Cambridge International AS & A Level

PHYSICS INSTRUCTIONS
9702/12
Paper 1 Multiple Choice February/March 2020
1 hour 15 minutes

You must answer on the multiple choice answer sheet.

You will need: Multiple choice answer sheet

Soft clean eraser
Soft pencil (type B or HB is recommended)

• 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 multiple choice answer sheet.
• Follow the instructions on the multiple choice answer sheet.
• Write in soft pencil.
• Write your name, centre number and candidate number on the multiple choice answer sheet in the
spaces provided unless this has been done for you.
• Do not use correction fluid.
• Do not write on any bar codes.
• You may use a calculator.

INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 40.
• Each correct answer will score one mark. A mark will not be deducted for a wrong answer.
• Any rough working should be done on this question paper.
 2

This document has 20 pages. Blank pages are indicated.

IB20 03_9702_12/3RP
© UCLES 2020 [Turn over
Data
speed of light in free space c = 3.00 × 108 m s–1

permeability of free space µ0 = 4π × 10–7 H m–1

permittivity of free space ε0 = 8.85 × 10–12 F m–1

( = 8.99 × 109 m F–1)

elementary charge e = 1.60 × 10–19 C

the Planck constant h = 6.63 × 10–34 J s

unified atomic mass unit 1 u = 1.66 × 10–27 kg

rest mass of electron me = 9.11 × 10–31 kg

rest mass of proton mp = 1.67 × 10–27 kg

molar gas constant R = 8.31 J K–1 mol–1

the Avogadro constant NA = 6.02 × 1023 mol–1

the Boltzmann constant k = 1.38 × 10–23 J K–1

gravitational constant G = 6.67 × 10–11 N m2 kg–2

acceleration of free fall g = 9.81 m s–2

Formulae

uniformly accelerated motion s = ut + at2

v = u 2 + 2as
2

work done on/by a gas W = p∆V

Gm
gravitational potential φ=– r
hydrostatic pressure p = ρ gh

pressure of an ideal gas p = 13 NmV <c 2>

simple harmonic motion a = – ω 2x

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20

 3

velocity of particle in s.h.m. v = v0 cos ω t

v = ± ω (x02 − x 2 )

Doppler effect
fo = vf±svvs
electric potential
V = 4πQε0r

capacitors in series
1 / C = 1 / C1 + 1 / C2 + . . .

capacitors in parallel C = C1 + C2 + . . .
energy of charged capacitor W = QV

electric current I = Anvq

resistors in series R = R1 + R2 + . . .
resistors in parallel 1 / R = 1 / R1 + 1 / R2 + . . .

Hall voltage VH = ntqBI

alternating current/voltage x = x0 sin ω t

radioactive decay x = x0 exp(–λt)

λ = 0.693
decay constant
t

1 The table shows some measurable quantities.

Which row gives the correct order of magnitude of the measurable quantity in the stated unit?

order of
measurable quantity magnitude unit

A mass of a coin 10–4 kg

B thickness of a sheet of paper 10–2 m

C weight of an apple 100 N

D temperature of a person’s body 101 K

2 A byte (b) comprises 8 bits.

How many bits are there in 1 terabyte (1Tb)?

A 1 × 109 B 8 × 109 C 1 × 1012 D 8 × 1012

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20 [Turn over

 4

3 Which pair of quantities contains both a scalar and a vector?

A acceleration and momentum

B charge and resistance

C kinetic energy and mass

D temperature and velocity

4 A micrometer is used to measure the diameters of two cylinders.

diameter of first cylinder = (12.78 ± 0.02) mm diameter

of second cylinder = (16.24 ± 0.03) mm

The difference in the diameters is calculated.

What is the uncertainty in this difference?

A 0.01 mm B 0.02 mm C 0.03 mm D 0.05 mm

6 A stone is thrown horizontally from the top of a cliff and falls into the sea below. Air resistance is
negligible. The path of the stone is shown.

stone

cliff

sea

In which direction does the resultant force on the stone act during its fall?

A horizontally to the right

B parallel to its velocity

C perpendicular to its velocity

D vertically downwards

7 A car moves with uniform acceleration along a straight road. Oil leaks from the car at the rate of
one drop every two seconds. The diagram shows the distances between three successive oil drops
on the road.

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20

 5

9.0 m 12.0 m

What is the acceleration of the car?

A 0.75 m s–2 B 1.5 m s–2 C 3.0 m s–2 D 6.0 m s–2

8 A person of mass 60 kg stands on accurate bathroom scales, placed on the floor of an elevator
(lift) which operates in a tall building.

At a certain instant the bathroom scales read 58 kg.

Which row could give the person’s direction of movement and type of motion?

direction motion

A downwards constant speed

B downwards slowing down

C upwards constant speed

D upwards slowing down

9 The diagram shows graphs of various quantities plotted against time for an object dropped from a
stationary balloon high in the atmosphere.

graph 1 graph 2

0 0
0 time 0 time

graph 3 graph 4

0 0
0 time 0 time

Which statement could be correct?

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20 [Turn over

 6

A Graph 1 is acceleration against time and graph 3 is resultant force against time.

B Graph 1 is acceleration against time and graph 4 is resultant force against time.

C Graph 3 is acceleration against time and graph 1 is velocity against time.

D Graph 3 is acceleration against time and graph 2 is velocity against time.

10 The diagram shows a particle P, travelling at speed v, about to collide with a stationary particle Q
of the same mass. The collision is perfectly elastic.

P Q

Which statement describes the motion of P and of Q immediately after the collision?

A P and Q both travel in the same direction with speed v .

B P comes to rest and Q acquires speed v.

C P rebounds with speed v and Q acquires speed v .

D P rebounds with speed v and Q remains stationary.

11 A particle is in a uniform field. The particle experiences a force in the opposite direction to the field.

In which type of field is the particle, and on which property of the particle is the field acting?

property of particle
type of field on which the field acts

A electric charge

B electric current

C gravitational mass

D gravitational weight

12 A uniform rod of weight 20 N and length 2.0 m is acted upon by two vertical forces, as shown.

15 N 5.0 N

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20

 7

What are the resultant force acting on the rod and the resultant moment about the centre of gravity
of the rod?

resultant force / resultant moment

N /Nm

A 0 10

B 0 20

C 20 10

D 20 20

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20 [Turn over

 8

13 Three coplanar forces act on a block.

Which diagram shows the directions of the forces such that the block could be in equilibrium?

A B

C D

14 A cylinder contains a volume of 0.012 m3 of gas at a pressure of 1.0 × 105 Pa.

400 J of work is done on this gas, with its pressure remaining constant throughout.

What is the final volume of the gas?

A 0.0040 m3 B 0.0080 m3 C 0.016 m3 D 0.020 m3

15 A ball is thrown vertically upwards from the surface of the Earth.

Which statement describes the energy of the ball as it rises through the air?

A The kinetic energy of the ball decreases as the gravitational potential energy decreases.

B The kinetic energy of the ball decreases as the gravitational potential energy increases.
C The kinetic energy of the ball increases as the gravitational potential energy decreases.
D The total energy of the ball increases.

16 A sledge of mass 50 kg sits on a snowy surface. It is pulled horizontally for 10 m against a frictional
force of 200 N, then it is pulled horizontally across ice for 10 m. There is no friction between the ice

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20

 9

and the sledge. It is lifted up vertically by 1 m and finally carried back at a constant speed to where
it started.

During which stage of its journey is most work done on the sledge?

A being carried back 20 m at constant speed

B being lifted up 1 m
C being pulled 10 m across ice

D being pulled 10 m across snow

17 An object is moved in a vertical plane from X to Y, and then from Y to Z, as shown in the diagram.

Z
5m
3m
4m
X V
4m
3m
5m
Y

The distances between various points are indicated on the diagram.

Lines XY and VZ are vertical.

The object weighs 20 N.

How much gravitational potential energy does the object gain by moving from X to Z?

A 60 J B 120 J C 140 J D 260 J

18 A car travels at a constant speed of 25 m s–1 up a slope. The wheels driven by the engine exert a
forward force of 3000 N. The total force due to air resistance and friction is 2100 N. The weight of
the car has a component down the slope of 900 N.

What is the rate at which thermal energy is dissipated?

A zero B 2.3 × 104 W C 5.3 × 104 W D 7.5 × 104 W

19 A composite rod is made by attaching a glass-reinforced plastic rod and a nylon rod end to end,

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20 [Turn over

 10

as shown.

1.00 m 1.00 m
glass-reinforced plastic Nylon
Ep = 40 GPa En = 2.0 GPa

The rods have the same cross-sectional area and each rod is 1.00 m in length. The Young modulus
Ep of the plastic is 40 GPa and the Young modulus En of the nylon is 2.0 GPa.

The composite rod will break when its total extension reaches 3.0 mm.

What is the greatest tensile stress that can be applied to the composite rod before it breaks?

A 2.9 × 106 Pa

B 5.7 × 106 Pa

C 2.9 × 109 Pa

D 5.7 × 109 Pa

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20

 11

20

F/N

100 P

0
0 1.0 2.0
x / mm

The graph shows the non-linear force-extension curve for a wire made from a new composite
material.

What is the best estimate of the work done in stretching the wire to point P?

A 0.09 J B 0.10 J C 0.11 J D 0.20 J

© UCLES 2020 9702/12/F/M/20