General Physics
General Physics
General Physics
3
The mass of the sign is 3.4 × 10 kg.
W = .............................................. [2]
(b) The weight of the sign acts at a horizontal distance of 1.8 m from the centre of the support post and
it produces a turning effect about point P.
Point P is a horizontal distance of 1.3 m from the centre of the support post.
(i) Calculate the moment about P due to the weight of the sign.
(ii) A concrete block is positioned on the other side of the support post with its centre of
mass a horizontal distance of 70 cm from the centre of the support post.
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(iii) The weight of the concrete block produces a moment about point P that exactly cancels
the moment caused by the weight W.
(c) The concrete block is removed. The sign and support post rotate about point P in a clockwise
direction.
State and explain what happens to the moment about point P due to the weight of the sign as
it rotates.
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[Total: 10]
5
2 A train of mass 5.6 × 10 kg is at rest in a station.
At time t = 0 s, a resultant force acts on the train and it starts to accelerate forwards.
The graph is the distance-time graph for the train for the first 120 s.
3
(a) (i) Use the distance-time graph to determine the average speed of the train during the
120 s.
(ii) Use the distance-time graph to determine the speed of the train at time t = 100 s.
(iii) Describe how the acceleration of the train at time t = 100 s differs from the acceleration
at time t = 20 s.
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2
(b) (i) The initial acceleration of the train is 0.75 m / s .
Calculate the resultant force that acts on the train at this time.
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[Total: 8]
3 The diagram shows the forces acting on a uniform balanced beam. The beam is pivoted at its
centre.
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(a) Calculate the moment of the 5.2 N force about the pivot and show that its value is close to
30 Ncm.
[3]
[Total: 7]
Describe two ways that the student can improve the accuracy of his measurement.
1. .......................................................................................................................................
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2. .......................................................................................................................................
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Describe how he can determine such a small distance using only a ruler.
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7
[Total: 9]
5 A metal block A, travelling in a straight line at 4.0 m / s on a smooth surface, collides with a second
metal block B which is at rest. The diagram shows the two metal blocks A and B before and after
the collision.
Calculate
v = ......................................... [3]
(b) In the collision that occurred in (a), block A and block B are in contact for 0.050 s.
(c) After the collision in (a), the total kinetic energy of the two blocks is less than the kinetic energy
of block A before the collision.
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[Total: 8]
(a) His boot is in contact with the ball for 0.050 s. The average resultant force on the ball during this
time is 180 N. The ball leaves his foot at 20 m / s.
Calculate:
(iii) the height to which the ball rises. Ignore air resistance.
(b) While the boot is in contact with the ball, the ball is no longer spherical.
State the word used to describe the energy stored in the ball.
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[Total: 8]
7 A rifle fires a bullet of mass 0.020 kg vertically upwards through the air. As it leaves the rifle, the
speed of the bullet is 350 m / s.
(a) Calculate
(ii) the maximum possible height that the bullet can reach.
(b) The actual height reached by the bullet is less than the value calculated in (a)(ii).
(i) Explain, in terms of the forces acting on the bullet, why this is so.
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(ii) As the bullet rises through the air, its kinetic energy decreases.
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[Total: 9]
8 A cube of side 0.040 m is floating in a container of liquid. The diagram shows that the surface of
the liquid is 0.028 m above the level of the bottom face of the cube.
The pressure of the air above the cube exerts a force on the top face of the cube. The valve is
closed.
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3
(a) The density of the liquid in the container is 1500 kg / m .
Calculate:
(ii) the force on the bottom face of the cube caused by the pressure due to the liquid.
(b) The valve is opened and liquid is pumped into the container. The surface of the liquid rises a
distance of 0.034 m.
The cube remains floating in the liquid with its bottom face 0.028 m below the surface of the liquid.
(i) Calculate the work done on the cube by the force in (a)(ii).
(ii) Suggest one reason why this is not an efficient method of lifting up the cube.
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[Total: 7]
9 The diagram shows a collision between two blocks A and B on a smooth, horizontal surface.
12
Before the collision, block A, of mass 2.4 kg, is moving at 3.0 m / s. Block B, of mass 1.2 kg, is at
rest.
After the collision, blocks A and B stick together and move with velocity v.
(b) Suggest why the total kinetic energy of blocks A and B after the collision is less than the kinetic
energy of block A before the collision.
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[Total: 7]
10 A sample of sand has a mass of 95 kg. The specific heat capacity of the sand is 1500 J / (kg °C).
The initial temperature of the sample of sand is 7.0 °C. The sample of sand is heated using an
electrical heater. The power of the heating element is 50 W.
Calculate the time taken to increase the temperature of the sand to 19.0 °C.
[Total: 3]
1 ...............................................................................................................................................
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2 ...............................................................................................................................................
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[Total: 2]
12 A vertical tube contains a liquid. A metal ball is held at rest by a thread just below the surface of
the liquid, as shown in the diagram.
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(not to scale)
The diameter of the tube is much greater than the diameter of the ball.
The metal ball has a mass of 2.1 g. It falls a distance of 0.80 m between being released and reaching
the bottom of the tube.
(a) Calculate the gravitational potential energy transferred from the ball as it falls.
(b) When the ball reaches the bottom of the tube, it has a speed of 1.2 m / s. Calculate the kinetic
energy of the ball at the bottom of the tube.
(c) Explain why the value calculated in (a) is different from that calculated in (b).
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15
[Total: 6]
13 In terms of the momentum of molecules, explain how a gas exerts pressure on the walls of its
container.
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[Total: 4]
2
14 A piece of glass of thickness 2.0 cm and area 0.15 m is used as the vertical viewing window of an
aquarium.
5
The atmospheric pressure outside the aquarium is 1.0 × 10 Pa. The average pressure on the
5
inside of the aquarium window is 1.3 × 10 Pa.
Calculate the resultant force acting on the window due to these pressures and state the direction
in which it acts.
force = ...........................................................
[Total: 4]
16
15 The diagram shows a vacuum pump connected to the top of a vertical tube with its lower end
immersed in a tank of liquid. The pump reduces the pressure above the column to zero and the
4
pressure at point X is 9.6 × 10 Pa.
vacuum
pump
point X
12 m
liquid
[Total: 3]
17
16 The diagram shows gas trapped in the sealed end of a tube by a dense liquid.
Explain, in terms of the momentum of its molecules, why the trapped gas exerts a pressure on the
walls of the tube.
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[Total: 3]
18
17 The diagram shows a small submarine submerged below the surface of the sea.
3
The density of sea water is 1030 kg / m .
3
Calculate the pressure due to the sea water on the top of the submarine when it is 3.0 × 10 m
below the surface.
[Total: 2]