Cambridge & Pearson Edexcel Past Paper Questions

11 Electrons are accelerated through a potential difference of 100kV. They are then incident on a metal target, they decelerate, and X-ray photons ...

12 (a) Explain what is meant by the binding energy of a nucleus. (b) The following nuclear reaction takes place: ²³⁵U + ⁰n → ¹⁴⁴Cs + ^xRb + y⁰n (...

Fig. 1.1 shows a bar magnet attached to a spring. -spring N bar magnet S Fig. 1.1 The bar magnet is displaced a distance x from its equilibrium pos...

A student investigates the discharge of a capacitor through a resistor as shown in Fig. 2.1. E C R A Fig. 2.1 The student initially closes the swit...

What is a reasonable estimate for the density of sand?

Which physical quantity could have units of Ns²m⁻¹?

A velocity vector is shown. [Figure 3.1] What are the components of the velocity vector in the northerly and in the easterly directions?

A micrometer screw gauge is used to measure the diameter of a copper wire. The reading with the wire in position is shown in diagram 1. The wire is...

A student measures the current and the potential difference for a resistor in a circuit. current = (50.00 ± 0.01) mA potential difference = (500.0 ...

Four cars, A, B, C and D, move from rest in a straight line. The cars take the same time to accelerate to a velocity of 60 km h⁻¹. Their velocity-t...

A cannon fires a cannonball with an initial speed v at an angle α to the horizontal. [Figure 7.1] Which equation is correct for the maximum height ...

A ball strikes a horizontal surface with momentum p at an angle θ to the surface, as shown. [Figure 8.1] The ball rebounds with the same magnitude ...

A skydiver, who is falling vertically through the air, opens his parachute. Which row describes the velocity of the skydiver immediately after he o...

A stationary firework explodes into four fragments which travel in different directions in a horizontal plane. The diagram shows the velocity and m...

A particle with mass moves in a horizontal straight line through a uniform electric field in a vacuum. The electric field is vertical. [Figure 11.1...

Two parallel forces, each of magnitude F, act on a rod of length 5d. Which diagram shows the positions of the two forces that will produce the larg...

A mass of 30 kg is suspended from the end of a wire. A horizontal force F acts on the mass so that it is in equilibrium, with the wire at an angle ...

A balance is used to measure the mass m of a number of cylindrical metal rods of length l. All the metal rods have the same radius r. The graph sho...

Two blocks, X and Y, are on a horizontal frictionless surface. The mass of block Y is greater than that of block X. Block Y has a spring attached t...

A gas is contained in a cylinder by a movable piston. [Figure 16.1] The cylinder has a circular cross-section of diameter 20.0 cm. The pressure of ...

An egg of mass 25 g falls vertically downwards from the surface of a table which is 900 mm above the ground. Air resistance is negligible. What is ...

An aircraft travels at a constant velocity of 90 m s⁻¹ in horizontal flight. The diagram shows the horizontal forces acting on the aircraft. [Figur...

Which expression is equal to the stress on a wire?

A wire is stretched by applying increasing values of force F. For each value of force applied, the extension x is recorded. A force-extension graph...

A progressive radio wave in a vacuum has a frequency of 75 MHz. What is the phase difference between two points on the wave that are 50 cm apart fr...

Which statement is correct for longitudinal waves but not correct for transverse waves?

A loudspeaker emitting a sound wave of a single frequency is placed a distance L from a reflecting surface, as shown. [Figure 23.1] A stationary wa...

A source of sound of frequency F at point Z is moving at a steady speed. The pattern of the emitted wavefronts is shown. [Figure 24.1] Which row de...

What is not a possible value for the wavelength of the named electromagnetic waves when it is travelling in a vacuum?

Two waves, P and Q, meet at a point X and superpose. Initially, the two waves meet at X in phase (zero phase difference) so that the resultant wave...

A water wave is diffracted as it passes through a gap between two barriers in a ripple tank. The wave is observed to 'spread out' as it moves throu...

Two sources of microwaves P and Q produce coherent waves with a phase difference of 180°. The waves have the same wavelength λ. [Figure 28.1] At th...

A beam of red laser light of wavelength 633 nm is incident normally on a diffraction grating with 600 lines per mm. [Figure 29.1] The beam of red l...

Which diagram best represents the field lines in the electric field produced by a combination of one point positive charge and one point negative c...

The diagram shows a thundercloud whose base is 500 m above the ground. [Figure 31.1] The potential difference between the base of the cloud and the...

The current I in a metal wire is given by the equation I = Anvq. What does the symbol n represent?

A cell of negligible internal resistance is connected to resistors R₁, R₂ and R₃, as shown. The cell provides power to the circuit and power is dis...

A fixed resistor and a diode are connected in series to a battery of electromotive force (e.m.f.) 6.0 V and negligible internal resistance. The gra...

An electrical cable consists of seven strands of copper wire, each of diameter 0.30 mm, connected in parallel. The resistivity of copper is 1.72 × ...

A cell that has internal resistance is connected to a switch S and a variable resistor. A voltmeter is connected between the terminals of the cell,...

A battery is connected to a potentiometer. The potentiometer consists of a uniform resistance wire and a sliding contact P. [Figure 38.1] The poten...

The figure shows part of a chart of nuclides where neutron number is plotted against proton number. An unstable nuclide X decays by emitting an α-p...

The nuclei of common isotopes of hydrogen, helium, lithium and beryllium are shown. Which nucleus contains equal numbers of up and down quarks?

Answer all the questions in the spaces provided. (a) Complete Table 1.1 by stating whether each of the quantities is a vector or a scalar. Table ...

(b) A beach ball is released from a balcony at the top of a tall building. The ball falls vertically from rest and reaches a constant (terminal) ve...

A spring is extended by a force. The variation with extension x of the force F is shown in Fig. 3.1. [Figure 3.1]

(b) A transmitter produces microwaves that travel in air towards a metal plate, as shown in Fig. 4.1. [Figure 4.1] The microwaves have a wavelength...

A source of sound is attached to a rope and then swung at a constant speed in a horizontal circle, as illustrated in Fig. 5.1. [Figure 5.1] The sou...

(b) A battery of electromotive force (e.m.f.) 12.0V and internal resistance r is connected to a filament lamp and a resistor, as shown in Fig. 6.1....

The results of the α-particle scattering experiment provide evidence for the structure of the atom. Result 1: The vast majority of the α-particles...