Cambridge International Examinations

Cambridge Ordinary Level

PHYSICS 5054/12
Paper 1 Multiple Choice October/November 2015
1 hour
Additional Materials: Multiple Choice Answer Sheet
Soft clean eraser
*1808398697*

Soft pencil (type B or HB is recommended)

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Write in soft pencil.

Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid.
Write your name, Centre number and candidate number on the Answer Sheet in the spaces provided
unless this has been done for you.
DO NOT WRITE IN ANY BARCODES.

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 separate Answer Sheet.

Read the instructions on the Answer Sheet very carefully.

Each correct answer will score one mark. A mark will not be deducted for a wrong answer.
Any rough working should be done in this booklet.
Electronic calculators may be used.

This document consists of 15 printed pages and 1 blank page.

IB15 11_5054_12/6RP R
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1 Which is a scalar quantity?

A mass
B force
C velocity
D weight

2 During an experiment to find the density of a stone, the stone is lowered into a measuring cylinder
partly filled with water.

water stone

Which statement is correct?

A The difference between the readings gives the density of the stone.
B The difference between the readings gives the volume of the stone.
C The final reading gives the density of the stone.
D The final reading gives the volume of the stone.

3 The diagram shows a micrometer scale.

20
0 5
mm 15
10

Which reading is shown?

A 5.64 mm B 7.14 mm C 7.16 mm D 7.64 mm

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43 A lorry takes 15 minutes to travel along the path PQRS.

8.0 km
P Q S
3.0 km
5.0 km

What is the average speed of the lorry?

A 4.0 km / h B 22 km / h C 48 km / h D 64 km / h

5 An apple of mass 0.15 kg and weight 1.5 N falls from a tree. At one point during its fall, the air
resistance on the apple is 0.60 N upwards.

What is the acceleration of the apple at this point?

A 4.0 m / s2 B 6.0 m / s2 C 10 m / s2 D 14 m / s2

6 At time t 1, a stone is dropped from a stationary balloon. The stone reaches terminal velocity at
time t 2.

Which row gives the acceleration of the stone at time t 1 and at time t 2?

acceleration at t 1 acceleration at t 2
m / s2 m / s2

A 0 0
B 10 0
C 0 10
D 10 10

7 Four of the gravitational forces that act between bodies in the Solar System are described below.

P the force on the Moon due to the Earth

Q the force on the Earth due to the Sun
R the force on the Earth due to the Moon
S the force on the Moon due to the Sun

Which two forces are a Newton’s third law pair (action and reaction)?

A P and Q B P and R C Q and S D R and S

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8 The diagram represents the Moon in its orbit around the Earth.

Which arrow represents the direction of the resultant force acting on the Moon at the instant
shown?

C
B

Earth A D
Moon

direction of
motion of the Moon

9 A student produces some revision notes on gravity, mass and weight.

Which statement is not correct?

A A gravitational field is a region in which a mass experiences a gravitational force.

B Gravitational field strength has the unit of N / kg.
C Mass is a measure of the amount of matter.
D Mass is equal to weight multiplied by gravitational field strength.

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10 Two cylinders P and Q are made of copper.

P Q

The height of P is twice the height of Q. The diameter of P is half the diameter of Q.

Which statement is correct?

A The density of cylinder P is four times that of cylinder Q.

B The density of cylinder P is twice that of cylinder Q.
C The density of cylinder P is equal to that of cylinder Q.
D The density of cylinder P is half that of cylinder Q.

11 The total weight of the load and the wheelbarrow shown is 600 N.

70 cm 50 cm

F
load

pivot

600 N

What is the size of force F needed just to lift the loaded wheelbarrow?

A 350 N B 430 N C 600 N D 840 N

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12 A gas is trapped inside a cylinder by a movable piston. The length of the gas column is 20 cm and
the pressure inside the cylinder is p.

50 cm

gas at initial
pressure p

20 cm
original position
of piston

The piston is pulled out a distance of 30 cm, so that the length of the gas column is now 50 cm.
The temperature of the gas does not change.

What is the new pressure of the gas?

A 0.40 p B 0.60 p C 1.5 p D 2.5 p

13 The base of a rectangular storage tank is 2.0 m by 3.0 m. The tank is filled with paraffin to a depth
of 3.0 m.

3.0 m

2.0 m
3.0 m

The density of paraffin is 800 kg / m3 and the gravitational field strength is 10 N / kg.

What is the pressure at the bottom of the tank due to the paraffin?

A 2400 Pa B 14 400 Pa C 24 000 Pa D 144 000 Pa

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14 A person throws a stone so that it follows the path shown in the diagram.

In which position does the stone have the most gravitational potential energy?

C
water D

15 A piston of area 10 cm2 is pushed slowly into a very large cylinder containing gas at a pressure of
10 N / cm2. The pressure of the gas remains constant as the piston moves a distance of 0.10 m.

What is the force of the gas on the piston and what is the work done by the piston on the gas?

force / N work done / J

A 1.0 0.1
B 1.0 10
C 100 10
D 100 1000

16 A gas is in a sealed container of constant volume. The gas is heated and the pressure of the gas
on the walls of the container increases.

How do the particles of the gas cause this increase in pressure?

A They expand.
B They hit each other more frequently.
C They hit the container more frequently.
D They vibrate faster.

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18 Some of the liquid in a dish evaporates, as shown in the diagrams.

before evaporation after evaporation

Which molecules leave the liquid and which molecules in the liquid have greater average kinetic
energy?

molecules in the liquid have

molecules that leave have
greater average kinetic energy

A high energy before evaporation

B high energy after evaporation
C low energy before evaporation
D low energy after evaporation

19 An insulated beaker contains 300 g of water, initially at 30 °C. Water at 100 °C is added until the
temperature of the mixture reaches 50 °C.

The specific heat capacity of water is 4.2 J / (g °C).

How much water is added?

A 60 g B 120 g C 180 g D 750 g

20 Which statement is correct?

A Infra-red radiation cannot travel in a vacuum.

B Infra-red radiation cannot travel in solids or in gases.
C Infra-red radiation can only travel in a vacuum.
D Infra-red radiation can travel in a vacuum and in gases.

21 An echo sounder produces ultrasound of frequency 24 kHz. The ultrasound travels in water at a
speed of 1.5 km / s.

What is the wavelength in water of ultrasound of this frequency?

A 0.063 m B 16 m C 36 m D 63 m

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22 An object is viewed through a converging lens.

The diagram shows the paths of two rays from the top of the object to an eye.

thin lens

eye

object

How does the image compare with the object?

A It is larger and inverted.

B It is larger and upright.
C It is smaller and inverted.
D It is smaller and upright.

23 In an experiment using a ripple tank, plane wavefronts arrive at a plane surface.

plane surface

Which row correctly describes the waves after they are reflected from the surface?

speed of waves wavelength λ

A larger shorter
B smaller shorter
C the same longer
D the same the same

24 Which statement about red light and blue light is correct?

A Red light has a higher frequency than blue light.

B Red light has a longer wavelength than blue light.
C Red light has the same speed in glass as blue light.
D Red light is refracted by a glass prism more than blue light.

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25 A loudspeaker produces a sound wave of frequency 50 Hz.

The amplitude of the sound wave is increased.

What is heard?

A a louder sound of a higher pitch

B a louder sound of the same pitch
C a sound of higher pitch but the same loudness
D a sound of the same pitch and loudness as before

26 An ultrasound scanner produces an image of an unborn baby.

part of scanner

unborn baby

How does the scanner form an image?

A from ultrasound absorbed by the baby

B from ultrasound emitted by the baby
C from ultrasound reflected by the baby
D from ultrasound refracted by the baby

27 The sound from the siren of a ship is reflected by a cliff. An echo is heard by a sailor on the deck
of the ship, 4.0 s after the siren is sounded. The speed of sound in air is 320 m / s.

How far from the cliff is the ship?

A 80 m B 160 m C 640 m D 1280 m

28 Which material can be picked up by a magnet?

A aluminium
B copper
C iron
D plastic

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15 An electrical heater is placed in a beaker of cold oil, as shown.

oil

The heater is switched on.

What happens to the liquid at X?

A It becomes less dense and falls.

B It becomes less dense and rises.
C It becomes more dense and falls.
D It becomes more dense and rises.

16 The tubes inside solar heating panels use the Sun’s radiation to warm water.

Why are the tubes painted black?

A Black surfaces absorb radiation well.

B Black surfaces conduct heat well.
C Black surfaces emit radiation well.
D Black surfaces reflect radiation well.

17 In a liquid-in-glass thermometer, the liquid column is 2.0 cm long at 0 °C and it expands 10.0 cm
when heated to 100 °C.

2.0 cm 10.0 cm
P

0 °C 100 °C

Measuring from P, how long is the liquid column at 30 °C?

A 2.3 cm B 3.0 cm C 5.0 cm D 7.0 cm

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18 Which substance in the table is liquid at 20 °C?

melting point boiling point

/ °C / °C

A –218 –183
B –39 357
C 44 280
D 119 444

19 Which diagram represents the change in the arrangement of the molecules in a solid as the
substance melts?

A B

C D

20 Some gas is trapped in a closed container. The gas is cooled and the volume of the container is
kept constant.

What happens to the gas molecules?

A They collide with the walls more often.

B They contract.
C They get closer together.
D They move more slowly.

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21 In a liquid, some energetic molecules break free from the surface even when the liquid is too cold
for bubbles to form.

What is the name of this process?

A boiling
B condensation
C convection
D evaporation

22 A pupil adds 37 g of ice at 0 °C to 100 g of water at 30 °C. The final temperature of the water and
melted ice is 0 °C. No heat is lost to, or gained from, the surroundings.

The specific heat capacity of water is 4.2 J / (g °C).

What is the specific latent heat of ice?

A 47 J / g B 341 J / g C 4700 J / g D 12 600 J / g

23 The heat capacity of an object, of mass 2.0 kg, is C. The energy needed to

A increase the temperature of the whole object by ∆t is C∆t.

B increase the temperature of unit mass of the object by ∆t is C∆t.
C melt the whole object is C.
D melt unit mass of the object is C.

24 A ball floating in a ripple tank begins to move vertically up and down as a wave passes beneath
it. The ball does not move horizontally.

wave
direction
ball movement
of ball

Which statement is correct?

A Both energy and water are transferred in the wave direction.

B Energy is not transferred in the wave direction but water is.
C Energy is transferred in the wave direction but water is not.
D Neither energy nor water is transferred in the wave direction.

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25 A ray of light in glass is incident on the surface at an angle c. The angle c is the critical angle.

Which diagram shows what happens to the light?

A B C D

air air air air

glass glass glass glass
c c c c

26 A ray of light is incident on the surface of a glass block, as shown in the diagram below.

air 45°
glass

The refractive index of the glass is 1.5.

The light ray changes direction when entering the glass.

What is the angle x through which the ray moves?

A 30° B 28° C 17° D 15°

27 An image is formed by a thin converging lens when it is used as a magnifying glass.

What is the correct description of the image?

A real and erect

B real and inverted
C virtual and erect
D virtual and inverted

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28 Which component of the electromagnetic spectrum is used for television transmission from
satellites?

A microwaves
B radio waves
C ultra-violet
D X-rays

29 In which situation do sound waves not travel?

A from a satellite in space to Earth

B from a ship to a submarine
C from an explosion underground to the surface
D through a balloon filled with helium gas

30 Two sound waves X and Y are compared.

X has the greater frequency.

Y has the greater amplitude.

How do the loudness and pitch of sound wave Y compare to those of X?

A Y is louder and higher pitch.

B Y is louder and lower pitch.
C Y is quieter and higher pitch.
D Y is quieter and lower pitch.

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