Queen’s College

Half-yearly Examination 2023-2024

Physics

Secondary 4 Date: 9 January 2024

Max. mark: 100 Time: 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
(120 minutes)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. This paper must be answered in English.

2. This paper consists of three sections:

Section A: 20 Multiple Choice Questions (40 marks)
Section B: 3 Short Questions (15 marks)
Section C: 3 Conventional Questions (45 marks)

3. Answer ALL questions.

Answers to Section A should be marked on the Multiple-choice Answer Sheet.
Answers to Sections B and C should be written in the spaces provided in the Answer Book.

4. Write your Class, Class number and Block in the spaces provided on the Multiple- choice Answer
Sheet and on the cover of the Answer Book.

5. The diagrams in this paper are NOT necessarily drawn to scale.

6. Unless otherwise specified, numerical answers should be either exact or be corrected to three
significant figures.

7. Unless otherwise stated, take value of acceleration due to gravity 𝑔 = 9.81 m s-2.

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Section A: Multiple Choice Questions (40 marks)
All questions carry equal marks.

1. Lily walks from A to D and then back to B along the path shown below.

Find the total distance travelled by her. (Take π = 3.14.)

A. 1.57 km
B. 2 km
C. 9 km
D. 12.4 km

2. As shown in the figure below, Charles walks from A to B and then finally to C.

Find the magnitude of the resultant displacement of Charles.

A. 6 m
B. 8 m
C. 8.25 m
D. 10 m

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3. A dog is running on a straight road. The graph below is the displacement-time graph of the dog. Find
the displacement of the dog at t = 45 s.
(Take the direction to the right as positive.)

A. 630 m to the left

B. 150 m to the left
C. 0
D. 10 m to the right

4. The graph below shows the variation of the velocity v of an object with time. What is its total
displacement over the first 9 s?

A. 41.5 m
B. 54 m
C. 66.5 m
D. 85 m

5. A car is initially travelling at 25 m s -1 on a straight road. Then it accelerates uniformly at

2 m s-2. What is the displacement of the car after 3 s?
A. 16.7 m
B. 31 m
C. 84 m
D. 550 m

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6. Walter was driving a lorry at speed u along a straight road. He suddenly saw a stalled bus 80 m in
front of him. Then he applied the brakes to stop the lorry. The velocity-time graph of the lorry from
the moment Walter saw the bus is shown below.

Given that the braking distance was twice the thinking distance, find to.
A. 1 s
B. 1.5 s
C. 2 s
D. 2.5 s

7. A stone is thrown vertically upwards from the ground. P, X, Y and Z are points on the path of its
flight shown in the figure below.

Assuming that air resistance is negligible, at which point does the speed of the stone faster than that
at P?
A. X
B. Y
C. Z
D. None of the above

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8. A ball is projected vertically under gravity with a certain speed. The variation of its velocity v against
time t is shown in the figure below.

Which of the statements below is/are correct?

(1) The ball is initially projected upwards.
(2) At instant W, the ball is at its highest position.
(3) At instant X, the ball is on the ground.
A. (1) only
B. (1) and (2) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

9. Which of the following factors determines the inertia of an object?

A. Speed
B. Position
C. Mass
D. Acceleration

10. A passenger is standing in a bus which is moving with constant velocity as shown.

According to Newton's first law, which of the following statements is/are correct?
(1) The passenger tends to lean backwards when the bus is accelerating forwards.
(2) The passenger tends to lean backwards when the bus collides head on with a truck.
(3) The passenger tends to lean backwards when the bus is hit by a truck from behind.
A. (1) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

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11. Which of following statements about force is/are correct?
(1) There must be no friction acting on an object if it is at rest on a surface.
(2) There must be no net force acting on an object if it is momentarily at rest.
(3) No net force is acting on an object if it is moving with constant velocity.
A. (3) only
B. (1) and (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

12. A weight W is suspended from the ceiling by two inextensible strings OA and OB as shown. String
OA makes an angle θ with the vertical and is perpendicular to string OB.

Find ratio of the tension in OA to that in OB.

A. 1 : tan θ
B. tan θ : 1
C. 1 : sin θ
D. sin θ : 1

13. Two wooden blocks P and Q, of mass 5 kg and 15 kg respectively, are in contact and at rest on a
smooth horizontal surface as shown. If a force of 100 N is applied horizontally to P, what is the
magnitude of the force acting on P by Q?

A. 25 N
B. 50 N
C. 75 N
D. 100 N

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14. Two blocks A and B, of mass 1 kg and 3 kg respectively, are suspended by two light inextensible
strings inside a lift accelerating upwards at 9.81 m s -2 as shown. A downward force of 40 N is applied
to block A.

Find the tensions T1 and T2 in the two strings.

T1 T2
A. 39.2 N 69.4 N
B. 39.2 N 79.2 N
C. 59.6 N 89.1 N
D. 59.6 N 118 N

15. A man of mass 80 kg stands still on a light spring as shown. Find the magnitudes of the compression
force on the spring and the force exerted by the spring on the man.

force on the spring / N force on the man / N

A. 785 785
B. 785 0
C. 1570 785
D. 392 0

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16. As shown in the figure below, an elastic ball of mass 0.5 kg is moving at 12 m s -1 towards a wall. It
collides with the wall and bounces in the opposite direction at the same speed after 0.2 s.

Find the force acting on the wall by the ball during the process.
A. 30 N to the right
B. 30 N to the left
C. 60 N to the right
D. 60 N to the left

17. A ruler of length 0.3 m is pivoted at its centre. Two forces of magnitude of 4 N are applied to the
both ends at an angle of 50° to the ruler as shown.

If the mass of the ruler is negligible, what is the resultant torque about the pivot?
A. 0
B. 0.460 N m
C. 0.919 N m
D. 1.2 N m

18. A pair of forces of equal magnitude F acts perpendicularly on a rod, which has a negligible mass,
pivoted at O as shown.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(1) The magnitude of the couple is F d.
(2) The rod will rotate in a clockwise direction.
(3) The net moment provided by the forces depends on the position of the pivot O.
A. (1) only
B. (1) and (2) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

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19. Which of the following statements about centre of gravity (c.g.) is/are correct?
(1) The c.g. of an object is the point where all the mass of the object seems to be located.
(2) The c.g. of an object must be located within the object.
(3) The c.g. of a uniform spherical object is located at its centre.
A. (3) only
B. (1) and (2) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

20. Martin is walking on a uniform plank which is bung by two identical strings as shown. M is the
centre of gravity of the plank. The system remains in equilibrium as he walks on the plank.

At which point should he stand so that the tension T becomes the greatest?
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z

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Section B: Short Questions (15 marks)

1. The diagram shows the v-t graph of an object thrown vertically upward with an initial speed of
5 m s-1. Take g = 10 m s-2.
(a) Find the value of T at which the velocity is zero. (2 marks)
(b) Find the velocity at 2T. (1 mark)
(c) What is the displacement at 3T? (2 marks)

2. A person of weight W 500 N is doing push up exercise. His centre of gravity G is 30 cm from the arms
and 90 cm from the feet as shown below.

(a) Draw all the forces acting on the person (1 mark)

(b) Find
(i) the total force Fa on his arms by the floor. (2 marks)
(ii) the total force Ff on his feet by the floor. (2 marks)

3. A 5000 kg bus moves up a slope of 15° at a constant speed of 10 m s -1. If the friction of the road is
2000 N,
(a) find the propelling force developed by the engine. (3 marks)
(b) find the average power developed by the engine. (2 marks)

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Section C: Conventional Questions (45 marks)
4. Jane and her friends ride on a lift to travel from the 10th floor to the 5th floor. The graph below
shows the vertical velocity v of the lift during the journey

All passengers stand still in the lift in the time shown. The total mass of the lift and the passengers is
1500 kg.
Take the downward direction to be positive.

(a) Find the total distance s travelled by the lift. (2 marks)

(b) Find the acceleration a of the lift at the time intervals below:
(i) From t = 3 s to t = 5 s (1 mark)
(ii) From t = 5 s to t = 8 s. (1 mark)
(iii) From t = 8 s to t = 9.5 s. (1 mark)
(c) The lift is suspended from above by several cables. Find the total tension T in the cables at the
time intervals below:
(i) From t = 3 s to t = 5 s (2 marks)
(ii) From t = 5 s to t = 8 s. (1 mark)
(iii) From t = 8 s to t = 9.5 s. (2 marks)
(d) If unfortunately the lift is out of control such that its downward speed reaches 12 m s -1, the lift
will be braked to stop by a device in a distance of 7.5 m.
(i) Find the magnitude of the average net force F on the lift when the lift is braking.
(3 marks)
(ii) Find the magnitude of the braking force f provided by the braking device. (2 marks)

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5. A load of weight 20 N is hung at position D on a uniform rod AB of mass 4 kg and 3 m long, where
AD = 1 m. The rod is pivoted at A on a vertical wall. The rod is held horizontal by a wire connected
to B and a point C on the wall, where AC = 1.5 m.

(a) What is the weight of the beam W? (2 marks)

(b) What the moment of the load about A? (2 marks)
(c) What is the tension T in the wire? (2 marks)
(d) (i) What is the magnitude of the horizontal component Fx of the resultant force F by the wall
on the rod at A? (2 marks)
(ii) What is the magnitude of the vertical component Fy of the resultant force F by the wall on
the rod at A? (2 marks)
(iii) Hence, find the magnitude and direction of the resultant force F by the wall on the rod at
A? (2 marks)
(e) The load is now slightly shifted towards B and the rod still remains horizontal. Describe and
explain the change in T. (3 marks)

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6. Two blocks A and B are connected by a light and inextensible string over a pulley as shown. Initially
the blocks are on the same level and at rest. A and B have mass of 1.5 kg and 2 kg respectively. Take
the downward direction to be positive.

The system is released and the blocks travel the same distance of h = 0.5 m before block B hits the
ground.
(a) What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the blocks? (2 marks)
(b) What is net loss in potential energy of the blocks just before block B hits the ground?
(2 marks)
(c) Find the speed of the blocks just before block B hits the ground. (2 marks)
(d) How much work is done by the tension in the string on block A? (2 marks)
(e) Hence, find the tension in the string. (2 marks)
(f) (i) How high can block A rise further after block B hits the ground? (2 marks)
(ii) When will the string become tight again after block A rises further and returns?
(3 marks)

End of Paper

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