Cambridge Past Paper Questions
Browse 23,045questions from 25 years of O-Level & A-Level exams. Click any question to practice.
Four diagrams representing the electric field between two oppositely-charged point charges are shown. Which diagram correctly shows the electric f...
The power output of an electrical supply is 2.4 kW at a potential difference (p.d.) of 240 V. The two wires between the supply and a kettle each ha...
Which graph shows the variation of voltage V with current I for a semiconductor diode?
Four different resistors are arranged as shown. [Diagram] A current of 1.5 A enters the network at junction X and leaves through junction Y. What...
A cell of constant electromotive force drives a current I through an external resistor of resistance R. The terminal potential difference (p.d.) ac...
In the circuits shown, the batteries are identical and all have negligible internal resistance. All of the resistors have the same resistance. The ...
A thermistor is an electrical component with a resistance that varies with temperature. A thermistor T is used in a fire alarm system. The alarm is...
In the α-particle scattering experiment, a beam of α-particles is aimed at a thin gold foil. Most of the α-particles go straight through or are def...
Radon-211, ²¹¹₈₆Rn, francium-210, ²¹⁰₈₇Fr, and radium-212, ²¹²₈₈Ra, are three nuclides. How many neutrons does each nuclide have in its nucleus?
A neutron is composed of one up (u) quark and two down (d) quarks. When the neutron decays to a proton, there is β-emission. What is the change in...
A β⁻ particle from a radioactive source is travelling in a vacuum with kinetic energy 460 eV. The particle enters a uniform electric field at a rig...
A stationary firework explodes into three different fragments that move in a horizontal plane, as illustrated in Fig. 2.1. [Figure 2.1] The fragmen...
A child on a sledge slides down a steep hill and then travels in a straight line up an ice-covered slope, as illustrated in Fig. 3.1. [Figure 3.1] ...
A loudspeaker producing sound of constant frequency is placed near the open end of a pipe, as shown in Fig. 4.1. [Figure 4.1] A movable piston is a...
A solid cylinder is lifted out of oil by a wire attached to a motor. Fig. 5.1 shows two different positions X and Y of the cylinder during the lift...
A battery of electromotive force (e.m.f.) 8.0V and internal resistance 2.0Ω is connected to a resistor X and a wire Y, as shown in Fig. 6.1. [Figur...
A stationary nucleus X decays to form nucleus Y, as shown by the equation X → Y + β⁻ + ν̄.
Answer all the questions in the spaces provided. (a) An analogue voltmeter is used to take measurements of a constant potential difference across a...
A ball is thrown vertically upwards towards a ceiling and then rebounds, as illustrated in Fig. 3.1. [Figure 3.1] The ball is thrown with speed 9...
4 (a) Define the Young modulus of a material.
A wire X has a constant resistance per unit length of 3.0 Ω m⁻¹ and a diameter of 0.48 mm.
A graph of nucleon number A against proton number Z is shown in Fig. 7.1. [Figure 7.1] The graph shows a cross (labelled P) that represents a nucle...
In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a mass.
In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a magnet.
In this experiment, you will investigate the motion of a rolling sphere.
In this experiment, you will investigate stationary wave patterns.
In this experiment, you will investigate the motion of an interrupted pendulum.
Answer all the questions in the spaces provided. 1 (a) State Newton's law of gravitation. (b) A distant star is orbited by several planets. Each pl...
A metal plate is made to vibrate vertically by means of an oscillator, as shown in Fig. 2.1. [Figure 2.1] Some sand is sprinkled on to the plate. T...
3 (a) (i) State what is meant by the internal energy of a system. (ii) Explain why, for an ideal gas, the change in internal energy is directly pro...
4 Piezo-electric transducers are used for the generation of ultrasonic waves. (a) State one other use, apart from in ultrasound, of piezo-electric ...
5 A geostationary satellite orbits the Earth with a period of 24 hours. (a) State (i) the direction of the orbit about the Earth, (ii) the position...
6 (a) State what is meant by electric field strength. (b) An isolated metal sphere A of radius 26cm is positively charged. Sphere A is shown in Fig...
7 (a) Explain what is meant by the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor. (b) A parallel plate capacitor C is connected into the circuit shown ...
8 (a) Negative feedback is often used in amplifiers incorporating an operational amplifier (op-amp). State (i) what is meant by negative feedback, ...
9 A rigid copper wire is held horizontally between the pole pieces of two magnets, as shown in Fig. 9.1. [Figure 9.1] The width of each pole piece ...
10 (a) State Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. (b) A coil of insulated wire is wound on to one end of a ferrous core and connected to a b...
11 (a) (i) Explain what is meant by a photon. (ii) By reference to intensity of light, state one piece of evidence provided by the photoelectric ef...
12 An X-ray beam is used to produce an image of a model of a thumb. A parallel beam of X-ray radiation of intensity I₀ is incident on the model, as...
13 (a) State what is meant by radioactive decay. (b) The variation with time t of the number N of technetium-101 nuclei in a sample of radioactive ...