Physics HT K15 # 27 A
administered: 27/3/2022, printed: March 26, 2022;
Time allowed: 1 hour, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
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16 Questions × 8 points = 128 points → Final mark will be converted to 100 scale.
1. (8 points) The speedometer in a car consists of a pointer which rotates. The pointer
is situated several millimeters from a calibrated scale.
What could cause a random error in the driver’s reading of the car’s speed?
A. The car’s speed is affected by the wind direction.
B. The speedometer does not read zero when the car is at rest.
C. The speedometer reads 5% higher than the car’s actual speed.
D. The driver’s eye is not always in the same position in relation to the pointer.
2. (8 points) A uniform solid block has weight 500 N, width 0.4 m and height 0.6 m. The
block rests on the edge of a step of depth 0.8 m, as shown.
0.4 m
0.6 m
0.8 m
0.4 m
The block is knocked over the edge of the step and rotates through 90◦ before coming
to rest with the 0.6 m edge horizontal.
What is the change in gravitational potential energy of the block?
A. 300 J
B. 400 J
C. 450 J
D. 550 J
3. (8 points) Two equal masses X and Y are moving towards each other on a frictionless
air track as shown. The masses make an elastic collision.
50 cm/s 30 cm/s
air track
X Y
Which row gives possible velocities for the two masses after the collision?
velocity of X velocity of Y
A. zero 20 cm/s to the right
B. 10 cm/s to the right 10 cm/s to the right
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C. 20 cm/s to the left zero
D. 30 cm/s to the left 50 cm/s to the right
4. (8 points) The figure below shows a demonstration of a stationary wave on a string.
vibrating pin
AB C
pulley
Which of the following statements is correct?
A. A and C are in phase
B. B and C are in phase
C. A and B are in phase
D. A and B are in antiphase
5. (8 points) A stationary sound wave is set up between a loudspeaker and a wall.
A microphone is connected to a cathode-ray oscilloscope (c.r.o.) and is moved along
a line directly between the loudspeaker and the wall. The amplitude of the trace on
the c.r.o. rises to a maximum at a position X, falls to a minimum and then rises once
again to a maximum at position Y .
The distance between X and Y is 33 cm. The speed of sound in air is 330 m/s.
Which diagram represents the c.r.o. trace of the sound received at X?
time base 0.50 ms/cm 1 cm time base 0.50 ms/cm 1 cm
A. C.
time base 0.50 ms/cm 1 cm time base 0.50 ms/cm 1 cm
B. D.
6. (8 points) Two rough discs of mass m and 2m are placed on a rough, horizontal and
level turntable as shown in the diagram. The turntable starts rotating from rest with
gradually increasing angular velocity ω. Eventually, both discs will slip off the turntable.
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disc
turntable 2m
2r
ω
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r
diameter
m
lines
disc
Given that the maximum frictional force acting on mass m is half of that on mass 2m,
which of the following is correct?
A. Disc of mass m experiences maximum frictional force first.
B. Disc of mass 2m experiences maximum frictional force first.
C. Both discs experience maximum frictional force at the same time.
D. Neither disc will experience maximum frictional force.
7. (8 points) In the presence of air resistance, a stone is thrown from P and follows a path
in which the highest point reached is T as shown in the diagram below.
T
P Q
Given the drag force acting on the stone is directly proportional to the magnitude of
its instantaneous velocity, the vertical component of the acceleration of the stone is
A. highest at point P
B. highest at point T
C. highest at point Q
D. constant through the travelled path
8. (8 points) An e-scooter travels at a uniform velocity of 15 m/s along a level road and
passes a motorized bicycle. The motorized bicycle immediately accelerates uniformly
along the same direction to catch up with the e-scooter. At t = 6 s, both the e-scooter
and the motorized bicycle are 54 m apart.
What additional time will it take for the motorised bicycle catch up with the e-scooter?
A. 4.6 s
B. 9.0 s
C. 10.0 s
D. 15.0 s
9. (8 points) Squash ball approaches a squash player who gives it a hard hit with a swing
of her racket. The ball then returns directly to her opponent.
Which of the following is true about the squash ball and the racket during the time of
contact?
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A. The force on the racket due to the ball is smaller than the force on the ball due to
the racket because the ball is much smaller and lighter than the racket.
B. The force on the rocket due to the ball is smaller than the force on the ball due to
the racket because the ball moves off with high speed after the contact whereas the
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racket does not.
C. The force on the racket due to the ball is larger than the force on the ball due to
the racket because smaller mass means smaller force.
D. The force on the racket due to the ball is equal to the force on the ball due to the
racket.
10. (8 points) A missile of mass 3M was projected with a velocity of 50 m/s at an angle of
80◦ above the horizontal. At the highest point, it explodes into three equal fragments
X, Y , Z. Fragment X moves vertically upwards with velocity of 25 m/s. Fragment Y
moves vertically downwards with velocity of 25 m/s.
What is velocity of the fragment Z?
A. 8.6 m/s horizontally
B. 26.0 m/s horizontally
C. 8.6 m/s at an angle of 80◦ above the horizontal.
D. 26.0 m/s at an angle of 80◦ above the horizontal.
11. (8 points) Initially, four identical uniform blocks, each of mass m and thickness h, are
spread on a table.
h h
The acceleration of free fall is g.
How much work is done on the blocks in stacking them on top of one another?
A. 3mgh
B. 6mgh
C. 8mgh
D. 10mgh
12. (8 points) The figure shows a stretched string of length L placed near a closed-pipe.
The fundamental mode of oscillation in the string occurs when the speed of waves in
the string equals the speed of sound waves in the air.
string closed-pipe
In which closed-pipe below will the sound produced by the string cause resonance in
the pipe?
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A. 0.5L
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B. L
C. 2L
D. 3L
13. (8 points) A small metal sphere is released from rest one meter above the surface of a
viscous fluid. The sphere experiences a viscous force that is proportional to its velocity
when moving in the fluid.
Which of the following graphs best represents the variation of the acceleration a of the
sphere with time t?
a
0 t
A.
a
0 t
B.
a
0 t
C.
a
0 t
D.
14. (8 points) A longitudinal wave of frequency 100 Hz is travelling in a gas at a speed of
200 m/s. The phase difference between two points P and Q along the path of the wave
is 5π/4 radian.
What is the distance between points P and Q?
A. 0.525 m
B. 1.05 m
C. 1.15 m
D. 1.25 m
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15. (8 points) The graph shows the variation of a quantity y with a quantity x for a body
that in air at terminal velocity in a uniform gravitational field.
quantity y
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0
quantity x
0
Which quantities x and y represent?
x y
A. air resistance acceleration
B. loss of weight gain in kinetic energy
C. loss of potential energy work done against air resistance
D. time velocity
16. (8 points) A student measures the time t for a ball from rest through a vertical distance
h. The student plots his results and best-fit line in the graph shown.
√
h
t
O
Which of the following statement is true?
A. The result is accurate as the line is close to the data points
B. The result is not accurate as the line does not pass through the origin
C. Data is precise as there are equal number of data points on both sides of the line
D. Data is precise as the data points do not deviate from the line
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Physics HT K15 # 27 B
administered: 27/3/2022, printed: March 26, 2022;
1. (5 points) As shown in the picture, a ball is attached to a ceiling and a wall with
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massless ropes A and B. Rope A is at angle θ from the vertical direction, and rope B
is horizontal. The system is static.
If the rope B is cut, what is the ratio of the tension in rope A immediately after it is
cut to the tension in A before it is cut?
A. cos θ
B. 1/ cos θ
C. cos2 θ
D. cos θ sin θ
2. (5 points) Two masses P and Q are connected by a light inextensible string which
passes over a frictionless pulley. P and Q are initially at rest and their masses are
4.0 kg and 6.0 kg respectively. When Q is released, P moves up the plane inclined at
30◦ to the horizontal as shown.
Q
g P
6k 3.0 4k
g
m
40◦ 30◦
What will be the speed of Q after P has moved 3.0 m up the plane?
A. 2.3 m/s
B. 3.3 m/s
C. 4.3 m/s
D. 5.3 m/s
3. (5 points) A satellite is orbiting near the Moon’s surface. The acceleration at the
Moon’s surface due to lunar gravity is g/6 and the Moon’s radius is R/4 (where g is
the free-fall acceleration at the Earth’s surface and R is the radius of the Earth).
If a satellite orbiting near the Earth’s surface has a period of T , what is the period of
revolution of the Moon’s satellite?
2
A. 3
T
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q
2
B. 3
T
4
C. 9
T
q
3
D. 2
T
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4. (5 points) A metal nugget floats in between some water and mercury. The densities
of the metal nugget, mercury and water are 7900 kg/m3 , 13 600 kg/m3 , 1000 kg/m3
respectively.
What is the ratio of the volume of the nugget submerged in water to that in mercury?
A. 0.541
B. 0.826
C. 0.924
D. 1.21
5. (5 points) Three blocks with masses M , 2M and 3M are pushed along a rough surface
by a horizontal force F as shown.
F
M 2M 3M
The frictional force between a block and the rough surface is directly proportional to
the weight of the block. Given that the frictional force between the block with mass
M and the rough surface is f , what is the magnitude of the force mass 3M exerts on
mass 2M ?
F
A. 2
F
B. 2
+ 3f
F
C. 3
+f
F
D. 3
+ 3f
6. (5 points) A uniform rod of weight 50 N and length L is hinged to a wall as shown. A
rope of length L supports the rod and is also attached to the wall. A box of weight
24 N is suspended at the other end of the rod.
rope
wall
60◦
Box
Rod
X
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What is the tension in the rope?
A. 28 N
B. 49 N
C. 74 N
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D. 85 N
7. (5 points) A pendulum bob at the end of the string which is fixed at O moves in
horizontal circle on the inside of a cone as shown.
String
Cone
P β
If the tension in the string is T and the normal contact force by the cone is R, which
of the following gives the centripetal force on the bob?
A. T sin α + R cos β
B. T sin α − R cos β
C. T cos α + R sin β
D. T cos α − R sin β
8. (10 points) The figure below shows an iron ball suspended by thread of negligible mass
from an upright cylinder that floats partially submerged in water. The cylinder has a
height of 6.00 cm, a face area of 12.0 cm2 on the top and the bottom, and a density of
0.30 g/cm3 and 2.00 cm of its height is above the water surface. What is the radius of
the iron ball?
9. (10 points) A contractor tries to measure the depth of a new well shaft to build a ladder
to reach the bottom of the shaft. He uses an audio oscillator with adjustable frequency
and applies it across the top of the well. Two successive resonances are heard at 70.6 Hz
and 90.8 Hz. The speed of sound is 343 m/s. Determine the depth of the well.
10. (20 points) An engineer student designed an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) using
interference of radio waves from two identical emitters 2.0 m apart emitting radio waves
of frequency f that are in phase as shown in the figure below. The computer on the
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AGV detects and searches for lines of constructive interference and adjusts the AGV
so that it is always aligned along the center-line, in the middle of the emitters.
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AGV
A
line of constructive
B interference
emitters
(a) State and explain one disadvantage in using this method for AVG to align itself
along the center-line
(b) During one such operation, the AGV strays off the center-line as shown in the
figure below.
AGV
5.0
m
5 0m 2.0
m
A line of constructive
B interference
emitters
The figure below shows the radio signals X and Y detected by the receiver on the
AGV.
Signal captured by AGV
Signal X
Signal Y
time/s
(i) State and explain whether the source of signal X is from emitter A or B.
(ii) State the phase difference between signals X and Y .
(iii) Assuming the path difference is less than one wavelength, determine frequency
f of the radio wave used
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11. (25 points) A grenade is launched at ground level with velocity of 75 m/s and angle 20◦
from the horizontal to hit a sniper on top of a 30 m tall building at a position 245 m
from the foot of the building. The sniper is standing at a distance x from the edge of
the building.
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position of sniper
x
30 m
75 m/s 20◦ building
245 m
(a) Show that the time for the grenade to reach the sniper is 3.5 s
(b) Calculate the speed of the grenade just before impact.
(c) Determine the distance x, of the sniper from the edge of the building.
(d) The sniper runs away immediately from the edge of the building when the grenade
is launched. Given that the grenade has a ”kill radius” of 10 m. Calculate the
minimum constant acceleration at which the sniper should run in order to escape.
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