P H Y S I C S – Half Yearly Exam – Specimen Paper
Form 4
Time: 2 hrs
Name:_________________________________
Class: __________
Answer all questions on the exam paper. Show all steps in your
working. The use of scientific calculators is allowed. Marks are allotted
for good presentation and well-labelled diagrams.
Wherever necessary take the acceleration due to gravity, g = 10 m/s²
and Standard Atmospheric Pressure = 100,000 Pa.
____________________________________________________________________________
Section A
Answer all questions.
(a) This question is about measurements and variables.
1.
(a)
Complete the following table:
Quantity
Pressure
Acceleration
Specific heat capacity
Power
Density
Symbol
(5)
S.I. Units
(b) Classify the following as vectors and scalars:
(4)
velocity, displacement, acceleration, force, mass, time
speed, distance.
Vectors
Scalars
(c) Fill in the blanks with the words listed below:
speed
transverse
radio waves
microwaves
gamma radiation
x-rays
The electromagnetic spectrum is made up of seven different types of
_______________
waves
_____________________
that
have
have
the
same
the
lowest
_____________________ have the highest frequency.
____________
frequency
.
while
_____________ are
very penetrating and dangerous and are used to give us pictures of
broken
bones
while
communications.
__________________
are
used
in
mobile
(3)
(d) Give:
(3)
(i)One disadvantage of Nuclear energy
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(ii)One advantage of solar energy
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(iii) A reason why wind energy is suitable for the Maltese
Islands.
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2. This question is about pressure
A village church floor has been repaved and needs to
be protected by reducing the pressure exerted on it
as much as possible. The church has 120 benches
each weighing 700N.
(b) What is the total weight of all the benches?
(1)
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
(c) Each bench stands on two legs. Each leg has a length of 0.4m and a
width of 0.05m. What is the total area of contact of all the benches
in the church?
(2)
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(d) Calculate the pressure on the floor due to all the empty benches. (2)
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(e) What are the two factors that affect pressure at a point?
(i)
______________________________
(ii)
______________________________
(2)
(f) Before refurbishing, each bench used to stand on four small circular
stoppers, one at each end. Explain why this was not desirable.
(2)
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3. This question is about energy
A crane is used to lift 10 stones each of mass 100kg each through a
distance of 3m in 5s.
(a) What is the total weight of the stones?
(1)
(b)Calculate the work done by the crane to lift the ten stones. (2)
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(c) Calculate the power of the crane.
(2)
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(a) What is the potential energy of one stone at the top?
(2)
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(b) If the stone accidentally falls freely from that height, find its
velocity just before it hits the ground.
(2)
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4. This question is about heat
Sue and Dave work in a fashion design company. They are asked to design a winter
jacket with good insulation. Before they start their design, they need to find which the
best insulator is: feathers or a layer of cloth. They are given the following apparatus:
Can covered
with feather
as
an
insulation
Can covered
Two
with cloth as thermometer
an
s
insulation
Boiling Water
Stop watch
a)Describe an experiment that Sue and Dave must do in order to find
which is the best insulator.
(3)
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________
b) Mention two precautions taken in their experiment.
(2)
1.
____________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________
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c) Sketch two graphs of temperature against time on the same axes to
show the expected results. Label your graphs: feather insulation and cloth
insulation.
(4)
d) It is expected that _____________________ is the better insulator since
trapped air is a _______ conductor of heat.
(1)
e) Dave and Sue design a quilted reversible jacket. One side of the jacket is
black and the other side is white. Choose the best way to wear the jacket to
keep a person warmer in winter. Give a reason for your choice.
Option 1
Black inside and white outside
Option 2
White inside and black outside
Option __________
(1)
Reason: _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
(1)
5. This question is about distance and velocity.
The distance covered every 20 seconds by a competitor taking part in the
first 500m of a marathon is shown in the table below.
Time /s
0
Distance /m 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
120
230
315
360
410
440
465
485
500
a. Plot a graph of distance on the Y-axis against time.
[5]
b. From your graph, find the distance the competitor covers after:
(i) 50 seconds ______________
(ii) 150 seconds ______________
[2]
c. From the table above, find the distance the competitor covers:
[2]
(i) between the 20th and 40th second ______________________________
(ii) between the 120th and 140th second ___________________________
d. Explain why the answers to questions c.(i) and c. (ii) are different.
[3]
___________________________________________________________________________
e. Find the competitor’s average velocity:
[3]
(i) during the first 50 seconds
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
(ii) during the first 150 seconds
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(iii) for the first 500m of the marathon.
___________________________________________________________________________
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space for graph paper
6. This question is about the behaviour of light in air and water.
(a) As shown in the diagram below Sarah dropped her ring in a fish pond.
She looks from position X into the pond.
(i)
Show by drawing 2 rays; how light emerges from the object and
reaches the observer at point X. Show also the position of the
image formed and mark it with an ‘I’.
(4)
X
Air
Water
(ii)
What is the effect that occurs at the water-air boundary called?
____________________________________________________________
(1)
(iii)
Is the image obtained virtual or real? _________________
(1)
(b) The actual depth of the fish pond was 0.8m. If the refractive index of
water is 1.33, find the depth at which the ring’s image appears to be?
(3)
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(c) Sarah now takes a semi-circular glass block and places the ray box
such that the ray YZ enters the semi-circular glass block at point Y.
She obtains the result shown below
(i)
Why does the refracted ray AB pass exactly on the side AB of
the block?
(2)
______________________________________________________________
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(ii)
Why is the ray entering the glass block at Y not bent?
(1)
_____________________________________________________________
(iii)
If the angle of incidence is greater than 42° what will happen to
the ray at Z?
(1)
_____________________________________________________________
7. This question is about energy and linear motion
As we become even more environmentally conscious and fuel becomes
more of an issue, the car industry is looking closely at engines which run
totally on battery power.
This car accelerates from rest and reaches a constant speed of 120m/s in
2 s. It is an extremely lightweight car that has a mass of 1,050 kg.
(a) Calculate the acceleration of the car in the first 2s.
(2)
_____________________________________________________________________
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(b) Calculate the unbalanced force needed to produce this acceleration.
(1)
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(c) What is the value of the unbalanced force once a constant speed of
120m/s has been reached? Explain your answer.
(2)
_____________________________________________________________________
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Calculate the kinetic energy the car has gained when it reaches a
constant speed of 120m/s.
(2)
_____________________________________________________________________
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(d) Calculate the power of the car in these 2s.
(2)
_____________________________________________________________________
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(e) Give two reasons why such a car is being considered as the car of the
future in terms of environmental issues and fuel consumption.
(4)
(i) _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
(ii) _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
(f) The manufactures of this electric vehicle state that its optimal teardrop shape helps reduce fuel consumption. Explain what they
mean by this statement. (2)
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