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Cambridge International Examinations

Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education
* 4 0 0 0 0 5 1 7 1 8 *

PHYSICS 0625/61
Paper 6 Alternative to Practical May/June 2017
1 hour
Candidates answer on the Question Paper.
No Additional Materials are required.

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Write your Centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in.
Write in dark blue or black pen.
You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams or graphs.
Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid.
DO NOT WRITE IN ANY BARCODES.

Answer all questions.

Electronic calculators may be used.
You may lose marks if you do not show your working or if you do not use appropriate units.

At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

The syllabus is approved for use in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a Cambridge International Level 1/Level 2 Certificate.

This document consists of 12 printed pages.

DC (ST/FC) 126914/7
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1 The class is investigating the stretching of a spring.

Fig. 1.1 shows the apparatus.

metre rule
clamp
boss

spring l0

stand
X

bench

Fig. 1.1

(a) (i) On Fig. 1.1, measure the length l0.

Record l0 in Table 1.1 at load L = 0.0 N. [1]

(ii) Explain why l0 is not measured to point X on the spring.

...........................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................[1]

(b) A student hangs a 1.0 N load on the spring. He records the new length l of the spring.

He repeats the procedure using loads of 2.0 N, 3.0 N, 4.0 N and 5.0 N. The readings are shown
in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1

L/ N 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

l / mm 17 20 21 23 25

Describe one precaution that you would take in order to obtain reliable readings.

...................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................[1]
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(c) Plot a graph of l / mm (y-axis) against L / N (x-axis).

[4]

(d) A student suggests that the length l of the spring is directly proportional to the load L.

State whether your readings support this suggestion. Justify your answer by reference to the
graph line.

...................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................[1]

(e) Use the results to predict the load L that would give a length l twice the value of l0.
Show clearly how you obtained your answer.

load L = ...........................................................[2]

[Total: 10]
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2 The class is investigating the refraction of light passing through a transparent block. A student is
using optics pins to trace the paths of rays of light.

Fig. 2.1 shows the student’s ray-trace sheet.

A B

D C
P3

P4

ray-trace
sheet eye

Fig. 2.1

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(a) • On Fig. 2.1, draw a normal at the centre of side AB. Label this line NL. Label the point E
where the normal crosses AB. Label the point M where the normal crosses CD.

• Draw a line above AB to the left of the normal and at an angle of incidence i = 30° to the
normal. Label this line FE.

• Label the positions of two pins P1 and P2 placed a suitable distance apart on FE for
accurate ray tracing. [2]

(b) The student observes the images of P1 and P2 through side CD of the block so that the
images of P1 and P2 appear one behind the other. He places two pins P3 and P4 between his
eye and the block so that P3 and P4, and the images of P1 and P2 seen through the block,
appear one behind the other. The positions of P3 and P4 are marked on Fig. 2.1.

Draw a line joining the positions of P3 and P4. Continue the line until it meets the normal.
Label this point K. [1]

(c) • Measure and record the angle α between the line joining the positions of P3 and P4 and
the line KM.

α = ...............................................................

• Measure and record the length x between points M and K.

x = ...............................................................
[2]

(d) The student repeats the procedure with the angle of incidence i = 50°.
His readings for α and x are shown.
52°
α = ...............................................................

19 mm
x = ...............................................................

A student suggests that the angle α should always be equal to the angle of incidence i.

State whether the results support this suggestion. Justify your answer by reference to the
values of α for i = 30° and i = 50°.

statement ..................................................................................................................................

justification ................................................................................................................................
[2]

(e) Suggest one precaution that you would take with this experiment to obtain reliable results.

...................................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................[1]

[Total: 8]

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3 The class is investigating the cooling of water.

Fig. 3.1 shows the apparatus.

thermometer

water

beaker

Fig. 3.1

(a) The thermometer in Fig. 3.2 shows the room temperature θR at the beginning of the
experiment.

Record θR.

–10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110

°C

Fig. 3.2

θR = ...........................................................[1]

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(b) • A student pours 200 cm3 of hot water into the beaker.

• She measures the temperature θ of the hot water in the beaker.

• She immediately starts a stopclock.

• After 180 s, she measures the temperature θ of the hot water.

• After 360 s, she measures the temperature θ of the hot water again.

The readings are shown in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1

t/s θ / °C
0 85

180 74

360 66

(i) • Calculate the temperature fall Δθ1 during the first 180 s.

Δθ1 = ...............................................................

• Calculate the temperature fall Δθ2 during the next 180 s.

Δθ2 = ...........................................................[1]

(ii) Suggest why Δθ1 is different from Δθ2 .

...........................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................[1]

(c) Another student plans to investigate the factors affecting the difference between the values of
Δθ1 and Δθ2 .

Suggest two changes that he could make to the procedure to obtain a larger value of this
difference.

1. ............................................................................................................................................

2. ............................................................................................................................................
[2]

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(d) The volume of water used in this experiment is measured using a measuring cylinder.
Fig. 3.3 shows a measuring cylinder.

A, B, C and D are four possible lines of sight that could be used to read the volume of the
water.

cm3
100

90

80

70
D
60
A
B
C 50

40

30
water
20

10

Fig. 3.3

Give two reasons why B should be used to obtain the most accurate reading.

1. ............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

2. ............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................
[2]

[Total: 7]

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4 The class is investigating the motion of a pendulum.

Fig. 4.1 shows the apparatus.

clamp

metre rule

bob
set square

Fig. 4.1

(a) (i) On Fig. 4.1, show clearly the length l of the pendulum. [1]

(ii) Use Fig. 4.2 to explain how you would measure the length l accurately. You may draw on
the diagram.

clamp

bob

Fig. 4.2

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................[2]

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(b) A student determines the period T of the pendulum. The period is the time taken for one
complete oscillation. The student measures the time t for 20 oscillations.

Fig. 4.3 shows the time t.

Fig. 4.3

(i) Calculate the period T of the pendulum.

T = ...........................................................[1]

(ii) Explain how measuring the time for 20 oscillations rather than one oscillation helps the
student to obtain a more reliable value for the period.

...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................[2]

(c) The student wants to determine a value for the acceleration of free fall from his results.
He needs the value of T 2 to do this.

Calculate T 2.

Give your answer to a suitable number of significant figures and include the unit.

T 2 = .......................................................... [2]

[Total: 8]

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5 A student is investigating whether the resistance of a wire depends on the material from which the
wire is made.

V
Resistance R is given by the equation R =
I.

The following apparatus is available to the student:

ammeter
voltmeter
micrometer screw gauge
power supply (0–3 V)
variable resistor
switch
connecting leads
wires of different materials.

Plan an experiment to investigate whether the resistance of a wire depends on the material from
which it is made.

You should:

• draw a diagram of the circuit you would use to determine the resistance of each wire

• explain briefly how you would carry out the investigation, including the measurements you
would take

• state the key variables that you would control

• draw a suitable table, with column headings, to show how you would display your readings
(you are not required to enter any readings in the table).

..........................................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................................

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......................................................................................................................................................[7]

[Total: 7]

Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.

To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced online in the Cambridge International
Examinations Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced for each series of examinations and is freely available to download at www.cie.org.uk after
the live examination series.

Cambridge International Examinations is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of Cambridge Local
Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.

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