Higher Physics Prelim Revision – Unit 1

1. Which of the following is a scalar 4. Which of the following velocity-time

quantity? graphs best describes a ball being
thrown vertically into the air and
A Velocity returning to the thrower’s hand?
B Acceleration
C Mass A
D Force velocity
E Momentum
time
2. Which of the following pairs contains
one vector quantity and one scalar
quantity?
velocity
A Force, kinetic energy
B Power, speed time
C Displacement, acceleration
D Work, potential energy
E Momentum, velocity
velocity
3. A car of mass 900 kg pulls a caravan
of mass 400 kg along a straight time
horizontal road with an acceleration
of 2.0 ms-2.

velocity

time

Assuming that the frictional forces

on the caravan are negligible, the velocity
tension in the coupling between the
car and caravan is time

A 400 N
B 500 N
C 800 N
D 1800 N
E 2600 N.
5. A speed skier crosses the start-line 7. A box of mass 10 kg rests on an
of a straight 200 metre downhill incline plane. The component of the
course with a speed of 30 ms-1. She weight of the box acting down the
accelerates uniformly all the way incline is 50 N. A force of 300 N,
down and takes 5 s to cover the parallel to the plane, is applied to the
course. box as shown.
What is her speed as she crosses
the finish-line?

A 30 ms-1
B 35 ms-1
C 40 ms-1
D 45 ms-1
E 50 ms-1
The box accelerates at 10 ms-2 up
the plane.
6. The following velocity time-graph
The size of the force of friction
describes the motion of a ball,
opposing the motion of the box is
dropped from rest and bouncing
several times.
A 50 N
B 100 N
C 150 N
D 200 N
E 250 N.

8. The graph shows the force acting on

Which of the following statements an object of mass 5.0 kg.
is/are true?

I The ball hits the ground at P.

II The ball is moving upwards
between Q and R.
III The ball is moving upwards
between R and S.

A I only
B II only
The change in the objects momentum
C III only
is
D I and II only
E I and III only
A 7.0 kg ms-1
B 30 kg ms-1
C 35 kg ms-1
D 60 kg ms-1
E 175 kg ms-1.
9. A car is designed with a “crumple 12. A helium filled balloon of mass 1.5 kg
zone” so that the front of the car floats at a constant height of 100 m.
collapses during impact. The acceleration due to gravity is
9.8 ms-2.
The upthrust on the balloon is

A 0N
B 1.5 N
C 14.7 N
The purpose of the crumple zone is D 150 N
to E 1470 N.
A decrease the driver’s change
in momentum per second 13. Which of the following statements
B increase the driver’s change about the absolute zero of
in momentum per second. temperature is/are true?
C decrease the driver’s final
velocity I The absolute zero of
D increase the driver’s total temperature is -273 K.
change in momentum II At absolute zero, movement of
E decrease the driver’s total molecules ceases in an ideal
change in momentum. gas.
III At absolute zero, the mass of
10. The weight of a solid object is 50 N an ideal gas is zero.
and its volume is 1 x 10-3 m3.
Assuming that the gravitational field A I only
strength is 9.8 N kg-1, the density of B II only
the object is C I and II only
D II and III only
A 1.0 x 10-4 kg m-3 E I, II and III
B 5.0 x 10-2 kg m-3
C 5.1 x 103 kg m-3 14. A fixed mass of gas condenses at
D 5.0 x 104 kg m-3 atmospheric pressure.
E 4.9 x 105 kg m-3 Which row in the table shows the
approximate increase in density and
11. The pressure of a fixed mass of gas the approximate decrease in spacing
is 100 kPa at a temperature of -52°C. between molecules?
The volume of the gas is constant.
At what temperature would the Aproximate Approximate
pressure of the gas be 200 kPa? increase in decrease in spacing
density between molecules
A -26 °C A 10 times 2 times
B 100 times 10 times
B +52 °C
C 1000 times 10 times
C +147 °C D 1 000 000 times 100 times
D +169 °C E 1 000 000 times 1000 times
E +442 °C
15. At a funfair, a prize is awarded if a coin is tossed into a small dish. The dish is mounted on
a shelf above the ground as shown.

A contestant projects the coin with a speed of 7.0 ms-1 at an angle of 60° to the
horizontal. When the coin leaves his hand, the horizontal distance between the coin and
the dish is 2.8 m. The coin lands in the dish.

The effect of air friction on the coin may be neglected.

(a) Calculate:
(i) the horizontal component of the initial velocity of the coin;
(ii) the vertical component of the initial velocity of the coin.

(b) Show that the time taken for the coin to reach the dish is 0.8 s.

(c) What is the height, h, of the shelf above the point where the coin leaves the
contestants hand?

(d) How does the value of the kinetic energy of the coin when it enters the dish
compare with the kinetic energy of the coin just as it leaves the contestant’s hand?
Justify your answer.
16. (a) A sports car is being tested along a straight track.

(i) In the first test, the car starts from

rest and has a constant acceleration
of 4.0 ms-2 in a straight line for 7.0 s.
Calculate the distance the car travels
in the 7.0 seconds.

(ii) In a second test, the car again starts from rest and accelerates at 4.0 ms-2
over twice the distance covered in the first test.
What is the increase in the final speed of the car at the end of the second
test compared with the final speed at the end of the first test?

(iii) In a third test, the car reaches a speed of 40 ms-1.

It then decelerates at 2.5 ms-2 until it comes to rest.
Calculate the distance travelled by the car while it decelerates to rest.

(b) A student measures the acceleration of a trolley as it moves freely down a sloping
track.

The trolley has a card mounted on it.

As it moves down the track the card
cuts off the light at each of the light
gates in turn. Both the light gates
are connected to the computer which
is used for timing.
The student uses a stopclock to
measure the time it takes the trolley to
move from the first light gate to the second.

(i) List all the measurements that have to be made by the student and the
computer to allow the acceleration of the trolley to be calculated.
(ii) Explain fully how each of these measurements is used in calculating the
acceleration of the trolley as it moves down the slope.
17. An oil rig of mass 10 x 106 kg is towed to a new location using two tug boats as shown.

(a) Each tug provides a force of 2.5 x 106 N.

Calculate the size and direction of the
resultant force on the oil rig.
15°
35° (b) Calculate the size of the initial
acceleration of the oil rig, assuming it
was initially at rest.

(c) After a short time, the acceleration of the oil rig decreases to zero. Explain why
this happens.

18. A rocket is used to launch a spacecraft.

(a) The rocket and spacecraft have a combined

mass of 3.0 x 105 kg. On lift off from the
Earth, the rocket motors produce a force of
3.6 x 106 N.

(i) Draw a diagram of the rocket to show the forces acting on the rocket just
after lift-off.
You must name each force.

(ii) Calculate the initial acceleration of the rocket.

(iii) Although the force exerted by the rocket motors remains constant, the
acceleration of the rocket increases as the rocket rises.
Give one reason why this happens.
19. (a) A space vehicle with a mass of 2500 kg is moving with a constant speed of 0.50 ms-1
in the direction shown. It is about to dock with a space probe of mass 1500 kg which
is moving with a constant speed in the opposite direction.

After docking, the space vehicle and space probe move off together at 0.20 ms-1 in
the original direction in which the space vehicle was moving.

Calculate the speed of the space probe before it docked with the space vehicle.

(b) The space vehicle has a rocket engine which produces a constant thrust of 1000 N.
The space probe has a rocket engine which produces a constant thrust of 500 N.
The space vehicle and space probe are now brought to rest from their combined
speed of 0.20 ms-1.
(i) Which rocket engine was switched on to bring the vehicle and probe to
rest?
(ii) Calculate the time for which this rocket engine was switched on. You
may assume that a negligible mass of fuel was used during this time.

(c) The space vehicle and space probe are to be moved from their stationary position at
A and brought to rest at position B, as shown.

Explain clearly how the rocket engines of the space vehicle and the space probe are
used to complete this manoeuvre.
Your explanation must include an indication of the relative time for which each rocket
engine must be fired.
You may assume that a negligible mass of fuel is used during this manoeuvre.
20. A technician designs the apparatus shown in the diagram to investigate the relationship
between the temperature and pressure of a fixed mass of nitrogen which is kept at a
constant volume.

(a) The pressure of nitrogen is 109 kPa when its

temperature is 15°C. The temperature of the
nitrogen rises to 45°C.
Calculate the new pressure of the nitrogen in the
flask.

(b) Explain, in terms of the movement of gas

molecules, what happens to the pressure of
the nitrogen as its temperature is increased.

(c) The technician has fitted a safety valve to the

apparatus. A diagram of the valve is shown.

The piston of cross-sectional area 4.0 x 10-6 m2 is

attached to the spring. The piston is free to
move along the tube.
The following graph shows how the length of the
spring varies with the force exerted by the
nitrogen on the piston.

(i) Calculate the force exerted by the nitrogen on the piston when the
reading on the pressure gauge is 1.75 x 105 Pa.
(ii) What is the length of the spring in the safety valve when the pressure
of the nitrogen is 1.75 x 105 Pa?
21. A sonar detector is attached to the bottom of
a fresh water loch by a vertical cable as
shown.

The detector has a mass of 100 kg. Each end

of the detector has an area of 0.40 m2.
Atmospheric pressure is 101,000 Pa.

(a) The total pressure on the top of the

detector is 108,350 Pa. Show that the
total pressure on the bottom of the
detector is 111,290 Pa.

(b) Calculate the upthrust on the detector.

(c) The sonar detector is now attached, as before, to the bottom of a sea water loch.
The top of the detector is again 0.75m below the surface of the water.

How does the size of the upthrust on the detector compare with your answer to (b)?
You must justify your answer.