Cambridge O Level

PHYSICS 5054/22
Paper 2 Theory May/June 2022
MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 75

Published

This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the
examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the
details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have
considered the acceptability of alternative answers.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for
Teachers.

Cambridge International will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.

Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2022 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge International A and AS Level and Cambridge Pre-U components, and some
Cambridge O Level components.

This document consists of 12 printed pages.

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Generic Marking Principles

These general marking principles must be applied by all examiners when marking candidate answers. They should be applied alongside the
specific content of the mark scheme or generic level descriptors for a question. Each question paper and mark scheme will also comply with these
marking principles.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 1:

Marks must be awarded in line with:

 the specific content of the mark scheme or the generic level descriptors for the question
 the specific skills defined in the mark scheme or in the generic level descriptors for the question
 the standard of response required by a candidate as exemplified by the standardisation scripts.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 2:

Marks awarded are always whole marks (not half marks, or other fractions).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 3:

Marks must be awarded positively:

 marks are awarded for correct/valid answers, as defined in the mark scheme. However, credit is given for valid answers which go beyond the
scope of the syllabus and mark scheme, referring to your Team Leader as appropriate
 marks are awarded when candidates clearly demonstrate what they know and can do
 marks are not deducted for errors
 marks are not deducted for omissions
 answers should only be judged on the quality of spelling, punctuation and grammar when these features are specifically assessed by the
question as indicated by the mark scheme. The meaning, however, should be unambiguous.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 4:

Rules must be applied consistently, e.g. in situations where candidates have not followed instructions or in the application of generic level
descriptors.

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GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 5:

Marks should be awarded using the full range of marks defined in the mark scheme for the question (however; the use of the full mark range may
be limited according to the quality of the candidate responses seen).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 6:

Marks awarded are based solely on the requirements as defined in the mark scheme. Marks should not be awarded with grade thresholds or
grade descriptors in mind.

Science-Specific Marking Principles

1 Examiners should consider the context and scientific use of any keywords when awarding marks. Although keywords may be present, marks
should not be awarded if the keywords are used incorrectly.

2 The examiner should not choose between contradictory statements given in the same question part, and credit should not be awarded for any
correct statement that is contradicted within the same question part. Wrong science that is irrelevant to the question should be ignored.

3 Although spellings do not have to be correct, spellings of syllabus terms must allow for clear and unambiguous separation from other syllabus
terms with which they may be confused (e.g. ethane / ethene, glucagon / glycogen, refraction / reflection).

4 The error carried forward (ecf) principle should be applied, where appropriate. If an incorrect answer is subsequently used in a scientifically
correct way, the candidate should be awarded these subsequent marking points. Further guidance will be included in the mark scheme where
necessary and any exceptions to this general principle will be noted.

5 ‘List rule’ guidance

For questions that require n responses (e.g. State two reasons …):

 The response should be read as continuous prose, even when numbered answer spaces are provided.
 Any response marked ignore in the mark scheme should not count towards n.
 Incorrect responses should not be awarded credit but will still count towards n.
 Read the entire response to check for any responses that contradict those that would otherwise be credited. Credit should not be
awarded for any responses that are contradicted within the rest of the response. Where two responses contradict one another, this should
be treated as a single incorrect response.
 Non-contradictory responses after the first n responses may be ignored even if they include incorrect science.

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6 Calculation specific guidance

Correct answers to calculations should be given full credit even if there is no working or incorrect working, unless the question states ‘show
your working’.

For questions in which the number of significant figures required is not stated, credit should be awarded for correct answers when rounded by
the examiner to the number of significant figures given in the mark scheme. This may not apply to measured values.

For answers given in standard form (e.g. a  10n) in which the convention of restricting the value of the coefficient (a) to a value between 1
and 10 is not followed, credit may still be awarded if the answer can be converted to the answer given in the mark scheme.

Unless a separate mark is given for a unit, a missing or incorrect unit will normally mean that the final calculation mark is not awarded.
Exceptions to this general principle will be noted in the mark scheme.

7 Guidance for chemical equations

Multiples / fractions of coefficients used in chemical equations are acceptable unless stated otherwise in the mark scheme.

State symbols given in an equation should be ignored unless asked for in the question or stated otherwise in the mark scheme.

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Specific Instructions for Marking 5054/22
Marking

Question Answer Marks

1(a) 600 N B1

1(b) ANY 2 separate bullet points from: B2

 weight is a vector / weight has direction / mass has no direction / mass is a scalar
 mass is the amount of matter / substance
 weight is a force / weight is mass  gravitational field strength
 weight varies with position (of object) / gravitational field (strength) / mass does not vary with position
 mass resists change of motion / has inertia

1(c)(i) friction (with water) or drag or air / water resistance mentioned B1

(forces) balance / cancel or no resultant force B1

1(c)(ii) (resultant force ) 20 (N) or 70 – 50 seen C1

(a =) F / m algebraic or numerical in any form C1

0.33 m / s2 A1

Question Answer Marks

2(a) ANY 2 from: B2

 kinetic energy
 heat / thermal energy / internal energy
 sound

2(b)(i) (PE =) m g h algebraic or numerical in any form with any mass or distance C1

1.8 J A1

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Question Answer Marks

2(b)(ii) (shc =) E / m  T algebraic or numerical in any form C1

80  1.8 / (0.15  7.0) or 1.7 or 0.0017 C1

140 J / (kg °C) A1

2(b)(iii) any 1 of B1
 (more time for) heat / energy loss
 more time to cool down
 masses do not fall full distance / masses slide along tube
 thermal energy / temperature (rise) shared with tube
 tube heats up
 friction with tube (increases)
 less kinetic energy

Question Answer Marks

3(a) force divided by area B1

3(b) (molecules) move (around at random) / have K.E. B1

(molecules) hit sides / piston B1

(molecules) cause force on piston / sides B1

3(c)(i) 10 / 1.2  10−4 or 8.3  104 (Pa) seen C1

1.8  105 Pa A1

3(c)(ii) P1V1 = P2V2 algebraic or numerical in any form or P  1 / V B1

27 or 28 cm3 B1

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Question Answer Marks

4(a) clear angle is to / from the normal C1

or 90°– angle between ray and surface

angle between/with the refracted ray / beam and the normal or vv A1

or angle from the normal to the refracted ray / beam or vv

4(b) (refractive index = ) sini / sinr algebraic or numerical in any form M1

1.5 A1

4(c) refractive index smaller (for red ) B1

larger angle of refraction (for red) B1

or (red) bends / refracts less (towards normal)

assume comparison is for light entering glass at equal incident angles unless clear otherwise

4(d) P infrared and Q ultraviolet B1

Question Answer Marks

5(a) middle box of 1st three boxes and top box of 2nd three boxes B1

5(b)(i) (P =) VI or I 2R algebraic or numerical seen in any form C1

0.0024 W A1

5(b)(ii) V = IR algebraic or numerical in any form or potential divider formula seen C1

4.8 (V) seen or 6.0 – 1.2 / 0.002 or 3000 − 600 C1

or 6 = 0.002  (600+RY) or 1.2 = 6  600 / (RY + 600)

2400  A1

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Question Answer Marks

5(b)(iii) resistance of thermistor / X increases (on cooling) B1

current (in thermistor) decreases B1

or potential divider argument used to explain decrease in pd across Y
or pd across X increases

6(a)(i) top magnet N pole at bottom and S pole at top B1

like poles repel or N and N repel B1

6(a)(ii) iron magnetised (by induction) / iron a temporary magnet / poles produced on iron (by magnet) B1

unlike poles attract or N -pole attracts S-pole or bottom pole of iron is a S pole or S pole (on iron) faces N-pole (on B1
magnet)

6(b) at least three circles centered on wire B1

clockwise direction marked on at least one closed shape around wire and no arrows wrong B1

Question Answer Marks

7(a)(i) acceleration constant / for 10 s or acceleration 1.6 m / s2 B1

or speeds up for 10 s / until it reaches 16 m / s

constant / uniform speed for 10 s / from 10 to 20 s / of 16 m / s B1

or zero acceleration for 10 s / from 10 to 20 s

decelerates constantly / for 4 s / from 20 s to 24 s / until 24 s B1

or deceleration 4 m / s2 or acceleration −4 m / s2

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Question Answer Marks

7(a)(ii) area under curve or formula for area of a triangle / trapezium seen B1

or working shown used

(accelerating) 80 (m) or (at constant speed) 160 (m) or (decelerating) 32 (m) seen C1

(total distance) 270 or 272 m A1

7(a)(iii) (average speed) = total distance / (total) time algebraic or numerical C1

11 m / s A1

7(a)(iv) horizontal line drawn from 0 to 24 s at any level B1

or horizontal line at the value calculated in 7(a)(iii) for at least 16 s

horizontal line from 0 to 24 s at the value calculated in 7(a)(iii) B1

7(b)(i) 27 B1

7(b)(ii) (statement that thinking) distance is proportional to speed C1

or thinking distance increases uniformly with speed
or time = (thinking) distance / speed and stated to be equal / not affected
or ratio of (thinking) distance to speed is constant
or (thinking) distance and speed both increase by same ratio
or same change in (thinking) distance for equal changes in speed

at least two values thinking distance ÷ speed (or inverse) calculated A1

or all values of thinking distance/speed stated to be 0.45 (or inverse 2.2)
or proportionality shown by at least two values
or double the speed doubles the (thinking) distance
or each 20 (km / h) / same increase in speed covers an extra 9 (m) distance

7(b)(iii) thinking distances increases B1

braking distances no change B1

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Question Answer Marks

8(a)(i) 3 B1

8(a)(ii) shape approx. sinusoidal with amplitude 3 mm for the first complete wave (may then change) B1

1 wave taking 0.5 s for first wave shown within half a square B1
or 1.5 s shown for the number of waves in (a)(i)

8(b)(i) move bar up and down more often (per second) / faster B1

or make rubber band(s) strong(er ) / short(er) / tight(er) / more in number
or use bar of less mass / weight

8(b)(ii) speed remains the same B1

wavelength decreases B1

8(c)(i) (piece of) plastic / (piece of) glass / block / plate B1

or a shallow(er) / deep(er) area / boundary

8(c)(ii) diagram showing within the ripple tank: B1

 crests parallel to bar hitting boundary with a boundary labelled

 correct refraction of plane crests either towards or away from normal on the same side of the normal B1
or no direction change if crests are initially parallel to boundary but with a wavelength change

 different wavelength shown before and after refraction and constant before and after (by eye) B1

8(d)(i) (t =) distance / speed algebraic or numerical seen in any form C1

2  560(000) seen or used or 0.0019 (s) C1

0.0037 s A1

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Question Answer Marks

8(d)(ii) One of (both): B1

 reflect / refract
 have same speed (in a vacuum)
 travel in a vacuum / don’t need a medium
 are electromagnetic
 are transverse
 carry energy / cause heating
 have larger wavelength / smaller frequency than visible light

8(d)(iii) less likely to be hacked / intercepted / greater security B1

or more channels / better bandwidth possible / more data
or less likely for transmission to be interrupted
or cost of satellites saved / satellites expensive

Question Answer Marks

9(a)(i) helium atom has (any 1 from) B1

 two electrons (and ion has 1 electron)
 one more electron (than the ion)
 no charge (and ion positive)
 same number of electrons as protons;

9(a)(ii) alpha particle has (any 1 from) : B1

 no electrons
 charge +2 (e)
 only protons and neutrons
or He ion has an electron

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Question Answer Marks

9(a)(iii) X number of protons 88 B1

Y number of protons 89 or number of protons for X +1 B1

X number of neutrons 137 or 225 − number of protons in X B1

Y number of neutrons 136 or number of neutrons for X −1 B1

9(b) GM tube cloud chamber B1

use paper absorber and / or (thin) metal / >5 cm air look at trails in cloud chamber when vapour B1
or deflect with magnetic / electric field / charged plates condenses / cools

with paper, reading / count drops if alpha present alpha tracks straight / thick / few cm long B1
or alpha particles stopped by paper / >5 cm air
or correct deflection and sensible detection of alpha
particles in field

with metal, reading / count drops (further) if beta present beta tracks spidery / thin / long B1
or beta particles stopped by metal
or correct deflection and sensible deflection of beta
particles in field

9(c)(i) time taken to halve C1

time for number of (radioactive) atoms / nuclei / count / activity to halve A1

9(c)(ii) any halving of 4.0  1014 seen C1

only 3 halvings or 3 half lives seen C1

7300 years A1

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