Cambridge & Pearson Edexcel Past Paper Questions

A small stone is dropped from the top of a ladder, falls and hits the ground. It does not rebound. Which speed-time graph is correct?

An aircraft, flying at a constant height, is gaining speed. The four forces acting are L lift due to the wings R air resistance T the thrust due to...

A car travels along a road. The driver stops the car by pushing his foot down on the brake pedal. What does not change if he pushes harder on the b...

A person of weight 600 N at the bottom of a mountain climbs to the top. The gravitational field strength changes from 10.00 N/kg at the bottom to 9...

A box has an internal volume of 1000 cm³. When a solid object is placed in the closed box, the volume of air in the box is 520 cm³. The density of ...

What affects the stability of an object?

A uniform metre rule is balanced by a 4N weight as shown in the diagram. What is the weight W of the metre rule?

The base for a statue rests on level ground. It is made from stone and is 2.0 m long, 2.5 m high and 0.80 m wide. It has a weight of 96 000 N. What...

An engineer designs a dam wall for a reservoir. Which factor determines the pressure at X?

The diagram shows a curved track. A ball is released from the position shown. At which point does the ball have the maximum gravitational potential...

When one radium nucleus decays, its mass decreases by 8.8 × 10⁻³⁰ kg. How much energy is equivalent to this loss in mass? (speed of light c = 3.0 ×...

The energy output of a generator depends on its efficiency and the energy input. Which set of values is correct?

A liquid evaporates rapidly. Why does this cause it to cool?

The diagram shows a clinical thermometer. Which factor affects the sensitivity of the thermometer?

A hot liquid is poured into a beaker. The graph shows how its temperature changes as it cools towards room temperature. Which processes are taking ...

What is caused by the thermal expansion of a substance when heated?

In an experiment using a ripple tank, plane wavefronts arrive at a plane surface. Which row correctly describes the waves after they are reflected ...

An object is viewed through a concave (diverging) lens. What is the correct description of the image formed?

Which pair of emissions travels with the same speed in air?

During a thunderstorm, there is an interval of 1.70s between an observer seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder. The speed of sound is 340m/s...

A negatively-charged sphere X is brought up to an identical uncharged sphere Y. The spheres do not touch. Sphere Y is 'earthed' by touching it with...

A battery is used to light a 24 W electric lamp. The battery provides a charge of 120 C in 60 s. What is the potential difference across the lamp?

The diagram shows a simple electric circuit. Which row describes the charge on an electron and the direction of electron flow through the resistor?

When three identical resistors are connected in series, their combined resistance is 6 Ω. What is their combined resistance when they are connected...

Many electrical appliances have metal cases. To prevent the case from becoming 'live', with the possibility of an electric shock, the earth wire of...

Two parallel vertical wires P and Q are a small distance apart in air. There is a downwards electric current in both wires. A force acts on Q owing...

What does not alter the size of the turning effect on the coil of an electric motor?

The diagram shows an a.c. generator connected to an electrical circuit (load resistor). Which statement is correct?

Electric power cables transmit electrical energy over large distances using a high voltage, alternating current. What are the advantages of using a...

The diagram shows a beam of electrons entering a magnetic field. The direction of the magnetic field is downwards, towards the bottom of the page. ...

The diagram shows an alarm system in which the switch S is shown closed. What happens when the switch S is opened?

A student investigates a radioactive source that emits only alpha-particles. Without any source nearby, the detector shows a low reading. The sourc...

¹⁵N is a nuclide of nitrogen. How many electrons are there in a neutral atom of ¹⁵N?

The table shows details of two samples of radioactive nuclides X and Y. After how many days will the number of atoms of nuclide X be equal to the n...

The diameter and the length of a thin wire, approximately 1m in length, are measured as accurately as possible. What are the best instruments to use?

A quantity is quoted as having a value of 6.2 ms. In what units is it measured?

The graph shows part of a journey made by a cyclist. How far did the cyclist travel in 7 s?

The propeller on a boat pushes water backwards with a force of 2000 N. The boat moves through the water against a total resistive force of 1800 N. ...

The diagrams show a parachutist in four positions after she jumps from a high balloon. At which position does she have terminal velocity?

An engine pulls a truck at constant speed on a level track. The link between the truck and the engine breaks. The driving force on the engine remai...

The weight of a stone is found using a newton meter, and its mass is found using a pan balance. The experiment is carried out on the Earth and on t...

The extension of a spring is measured as weights are added. The graph shows the results. Which point is the spring's limit of proportionality?

A metal cone with a circular base is placed on a flat surface. The stability of the cone depends on

The efficiency of an electrical generator is 65%. The energy input to the generator is 12 kJ. What is the useful energy output?

Coal is burned as fuel to heat water in a boiler, producing steam. The steam drives a turbine, which is connected to an electric generator. In whic...

A crane moves its load diagonally, as shown. By which distance is the weight of the load multiplied to calculate the change in gravitational potent...

The diagram shows two identical pieces of apparatus. One is filled with water and the other is filled with mercury. Water is less dense than mercur...

Objects with different weights are placed on a rigid, horizontal surface. Which row shows the correct pressure acting on the surface?

How does heat transfer through a vacuum take place?

To raise the temperature of a 2.0 kg block of metal by 20 °C, energy of 5.2 kJ is needed. What is the value of the specific heat capacity of the me...