydroelectric power station, 4.2 × 105 kg of water passes through the turbines every second. The
turbines are at a height of 50 m below the surface of the reservoir. The gravitational field strength g is 10
N / kg.
Assuming there are no energy losses, what is the power output of the power station?
A 8.4 × 103 W B 8.4 × 104 W C 2.1 × 107 W D 2.1 × 108 W
20 Is mass a scalar or a vector, and is acceleration a scalar or a vector?

21 The diameter and the length of a thin wire, approximately 50cm in length, are measured as precisely
as possible.
What are the best instruments to use?

22 A student walks at a constant speed. He takes 100s to walk 160 paces. The length of each pace
is 0.80m. How far does the student walk in 50s?
A 64m B 80m C 128m D 256m

23 The mass of a stone is found on Earth using a pan balance. The weight of the stone is found using a
newton meter.
Are the readings the same or different on the Moon?

24 The table shows the weights and masses of four objects on different planets.

On which planet is the gravitational field strength the largest?

25 Four forces act at a point as shown.

What is the size of the resultant force? A 0 N B4N C 6N D 8N

26 A student drops, from rest, a table-tennis ball in air.

What happens to the velocity and to the acceleration of the ball during the first few seconds after release?

27 The mass and volume of four different objects are plotted as shown.

Which object has the smallest density?

28 Newton’s third law involves two quantities which are equal in size and opposite in direction.
What is the unit for these two quantities?
AJ

B m / s2

CN
DW
29 When a car turns a corner at speed, it risks toppling over. Two factors affecting the stability of a car
are the height of its centre of mass and the distance between its front wheels.

Which factors make the car most stable?

30 A cyclist travels along a horizontal track at constant speed.

The work done by the cyclist is equal to
A the change in kinetic energy.
B the force of air resistance.
C the force of friction in the bicycle.
D the thermal energy (heat) produced.

31 A 2.0kg mass has 300J of kinetic energy.

What is the speed of the mass?
A 8.7m/s B 12m/s C 17m/s D 24m/s

32 A length of copper wire is labelled ‘length 30 m’ and ‘diameter 0.50 mm’.

Which instruments are most suitable to measure accurately the length and the diameter of the wire?
33 A skydiver falls from rest through the air and reaches terminal velocity.

What is the acceleration of the skydiver during his fall?

A constant at 0 m / s2

B constant at 10 m / s2

C starting at 0 m / s2 and increasing to 10 m / s2

D starting at 10 m / s2 and decreasing to 0 m / s2

34 The diagram shows a car going around a circular track at constant speed.
Which arrow shows the direction of the resultant force on the car?

35 A car has stopped at a red light. When the light changes to green, the car starts moving with a constant
acceleration. The graph represents this motion.
Which quantity is plotted on the x-axis and which quantity is plotted on the y-axis?

36 Which statement about mass and weight is correct?

A A mass experiences a weight due to a gravitational field.
B Mass and weight are different types of force.
C Mass and weight have the same unit.
D When an object expands, its mass changes but its weight stays the same.

37 Each diagram shows two forces that are equal in magnitude.

Which diagram shows two forces that are a Newton’s third law pair of forces?
38 Two forces of 3.0 N and 4.0 N act at right-angles to each other.
Which diagram shows the resultant R of these forces?

39 A workman rolls a barrel of weight 2000 N up a plank of length 2.0 m and onto a lorry. The back of
the lorry is 0.80 m above the horizontal surface of the road.

What is the work done on the barrel against gravity? A 1000 J B 1600 J C 2500 J D 4000 J

40 Three objects P, Q and R have different masses and different speeds, as shown in the table.

What is the order of increasing kinetic energy (smallest first) of the objects?
AP→Q→R
BP→R→Q
R→P→Q
DR→Q→P
41 The diagram shows arrows representing two vector quantities.

Which diagram shows the resultant R of these two vectors?

42 Which set of quantities are all vectors?

A acceleration, displacement, velocity
B chemical energy, mass, power
C extension, force, gravitational potential energy
D weight, kinetic energy, work

43 A student determines the circumference of a golf ball.

Which instrument gives a reading that is the circumference of the golf ball?
A calipers
B micrometer
C rule
D tape
44 The graph shows how the speed of a car varies with time.

Which statement about the acceleration of the car between 10s and 20s is correct?
A The acceleration decreases.
B The acceleration increases.
C The acceleration is constant, but not zero.
D The acceleration is zero.

45 A man pulls a sledge of mass 25kg across level ground with a horizontal force of 60N.
A constant force of friction of 20N acts on the sledge. What is the acceleration of the sledge?

A 0.63m/ s2 B 1.6m/ s2 C 2.4m/ s2D 3.2m/ s2

46 A car moves in a circle at constant speed.

What is the direction of the resultant force acting on the car?
47 A brick is placed on a newton meter and then on a beam balance.

What is measured by each instrument?

48 A force acts on a body.

Which list contains only quantities that can be changed by the force?
A mass, shape, velocity
B mass, shape, volume
C mass, velocity, volume
D shape, velocity, volume

49 A uniform horizontal beam, pivoted at its right-hand end, is in equilibrium. A force of 60N acts
vertically upwards on the beam as shown.

What is the weight of the beam?

A 36N B 40N C 90N D 100N

50 Four table lamps are shown along with the position M of the Centre of mass in each case.

Which lamp is the most stable?

51 During an experiment to find the density of a stone, the stone is lowered into a measuring cylinder
partly filled with water.

Which statement is correct?

A The difference between the readings gives the density of the stone.
B The difference between the readings gives the volume of the stone.
C The final reading gives the density of the stone.
D The final reading gives the volume of the stone.

52 The diagram shows a micrometer scale.

Which reading is shown?
A 5.64mm B 7.14mm C 7.16mm D 7.64mm

53 An object travels at a constant speed of 10m/s for 10s. During the next 5s, it accelerates
uniformly to 20m/s.

What is the total distance travelled by the object?

A 150m B 175m C 200m D 300m

54 Which object has the largest resultant force?

55 In which example does friction act in the direction of forward motion of the object on which it acts?
A on a suitcase accelerating on a conveyor belt
B on sandpaper rubbing a wooden block
C on the skis of a skier accelerating downhill on smooth snow
D on the tyres of a braking car

56 The diagram represents the Moon in its orbit around the Earth.
Which arrow represents the direction of the resultant force acting on the Moon at the instant shown?
57 Which statement about mass is correct?
A Mass is density divided by volume.
B Mass is the amount of space occupied by a body.
C Mass is weight multiplied by the gravitational field strength.
D Mass resists a change in motion.

58 The total weight of the load and the wheelbarrow shown is 600N.
What is the size of force F needed just to lift the loaded wheelbarrow?
A 350N B 430N C 600N D 840N

59 A force acts on a body.

Which properties of the body may all be changed by the force?
A mass, shape and size
B mass, shape and velocity
C mass, size and velocity
D shape, size and velocity

60 Some students plan to use a spring to make a spring balance with a linear scale.
The graph shows how the extension of their spring changes with the load on it.

What is the total range of a balance with a linear scale using this spring?
A 0N to 10N B 0 N to 12N C 10N to 12N D 10N to 14N
Alternate to Practical Questions.
1. A student investigates the period of a simple pendulum. The period T is the time taken for one
complete oscillation of the pendulum. She sets up the pendulum with its point of support a fixed
height above the surface of the bench. She does not change this height, or the position of the
clamp during the investigation. A scale diagram of her experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 1.1.
 Fig. 1.1
(a) (i) Measure the distance D on Fig. 1.1 to the nearest millimetre. Record your result. D
= ............................................ cm
(b) (ii) Fig. 1.1 is drawn to a scale of one-tenth full size. Write down the actual height H of the point
of support above the bench. H = ..................................................
(c) She adjusts the length of the thread until the height h of the centre of the bob above the bench is
15.0 cm. She gives the ball a small sideways displacement and releases it so that it oscillates. She
records the time for 20 oscillations in the table in Fig. 1.2.

She repeats the procedure for heights h of 20.0 cm, 25.0 cm, 30.0 cm and 40.0 cm. She uses her results
to calculate the period T for one oscillation and T 2 for each set of readings.
(i) Complete the table in Fig. 1.2.
(ii) (ii) Explain why measuring the time for 20 oscillations, rather than for 1 oscillation, gives a
more accurate value for
T. ........................................................................................................................................... ......
..................................................................................................................................... ................
.....................................................................................................................
 (d) (i) On Fig. 1.3, plot a graph of T 2 / s2 on the y-axis against h / cm on the x-axis.
Start your axes from the origin (0,0). Draw the straight line of best fit.

(ii) Extend your line so that it cuts the y-axis. State the value of the intercept c on the y-
axis. c = .............................................. s2
(iii) Calculate the gradient m of your line. Show your working and indicate on your
graph the values you use to calculate the gradient.
m = ....................................... s2 / cm
(d) Theory suggests that H is given by the equation H m c= . Use this equation to calculate H.
H = ............................................ cm
(e) Compare your measured value for H from (a)(ii) with your result in (d). State whether the two values
agree with each other and justify your
answer. ................................................................................................................................................... ........
........................................................................................................................................... ..............................
.................................................................................................................

2. Fig. 2.1 shows the distance-time graph for two cyclists A and B. They start a 500 m race together
but finish the race at different times.

Fig 2.1
(a) Use Fig. 2.1 to determine
(i) the distance between A and B at time t = 20 s,
.......................................................................................................................................
(ii) the difference in the time taken by A and B for the race.
.......................................................................................................................................
(b) Cyclist C starts the race at the same time as A and B and covers the first 200 m of the race at a
constant speed of 5.0 m / s. He then accelerates and finishes the race at t = 60 s.
(i) On Fig. 2.1, draw the distance-time graph for cyclist C.
(ii) Calculate the average speed of cyclist C for the whole race.
speed = ...........................................................

3. Fig. 3.1 shows a student doing a press-up. A total force F acts upwards on his hands. There is
also a force upwards on his toes.
 Fig. 3.1 (not to scale)
The weight of the student is 600 N and this force acts downwards from his centre of mass.
(a) (i) Explain why the student does work as his body rises from the ground.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................
(ii) State the form of energy that the student uses to do this work.
......................................................................................................................................
(b) At the position shown in Fig. 3.1, the student is stationary. The weight of the student causes a
moment about his toes.
(i) Calculate the moment of the weight of the student about his toes.
moment = ...........................................................
(ii) Calculate the value of the force F.
F = ...........................................................

4. A group of students is asked to determine the diameter of a large inflatable beach ball.
One student uses a long piece of string to find the circumference of the ball. He then calculates the
diameter. Fig. 4.1 shows the student with the beach ball.
Fig. 4.1 (not to scale)
 (a) Suggest one practical difficulty in measuring the circumference of the ball.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
(b) (i) Describe a different method that another student may use to measure directly the diameter of the
beach ball. You may include a diagram in your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
(ii) Suggest two ways in which the student in (b)(i) can make the measurement of the diameter accurate.
1 ........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
2 ........................................................................................................................................
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Theory
1. A sky-diver jumps from a stationary balloon. His initial downwards acceleration is 10 m / s2.

Fig. 1.1 shows the directions of the air resistance and the weight of the sky-diver.
The mass of the sky-diver is 60 kg and his weight is 600 N.

(a) Explain, using ideas about the forces, why his initial downwards acceleration is 10 m / s2.

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

(b) When the parachute opens, the sky-diver experiences an upward acceleration for a short time.

Explain why.

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................................................

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

(c) The total force of air resistance on the sky-diver and open parachute changes with their speed, as
shown in Fig. 1.2.
 speed
m/s

After the parachute opens, the sky-diver slows down to a terminal velocity.

The weight of the sky-diver is 600 N.

(i) Using Fig. 1.2, determine the terminal velocity of the sky-diver.

terminal velocity = ...........................................................

(ii) Calculate the resultant force on the sky-diver when his speed is 5.5 m / s.

resultant force = ....................................................................................

2. A student hangs various masses from the end of a spring and determines the extension produced.
Fig. 2.1 shows the spring hanging vertically on its own and with an unknown mass X at one end.
(a) The student plots a graph of the extension of the spring against the mass hanging on the spring.
Fig. 2.2 shows the student’s graph.

mass / g
Fig. 2.2

(i) At point P on the graph, the line begins to curve.

 State the name of point P.

.......................................................................................................................................

(ii) Using Fig. 2.1 and Fig. 2.2, determine the mass X.

mass = ..........................................................

(iii) The gravitational field strength g is 10 N / kg.

Calculate the weight of X.

weight = ..........................................................

(b) An identical spring is used with the original spring, as shown in Fig. 2.3.

State and explain how the extension in Fig. 2.3 compares with the extension in Fig. 2.1.

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

3. Fig. 3.1 shows a thin sheet of plastic. A student tries to measure the thickness of the sheet with a
ruler, but the sheet is too thin to measure accurately.
The student measures the mass of the sheet and obtains the value 0.12 g.

(a) (i) State what is meant by mass.

...........................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................

(ii) The student is told that the density of the plastic is 0.91 g / cm3.

Calculate the volume of the plastic sheet.

volume = ...........................................................

(iii) The student measures the length and width of the sheet. The readings obtained are:

length of sheet = 3.0 cm width of sheet = 2.0 cm

Calculate the thickness of the sheet.

thickness = ..........................................................

(b) State a measuring instrument that can be used to measure the thickness of the sheet accurately.

.....................................................................................................................................................

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. (a) Equal volumes of air, copper and water are heated from 20 °C to 80 °C. They expand by different
amounts.

Draw a line from each box on the left-hand side to show which expands the most and which expands
the least.

(b) Fig. 4.1 shows a mercury thermometer.

This thermometer has a suitable range for use in laboratory experiments, but has a low sensitivity for
some experiments.

(i) With reference to this thermometer, describe what is meant by

1. range,

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

2. low sensitivity.

......................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

(ii) State one change in the design of a thermometer that increases its sensitivity.

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