revesion
[30 marks]
1. What is the order of magnitude of the wavelength of visible light?
[1 mark]
A. 10−10 m
B. 10−7 m
C. 10−4 m
D. 10−1 m
Markscheme
B
Examiners report
This question was correctly answered by the majority of SL candidates.
2. A driver uses the brakes on a car to descend a hill at constant speed.
What is correct about the internal energy of the brake discs?
A. The internal energy increases.
B. The internal energy decreases.
C. There is no change in the internal energy.
D. The internal energy is zero.
Markscheme
A
[1 mark]
Examiners report
This question was well answered by HL and SL candidates, although option C
did prove to be a distraction for some.
3. Two blocks, X and Y, are placed in contact with each other. Data for the
blocks are provided.
[1 mark]
X has a mass m . What is the mass of Y?
A. m
4
B.
m
C. 4 m
D. 6 m
Markscheme
C
Examiners report
This question was very well answered by candidates, reinforced by the high
difficulty index for both HL and SL groups. This is another question that
requires the rearrangement of an equation to determine a relationship
between variables; interestingly candidates showed greater success on this
question than others of this type. This may be due to the fact that there was
not an easy distractor included in the response options, requiring candidates
to work through equation substitution and rearrangement to reach a final
answer.
4. An ideal gas is maintained at a temperature of 100 K. The variation of the [1 mark]
1
pressure P and volume
of the gas is shown.
What is the quantity of the gas?
2×105
mol
R
B. 200
mol
R
C. 80
mol
R
4
D. 5R
mol
A.
Markscheme
C
Examiners report
This question tested candidate understanding of the relationship between the
slope of a graph and the ideal gas law. SL candidates found this question more
difficult than their HL counterparts, but in both groups of students, option C
was the most frequent (and correct) answer.
5. The magnitude of the resultant of two forces acting on a body is 12 N.
Which pair of forces acting on the body can combine to produce this
resultant?
[1 mark]
A. 1 N and 2 N
B. 1 N and 14 N
C. 5 N and 6 N
D. 6 N and 7 N
Markscheme
D
Examiners report
This question was well answered by HL and SL candidates. There was a higher
number of blanks (no response) among SL students than is typical this early in
the exam paper.
6. A student measures the time for 20 oscillations of a pendulum. The
experiment is repeated four times. The measurements are:
10.45 s
10.30 s
10.70 s
10.55 s
What is the best estimate of the uncertainty in the average time for 20
oscillations?
A. 0.01 s
B. 0.05 s
C. 0.2 s
D. 0.5 s
Markscheme
C
[1 mark]
Examiners report
This question was well answered, although option B was a significant
distractor for candidates focusing on the last significant digit.
7. A block moving with initial speed v is brought to rest, after travelling a
distance d, by a frictional force f . A second identical block moving with
[1 mark]
f
initial speed u is brought to rest in the same distance d by a frictional force 2 .
What is u?
A.
v
v
√2
C. v2
D. v4
B.
Markscheme
B
Examiners report
With a lower difficulty index for SL candidates than for HL candidates, this
question asked students to recognize the relationship between variables in a
kinematics equation. For both groups, option C (incorrect) was most frequently
selected, as candidates struggled to show the relationship between U and the
change in frictional force. This question would be a useful teaching tool, as
results here suggest candidates should spend more time working with
equations without numerical substitutions.
−1
8. A stone is kicked horizontally at a speed of 1.5 m s−1 from the edge of a [1 mark]
cliff on one of Jupiter’s moons. It hits the ground 2.0 s later. The height of
the cliff is 4.0 m. Air resistance is negligible.
What is the magnitude of the displacement of the stone?
A. 7.0 m
B. 5.0 m
C. 4.0 m
D. 3.0 m
Markscheme
B
Examiners report
This question was generally well answered by both HL and SL candidates and
had a mid-range difficulty index (indicating an easier question). Option D was
an effective distractor for candidates calculating the horizontal range rather
than the displacement. Candidates are encouraged to read the questions
carefully to ensure it is clear what each question is asking for.
9. Which of the formulae represents Newton’s second law?
mass
A. volume
B.
work
displacement
C.
change of momentum
time
D.
pressure × area
Markscheme
C
[1 mark]
Examiners report
This question was very well answered by SL candidates, as demonstrated by
the high difficulty index.
10. Two masses m 1 and m 2 are connected by a string over a frictionless
[1 mark]
pulley of negligible mass. The masses are released from rest. Air resistance is
negligible.
Mass
A. 13
m2 accelerates downwards at g2 . What is
m1
?
m2
B. 12
C. 2
D. 3
Markscheme
A
Examiners report
With a low difficulty index for both, this question was challenging for both HL
and SL candidates. Option B was the most common (incorrect) answer, and
only a small number of candidates correctly selected option A. This question
would be a useful teaching tool for students, as they consider the relationship
between variables without numeric substitution.
11. A cart travels from rest along a horizontal surface with a constant
[1 mark]
acceleration. What is the variation of the kinetic energy Ek of the cart with
its distance s travelled? Air resistance is negligible.
Markscheme
D
Examiners report
Option A was the most common (incorrect) response among both HL and SL
candidates, suggesting that candidates were looking for a curve representing
speed rather than kinetic energy against distance. A low discrimination index
suggests that both high and low achieving students were caught by this
effective distractor.
12. Two trolleys of equal mass travel in opposite directions as shown.
The trolleys collide head-on and stick together.
What is their velocity after the collision?
A. 1 m s−1
B. 2 m s−1
C. 5 m s−1
D. 10 m s−1
[1 mark]
Markscheme
A
Examiners report
The majority of SL candidates selected option B, finding the difference in
velocity but neglecting to recognize that mass will have doubled. This question
had a relatively high discrimination index suggesting more able candidates
had greater success demonstrating this recognition.
13. The radius of a circle is measured to be (10.0 ± 0.5) cm. What is the area [1 mark]
of the circle?
A. (314.2 ± 0.3) cm2
B. (314 ± 1) cm2
C. (314 ± 15) cm2
D. (314 ± 31) cm2
Markscheme
D
Examiners report
This question discriminated well at both HL and SL with many candidates
choosing the correct option D. However, option B was also a popular choice
particularly at SL. Candidates need to be aware that when performing a
calculation e.g. the area as here, the uncertainty also has to be propagated so a 5% uncertainty in the radius becomes a 10% uncertainty in the area.
There were some comments on the G2s that the uncertainty should only have
been given to 1sf but this is not always correct as uncertainties are given to
the precision of the value, depending on the percentage calculated in the
propagation.
14. A quantity of an ideal gas is at a temperature T in a cylinder with a
[1 mark]
movable piston that traps a length L of the gas. The piston is moved so
that the length of the trapped gas is reduced to 56L and the pressure of the gas
doubles.
What is the temperature of the gas at the end of the change?
5
A. 12
T
B. 35 T
C. 53 T
D. 12
T
5
Markscheme
C
Examiners report
Some comments queried that the Laws of Thermodynamics are not on the
syllabus. This question was set as a test of Thermal Physics, topic 3, with
option A coming from Mechanics, topic 2, not Thermodynamics.
15. What is true for an ideal gas?
A. nRT = NkBT
B. nRT = kBT
C. RT = NkBT
D. RT = kBT
[1 mark]
Markscheme
A
Examiners report
[N/A]
16. Which assumption is part of the molecular kinetic model of ideal gases?
[1 mark]
A. The work done on a system equals the change in kinetic energy of the system.
B. The volume of a gas results from adding the volume of the individual
molecules.
C. A gas is made up of tiny identical particles in constant random motion.
D. All particles in a gas have kinetic and potential energy.
Markscheme
C
Examiners report
[N/A]
17. System X is at a temperature of 40 °C. Thermal energy is provided to
[1 mark]
system X until it reaches a temperature of 50 °C. System Y is at a
temperature of 283 K. Thermal energy is provided to system Y until it reaches a
temperature of 293 K.
What is the difference in the thermal energy provided to both systems?
A. Zero
B. Larger for X
C. Larger for Y
D. Cannot be determined with the data given
Markscheme
D
Examiners report
This question gives good discrimination although slightly more candidates
chose option A instead of the correct option D. It is unusual that the correct
response is 'cannot be determined' but the lack of mass or specific heat
capacity in the data should have alerted candidates that they were not able to
work out or compare how much thermal energy was supplied.
18. Two different experiments, P and Q, generate two sets of data to confirm [1 mark]
the proportionality of variables x and y. The graphs for the data from P
and Q are shown. The maximum and minimum gradient lines are shown for both
sets of data.
What is true about the systematic error and the uncertainty of the gradient when P
is compared to Q?
Markscheme
C
Examiners report
[N/A]
19. The road from city X to city Y is 1000 km long. The displacement is 800
km from X to Y.
[1 mark]
What is the distance travelled from Y to X and the displacement from Y to X?
Markscheme
D
Examiners report
[N/A]
20. A car accelerates uniformly from rest to a velocity v during time t1 . It then[1 mark]
continues at constant velocity v from t1 to time t2 .
What is the total distance covered by the car in t2 ?
A.
v t2
B. 12 v(t2
− t1 )+v t1
C. 12 v(t2
+ t1 )
D. 12 v t1
+ v(t2 − t1 )
Markscheme
D
Examiners report
[N/A]
21. An object is sliding from rest down a frictionless inclined plane. The object [1 mark]
slides 1.0 m during the first second.
What distance will the object slide during the next second?
A. 1.0 m
B. 2.0 m
C. 3.0 m
D. 4.9 m
Markscheme
C
Examiners report
The correct response, option C was the most popular chosen at HL but at SL
significantly more candidates chose options A or B. The difficulty index of 21
and discrimination index of 0.27 at SL indicates that students found the
question to be hard with lower discrimination between stronger and weaker
candidates. It is felt that those who chose option A did not realise the block
was accelerating down the slope, whereas those choosing B did but were
unable to calculate the acceleration correctly.
22. An object of mass 2.0 kg rests on a rough surface. A person pushes the
object in a straight line with a force of 10 N through a distance d.
[1 mark]
The resultant force acting on the object throughout d is 6.0 N.
What is the value of the sliding coefficient of friction μ between the surface and
the object and what is the acceleration a of the object?
Markscheme
A
Examiners report
There is no evidence that candidates were disadvantaged by the use of sliding
friction rather than dynamic friction with the correct option being the most
popular.
23. A rocket has just been launched vertically from Earth. The image shows [1 mark]
the free-body diagram of the rocket. F1 represents a larger force than F2.
Which force pairs with F1 and which force pairs with F2, according to Newton’s
third law?
Markscheme
B
Examiners report
[N/A]
24. An object is pushed from rest by a constant net force of 100 N. When the [1 mark]
object has travelled 2.0 m the object has reached a velocity of 10 m s−1.
What is the mass of the object?
A. 2 kg
B. 4 kg
C. 40 kg
D. 200 kg
Markscheme
B
Examiners report
[N/A]
25. Two blocks of different masses are released from identical springs of
elastic constant k = 100 Nm−1, initially compressed a distance Δx = 0.1
m. Block X has a mass of 1 kg and block Y has a mass of 0.25 kg.
[1 mark]
What are the velocities of the blocks when they leave the springs?
Markscheme
C
Examiners report
Most candidates chose the correct answer confirming this was not
problematic.
26. The intensity of a wave can be defined as the energy per unit area per
[1 mark]
unit time. What is the unit of intensity expressed in fundamental SI units?
A. kg m −2 s−1
B. kg m 2 s−3
C. kg s−2
D. kg s−3
Markscheme
D
Examiners report
The unit analysis in this question proved tricky for many HL candidates, with
option A being the most common (incorrect) answer. The high discrimination
index suggests that this question was more problematic for weaker
candidates.
27. The uncertainty in reading a laboratory thermometer is 0.5 °C. The
[1 mark]
temperature of a liquid falls from 20 °C to 10 °C as measured by the
thermometer. What is the percentage uncertainty in the change in temperature?
A. 2.5 %
B. 5 %
C. 7.5 %
D. 10 %
Markscheme
D
Examiners report
Many candidates failed to recognize that the uncertainty in this error
propagation question would affect both the initial and final temperature
readings. The most common answer (option B) was incorrect, and only a
minority of students correctly selected option D.
28. A book is at rest on a table. One of the forces acting on the book is its
weight.
[1 mark]
What is the other force that completes the force pair according to Newton’s third
law of motion?
A. The pull of the book on Earth
B. The pull of Earth on the book
C. The push of the table on the book
D. The push of the book on the table
Markscheme
A
Examiners report
The majority of candidates incorrectly selected option C for this question,
resulting in a low difficulty index overall. This question highlights a typical
misconception relating to Newton's 3rd law, and emphasises the importance of
conceptual physics teaching.
29. Two bodies each of equal mass travelling in opposite directions collide
head-on.
What is a possible outcome of the collision?
Markscheme
B
[1 mark]
Examiners report
This question was well answered by HL candidates. Some students may have
answered incorrectly due to consideration of speed rather than velocity.
30. Water at room temperature is placed in a freezer. The specific heat
capacity of water is twice the specific heat capacity of ice. Assume that
thermal energy is transferred from the water at a constant rate.
[1 mark]
Which graph shows the variation with time of the temperature of the water?
Markscheme
B
Examiners report
[N/A]
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