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O-LevelPhysicsThermal Physics5054/21 · May/June 2024 · Q210 Marks

A small aircraft takes off from the horizontal deck of a ship. Before taking off, the aircraft is held in place by a holdback bar. When the holdback bar is released, the aircraft is pulled along the deck by a steam-powered piston as shown in Fig. 2.1. [Figure 2.1] The steam exerts a high pressure on the piston.

  1. (a)(i)Explain, using ideas about particles, how the steam creates a pressure on the piston.[2]
  2. (a)(ii)Explain why the pressure on the piston increases as the temperature of the steam increases.[2]
  3. (b)When the pressure is high enough, the holdback bar is released. The steam pushes the piston along the pipe shown in Fig. 2.1. The piston has a cross-sectional area of 0.30m². The pressure of the steam in the tank is 2.1 × 10⁶ Pa. Atmospheric pressure is 1.0 × 10⁵ Pa. Determine the resultant force on the piston caused by the pressure difference. Show your working. force = ........................................................... N[2]
  4. (c)(i)The force calculated in (b) causes the aircraft to accelerate to a maximum speed of 28 m/s from rest. The mass of the aircraft is 3.0 × 10⁴kg. Calculate the momentum of the aircraft at the maximum speed. momentum = ........................................................... kgm/s[2]
  5. (c)(ii)Calculate the time taken for the aircraft to reach the maximum speed. time = ........................................................... s[2]

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Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

  1. [1] particles hit piston / sides of container
  2. [1] each hit creates a small force OR force on unit area is pressure OR particles momentum changes / direction changes OR many hits per second
  3. [1] particles move faster / have higher kinetic energy / more momentum
  4. [1] more hits / sec. / more frequent hits / larger momentum change per second / larger force on each hit
  5. [1] (force = ) P × A in any form numerical or algebraic with any pressure
  6. [1] 6.0 × 10⁵ (N)
  7. [1] (momentum =) mv in any form numerical or algebraic
  8. [1] 8.4 x 10⁵ (kg m/s)
  9. [1] (time =) mv (-mu) / F OR (t =) v (-u) / a and F = ma
  10. [1] 1.4s

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About this question

Topic
Thermal Physics, O-Level Physics (syllabus 5054). Structured question, 10 marks.
Source
O-Level Physics, May/June 2024 Paper 2 Variant 1, question 2.

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