General Physics Past Exam Paper 1

A ball falls from rest through the air towards the ground.

The diagram shows two forces acting on the ball.

As the ball falls, the air resistance increases.

Which statement is correct?

• The acceleration of the ball decreases

• The acceleration of the ball increases

• The speed of the ball decreases

• The gravitational acceleration of the ball decreases

A compressed spring projects a ball horizontally in a vacuum chamber.

On the Earth, the ball reaches the chamber floor 4.0 m in front of the spring.

An identical experiment is done on the Moon. The gravitational field strength is lower on the Moon than on the Earth. The experimental results on the Moon are compared with those on the Earth.

Which statement is correct?

• The horizontal speed is greater on the Moon and the ball hits the floor 4.0 m in front of the spring.

• The horizontal speed is greater on the Moon and the ball hits the floor more than 4.0 m in front of the spring.

• The horizontal speed is the same on the Moon and the ball hits the floor 4.0 m in front of the spring.

• The horizontal speed is the same on the Moon and the ball hits the floor more than 4.0 m in front of the spring.

Diagram 1 shows a piece of flexible material that contains many pockets of air. Diagram 2 shows the same piece of flexible material after it has been compressed so that its volume decreases.

What happens to the mass and to the weight of the flexible material when it is compressed?

• mass increases, weight no change

• mass increases, weight increases

• mass no change, weight increases

• mass no change, weight no change

A car travels along a horizontal road at constant speed. Three horizontal forces act on the car. The diagram shows two of these forces.

What is the size and the direction of the third horizontal force acting on the car?

• 1200 N backwards

• 1200 N forwards

• 1800 N backwards

• 1800 N forwards

A car is driven round a bend in the road at a constant speed.

What is the direction of the resultant force on the car when it is going round the bend?

• parallel to the motion and in the same direction as the motion

• parallel to the motion and in the opposite direction to the motion

• perpendicular to the motion and towards the inside of the bend

• perpendicular to the motion and towards the outside of the bend

Diagram 1 shows a solid, rectangular-sided block.

Diagram 2 shows the same block from the front and from the side.

Metre rules have been shown close to the edges of the block. What is the volume of the block?

• 120 cm3

• 168 cm3

• 264 cm3

• 1155 cm3

Which statement about acceleration is correct?

• It is related to the changing speed of an object.

• It is the distance an object travels in one second.

• It is the force acting on an object divided by the distance it travels in one second.

• It is the force acting on an object when it is near to the Earth.

A rectangular gymnasium is 50 m long, 25 m wide and 8.0 m high. The density of air is 1.2 kg / m3 . What is the best estimate of the mass of air in the gymnasium?

• 0.00012 kg

• 100 kg

• 8300 kg

• 12 000kg

The diameter of a copper wire is thought to be approximately 0.3 mm. Which instrument should be used to obtain a more accurate measurement of the diameter of the wire?

• measuring tape

• metre rule

• micrometer

• ruler

Which is a unit of acceleration?

• g/ cm3

• m / s

• m / s2

• N/ m