Cambridge Past Paper Questions

The diagram shows a solid cube with weight W and sides of length L. It is supported by a frictionless spindle that passes through the centres of tw...

A sphere is released from rest in a viscous fluid. Which graph represents the variation with time t of the acceleration a of the sphere?

Initially, four identical uniform blocks, each of mass m and thickness h, are spread on a table. [Figure 17.1] How much work is done on the blocks ...

The diagram shows the design of a water wheel which drives a generator to produce electrical energy. The flow rate of the water is 200 kg s⁻¹. The ...

A car engine exerts an average force of 500 N in moving the car 1.0 km in 200 s. What is the average power developed by the engine?

A mass of gas enclosed in a cylinder by a piston is heated gently. At the same time, the piston is moved so that the pressure remains constant. As ...

In an experiment to demonstrate Brownian motion, a transparent container is filled with smoke particles suspended in air. What can be seen when the...

The diagram shows the arrangement of atoms in a particular crystal. [Figure 22.1] Each atom is at the corner of a cube. The mass of each atom is 3....

A pipe is closed at one end and contains gas, trapped by a column of water. [Figure 23.1] The atmospheric pressure is 1.0 × 10⁵ Pa. The density of ...

The graph is a force-extension graph for a wire that is being stretched. [Figure 24.1] How much work needs to be done by the tensile force, to two ...

A wire stretches 8 mm under a load of 60 N. A second wire of the same material, with half the diameter and a quarter of the original length of the ...

A surveyor's device emits a laser pulse. What is the time taken for the pulse to travel from the device to a wall 150 m away, where it is reflected...

The period of an electromagnetic wave is 1.0 ns. What are the frequency and wavelength of the wave?

X and Y are two points on the surface of water in a ripple tank. A source of waves of constant frequency begins to generate waves which then travel...

A standing sound wave is set up between a loudspeaker and a wall. A microphone is connected to a cathode-ray oscilloscope (c.r.o.) and is moved alo...

An electric field exists in the space between two charged metal plates. [Figure 31.1] Which graph shows the variation of electric field strength E ...

When will 1 C of charge pass a point in an electrical circuit?

Two copper wires of the same length but different diameters carry the same current. Which statement about the flow of charged particles through the...

A power cable X has resistance R and carries current I. A second cable Y has resistance 2R and carries current I/2. What is the ratio power dissipa...

The diagram shows a circuit with four voltmeter readings V, V₁, V₂ and V₃. [Figure 35.1] Which equation relating the voltmeter readings must be true?

A light-dependent resistor (LDR) is connected in series with a resistor R and a battery. [Figure 36.1] The resistance of the LDR is equal to the re...

The diagram shows the circuit for a signal to display a green or a red light. It is controlled by the switch S. [Figure 37.1] The signal is some wa...

Four identical resistors are connected in the three networks below. [Figure 38.1] Which arrangement has the highest total resistance and which has ...

Nuclear decay is both spontaneous and random in nature. Which row gives the correct experimental evidence for these properties?

Radon ²²²₈₆Rn is the start of a decay chain that forms bismuth ²¹⁴₈₃Bi by alpha and beta emission. For the decay of each nucleus of radon, how many...

Which pair includes a vector quantity and a scalar quantity?

The unit of resistivity, expressed in terms of base units, is given by kgx³y-2z-3. Which base units are x, y and z?

Two forces act on a circular disc as shown. [Figure showing a circular disc with a 3N force acting upwards from the center and a 4N force acting ri...

A student carried out an experiment in which an electric current was known to decrease with time. The readings he found, from first to last, were 3...

The diagram shows a calibration curve for a thermistor, drawn with an unusual scale on the vertical axis. [Figure showing a graph of resistance/Ω ...

A sky diver falls vertically from a stationary balloon. She leaves the balloon at time t = 0. At time t = T, she reaches terminal velocity. Beyond ...

The diagram shows an arrangement to stop trains that are travelling too fast. [Figure showing train approaching marker 1, then marker 2, with spee...

A ball is released from rest above a horizontal surface and bounces several times. The graph shows how, for this ball, a quantity y varies with ti...

A strong wind of speed 33ms⁻¹ blows against a wall. The density of the air is 1.2kg m⁻³. The wall has an area of 12m² at right angles to the wind v...

Two bodies travelling in a straight line collide in a perfectly elastic collision. Which of the following statements must be correct?

A submarine is in equilibrium in a fully submerged position. [Figure showing a cross-section of a submarine with steel, air, and sea water labeled...

A vehicle is at rest on a slope. It is considered to have three forces acting on it to keep it in equilibrium. They are its weight W, a normal rea...

All external forces on a body cancel out. Which statement must be correct?

A uniform beam of mass 1.4 kg is pivoted at P as shown. The beam has a length of 0.60 m and P is 0.20 m from one end. Loads of 3.0kg and 6.0kg are ...

A ball is thrown vertically upwards. Neglecting air resistance, which statement is correct?

A bow of mass 400g shoots an arrow of mass 120g vertically upwards. The potential energy stored in the bow just before release is 80 J. The system ...

A train on a mountain railway is carrying 200 people of average mass 70kg up a slope at an angle of 30° to the horizontal and at a speed of 6.0 ms⁻...

A gas is enclosed inside a cylinder which is fitted with a frictionless piston. [Figure showing a cylinder with a piston, gas inside, external pre...

The diagram shows an ice cube floating in water. [Figure showing an ice cube floating in water] Both the ice cube and the water are at 0°C. Whic...

Two bulbs X and Y containing air at different pressures are connected by a tube P which contains two mercury threads. [Figure showing two bulbs X ...

What is the unit of the Young modulus?

A rubber cord hangs from a rigid support. A weight attached to its lower end is gradually increased from zero, and then gradually reduced to zero. ...

The diagram shows a large crane on a construction site lifting a cube-shaped load. [Figure showing a crane lifting a load via a cable] A model is...

The order of magnitude of the frequency of the shortest wavelength of visible light waves can be expressed as 10ˣ Hz. What is the value of x?

The diagram shows two waves X and Y. [Figure showing two displacement-time graphs for Wave X and Wave Y] Wave X has amplitude 8 cm and frequency ...