UAC E PHYS ICS S EMINAR S LA TED FOR 23 R D

S EP TEM BER 2023 AT

UGAND A MAR TYRS’ S. S.S NAMUG ONGO
P hys ics Pape r on e ( P510 /1)
SECTION A
1. (a) (i) Define momentum of a body and state its standard units.
(ii) State the law of conservation of linear momentum.
(b) Two bodies A and B of masses 2.0kg and 3.0kg respectively, moving at right
angles to each other with respective velocities of 4.0ms-1 and 2.0ms-1 are
involved in a perfectly inelastic collision. Find
(i) Their velocity after collision.
(ii) The loss in kinetic energy of the bodies.
(c) A man who can swim at 5ms-1 in still water wishes to cross from one point of a
river bank to another directly opposite him. If the river is 400m wide and flows
at a speed of 4ms-1, find
(i) The direction in which the man should swim
(ii) The time he will take to cross the river.
(d) Ship A is 10km south of ship B and is moving northwards at 100kmh -1. Ship B
is moving eastwards at 120kmh-1. Find;
(i) The shortest distance between the two ships.
(ii) The time it takes to reach the point of shortest distance.
[NDEJJE S.S]

2. (a) (i) State Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.

(ii) State Newton`s law of Universal gravitation.
(b) (i) Sketch a graph showing the variation of acceleration due to gravity with
distance from the centre of the earth.
(ii) Derive an expression for the acceleration due to gravity g, inside the earth
at a distance r, from the earth’s surface given that the earth has a uniform
density ρ.
(c) The orbital radius of Mars about the Sun is 1.53 times that of the earth about the
sun. How many days does Mars take to move once round the Sun?
All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 1 of 18
 (d) (i) Define a parking orbit.
(ii) State any two uses of artificial satellites.
(e) A satellite of mass 100kg is in a circular orbit at a height of 3.59 × 10 7m above
the earth’s surface.
(i) Find the mechanical energy of the satellite.
(ii) Explain what would happen if the satellite encountered resistance to its
forward motion.
[STANDARD HIGH SCHOOL, ZZANA]

3. (a) (i) Define angular velocity and centripetal acceleration.

(ii) Derive the expression for the centripetal acceleration of a body moving
with angular velocity ω in a circular path of radius R.
(b) The period of a conical pendulum is 2.0 s. If the string makes an angle of 60° to
the vertical at the point of suspension, calculate the:
(i) Vertical height of the point of suspension above the circle.
(ii) Length of the string,
(iii) Velocity of the mass attached to the string.
(c) (i) Define simple harmonic motion.
(ii) Show that a small mass, m attached to the free end of a helical spring of
force constant K, suspended vertically executes simple harmonic motion
when displaced through a small vertical distance x, and then released.
(iii) Explain briefly how you can use the experimental arrangement in (ii) above
to determine acceleration due to gravity.
(d) A particle of mass 0.1kg is executing simple harmonic motion of amplitude 3.6 x
10-2m between two points A and B about point O as the centre of oscillation. The
maximum restoring force on the particle has a magnitude 3.52 N.
Calculate;
(i) The period of the motion
(ii) The kinetic energy of the particle when it is at a distance 4.5 x 10 -2m from
A.
(iii) The total energy of the particle
[SEETA HIGH SCHOOL, GREEN CAMPUS]

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 2 of 18

4. (a) (i) Define Friction
(ii) State the laws of solid friction
(iii) Use the molecular theory to explain the laws mentioned in (ii) above.
(b) Describe an experiment to measure the coefficient of dynamic friction between a
wooden block and a plane surface.
(c) A block of wood of mass 950g rests on a horizontal table of height 3.0m at a
distance of 24.8m from the edge of the table. A bullet of mass 50g moving with a
horizontal velocity of 750ms-1 hits and gets imbedded in the block as shown in
the diagram below.

If the coefficient of dynamic friction between the block and the table is 0.3, find
(i) the velocity of the block and bullet just after collision.
(ii) the horizontal distance from the table to the point where the block hits the
ground.
[BUDDO S.S]

5. (a) (i) Define Young’s modulus.

(ii) State Hooke`s law.
(b) (i) Show that when a wire is stretched, the energy E stored per unit volume is
𝟏
given by 𝑬 = 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 × 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏.
𝟐

(ii) A copper wire of length 1.000 m is joined at one end to a steel wire of same
length and diameter to form a composite wire of length 2.000 m. The
composite wire is subjected to a tensile stress until its length becomes

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 3 of 18

 2.002 m. Calculate the tensile stress applied to the wire.
[Young`s moduli for copper and steel are 1.2 × 10 11 Pa and 2.0 × 1011 Pa
respectively]
(c) (i) Describe an experiment to determine Young`s modulus for a wire.
(ii) State any two precautions taken in c (i) above to ensure accurate results.
(d) (i) Distinguish between ductile and brittle materials.
(ii) State the circumstance under which a brittle material can be used during
construction.
[JINJA PROGRESSIVE ACADEMY]

6. (a) Define surface tension and derive its dimensions.

(b) (i) Calculate the amount of energy liberated when 1000 droplets of water, each
of diameter 1.0 × 106 cm coalesce to form a bigger drop.
(ii) Derive an expression for the pressure difference between the inside and
outside of a soap bubble in air given that the radius of the bubble is r and
surface tension of soap solution is γ
(iii) Two soap bubbles of diameters d1 and d2 respectively are attached to each
other to form an interface of radius r, if d1 < d2, derive the expression for r
in terms of d1 and d2.
(c) (i) Distinguish between streamline flow and turbulent flow of a liquid.
(ii) Describe an experiment to demonstrate streamline and turbulent flows.
[CRANE HIGH SCHOOL, ENTEBBE]

SECTION B
7. (a) (i) Define thermal conductivity.
(ii) Describe an experiment to determine thermal conductivity of a copper.
(b) The external wall of a brick house is of area 16m2 and thickness 0.3m. The indoor
and outdoor temperatures are 20° C and 0° C respectively. Find;
(i) The rate at which heat is lost through the wall.
(ii) The amount of heat lost in one hour when the internal surface of the wall
is covered with expanded polystyrene tiles of thickness 20mm.
All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 4 of 18
 (iii) The temperature of the brick-tile interface.
(Thermal conductivity of, brick = 0.5Wm-1K-1, polystyrene = 0.03Wm-1K-1)
(c) (i) Define a thermometric property.
(ii) State four examples of thermometric properties.
(d) The electrical resistance in ohms of a certain thermometer varies with temperature
T kelvin according to the approximate law R=R0 [1+5 x 10-3(T-T0)]. The
resistance is 101.6 ohms at the triple point of water and 165.5 ohms at 600.5K.
What is the temperature when the resistance is 123.4 ohms?
[GAYAZA HIGH SCHOOL]

8. (a) (i) What is meant by a black body?

(ii) State Stefan’s law of black body radiation.
(iii) Draw a graph of relative intensity against wavelength for a black body at
three different temperatures and use it to explain why the centre of a
furnace appears white.
(b) A 150W electric light bulb has a filament which is 0.8m long and diameter 6.0 ×
10-5m. Estimate the working temperature of this filament if its total emissivity is
0.7.
(c) With aid of a labeled diagram, describe how a total radiation pyrometer is used
to measure the temperature of a furnace.
[Mt. St. MARY’S COLLEGE, NAMAGUNGA]

9. (a) (i) What is the difference between an isothermal and an adiabatic change?
(ii) What are the conditions for a reversible adiabatic change to be archived?
(b) (i) State any three differences between real and ideal gases.
(ii) Draw sketches showing the P-V isothermals for a real gas above and
below the critical temperature. Mark on the curve, the liquid, saturated
vapour and gaseous states.
(c) One mole of a gas occupies 2.24 × 10-2m3 at a pressure of 1.01× 105 Nm-2 and
temperature 0°C. If the molar heat capacity at constant pressure is 28.5 Jmol-1 K-1,
calculate the molar heat capacity at constant volume.
(d) 20g of the gas in (c) initially at 27°C is heated at constant pressure of 1.0 × 105
Nm-2 and its volume increased from 0.250 m3 to 0 .375m3.
Calculate,
(i) The external work done.
All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 5 of 18
 (ii) The increase in internal energy
[Relative molecular mass of the gas =2]
[KYAMBOGO COLLEGE SCHOOL]
10. (a) (i) Define cooling correction.
(ii) State Newton’s law of cooling.
(b) (i) Using a well labelled diagram, describe an experiment to determine the
specific latent heat of vaporization of water by the method of mixtures.
(ii) State two advantages of the electrical method over the method of mixtures
in determining the specific latent heat of vaporization of a liquid.
(c) Three metallic conductors A, B and C of equal lengths and cross section area are
joined to form an insulated composite rod as show in the figure below.

The exposed end of A and C are maintained at 100oC and 0oC respectively. If
the ratio of the thermal conductivities of A, B and C is 1.5:2:2.5 respectively,
(i) Find the steady temperatures of the interfaces T1 and T2.
(ii) Draw a sketch graph of temperature against length of the composite rod
(d) Explain why;
(i) One feels cool after sweating.
(ii) Greenhouse effect causes global warming.
[GREENHILL ACADEMY]

SECTION C
11. (a) (i) State the laws of photoelectric emission.
(ii) Define; work function and threshold frequency
(b) With use of a labeled diagram, describe Millikan’s experiment to verify
Einstein`s equation of photoelectric emission.
(c) Electrons are accelerated through a high potential difference and enter mid-way
between two parallel plates with a velocity parallel to the plates. The plates are
All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 6 of 18
 15.0cm long and separated by 12.0mm. The electrons are deflected through 2.0cm
on a screen placed 12.5cm beyond the plates when a potential difference of 960V
is connected across the plates. Find;
(i) the velocity of the electrons as they emerge from the region between the
plates.
(ii) the voltage used to accelerate the electrons before they enter the region
between the plates.
(d) In Millikan’s oil drop experiment an oil drop of radius 6.2×10-6m and density
880kgm-3 was observed to fall through a distance of 6.25×10-1cms-1, when no
potential difference was put across the plates. When a potential difference of
690V was applied between the plates, the same drop was seen to rise steadily at
a speed of 7.25×10-2cms-1. If the distance between the plates is 1.5cm and the
coefficient of viscosity of air is 1.8×10-7Ns-1kg2, find the charge on the oil drop.
[NAALYA S.S, BWEYOGERERE CAMPUS]

12. (a) (i) Define mass defect of a nucleus.

(ii) Explain the observations of Rutherford’s scattering of alpha particles by a
gold foil.
(iii) Calculate the closest distance of approach when a 5.0MeV proton
approaches a gold nucleus. (Atomic number of gold = 79)
(b) (i) Given that the radius of a hydrogen atom having an electron of mass m
and charge q orbiting its nucleus is r. Derive the expression for the total
nh
energy of the electron. (Angular momentum of the electron = )
2
(ii) Draw an energy level diagram for hydrogen to indicate emission of
ultraviolet, visible and infra-red spectral lines.
(iii) A hydrogen atom is in an excited state of energy -10.6eV. It absorbs a
photon of wavelength 1.2 x 10-7m and is excited to a higher energy level.
When it falls back to its ground state, a photon of wavelength 0.9 x 10 -7m
is emitted. Find the energy of the ground state.
[NAMILYANGO COLLEGE]

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 7 of 18

13. (a) (i) Distinguish between an intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductor.
(ii) What is meant by a p-n junction?
(iii) Sketch the IC-VCE characteristic of a transistor in a common emitter
connection for two different IB current.
(b) The figure below shows a circuit incorporating an n-p-n transistor whose current
amplification factor hfe is 50. 

6V

6kΩ

With an input voltage VB of 1.5V, find the;

(i) Base current IB
(ii) Emitter Current IE
(iii) Output Voltage VO
(c) (i) With use of a labelled diagram, describe the use of the main feature of a
cathode ray oscilloscope (C.R.O)

(ii) State any two uses of a C.R.O.

(d) With the time base switched off, an alternating voltage with root-mean-square
value 2.82 V is connected across the Y-plates of a C.R.O. If a vertical trace of
length 4.0 cm is formed on the screen, find the value at which the gain control of
the C.R.O is set.
[KAKUNGULU MEMORIAL]

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 8 of 18

14. (a) When fast moving electrons strike a metal target in an X-ray tube, two types of
X-ray spectra are produced.
(i) Draw a sketch graph of intensity against wavelength of the X-rays.
(ii) Account for the occurrence of the two types of spectra.
(b) (i) State Bragg’s law of X-ray diffraction.
(ii) Derive Bragg’s equation.
(c) (i) State the energy changes that take place in an X-ray tube during the
production of X-rays.
(ii) A beam of X-rays of wavelength 2.0×10-10m is incident on a set of cubic
planes in a potassium Chloride crystal. First order diffraction maxima are
observed at a glancing angle of 18.5°. Find the density of Potassium
Chloride if its molecular weight is 74.55.
(Avogadro’s number NA = 6.02 × 1023)
(iii) Briefly explain any application of X-rays.
[NABISUNSA GIRLS SCHOOL]

15. (a) Define binding energy of a nuclide

(b) (i) Sketch a graph showing how binding energy per nucleon varies with mass
number.
(ii) Describe the main features of the graph in b (i) above.
(c) Distinguish between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion and account for energy
released.
(d) With the aid of a labelled diagram, describe the working of an ionization
chamber.
(e) (i) What is meant by half-life and decay constant as applied to radioactivity?
222
(ii) A Geiger Muller (GM) tube placed 20cm from a 2.0g of Randon 86 Rn
gives a count rate of 85 counts per second. If the entrance window of the
GM tube has an area of 10cm2, calculate the half-life of Randon.
[UGANDA MARTYRS’ S.S. NAMUGONGO]

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 9 of 18

 P hys ics Pape r T wo ( P510 /2)
SECTION A
1. (a) (i) What is meant by refraction of light? (1)
(ii) Describe an experiment to determine the refractive index of a liquid using
an air cell. (5)
(b) (i) Explain why water in a glass, viewed from above, appears shallower than
it actually is. (3)
(ii) A pin is mounted horizontally in a retort stand above a concave mirror,
smeared with water. When the pin is adjusted vertically, it is found to
coincide with its image at a height, hw , above the water. When the
experiment is repeated with another liquid, coincidence is achieved at a
height of, hl . If the refractive index of water is nw , show that the
hw nw
refractive index of the liquid, nl , is given by, nl  . (4)
hl

(c) A convex lens of focal length 12cm is arranged coaxially with a convex mirror
of focal length 20cm, placed 8cm apart. An object is placed 40cm in front of the
lens on the side remote from the mirror.
(i) Find the position of the final image. (5)
(ii) Using a point object, draw a sketch ray diagram to show the image
formation. (2)
[St. HENRY’S COLLEGE, KITOVU]

2. (a) Define magnifying power and exit pupil as applied in optical instruments.
(2)
(b) (i) Draw a sketch ray diagram to show how a Galilean telescope forms the
final image at the near point. (2)
(ii) Derive the expression for the magnifying power in this setting. (3)
(iii) Compare the magnifying power of the instrument with that of an
astronomical telescope, with identical focal lengths when they form the
final image at the near point. (2)
(c) Describe an experiment to determine the refractive index of the material of a
prism of known refracting angle, using an optical spectrometer. (5)

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 10 of 18

 (d)

A pin is arranged with a convex lens and plane mirror as in diagram above. The
pin coincides with its image at a height of 16cm, above the mirror. When the
lens is placed on mercury in a dish and again arranged with the pin as shown
above, the pin coincides with its image at a height of 12cm above the mercury.
(i) Find the radius of curvature of the lens. (3)
(ii) Suppose the apparatus is again arranged as in figure (I) above, with liquid
of refractive index 1.4 between the mirror and the lens, find the height at
which the pin coincides with its image. (5)
[WAMPEEWO NTAKE]

SECTION B
3. (a) Define frequency and amplitude of a wave. (2)
(b) (i) What is a stationary wave? (1)
(ii) Show that when two progressive waves of equal wavelengths, equal
frequencies and amplitude travelling in opposite directions superpose,
they form a stationary wave. (4)
(c) (i) What is meant by pitch and quality of a sound note. (2)
(ii) Explain why a note produced by a closed pipe sounds different from
when it is produced by an open pipe. (3)
(iii) Describe an experiment to demonstrate that a stretched wire plucked in
the middle vibrates in more than one mode simultaneously. (5)

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 11 of 18

 (d) An open pipe of length 130cm producing its fundamental note, resonates with a
closed pipe three times as wide, producing its fundamental note. If the
frequency is 120Hz, find the;
(i) end correction. (4)
(ii) length of the closed pipe. (3)
[UGANDA MARTYRS’ S.S. NAMUGONGO]

4. (a) (i) What is Doppler effect? (1)

(ii) An ambulance sounding a siren at a frequency, f, passes a stationary
observer with a velocity of u, towards a tall wall. If the velocity of sound
in air at the time is, c, derive the expression for the frequency of beats
heard by the observer. (3)
(i) Describe how the velocity of a star may be determined using Doppler
effect. (3)
(b) A motorist moving at a velocity of 60kmh-1 hears a siren at a frequency of
540Hz, from a police car pursuing him. If the car is moving at a velocity of
90kmh-1, and the velocity of sound in air at the time 330ms-1,find the
(i) frequency of the siren. (3)
(ii) frequency received by the motorist after the police car mistakenly passed
him. (3)
(c) (i) Define beats, in reference to sound notes. (1)
(ii) Explain how beats are used to determine the frequency of a given note.
(3)
(d) Describe an experiment to demonstrate that sound waves undergo
interference. (5)
[SEETA HIGH SCHOOL, MAIN CAMPUS]

5. (a) What are coherent sources of waves? (1)

(b) Explain how coherent sources are obtained;
(i) using a bi-prism (2)
(ii) using Lloyd’s mirror (2)

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 12 of 18

 (c) (i) Two coherent sources of waves a distance, d , apart produce light of
wavelength,  , which interfere on a screen, a distance, D, from the
source forming an interference pattern. Show that the width, y, of each
D
fringe is given by y  . (4)
d

(ii) In an experiment to demonstrate interference by Young’s double slit

method, the slit separation was 0.3mm and the screen was 1.8m away
from the slits. The distance between the 2nd bright fringe and the 5th dark
fringe was measured and found to be 9.3mm. Determine the wavelength
of the light used. (4)
(d) (i) Two glass slides in contact at one end are separated by a sheet of paper
15cm from the line of contact, to form an air wedge. When the air wedge
is illuminated almost normally by light of wavelength 600nm,
interference fringes of separation 1.8mm are formed. Find the thickness
of the paper. (4)
(ii) Explain why the fringe along the line of contact of the slides in d(i) above
is dark, yet the geometrical parth difference is zero. (2)
(e) (i) Describe how plane polarized light can be produced by double refraction.
(4)
(ii) Describe how polarized light is used in determining the concentration of
sugar in a solution. (3)
[KING’S COLLEGE, BUDDO]

SECTION C
6. (a) (i) Define one tesla. (1)
(ii) Write the expression for the force acting on a straight conductor of length,
l, carrying current of, I, at an angle,θ, to a magnetic field of flux density,
B. (1)
(iii) From the expression in a(i) above, deduce the expression for the force
acting on one free electron in the conductor. (3)

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 13 of 18

 (b) (i)

The figure above shows a metal rod PQ of mass 24.1x10-3g lying on two
smooth horizontal rails connected in series with a battery of emf 1.5V and
a resistor of 18Ω. The rails are parallel and placed 20.4cm apart, in a
uniform magnetic field of flux density 5.6x10-2T. Find the velocity of the
rod 3seconds after switch K is closed. (5)

(ii) An aeroplane of wing span 40cm is flying in a straight horizontal coast

westwards at a speed of 300kmh-1. If the angle of dip at the location is
670, and the horizontal component of the earth’s field intensity is
12.7Am-1, Calculate the emf induced between the wing tips. (2)
(c) (i) Define magnetic meridian and magnetic variance. (2)
(ii) Describe an experiment to determine the horizontal component of the
earth’s magnetic flux density using a tangent galvanometer and a
graphical analysis. (6)
[St. MARY’S COLLEGE, KISUBI]

7. (a) Define the terms reactance and impedance as applied to alternating current. (2)
(b) An alternating current of I  I 0 sin t through a circuit containing a capacitor of
capacitance, C.
(i) Derive the expression for the reactance of the capacitor. (3)
 
(ii) Compare the values of, V, and, I, at t=0, t= , and t= , hence deduce
2 
the phase relationship between V and I. (2)
(c) Explain why a capacitor appears to conduct alternating current. (3)
(d) A capacitor of 16µF, a coil of inductance 0.5H and a resistor of 74Ωare
connected across an a.c source of V  30 sin120t . Find the;
(i) average p.d across the capacitor. (4)

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 14 of 18

 (ii) power dissipated in the circuit. (3)
(e) Describe how the attraction type of moving iron ammeter works. (5)
[UGANDA MARTYRS S.S, NAMUGONGO]

8. (a) State the laws of electromagnetic induction. (2)

(b) (i) Derive the expression for the charge, Q, induced in a coil of N turns when
the magnetic flux through it changes. (4)
(ii) Describe how the magnetic flux density between pole pieces of a
permanent magnet can be determined using a ballistic galvanometer of
unknown charge sensitivity. (5)
(c) A copper disc of radius 8cm is placed in a uniform magnetic field of flux
density 0.5T, with its plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. The disc is
rotated about an axis through its centre at 2500revolutions per minute. If the
centre of the disc is connected to the rim through a resistor of 3Ω and an
ammeter, find the ammeter reading. (4)
(d)

Two identical bulbs A and B are connected to an inductor X, of large inductance

as in circuit above across a strong voltage source. Explain what is observed
when;
(i) switch K is first closed (4)
(ii) switch K is opened. (2)
[St. JOSEPH’S S.S, NAGALAMA]

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 15 of 18

 SECTION D
9. (a) Define the following as applied to current electricity:
(i) Electromotive force (1)
(ii) Internal resistance. (1)
(b) Explain the factors determining resistance of a conductor. (6)
(c) (i) Describe an experiment to determine the emf of a thermocouple using a
potentiometer. (4)
(ii) Explain any special modification made to achieve the experiment in c(i)
above. (3)
(d)

In figure above, AB is a uniform wire of length 100cm and resistance30Ω. The

driver battery has emf of 3V and negligible internal resistance. Battery E has
internal resistance of 1Ω.
With both switches K1 and K2 open, the balance length is 92.6cm, when both
switches are closed, the balance length is 55.6cm. Find the;
(i) emf of battery E. (5)
(ii) balance length when K1 is open and K2 is closed. (2)
[SEROMA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL]

10. (a) (i) Define electrical resistivity of a material. (1)

(ii) Describe an experiment to determine the electrical resistivity of a material
using a potentiometer. (6)
All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 16 of 18
 (iii) The conductivity of nichrome at room temperature is 9.1x105 Ω-1m-1. Find
the resistance of a nichrome wire 20cm long and diameter 0.05mm. (3)
(b) (i) Define voltage across a conductor. (1)
(ii) Derive the expression for electrical energy dissipated in a conductor of
resistance, R, when a current of, I, flows through it for, t, seconds. (3)
(iii) Explain why a wire heats up when current flows through it. (3)
(c) A resistance wire wound into a coil, is connected on the left hand gap of a metre
bridge, and a standard resistor of 8.0Ωon the right hand gap. The coil is
immersed in a water bath which is heated gently while stirring continuously.
When the temperature of the bath is 200C, the balance point is 42.5cm from the
left hand end of the slide wire. When the temperature is 800C, the balance point
is 55.4cm. Find the temperature coefficient of the material of the coil. (5)
[KIBULI S.S]

11. (a) Define electric field intensity and electric potential difference between two
points in an electric field. (2)
(b) (i) Describe an experiment to show that the surface of a charged, pear shaped
conductor is equipotential. (3)
(ii) Explain why the electric field intensity from the surface in b(i) above
must be perpendicular to the surface. (3)
(c)

Charges of +4.8µC, -9.6µC and -6.4µC are placed at the vertices A, B and C, of
a trapezium in air, as in figure above. Find the;
(i) Electric field intensity at point D. (4)

All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 17 of 18

 (ii) Energy required to transfer the +4.8µC charge from A to D. (4)
(d) Describe how a large potential is built in a Van de Graff generator. (6)
[JINJA COLLEGE]

12. (a) Define;

(i) capacitance of a conductor. (1)
(ii) dielectric constant of a material. (1)
(b) (i) Describe an experiment to determine the relative permittivity of a
material, using a vibrating reed switch circuit. (4)
(ii) Explain the theory of the experiment in b(i) above. (3)
(c) (i) Two identical capacitors are connected in series across a d.c voltage
source of, V, and a dielectric of relative permittivity,  r , is inserted in one
of the capacitors. When they are fully charged, the capacitors are each
isolated and then connected in parallel. Show that the final p.d, V’, across
the network becomes, (3)
2 rV
V ' .
( r  1) 2

(ii) Explain why the capacitance of two identical capacitors reduces to half
when connected in series and doubles when connected in parallel. (4)
(d) The total electric flux due to a charged spherical conductor of diameter 80cm is
8.14x107Nm2C-1. Find the total charge on the conductor. (3)
(e)

Three capacitors of 6µF, 3µF and 2µF are connected across a voltage source of
8V as above. Find the;
(ii) energy stored in the network. (4)
(iii) p.d across the 3µF capacitor. (3)
[St. JOSEPH’S GIRLS S.S, NSAMBYA]
All presentations are to be done in Powerpoint Page 18 of 18