Physics: Department of Education
Physics: Department of Education
Physics: Department of Education
(8:00 am – 10:30 am) 8. ALL working must be shown step by step to get full marks. Students may
lose marks for writing down final answers only.
9. Enough spaces have been allocated for answers to every question.
Questions must be answered in spaces as allocated. Answers all over the
NO EXTRA TIME answer booklet may not be marked.
(NO OTHER TIME) 10. Correctional Fluid is not allowed on the answer sheet. Where you have
made an error, cross out all the working and start on a new line.
11. Graphical Calculators are not permitted.
Candidates are advised to
fully utilise the allocated PENALTY FOR CHEATING OR ASSISTING TO CHEAT IN NATIONAL
time EXAMINATIONS IS NON-CERTIFICATION.
Answer each question by shading in with HB pencil, the circle directly under the correct alternative A, B,
C, D or E.
If you make a mistake, rub it out completely using an eraser rubber and shade the correct answer on the
Electronic Answer Sheet.
QUESTION 1
Convert 5.3 km into metres (m). Which of the following correctly gives the answer in metres?
QUESTION 2
A micrometer is used to measure the length of a specimen. Which of the following gives the correct reading in
millimeters (mm) as shown in the figure below.
D. 2.520 E. 2.522
QUESTION 3
QUESTION 4
The following diagram shows a displacement-time graph for a particle moving in a straight line. The average
velocity for the interval from t=0 to t=5 is
QUESTION 5
A particle moving in a straight line with a constant acceleration of 3 m/s2 has an initial velocity of –1 m/s. Its
velocity 2 seconds later is
QUESTION 6
If the acceleration of a particle in the x- direction is increasing with time, which of the following vx- t graph best
represent this information.
QUESTION 7
A particle of mass 5 kg is pulled along a smooth horizontal surface by a horizontal string. The acceleration of
the particle is 10 m/s2. The tension in the string is
A. 2 N B. 5N C. 10 N D. 15N E. 50 N
QUESTION 8
A ball of mass 0.4 kg hits a wall at right angles with a speed of 12 m/s and bounces off again at right angles to
the wall with a speed of 8 m/s. The impulse exerted by the wall on the ball is
Two masses collide and stick together after collision as shown in the following figure. What is the speed of the
combined mass just after impact?
5 3 3
A. 3ν B. ν C. ν D. ν E. ν
3 2 5
QUESTION 10
€ € €
A car is moving with a constant speed of 20 m/s against a resistance of 100 N. The power exerted by the car is
A. 5W B. 200 W C. 1 kW D. 2 kW E. 20 kW.
QUESTION 11
Suppose you have the following situation where a block of mass, m is moved up an inclined plane a vertical
distance, s. The work done against gravity is
2
A. mh B. mgh C. ms g D. mgs E. gh
QUESTION 12
A particle falls freely from rest through a distance d. Its speed is then;
A. B. C. D. E.
QUESTION 13
The following diagram shows three identical light bulbs connected to a d.c source. Each bulb operates at normal
brightness and the ammeter registers a steady current. Then suddenly the filament of one of the bulb breaks.
What happens to the ammeter reading and to the brightness of the two remaining bulbs?
Ammeter Brightness
reading
A Increases Increases
B Increases Unchanged
C Unchanged Unchanged
D Decreases Unchanged
E Decreases Decreases
Page 5 of 16
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
In the following circuit, the two lamps X and Y are operated at their rated voltage and power. If lamp X is rated
6V, 12W and lamp Y is rated 6V, 24W.
QUESTION 14
1 1
A. 9A B. 6A C. 3A D. A E. A
3 6
QUESTION 15
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What is the potential difference, V across the battery?
QUESTION 16
If the voltage provided by PNG Power to the houses is 240 (Vrms = 240V), then the voltage peak is given by
Consider three vessels; A, B and C in the figure below of different shapes. They are connected at the bottom by
a horizontal pipe.
A B C
h
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
Page 6 of 16
QUESTION 17
Which of the following statements about the liquid pressure at a depth, h in the three vessels is true? The liquid
pressure in
D *E
*
C * land
water
A
*
B
*
QUESTION 18
At which point, indicated with letters, would the total pressure be the highest?
QUESTION 19
A stone of mass 0.165 kg and relative density 2.22 is gently lowered into a vessel full of water whose density is
1000 kg/m3. Which of the following gives the correct value of the density in kg/m3 of the stone?
A. 2.22 x 101 B. 2.22 x 102 C. 2.22 x 103 D. 2.22 x 104 E. 2.22 x 105
QUESTION 20
A piece of copper is dropped into a beaker of water. If the water temperature rises, what happens to the
temperature of copper?
For Questions 21 and 22, refer to the graph below to answer the questions.
The graph shows the Temperature vs Energy Added for various materials; A B, C and D. The materials have
the same mass, warmed in identical conditions and they change phase from solid to liquid.
QUESTION 21
QUESTION 22
QUESTION 23
QUESTION 24
QUESTION 25
When light propagates from high refractive index material to a low refractive index material, part of the light is
transmitted and part of it is reflected. Which of the statements below is true about light that transmits into the
second medium.
A. θt = θi B. θt > θi
QUESTION 26
A long current- carrying wire generates a magnetic field, B. To double the field, 2B, the current should be
QUESTION 27
A transformer works by field generated from current- carrying primary coil inducing an emf (hence current) in
secondary coil. Why does a transformer not work with direct current (d.c) in primary coil?
QUESTION 28
In which of the cases below would you expect the force exerted on the conductor to be the weakest. ( Lines
with arrow represent magnetic field lines and the thick line represents the current- carrying conductor)
Page 9 of 16
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
QUESTION 29
Nuclei of radioactive elements with the same atomic number and different mass number is called
The diagram below shows the core components of a nuclear reactor where a controlled fission reaction took
place.
E
Nuclear Reactor
Concrete containment A B
vessel
QUESTION 30
Write your answer to the questions in the spaces provided in your answer booklet.
QUESTION 31
a) The length of two rods were measured and their lengths were recorded as;
If the two lengths are added together, what is their sum including the absolute error? (2 marks)
b) How many significant figures are there in the measurement below? (2 marks)
c) “All measurements are 100% accurate”. Is this statement True or False? (1 mark)
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
Page 10 of 16
d) A motorcycle is traveling at a speed of 10 km/h along a straight road. Express the speed in m/s. (2 marks)
QUESTION 32
A cyclist starting from a point A travels 200 m due North to point B at a constant speed of 5 m/s. He rests at B
for 30 seconds and then travels 300 m due South to point C at a constant speed of 10 m/s.
QUESTION 33
a) A box is being dragged across a rough surface by an applied force, F as shown. The other forces acting on
the box are not shown.
box F
rough surface
Ignoring air resistance, how many forces are there altogether acting on the box? (1 mark)
b) The graph below represents the change in displacement with time for a vehicle moving along a straight
line.
During which time interval does the acceleration of the vehicle have its greatest numerical value? (1 mark)
c) A person is standing on a log floating in a pond. He notices that when he tries to move forwards, the log
moves backwards. Explain why the log will move backward when the person moves forward. (1 mark)
Page 11 of 16
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
d) Two forces act at a point, O as shown in the diagram.
i) On the diagram (refer to answer sheet) sketch and label the resultant of the two forces. (1 mark)
ii) What is the magnitude of the resultant force? (1 mark)
e) Suppose a bullet of mass 0.04 kg is moving with a speed of 90 m/s hits and enters a heavy wooden block and
stops after a distance of 60 cm. What is the average resistive force exerted by the block on the bullet? (2 marks)
QUESTION 34
a) If the engine of a car is working at constant power, the acceleration of the car must be constant. Is this
statement True or False? (1 mark)
b) A train covers a distance of 20 m in two seconds at a constant speed, with the engine exerting a driving force
of 2000N. The engine is working at the rate of 20 kW. Is this statement True or False? (1 mark)
c) Suppose a man lifts 20 boxes each of mass 15 kg to a height of 1.5 m. Determine the work done by the man
against gravity. (3 marks)
d) An object of mass 2 kg is held 3 m above the floor of a room. Find the potential energy (PE) of the object
relative to a table of height 0.8 m (as shown) and the PE relative to the ground. (2 marks)
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
Page 12 of 16
QUESTION 35
a) Identify which method of charging process is illustrated by the following 4 graphical steps? (2 marks)
b) For the two cases below, draw the electric field lines when a pair of electric charges interact (refer to
answer sheet). (d=distance). (2 marks)
(i) (ii)
d d
c) Given the following symmetrical distribution of 8 negative charges (charges are 1 Coulomb each). What is
the electric field at C? ( 1 mark )
R= 5 cm
Page 13 of 16
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
d) Given the following electric circuit “paths” for current to flow, determine the current in paths 1 and 2
QUESTION 36
a) In a car lift, compressed air exerts a force, F1 on a small piston having a radius of 5.0 cm. This pressure is
transmitted to a second piston of radius 15 cm as shown in the figure below. The mass of the car is 1350 kg.
Acceleration due to gravity g= 10ms-2
F1
A2
A1
F2
b) A cylindrical swimming pool has a radius 2 m and depth 1.3 m. It is filled completely with salt water of
5
specific gravity 1.03. The atmospheric pressure is 1.013 x 10 Pa.
QUESTION 37
a) The temperature of a silver bar rises by 10.0 °C when it absorbs 1.23 kJ of heat. The mass of the bar
is 525 g. Determine the specific heat capacity of silver. (2 marks)
b) A metal rod is 40.125 m long at 20°C and 40.148 m long at 45°C. Calculate the average linear
expansion coefficient in this temperature range. (2 marks)
c) Complete the following table by converting appropriate temperature scale. (3 marks)
For Water
Scale Absolute zero Freezing point Boiling point
Celcius °C 0 °C
Kelvin K 0K 373 K
QUESTION 38
a) For a certain transverse wave, the distance between two successive crests is 1.0 m and eight crests
pass a given point along the direction of travel every 10.0 s. Calculate the wave speed. (2 marks)
b) Light propagates through the boundary between air (nair = 1) and glass (nglass = 1.5) with an angle of
incidence of 30° in air. Calculate the angle of refraction or transmission in glass. (2marks)
c) A sinusoidal wave is traveling along a rope. The oscillator that generates the wave completes 40
vibrations in 30.0 s. Also, a given maximum point travels 400 cm along the rope in 10.0 s. What is the
wavelength? (3 marks)
QUESTION 39
a) Indicate the direction of the force exerted on the current-carrying conductor below. The magnetic
field is uniform around the wire with direction into this page (cross in circle represent field lines
into the page). (1 mark)
X
Z
out of page
I
b) The magnetic field is 2 x 10–3 Tesla at a distance 2 mm (0.002 m) away from the source (long
current-carrying wire). What is the current through the wire? (2 marks)
Page 15 of 16
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
c) Identify the parts (i) and (ii) in the DC generator below. (2 marks)
QUESTION 40
Read the article below which is based on recent Fukushima- Dai Lchi Nuclear disaster in Japan which
occurred in March 2011
What is a Nuclear Meltdown?
Japanese officials and nuclear experts have said they cannot rule out the possibility of a nuclear
meltdown at a Japanese nuclear power plant that was badly damaged by last week’s earthquake and
tsunami. Here is a quick guide to the nuclear process, what can go wrong, and how to prevent
catastrophe.
Nuclear power is produced by harnessing the heat produced by the splitting of atoms inside uranium- a
process known as fission. Rods packed with uranium are submerged into water, and the heat produced
by the nuclear reaction creates steam, which is used to power turbines that produce electricity.
The nuclear reaction can be controlled utilizing rods made of neutron-absorbing material, such as
boron, essentially shutting down the fission process. But the rods still produce heat, even when control
rods are in place, requiring a cooling system to maintain temperatures.
When the cooling system failed at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-lchi reactor Number 2, the fuel rods boiled
through the available water and were for a period of hours exposed to the air. If the rods get too hot,
they can eventually melt, thus the term “meltdown”.
In the event of a complete meltdown, the still-burning hot nuclear fuel could drip to the floor of the
reactor. If the containment structure around the reactor is not strong enough, the fuel potentially could
be exposed to the outside environment, and can have devastating consequences for nearby
communities.
PHYSICS
EXAMINATION
2011
Page 16 of 16
The world’s worst nuclear power disaster was in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986. After an explosion at
the plant, a cloud of radioactive dust spread for hundred of kilometers and was blamed for a surge of
cancer deaths and birth defects. It has left some nearby towns uninhabitable to this day.
People also can be exposed to radiation poisoning through contaminated food and water. A recent
U.N. study estimates the Chernobyl disaster caused 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer in children, largely
through contaminated milk.
Workers at the Fukushima plant are pumping sea water, treated with boron, to try to cool the
overheating reactor cores. This process, if successful, will completely shut down and destroy the
reactor.
After the reactors are brought under control, nuclear technicians will either have to remove the spent
fuel, or try to bury the remnants in a concrete “sarcophagus” that will prevent the excess radiation
from leaking out, until they can be safely removed.
Answer the following questions which are entirely based on the article.
a) Nuclear Power is produced by harnessing the heat produced by splitting atoms inside Uranium.
This process is called_______________. (1 mark)
b) If the rods packed with Uranium get too hot, they can eventually melt. This is
called__________________. (1 mark)
c) Name the three devastating consequences of radiation exposed to outside environment
mentioned in this article. (3 marks)
d) What is the best method described in this article for preventing radiation from leaking? (1
mark)
e) The end result of a nuclear process is energy in the form of ___________________. (1 mark)
END OF EXAMINATION