Cambridge IGCSE™ (9–1)

PHYSICS 0972/21
Paper 2 Multiple Choice (Extended) May/June 2020
45 minutes

You must answer on the multiple choice answer sheet.

*7106215457*

You will need: Multiple choice answer sheet

Soft clean eraser
Soft pencil (type B or HB is recommended)

INSTRUCTIONS
• There are forty questions on this paper. Answer all questions.
• For each question there are four possible answers A, B, C and D. Choose the one you consider correct
and record your choice in soft pencil on the multiple choice answer sheet.
• Follow the instructions on the multiple choice answer sheet.
• Write in soft pencil.
• Write your name, centre number and candidate number on the multiple choice answer sheet in the
spaces provided unless this has been done for you.
• Do not use correction fluid.
• Do not write on any bar codes.
• You may use a calculator.
• Take the weight of 1.0 kg to be 10 N (acceleration of free fall = 10 m / s2).

INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 40.
• Each correct answer will score one mark. A mark will not be deducted for a wrong answer.
• Any rough working should be done on this question paper.

This document has 16 pages. Blank pages are indicated.

IB20 06_0972_21/FP
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1 A pendulum makes 50 complete swings in 2 min 40 s.

What is the time period for 1 complete swing?

A 1.6 s B 3.2 s C 4.8 s D 6.4 s

2 A student investigates the motion of a ball rolling down a slope.

The diagram shows the speed v of the ball at different times t.

t = 0s
v = 0 cm / s
t = 0.2 s
v = 2.8 cm / s
t = 0.4 s
ball v = 5.1 cm / s t = 0.6 s
v = 7.0 cm / s

Which statement describes the motion of the ball?

A The acceleration is not constant.

B The acceleration is negative.
C The speed is decreasing.
D The velocity is constant.

3 Which statement about acceleration is correct?

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

B It is the distance an object travels in one second.
C It is the force acting on an object divided by the distance it travels in one second.
D It is the force acting on an object when it is near to the Earth.

4 Which statement correctly describes the effects of placing a heavy load in a car?

A It is easier to accelerate the car and easier to bring the car to rest.
B It is easier to accelerate the car but more difficult to bring the car to rest.
C It is more difficult to accelerate the car and more difficult to bring the car to rest.
D It is more difficult to accelerate the car but easier to bring the car to rest.

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5 A mass of 6.0 kg rests on the surface of a planet.

On this planet, g = 20 N / kg.

What is the weight of the object?

A 0.30 N B 0.60 N C 60 N D 120 N

6 The mass of a measuring cylinder is 190 g.

400 cm3 of liquid is put into the measuring cylinder.

The total mass of the measuring cylinder and the liquid is 560 g.

Four solid objects are lowered in turn into the liquid. The densities of the objects are shown.

1 0.40 g / cm3
2 0.90 g / cm3
3 1.2 g / cm3
4 2.7 g / cm3

Which objects will float in the liquid?

A 1 only B 1 and 2 only C 1, 2 and 3 D 3 and 4 only

7 The diagram shows a wooden beam PQ, of negligible weight, which is attached to a wall by a
hinge at P and kept in a horizontal position by a vertical rope attached at Q.

The beam is 3.0 m in length.

A man of weight 800 N walks along the beam from P to Q.

wall man

rope

beam

P Q
hinge

What is the distance of the man from P when the tension in the rope at Q becomes equal to
500 N?

A 0.53 m B 1.1 m C 1.9 m D 2.5 m

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8 Which quantity is a vector?

A acceleration
B distance
C speed
D mass

9 An object of mass 1.2 kg is moving with a velocity of 2.0 m / s when it is acted on by a force of
4.0 N. The velocity of the object increases to 5.0 m / s.

For what period of time does the force act on the object?

A 0.90 s B 1.1 s C 1.5 s D 3.6 s

10 The diagram shows part of a rollercoaster ride with the car at different positions.

The car runs freely down from position X to position Y and up the hill on the other side.

car
X

What happens to the kinetic energy and to the gravitational potential energy of the car as it
moves from position X to position Y?

gravitational
kinetic energy
potential energy

A decreases decreases
B decreases increases
C increases decreases
D increases increases

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11 Which energy resource does not have the Sun as the original source?

A coal
B geothermal
C hydroelectric
D wind

12 The diagram shows a solid block resting on a bench. The dimensions of the block are shown.

40 cm
20 cm
Q

R bench
80 cm P

On which labelled surface should the block rest to produce the smallest pressure on the bench?

A P
B Q
C R
D P, Q and R produce the same pressure

13 The pressure due to the liquid on an object immersed in that liquid is 4500 Pa.

The density of the liquid is 900 kg / m3.

What is the depth of the object below the surface of the liquid?

A 0.5 cm B 2.0 cm C 50 cm D 200 cm

14 A gas is heated in a sealed container.

The volume of the container does not change.

What happens to the molecules of the gas?

A The average distance between molecules increases.

B The average kinetic energy of the molecules increases.
C The mass of each molecule increases.
D The volume of each molecule increases.

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15 Water in a beaker evaporates when left on a bench for a period of time.

Which three factors all affect the rate of evaporation of the water?

A wind speed, surface area, temperature

B wind speed, temperature, volume
C wind speed, surface area, volume
D surface area, temperature, volume

16 A solid is heated causing it to expand.

What effect does this have on its mass and on its density?

mass density

A decreases decreases
B decreases stays constant
C stays constant decreases
D stays constant stays constant

17 The diagrams show four blocks of steel. The blocks are all drawn to the same scale.

The same quantity of thermal energy is given to each block.

Which block shows the greatest rise in temperature?

A B C D

18 Why are metals better thermal conductors than other solids?

A Metals contain free electrons which help transfer the energy.

B Molecules in metals are in fixed positions.
C Molecules in metals can move freely.
D Molecules in metals vibrate faster than those in other solids.

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19 Two freezers X and Y are identical except that one has a door opening at the front and the other
has a door opening at the top.

door

freezer

freezer
door

X Y

Both doors are the same size and are opened for the same amount of time.

Which freezer gains the least amount of thermal energy in this time and why?

freezer gaining the

reason
least thermal energy

A X cold air falls

B X warm air falls
C Y cold air falls
D Y warm air falls

20 A wave of frequency 6600 Hz travels 1320 m in 4.0 s.

What is the wavelength?

A 0.050 m B 0.80 m C 1.3 m D 20 m

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21 The diagram shows a wave.

8 cm

3 cm

6 cm

4 cm

What are the amplitude and the wavelength of this wave?

amplitude / cm wavelength / cm

A 3 4
B 3 8
C 6 4
D 6 8

22 Which statement is correct?

A The speed of light in glass is equal to the speed of light in a vacuum multiplied by the
refractive index of glass.
B The incident angle of a light ray at an air-glass surface is the angle between the ray and the
glass surface.

C The sine of the critical angle at an air-glass surface is equal to 1 .

refractive index of glass
D The angle of refraction for light passing through an air-glass surface is proportional to the
angle of incidence at that surface.

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23 A narrow beam of white light passes through a prism and is dispersed into a spectrum.

1
white 2
light 3

Which row is correct?

colour 1 colour 2 colour 3

A blue yellow red

B red blue yellow
C red yellow blue
D yellow blue red

24 An intruder alarm sensor detects that a person is warmer than his surroundings.

Which type of electromagnetic wave does the sensor detect?

A infrared
B radio
C ultraviolet
D visible light

25 Sound travels through air as a series of compressions and rarefactions.

Which statement correctly compares a compression with a rarefaction?

A In a compression the wavelength is longer than in a rarefaction.

B In a compression the wavelength is shorter than in a rarefaction.
C In a compression the density of the air is greater than in a rarefaction.
D In a compression the density of the air is lower than in a rarefaction.

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26 Four nails A, B, C and D are tested to find which makes the strongest permanent magnet.

One of the nails is placed against a bar magnet and the number of paper clips which the nail can
support is recorded.

nail
N S
bar magnet

paper clips

The bar magnet is then removed and the number of paper clips remaining attached to the nail is
recorded. Each nail is tested individually.

Which nail becomes the strongest permanent magnet?

number of paper clips attached to the nail

bar magnet present bar magnet removed

A 2 0
B 2 1
C 4 3
D 5 2

27 The circuit shows one method of magnetising a steel bar.

+ –

steel bar

How can the circuit be altered so that it can be used to demagnetise the magnetised steel bar?

A remove the steel bar from the coil whilst the current is switched on
B replace the d.c. supply with an a.c. supply and gradually reduce the supply voltage to zero
C reverse the polarity of the d.c. supply
D reverse the polarity of the d.c. supply and gradually reduce the supply voltage to zero

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28 A student uses the circuit shown to determine the resistance of two identical resistors.

The voltmeter reading is 2.2 V and the ammeter reading is 0.25 A.

What is the resistance of each resistor?

A 0.275 Ω B 0.55 Ω C 4.4 Ω D 8.8 Ω

29 An electric fire is connected to a 240 V supply and transfers energy at a rate of 1.0 kW.

How much charge passes through the fire in 1.0 h?

A 42 C B 250 C C 1.5 × 104 C D 2.4 × 105 C

30 The diagram shows an incomplete circuit. The temperature and light levels around the circuit
remain unchanged.

P Q
A

Four electrical components are connected in turn across PQ. The cell is reversed and the four
electrical components are connected again in turn across PQ.

For which component is there a significant change in the magnitude of the current?

A diode
B light-dependent resistor
C resistor
D thermistor

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31 In the circuit shown, A1 and A2 are ammeters.

A1 A2
S

Switch S is closed.

Which row is correct?

the resistance of
reading of A1 reading of A2
the whole circuit

A decreases stays the same increases

B decreases increases increases
C increases stays the same stays the same
D increases decreases decreases

32 Which symbol represents an OR gate?

A B C D

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33 A digital circuit consists of two logic gates.

When the input to the circuit is 1 and 1, the output is 0.

1
digital
input 0 output
circuit
1

Which combination of logic gates gives this result?

A B

C D

34 The diagram shows a wire between the poles of a magnet.

The wire is perpendicular to the page.

N
wire
LEFT RIGHT

The wire is moved and a current is induced upwards, out of the paper.

In which direction is the wire moved?

A left to right
B right to left
C up the page
D down the page

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35 A 100% efficient transformer converts a 240 V input voltage to a 12 V output voltage. The output
power of the transformer can be a maximum of 20 W.

The output is connected to two 0.30 A bulbs in parallel. One of the bulbs fails.

How does the current in the primary coil change?

A It decreases by 0.30 A.
B It decreases by 0.015 A.
C It increases by 0.15 A.
D It remains unchanged.

36 Cables transmit electrical power from the output of the transformer at a power station to the input
of the transformer at a substation.

cables

output input

transformer at transformer at
power station substation

The power at the output of the transformer at the power station is 400 MW.

Which situation delivers the most power to the input of the transformer at the substation?

potential difference at
power station transformer diameter of cables
output / kV

A 200 large
B 200 small
C 400 large
D 400 small

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37 Uranium-235 is a radioactive isotope. It undergoes a chain of decays and eventually forms the
stable isotope lead-207. These two isotopes are represented as shown.

235 207
92U 82 Pb

During this chain of decay, how many protons and how many neutrons are lost from a single
nucleus of uranium-235 to form a single nucleus of lead-207?

protons neutrons

A 10 18
B 10 28
C 18 10
D 28 10

38 A radioactive material has a half-life of 20 days.

A sample of the material contains 8.0 × 1010 atoms.

How many atomic nuclei have decayed after 60 days?

A 1.0 × 1010 B 4.0 × 1010 C 6.0 × 1010 D 7.0 × 1010

39 A thin sheet of paper is placed between a radioactive source and a radiation detector. The count
rate falls to a very low reading.

paper

detector

counter
source

From this result, which type of radiation is the source emitting?

A α-particles

B β-particles

C γ-rays
D X-rays

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40 α-particles, β-particles and γ-rays are emitted by radioactive nuclei when they decay.

Which emissions can be deflected by an electric field?

A α-particles and β-particles only

B β-particles and γ-rays only

C γ-rays and α-particles only

D α-particles, β-particles and γ-rays

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Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of
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© UCLES 2020 0972/21/M/J/20