A LevelPhysicsCIEExam Questions1. Physical Quantities & Units1.1 Physical Quantities & Units

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First teaching 2020

Last exams 2024

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Physical Quantities & Units (CIE A Level Physics)

Exam Questions

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1.1 Physical Quantities & Units

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1.1 Physical Quantities & Units

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11 mark

Which of the following is an SI base unit?

  • Current

  • Gram

  • Kelvin

  • Volt

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21 mark

Which definition is correct and uses only quantities rather than units?

  • Density is mass per cubic metre

  • Potential difference is energy per unit current

  • Pressure is force per unit area

  • Speed is distance travelled per second

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31 mark

Five energies are listed below.

5kJ

5mJ

5MJ

5nJ

Starting with the smallest first, what is the order of increasing magnitude of these energies?

  • 5 kJ space rightwards arrow 5 mJ space rightwards arrow 5 MJ space rightwards arrow 5 nJ

  • 5 nJ space rightwards arrow 5 kJ space rightwards arrow 5 MJ space rightwards arrow 5 mJ

  • 5 nJ space rightwards arrow 5 mJ space rightwards arrow 5 kJ space rightwards arrow 5 MJ

  • 5 mJ space rightwards arrow 5 nJ space rightwards arrow 5 kJ space rightwards arrow 5 MJ

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41 mark

What is a reasonable estimate of the average gravitational force acting on a fully grown woman standing on the Earth?

  • 60 N

  • 250 N

  • 350 N

  • 650 N

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51 mark

Which product-pair of metric prefixes has the greatest magnitude?

  • pico × mega

  • nano × kilo

  • micro × giga

  • milli × tera

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61 mark

Which pair contains one vector and one scalar quantity?

A Displacement Acceleration
B Force Kinetic energy
C Momentum Velocity
D Power Speed

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    71 mark

    Which statement includes a correct unit?

    • Energy = 7.8 Ns

    • Force = 3.8 Ns

    • Momentum = 6.2 Ns

    • Torque = 4.7 Ns

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    81 mark

    Which quantity can be measured in electronvolts (eV)?

    • Electric charge

    • Electric potential

    • Energy

    • Power

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    91 mark

    Two physical quantities P and Q are added together. The sum of P and Q is R, as shown in the diagram.

    q9-easy-1-1-cie-ial-physics

    Which quantity could be represented by P and by Q?

    • Kinetic energy

    • Power

    • Speed

    • Velocity

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    101 mark

    The arrow represents the vector R.

    q10-1-easy-1-1-cie-ial-physics

    Which diagram does not represent R as two perpendicular components?

    • cie-ial-images437png

    • cie-ial-images438png

    • cie-ial-images439png

    • cie-ial-images440png

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    11 mark

    The average kinetic energy E of a gas molecule is given by the equation

                      E equals 3 over 2 space k T

    where T is the absolute (kelvin) temperature.

    What are the SI base units of k?

    • k g to the power of negative 1 end exponent space m to the power of negative 1 end exponent space s squared space K space

    • k g to the power of negative 1 end exponent space m to the power of negative 2 end exponent space s squared space K space

    • k g space m space s to the power of negative 2 end exponent space K to the power of negative 1 end exponent

    • k g space m squared space s to the power of negative 2 end exponent space K to the power of negative 1 end exponent

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    21 mark

    The speed of an aeroplane in still air is 200 km h-1. The wind blows from the west at a speed of 85.0 km h-1.

    In which direction must the pilot steer the aeroplane in order to fly due north?

    • 23.0° east of north

    • 23.0° west of north

    • 25.2° east of north

    • 25.2° west of north

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    31 mark

    The units of all physical quantities can be expressed in terms of SI base units.

    Which pair contains quantities with the same base units?

    • Force and momentum

    • Pressure and Young modulus

    • Power and kinetic energy

    • Mass and weight

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    41 mark

    Vectors P and Q are drawn to scale.

    q4-medium-1-2-cie-ial-physics

    Which diagram represents the vector (P – Q)?

    • cie-ial-images441png

    • cie-ial-images442png

    • cie-ial-images443png

    • cie-ial-images444png

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    51 mark

    The table contains some quantities, together with their symbols and units.

    Quantity Symbol Unit

    Gravitational field strength

    Density of liquid

    Vertical height

    Volume of part of liquid

    g

    ρ

    h

    V

    N kg–1

    kg m–3

    m

    m3

    Which expression has the units of energy?

    The table contains some quantities, together with their symbols and units.

    Quantity Symbol Unit

    Gravitational field strength

    Density of liquid

    Vertical height

    Volume of part of liquid

    g

    ρ

    h

    V

    N kg–1

    kg m–3

    m

    m3

    Which expression has the units of energy?

    The table contains some quantities, together with their symbols and units.

    Quantity Symbol Unit

    Gravitational field strength

    Density of liquid

    Vertical height

    Volume of part of liquid

    g

    ρ

    h

    V

    N kg–1

    kg m–3

    m

    m3

    Which expression has the units of energy?

    • rho g to the power of italic 2 h

    • fraction numerator rho h V over denominator g end fraction

    • fraction numerator straight rho g over denominator h V end fraction

    • g rho h V

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    61 mark

    What is the ratio fraction numerator 10 to the power of negative 3 end exponent space T H z over denominator 10 cubed space k H z end fraction ?

    • 10-9

    • 10-6

    • 100

    • 103

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    71 mark

    Which of the following correctly expresses the volt in terms of SI base units?

    • AΩ 

    • WA–1

    • k g space m squared space s to the power of – 1 end exponent space A to the power of – 1 end exponent

    • k g space m squared space s to the power of – 3 end exponent space A to the power of – 1 end exponent space

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    81 mark

    A vector has magnitude R and perpendicular components P and Q, as shown in the diagram.

    q7-1-1-medium-cie-ial-physics

    Which row correctly describes the perpendicular components?

      Vertical component Horizontal component

    A

    B

    C

    D

    Q

    R cos θ

    R cos θ

    R sin θ

    sin θ

    P

    R sin θ

    R cos θ

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      91 mark

      For which quantity is the magnitude a reasonable estimate?

      • Frequency of a radio wave 500p Hz

      • Mass of an atom 500μg

      • The Young modulus of a metal 500 kPa

      • Wavelength of green light 500 nm

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      101 mark

      The equation relating pressure and density is P space equals space rho g h

      How can both sides of this equation be written in terms of base units?

      • open square brackets N space m to the power of negative 1 end exponent close square brackets space equals space open square brackets k g space m to the power of negative 3 end exponent close square brackets open square brackets m space s to the power of negative 1 end exponent close square brackets open square brackets m close square brackets

      • open square brackets N space m to the power of negative 2 end exponent close square brackets space equals space open square brackets k g space m to the power of negative 2 end exponent close square brackets open square brackets m space s to the power of negative 2 end exponent close square brackets open square brackets m close square brackets

      • open square brackets k g space m to the power of negative 1 space end exponent s to the power of negative 2 end exponent close square brackets space equals space open square brackets k g space m to the power of negative 3 end exponent close square brackets open square brackets m space s to the power of negative 2 end exponent close square brackets open square brackets m close square brackets

      • open square brackets k g space m to the power of negative 1 end exponent space s to the power of negative 1 end exponent close square brackets space equals space open square brackets k g space m to the power of negative 1 end exponent close square brackets open square brackets m space s to the power of negative 2 end exponent close square brackets open square brackets m close square brackets

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      11 mark

      The speed v of a liquid leaving a tube depends on the change in pressure ΔP and the density ρ of the liquid. The speed is given by the equation

      v equals k open parentheses fraction numerator increment P over denominator rho end fraction close parentheses to the power of n

      where k is a constant that has no units.

      What is the value of n?

      • 1 half

      • 1

      • 3 over 2

      • 2

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      21 mark

      Which estimate is realistic?

      • The kinetic energy of a bus travelling on an expressway is 30,000 J

      • The power of a domestic light is 300 W

      • The temperature of a hot oven is 300 K

      • The volume of air in a car tyre is 0.03 m3

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      31 mark

      Which statement is incorrect by a factor of 100 or more?

      • Atmospheric pressure is about 1 × 105  Pa

      • Light takes 5 × 102 s to reach us from the Sun

      • The frequency of ultraviolet light is 3 × 1012 Hz

      • The life-span of a man is about 2 × 109 s

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      41 mark

      The frictional force F on a sphere falling through a fluid is given by the formula

                     F equals 6 πaη v

      where a is the radius of the sphere, η is a constant relating to the fluid and v is the velocity of the sphere.

       What are the units of η ?

      • k g space m space s to the power of negative 1 end exponent

      • k g space m to the power of negative 1 end exponent s to the power of negative 1 end exponent

      • k g space m space s to the power of negative 3 end exponent

      • k g space m cubed space s to the power of negative 3 end exponent

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      51 mark

      When a constant braking force is applied to a vehicle moving at speed v, the distance d moved by the vehicle as it comes to rest is given by the expression

                         d equals k space v squared

       where k is a constant.

       When d is measured in metres and v is measured in metres per second, the constant has a value of k1.

       What is the value of the constant when the distance is measured in metres, and the speed is measured in kilometres per hour?

      • 0.0772 space k subscript 1

      • 0.278 space k subscript 1

      • 3.60 space k subscript 1

      • 13.0 space k subscript 1

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      61 mark

      The drag coefficient Cd is a number with no units. It is used to compare the drag on different cars at different speeds. It is given by the equation

                      C subscript d space equals space fraction numerator 2 F over denominator rho v to the power of n A end fraction

      where F is the drag force on the car, ρ is the density of the air, A is the cross-sectional area of the car and v is the speed of the car.

       

      What is the value of n?

      • 1

      • 2

      • 3

      • 4

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      71 mark

      Two forces, each of 10 N, act at a point P as shown in the diagram. The angle between the force vectors is 120° cie-ial-images3

      What is the magnitude of the resultant force?

      • 5 N

      • 10 N

      • 17 N

      • 20 N

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      81 mark

      Which formula could be correct for the speed v of ocean waves in terms of the density ρ of sea-water, the acceleration of free fall g, the height h of the wave and the wavelength λ?

      • v equals square root of rho g h end root

      • v equals square root of g over h end root

      • v equals square root of g lambda end root

      • v equals square root of g over rho end root

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      91 mark

      The diagrams represent systems of coplanar forces acting at a point. The lengths of the force vectors represent the magnitudes of the forces.

      Which system of forces is in equilibrium?

       

      • mVHLqCWI_cie-ial-images4

      • cie-ial-images5

      • cie-ial-images6

      • cie-ial-images7

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      101 mark

      A glider is descending at a constant speed at an angle of 15° to the horizontal. The diagram shows the directions of the lift L, air resistance R and weight W acting on the glider.

      cie-ial-images9

      Which vector triangle could represent the forces acting on the glider?

      • cie-ial-images10

      • cie-ial-images11

      • cie-ial-images12

      • cie-ial-images13

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