Cambridge & Pearson Edexcel Past Paper Questions

What makes a clinical thermometer suitable for measuring small changes in body temperature?

Substances can change from one state to another as shown. For substances to change from one state to another, there must be some energy transfer. W...

How do the speed and the wavelength of red light in air compare with the speed and the wavelength of violet light in air?

A ray of light enters a glass block at an angle of incidence i, producing an angle of refraction r in the glass. Several different values of i and ...

A boy stands beside a girl in front of a large plane mirror. They are both the same distance from the mirror, as shown. Where does the boy see the ...

A student uses a spring to demonstrate waves. He moves the spring with his hand. Which diagram demonstrates the type of wave produced by a source o...

The diagram shows the main sections of the electromagnetic spectrum in order of increasing frequency. Some of the sections are labelled. The sectio...

The diagram shows an alarm system. What happens when battery P is disconnected?

Waveforms are shown on a cathode-ray oscilloscope for a flute and for a guitar, each playing the same note. The oscilloscope settings are the same ...

Two metal spheres X and Y are on insulating bases. Both spheres are negatively charged. Sphere X is moved towards sphere Y until they almost touch....

The resistance of a cylindrical wire P is 80 Ω. A second wire Q is made from the same material. The cross-sectional area of Q is four times that of...

A lamp, designed to work at 1.5 V, is connected to a cell of electromotive force (e.m.f.) 1.5 V. The lamp lights at normal brightness. The lamp is ...

The current in a filament lamp is 0.25 A when working normally. The lamp is connected to a plug and the mains a.c. supply. When the lamp is switche...

Which appliance used on a 240 V supply is most likely to burn out its fuse?

The diagram shows a potential divider system of two resistors connected to a 6.0 V power supply. What is the reading on the voltmeter?

In the circuit shown, the alarm bell will only start ringing some time after the switch is closed. What causes the time delay?

Two parallel wires carry currents in the same direction. Which diagram shows the magnetic field around each wire and the direction of the force on ...

The diagrams show three electrical devices, X, Y and Z. Which devices provide an alternating current (a.c.) output?

One component of a simple d.c. motor is a split-ring commutator. Which metal is used to make the commutator, and why is this metal chosen?

A small coil is connected to a galvanometer G, as shown. When a magnet is allowed to fall towards the coil, the galvanometer pointer gives a moment...

One isotope of carbon is ¹⁴C. How many neutrons and protons does each atom of this isotope contain?

The isotope barium-140 has a half-life of 13 days. A sample of this isotope is kept for 13 days. Which quantity halves during this time?

In a laboratory experiment, particles from a radioactive source are deviated by a magnetic field and reach a detector. Which particles are deviated...

Vernier calipers read to one tenth of a millimetre. Which reading is given to this precision?

Velocity is given by the change in displacement divided by the change in time. How many vector quantities appear in this statement?

A ball starts to roll down a steep slope and then along rough horizontal ground. Which graph best shows the speed of the ball?

A car is stationary at a set of traffic lights. When the lights turn green, the car begins to move and continues to speed up until it reaches the m...

An aeroplane is half way along a runway before it takes off. The arrows show the directions of four forces acting on the aeroplane. The drag forces...

The front wheel of a car is turned in a clockwise direction by the engine as the car accelerates towards the right, as shown in the diagram. There ...

Masses X and Y are placed on opposite sides of the centre of a uniform metre rule, which is pivoted at its centre. Which combination of masses and ...

A student balances a non-uniform object on a pivot. To do this, a weight is suspended near the left-hand end of the object. Where is the centre of ...

A spring has a length of 9 cm when loaded with a 200 g mass. The extension-mass graph for the spring is shown. The 200 g mass is replaced with a 10...

The diagram shows two cubes made from the same material. One cube has sides that are twice as long as the sides of the other cube. The weight of th...

A garden table weighs 40N and has a top surface of area 2m². It is raining and the rain produces a pressure of 4 N/m² on the table. What is the for...

Four syringes contain air at atmospheric pressure. The air in all four syringes is slowly compressed. The results are given in the table. Which syr...

Which is a non-renewable source of energy?

A builder lifts eight slabs from the ground on to the back of a lorry 1.5m high. The total time taken is 48 s and each slab weighs 20 Ν. How much u...

When a gas is rapidly compressed to a smaller volume, its temperature increases. What happens to the gas molecules?

On a hot day, the drink in a bottle can be kept cool by standing the bottle in a bowl of water and placing a wet cloth over it. Why is the drink ke...

A student uses a double-walled glass vessel to contain a hot liquid. What reduces the heat loss by radiation?

What is the reason for the constriction in a clinical thermometer?

Less heat is needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of copper by 1 °C than is needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1°C. Which state...

A person cannot unscrew the metal lid of a pot of jam. The lid can be unscrewed after it has been held under hot, running water for a few seconds. ...

The diagram shows the pattern of waves in a ripple tank. What does the pattern show?

An object O is placed in front of a plane mirror. Which diagram correctly represents the image I formed by the mirror?

In the following diagrams, the angle c is the critical angle. Which diagram shows the correct path of the light ray?

Red and violet are the colours at the ends of the visible spectrum. How do the frequencies and the wavelengths of these colours compare?

A vertical wire passes at right angles through a piece of card. There is a large current in the wire in the direction shown. A plotting compass is ...

A positively-charged rod is brought near to an isolated uncharged conducting sphere. What are the charges on sides X and Y of the sphere?

The diagram shows three resistors in parallel. What is the combined resistance?