Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2023

First exams 2025

|

Practice Paper 1A (SL IB Physics)

Practice Paper Questions

1
Sme Calculator
1 mark

A sprint walker completes a 200 m race in 40 s. What is their average speed during the race? 

  • 5 m s–1

  • 6 m s–1

  • 7 m s–1

  • 8 m s–1

Did this page help you?

2
Sme Calculator
1 mark

A tennis ball is thrown at a wall and then bounces off. 

2-4-q2-sl-easy-mcq-phy-png

Which row states the correct directions for the velocity, v, before and after hitting the wall?

 

Before collision

After collision

A.
B. +
C. +
D. + +

    Did this page help you?

    3
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A stone is released from a hot air balloon moving upwards with a uniform velocity of 25 m s–1

    If the hot air balloon is 30 m high when the stone was dropped, what is its height when the stone hits the ground?

    • 180 m

    • 55 m 

    • 150 m

    • 60 m

    Did this page help you?

    4
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A student of mass 50 kg climbs a vertical ladder 4.0 m tall in a time of 8.0 s. What is the power developed by the student against gravity?

    • 25 W

    • 200 W

    • 1000 W

    • 250 W

    Did this page help you?

    5
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A man is running along a circular path with an angular velocity of 0.05 rad s−1. His linear velocity is 2.5 m s−1.

    What is the radius of the path?

    • 20 m

    • 30 m

    • 40 m

    • 50 m

    Did this page help you?

    6
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    An object falls from rest from a height h close to the surface of the Moon. The Moon has no atmosphere.

    When the object has fallen to height h over 3 above the surface, what is

                                        fraction numerator g r a v i t a t i o n a l space p o t e n t i a l space e n e r g y space o f space t h e space o b j e c t space a t space h over denominator k i n e t i c space e n e r g y space o f space t h e space o b j e c t space a t space begin display style h over 3 end style end fraction

    • 3

    • 1 third

    • 2 over 3

    • 3 over 2

    Did this page help you?

    7
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    Two blocks with mass 5m and 3m are pushed along a smooth horizontal surface by an applied force F.

    2-2-sl-mcq-hard-q9-phy

    What is the magnitude of the force exerted between the blocks? 

    • F

    • 2 over 8 F

    • 3 over 8 F

    • 8 over 3 F

    Did this page help you?

    8
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A sample of solid aluminium is heated beyond its melting point. The graph shows the variation of temperature with time.

    3-1-q8-sl-easy-mcq-phy

    During which stage(s) is the aluminium melting?

    • Q only

    •  P, Q and R

    • P only

    • P and R only

    Did this page help you?

    9
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    The sun behaves as an approximate black-body radiator with peak energy radiation occurring at wavelength 51 × 10−8 m and a power of 4 × 1026 W.

    What is the correct expression for the radius of the Sun?

    • r space equals space 7.3 space cross times space 10 to the power of 8 space straight m

    • r space equals space 3.1 space cross times space 10 to the power of 14 space straight m

    • r space equals space 5.4 space cross times space 10 to the power of 17 space straight m

    • r space equals space 6.8 space cross times space 10 to the power of 18 space straight m

    Did this page help you?

    10
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    Which factors affect the amount of solar power incident on a given point on the surface of the Earth? 

    1. Weather conditions
    2. Latitude
    3. Position of the Earth in its orbit of the Sun
    • I and III only

    • I and II only

    • I, II and III

    • III only

    Did this page help you?

    11
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A fixed mass of an ideal gas is at temperature T K. The pressure is quadrupled, and the volume is halved. What is the temperature after these changes?

    • T over 2

    • 2 T

    • T over 4

    • T

    Did this page help you?

    12
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    The diagram shows a simplified model of the energy balance of the Earth. 

    8-2-sl-mcq-hard-q8-phy

    What is the albedo of the Earth according to this model?

    • 1 third

    • 5 over 14

    • 145 over 212

    • 29 over 42

    Did this page help you?

    13
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A resistor R is connected to the terminals of a battery of emf 9.0 V and internal resistance r.

    q11_electric-cells_ib-sl-physics-mcq

    A charge of 240 C through the resistor in two minutes. The power dissipated in the resistor as a result is 1440 J. What is the internal resistance r of the battery?  

    • 3.0 Ω

    • 2.0 Ω 

    • 1.5 Ω 

    • 4.5 Ω 

    Did this page help you?

    14
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A battery of electromotive force ϵ delivers charge Q to the load resistance. Which of the following statements is correct?

    • The chemical work done around the circuit is ϵQ 

    • The electrical work done between the terminals of the battery is ϵQ

    • The load resistance is ϵQ

    • The electrical work done in the battery and the across the load resistance is ϵQ  

    Did this page help you?

    15
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A sound wave has a wavelength of 0.40 m. What is the phase difference between two points along the wave which are 1.7 m apart?

    • zero

    • 45°

    • 90°

    • 180°

    Did this page help you?

    16
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    A pipe of length L1 has one open end and one closed end. A second pipe, of length L2  is open at both ends. The frequency of the first harmonic of both pipes is the same. 

    What is the ratio L subscript 1 over L subscript 2?

    • 1 fourth

    • 1 half

    • 3 over 2

    • 2

    Did this page help you?

    17
    Sme Calculator
    1 mark

    In a Young’s double-slit experiment, the spacing of the double slits is d and the distance between the slits and the screen on which fringes are formed is D. When monochromatic light of wavelength λ is incident on the slits the distance between adjacent fringes on the screen is s.

    Which row shows another arrangement that produces a fringe spacing of s?

     

    Wavelength of the light

    Distance between the slits and the screen

    Spacing of double Slits

    A.

    4 lambda

    2D

    4d

    B.

    2 lambda

    2D

    2d

    C.

    4 lambda

    2D

    2d

    D.

    4 lambda

    2D

    8d

      Did this page help you?

      18
      Sme Calculator
      1 mark

      A section of the electromagnetic spectrum is shown. What could the labelled sections represent?

      q16_travelling-waves_ib-sl-physics-mcq

       

      I

      II

      III

      IV

      A. ultraviolet infrared x–rays radio waves
      B. blue light red light orange light green light
      C. x-rays blue light infrared microwaves
      D. gamma waves microwaves infrared visible light

        Did this page help you?

        19
        Sme Calculator
        1 mark

        A simple pendulum performs simple harmonic motion. The pendulum bob has a mass m, the string has a length l, and the pendulum has a period T

        Which is the correct value for the period T1 if the mass of the pendulum bob is doubled and the length of the string is halved?

        • 1.4 T

        • 0.7 T

        • 0.5 T

        • 0.25 T

        Did this page help you?

        20
        Sme Calculator
        1 mark

        Two separated, identical conducting spheres X and Y of charge –8 μC and +12 μC respectively, are brought into brief contact and then separated.

        What is the final charge distribution on X and Y?

         

        X / μC

        Y / μC

        A.

        -8

        +12

        B.

        +10

        +10

        C.

        +2

        +2

        D.

        -4

        +6

          Did this page help you?

          21
          Sme Calculator
          1 mark

          The gravitational force between two identical uniform spheres of mass M is F when the distance between them is d.

          q14_newtons-law-of-gravitation_ib-sl-physics-mcq

          If the radius of each sphere is x, what is the correct expression for mass, M?

          • fraction numerator straight F left parenthesis d plus 2 x right parenthesis squared over denominator straight G end fraction

          • square root of fraction numerator straight F d squared over denominator straight G end fraction end root

          • square root of fraction numerator straight F left parenthesis d plus 2 x right parenthesis over denominator straight G end fraction end root

          • square root of fraction numerator straight F left parenthesis d plus 2 x right parenthesis squared over denominator straight G end fraction end root

          Did this page help you?

          22
          Sme Calculator
          1 mark

          Three long parallel straight wires, X, Y and Z, are equally separated and placed in the same plane in a vacuum. They carry a current of I, 2I and 4I respectively, as shown: 

          5-4-sl-mcq-hard-q1-phy

          It is known that the magnetic flux density B at a distance r due to a long straight wire carrying current I is given by: 

          B equals fraction numerator mu subscript 0 I over denominator 2 pi r end fraction  

          where μ0 is the permeability of free space.

          What is the force per unit length acting on wire X? 

          • 0

          • fraction numerator mu subscript 0 I squared over denominator pi r end fraction N m–1

          • fraction numerator mu subscript 0 I squared over denominator 2 pi r end fraction N m–1

          • fraction numerator mu subscript 0 I squared over denominator 3 pi r end fraction N m–1

          Did this page help you?

          23
          Sme Calculator
          1 mark

          The following is an energy level diagram for an atom. Electron transitions give rise to emission of spectrum wavelengths λ1, λ2, λ3, λ4, λ5.

          q14_energy-levels-_-photon-emission_aqa-as-physics-mcq

          With reference to the diagram, which of the following statements is correct?

          • E subscript 3 space greater than space E subscript 2 space greater than space E subscript 5 space greater than space E subscript 1 space greater than space E subscript 4

          • f subscript 4 space greater than space space f subscript 5 space greater than space f subscript 1 space greater than space f subscript 2 space greater than space f subscript 3

          • lambda subscript 3 space greater than space lambda subscript 2 space greater than space lambda subscript 1 space greater than space lambda subscript 5 space greater than space lambda subscript 4

          • lambda subscript 4 space greater than space lambda subscript 5 space greater than space lambda subscript 1 space greater than space lambda subscript 2 space greater than space lambda subscript 3

          Did this page help you?

          24
          Sme Calculator
          1 mark

          The half-life of carbon-14 is 6000 years.

          An ancient elephant tusk has been uncovered and its age is unknown. A 20 g sample of the tusk has an activity of 1.25 Bq due to carbon-14.

          A 80 g sample of tusk taken from a living elephant has an activity of 20 Bq.

          Use this information to determine the age of the ancient tusk.

          • 3000 years

          • 12 000 years

          • 18 000 years

          • 24 000 years

          Did this page help you?

          25
          Sme Calculator
          1 mark

          Five regions are labelled on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram shown. 

          fusion-and-stars-mcq-m-q1

          Which sequence could show part of the evolution of a star like the Sun? 

          • 1 → 5 → 3 

          • 2 → 3 → 4 

          • 3 → 5 → 1 

          • 4 → 3 → 2 

          Did this page help you?