THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
RUVUMA REGION
PRE- MOCK EXAMINATION

131/1 PHYSICS 1

TIME: 3 Hours Monday, 14th August 2023 a.m.

Instructions

1. This paper consists of sections A and B with a total of 10 questions.

2. Answer all questions in section A and choose any two (2) questions from section B.
3. Mathematical tables and non programmable calculators may be used.
4. Cellular phones and any unauthorized materials are not allowed in the examination room.
5. Write your examination number on every page of your answer booklet.
6. The following constants may be useful
i) Acceleration due to gravity, g =9.8 m/s2
ii) The ratio of specific heat capacity, ɣ =1.67
iii) 1g of water = 1cm3
iv) Pie = 3.14
v) Universal molar gas constant, R = 8.314 J/mol K
vi) Boltzmann constant k = 1.38 x 10-23 JK-1
vii) Mass of the earth = 6.0 x 1024 kg
viii) Electronic charge , e = 1.6 x 10-19 C

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 SECTION A (70 Marks)

Answer all questions in this section

1.(a) i) Can dimensional analysis tell you that the physical relation is completely right?. Justify
your answer. (02 marks)

ii) The De- Broglie wavelength associated with a moving electron depends on its momentum and
ℎ
the value of Planck’s constant. Prove the equation λ= 𝑝 is dimensionally correct. (03 marks)

b) i) Should an equation describe a physical situation (02marks)

ii) The pressure P is related to distance x, Boltzmann constant K and temperature θ as:
−𝑎𝑥
𝑎
P= 𝑏 𝑒 𝑘𝜃 . Find the dimensional formula of b. (03marks)

2. a) A player kicks a ball at an angle 37⁰ to the horizontal and with an initial velocity of 48m/s,
a second player standing at a distance of 600m from the first in the direction of the kicks starts
running to meet the ball at the instant it is kicked. How fast must he run in order to catch the ball
before it hits the ground? (04marks)

b (i) What is the nature of projectile motion? (01mark)

ii) Write down the expression of KE of projectile at the maximum height. Is it maximum or
minimum compared to other points in the trajectory? (02marks)

c) A body is projected with velocity UO, If H is the maximum height and R is the range, show
that:

𝑅 2 ½
Uo = [ 2𝑔(𝐻 + )]
16𝐻
(03Marks)

3. (a) i) Newton’s first law of motion is called law of inertia. Give justification (02marks)

ii) Explain briefly, three situations in which a body can experience weightless when standing on
a spring balance. (03marks)

b) A 30kg shell is flying at 48m/s. When explodes its one part of 18kg stops while the remaining
part flies on

i) Does linear momentum and kinetic energy both conserved? Justify your answer. (03marks)

ii) What is the velocity of the later (02 marks)

4. (a) i) No fuel is required by a satellite to circle around the earth. Why? (01mark)

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ii) Under what conditions the weight of a person can become zero? Outline four points
(02marks)

b) i) An aircraft takes a turn along a circular path of radius 1500m. If the linear speed of the
1
aircraft is 300m/s, find time taken by it to complete (5)𝑡ℎ of the circular path. (03marks)

ii) A particle P is moving inside a smooth hollow cone, which has its vertex downwards, and its
vertical and whose semi-circle angle 45⁰. A light inextensible string parallel to the surface of the
cone connects P to the vertex. P moves with constant angular speed in a horizontal circle of
radius 0.67 m.

The tension in the string is equal to the weight of P. Calculate the angular speed of P. (04marks)

5 (a)i. Why is it preferred to have small heat capacity of a thermometer bulb? (02marks)

ii) In an industrial refrigerator, ammonia is vaporized in the cooling unit to produce a low
temperature. Why would the evaporation of ammonia reduce the temperature in the refrigerator?
(02marks)

(b) i) Due to change in main voltage the temperature of an electric bulb rises from 3000K to
4000K. What is the percentage change in electric power consumed? (03marks)

ii) A vessel contains 2.5 x 10-3 m3 of an ideal gas at a pressure of 8.5 x 104N/m2 and a
temperature of 35⁰C. The gas is compressed isothermally to a volume of 1x 10-3 m3, it is then
allowed to expand adiabatically to the original volume. Calculate the final temperature of the gas
and hence draw the graph of the process. (03marks)

6. (a) i) Distinguish between isothermal and adiabatic process. Give two points (02marks)

ii) Using first law of thermodynamic, deduce the relation between molar heat capacity at
constant pressure Cp and molar heat capacity at constant volume Cv (03marks)

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b) Two moles of an ideal gas are compressed in a cylinder at constant temperature of 65⁰C until
its pressure is tripled.

i) Sketch a P-V diagram for this process (02marks)

ii) Calculate the amount of heat given out (03marks)

7(a) i) Write the expressions of speeds in a medium for P and S waves. Define all symbols.
(02marks)

ii) Briefly discuss the origin and composition of the ionosphere. (03marks)

(b) i) How does the position of moon and its movement affects tides on the earth? (02marks)

ii) With three main reasons comment the statement that excessive wind threats to plant growth.
(03 marks)

SECTION B (30 MARKS)

Answer any two (02) questions

8(a) i) Drift velocity of electrons is very small but the lamp lights up as soon as a switch is
closed. Explain this observation (03marks)

ii) A resistor R can be varied in the electric circuit shown below (figure 2). What is the value of
resistor R should be in order for the current through the galvanometer G to be zero? (04marks)

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b) A coil has the resistance of 20Ω and reactance of 210 Ω.

i) What is the difference between reactance and resistance? (02marks)

ii) Show how resistance and reactance are related. (02marks)

c) The current flowing through a 0.6 H inductor changes sinusoidal with amplitude of 2.0A and a
frequency of 50Hz. Determine the root mean square potential difference across the terminal of
the inductor. (04 marks)

9. (a)i) Can we measure the potential barrier of P-N junction by putting a sensitive voltmeter
across its terminals? (02marks)
ii) A close examination of current-voltage characteristics of a diode shows that the current varies
exponentially with the applied voltage VD according to the equation
𝑒𝑉𝐷
ID = Is exp (Where IS is the saturation current, e is the charge on an electron, ID is the diode
𝑘𝑇
current and k is the Boltzmann constant. Calculate the resistance of the diode at the temperature
T = 298 K, if the ammeter reading is 10-5 A. (04marks)
(b) i) Explain why is the conductivity of an intrinsic semi-conductor very low? (02marks)
ii) Calculate the majority and minority carrier concentration in silicon at 300 K if na = 1017 cm-3
and ni = 1.5 x 1010cm-3. (02marks)
c) i) Find the value β if α= 0.99. (01mark)
ii) Calculate the value of three currents in the circuit (figure 3) below. (04marks)

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10(a) The figure 4 below is of an ideal operational amplifier.

𝑑𝑉𝑖𝑛
i) Show that V0 = -RC (03marks)
𝑑𝑡
ii) Propose where such amplifier can be employed. (01mark)

b) An alarm system is controlled by three censors A, B and C. The system sounds its alarm
when sensors A and B are ON or when sensors B and C are ON. Draw the truth table for the
system and hence its logic circuit (04marks)

c) State what bandwidth is required for a radio wave of frequency 500KHz. When amplitude
modulated by audio frequency of up to 15KHz. Justify your answer. (02marks)

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