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IGCSE Sample Examination Paper

PHYSICS PAPER 1 Multiple Choice 45 minutes

Student Name:

Answer questions on the Multiple Choice Answer Sheet.

Answer all questions.

There are forty questions on this paper.

For each question there are four possible answers A, B, C, and D.

Choose the one you consider correct and record your choice in pencil on the Multiple Choice Answer Sheet.

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Which instrument would be most appropriate to measure the width of a hair?1

A Pedometer

B Vernier caliper

C Micrometer

D Rule with ½ mm graduations

An athlete is training to run the 1600 m for the Olympics. Four digital stopwatches are started 2 as the race starts. The fi rst stopwatch is stopped when the he completes the fi rst 400 m and the second is stopped when he has completed the second 400 m, etc. The times indicated on the four stopwatches at the end of the race are shown above.

Which of the 400 m did he run in the shortest time?

A 1st 400 m

B 2nd 400 m

C 3rd 400 m

D last 400 m

The fi gure shows the motion of a car as a function of time.3

time (s)

spee

d (m

/s)

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

00 5 10 15 20 25

Motion of a car

Determine the distance travelled by the car in the fi rst 20 s.

A 80 m

B 400 m

C 1200 m

D 1600 m

An astronaut is walking on the surface of the Moon towards her spaceship. She accidentally drops 4 her pen and a sheet of paper.

What will happen?

A The pen will hit the surface of the Moon before the paper

B The paper will hit the surface of the Moon before the pen

A B C D

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C The paper will float and the pen will eventually hit the surface of the Moon

D The pen and the paper will hit the surface of the Moon at the same time

Which pieces of equipment are required to determine if a gold ring is genuine or not, by measuring 5 its density?

A Measuring cylinder with water, rule, electronic balance

B Measuring cylinder, rule, electronic balance

C Measuring cylinder with water and electronic balance

D Electronic balance only

The diagram shows a rectangular box of paper, with a density of 2 g/cm6 3

30 cm

20 cm

20 cm

What is the approximate mass of the box?

A 0.6 kg

B 2.4 kg

C 6.0 kg

D 24 kg

A spring is stretched by attaching a metal ball to it. What is the name of the force stretching 7 the spring?

A Elastic force

B Weight

C Mass

D Drag

A student has screwed four rings into a door, 8 as shown in the diagram. He plans to put a hook through one of the rings to open the door. Which ring will he use if he wishes to apply the smallest possible pulling force?

AC

B

D

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A car travels on a straight, level road at constant velocity. What is the resultant force acting on the 9 car equal to?

A Zero

B The weight of the car

C The drag force plus the weight of the car

D The drag force

An IGCSE student is measuring the period of a pendulum with the apparatus shown in the diagram 10 on the right. Which experimental arrangement would provide the best stability?

A B C D

Which is the correct order for creating electrical energy, from the Sun evaporating water, to a coil 11 turning in a magnetic field in a hydroelectric power plant?

A Clouds form Water flows into the dam

Water flows through turbine

It rains in the mountains

B Water flows through turbine

Clouds form Water flows into the dam

It rains in the mountains

C Water flows through turbine

It rains in the mountains

Clouds form Water flows into the dam

D Clouds form It rains in the mountains

Water flows into the dam

Water flows through turbine

An IGCSE class is doing an experiment to find out which student has the most power 12 running up the stairs. Which of the following will be enough to allow the power of ONE student to be calculated?A The mass of the student and the time taken

B The length of the stairs and the work done

C The height of the stairs and the time taken

D The work done and the time taken

rod

bobstand

pendulumstring

boss

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The diagram shows molecules in a liquid. 13 Molecules 1 and 2 are more energetic than molecules 3 and 4. Which of the labelled molecules in the diagram is most likely to evaporate first.

A Molecule 1

B Molecule 2

C Molecule 3

D Molecule 4

The diagram shows molecules in a piston. The volume in which the molecules are contained is 14 decreased slowly from the initial position to ensure that the temperature remains constant.

What happens to the pressure and density in the container?

Pressure Density

A Increases Increases

B Decreases Increases

C Increases Decreases

D Decreases Decreases

A thermometer has a scale which starts at 15 210 8C and ends at 110 8C.

°C

100 1100–10

At what temperatures are the upper and lower fixed points?

Upper fixed point °C Lower fixed point °C

A 110 –10

B 100 0

C 110 0

D 100 –10

2 3

4

1

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Two empty pots, one made of clay and the other of steel, are removed from a hot oven at the same 16 time and placed in the same room. After 10 minutes, the temperature of the clay pot has decreased by 50 8C and the temperature of the steel pot by 100 8C. This is because:

A The clay has a higher specific heat capacity than the steel

B The steel has a higher specific heat capacity than the clay

C The clay pot has a higher thermal capacity than the steel pot

D The steel pot has a higher thermal capacity than the clay pot

The diagram shows a heating curve for a certain substance.17

In which part of the curve is the substance changing from a liquid to a gas?

time

tem

pera

ture

A

B

C

D

A vacuum flask keeps hot liquids hot and cold liquids cold by 18 minimising heat losses by conduction, convection, and radiation. The main purpose of the silvered surfaces is to reduce heat losses by:

A Conduction

B Convection

C Radiation

D All of the above

To improve the insulation of a house, a cavity is introduced 19 in the external brick walls (labelled in the diagram). In some cases, the cavity is simply filled with air. This improves the insulation because:

A The air is a worse conductor of heat than the brick

B The air is a better conductor of heat than the brick

C Infrared radiation will not penetrate the air

D Infrared radiation will penetrate the air

2 gap with air removed

1 stopper

3 silverysurfaces

glass or steel walls

loft

window

wallcavity

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The diagrams show different waves.20

ripple tank drum

waves in airwaves on water

waves on a rope waves in a apring(as shown)

1

3

2

4

Which of these waves are transverse waves?

A 1 & 2

B 1 & 3

C 2 & 4

D 3 & 4

The diagram shows light as it passes from air to glass. Which answer correctly indicates the 21 refracted angle?

air

glass

A

C

D

B

The diagram shows light as it passes from diamond to air. If the incident angle of light is greater 22 than the critical angle, which direction shall the light follow at the interface?

air

diamond

incident ray

D

A

B

C

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In the diagram an object is shown on the principal axis at 20 cm from a converging lens with a focal 23 length of 10 cm.

Which answer correctly describes the location and orientation of the image?

Location from lens

Orientation

A 20 cm inverted

B 10 cm inverted

C 10 cm upright

D 20 cm upright

24 When white light is spread into different colours, as shown in the diagram, this phenomenon is called:

A Refraction of light

B Separation of light

C Dispersion of light

D Reflection of light

Which diagram shows the electromagnetic wave spectrum in the correct order?25

X-ray

A

B

C

D

radio infrared X-rayUV

infrared radioUVvisible

visible

visible

visible

X-ray UV radioinfrared

radio infrared X-ray

increasingwavelenght

increasingwavelenght

increasingwavelenght

increasingwavelenght

UV

2F F F 2F

whitelight spectrum

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A student wishes to make a permanent magnet. What material should she use?26

A Iron

B Steel

C Copper

D Brass

A student wishes to decrease the magnetic field created by the 27 electromagnet shown in the diagram. Which of the following modifications are most likely to achieve this?

A Decrease the current through the coils

B Decrease the number of coils

C Remove the iron core

D All of the above

28 A glass rod is rubbed with a piece of wool, leaving the rod positively charged. This has happened because…

A electrons are removed from the rod and added to the wool.

B protons are removed from the rod and added to the wool.

C electrons are removed from the wool and added to the rod.

D protons are removed from the wool and added to the rod.

Which of the following wires will have the least resistance? All the wires have the same 29 cross-sectional area.

A An iron wire 10 cm long

B An copper wire 20 cm long

C A copper wire 10 cm long

D An iron wire 20 cm long

In the circuit shown, if the ammeter reads 2.0 A and the voltmeter 30 reads 6 V, what is the value of the resistance R?

A 1/3 Ω

B 3 Ω

C 12 Ω

D 8 Ω

battery

switch

electromagnet

iron core

glass rod

wool

AV

R

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31 In the circuit shown in the diagram, the ammeter reads a current of 2.0 A. If an identical lamp is added in parallel to the existing lamp, what will the new reading of the ammeter be?

A 1.0 A

B 2.0 A

C 4.0 A

D 3.0 A

The diagram shows a simple electric generator. G is a galvanometer (sensitive ammeter) to indicate 32 that current flows. Which of the following options can be used to generate electricity?

G

N

S

A Move the loop in and out of the field

B Change the strength of the magnetic field

C Change the orientation of the circuit loop with respect to the magnetic field

D All of the above

33 A transformer used on a 240 V supply has 100 turns on its primary coil and 1000 on its secondary coil. What is the potential difference across the secondary coil?

A 24 V

B 100 V

C 2400 V

D 10000 V

34 The diagram shows a current flowing through a vertical wire passing through a card. The magnetic field lines around the current carrying wire…

A form concentric circles around the wire.

B point towards the wire.

C point away from the wire.

D are parallel to the wire.

A

primary (input)coil: 100 turns

secondary (output)coil: 1000 turns

240 V V

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The diagram shows a cathode ray tube. One side of the cathode is earthed. To deflect the cathode 35 rays upwards, which combination of voltages is required on components, 1, 2, and 3?

1

2OV 3

1 2 3

A positive positive positive

B negative negative positive

C positive positive negative

D negative negative negative

The graph shows the recorded activity from a radioactive source. What is the half life and 36 background count rate of the source?

time (mins)

activ

ity (c

ou

nts

/sec

)

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

00 5 10 15 20

Half life(mins)

Background count rate(Counts per second)

A 5 20

B 2 20

C 2 0

D 5 0

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The equation 37 220 ___ 86 Rn 216

___ 84 Po 1 X describes the radioactive decay of 220 ___ 86 Rn.

What does X represent?

A A neutron

B An alpha particle

C A beta particle

D A gamma ray

Which of the following safety precautions are necessary when using radioactive materials?38

i Keep the source well away from the body

ii Store in a lead container in a locked cupboard

iii Use tongs when handling and not bare hands

iv Wear a film badge

A i and ii

B i and iii

C i, ii and iii

D All

Which of the following are found in the nucleus of an atom?39

i Neutron

ii Electron

iii Positron

iv Proton

A All

B i and ii

C i and iv

D i, ii and iv

When a radioactive nucleus decays emitting a beta particle, the nucleon number of the daughter 40 nucleus has…

A remains the same.

B increases by 4.

C decreases by 1.

D increases by 1.