ZIMBABWE SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL

General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level

PHYSICAL SCIENCE 5009/1

PAPER 1 Multiple Choice

NOVEMBER 2005 SESSION 1 hour

1. The graph shows the results of adding an acid to a carbonate.

At what time was the reaction fastest and at what time did it stop?

Fastest speed reaction stops

A 0 minute 7 minutes
B 1 minute 5 minutes
C 3 minutes 7 minutes
D 4 minutes 5 minutes

2. Which gas is used as a rocket fuel?

A. methane
B. carbon dioxide
C. hydrogen
 D. oxygen

3. Which oxide is called quicklime?

A. sodium oxide
B. aluminium oxide
C. carbon dioxide
D. calcium oxide

4. The chromatogram shows results of four samples of ink. Which of the

inks contains a mixture of four dyes?

5. The table shows the electronic structures of six elements U to Z.

elements electronic structure

U 2,1
V 2,2
W 2,4
X 2,8,7
Y 2,8,8
Z 2,8,8,1
 Which pair shows elements in the same group of the periodic table?

A. U and Z
B. V and W
C. X and Y
D. Y and Z

6. The table shows properties of four different substances.

substance property
M does not conduct electricity under any conditions
N conducts electricity only in aqueous solution
O conducts electricity in both the molten and solid states
p conducts electricity in both the molten and aqueous
states

Which of the following correctly identifies the substances?

M N O P

A. S HCI Pb NaCI
B. HCI S NaCI Pb
C. Pb HCI NaCI S
D. S HCI NaCI Pb

7. Sodium bicarbonate decomposed on heating as shown in the equation.

heat
2NaHCO3(s) → Na2CQ3(s) + H2O(1) + CO2(g)

What is the volume of carbon dioxide that is produced on

decomposing 6 moles of sodium bicarbonate (measured at r. t. p in
Zimbabwe)?

A. 84 dm3
B. 56 dm3
C. 28 dm3
D. 14 dm3
8. The two naturally occurring isotopes of chlorine are 37Cl and 36Cl.
17 17
The two isotopes show similarities in

A. arrangement of protons.
B. valencies of 17.
C. number of neutrons.
D. chemical properties.

9. Which substance helps to remove impurities from iron ore in the blast
furnace?

A. slag
B. limestone
C. carbon
D. sulphur

10. Electrons move freely in metals. This makes metals

A. brittle.
B. hard.
C. dull.
D. conductors.

11. Heptanol and ethanoic acid are both

A. aromatic.
B. Saturated.
C. Substituted.
D. Unsaturated.

12. What is the basic unit of a polymer?

A. monomer
B. isomer
C. plastic
D. carbohydrate
13. If dilute sulphuric acid was spilt in a science laboratory, which
substance when added in excess to the acid split would neutralize it
without leaving an alkaline solution?

A. potassium hydroxide
B. calcium carbonate
C. copper sulphate
D. distilled water

14. When carbon dioxide is added to an aqueous solution of X a white

precipitate Y is formed. The white precipitate forms a colourless
solution of Z in excess carbon dioxide. Identify the correct formulae
for X, Y and Z.

X Y Z

A. CaCO3 Ca(OH)2 Ca(HCO3)2

B. Ca(OH)2 CaCO3 Ca(HCO3)2
C. Ca(OH)2 Ca(HCO3)2 CaCO3
D. CaCO3 Ca(HCO3)2 Ca(OH)2

15. Ethene reacts with steam as shown in the equation

CH2CH2(g) + H2O(g) → CH3CH2OH(g)

What type is the reaction?

A. addition
B. hydrolysis
C. reduction
D. substitution

16. One mole of ethane and one mole of alcohol have equal

A. volumes at room temperature and pressure.

B. volumes at standard temperature and pressure.
C. number of molecules.
D. number of atoms.
17. Which of the following sets contains numbers of the same
homologous series?

18. Zinc, magnesium, silver and copper were reacted with appropriate
aqueous metal salt solutions in an experiment to determine the order of
reactivity. The results obtained are shown in the table.
zinc magnesium silver copper
zinc sulphate x √ x x
magnesium sulphate x x x x
silver nitrate √ √ x √
copper sulphate √ √ x x
 Key √ = deposit formed on metal
x = no reaction

which is the correct order of decreasing reactivity.

A. zinc magnesium silver copper

B. magnesium zinc copper silver
C. silver magnesium zinc copper
D. silver copper zinc magnesium

19. How many grams are contained in 1.45 moles of water? [A,: O = 16,
H = 1]

A. 6.022 x 1023g
B. 52.2g
C. 26.1g
D. 18g

20. Which catalyst is used in the contact process?

A. vanadium (V) oxide

B. iron
C. manganese (IV) oxide
D. platinum
21. The diagram shows part of a vernier scale.

What is the reading?

A. 14.55
B. 13.90
C. 13.46
D. 13.45
22. A solid substance was placed in an open can and heated steadily. The
results are shown below.

What was happening during the interval XY?

A. boiling
B. melting
C. sublimating
D. solidifying

23. A finger moving up and down makes waves in a ripple tank. What
happens if the finger frequency is reduced?

A. The wave peaks will be higher and the troughs lower.

B. The waves will be further apart.
C. The waves will move more slowly across the tank.
D. The waves will move more quickly across the tanker.

24. Which one is not a form of energy?

A. heat
B. light
C. sound
D. weight

25. The effort needed to lift 90 N using a machine with a mechanical

advantage of 3 is
 A. 370 N.
B. 90 N.
C. 30 N.
D. 3 N.

26. The diagram shows an immersion heater placed in an insulated metal

block of mass 1 kg. 18 600 J of heat was used to raise the temperature
of the block by 20 ºC.

What is the specific heat capacity of the metal?

A. 372005 J/kgK
B. 1860 J/kgK
C. 930 J/kgK
D. 20 J/kgK

27. It can be deduced that a piece of metal is a magnet if

A. a copper needle is attracted to it.

B. a bar magnet is attracted to it.
C. a copper needle is repelled by it.
D. a compass needle end is repelled by it.
28. The diagram shows an electric circuit

The value of the unknown resistance R is

A. 13.5 Ω.
B. 4.5 Ω.
C. 1.5 Ω.
D. 0.7 Ω.

29. Which speed-time graph represents a car slowing down uniformly

until it stops?
30. In very cold countries water pipes sometimes burst because

A. the formation of ice produces an increase in volume of water

and pipes.
B. water expands when cooled from 4ºC to 0ºC or below.
C. the pipes contract on cooling so that the water pressure inside
rises.
D. the ice which is formed inside the pipes when it melts.

31. What reverses the direction of current through the coil of a motor
every half cycle?

A. the brushes
B. the ion core
C. the slip rings
D. the commutator

32. Which diagram shows the path taken by electrons as they pass
between a pair of charged deflection plates?
33. Which type of electromagnetic radiation has the shortest wavelength?

A. gamma rays
B. infrared
C. radio
D. ultra violet

34. A gas occupies a volume of 4 m3 in a cylinder at a pressure of 240

kPa. The volume of the same mass of gas was reduced to 0.5 m3 at
constant temperature. What is the new pressure of the gas?

A. 1 920 kpa
B. 960 kPa
C. 240 kpa
D. 120 kPa

35. By what process does perfume odour spread to fill a classroom?

A. Brownian motion
B. convection
C. diffusion
D. evaporation
36. A transformer is needed to convert a 480 V supply into a 120 V
supply. If there are 2000 turns on the primary coil, how many turns
should there be on the secondary coil?

A. 8000
B. 4800
C. 500
D. 450

37. Which graph best shows the radioactive decay of an isotope with a
half-life of about 4 hours?

38. Which of the following is the product of force and distance in the
direction of force?

A. acceleration
B. power
C. velocity
D. work
39. When a gas is heated in a closed metal cylinder the pressure rises
because the gas molecules

A. expand.
B. move faster.
C. hit the walls less often.
D. spin faster.
40. A ray of light passes from air to water as shown in the diagram.
Which labeled arrow shows the direction of the ray in water?

Diagram