Physics 9702/12 October/November 2020: question paper and mark scheme
Cambridge AS & A Level Physics (9702), Paper 1 Multiple Choice, October/November 2020. Read both free below, or download them. Done the paper? Get it marked by AI against this mark scheme.
A student uses the volume of a metal coin in order to determine the density of the metal.
What is not needed in order to determine an estimate of the volume of the coin?
A estimate of the diameter
B estimate of the mass
C estimate of the thickness
D use of the formula for the volume of a cylinder
The speed v of waves on a stretched wire is given by the equation
v = T pμq
where T is the tension in the wire and μ is the mass per unit length of the wire.
What are the values of p and q?
p q
A −1 −1
2 2
B −1 1
2 2
1 −1
C
2 2
1 1
D
2 2
The diagram shows a force F. P is the horizontal component of F, at an angle θ to F.
F
θ
P
Which graph best shows the variation with θ of the magnitude of P ?
A B
P P
0 0
0 90 0 90 θ /° θ /°
C D
P P
0 0
0 90 0 90 θ /° θ /°
A student wishes to measure a distance of about 10 cm to a precision of 0.01 cm.
Which measuring instrument should be used?
A metre rule
B micrometer
C tape measure
D vernier calipers
A steel ball is dropped and falls through a vertical height h. The time t taken to fall is measured using light gates.
The results are given in the table.
h (4.05 ± 0.01) m t (0.91 ± 0.02) s
The acceleration of free fall g is calculated using the equation shown.
h = 21 gt 2
What is the percentage uncertainty in the value of g?
A 2.4% B 4.6% C 5.1% D 9.3%
A stone is thrown vertically upwards from a point X at time t ꞊ 0.
The variation with time t of the velocity v of the stone is shown.
20 v / m s–1
10
0
0 1.0 2.0 3.0 t/s
–10
What is the displacement of the stone from point X at time t ꞊ 3.0 s?
A 15 m above X
B 15 m below X
C 25 m above X
D 25 m below X
A mass of 5.0 kg is released from rest on a frictionless surface inclined at 30° to the horizontal. Air resistance is negligible.
mass 5.0 kg
frictionless surface
30° horizontal
How far does the mass travel in a time of 0.80 s?
A 1.6 m B 2.0 m C 2.7 m D 3.1 m
What is not a statement of one of Newton’s laws of motion?
A If body X exerts a force on body Y, body Y exerts an equal and opposite force on body X.
B If no resultant force acts on a body it has constant velocity.
C The rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional to the resultant force acting on it and takes place in the direction of the force.
D The total momentum of a system of interacting bodies is constant if there is no external force.
An object falls from a tall building.
The graph shows how the velocity of the object changes with time t.
velocity
0
0 Y Z t
The acceleration of free fall is g.
What describes the acceleration of the object at times t = Y and t = Z?
acceleration acceleration at t = Y at t = Z
A decreasing g
B decreasing 0
C constant g
D constant 0
Two balls, one of mass 2m and one of mass m, collide.
The diagrams show the initial and final velocities of the balls.
Which collision is not elastic?
before collision after collision
2m m 2m m
A 4.0 m s–1 1.0 m s–1 2.0 m s–1 5.0 m s–1
2m m 2m m
B 6.0 m s–1 3.0 m s–1 4.0 m s–1 7.0 m s–1
2m m 2m m
C 8.0 m s–1 2.0 m s–1 5.0 m s–1 8.0 m s–1
2m m 2m m
D 10.0 m s–1 4.0 m s–1 6.0 m s–1 12.0 m s–1
The diagram shows a ‘ballistic pendulum’.
block pellet
M m
A pellet of mass m travelling at a speed u hits a stationary block of mass M. The pellet becomes embedded in the block and causes the block to move at a speed v immediately after the impact.
When a pellet of mass 2m, travelling at a speed 2u, hits a block of mass 2M, what is the speed of the block immediately after the impact? (Neglect the small increase in the mass of the block as the pellet’s mass is added during the collision.)
A v B v 2 C 2v D 4v
A rigid circular disc of radius r has its centre at X. A number of forces of equal magnitude F act at the edge of the disc. All the forces are in the plane of the disc.
Which arrangement of forces provides a total moment of magnitude 2Fr about X?
A B
F
X X
F
F
C D
F
X X
F F
F F
The diagram shows a uniform beam PQ. The length of the beam is 3.0 m and its weight is 50 N.
The beam is supported on a pivot 1.0 m from end P. A load of weight W is hung from end P. The beam is in equilibrium.
3.0 m
1.0 m
P Q
W pivot
What is the value of W ?
A 25 N B 50 N C 75 N D 100 N
In a high-wire circus act, a man of mass 85 kg is standing at rest at the midpoint of the wire.
20° 20°
T T
The wire on either side of the man is at an angle of 20° to the horizontal.
What is the tension T in the wire?
A 0.44 kN B 0.89 kN C 1.2 kN D 2.4 kN
A cylindrical block of ice of cross-sectional area 12 m2 is floating, partially submerged, in the sea.
The density of the sea water is 1020 kg m–3. A polar bear of mass 400 kg steps onto the block of ice.
bear, mass 400 kg
cross-sectional area 12 m2
sea water, density 1020 kg m–3
The block of ice sinks a vertical distance d.
What is the value of d ?
A 3.3 mm B 3.3 cm C 0.32 m D 3.1 m
A ball is thrown vertically upwards. Air resistance is negligible.
Which statement is correct?
A By the principle of conservation of energy, the total energy of the ball is constant throughout its motion.
B By the principle of conservation of momentum, the momentum of the ball is constant throughout its motion.
C The kinetic energy of the ball is greatest at the greatest height attained.
D The potential energy of the ball increases at a constant rate during its ascent.
A hammer with 10 J of kinetic energy hits a nail and pushes it 5.0 mm into a plank.
Both the hammer and nail come to rest after the collision.
What is the approximate average force that acts on the nail while it moves through 5.0 mm?
A 0.050 N B 2.0 N C 50 N D 2000 N
The change in gravitational potential energy ∆E of an object of mass m when moving through height ∆h near the surface of the Earth is given by the equation shown.
∆E = mg∆h
Which equation is needed as part of the derivation of this expression?
A kinetic energy = 21 × mass × (speed)2
B moment = force × distance
C weight = mass × acceleration of free fall
D work done = power × time
A racing car has an output power of 300 kW when travelling at a constant speed of 60 m s–1.
What is the total resistive force acting on the car?
A 5 kN B 10 kN C 50 kN D 100 kN
A mass of 60.0 g is suspended from a spring and the distance from the bottom of the spring to the floor is measured to be 16.4 cm.
The mass is replaced with a 100.0 g mass and the distance from the bottom of the spring to the floor is now measured to be 12.6 cm. The spring obeys Hooke’s law.
What is the spring constant of the spring?
A 1.05 N m–1 B 1.35 N m–1 C 10.3 N m–1 D 103 N m–1
The graph shows the force–extension graph for a wire.
100 force / N
80
60
40
20
0
0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 extension / 10–3 m
The wire is already extended by a force of 60 N.
How much work is done to increase the extension of the wire by 2.0 mm?
A 0.040 J B 0.090 J C 0.16 J D 0.25 J
The speed v of waves in deep water is given by the equation
gλ v2 =
2π
where λ is the wavelength of the waves and g is the acceleration of free fall.
A student measures the wavelength λ and the frequency f of a number of these waves.
Which graph should he plot to give a straight line through the origin?
A f 2 against λ
B f against λ2
C f against 1
λ
D f 2 against 1
λ
When sound travels through air, the air particles vibrate. A graph of displacement against time for a single air particle is shown.
displacement
0 time
0 T 2T
Which graph shows how the kinetic energy of the air particle varies with time?
A B kinetic kinetic energy energy
0 time 0 time
0 T 2T 0 T 2T
C D kinetic kinetic energy energy
0 time 0 time
0 T 2T 0 T 2T
A vibrating tuning fork is held above a glass cylinder filled to the top with water. The water level is steadily lowered. A loud sound is first heard when the water level is 83.5 cm above the bench.
The next loud sound is heard when the water level is 17.1 cm above the bench.
tuning fork
NOT TO cylinder SCALE
water
83.5 cm
water bench
17.1 cm
The speed of sound in air is 340 m s–1.
What is the frequency of the tuning fork?
A 128 Hz B 256 Hz C 384 Hz D 512 Hz
An emergency vehicle sounds its siren as it accelerates along a straight road between two points
X and Y, as shown in the diagram.
direction of travel
X Y
emergency road vehicle
The frequency of the sound emitted by the siren is 750 Hz.
A person stands at X and another person stands at Y.
What describes the sounds heard by the people at X and at Y as the vehicle accelerates?
sound heard by person at X sound heard by person at Y
A higher than 750 Hz, lower than 750 Hz, increasing in frequency decreasing in frequency
B higher than 750 Hz, lower than 750 Hz, decreasing in frequency increasing in frequency
C lower than 750 Hz, higher than 750 Hz, decreasing in frequency increasing in frequency
D lower than 750 Hz, higher than 750 Hz, increasing in frequency decreasing in frequency
Part of the electromagnetic spectrum is shown.
increasing frequency
visible light
What is the name of the shaded region and what is the order of magnitude of a wavelength of a wave from this region?
wavelength name
/m
A infrared 10–5
B infrared 10–8
C ultraviolet 10–5
D ultraviolet 10–8
The three waves shown in each diagram have the same amplitude and frequency but different phase.
They are added together to give a resultant wave.
In which case is the resultant wave zero at this instant?
A B
C D
A transmitting mast sends out microwaves of wavelength 1.5 cm and radio waves of wavelength
1.5 km.
mountain
transmitting receiving mast aerial
NOT TO SCALE
A receiving aerial behind a mountain can detect the radio waves but not the microwaves.
What is the reason for this?
A The radio waves are coherent but the microwaves are not.
B The radio waves are diffracted around the mountain but the microwaves are not.
C The radio waves are reflected by the mountain but the microwaves are not.
D The radio waves travel at the speed of light but the microwaves do not.
An experiment is carried out to demonstrate double-slit interference using light of wavelength
500 nm. The distance between bright fringes in the interference pattern is 5 mm.
What are possible values for the distance between the slits and the screen, and the slit separation?
slit–screen slit separation distance
A 50 cm 0.5 mm
B 50 cm 5 mm
C 5m 0.5 mm
D 5m 5 mm
Light of a single frequency is incident on a diffraction grating. Seven bright spots are observed on a screen.
Which change will result in an increase in the number of bright spots observed?
A Increase the distance between the grating and the screen.
B Increase the frequency of the incident light.
C Increase the intensity of the incident light.
D Increase the number of lines per metre in the grating.
A molecule behaves as an electric ‘dipole’ consisting of two equal point charges of opposite sign, separated by a fixed distance. The molecule moves with constant horizontal velocity as it enters a vertical uniform electric field, as shown.
–
+ molecule
electric field
The positive and negative charges of the molecule enter the field at the same time.
What describes the effect of the electric field on the velocity of the molecule?
horizontal component vertical component of velocity of velocity
A constant increases
B constant zero
C increases increases
D increases zero
Two parallel metal plates are connected to a battery of negligible internal resistance.
metal plates
One of the plates is slowly moved towards the other.
Which row is correct?
electric field strength potential difference between the plates between the plates
A decreases constant
B increases constant
C decreases increases
D increases increases
Four point charges, each of charge Q, are placed on the edge of an insulating disc of radius r.
The disc rotates at a rate of n revolutions per unit time.
Q
r
Q Q
Q
What is the equivalent electric current at the edge of the disc?
A 4Qn B 4Q C 8πrQn D 2Qn n πr
In the circuit shown, a fixed resistor X is connected in series with a battery and a variable resistor.
X
The power dissipated in resistor X is 7.2 W when a current of 3.0 A passes through it.
The variable resistor is adjusted so that the power dissipated in X increases by 50%.
What is the new current in the circuit?
A 2.4 A B 3.7 A C 4.5 A D 14 A
A resistor and a filament lamp are connected in series with a power supply. The I–V characteristics of the resistor and of the lamp are shown below.
resistor filament lamp
0.4 0.4
I/A I/A
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 0.1
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
V/V V/V
The potential difference (p.d.) across the resistor is 3.3 V.
What is the resistance of the lamp?
A 0.071 Ω B 4.2 Ω C 11 Ω D 14 Ω
A car battery has an electromotive force (e.m.f.) of 12 V and an internal resistance of 0.05 Ω. The battery is connected to the starter motor of a car. The current in the motor is 160 A.
12 V
0.05 Ω
160 A
M
What is the terminal p.d. across the battery?
A 0V B 4V C 8V D 12 V
A cell of negligible internal resistance is connected to a network of resistors and a voltmeter, as shown.
R
3.00 Ω
14.4 Ω
V
2.00 Ω 4.80 Ω
The reading on the voltmeter is zero.
What is the resistance of resistor R?
A 1.20 Ω B 1.80 Ω C 7.20 Ω D 14.4 Ω
A voltmeter is connected into a circuit with the polarity shown in the diagram.
Q
+ –
3V V
3V
P
The sliding contact is moved to end P of the potentiometer and then to end Q.
What are the two readings of the voltmeter?
sliding contact sliding contact at end P at end Q
A 0V 3V
B 0V 6V
C 3V 3V
D 3V 6V
What is a conclusion from the alpha-particle scattering experiment?
A Protons and electrons have equal but opposite charges.
B Protons have a much larger mass than electrons.
C The nucleus contains most of the mass of the atom.
D The nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons.
It's multiple choice: one mark for each correct answer, and nothing taken off for a wrong one. The mark scheme is the answer key.
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Where can I find the 9702/12 October/November 2020 mark scheme?+
On this page, free: the mark scheme for AS & A Level Physics 9702/12, October/November 2020 (9702_w20_ms_12), and the question paper (9702_w20_qp_12), to read or download, with each question's marking points written out underneath.
How many marks is 9702/12 out of?+
Physics 9702/12 for October/November 2020 is out of 40 marks, with 1 hour 15 minutes to answer it.
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Yes. Upload your answers to 9702/12/O/N/20 as a PDF or photos, and CIE Buddy marks every question against this paper's official mark scheme, using Cambridge's marking rules. You get your score, each lost mark explained on your own script, and the topics to revise. It's a guide, not an official Cambridge grade.