Cambridge Past Paper Questions
Browse 23,045questions from 25 years of O-Level & A-Level exams. Click any question to practice.
A supermarket trolley, total mass 30 kg, is moving at 3.0 m s⁻¹. A retarding force of 60 N is applied to the trolley for 0.50 s in the opposite dir...
What is the centre of gravity of an object?
The diagrams show two ways of hanging the same picture. [Figure 11.1] In both cases, a string is attached to the same points on the picture and loo...
The diagram shows two pulley wheels connected by a belt. [Figure 12.1] Wheel Q is driven by a motor and rotates clockwise at a constant rate. Wheel...
Two trolleys are placed together on a horizontal runway with a compressed spring between them. [Figure 14.1] When they are released, the 2 kg troll...
An electric railway locomotive has a maximum mechanical output power of 4.0 MW. Electrical power is delivered at 25 kV from overhead wires. The ove...
The diagram shows an ice cube floating in water. [Figure 16.1] Both the ice cube and the water are at 0°C. Which statement correctly compares the m...
In the kinetic model of gases, what is pressure equal to?
A rectangular metal bar exerts a pressure of 15 200 Pa on the horizontal surface on which it rests. If the height of the metal bar is 80 cm, what i...
Which row best defines elastic and plastic behaviour of a material?
The graph shows the non-linear force-extension curve for a wire made from a new material. [Figure 20.1] What could be the value of the strain energ...
A steel string on an electric guitar has the following properties. diameter = 5.0 × 10⁻⁴ m, Young modulus = 2.0 × 10¹¹ Pa, tension = 20 N. The stri...
The order of magnitude of the frequency of the longest-wavelength ultraviolet waves is expressed as 10ˣ Hz. What is the value of x?
The light from two lasers passes through a vacuum. One laser emits red light and the other emits green light. Which property of the two laser beams...
The diagram shows a standing wave on a string. The standing wave has three nodes N₁, N₂ and N₃. [Figure 24.1] Which statement is correct?
A parallel beam of light of wavelength 450 nm falls normally on a diffraction grating which has 300 lines/mm. What is the total number of transmitt...
A small charge q is placed in the electric field of a large charge Q. Both charges experience a force F. What is the electric field strength of the...
The diagram shows two parallel horizontal metal plates held at a potential difference V. [Figure 27.1] A small charged liquid drop, midway between ...
The electric field at a certain distance from an isolated alpha particle is 3.0 × 10⁷ N C⁻¹. What is the force on an electron when at that distance...
A cell is connected to a resistor. [Figure 29.1] At any given moment, the potential difference across the cell is less than its electromotive force...
Which values of current and resistance will produce a rate of energy transfer of 16 J s⁻¹?
A cylindrical wire 4.0 m long has a resistance of 31 Ω and is made of metal of resistivity 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ Ω m. What is the radius of cross-section of t...
The diagram shows the symbol for a wire carrying a current I. [Figure 33.1] What does this current represent?
A potential divider consisting of resistors of resistance R₁ and R₂ is connected across a potential difference of V₀ and gives an output p.d. of V....
A network of resistors consists of two 3.0 Ω resistors and three 6.0 Ω resistors. [Figure 35.1] What is the combined resistance of this network bet...
The gold nucleus ¹⁸⁵₇₉Au undergoes alpha decay. What are the nucleon (mass) number and proton (atomic) number of the nucleus formed by this decay?
The nuclei of the isotopes of an element all contain the same number of a certain particle. What is this particle?
Alpha, beta and gamma radiations: 1 are absorbed to different extents in solids, 2 behave differently in an electric field, 3 behave differently in...
Two α-particles with equal energies are fired towards the nucleus of a gold atom. Which diagram best represents their paths? [Figure 39.1]
The table contains some quantities, together with their symbols and units. [Figure 40.1] Which expression has the units of energy?
Which row shows a base quantity with its correct SI unit?
The frictional force F on a sphere falling through a fluid is given by the formula F = 6πηv where a is the radius of the sphere, η is a constant re...
What is the component of this displacement vector in the direction XY? [Figure showing a displacement vector of 5.0 km at 53° to the X-Y line]
A metre rule is used to measure the length of a piece of wire. It is found to be 70 cm long to the nearest millimetre. How should this result be re...
A quantity x is to be determined from the equation x = P - Q. P is measured as 1.27 ± 0.02 m. Q is measured as 0.83 ± 0.01 m. What is the percentag...
A football is dropped from the top of a three-storey building. It falls through air until it reaches the ground. What remains constant throughout t...
A student throws a ball in the positive direction vertically upwards. The ball makes an elastic collision with the ceiling, rebounds and accelerate...
A moving body undergoes uniform acceleration while travelling in a straight line between points X, Y and Z. The distances XY and YZ are both 40 m. ...
A particle of mass 2m and velocity v strikes a wall. [Figure showing a particle of mass 2m moving with velocity v towards a wall.] The particle reb...
Which defines the weight of a body?
The diagram shows a rope bridge that a student makes on an adventure training course. The student has a weight W. [Figure showing a student on a ro...
A spanner is used to tighten a nut as shown. [Figure showing a spanner applying a force F = 200 N at a distance of 0.25 m from the nut. The nut has...
The diagrams show a metal cube suspended from a spring balance before and during immersion in water. [Figure showing a spring balance suspending a ...
A box of weight 200 N is pushed so that it moves at a steady speed along a ramp, through a height of 1.5 m. The ramp makes an angle of 30° with the...
A raindrop of mass m is falling vertically through the air with a steady speed v. The raindrop experiences a retarding force kv due to the air, whe...
The kinetic energy of a vehicle of mass 1000 kg is 4.5 × 10⁵ J. It is stopped by applying a constant braking force of 6000 N. What is its stopping ...
What are units of work, energy and power?
Below are four short paragraphs describing the molecules in a beaker of water at 50°C. Which paragraph correctly describes the molecules?
Which group of materials contains two polymers?
The pressure at sea level is approximately 100 000 Pa. The density of sea water is 1030 kg m⁻³. What is the approximate pressure 80 m below the sur...