Cambridge Past Paper Questions

A student sets up apparatus to observe the double-slit interference of monochromatic light, as shown. [Figure 31.1] Interference fringes are formed...

An electron is situated in a vacuum between two charged plates, as shown. [Figure 32.1] Which statement describes the motion of the electron due to...

A length of wire is connected into a circuit. [Figure 33.1] The area of the cross-section of the wire changes from A at R to (1/4)A at S. There is ...

Four wires are made of the same metal. The cross-sectional areas, lengths and thermodynamic temperatures of the wires are shown. Which wire has the...

A cell with internal resistance is connected to a variable resistor R as shown. [Figure 35.1] The resistance of R is gradually decreased. How do th...

Kirchhoff's first law states that the sum of the currents entering a junction in a circuit is equal to the sum of the currents leaving it. The law ...

A circuit contains two batteries, each of negligible internal resistance, and two resistors as shown. [Figure 37.1] The galvanometer has a current ...

A nucleus of francium-221 (²²¹₈₇Fr) decays into a nucleus of bismuth-209 (²⁰⁹₈₃Bi) in several steps. Which particles could be emitted?

Which equation describes the changes to the quark composition of a nucleus and the lepton emission during the process of β⁺ decay?

There are protons, neutrons and electrons in the simple model of an atom. To which class (group), hadron or lepton, do these particles belong?

A block X slides along a horizontal frictionless surface towards a stationary block Y, as illustrated in Fig. 2.1. [Figure 2.1] There are no resist...

The variation with extension x of the force Facting on a spring is shown in Fig. 3.1. [Figure 3.1] The spring of unstretched length 0.40 m has one ...

A spherical oil drop has a radius of 1.2 × 10⁻⁶ m. The density of the oil is 940 kg m⁻³.

A loudspeaker oscillates with frequency f to produce sound waves of wavelength λ. The loudspeaker makes N oscillations in time t.

A battery of electromotive force (e.m.f.) E and internal resistance r is connected to a variable resistor of resistance R, as shown in Fig. 6.1. [F...

One of the results of the α-particle scattering experiment is that a very small minority of the α-particles are scattered through angles greater th...

1 (a) The diameter d of a cylinder is measured as 0.0125m ± 1.6%. (b) The cylinder in (a) stands on a horizontal surface. The pressure p exerted on...

2 (b) A car of mass 850kg tows a trailer in a straight line along a horizontal road, as shown in [Figure 2.1]. The car and the trailer are connecte...

3 (b) A uniform square sign with sides of length 0.68 m is fixed at its corner points A and B to a wall. The sign is also supported by a wire CD, a...

4 (a) For a progressive water wave, state what is meant by: (b) Two coherent waves X and Y meet at a point and superpose. The phase difference betw...

5 (b) A battery of electromotive force (e.m.f.) 5.6V and internal resistance r is connected to two external resistors, as shown in [Figure 5.1]. Th...

6 (c) A particle P has a mass of 0.15 u and a charge of –1e, where e is the elementary charge.

A resultant force F moves an object of mass m through distance s in a straight line. The force gives the object an acceleration a so that its speed...

A cylindrical disc of mass 0.24 kg has a circular cross-sectional area A, as shown in Fig. 3.1. [Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2] The disc is on horizont...

Two vertical metal plates in a vacuum are separated by a distance of 0.12 m. Fig. 4.1 shows a side view of this arrangement. [Figure 4.1] Each plat...

A vertical tube of length 0.60 m is open at both ends, as shown in Fig. 5.1. [Figure 5.1] An incident sinusoidal sound wave of a single frequency t...

A battery of electromotive force (e.m.f.) E and internal resistance 1.5 Ω is connected to a network of resistors, as shown in Fig. 6.1. [Figure 6.1...

A sample of a radioactive substance may decay by the emission of either α-radiation or β-radiation and/or γ-radiation. State the type of radiation,...

In this experiment, you will investigate the forces acting on a metre rule.

In this experiment, you will investigate the upthrust on lids placed in water.

In this experiment, you will investigate the friction between an inclined board and a wooden block.

You may not need to use all of the materials provided. In this experiment, you will investigate the oscillations of a metre rule.

A fixed mass of an ideal gas has volume 210cm³ at pressure 3.0 × 10^5 Pa and temperature 270K. The volume of the gas is reduced at constant pressur...

A hollow tube, sealed at one end, has a cross-sectional area A of 24 cm². The tube contains sand so that the total mass M of the tube and sand is 0...

(a) During the transmission of a signal, attenuation occurs and noise is picked up. State what is meant by:

The circuit for an inverting amplifier incorporating an ideal operational amplifier (op-amp) is shown in Fig. 7.1. [Figure 7.1]

A solenoid is connected in series with a battery and a switch, as illustrated in Fig. 8.1. [Figure 8.1] A small coil, connected to a sensitive amme...

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI) is used to obtain diagnostic information about internal body structures. State, during the use of NMRI, t...

A bridge rectifier contains four diodes. The output of the rectifier is connected to a resistor R, as shown in Fig. 10.1. [Figure 10.1] The variati...

(a) A sample of a radioactive isotope contains N nuclei of the isotope at time T. At time (T + ∆T), the sample contains (N – ∆N) nuclei of the isot...

The first law of thermodynamics may be expressed in the form ΔU = q + w.

A spring is hung vertically from a fixed point. A mass M is hung from the other end of the spring, as illustrated in Fig. 3.1. The mass is displace...

An electron is travelling in a vacuum at a speed of 3.4 × 10⁷ ms⁻¹. The electron enters a region of uniform magnetic field of flux density 3.2 mT, ...

Part of a circuit incorporating an operational amplifier (op-amp) is shown in Fig. 9.1.