Cambridge & Pearson Edexcel Past Paper Questions
Browse 35,704 questions from Cambridge O-Level & A-Level and Pearson Edexcel IGCSE & IAL exams. Click any question to practice.
What does the alpha-radiation given off by radioactive nuclei consist of?
Which statement about the reactor in a nuclear power station is correct?
The results of the alpha-particle scattering experiment gave evidence for which of the following?
Which statement about two different isotopes of the same element is correct?
A girl of mass 35 kg, on a bicycle, accelerates from rest and travels down a slope in a straight line. The girl does not use the pedals. Fig. 1.1 s...
A small crack appears in an oil tank and a stream of oil is pushed out through the crack. The oil hits the floor at P where a puddle of oil starts ...
A student uses the apparatus shown in Fig. 3.1 to obtain the extension-load graph of a spring. The weights of the loads are known. The student susp...
A rock from space is travelling at high speed towards the Earth.
A nurse uses a mercury-in-glass, clinical thermometer to measure the temperature of a patient. Fig. 5.1 shows the structure of a clinical thermomet...
Fig. 6.1 is the view from above of a stationary magnet and a small compass on a laboratory bench. [Figure 6.1]
A student sets up the circuit shown in Fig. 7.1. The electromotive force (e.m.f.) of the battery is 6.0 V. [Figure 7.1]
A bucket of water is pulled up out of a well using a rope. Fig. 8.1 shows the rope winding on to a cylinder as the handle is turned. The empty buck...
Some waves are longitudinal and some waves are transverse.
Two neutral atoms are atoms of different isotopes of the same element.
Fig. 1.1 shows a satellite travelling at a constant speed in a circular orbit around the Earth. [Figure 1.1]
A sports car is designed to be very stable when turning a corner at high speed. Fig. 2.1 shows the position of the centre of mass of the car. [Figu...
Fig. 3.1 shows a cylindrical copper kettle that contains cold water. [Figure 3.1]
A house has several solar panels on the roof. These panels use energy from the Sun both to generate electricity and to raise the temperature of wat...
Two uncharged conducting spheres, K and L, are mounted on insulating stands.
Fig. 6.1 shows a radiation detector placed on a laboratory bench. The detector is switched on and six readings of the count rate are recorded. The ...
Fig. 7.1 shows the structure of a transformer. A lamp is connected to the secondary coil. [Figure 7.1]
During a game of cricket, a player hits a ball with a bat. The ball then travels vertically upwards, as shown in Fig. 8.1. The speed of the ball as...
Both sound and ultrasound are waves that travel in solids, liquids and gases.
A student sets up the circuit shown in Fig. 10.1 in a laboratory at room temperature. The electromotive force (e.m.f.) of the battery is 12V. The s...
Which word is the name of a scalar quantity?
What is the size of the resultant of the two forces shown in the diagram?
A length of copper pipe, of uniform cross-section and several metres long, carries water to a tap. Measurements are taken to determine accurately t...
What is the correct unit for the quantity shown? quantity unit electromotive force (e.m.f.) N latent heat J pressure kg/m³ weight kg
The graph shows how the speed of a car varies with time. Which statement about the acceleration of the car between the times 10s and 20 s is correct?
A car is accelerating along a straight, horizontal road. The diagram shows forces acting on the car. Which forces are balanced?
A single force is applied to a body. What cannot happen?
The Earth travels at constant speed in a circular orbit around the Sun. Which arrows show the direction of the acceleration of the Earth and the di...
A body slides down a frictionless slope, as shown. As the body presses on the surface, the surface pushes back on the body. In which direction does...
What is an expression for the moment of a force about a pivot?
A load L is suspended from two springs that are in parallel. The extension of each spring is x. The springs are then arranged to hang vertically, o...
Nail X is tapped into wood. Nail Y is tapped into the same wood using the same force. Which nail moves furthest into the wood and why? nail why X X...
The list gives the symbols for some physical quantities. acceleration of free-fall g atmospheric pressure P density of water ρ depth of water h Whi...
A heavy box of weight W slides down a frictionless slope. What is the work done by the weight W in moving from top to bottom?
Which change, on its own, increases the range of a liquid-in-glass thermometer?
A student is given a thermometer that reads 1 °C in pure melting ice and 101 °C in pure boiling water. She uses it to measure the temperature of so...
What is the name of the change of state that occurs when a substance changes from a solid to a liquid?
A metal rod is heated. What happens to the rod?
The diagram shows a glass flask full of water at 10 °C. A long glass tube passes through the bung into the water. The water level in the tube is at...
A glass beaker contains water in a warm room. The water is initially at the same temperature as the room. Which change does not affect the initial ...
The frequency of microwaves used in an experiment is 3.0 × 10⁹ Hz. Their speed in air is 3.0 × 10⁸ m/s. What is a possible frequency and a possible...
The diagram shows a ray of light in liquid incident on the boundary with air. Two other rays are observed. One is in the liquid and the other is in...
Light is incident at 90° on the surfaces of two glass prisms P and Q. The critical angle for light travelling from glass into air is 42°. Where doe...
A person hears an echo after a sound hits a solid cliff face. What causes the echo?
What is a typical value for the speed of sound in air?
Magnets M₁, M₂ and M₃ are joined by iron balls W, X and Y as shown. Magnetic poles are induced in the iron balls W and X as shown. Which diagram sh...