UGANDA CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION

535/1 PHYSICS PAPER 1

THEORY

ELEMENTS OF CONSTRUCT AND THEIR CHAPTER BREAK DOWN

1. Physics 535/1 (Theory paper)
Construct: Appreciates physics in everyday life

Item Element of construct Topics covered

SECTION A: Compulsory
Item Understands how waves are Nature of light; reflection of light at plane
one generated, propagated and surfaces
their application in Reflection of light at curved surfaces
everyday life
Refraction, dispersion, and colour

Lenses and optical instruments

General wave properties
Sound waves

Item Understands the structure Atomic models

Two of atoms, nuclear Nuclear processes
processes and their
application in every day
life.

Item Understands solar system The solar system

Three ,galaxies, stars, satellites & Stars and galaxies
digital communication in
everyday life Satellites and communication
Digital electronics
SECTION B
PART I
Item Understands effect of force Measurements in Physics
four and heat on properties of States of matter
and five matter
Effects of forces
Work, energy, and power
Turning effect of forces, centre of gravity,
and stability

Pressure in solids and fluids

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 Mechanical properties of Materials and
Hooke’s law
Linear and non-linear motion
Temperature measurements
Heat transfer
Expansion of solids, liquids, and gases

Heat quantities and vapours

PART II
Magnets and magnetic fields
Appreciates electricity and
Electromagnetic effects
Item magnetism in everyday life
Six Electrostatics
and Introduction to current electricity
Seven
Voltage, resistance and Ohm’s law

Electric energy distribution and consumption

NOTE:
➢ Section A will comprise of three compulsory items
➢ Section B comprises of Part I and Part II each having two questions and a
learner answers one question from each part.
➢ In total five questions must be attempted by the learner.
➢ The paper is for 2 hours 30 minutes

2. Physics practical 535/2/3

Construct: Appreciates scientific investigation in physics

Item Element of Sections

Construct
Item Appreciates Mechanics
One or Scientific
Two Optics

Investigation in Electricity
Physics

NOTE:
➢ The exam duration is 2 hours.
➢ There are two examination items in this paper.
➢ Students select one item from the options provided.
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 ➢ The two items can cover either Mechanics and Electricity, Electricity and
Optics or Mechanics and Optics.
➢ Learners are encouraged to practice all three sections: Mechanics, Heat,
Electricity, and Optics.
➢ Avoid focusing solely on specific themes as any item may come from any
where

THEME: LIGHT AND WAVES

TOPICS:
LIGHT WAVES
Nature of light; reflection of light at plane surfaces General wave properties
Reflection of light at curved surfaces Sound waves
Refraction, dispersion, and colour
Lenses and optical instruments

Item 1
One hot afternoon some learners walked along a tarmac road in the west ward direction to check on a
new swimming pool. On the road, they saw a speeding car at a distance and its engine sounds kept on
reducing as it moved further away. They also saw what looked like water near the car; but the water
disappeared when they reached the spot where they had seen it and it reappeared to another spot
ahead. Later on, the weather changed and there was a light drizzle though the sun was still bright. In
the Eastern direction, they observed a semi-circular distribution of colours in the sky. They finally
reached the swimming pool; however the pool-attendant warned them to be careful when they are to
use the swimming pool because it may appear shallow when filled with water. The adventure ended
in arguments because the learners had different views about the observations and experiences they
had that day.

Task
Use your knowledge of physics to assist the learners to understand:
(a) why the sounds they heard from the car kept on reducing?
(b) the process that leads to what they observed on the tarmac road.
(c) the process that leads to what they observed in the sky.
(d) why swimming pool appears the way the attendant told them?

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Item 2
During the music gala in a hall, one of the adjudicators observed the following;
• On entering the stage, the colour of dress of one presenter changed from a yellow dress with
red dots to a red dress with black dots.
• The sound from the nearest loud speaker reached him after 0.05s.
• She kept on hearing voices of two people singing on stage, yet there was only one person on
the stage.
Hint: Speed of sound in air =320 ms-1

Task
Using the knowledge of Physics, help the adjudicator to understand; (a) Why the colour
of the dress changed.
(b) Why the sound was reaching her after 0.05s.
(c) The origin of the second voice and how it can be minimized.

Item 3

A tycoon is to construct a first-class hotel and as he consulted from the technical personnel, the
following guidelines on facilities he wanted to set up were given;
• The swimming pool should have a label of its depths at different points to avoid relying on a
deceptive look.
• The multipurpose hall must have a soft wall or it must use curtains along the walls.
• Each entrance should strictly have white lights as the inside of the hall may have other LED
lights for decoration.
• The security personnel should have devices to check under the cars entering the hotel, as a way
of ensuring hotel security.
The tycoon is not knowledgeable about the importance of such guidelines in his upcoming
investment and is seeking for explanations.

Task
Using the knowledge of physics, help the business man understand; (a)
the cause of deceptive look.
(b) the reason behind multipurpose hall having a soft wall and curtains.
(c) why the entrance must have white lights and how decoration on individuals is attained from inside
the hall.
(d) which kind of materials are needed in making the devices to be used while checking under the
cars entering the hotel.

Item 4
In a town, there is a woman who uses loud horn speakers to broadcast various information to the
community. She has received the following concerns from the members of her community;
- Listeners at different locations have noticed a difference in time in which the sound reaches them.
- People who are at far distances are unable to receive the information broadcast by the speakers.

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- People are complaining about too much noise from the speakers, some of whom are not interested
at all in what is being broadcast.
Because of those concerns, the town council leadership has advised the woman to set up a radio
broadcasting station and the broadcasting authorities allocated her a radio frequency of 87.8 MHz.
She is ready to take up the advice, only that she lacks enough knowledge to guide her more.

Use: Speed of light in air = 3 x 108 ms-1

Task:
Using your knowledge of Physics, assist the woman to;
(a) differentiate between the type of waves produced by her current system and those to be
produced in the system proposed by the town council leadership.
(b) understand why the new method of broadcasting will not cause a problem of noise pollution.
(c) understand why the new system of broadcasting is able to reach those who are far away and they
get the broadcast almost instantly.
(d) determine wavelength of the waves used in broadcasting in the new system.

ITEM 5
In a certain music concert that took place at night, a man played a guitar on a floating
stage surrounded by disco lights flashing red, blue and green in the middle of the lake.
The audience on the boats and shores were wearing yellow clothes with black spots on
them. The audience was surprised about the new appearance of the colours of their
clothes. The sound waves from the guitar travel through the air with a frequency of
𝟒𝟒𝟎𝑯𝒛. The organizers also projected laser light, that travels through air with a
frequency of 4.7× 𝟏𝟎𝟖M𝑯𝒛 illuminating waves on the lake surface to aid
visibility. The shores of the lake were 𝟏𝟓𝒎 away from a tall storage building. Boys A
and B standing in the same direction and in line with the playing music from the lake
heard the sound at different intervals of time which attracted them to go and observe
what was taking place at the lake. Boy A heard the sound after 3s and boy B heard the
sound after 4s.
Hint:

Task:
As a physics student;

(a) Help the two boys to understand why they heard the sound at different intervals.
(b) Clearly explain why the colour of the clothes of the audience kept on changing
when coloured lights flashed on them.
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 (c) Why was laser source of light preferred to provide laser light that enhanced
visibility late in the late hours of the night.
(d) Compare the wave length of the sound waves and laser light waves in air
medium.
Item 6
A war erupted in a certain mountainous areas surrounded by small water bodies where
soldiers only communicated by throwing a stone in water to alert their colleagues of
danger ahead. Instead, this alerted their enemies. One of the soldiers had small sizable
plane mirrors and torn paper box in his bag. Their leader sent spies to peep behind
hills to see if the enemies were hiding there but many were captured and killed. They
totally lacked knowledge on how to solve this problem. The enemy troops had a radio
call that was used for communication and wave forms of wave length were produced
on the receiver’s computer clearly indicating the amplitude, period and time taken for
the wave to reach the receiver at the headquarter. One afternoon, it threatened to rain
and bright colours of different kind spread in the skies. This scared the soldiers even
more.

Hint;
A graph obtained from the receiver’s computer

Task:
As a physics student, help the soldiers to;

(a) Understand why the throwing of the stone in water always alerted their
enemies
(b) Know the best way they could reduce the rate at which their spies were being
killed and captured.
(c) Understand the strange appearance of the skies that sent them to hide outs.
(d) Determine frequency at which the waves reached the receiver at the home
base of the army.

ITEM 7
The students in a particular class visited a laboratory with a white bulb and a red one, to observe
glass tank filled with water with a white base at the bottom. Modifications were made to create a
shallow end on one side of the tank using glass material. To their surprise, when they struck the
water's surface at the shallow end with a long rectangular rod at a frequency of 80 Hz, they noticed
that the spacing between successive crests changed from 2.5cm to 5cm. Additionally, they were
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disturbed by the distortion of ripples as they struck the tank walls. They were also surprised to see
the base turning black when it was replaced with a yellow sheet and the red lights switched on.
Hint; the glass tank would break if the velocity of the waves that hit it is greater than 20 ms-1

Use your knowledge of physics to:

a. Determine if the ripple tank will break.

b. Explain the reason for the change in the distance between the ripples and its impact on the
velocity of the ripples.
c. Explain what distorted the waves and how it could have been reduced.
d. Explain why the yellow sheet changed color when the red lights were switched on.

ITEM 8
During the construction of a multipurpose hall of size 70m by 40m in a school, the students have
been asked to raise challenges that could arise after the hall's construction. They are listed below; ➢
There could be a distortion of sound as a result of two sounds being heard.
➢ The hall could be dimly lit because of the paint color used to paint the walls.
➢ There could be disturbance of the neighbors in the community. During the day, the neighbors that
would be disturbed wouldn’t be very far but at night, even those outside the school would be
disturbed.
➢ Complaints could arise from the wrong type of mirrors installed in the bathrooms
➢ Complaints would have arisen from fears due to insecurity from not checking under cars.

Use your knowledge of Physics to;

a) Identify the cause of the distortion of sound and structural adjustments that can be made to
ensure the distortion is minimized.
b) Identify the paint color to use to increase the amount of light in the room.
c) Establish how the sound would reach the community, how it can be reduced, and the difference
in the distance that the sound from the hall reaches.
d) Identify the type of mirrors that should be installed in the bathrooms and those that should be
used to check under the cars.

THEME: MODERN PHYSICS

TOPICS:
Atomic models
Nuclear processes
Digital electronics

Item 1
A government has constructed an underground pipe to transport its oil over long distances. When
tested, the pipe is suspected to leak in a 100 m section and the leakage point is not easy to identify
since the pipe is underground. An engineer has proposed mixing some radioactive substance of short
half-life in the oil and using a detector to find the spot where the oil is leaking. The radioactive
substance to be used should diminish activity to less than 10 s-1 within 1 hour. The engineer has
identified one substance to be used and found out that its activity when mixed with the oil, reduced
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from 480 s-1 to 60 s-1 in 30 minutes. The engineer has not yet drawn conclusions about this choice of
substance and may need your help.
Assist the engineer to:
(a) Determine:
(i) the half-life of the radioactive substance he is about to use.
(ii) the substance should now be mixed in the oil and start tracing the leakage.
(b) Explain:
(i) how the leakage is traced using this method.
(ii) why the substance to be used should have a short half-life.

Item 2
A home has a solar panel and a 12 V battery. The solar panel generates 52 V of d.c power but only 14
V in needed to charge the battery. The home owner wants to install a bulb that automatically comes
on when night falls. He is in possession of the following electronic components; an AND gate; an OR
gate, a NOT gate, a light dependent resistor L, which conducts when light falls on it, a 200 resistor
R and a 600 resistor S. So far he has connected some of the components as shown in figure 1. He is
not sure if his system will function as required and he has failed to position the remaining the
components.

Figure 1

Task:
As a learner who has studied physics, help the home owner to:
(a) Make necessary calculations to find out whether the charger circuit will be able to
efficiently charge the battery.
(b) Identify the type of gate, X; giving reasons for your response.
(c) (i) Identify the gate to be connected at a, b and c so that the light bulb is automatically
switched on only when night falls.
(ii) Draw the circuit symbol for the gate chosen in (c) (i).
(iii)Draw the truth table for the gate chosen in (c)(i).

Item 3
During charity work in the hospital by Red Cross Society of one school, a certain liquid containing a
radioactive material spilled on one student accidentally, having been placed on an open place by a
medical intern. The hospital authorities immediately took the student for a mandatory self-isolation

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within the hospital premises. The parents accused the hospital of negligence and demanded to see
their child in a weeks’ time. Hint:
• The liquid had an activity of 250 counts per second when tested immediately, with a half-life of 2
days.
• The back ground count rate in the laboratory was 50 counts per second.
• The student can be safe to re-join the public if the count rate falls below 10 counts per second.
Task:
Use your knowledge of physics to:-
(a) Determine how long the student will be self-isolated.
(b) Enlighten the parents on the dangers of having their child at home without medical monitoring.
(c) Explain to the medical intern how such materials should be handled.

Item 4
In a certain family, a child got an accident while playing with his friends and it was suspected to be
broken leg. The family was referred by nearby health facility to go for X-ray radiography. The
family already had some false information about how X-rays are produced and the related dangers to
their child, therefor they were unwilling to go for it. The X-ray machine requires a voltage of about 4
kV to operate but the available main voltage supply is 10 kV.

Hint: Available resistors are 300 Ω and 200 Ω

Task
As physics learner,
(a) Help the family to:
(i) Clear the false information about the X-rays.
(ii) Understand how X-rays can be used to solve the problem of the family.

(b) Using the knowledge of digital electronics, help your friends understand how a 10 kV voltage
would be used to operate the machine.

ITEM 5

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A group of students visited the nuclear power plant and they were blocked from
entrance due to an accident that had occurred and several operators were exposed to
radiation. Only emergency cars were allowed to enter to transport the operators to the
hospital to undergo medical examination, including x-ray scans to assess any potential
radiation related injuries. Students wondered how harmful radiations were. It became
hard for them to understand even how the power plant could generate electricity after
being told at the entrance that the plant was the only source of electricity in that area.
If the plant’ s radiation monitoring system detects a background radiation level of 30
counts per minute, and when the radioactive source is placed in front of the radiation
detector, the reading on the detector is 550 counts per minute and the source has a
half-life of 25 minutes.

Hint: The power plant will be safe for use if the detector reads 95 counts per minute.

Task
As a student of physics;

(a) Advise the Power plant team leader on how long they had to wait for the
power plant to be safe for use.
(b) Help the students to understand;
(i) the relevant nuclear process at the power plant
(ii) Understand type of radiations emitted at the power plant and their
properties.
(c) How are the emitted radiations different from x-rays?
(d) Assist learners to appreciate that indeed the guide was right to stop them and
explain how the operators managed to be there always.

Item 6
In a certain hospital, a patient has come in with suspected broken bone in their arm,
and another patient is scheduled for a dental examination. Your xray machine produces
electromagnetic waves with a frequency of 𝟔 × 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟖𝑯𝒛.
Your supervisor asks you to;

(i) Take an x-ray image of the patient’s arm to confirm the bone fracture
diagnosis
(ii) Take a dental x-ray to examine the patient’s teeth and jaw alignment
Hint;
Wavelength of x- rays 5×10-11m 5×10-10m 5×10-9m

Image resolution High Medium low

Task: As a learner of physics;

(a) Comment on the resolution of the image of patients arm and bone fracture.
(b) Explain how the frequency and wavelength relate to the penetrating power of
the x-rays and how this affects your choice of settings for the arm and dental
exams
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 (c) Suggest possible precautions taken while dealing with x-ray machines.
Item 7
A certain town experienced an atomic bomb blast, many people were killed in the
incidence and others survived with severe injuries, the government advised those
survived to re-locate to other places of the country because this village was not
safe for them. The scientist carried out a scientific investigation using detectors of
radiations and found out that the environment was still radioactive as shown in the
table below.
Time (days) 0 22 42 62 82 102 122 142 162

Count rate (min-1) 106 83 66 56 47 36 31 26 15

The scientists recommended that the environment will be safe for use again when
obtained half-life value is less than 60 days and they will need like 1 year
(365 days) for the environment to be free from radioactive wastes and materials.

Task: As a student of physics, use your knowledge to:

a) Help the people to know the value of half-life and advise them accordingly.
b) Sensitize the people about the risk associated with radioactive materials and
how they should be handled
Help the people to understand the value of number of neutrons of a nuclide Y formed when a
radioactive substance X of mass number 208 and atomic number 104 decays by emitting 3 alpha
particles, 4 beta particles and gamma rays to form a nuclide Y.

ITEM 8
The government has discovered a precious and rare mineral in a certain part of the country. A team of
men picked samples and kept them in a store of one of the hospitals where photographic plates are
also stored. The mineral was checked on regularly and they made the following observations; All
photographic plates had darkened.
Its mass reduced spontaneously with time as shown below
Mass (g) 200 150 70 35 25
Time 0 4 16 28 30
(days)
As a physics learner,

(a) Support the view that the mineral is radioactive.

(b) Use the graph to estimate its half-life
(c) Explain the best way of storing this rare mineral.
(d) What are the dangers of exposing this mineral to the public

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THEME: EARTH AND SPACE PHYSICS
TOPICS:
The solar system
Stars and galaxies
Satellites and communication
Item 1
As a man in Uganda was watching an educative TV show at 11:00 am, the program was interrupted to
bring a live broadcast of some educative night time events in South Mexico. The live broadcast
showed some children that who were viewing a dark sky on a cloudless, clear night. The dark sky had
greyish areas and many bright twinkling spots of different extents of brightness and colours. Some of
the bright spots appeared to be moving. The TV presenter reported that unlike night time, there was
only one outstanding bright object in the sky during day time and that it is part of a continuously
evolving universe. The man was unable to understand this TV production and wished to have a clear
explanation.

Task:
As physics student, help the man to understand:
(a) (i) what the observed grey areas that the learners saw represent.
(ii) what the artificial bright spots represent and their significance in the universe.
(b) why there are outstanding bright objects that the TV presenter mentioned, and their significance
in the universe.
(c) why there existed:
(i) different levels of brightness of the bright spots.
(ii) differences in colour of the bright spots.

Item 2
After research work, your group has presented the following article that was collected from a journal
on nuclear science….

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At the end of your presentation, some classmates have not understand the ideas in it, and have
requested you on behalf of the group to give them more details.

Task
As a learner of Physics assist them by:
(a) (i) explaining how the discoveries on radioactivity have played a great role in enhancing the
different sectors.
(ii) explaining how harmful the discoveries can be, in the field of medicine.
(b) showing, using a well-balanced equation, how uranium reduced to thorium.
(c) determining the time taken by the uranium isotope to reduce to half its original size.

Item 3
In some southern part of South Africa, people were ordered to vacate their areas and relocate to other
parts of the country in anticipation of the heavy rains in the coming months, that are likely to cause
flooding and landslides. The Local authorities have been requested by the Ministry of Disaster
Preparedness to sensitize the people about the issues. However, they are finding difficulties in
explaining to the people:-
• Why rains will be experienced in their area while other parts of the continent are experiencing dry
season.
• How it is possible to predict accurately weather patterns before they occur.
• Why there are two seasons threatening them with high rainfall in a period of just a year.

Task
As a student of physics, help the Local authorities to understand,
(a) The variations in seasons as realized by the locals at the same time of the year.
(b) How the weather is always accurately predicted before it happens.
(c) Why the community is experiencing that challenge twice in the same year.

Item 4
In recent times Uganda joined a number of countries that have launched an artificial satellite. When
the satellite is in orbit, the sun is the major source energy needed for operation of devices on the
satellite. Some Ugandans think that the government is wasting resources in such activities and are
planning to make a protest. You have been invited to make a presentation that can answer these
Ugandans.

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Task:
In your presentation:
(a) Explain
(i) why it is important for a country to have that type of technology.
(ii) why that object is called “artificial”.
(b) (i) Inform them about other bodies that are kept in this type of motion.
(ii) Explain why such bodies have this kind of motion.
(b) (i) Explain how the major source of energy produces energy.
(ii) Explain the other roles of the major source of energy, on earth.

Item 5
An elder in a certain village was narrating to his family members his experience of a visit to London.
He said that in London, day time was longer than night time with 16 hours of day and 8 hours of
night, this was unique to family. He also added that stars were rare organisms that died at day time
and resurrected at night. Furthermore, he stated that the shape of the moon kept changing over a
month’s cycle.
The family members, in comparison, said that some of the elder’s experiences were equally observed
in their village but unfortunately did not understand these occurrences.

Task
As a student of physics, help the elder and his family to understand;
a) how the unique observation in London came about.
b) the observation of stars at day time and night time.
c) why the shape of the moon keeps on changing over that period.

Item 6
On a certain day at around 1:30pm while in the dining hall, learners watched heavy
fog-rains and floods being experienced in a certain outside country on an international
T.V live channel. To worsen matters, the floods were happening at night and this
risked many natives as many of them were ambushed while asleep. Learners wondered
how it would be night and seriously raining in an area yet it was day and the Sun was
highly shinning at that time in their school. Task:
As a physics learner help the learners clear their queries about;
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 a) Occurrence of the floods in one area yet it was shining in their school at same
time.
b) Why it was night in that outside country yet it was day-time in their area?
c) How T.V signals broadcast from where the floods were happening reached
them.
Item 7
A child went out of the house at around 8:30pm and realized that security lights were
off. The child saw glittering substances in the space and wondered why the clouds
were so much glittering. While still wondering, the child heard a person tip-toe and
rushed to the corridor with light switches to switch on. Unfortunately, the corridor was
closed by parents who had mistakenly gone with the keys and was not yet back. The
person knocked on the gate but the child was challenged whether the parent had come
and had to open or the person knocking was a thief. Later the parent came, and when
the child narrated, the parent said the glittering substances were artificial satellites in
the international Space Station (ISS).

Task:
As a physics learner, using the knowledge of space physics and digital electronics,
help the child and parent:

(a) Understand more types of those identified satellites and why they exist there
without falling.
(b) Solve the problem of operation of security lights.
Item 8
In every year, there are various seasons which all people rely on to carry out different
activities. At the beginning of a year here in Uganda, many people complain about too
much sunshine wondering where the sun gets such too much energy from. Such people
even wished the sun to die to have peace during the day and others prefer endless
nights so that they don’t have to deal with the sun. However, some people attributed
the sun as the major source of energy on the earth.
Task:
As a physics student explain to the people;

(a) Where the sun sources its much energy from.

(b) Why some people attribute the sun as the major source of energy on the earth.
(c) About occurrence of various seasons and the likely stages that an average star
like the sun may undergo to satisfy the wish of some people.
ITEM 9
An article in the newspaper gave information that on 2nd December 2022, Ugandan engineers with
the help of Japanese engineers launched a satellite. The literature teacher who picked interest in the
article found new words like artificial and natural satellites. He developed a number of unanswered
questions which could be answered by a physics learner like you.
(a) Explain the difference between the two types of satellites in the article.
(b) With reasons, justify why Uganda should spend all that much money to launch its own satellite.
(c) Incase Uganda is to develop a super rocket capable of reaching different planets. List with reasons
the planets it can land on and planets it cannot land on.

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 SECTION B
PART I

THEME: HEAT AND MECHANICS AND PROPERTIES OF MATTER

TOPICS:
HEAT MECHANICS & PROPERTIES OF MATTER
Temperature measurements Measurements in Physics
Heat transfer States of matter
Expansion of solids, liquids, and gases Effects of forces
Heat quantities and Vapours Work, energy, and power
Turning effect of forces, centre of gravity & stability
Pressure in solids and fluids
Mechanical properties of Materials and Hooke’s law
Linear and non-linear motion

Item 1
A rider who has been using a simple bicycle has purchased a new and improved one. The total mass
of the rider and this new improved bicycle is 80 kg. The rider uses this bicycle to go up a hill of
height 5 m in 20 seconds and he is 75% efficient.
On the other hand, the simple bicycle has two toothed wheels are connected by a chain, with 48 teeth
in the big toothed wheel and 16 teeth in the smaller toothed wheel. The rider is looking for more
explanations to convince his brother that he is not just wasting money by buying the improved
bicycle

Simple bicycle. Improved bicycle.

Using your Physics knowledge, help the brother to:

(a) (i) determine the velocity ratio of the simple bicycle.
(ii) explain the advantages and disadvantages of having a high velocity ratio in the connected
toothed wheels.
(b) determine the power used by rider to move up the hill using the improved bicycle.
(c) understand why the rider preferred to use the improved bicycle for riding up a hill.
(d) Explain why it is important for the rider to sweat.

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Item 2
A S.4 child and her mum have gone to buy some cooking utensils. The mum explains to the shop
attendant that she usually gets problems in cooking beans since they take long to get ready when
being boiled in water, leading to wastage of energy and time. The attendant shows her an appliance
claiming it cooks fast due to its features. The lady is not convinced about the appliance and wishes to
get more information before buying it; so she asks the child to explain more.

Task:
Assuming that the lady is your parent or guardian, use knowledge of Physics to educate her on:
(a) why:
(i) the appliance makes the beans get ready faster.
the steel pan should have a plastic handle.
(ii) the steel pan should have a thick body.
(b) (i) why steel is an important property in this appliance.
(ii) why the bottom of the pan and its sides are made of different colours respectively.
(c) the different means by which heat from the heat source can reach the beans.

Item 3
A business woman intends to install a storage gravity water tank in his home which should supply
pressure at 10 kPa. She also needs her tank to have a ladder with steps each of height 40 cm for
climbing up to clean his tank. Due to extreme weather conditions the tank may burst as a result of the
expansion and contraction of the pipes used. To avoid this, the business woman has been advised to
buy a pipes made of a suitable material and get a person who will fit them well. Unfortunately, she
does not have enough knowledge about such installation works and is looking for further assistance.
Hint:
Density of water = 1gcm-3
Acceleration due to gravity = 10ms-2

Task
Using the knowledge of physics to help the business woman to; (a)
determine:
(i) the height the tank must be raised to.
(ii) the number of steps to be put in the ladder.
(b) understand:
(i) how the pipes would be connected to the tank.
(ii) how the suitable material of the pipes to be used would be determined.

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Item 4
Your friend travelled in an old ramshackle vehicle for an appointment. The first 60 km they covered
were on a rough road and the journey turned out to be bumpy and she felt like she was being carried
in a wheel barrow. This made her recall Hooke’s law which they learnt in Physics at school. After the
bumpy section, the road was now smooth for the remaining 20 km where they moved at a speed of 80
kmhr-1, which is the traffic speed limit for that road. For the entire journey she spent 1 hour on the
road and unfortunately missed the appointment. She has been given a new appointment at the same
time tomorrow. As she narrates this story to you, she is not sure if she will be able to make it for the
appointment, and is seeking for you advice and help in this matter.

Task:
Help your friend to:

(a) differentiate between a wheelbarrow and the car, with reference to her experience.
(c) (i) Describe the important property of materials that is useful and applied in the vehicle
for a better experience.
(ii) State the law that applies to materials as referred to in your friend’s experience.
(d) determine the speed at which she moved on the bumpy section of the road.
(e) determine and advise her on how much earlier she should start the journey if she is to
be on time for the new appointment, given that she is to use the same vehicle on the
same road.

Item 5
A business lady operates a restaurant which serves food and drinks. In the morning as she was driving
her car to his restaurant, it developed a problem. There was a lot of steam coming from the bonnet
and the engine stopped working. The mechanic she invited told her that the engine had overheated
because there was little water in the radiator. After filling the radiator with water the car started
working. When she reached her restaurant, she prepared 0.02 kg ice cubes for customers who wish to
add them to their drinks. She then steamed the matooke for lunch and proceeded to make her special
drink that she serves out in plastic glasses that hold 0.5 kg of the drink.

Task:
Assist the business lady to;
(a) (i) understand the features that make her car radiator efficient for its purpose.
(b) (i) identify the various states of water that she used that day.

18
 (ii) explain why each of the states of water works very well for the purpose it served
that day.
(d) determine the specific heat capacity of the special drink, given that a customer needed four ice
cubes to reduce the temperature from 30 oC to 10 oC.
Hint: Specific latent heat of fusion of ice is 336000 Jkg-1 Specific
heat capacity of water is 4200 Jkg-1K-1

Item 6
A class intends to undertake a physics project of making a thermometer to be used in a physics
laboratory. At the planning stage, the following questions have come up; How to select the
suitable liquid to be used.
How to come up with the graduation on the thermometer.
They have approached you for some ideas to help them produce a working product.

Task:
As a physics learner help your friends to,
(a) understand;
(i) What they should consider when choosing a suitable liquid for this project.
(ii) How their thermometer should be graduated.
(b) determine the density of the liquid to be used in the absence of a measuring cylinder or any other
apparatus for measuring volume.
Hint:
• the volume of the liquid required is 5cm3.
• knowledge of principles of moments to determine density.

Item 7
Your parents operate a diary business and buy five jerry cans daily. Before buying milk from any
farmer, its purity is tested using a hydrometer. One evening the hydrometer accidentally fell down
and stopped working yet the milk had to be tested. You advised them to keep the milk into a
refrigerator which automatically switches off when the temperature of the milk has dropped from
room temperature to a temperature of 10 0C. The parents were worried that their milk would get spoilt
and hence make losses; they wanted you to explain and assure them if your advice would really work.

Hint;
• Volume of each jerry can of milk is 20 litres
• Room temperature = 24 0C
• Specific heat capacity of milk = 3.14 Jkg-1K-1
• Density of pure milk = 1035 kgm-3
• Materials to use include; beam balance, measuring cylinder and beaker.

Task
Using the knowledge of physics, assist your parents to;
(a) determine the purity of the milk in absence of a hydrometer.
(b) understand how much heat energy is withdrawn by the refrigerator from the milk.
(c) understand how the features of the device you proposed, are able to save the milk from getting
spoilt.
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Item 8
In a certain home, it is the children’s responsibility to draw water for cooking and also to boil it for
drinking. They draw the water from an underground well using a rope and a bucket. The children
have raised a complaint to their father that pulling water using a rope and a bucket is tiresome and are
suggesting that a simple machine for drawing water be designed for them. Every day, they use an
aluminium saucepan of mass 2 kg to boil 10 litres of water from a temperature of 24 0C to 90 0C. The
father is planning to address his children’s concern but is not certain of how to solve it, and is looking
for guidance.

Task:
Using the knowledge of physics, help the father to;
(a) (i) design the simple machine that can be used and explain how it works.
(ii) understand how to improve on efficiency of the machine designed in (a)(i).

(b) understand how much heat energy is used daily by the family to boil drinking water.

Use;
Specific heat capacity of aluminum = 900𝐽𝑘𝑔−1𝐾−1
Specific heat capacity of water = 4200𝐽𝑘𝑔−1𝐾−1
Density of water = 1000𝑘𝑔𝑚−3

Item 9
During holidays, a boy of mass 50 kg went to a play resort near the lake shores on a
certain beach and sat on one side of a see-saw at a distance of 2.4 m from its pivot. It
was very hot that day and the diurnal temperatures that were above 420C after
afterwards he decided to enter the lake and swim to cool himself. He was wearing
heavy black shorts and white vest. After swimming, he was left puzzled and
wondering why his heavy black shorts dried quicker than the white vest and beach
cottages (semi-houses) roofed with grass instead of iron sheets were cooler than those
with iron sheets.
Hint:
Specific heat capacity of the boy (human body) = 3.5 kJkg-1K-1

Task:
As a physics student;

(a) Help the guide at the play resort to determine if another boy of mass 40 kg
will restore equilibrium in the see-saw if he sits at a distance of 3m from the
pivot.
(b) Assist the boy to understand what has made him puzzled and keep wondering.
(c) Determine the quantity of heat lost by the boy if his temperature in the lake
was 220C.

Item 10
A pump is used to fill a tank by drawing water from underground well to be used at
school power house. In order to minimize on power consumption its use for limited
20
time, the pump works at a constant rate of 𝟐. 𝟒 𝐱𝟏𝟎²𝐖 and it’s able to raise 0.188
m³ of water every minute through a height of 6m. The cooks complain that it is slow
at work. At the power house the cook is always surprised because water pumped in the
morning is always above the normal temperature at 30℃ when measured using a
thermometer which the cook checks before making morning tea. The pump is said to
be efficient if the ratio of its work out put to work input is above 0.75 and the cook
boils 9.5l of water for morning tea and 500g evaporated.

Support materials
Density of water is 1000kgm-3

Specific heat capacity of water = 4200Jkg-¹K-¹

Specific latent heat of vaporization of water 2.56 × 106Jkg − ¹

Task.

(a) Obtain the rate at which the pump works in raising the water and comment on
its efficiency.
(b) Explain to the cooks why water pumped in the morning has such temperature.
(c) How much heat is necessary to turn the lost volume of water into vapour.
Item 11
On a construction site a builder uses an electric lifter to transfer the mortar from the
ground to a height of 17.0m on the building. When power went off and work has to
continue, the builders got a rope, a pail of negligible mass with a handle that lift a
maximum of 20kg of mortar. They want to design a simple machine with a help of a
grooved rim which can enable them resume work. Given that the rope has a maximum
thermal strength of 3.8kJ.

Hint;
Assume all the potential energy is converted to heat energy

Task.

(a) Help the builders to design the machine and guide the on how it works.
(b) Advise whether the rope will withstand the heat generated or it will break.
(c) Suggest the necessary factor to consider that enable the rope to success fully
execute the work.
Item 12

A steel and tube industries company limited was contacted by the school to make a
number of new items to restock their kitchen. Among the items on the invoice are;
saucepan, strainer, saucepan covers (lids), ladles, cups and plates for students. The
school did not specify the type of materials these items should be made of and
therefore, the procurement officer of the company their raw materials supplier and the
following was supplied following the invoice.
• Plain sheets of copper Clay
• Plain sheets of aluminum Wood
Melamine resin powder
21
For the production team to come up with the items requested by the school, they have
to subject these raw materials to either heat or force however these materials behave
differently under these two factors.

Support knowledge.

Heat capacity of copper is 400Jkg-1K-1

Heat capacity of aluminum is 900 Jkg-1K-1

Task

a) As a physics learner, with reason(s) help the production team to select the raw
material suitable for each item to be produced.
b) Explain at particle level how these materials behave when subjected to either
heat or when a force is applied.
ITEM 13
Workers at a construction site are meant to raise pieces of scrap of mass 6 kg through a height of
15m. Their boss always complains that the workers who carry the pieces of metal do the work
slowly, especially in the afternoon when the temperatures are high and in the morning when it is cold.
In response, the workers claim their hands are burnt by the hot metals which slows them down. One
of the workers suggested they use a pulley of velocity ratio 4 and an efficiency of 80%.

Use your knowledge of physics to;

a. Explain why the metals are very cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon.
b. Draw a design of the required pulley and explain how it can be used to solve their problem.
c. Determine the minimum force required to ensure an 80% is achieved.
The string they used had a mass of 120g and a specific heat capacity of 2510 JKg-1K-1, and the

work done to lift the load would be converted to heat energy in the string at the contact point of

the pulley.

Hint; The string would break if its temperature reaches by 28oC.

d. Determine if the string suggested above would be suitable for the purpose.
e. Suggest ways in which the efficiency of the pulley system can be improved.
ITEM 14
During a party, 2 liters of water at 24 oC were served to a man and a woman. They complained that it
was warm and were given 50g of ice at -10 oC blocks. They mixed the water and blocks in a wooden
container with a negligible specific heat capacity. They were surprised by the ice cubes disappearing
in the water. The man put his mixture in a plastic container (shc = 2800 JKg-1K-1) while the woman
put her mixture in a metallic container (shc = 800 JKg-1K-1). They were surprised to find their water
at different temperatures after some time.
Specific Heat capacity of water = 4200 JKg-1K-1
22
 Latent heat of fusion of ice = 340000 JKg-1
Use your knowledge of Physics to;
a. Determine if the water cooled when mixed with ice.
b. Why do the ice cubes disappear when mixed with water?
c. Explain why there was a difference in temperatures in the water kept in the plastic and the metallic
container.

PART II

THEME: ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

TOPICS:
ELECTRICITY MAGNETISM
Electrostatics Magnets and magnetic fields
Introduction to current electricity Electromagnetic effects
Voltage, resistance and Ohm’s law
Electric energy distribution and consumption

Item 1
A S.4 boy has researched about a certain device that produces rotation when connected to a source of
electricity and is found in appliances such as fans, cassette players and disc players. The boy has
removed such a device from an old music cassette player at home and according to his research it can
be converted into a dynamo to light his bicycle’s headlamp. The boy is looking for assistance on how
this can be done.

Task:
Help the boy to:
(a) describe the construction and working of the device to produce rotation.
(b) describe how the device is to be converted into a dynamo, and how it will work to light the head
lamp.
(c) improve the efficiency of the device.

23
ITEM 2
During a science project, learners are told that electricity at a substation is transmitted at 13 kV with
a current of 0.05A using thick aluminum wires for use inside a house at a voltage of 240 V. The
house has two television sets (TVs) that operate on direct current but should be connected such that
they receive maximum current and function properly.

The learners, however, couldn’t get an explanation of the issues mentioned.

Use your knowledge of Physics to;

a. Understand how the voltage is changed from 13 kV to 240 V.

b. Why thick aluminium wires are used during power transmission.
c. Determine the current in the house if 20% of the electrical energy is lost during voltage change.
d. Account for the energy losses as the voltage changes and how those losses can be reduced.
e. Understand how the current used in the TV is changed from alternating current (AC) to direct
current (DC).
f. How the Television Sets should be connected to ensure they receive maximum current and function
properly.

ITEM 3
An electromagnet as shown in Figure below is constructed by winding a wire around an iron nail of
resistance 0.5Ω, connecting it to a battery of four cells of EMF 1.5V each, and then placing it above a
tin containing iron fillings, some of which are attracted to the nail. Upon disconnecting the battery,
most iron fillings fall off. However, when the iron nail is replaced with an identical steel nail of the
same size, the pins are attracted slower. Surprisingly, when the EMF source is disconnected, just a
few of the iron fillings fall off.

Use your physics knowledge to:

a. Explain how the electromagnet operates.
b. Use domain theory to explain how the nail becomes a magnet.
c. Elaborate on the difference in the time taken before the steel and iron nails start attracting small
pins.
d. Explain what would happen if a battery of 2 cells of the same EMF was used instead of one of
4 cells.

e. Identify other factors that could contribute to an increase in the number of nails being attracted.

f. Suggest ways in which the magnetized nails can be made to lose their magnetism.

24
 ITEM 4

A certain household has a set of appliances as listed in the table below.

Appliance Power rating Time of use

4 bulbs 20 W each 13 hours every day

Cooker 2500 W 4 hours every day
Flat iron 1500 W 5 hours each week
Electric fence 2200 W 10 hours every day
resistance wire of low

The owner of the household while making a budget for how much money would be required
every week to cater for the electricity bill. He also wondered how the sockets for those
appliances should be connected to ensure high current flows and why low resistance instead of
high resistance wire is used.

Hint; The owner only intends to spend sh.50000 on electricity every week.
Use your knowledge of Physics to;

a. Determine if sh. 50000 would be enough to cater for the electricity bill for a week.
b. Explain how the sockets of the appliances should be connected to ensure maximum current flows
c. Explain why low-resistance wires are used for the electric fence.
d. Suggest measures on how to reduce the electricity bill.

Item 5
Your neighbour bought an electric kettle and connected it the first time to a power socket to boil 2 kg
of water. Immediately, the neighbour heard a small explosion in the kettle and it stopped working.
The neighbour called you for help and on inspecting the kettle, it had the following features; a two
pin plug connected to the kettle’s cable. The cable had three wires in it, one with red insulation
connected to the first pin, the second with blue insulation, connected to the second pin and the third
had green insulation but not connected to any pin, also, the heating element had blown. The label on
the kettle read 2 kW, 110 V, 50Hz.

Assist your neighbour to:

(a) know the name given to each of the wires in the cable.
(b) (i) understand explain the meaning of quantities written on the label.
(ii) determine the resistance of the element of the kettle.
(c) (i) understand the cause of blowing of the kettle.
25
 (ii) understand what could have been done to prevent blowing of the kettle.
(iii) know other precautions that should always be taken in proper use of the kettle.

Item 6
A community has started a project to generate electricity from a nearby water fall. They have installed
a generator that produces 50,000 W of a.c. electricity at 500 V. They hope to transmit this electricity
to the village that is 10 km away. They have erected the poles and connected the necessary wires all
the way from the water fall to the village. The wires have a total resistance 4 . The appliances the
community hopes to use work on 240 V. An engineer has advised the leaders in the project not to
connect this power to the users because it will cause problems. The leaders have disagreed with the
engineer, saying that he is using this as a trick to get more money from him, else they need clear
explanations.

Task:
Help the engineer to convince the leaders by;
(a) Explaining the problems that will arise if the electricity is used as it is.
(b) Determining the percentage power loss that is likely to occur along the way, when the
power is used directly as it is.
(c) Explaining the working of the devices that must be installed in the transmission system to
enable safe use of the electricity with minimum power loss.
(d) Giving the advantages that the community is to attain by generating a.c. instead of d.c.

Item 7
A certain home is failing to manage electricity bills and thinks the electricity board is cheating them.
They recently bought 60 units of electricity which got used up in less than a week, even when they
stopped using electricity for cooking food. They also complain that when the lights are switched on,
the rooms in the house become too hot. You inspected their home and found out that they
had 6 filament bulbs of 100 W each that worked 5 hours a day and 3 security lamps of 200 W each
that worked 10 hours a day. They were boiling water twice a day with a heating coil of power 2000 W
and it was taking 15 minutes each time to boil water. They wish to get more information from you
after your inspection.

Task:
Assist the members of the home to:
(a) Understand the meaning of the number of units they bought.
(b) Make necessary calculations to determine whether they were cheated, and give them any
relevant advice.
(c) understand why the rooms get hot when their lights are switched on.
(d) come up with ways of reducing the electricity bill, even when they are still using it for
same purposes.

Item 8
During a physics study tour to an electricity generation substation, learners were guided on the
processes of electricity generation and consumption. From the information the substation engineer

26
provided, learners made the following observations which were however not fully explained because
of limited time;
▪ Electricity at the substation is transmitted at 13 kV in alternating current of 0.05 A.
▪ The voltage used for home consumption units is 240 V with a little higher direct current.
▪ Workers in the substation are all required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

Task
Using the knowledge of physics, help the learners to:
(a) understand why the power is transmitted at a value different from the one consumed.
(b) determine the exact current supplied to a given home, for consumption.
(c) how the voltage changes.
(d) understand why the substation workers use the PPE?

Item 9
A man constructed his house near a high-power line of 15 KV with 0.08 A. He wanted to connect the
house to the power and use some electrical appliances. He consulted a local electrician who assured
him that they can connect the power line direct to the house in order to reduce costs. The man was
warned by his colleagues that he risks burning down his house if he continues with the electricians’
plan.

Hint
The man wants to start up with the following appliances in the house:

Item Number of items Power rating Time of use (hours)

Inside bulbs 4 60 W 8
Security bulbs 2 100 W 14
A television 1 120 W 20
A speaker 1 300 W 20
A fridge 1 600 W 4
Task Using the knowledge of physics, help the man to:
(a) Understand;
27
 (i) Why his house can easily burn down and explain what he can do to get power safely.
(ii) the recommended connection of the bulbs in the house, and why?
(b) Determine his weekly expenditure on electricity if the appliances are used daily, taking the unit
cost of the electricity unit as Ug Shs. 550.
(c) Know the appropriate practices he needs to adapt which ensure his safety, basing on the
location of his house.

Item 10
On a rainy day, a certain house was struck by lightning, instantly destroying the fuse in the meter box.
The family members were all safe but were advised always to take precautions while it is raining. The
house owner didn’t understand why they needed to take precautions after all no harm came to them
that day.

Hint;
Power supplied to the house through the metre box is 240 V and the fuse is made of a material of
resistance 480 Ω.
Task
Using the knowledge of Physics;
(a) Explain to the house owner how he can safe-guard his house from such occurrences in the
future.
(b) Suggest precautions the family members should always take to be safe when such a situation
arises.
(c) Determine the rating of the fuse and the current above which may have caused it to burn.

Item 11
A land-lady was recently told that electricity from a power substation is transmitted at 12 kV using
thick aluminium cables and is to be used in her house at 240 V. She got confused by how the
electricity changes voltage from one value to another and said that the thick cables are a waste of
money. Inside the house are two sets of appliances of resistance 20 Ω and 30 Ω but the land-lady is
not sure of how they should be connected to ensure that they will work effectively.
Use your knowledge of physics to help the land-lady to understand;
a) the system through how the electricity changes from one value to another.
b) why such cables are used.
c) how the appliances should be connected to ensure that they work effectively with a high
amount of current.
Item 12
In a certain place, a house was connected to a 240V mains voltage supply and the
owner wished to connect a TV set rated 120V, 75W, a flat iron rated 120V, 600W,
an electric bell of resistance 5 ohms that would instantly produce sound to alert the
house owner about the visitors at the gate when a switch was pressed, and 4 bulbs
rated 120V, 60W either in series or parallel connection for lighting purposes. The
house owner also bought a Power King extension with a fuse rated 5A, where he
plugged in his TV set and Flat iron. The T.V set is operated for 5 hours per day.

Task:

28
 (a) Comment on the effectiveness of the fuse in the extension if it would support
the above electrical appliances when plugged in the extension altogether.
(b) Assist the house owner to know in which way to connect his bulbs in the
house and explain why?
(c) Explain how sound was produced when a switch was pressed.
(d) Determine the amount of money required to keep the T.V operating the whole
day, if the electricity rate is Ugsh. 680 per kWh.
Item 13
In a certain school, students visited a hydroelectric power plant and received
information that electricity at a dam is generated in form of alternating current (a.c) at
12kV but transmitted at 400kV using aluminum transmission cables yet in the
physics laboratory electricity can be generated as direct current (d.c) using dilute
sulphuric acid and two electrodes of copper and zinc where a filament is connected
and after sometime its brightness fades. However, learners are confused about how
voltage is increased and have questions how a.c is used to charge a mobile phone yet it
is only d.c that can be used to charge mobile phones.

Task:

(a) Explain how voltage is changed from 12 kV to 400 kV

(b) Explain how a.c from the dam is used to charge a mobile phone.
(c) Determine the current in the transmission cables, if 10% of its energy lost in
changing its voltage, if the current before the change is 20 A
(d) Explain why the brightness of the bulb faded and how it can be restored.
Item 14
A factory produces small metallic tanks for storing paint and uses a magnetic lifting
device to move tanks around the factory and packing them in lorries for delivery. One
construction company ordered for large size tanks. However, after manufacturing
them, the magnetic lifting device failed to lift the tanks due to their increased weight.
Even the packed tanks were found attracted to the other. The same day the factory
engineer wasn't available which left the attendants puzzled on how to ensure delivery
is made in time.

Support material: A strong electric battery, copper wires, iron rods, current
controllers (variable resistors)
As a physics student;

(a) Advise the attendants on how and which device they can design to effectively
load them on lorries for timely delivery.
(b) Explain how the strength of the device used for loading can be improved.
(c) Explain why is that the tanks were found attracted to each other upon delivery
(d) Advise the construction company on how they will be able to separate the
tanks that are in contact.

Item 15
The welders in a certain workshop are troubled with their tools being shocked by
electricity from a generator of 240V. When they visited a technician, they were
29
advised to wind a copper wire to 3000 turns around a soft iron ring on the receiving
part so as to output 120V suitable for their work shop operations fixed in a box.
However, the welders seem bothered of how this will be of help.
Task
As a learner of physics,

(a) Explain to the welders how the above design will produce power
corresponding to their consumption.
(b) Help the welder to determine the number of turns to be would on the output
part of the device
(c) Comment on how efficient the device is if the ratio of current output to current
input is 1.5
(d) Advise the welders on how to improve the efficiency of the device.

ITEM 16

30