Cambridge Past Paper Questions
Browse 23,045questions from 25 years of O-Level & A-Level exams. Click any question to practice.
A student investigates stationary waves with an elastic cord of circular cross-section attached to a load, as shown in Fig. 1.1. [Figure 1.1] When ...
A student investigates how the viscous force in a liquid varies with temperature. The student releases a ball from the surface of the liquid in a c...
A student investigates springs made of metal wire, as shown in Fig. 1.1. cross-sectional area A metal wire Fig. 1.1 The student constructs sever...
What is not a reasonable estimate of the physical property indicated?
Which quantity could have units of Nm V⁻¹?
An object is acted upon by two forces, 10 N in the vertical direction and 6 N at 40° to the vertical, as shown. [Figure 3.1] What is the resultant ...
An analogue ammeter with a range of 0-250 mA is connected into an electrical circuit. The diagram shows the ammeter's display. [Figure 4.1] What is...
Students take readings of the volume of a liquid using three different pieces of measuring equipment X, Y and Z. The true value of the volume of th...
Which graph shows the variation with time t of the velocity v of an object falling vertically downwards in a vacuum?
A projectile is fired from point P with velocity V at an angle θ to the horizontal. It lands at point Q, a horizontal distance R from P. Air resist...
Four balls are dropped at the same time from the top of a very tall tower. There is no wind blowing. Which ball hits the ground first?
A nitrogen molecule P travelling at a speed of 320 m s⁻¹ in a vacuum collides with a stationary nitrogen molecule Q. After the collision, P travels...
A charged particle is placed in a uniform field of force. The direction of the force on the particle is opposite to the direction of the field. Wha...
A disc of radius r is acted upon by two opposite forces, each of magnitude F. The forces form a couple, as shown. [Figure 12.1] What is the torque ...
A uniform square sign of weight 40 N is suspended vertically from its top edge by a horizontal hinge, as shown. [Figure 13.1] The hinge is not fric...
Each foot of an elephant has a circular cross-section with a circumference of 1.4 m. The elephant has a mass of 5400 kg. The elephant is standing s...
A stone is falling vertically through the air at a constant (terminal) velocity. Which energy change is occurring?
An object of weight 12 N rests on a platform on top of a container with two pistons, as shown. The container contains a fixed mass of gas, and the ...
A constant force F, acting on a car of mass m, moves the car up a slope through a distance s at constant velocity v. The angle of the slope to the ...
What is the definition of power?
A steel bar of circular cross-section is under tension T, as shown. [Figure 19.1] The diameter of the wide portion is double the diameter of the na...
Two guitar strings are stretched by tensile forces. String X is stretched by a tensile force F that causes an extension x. String Y is stretched by...
Two particles in a progressive wave are a distance 10 cm apart. The two graphs show the variation with time t of the displacement d of the two part...
A sound wave is detected by a microphone that is connected to a cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO). The screen of the CRO displays a waveform, as shown...
A person stands at the side of a straight railway track. A train moves towards the person and emits sound from its whistle. The person hears a soun...
Which list shows electromagnetic waves in order of decreasing frequency?
A pipe of length L is open at one end and closed at the other end. A loudspeaker is at the open end and emits a sound wave into the pipe. [Figure 2...
Which diagram best shows how water waves diffract when they pass through a gap in a barrier?
In a two-source interference experiment, light of a single frequency is incident on a double slit. The light waves emerging from the slits are cohe...
A parallel beam of light consists of light of wavelength 420 nm and light of wavelength 630 nm. The light is incident normally on a diffraction gra...
A positively charged particle P is in an electric field, as shown. [Figure 30.1] The field lines (lines of force) are evenly spaced and parallel. W...
The diagram shows two parallel metal plates P and Q, separated by a distance of 5.0 mm. There is a potential difference of 700 V between the plates...
A wedge-shaped metal conductor of length L, varying width and uniform thickness is connected to a cell, as shown. [Figure 32.1] Which graph best sh...
The graph shows the variation with potential difference V of the current I in components X, Y and Z. [Figure 34.1] Which row correctly identifies t...
A cell of constant electromotive force (e.m.f.) but with internal resistance is connected to a fixed resistor R using a potentiometer. A voltmeter ...
A cell of electromotive force (e.m.f.) E and negligible internal resistance is connected to a circuit. The circuit has currents I₁, I₂ and I₃, and ...
Two resistors are connected in series with a 6.0 V power supply, as shown. [Figure 38.1] What is the resistance of the variable resistor R to give ...
A nucleus of magnesium decays into a nucleus X by emitting a β⁺ particle. The decay is represented by the equation shown. ²³₁₂Mg → ᴾ_Q X + ⁰₁β⁺ Wha...
In β⁻ decay, a neutron inside a nucleus changes to a proton. Which statement describes the quark composition of the nucleus during the decay?
Fig. 1.1 shows a solid pyramid with a square base. [Figure 1.1] The mass m of the pyramid is given by m = (1/3)ρhx² where ρ is the density of the m...
A person uses a trolley to move suitcases at an airport. The total mass of the trolley and suitcases is 72 kg. At another place in the airport, the...
A pendulum consists of a solid sphere suspended by a string from a fixed point P, as shown in Fig. 3.1. [Figure 3.1] The sphere swings from side to...
A battery has electromotive force (e.m.f.) 4.0V and internal resistance 0.35Ω. The battery is connected to a uniform resistance wire XY and a fixed...
A ball is thrown vertically downwards to the ground, as illustrated in Fig. 2.1. ball speed u path of ball 1.5m speed 8.7 ms⁻¹ ground Fig. 2.1 The ...
A child of weight 330N is at point X at the top of a slide. The slide is at the edge of a swimming pool, as shown in Fig. 3.1. X child, weight 330 ...
Answer all the questions in the spaces provided. (a) A property of a vector quantity, that is not a property of a scalar quantity, is direction. Fo...