Cambridge Past Paper Questions
Browse 23,045questions from 25 years of O-Level & A-Level exams. Click any question to practice.
The electromotive force of a power supply is 120 V. It delivers a current of 1.2 A to a resistor of resistance 80 Ω and a current of 0.40 A to anot...
The diagram shows a four-terminal box connected to a battery and two ammeters. [Figure showing a four-terminal box connected to a battery and two a...
A radioactive nucleus emits an α-particle or a β-particle, creating a product nucleus. Which decay process could create the product nucleus stated?
Concrete has a density of 2400 kg m⁻³. Which mass of concrete fills a rectangular space of dimensions 8.0 cm × 90 cm × 110 cm?
The speed v of sound in a gas is given by the equation v = √(γP/ρ) where P is the pressure of the gas, ρ is its density and γ is a constant. What a...
The motion of an object moving from rest with a constant acceleration a may be represented by the equation shown. v² = 2as Which row describes the ...
A cathode-ray oscilloscope (c.r.o.) displays a waveform as shown. [Figure 4.1] The time interval between two adjacent peaks of the waveform is 0.00...
A value for the acceleration of free fall on Earth is given as (10 ± 2) m s⁻². Which statement is correct?
An experiment to determine atmospheric pressure P uses the equation P = ρgh where ρ = (13600 ± 100) kg m⁻³, g = (9.81 ± 0.02) m s⁻², h = (0.762 ± 0...
A lorry travels at a constant speed and then decelerates until it stops. Which graph shows the variation with time of the distance travelled by the...
The graph shows the vertical velocity of a parachutist during the first 20s of her jump. [Figure 8.1] Approximately how far does she fall before op...
A girl is jumping on a trampoline. Which graph shows the variation of the girl's velocity v with time t?
In order that a train can stop safely, it will always pass a signal showing a yellow light before it reaches a signal showing a red light. Drivers ...
Two frictionless trolleys are moving towards each other along the same horizontal straight line. Their masses and velocities are shown. [Figure 11....
A bullet of mass 8.0 g travels at a speed of 300 m s⁻¹. The bullet hits a target and stops after a time of 100 μs. What is the average force exerte...
A light ball is falling vertically through air. The variation with time t of the resistive force Fᵣ acting on the ball is shown. [Figure 13.1] At w...
Which diagram best shows the forces acting on a ball falling at a constant velocity through a liquid?
A minimum torque of 20 N m must be applied to the lid of a jar for it to open. The radius of the lid is 4.0 cm. [Figure 15.1] What is the minimum f...
The diagram shows the brake system of a car. [Figure 16.1] The pipes are filled with incompressible liquid. When a force is applied to the brake pe...
A rigid cross-shaped structure having four arms PO, SO, QO and RO, each 1.00 m long, is pivoted at O. Forces act on the ends of the arms and on the...
On the surface of a planet, 30 J of work is done against gravity to raise a mass of 1.0 kg through a height of 10 m. How much work must be done to ...
The speed of a car increases from 10 m s⁻¹ to 15 m s⁻¹ and its kinetic energy increases by E₁. Later, the speed of the car increases from 15 m s⁻¹ ...
A car travels at a constant speed of 25 m s⁻¹ up a slope. The wheels driven by the engine exert a forward force of 3000 N. There is a drag force du...
Which force-extension graph shows plastic deformation of a sample of material?
Four solid steel rods, each of length 2.0 m and cross-sectional area 250 mm², equally support an object weighing 10 kN. The weight of the object ca...
High-frequency sound waves with frequency 2.0 MHz travel with a speed of 2.0 km s⁻¹ through a liquid. What is the shortest distance between a compr...
A transverse progressive wave of wavelength λ is set up on a stretched string. The graph shows the variation of displacement y with distance x at a...
A man standing next to a stationary train hears sound of frequency 400 Hz emitted from the train's horn. The train then moves directly away from th...
A stationary wave is formed on a stretched string. The diagram illustrates the string at an instant of time when the displacement of the string is ...
Observable interference fringes are produced using light from a double slit. The intensity of the light emerging from each slit is initially the sa...
Monochromatic light of wavelength 450 nm passes through two parallel slits 0.30 mm apart. Bright fringes are observed on a screen 2.0 m away. [Figu...
A microwave transmitter is placed at a fixed distance from a flat reflecting surface, as shown. [Figure 29.1] A microwave detector is moved steadil...
Two parallel circular metal plates X and Y, each of diameter 18 cm, have a separation of 9.0 cm. A potential difference of 9.0 V is applied between...
An oil drop has mass m and charge q. The drop is held stationary in an electric field between two parallel horizontal plates, distance d apart, as ...
The diagram shows a junction in a circuit where three wires P, Q and R meet. The currents in P and Q are 1 A and 3 A respectively, in the direction...
A wire carries a current of 2.0 A for 1.0 hour. How many electrons pass a point in the wire in this time?
Four statements about either potential difference or electromotive force are listed. 1 It involves changing electrical energy into other forms. 2 I...
In the circuit shown, there is a current of 3.0 A in the 2.0 Ω resistor. [Figure 37.1] What are the values of the current I delivered by the power ...
The calcium nuclide ⁴²₂₀Ca is formed by β⁻ decay. What are the nucleon (mass) number and proton (atomic) number of the unstable nuclide that underw...
Which diagram represents the structure of an antineutron?
Which pair of units are not the same when expressed in SI base units?
What is the vertical component of this displacement vector? [Figure showing a vector of 5.0 km at 37° to the horizontal]
The units of specific heat capacity are J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹. What are the SI base units of specific heat capacity?
A quantity y is to be determined from the equation shown. y = px / q² The percentage uncertainties in p, x and q are shown. [Table showing percenta...
A hot-air balloon is moving vertically upwards with a constant speed of 3.00 m s⁻¹. A sandbag is dropped from the balloon. It takes 5.00 s for the ...
The velocity-time graph for a train starting at one station and stopping at the next is shown. [Figure showing a velocity-time graph for a train] A...
A slow vehicle and a fast vehicle travel towards each other in a straight line and then collide. Which outcome is never possible, regardless of the...
Two blocks of masses M and m are joined by a thin string which passes over a frictionless pulley, as shown. [Figure showing two blocks M and m conn...
The diagram shows a block of copper suspended in water. [Figure showing a block of copper suspended in water with face S (top) and face R (bottom) ...
The diagram shows a solid cube with weight W and sides of length L. It is supported at rest by a frictionless spindle that passes through the centr...