Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: Kidymxafi999@gmail.

com

PHYSICS HANDOUT QUESTIONS FOR ORDINARY LEVEL STUDENTS

1(a) Explain why it is easy to unscrew a nut using a longer spanner?

(b) A meter rule is pivoted at its mid-point. If two objects of weights 1.0N and 2.0N are suspended at

30cm and 90cm respectively from one end. Calculate the position where an upward force of 3.0N

must be applied in order for the meter rule to balance horizontally.

2. (a Define the following terms as used in mechanics.

i) Inertia ii) Impulse of a force iii) Momentum

(b) State Newton’s laws of motion

(c) A stone is thrown straight up with an initial velocity of 50m/s.

i) How long will it take to reach its maximum height?

ii) To what height will it rise?

iii) What will be its velocity when it returns to the thrower?

iv) How long will it be in the air?

3. (a) Define i) Resonance ii) Fundamental note frequency iii) Transverse waves

b) Give four differences between electromagnetic waves (EMW) and Sound waves.

c) A wheel has 50 spokes and rotates at 8rev/sec. calculate the frequency of the note obtained by

holding a card slightly against the spokes as they rotate. If the tuning fork of frequency 384Hz was

set to vibrate near the card, what beat frequency would be obtained?

4. a) Define the following terms; i) Newton ii) Deceleration iii) acceleration due to gravity

b) Two stones are thrown vertically upward from the same point with the same velocity of 20m/s but

at an interval of 2seconds. When they meet the second stone is rising at 10m/s. Calculate;

i) The time taken by the second stone in air before they meet.

ii) The velocity of second stone when they meet

iii) The height at which the stones meet.

5. a) Mention three types of Inertia

b) Briefly explain why dust particles are removed from the carpet by beating with a stick.

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c) A stationary bomb with mass of 5000g explodes into two parts A and B of masses 2kg and 3kg

respectively. If part A flies off tangentially with an initial velocity of 6m/s and part B flies off with a

certain velocity in the opposite direction. Calculate;

i) The velocity of part B

ii) Total kinetic energy produced by the explosion

iii) State whether the system is elastic or inelastic collision. Give the reason.

6. a) Define the term capacitance and give its SI unit.

b) Explain why?

(i) TV screens dusty after a while.

(ii) Petrol road tankers usually have a length of metal chain hanging down touching the ground.

c) A 6µF capacitor has a P. d of 24V. Determine the total charge on the capacitor.

7. a) Define the following terms;

i) Electric current ii) Resistance iii) Electromotive force iv) Ampere

b)i) What are the devices used to measure

(a) Electric current (b) Voltage (c) Electromotive force (d) Resistance

ii) Give the names of the following electrical circuit symbols

(a) ――⃝―― (b) ――― ――― (c) ――⃝―― (d) ――― ―――

c) i) a/ State Ohm’s law

b/ What is Ohmic conductor

ii) Two resistors of 3Ω and 6Ω are connected in parallel.

a/ Draw the schematic diagram

b/ what is the total resistance of the circuit

c) Calculate the potential difference (p. d) of the circuit when the current across that is 5A.

8. a) What do you understand by the following terms;

i/ Load ii/ Effort iii/ Mechanical advantage (M.A) iv/ Velocity ratio (v.R) v/ Efficiency

b) A block and tackle system consisting 5 pulleys is used to raise a load of 400N through a height of 10M.

If the work done against friction is 100J, calculate the;

i/ work done by the effort ii/ effort applied iii/ efficiency of the system.

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C) An electric heater draws 15A from a source of 120V. It is operated on the average for 5hours, each

day. i) How much power does the heater use?

ii) How much energy in Kwh it consumes in 30days?

iii) At 1100 sh. Per Kwh what does it cost to operate the heater for 30days?

10.(a) i/ Give two differences between speed and velocity

Ii/ Define uniform velocity and uniform acceleration

(b)i/ Briefly explain why a person standing in a moving bus would fall forward when brakes were

applied suddenly?

ii/ A plane drops a sack of maize 25kg from a height of 200M to reach the famine stricken area of

Somalia. What is the?

a) time taken for the sack to reach the ground

b) Velocity should it move with.

c) Kinetic energy of the maize sack.

(c) A 4Kg object is moving to the right at 2m/s when it makes a head-on collision with a 5Kg object

moving with a velocity of 1m/s in the opposite direction. If both objects stick together after

collision, calculate their common velocity.

11. a) Explain the following;

i/ A dam is thicker at the bottom than at the top.

Ii/ The energy transformation in the swinging pendulum bob

iii) Luggage compartments are placed at the bottom of the bus.

iv)A ball thrown upward in a train moving with constant velocity returns to the thrower if an effect

of air resistance is ignored.

b) A rectangular tank which measures 5m and 4m contains water to a height of 10m. Calculate the;

i) Pressure on the base ii) Thrust on the base.

c) A ball of mass 250g is dropped from a height of 10M and on impact with the ground it loses 15J of

energy. Calculate the height it reaches on the rebound.

12. (a) Define the following terms;

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i) Coefficient of friction ii) Limiting friction iii) Dynamic friction

(b) Explain why the most vehicles have their engines directly over the driving wheels.

(c) Consider the diagram below then answer the questions that follow after it.

Given the coefficient of static friction of 0.55 and coefficient of kinetic friction of 0.25

i) At what angle will the 10Kg box begin to slide?

ii) At what acceleration will the box slide?

13. a)i/ State the law of floatation

ii/ A solid body weighs 60N in air but when completely immersed in water the body weighs 24N.

Find the; (a) Up thrust (b) volume of the water displaced

b) A polar bear weighs 6000N and is standing on an ice berg of density 920Kg/𝑚3 which drifts into

warmer water and gradually melts. What is the least volume of ice remaining before the polar

bear can go longer avoid getting his feet washed by the sea?

(Take the density of warmer sea water as 1020Kg/𝑚3 )

14. a) i/ state Archimedes’ principle

Ii/ Define buoyant force

Iii/ State the law of floatation

b) i/ Explain why a ship rises in the water as it passes from a river into the sea.

Ii/ Explain why the body weighs less when submerged in a liquid.

c) The fabric of a balloon designed for high altitude research has a mass of 50g.when filled with

Hydrogen of density 0.09Kg/𝑚3 it has the volume of 1𝑚3 . If the density of air is 1.29Kg/𝑚3 what is

the maximum weight of the instruments it can carry?

15. a) What is meant by the following;

i) Refraction of light

ii) Critical angle

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iii) Total internal reflection

b) i/ Briefly explain why a part of the road ahead of a person apparently looks as if it has a pool of

water on a sunny day?

Ii/ Give two necessary conditions for total internal reflection to occur

c) A paraffin has a greater refractive index than water. What can you say about the;

i/ Relative velocity of light in paraffin and in water

ii/ Path of a ray of light when passing from the water into a layer of paraffin

16. a) Define the turning effect of a force and give its SI unit

b) Explain the following;

i/ It is difficult to steer a bicycle by grapping the Centre of the handle bars

ii) Racing cars are law, with wheels wide apart

c) i/ Give two conditions for the body acted by external forces to be in equilibrium

ii/ A meter rule is found to balance at 50cm mark. When a mass of 100g is suspended at 10cm mark

it balances at 36cm mark. Calculate the weight of the rule.

17. a) i/ Give two practical examples where impulse and momentum play an important role.

ii/ Distinguish between elastic and inelastic collision

b) i/ State the law of Inertia

ii/ Explain why it is possible to drive a nail into a piece of wood with a harmer but it is not possible

to push a nail in by hand?

c) When 50 drops of oil were run out of the burette, there was a fall of 1.0𝑐𝑚3 in the volume of oil

in the burette. i) What is the volume of one drop of oil in 𝑚𝑚3

ii) Calculate the area in 𝑚𝑚2 of the film of oil and hence the size of molecule, given that radius

of film of oil is 10cm.

18. a) Define;

i) E.m.f of the cell ii) internal resistance iii) Potential difference

b) i) state Ohm’s law and give two of its limitations.

ii) Mention four factors affecting resistance of the conductor.

iii) Mention three common examples of resistors.

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c) i/ State Joule’s law

ii) An immersion heater for use on 240V mains has a resistance of 50Ω. How long will it take to heat

1Kg of water from 20⁰C to its boiling Point 4

19. a) Explain the following;

i/ The gap between junctions of two rail bars must be left during construction

ii/ Densities of most material decrease when such materials get heated.

b) i/ Define anomalous expansion of water and give out its biological importance to the life of aquatic

organisms

ii/ Give a simple sketch showing the variation of volume of water when it is heated from 0⁰C to 6⁰C

c) A diver walking at the bottom of fresh water 30m deep releases a steam of air bubbles each of

volume 5 x 10−5 𝑚3. Assuming the temperature of water is uniform throughout the lake and the

atmospheric pressure at the surface is 105 N/𝑚2 .

i/ Find the volume of each bubble when it just reaches the surface

ii) Why does the bubble grow as it ascends up the lake?

20. a) Define the following terms;

i/ Atomic number

ii/ Radioactive decay

iii/ Half-life

b) i/ Explain why is Uranium very important in the nuclear power plant?

ii/ Write down four health effects of nuclear radiations

c) i/ The following is the comparison of penetrating power of radiations

Paper Aluminum sheet Lead block

Which radiations do X, Y and Z represent?

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ii) Thorium disintegrates in the following manner;

232 228 𝑛 224
90𝑇ℎ → 𝑘𝑅𝑎 → 𝑚𝑙𝐴𝑐 → 90𝑇ℎ → 88𝑅𝑎

From the disintegration above, express the numbers represented by letter k, l, m, and n. Which atoms
are isobars?

21. a) Define the following terms;

i/ Beats ii/ Resonance iii/ Electromagnetic spectrum

b) i/ Explain why it is not advisable for solders to march across a bridge in rhythm.

ii/ Matter expands when heated and contract when cooled. Explain why a musician must re-tune a

stringed instrument if its temperature changes?

c) A helicopter is hovering at an altitude of 200M above the surface of Lake Tanganyika. A speaker on

the helicopter is sending out sound waves, which are reflected from both the surface of the water

and the bottom of the lake. If the difference in arrival time of the two echoes is measured to be

0.24seconds, what is the depth of the lake?

(The atmospheric temperature is 20⁰C)

22. for each of the following items fill in the blank spaces by writing the correct answer

i) Atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but different number of neutrons are

referred to as ____________

ii) ______________________ is a phenomenon where a prolonged sound is produced in an auditorium

iii) Once water is poured in a glass it forms a curved surface at the top which is called ____________

iv) A point at which the resultant magnetic flux is zero is called ____________________

v) ________________ is the floating object used to measure the density of liquids by noting how far it

sinks in them

vi) A device used to store hot or cold liquid for long period of time is called ____________________

vii) The automatic flashing tank uses the working principle of _________________________

viii) The presence of electric charge in a body can be detected by means of ___________________

ix) 1 watt is the rate of working of _________________

x) ________________ is the phenomenon which explains the spherical shape of rain drop

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xi) The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion or rest is

called__________________

xii) When an eye can see clearly only distant objects, it suffers from ______________

xiii) A phenomenon of melting under pressure and refreezing when the pressure is reduced is known as

__________________

xiv) What is the term given to a glowing asteroid in space which can be seen by naked eyes

_____________

xv) The effect produced by the interaction of an electric current with a magnetic field is called _______

xvi) When the temperature at the surface is below freezing point, dew takes the form of ice called ____

xvii) Wheel barrows and bottle openers are in ______________ class of levers

viii) _____________ states that, a force needed to compress or extend a spring by some distance is

proportional to that distance

xix) ____________ is the floating object used to measure the density of liquids by noting how far it sinks

in them

xx) The spreading movement of particles due to its motion is known as ________________

xxi) __________ depends on the amplitude of vibration of the sounding body

xxii) _____________ is the safety device in an electric circuit if the current exceeds

xxiii) ______________ direction of an individual current is such a way that it opposes the e.m.f that

causing it

23. a) i/ State the law of floatation

ii/ Mention two (2) conditions for a body to float

b) i/ What do you understand by the term up thrust

ii/ Explain why the body weighs less when submerged in liquid ?

c) A ship of mass 1200 tones floats in sea water. What volume of sea water does it displace? If the

ship enters fresh water, what mass of cargo must be unloaded so that the same volume of water is

displaced as before?

(Take the density of sea and fresh water as 1030Kg/𝑚3 and 1000Kg/𝑚3 respectively)

24. a) what do you understand by the following;

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i/ Dispersion of white light ii/ Spectrum iii/ Polychromatic light iv) Monochromatic light

b) i/ What is the rain bow

ii/ Give a brief explanation on the formation of a rain bow

c) i/ Mention all the colors (according to their position in the spectrum) which make up white light

25. a) Explain why the work input is always greater than work output in any machine

b) In a hydraulic machine the area of the large piston is 25 times that of the smaller piston. An effort

of 20N is applied at the small piston by a rod which travels 20cm per stroke. If the area of the

large piston is 50𝑐𝑚2 . Calculate;

i/ The velocity ratio (V.R) of the machine

ii/ The pressure ratio of the machine

iii/ The thrust exerted on the large piston

iv/ The work input for 100 stroke of the pump

26. a) Mention three common devices used to detect radiations

b) i/ Give three types of radiations that emitted by radioactive materials

ii/ Briefly explain the main two types of nuclear reactions

c) i/ Give four properties of X-rays

ii/ What is Half life

iii/ Give two precautions to be taken when working with radioactive radiations

27. a) i) Name the two semi-conductors which are of special importance in electronics

ii) Differentiate intrinsic semi-conductor from extrinsic semi-conductor in relation to temperature

effect.

b) i) Describe the valence band, conduction band and forbidden energy gap with the help of energy

level diagram

ii) Why is a transistor called as current amplification device?

c) i) What is Zener breakdown?

ii) How does a junction diode work?

28. a) i) What is rectification?

ii) Describe the energy band structure of insulator, semi-conductor and conductor

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b) i) Explain the working of a half wave diode rectifier

ii) Describe the working of PNP and NPN transistors

c) i) Deduce the relation between α and β of the transistor

ii) The base current of the transistor is 50µA and the collector current is 25mA. Determine the value

of α and β

29. a) i) Define the terms isotones and isobars

ii) Differentiate between fusion and fission reactions in Nuclear Physics

b) i) What is Count rate

ii) A piece of bone from an archaeological site is found to give a count rate of 15 counts per minute.

A similar sample of fresh bone gives a count rate of 19 counts per minute. Calculate the age of

the specimen. Given 𝑇1/2 = 5570 years

c) i) Define the following

a) Radioactivity

b) Half-life

ii) A carbon specimen found in a cave contained a fraction of 1⁄8 of 𝐶 14 to that present in the living

system. Calculate the appropriate age of the specimen. Given Half-life 𝑇1/2 for 146𝐶 = 5560 years

30. a) i) Differentiate between Nuclear forces and binding energy

ii) Give three characteristics for α and β particles

b) i) Give three precautions to be taken for those who are working in radiation laboratories

ii) Give four fields in which radio-isotopes are applicable

iii) Calculate the time required for 60% of a sample of radon to undergo decay?

Given 𝑇1/2 of radon = 3.8 days

c) i) State the radioactive law of disintegration

ii) The radioactive isotope 214

84𝑃𝑜 undergoes a successive disintegration of two α-decays and β-
decays. Find the atomic number and mass number of the resulting isotope.

iii) Describe the working of a Geiger-Muller Counter

31. a) Define the following terms

i) Mass ii) Up thrust iii) Relative density

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b) A hollow glass sphere has a mass of 60g and floats in water so that two-third of its external

volume is under water of density 1g/𝑐𝑚3 . What is the volume of the sphere?

c) A boat with vertical sides measures 25M by 10M at the water line and is floating in sea water of

density 1024Kg/𝑚3 . How far will it sink in water if it is loaded with cargo of weight 25600N?

32. The diagram below shows a hydrometer used for measuring the relative density of the liquid over

the range 0.70 to 1.00

i) Sketch the stem of the hydrometer and mark on it a suitable scale from 0.70 to 1.00

ii) If the stem was longer and narrow but with the same volume as at present, what effect would this

have?

iii) Why does this hydrometer have a wide bulb and a narrow stem?

iv) Explain the reason for the weighted base

33. a) Explain the following

i) The densities of most of the liquids decreases with an increase in temperature

ii) When you run over a shingle beach into the sea, the stone hurt less as you get deeper into the

water. Assume that the sensitivity of your feet and the nature of the pebbles remain unchanged

as you run into the water

b) i) State the law of floatation

ii) A stone weighs 0.5N in air and 0.1N when submerged in water. It weighs 0.08N when

submerged in oil of unknown density. Find the density of the oil

c) A boat with vertical sides measures 25M by 10M at the water line and is floating in sea water of

density 1024Kg/𝑚3 . How far will it sink in water if it is loaded with cargo of weight 25600N?

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34. a) Define the following terms

i) Motion ii) Speed iii) Deceleration

b) What do the following represent in the velocity-time graph?

i) Gradient of the graph ii) area under the graph

c) ( i) A car starts from rest and moves with a uniform acceleration of 1.2m𝑠 −1 after 10 sec0nds.

a) What is its velocity? b) How far has it travelled?

(ii) A mass of 500g is travelling at 2m/s. It accelerates uniformly for 3seconds. It is then accelerating

at 8m/s. what is; (i) its acceleration (ii) the force acting on the body

35. a) Define the following terms

i) Inertia ii) Impulse of the force iii) Momenta

b) State Newton’s laws of motion

c) i) When a car is involved in a head on-on collision, the passenger is thrown forward. Explain

ii) A trolley of mass 4.0Kg is moving at 3.0m/s and collides with a stationary trolley of mass 2.0Kg.

the two trolleys join together;

(a) What is their velocity immediately after impact?

(b) What is the change in kinetic energy of the 4.0kg mass trolley?

36. a) Define the following; i) A joule ii) Power iii) Work done

b) Differentiate the two components of mechanical energy

c) i) What power in Kilowatt is produced by a machine which lifts a mass of 2Kg through a vertical

height of 10M in 2seconds.

ii) A mass of 3Kg is thrown vertically upward with a kinetic energy of 600J. To what height will it

rise? [The earth’s gravitational force is 10N/Kg]

37. The diagram below shows a ramp being used to get a load of mass 180Kg onto a lorry. The ramp is

4m long and the end of the lorry is 1m above the ground. A force of 600N is needed to pull the load

up the ramp.

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a) Calculate; (i) the gravitational potential energy gained by the load as it goes from the bottom to the

top of the ramp

(ii) The work done by the 600N force in pulling the load up the ramp

(iii) The efficiency of the system

b) As the lorry starts, the load topples off and falls to the ground. What is the kinetic energy of the
load just before it hits the ground?

38. a) Distinguish between speed and velocity

b) Draw a velocity-time graph for the body which is thrown upward and returns to the thrower

c) A basketball is thrown vertically upwards. If it returns to its original position after 4seconds,

calculate;

i) The initial velocity of the ball

ii) The greatest height above the original position reached by the ball

iii) The final velocity as it just reaches the thrower’s hands. Assume the hands remain at the

same elevation and position

39. a) The efficiency of a practical transformer is not 100%. Mention the causes of it

b) Why is an alternating current at low voltage not used for the transmission of electric power over a

long distance?

c) Find the power wasted as an internal energy in the cable when 25Kw is transmitted through the
cable of resistance 0.5Ohms at; (i) 250V (ii) 250,000V

40. a) Explain what meant by the following terms i) Energy ii) Work iii) Power

b) Ngwahe raises a 50Kg bag of cement from the ground floor to the first floor which is 600cm above

in a half minute. Calculate the;

i/ Work done by him ii/ His power

41. a) i/ Explain what is meant by vector and scalar quantities

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ii/ Give three differences between mass and weight

b) An orange fruit falls freely from a tree branch to the ground in 2seconds. What is the height of the

branch above the ground?

42. a) State the conditions under which a body acted by external forces remain in equilibrium

b) (i) Define the terms Couple and Moment

(ii) Two concurrent forces 𝐹1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹2 act at right angles to each other. If 𝐹1 is 40N and the

resultant of the two forces is 50N. Find the Magnitude of 𝐹2

43. a) i/ What is meant by the term pressure

ii) State two factors which affect the pressure in liquids

b) The pressure of atmosphere is approximately equal to 100,000Pa. What force does this exert on

a desk-top measuring 1M by 0.5M?

44. a) State the principle of conservation of energy

b) If a stone of mass 2Kg is thrown vertically upward with an initial velocity of 25cm/s. Find the;

i/ Kinetic energy at the end of 1 second

ii/ Kinetic energy at the end of 2 seconds

45. a) How is the e. m. f of a simple dynamo increased? (Mention three factors)

b) A transformer operating on 240V has 1000 turns in the primary windings. If the transformer is to

be used in a 24V electrical device, how Many turns will be needed in the secondary windings?

46. a) Mention three factors affecting the frequency of a vibrating string

b) Derive an expression showing the relationship between frequency and the factors mentioned in

part (a) above

d) The frequency of the radio waves being transmitted from radio station is 100 kHz. Calculate the
frequency of the Radio waves, given that The speed of e.m.f is 3 x108 m/s

47. a) State the laws of reflection of light

b) Show diagrammatically the;

i) Reflection of light on both smooth and rough surfaces separately

ii) Path of light in a periscope

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48. a) i) Give three properties of magnetic field lines

ii) With the aid of diagram show the magnetic field lines due to a direct current in a solenoid

b) Using two unlike poles of magnets, sketch the magnetic field lines of force

49. a) What do you understand by the terms;

i) Potential difference ii) Electromotive force

b)

The diagram above shows two resistors, whose resistances are 4Ω and 6Ω connected in parallel.

They are part of the circuit which carries current I and the current in the 4Ω resistor is 1.5A.

Calculate; (i) The potential difference between points marked A and B

(ii) the current I in the 6Ω resistor?

50. a) Define the following terms and give one example for each;

i) an Opaque ii) Transparent iii) Translucent

b) i) Distinguish between a ray of light and a beam of light with an aid of diagram

ii) Draw sketches of a parallel diverging and converging beams of light

c) A lamp of height 2.5cm is placed 10cm in front of a pinhole camera in dark room. If the distance

between the pinhole camera and the Camera plate is 14cm. Find the height of the image formed

on the camera plate.

51.a) i) Define the term matter

ii) What is matter made up of?

b) i) Mention three states of matter

ii) State Hook’s law

c) A wire extends from 1.50cm to 5.00cm when a force of 400N is applied. Calculate the coefficient of

stiffness of the wire.

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52. a) State Pascal’s principle of fluid pressure

b) i) Mention two factors on which the pressure of a liquid contained in vessel depends

ii) Give two devices which use the application of pressure in their mode of action

c) A force of 96N is applied to a smaller piston of a hydraulic press with an area of 6𝑚2 . What will be

the force developed on a large piston? With an area of 15 times that of the smaller piston

53. a) State Ohm’s law

b) Two resistors of resistance 𝑅1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅2 are connected in parallel. Derive an expression for their

total resistances

c) A potential difference of 12V is applied across a resistor of resistance 240Ω. Find the current in

the circuit.

54. a) Mention two SI units of pressure

b) Derive the formula of pressure in liquid

c) A rectangular log of wood of density 800Kg/𝑚3 has dimensions of 0.5m x 0.8m x 6m. Calculate

the maximum and minimum pressure it Can exert on the ground. State how each pressure is

attained.

55. a) Give differences between coefficient of stiffness and coefficient of friction

b) Define i) Viscosity ii) Adhesive force iii) capillary force

c) Give brief explanation on each of the following

i) Elastic limit ii) Plasticity iii) Surface tension iv) Brownian movement

56. a) Define density and relative density

b) A body has a mass of 10g. The body has immersed in a liquid of volume 40𝑐𝑚3 . The volume rises

to 60𝑐𝑚3 . What is its density?

c) A block of mass 10g is immersed in a liquid and the mass become 20g and when it is immersed in

water the mass become 30g. Find the;

i) Relative density ii) Density of substance if volume is 20𝑐𝑚3

57.a) State Archimedes’ principle

b) State the law of floatation

c) i) Give reason why a ship floats while a nail sinks in water

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ii) A solid body weighs 60N in air but when completely immersed in water the body weighs 24N.

Find the; a) Up thrust b) volume of water displaced

58. a) Define force

b) (i) State the SI unit of force and write its formula

(ii) Mention three types of force you know

c) (i) What will be the force of the body of mass 200g

(ii) Mention two ways of reducing friction

59. a) Define the term measurement

b) Draw the diagram of micrometer screw gauge and label it

c) Mention the main three fundamental quantities and two derived quantities and state their SI units

60. a) Define the following terms;

i) Work ii) Power iii) Energy

b) Briefly describe the energy change when the bob of a simple pendulum swings from one side to

another side.

c) A lawn roller is pushed with a force of 400N at an angle of 45⁰ to the horizontal. What is the work

done if the lawn is pushed along a distance of 20m cutting the glass

61. a) Give four properties of liquid in glass thermometer for its adequate measure of temperature

b) Explain why the thermometer actually measures its own temperature

c) Most materials expand when their temperature increases. Explain

d) The decks of bridges need special joints and normally their ends rest on rollers. Explain

e) A completely field and tightly capped bottle of water cracks when its heated. Explain

f) Explain why you can loosen a metal jar lid by running hot water over it.

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

62. a) i) Define the term Newton

ii) A box of mass 80Kg is raised vertically with uniform acceleration “a” by a force of 1000N in a

rope. Calculate the acceleration (Assuming g = 10N/𝑚2 )

b) i) State the unit of momentum in the S.I unit system

ii) Sand falls gently at a constant rate of 50g/s onto a horizontal belt moving steadily at 40cm/s.

Find the force in Newtons on the belt Exerted by the sand

c) i) State two practical applications of momentum in our daily life

ii) A rocket expels gas at the rate of 0.5Kg/s. If the force produced by the rocket is 100N, calculate

the velocity of the gas expelled

63.a) Give the meaning of the following terms

i) Centre of gravity ii) Centre of mass

b) An inclined plane has a surface rough enough to prevent slipping. Calculate the maximum angle of

inclination of this plane to the

Horizontal when a uniform block 3m by 2m by 1m is placed in turn on the surface in the position of

its stability

c) i) Define the term pulley

ii) A block and tackle system of pulleys is used to raise a load of 500N steadily through a height of

20m. The work done against friction is then 2000J. What is the work done by the effort?

64. a) i) State the Joule’s law

ii) A wire has the length 1.2m, and diameter of 0.64mm. Find the resistance of a wire of length

0.80m and diameter of 0.32mm of the Same material

b) Three bulbs of 2Ω each and 3v battery and other devices are available for connection. Compare on

the brightness of the bulbs with the aid Of diagram if; i) Two bulbs are connected in series

ii) Three bulbs are connected in series

iii) Three bulbs are connected in parallel

c) Derive the formula for effective resistance used in part b) (iii) above

65. a) Mention one application of each of the following in our daily life

i) Density ii) Relative density

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

b) i) State Archimedes’ principle

ii) How Archimedes’ Principle relate with the law of floatation

c) An iron cube of volume 800𝑐𝑚3 is totally immersed in;

i) Oil of density 0.8g/𝑐𝑚3 ii) Oxygen gas of 0.0015g/𝑐𝑚3

Calculate the up thrust in each case (Given that weight of 1g mass = 0.01N)

66. a) i) What is the difference between real image and virtual image

ii) State two applications for both refraction and reflection of light in our daily life

b) An object of 3cm is placed at 30cm away from converging mirror of focal length 12cm. By using

mirror formula find the position, the height and nature of the image formed. Is the image

magnified or diminished (By how much)

c) Explain the significance when the object is placed between the pole and the principal focus of a

concave mirror.

67. a) Define each of the following terms

i) Electromagnetic spectrum ii) Microwaves iii) Reverberation

b) Explain briefly the four properties of wave

c) The frequency obtained from a plucked string is 450Hz when the tension is 3N. Calculate;

i) The frequency when the tension is increased by 9N

ii) The tension needed to produce a note of frequency 600Hz

68.a) i) Name three basic radiations that occur naturally

ii) Give two properties for each radiation named above

b) i) Differentiate between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission in atomic Physics

ii) Thorium disintegrates in the following manner;

232 228 228 224
90𝑇ℎ → 88𝑅𝑎 → 89𝐴𝑐 → 88𝑅𝑎

State the particles emitted at each part of the disintegrate

c) A thorium 228 radioactive source placed in a polythene bottle decayed into a radioactive gas

thoron. The decay process was recorded by Geiger M tube as follows

TIME IN MINUTES 0 8 12
16 20

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

COUNT RATE 20 14 7
40 10
i) Draw a graph of concentrate against time

ii) From the graph determine the Half-life of thoron

69. a) i) State the principle of moments

ii) Give three applications of equilibrium position of the body

b)i) Differentiate between the moment of a force and the work done by a force

ii) Explain why a person climbing up a hill, tends to bend his body

c)i) A heavy rod AB of length 5m weighs 50N. The bar is supported in a horizontal position by two

vertical strings X and Y. If the string X is 0.6m from B and string y is 1.8m from A. Find the tension

in the strings.

ii) What assumptions will you make to support your calculations in part c(i) above?

70. a) Define the term “lens”

b) Explain two types of lens

c) An object 60cm from a lens gives a virtual image at a distance of 20cm in front of the lens. What is

the focal length of the lens. Is the lens Converging or diverging?

71. a) Define the following terms;

i) Refraction of light ii) Critical angle

b) i) State the laws of refraction of light

ii) Explain briefly with the aid of diagram why a straight stick appears to be bent when partially

immersed in a beaker of water

c) i) A traveler has lost his way in the desert enduring thirst and hunger on a hot, sunny day, he
suddenly saw an oasis, so the overjoyed man quickly ran. On reaching the area where the oasis
was, he found nothing.
a) What is that an optical Phenomenon?
b) How is that Phenomenon formed?
ii) Calculate the critical angle for ice water surface if the index of refraction is 1.31

72. (a) What is friction?

(b) Explain with two reasons, why friction is important in daily life
(c) Explain two (2) reasons why friction is not important in daily life

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(d)i) Explain two (2) ways in which friction force can be increased
ii) Explain two (2) ways in which friction force can be reduced

73.a) State the law of conservation of energy

b) A ball at the end of a 180cm long string swings at a pendulum as shown in the
diagram below. The ball
speed is 400cm/s as it passes through its lowest position

i) To what height h above this position will it rise before stopping?

ii) What angle Ө does the pendulum then make to the vertical?

74. a) Define i/ An impulse of the force ii) Inertia

b) State Newton’s second law of motion
c) A rope extends between two poles X and Y. A 90N boy hangs at a certain distance
from pole X near the center. If the rope makes an angle of 10⁰ at X and 5⁰ at Y with the
horizontal, find the tensions in the two parts of the rope.

75. a) What do you understand by the term deceleration

b) A bullet of mass 20g moving at 80m/s becomes embedded in a stationary suspended target of
mass 2.0Kg. What is their combined velocity after impact?
c) A large space rocket has motors which eject 11000Kg of propellant per second with a
velocity of 3000m/s. what thrust
d) does this produce?

76.a) Differentiate vector quantities from scalar quantities

b) i) What is resolution of vectors

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

ii) State triangle law of a force

C) A speed boat capable of 30Km/h is to cross a river to a point directly opposite its starting point. The
river flows at 4Km/h. At what angle to the bank must the boat be steered? How long will it take to
cross if the river is 150m wide?

77.a) Define i/ latent heat of vaporization

ii/ Specific heat capacity
b) Briefly explain anomalous expansion of water
c) 0.20Kg of gasohol is contained in the vessel of heat capacity 80J/k. When heated for 9minutes by a
50W immersion heater the temperature rises from 15⁰C to 65⁰C. find the specific heat capacity of
gasohol
78. a) Define i/ Power
Ii/ Energy
iii) A Joule
b) State the principle of conservation of energy
c) If 80% of the potential energy available in a waterfall is transformed into heat energy. Find the
height of the waterfall when the temperature at the top and the bottom of the waterfall is 1.75⁰C
and 1.9⁰C respectively. (the specific heat capacity of water = 4200J/(Kg. K)

79.(a) what is Rainbow?

(b) (i) Differentiate between primary and secondary rainbow.
(ii) Explain briefly how primary and secondary rainbow can be formed.
80.(a) List five uses of convex mirror
(b) List five uses of concave mirror
(c) An object 3cm high is placed 30cm away from a concave mirror of focal Length 12cm.
Using the mirror formula, find position, the height and nature of the image formed
(d) From the question 8 (c) above if the object is placed 15 cm from a convex lens. By
Construction, Find
(i) Position of image formed

(ii) Height of the image formed

(iii) Nature of the image formed

81.(a) The focal length of the objective and eyepiece of a compound microscope are 1cm
and 5cm respectively. An object is placed at a distance of 1.1cm from the objective
and has final image formed at
(i) Infinity
(ii) Least distance of distinct vision

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

Find the magnification of a compound microscope and distance between the lenses
(b) Give the similarities and difference between lens camera and human Eye.

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

82. (a)Distinguish between real and Apparent depth.

(b) A tank contains a slab of glass of 8 cm thick at the bottom and above this is a depth
of 4.5 cm if liquid of refractive index of 1.4 and upon this float 6cm of water. Calculate
apparent position of a mark on the bottom of the tank to an observer looking down
from above.
83. a) State the law of parallelogram of vectors
b) Determine the moment of a force of 20N about a point AB inclined at an angle of
30⁰ to the horizontal, given that AB is 3m
c) Given that two vectors AB of magnitude 30N and 50N, determine the magnitude and
direction of the vectors if;
i) Both are moving in the same direction
ii) Both are moving in different directions
iii) Both act at right angle to each other
84. a) i) Do heavier objects fall more quickly than lighter objects in vacuum. Explain
ii) Why do objects float in liquids denser than themselves?
b)i) How comes in free fall you feel weightless even though gravity is pulling down on
you? (Ignore air resistance when answering this Question)
ii) Why is it possible to drive a nail into a piece of wood with a hammer, but it is
not possible to push a nail in by hand?
c) An archer pulls back 0.75m on a bow which has a stiffness of 200N/m. The arrow
weighs 50g, what is the velocity of the arrow immediately after release

85. A block of mass M = 10kg is sitting on a surface inclined at angle Ө = 45⁰. Given that
the coefficient of static friction is µ𝑠 = 0.5 between Block and surface, what is the
minimum force F necessary to prevent slipping? What is the maximum force F that can
be exerted without causing the block to slip? (Ans. 𝑭𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 21.97N down the incline,
𝑭𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 72.69 up the incline)

86. A uniform ladder of length L is leaning against the side of the building, a person of
mass m = 75Kg is standing on it. The mass of the ladder Is M = 10Kg. The coefficient
of static friction between the ground and the ladder is µ𝑠1 = 0.5 and the coefficient of
static friction between the wall and the ladder is µ𝑠2 = 0.3. What is the minimum
angle Ө so that the ladder doesn’t slip? (Answer Ө𝒎𝒊𝒏 = 61.8⁰)

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

87. A 50Kg crate of bear is being pushed on a horizontal floor at constant velocity. Given
that the coefficient of kinetic friction between crate and floor is µ𝑘 = o.1, what is the
push force F? (Answer; 49N)

88.i) A solid ball has a mass of 100grams and a radius of 2cm. What is the density in Kgm−3
ii) A solid cylinder has a radius of 2cm and a length of 7cm. It has a density of 3.1g/𝑐𝑚3 .
What is the mass of the cylinder?
iii) Sea water contains approximately 3.5% salt by weight. How much seawater (in Kg) contains 1Kg of

salt? If the density of sea water is 1030Kg/𝑚−3, what is the volume of sea water in litrers, containing

1Kg of salt? (Answ; 28.57Kg, 27.74L )

89. a) A solid cylinder of length 10cm is placed in water, It stands upright with the top 3cm protruding
above the water surface. The density of water is 1.0g/𝑐𝑚3 . What is the density of the cylinder?
(Answer: 0.7g/𝑐𝑚3 )

b)The density of two liquids (A and B) is given as 1000Kg/𝑚3 and 600Kg/𝑚3 respectively. The two
liquids are mixed in a certain proportional and the density of the resulting liquid is 850Kg/𝑚3 . How
much of liquid B (in grams) does 1Kg of the
mixture contain? Assume the volume of the two liquids is additive when mixed.
(Answer: 264.7gramms)

90. a) During a bench press, does the amount of work or power required depends on the
rate at which the weight is lifted?
b) A bullet is fired out of the gun with a velocity of 300m/S, with respect to the ground. If the bullet
has a mass of 0.06Kg and the gun has the mass of 1.5Kg, what percentage of the total kinetic
energy (of the bullet and the gun) does the bullet have?

91. a) How density of the substance varies with its volume

b) i) Give three differences between mass and weight
ii) A lump of moon rocks weighs about six times as much as on earth as it did on the moon. Its
density however is exactly the same. Explain why
c) A flask with volume of 500𝑐𝑚3 has a mass of 60.0g when empty and 495.0g when full of
turpentine. What is the density of the turpentine in Kg/𝑚3

92.a) i/ What is Hydrometer

ii/ Draw a well sketched diagram of hydrometer

b) Explain fully the following observations

i) A hydrometer floats in water. When some detergent is added the hydrometer rises slightly, although

the density of water is unchanged

ii)A hydrometer sinks deeper into alcohol than it does into water.

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

c) A car ferry with vertical sides has a water-line of 600𝑐𝑚2 . When fully laden with 30cars, their

passengers and luggage, the load carried is 30750Kg. How far will the ferry sink with this load if the

density of sea-water is 1025kg/𝑚3

93. a) Define atmospheric pressure

b) With the aid of diagram briefly explain the working principle of Hydraulic press

c) i/ Show that the pressure exerted by the liquid placed in the container is given by P= dgh

where d is the density of the liquid, g is acceleration due to gravity and h is the height of the

liquid in the container.

ii) A conical flask with a base of diameter 7.0cm is filled to a depth of 10cm with a liquid of density

840kg/𝑚3 . Find the total force due to the liquid on the base in Newtons

94. a) With two examples for each, differentiate between derived physical quantities and fundamental
physical quantities.
b) The mass of the mercury which fills the bore of a capillary tube 0.35m long is 3.74g. If the density
of mercury is 13600kg/𝑚3 . Find the mean value of the bore in mm

c) A vessel of volume 250𝑐𝑚3 has a mass of 38g when empty. What will its mass be when full of oil of

density 800kg/𝑚3

95. a) State the i/ law of floatation

Ii/ Archimedes principle
b) Explain concisely why a balloon full of Hydrogen rises, whilst one full of air sinks. Draw a labeled
diagram in each case to show the forces acting on the balloon
c)A spherical wood of density 7800kg𝑚−3 and volume 136𝑐𝑚3 floats in mercury of density
13600kg/𝑚3 . What volume of the wood remains above the surface?

96.a) State gas Laws

b)i/ Briefly explain why the car tire is likely to burst when the car has driven non-stop for a long time

ii/ Why does the pressure of the gas contained in the closed vessel increases with an increase in
temperature when the volume of the vessel is not altered.

c) A diver is walking in sea-water of density 1025Kg/𝑚3 on a day when atmospheric pressure is

0.9914 atm. A bubble from his mask is three times the volume when it reaches the surface. At what

depth is he walking?

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

97.a) Define the term Impulse of the force

b) Give three applications of Newton’s third law of motion

c) A railway truck of mass 1200Kg moving at 4m/s collides with a truck of mass 600Kg moving in the

same direction at 3m/s. If they move together, what is their velocity just after the collision?

98.a) Define i/ Emf of the cell ii/ Internal resistance

b)i/ Briefly explain why two resistors in parallel offer less total resistance than either one of them

alone

ii/ Give two advantages of connecting bulbs in parallel at your home and not in series connection

c) Three resistors of 2Ω, 4Ω and 8Ω are connected in parallel in a circuit. The current in the 2Ω is 1A.

What is the current in the other two resistors? What is the total current in the circuit?

99. a) State Ohm’s law and give two of its limitations

b)i) Why should an ammeter have a low resistance and always being connected in series with the

electrical circuit.

ii/ Why does the potential difference across the terminals of a cell fall when it is delivering a

current

c) A cell of e .m. f 1.5V is connected to a resistor of 2Ω. The p.d maintained across the resistor is 1V.

What is the internal resistance of the cell?

100. a) State Joule’s law

b) Is principle of conservation of energy valid for the performance of electrical iron? Explain your

answer

C) A 3kW electric kettle contains 1Kg of water and the heat capacity of the kettle is 300J/K. Find the

time taken to boil the Water if its initial temperature is 16⁰C. (Given that specific heat capacity of

water, C = 4200J/Kg K)

101.a) What is electromagnetic induction?

b) State Faraday’s laws of electromagnetic induction

c)i/ What is self-inductance

ii/ Give two practical applications of self-inductance

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

iii/ The primary of the transformer has 400 turns while the secondary has 2000turns. If the power

output from the Secondary at 1100V is 12.1kW. Calculate the primary voltage. If the resistance of

primary is 0.2Ω and that of Secondary is 2Ω and the efficiency of the transformer is 90%. Calculate;

a) Heat loss in the primary coil

b) Heat loss in the secondary coil

102.a) Differentiate between self-inductance and mutual inductance

b) i) State Lenz’s law

ii) Explain why a D.C ammeter can’t read A.C

c)i) What are Eddy currents

ii) State three causes of Eddy currents and give their respective ways of minimization

iii)A transformer has an efficiency of 80%. It is connected to a power input of at 4kW and 100V. If

the secondary voltage is 240V. Calculate the primary and secondary currents.

103.a) Differentiate between Impulsive force and impulse of the force

b) i/ Give two applications of law of conservation of energy

ii/ Basing on your understanding, briefly explain how a rocket works.

c) A stone is dropped from the top of the tower 50M high. At the same time another stone is thrown

up from the foot of the tower with a velocity of 25m/s. At what distance from the top and after

how much time the stones cross each other?

(Answer; time t = 2sec. & distance, s = 19.6m)

104.a) Differentiate elastic collision and inelastic collision

b) State Newton’s laws of motion

c) A machine weighing 1500N is supported by two chains attached to some point on the machine.

One of these ropes goes to a nail in the wall and is inclined at 30⁰ to the horizontal and other goes

to the hook in a ceiling and is inclined at 45⁰ to the horizontal. Find the tensions in the two

chains. (Answer; 𝑻𝟏 = 1098.96N and 𝑻𝟐 = 1346.11N)

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

105.a) Define the following terms;

i/ acceleration due to gravity ii/ deceleration iii/ Inertia

b) State the law of inertia

c)i/ Does the power depends on how fast the body is being moved?

ii A body of mass 2Kg initially at rest is moved by a horizontal force of 0.5N on a smooth

frictionless table. Obtain the work done by the force in 8seconds and show that this is equal to

change in kinetic energy of the body

106.a) Explain two fields in which the principle of energy conservation can be archived

b) A body is thrown vertically up from the ground with the velocity of 39.2m/s. At what height will

its kinetic energy be reduced to one-fourth of its original kinetic energy

𝟑 𝟏
(Hints; 𝟒
X 𝟐 m𝒗𝟐 = mgh h = 58.8m)

c) A 10g bullet is fired from a rifle horizontally into a 5Kg block of wood suspended by a string and

the bullet gets embedded in the block. The impact causes the block to swing to a height of 5cm

above its initial level. Calculate the initial velocity of the bullet.

[Answer; v = 496m/s]

107.a) Explain the difference types of inertia with example

b) State the law of conservation of momentum

c)i/ A ball is thrown downward from a height of 30m with a velocity of 10m/s. Determine the

velocity with which the ball Strikes the ground by using law of conservation of energy

ii/ Two masses of 2Kg and 5Kg are moving with equal kinetic energies. Find the ratio of magnitudes

of respective Moment

108.a) A man weighing 60Kg runs up a flight of stairs 3m high in 4s. Calculate the power developed by

him.

b) What is the work done by a man in carrying a suitcase weighing 30Kg over his head, when he

travels a distance of 10m In; i/vertical and ii/ horizontal distances

c)A motor boat moves at a steady speed of 8m/s. if the water resistance to the motion of the boat is

2000N, Calculate the Power of the engine

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

e) Two blocks of mass 300Kg and 200Kg are moving toward each other along a horizontal
frictionless surface with
Velocities Of 50m/s and 100m/s respectively. Find the final velocity of each block if the
collision is perfectly elastic.

109. a) Define the following terms;

i/ Mechanical waves ii/ Electromagnetic waves iii/ Forced vibration

b) i/ What is resonance

ii/ Give the condition for resonance to occur

iii/ Give four factors which affect the speed of sound in air

c) A stretched wire vibrates at 100Hz. What is the frequency of a wire of the same material and

thickness which is i/ twice as long ii/ the same length but with four times the tension

110. a) Explain why a transformer normally works with a.c?

b) Briefly explain why a.c is preferred for the grid system

c) i/ It is proposed to transmit power along cables using either 1000V d.c or 1000 r.m.s a.c. Why

must the cables be insulated in the second case?

ii/ A transformer steps down from 120V to 4V. If there are 820 turns on the primary, how many

turns are needed on the secondary? If the transformer has an efficiency of 40% what current

is taken from the 120V supply when 2A are taken from the secondary?

111. a) Define the following terms;

i/ Retardation ii/ Gravity iii/ displacement

b)i) Give two similarities and two differences between velocity and speed

ii) A student runs 100M from East to west. He then runs another 100M from West to East.

a/ what is his total displacement covered

b/ what is his total distance covered

c) A car starting from rest with uniform acceleration acquires a velocity of 25m/s in 15seconds. It

travels at this velocity for 30seconds and is then brought to rest by being uniformly retarded

150seconds after starting.

i/ Sketch a velocity-time graph

ii/ Deduce the acceleration and the retardation

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Physics Instructor: Ngwahe Azory Email: [email protected]

iii/ Find the total distance covered

iv) Comment on the relationship between distance covered and the area under graph

sketched in part (i)

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