1. This question is about measuring the permittivity of free space ε0.

The diagram below shows two parallel conducting plates connected to a

variable voltage supply. The plates are of equal areas and are a distance d
apart.

+
v a ria b le v o lta g e s u p p ly
d V
–

The charge Q on one of the plates is measured for different values of the
potential difference V applied between the plates. The values obtained are
shown in the table below. Uncertainties in the data are not included.

V/V Q / nC
10.0 30

20.0 80

30.0 100

40.0 160

50.0 180

(a) Plot a graph of V (x-axis) against Q (y-axis).

1
 (4)

(b) Draw the line of best fit for the data points.
(1)

(c) Determine the gradient of your best-fit line.

(2)

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

(d) The gradient of the graph is a property of the two plates and is known as
capacitance. Deduce the units of capacitance.

.......................................................................................................................
..............
(1)

2
The relationship between Q and V for this arrangement is given by the
expression

ε0 A
V
Q= d

where A is the area of one of the plates.

In this particular experiment A = 0.20 m2 and d = 0.50 mm.

(e) Use your answer to (c) to determine a value for ε0.

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............
(3)
(Total 11 marks)

3
2. This question is about power output of an outboard motor.

A small boat is powered by an outboard motor of variable power P. The graph

below shows the variation with speed v of P when the boat is carrying different
loads.

5 .0

4 .5 350 kg

4 .0

3 .5

3 .0
300 kg
P / kW 2 .5

2 .0

1 .5
250 kg
1 .0
200 kg
0 .5

0 .0
0 .0 0 .5 1 .0 1 .5 2 .0 2 .5 3 .0 3 .5 4 .0
v / m s–1

The masses shown are the total mass of the boat plus passengers,

(a) For the boat having a steady speed of 2.0 m s –1 and with a total mass of
350 kg

(i) use the graph to determine the power of the engine.

..............................................................................................................
.............
(1)

(ii) calculate the frictional (resistive) force acting on the boat.

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............
(2)

4
5
 Consider the case of the boat moving with a speed of 2.5 m s –1.

(b) (i) Use the axes below to construct a graph to show the variation of
power P with the total mass W.

200 250 300 350 400 450

W / kg
(6)

(ii) Use data from the graph that you have drawn to determine the output
power of the motor for a total mass of 330 kg.

..............................................................................................................
.............
(1)
(Total 10 marks)

3. The resistive force F that acts on an object moving at speed v in a stationary

fluid of constant density is given by the expression

F = kv2

where k is a constant.

6
7
(a) State the derived units of

(i) force F.

..............................................................................................................
.............
(1)

(ii) speed v.

..............................................................................................................
.............
(1)

(b) Use your answers in (a) to determine the derived units of k.

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............
(1)
(Total 3 marks)

8
4. The Geiger-Nuttall theory of α-particle emission relates the half-life of the α-
particle emitter to the energy E of the α-particle. One form of this relationship is

166
1

L = E 2 – 53.5.

L is a number calculated from the half-life of the α-particle emitting nuclide and
E is measured in MeV.

Values of E and L for different nuclides are given below. (Uncertainties in the
values are not shown.)
1
1 
/ MeV 2
Nuclide E / MeV L E2
1

238
U 4.20 17.15 0.488
236
U 4.49 14.87 0.472
234
U 4.82 12.89 0.455
228
Th 5.42 7.78 …………..
208
Rn 6.14 3.16 0.404
212
Po 7.39 –2.75 0.368

(a) Complete the table above by calculating, using the value of E provided,
1
1
228
the value of E 2 for the nuclide Th . Give your answer to three
significant digits.
(1)

9
 1
1

The graph below shows the variation with E 2 of the quantity L. Error bars have
not been added.

L 20

16

12

0
0 .2 0 .3 0 .4 0 .5
1 1 – 12
E 2 / M eV
–4

208
(b) (i) Identify the data point for the nuclide Rn . Label this point R.
(1)

228
(ii) On the graph, mark the point for the nuclide Th . Label this point T.
(1)

(iii) Draw the best-fit straight-line for all the data points.
(1)

10
(c) (i) Determine the gradient of the line you have drawn in (b)(iii).

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............
(2)

(ii) Without taking into consideration any uncertainty in the values for the
gradient and for the intercept on the x-axis, suggest why the graph
does not agree with the stated relationship for the Geiger-Nuttall
theory.

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............
(2)

(d) On the graph above, draw the line that would be expected if the
relationship for the Geiger-Nuttall theory were correct. No further
calculation is required.
(2)
(Total 10 marks)

11
5. This question is about an electrostatics experiment to investigate how the force
between two charges varies with the distance between them.

A small charged sphere S hangs vertically from an insulating thread as shown

below.

A second identically charged sphere P is brought close to S. S is repelled as

shown below.

P S
fo rc e F

The magnitude of the electrostatic force on sphere S is F. The separation

between the two spheres is r.

12
(a) On the axes below draw a sketch graph to show how, based on Coulomb’s
1
2
.
law, you would expect F to vary with r

0
0 1
2
r
(2)

13
 1
2
Values of F are determined for different values of r. The variation with r of
these values is shown below. The estimated uncertainties in these values are
negligible.

F / 1 0 - 3
N 7 .0

6 .0

5 .0

4 .0

3 .0

2 .0

1 .0

0 .0
0 .0 2 .0 4 .0 6 .0 8 .0 1 0 .0 1 2 .0
1
/ 1 0 3
m - 2

r2

(b) (i) Draw the best-fit line for these data points.
(2)

(ii) Use the graph to explain whether, in the experiment, there are
random errors, systematic errors or both.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(3)

14
(iii) Calculate the gradient of the line drawn in (b) (i).

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(2)

(iv) The magnitude of the charge on each sphere is the same. Use your
answer to (b) (iii) to calculate this magnitude.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(4)
(Total 13 marks)

15
6. This question is about a spider’s web.

An experiment was carried out to measure the extension x of a thread of a

spider’s web when a load F is applied to it. The results of the experiment are
shown plotted below. Uncertainties in the measurements are not shown.
9 .0 th re a d
b re a k s a t
8 .0 th is p o in t

7 .0

6 .0

5 .0
–2
F / 10 N
4 .0

3 .0

2 .0

1 .0

0 .0
0 .0 1 .0 2 .0 3 .0 4 .0 5 .0 6 .0

–2
x / 10 m

(a) Draw a best-fit line for the data points.

(1)

16
(b) When a load is applied to a material, it is said to be under “stress”. The
magnitude P of the stress is given by

F
P
A

where, A is the area of cross-section of the sample of the material.

Use the graph and the data below to deduce that the thread used in the
experiment has a greater breaking stress than steel.

Breaking stress of steel = 1.0  109 N m−2

Radius of spider web thread = 4.5  10−6 m

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............
(3)

17
(c) In a particular web, one thread has the same original length as the thread
used in the experiment. In the making of this web, the original length of the
thread is extended by 2.4  10−2 m.

(i) Use the graph to deduce that the amount of work required to further
extend the thread to the length at which it just breaks, is about 1.6 
10−3 J. Explain your working.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(3)

(ii) If the thread is not to break due to the impact of a flying insect, then
the thread must be capable of absorbing all the kinetic energy of the
insect as it is brought to rest by the impact. Determine the impact
speed that an insect of mass 0.15 g must have in order that it just
breaks the thread.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(3)
(Total 10 marks)

18
19
7. A hot object may be cooled by blowing air past it. This cooling process is known
as forced convection. In order to investigate forced convection, hot oil was
placed in a metal can. The can was placed on an insulating block and air was
blown past the can, as shown below.

s tirre r
th e rm o m e te r

lid

h o t o il
c u rre n t o f a ir
m e ta l c a n

in s u la tin g b lo c k

20
The hot oil was stirred continuously and its temperature was taken every minute
as it cooled.
The graph below shows the variation with time of the temperature of the cooling
oil.

120

100

80
te m p e ra tu re /  C

60

40

20

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
tim e / m in u te s

21
It is thought that the rate R of decrease of temperature depends on the
temperature difference between the oil and its surroundings (the excess
temperature θE). The temperature of the surroundings was 26C.

(a) On the graph above,

(i) draw a straight-line parallel to the time axis to represent the

temperature of the surroundings;
(1)

(ii) by drawing a suitable tangent, calculate the rate of decrease of

temperature, in C s–1, for an excess temperature of 50 Celsius
degrees (C).

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(4)

22
(b) In order to investigate the variation with R of E, a graph of R against E is
plotted. The graph below shows four plotted data points. Uncertainties in
the points are not included.

0 .2 4

0 .2 0

0 .1 6

R / C s – 1 0 .1 2

0 .0 8

0 .0 4

0 .0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100

E / C

(i) Using your answer to (a)(ii), plot the data point corresponding to E =
50C.
(1)

(ii) The uncertainty in the measurement of R at each excess

temperature is 10. On the graph, draw error bars to represent the
uncertainties in R at excess temperatures of 20C and 81C.
(2)

23
 (c) Explain why the graph in (b) supports the conclusion that the excess
temperature E is related to the rate of cooling R by the expression

R = kE ,

where k is a constant.

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............
(3)
(Total 11 marks)

8. This question is about thermal energy transfer through a rod.

A student designed an experiment to investigate the variation of temperature

along a copper rod when each end is kept at a different temperature. In the
experiment, one end of the rod is placed in a container of boiling water at 100C
and the other end is placed in contact with a block of ice at 0.0C as shown in
the diagram.

te m p e ra tu re s e n s o rs

b o ilin g w a te r ic e
1 0 0 C 0 C
c o p p e r ro d

not to scale

24
Temperature sensors are placed at 10 cm intervals along the rod. The final
steady state temperature  of each sensor is recorded, together with the
corresponding distance x of each sensor from the hot end of the rod.

The data points are shown plotted on the axes below.

/ C 110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
x / cm

The uncertainty in the measurement of  is 2C. The uncertainty in the

measurement of x is negligible.

(a) On the graph above, draw the uncertainty in the data points for x = 10 cm,
x = 40 cm and x = 70 cm.
(2)

(b) On the graph above, draw the line of best-fit for the data.
(1)

25
(c) Explain, by reference to the uncertainties you have indicated, the shape of
the line you have drawn.

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............
(2)

(d) (i) Use your graph to estimate the temperature of the rod at x = 55 cm.

..............................................................................................................
...........
(1)

(ii) Determine the magnitude of the gradient of the line (the temperature
gradient) at
x = 50 cm.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(3)

26
(e) The rate of transfer of thermal energy R through the cross-sectional area
θ
of the rod is proportional to the temperture gradient x along the rod. At x
θ
= 10 cm, R = 43W and the magnitude of the temperature gradient is x
=1.81C cm−1. At x = 50 cm the value of R is 25 W.

Use these data and your answer to d(ii) to suggest whether the rate R of
thermal energy transfer is in fact proportional to the temperature gradient.

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............
(3)
(Total 12 marks)

27
9. The question is about investigating a fireball caused by an explosion.

When a fire burns within a confined space, the fire can sometimes spread very
rapidly in the form of a circular fireball. Knowing the speed with which these
fireballs can spread is of great importance to fire-fighters. In order to be able to
predict this speed, a series of controlled experiments was carried out in which a
known amount of petroleum (petrol) stored in a can was ignited.

The radius R of the resulting fireball produced by the explosion of some petrol in
a can was measured as a function of time t. The results of the experiment for
five different volumes of petroleum are shown plotted below. (Uncertainties in
the data are not shown.)

K ey:
25
–3 3
30 10 m
20 –3 3
25 10 m
–3 3
15 15 10 m
–3 3
R / m 10 10 m
10 5 .0 10 –3
m 3

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

t / m s

(a) The original hypothesis was that, for a given volume of petrol, the radius R
of the fireball would be directly proportional to the time t after the
explosion. State two reasons why the plotted data do not support this
hypothesis.

1. ..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

2. ..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(2)

28
(b) The uncertainty in the radius is 0.5 m. The addition of error bars to the
data points would show that there is in fact a systematic error in the
plotted data. Suggest one reason for this systematic error.

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............
(2)

29
(c) It is known that the energy released in the explosion is proportional to the
initial volume of petrol. A hypothesis made by the experimenters is that, at
a given time, the radius of the fireball is proportional to the energy E
released by the explosion. In order to test this hypothesis, the radius R of
the fireball 20 ms after the explosion was plotted against the initial volume
V of petrol causing the fireball. The resulting graph is shown below.
15

10

R / m

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
–3 3
V / 10 m

The uncertainties in R have been included. The uncertainty in the volume

of petrol is negligible.

(i) Describe how the data for the above graph are obtained from the
graph in (a).

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(1)

(ii) Draw the line of best-fit for the data points.

(2)

(iii) Explain whether the plotted data together with the error bars support
the hypothesis that R is proportional to V.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

30
..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(2)

31
(d) Analysis shows that the relation between the radius R, energy E released
and time t is in fact given by

R5 = Et2.

Use data from the graph in (c) to deduce that the energy liberated by the
combustion of 1.0  10–3 m3 of petrol is about 30 MJ.

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............
(4)
(Total 13 marks)

32
10. As part of a road-safety campaign, the braking distances of a car were
measured.

A driver in a particular car was instructed to travel along a straight road at a

constant speed v. A signal was given to the driver to stop and he applied the
brakes to bring the car to rest in as short a distance as possible. The total
distance D travelled by the car after the signal was given was measured for
corresponding values of v. A sketch-graph of the results is shown below.
v

0
0 D

(a) State why the sketch graph suggests that D and v are not related by an
expression of the form

D =mv + c,

where m and c are constants.

.......................................................................................................................
............

.......................................................................................................................
............
(1)

33
(b) It is suggested that D and v may be related by an expression of the form

D = av + bv2,

where a and b are constants.

In order to test this suggestion, the data shown below are used. The
uncertainties in the measurements of D and v are not shown.

D
v / m s–1 D/m / ........
v
10.0 14.0 1.40

13.5 22.7 1.68

18.0 36.9 2.05

22.5 52.9

27.0 74.0 2.74

31.5 97.7 3.10

D
.
(i) In the table above, state the unit of v
(1)

D
,
(ii) Calculate the magnitude of v to an appropriate number of
significant digits, for v = 22.5 m s–1.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(1)

34
 D
(c) Data from the table are used to plot a graph of v (y-axis) against v (x-
axis). Some of the data points are shown plotted below.

3 .5 0

3 .0 0

2 .5 0

2 .0 0
( S .I . u n its )

1 .5 0
D
v

1 .0 0

0 .5 0

0 .0 0
0 .0 0 5 .0 0 1 0 .0 0 1 5 .0 0 2 0 .0 0 2 5 .0 0 3 0 .0 0 3 5 .0 0
–1
v / m s

On the graph above,

(i) plot the data points for speeds corresponding to 22.5 m s –1 and to
31.5 m s–1.
(2)

(ii) draw the best-fit line for all the data points.
(1)

35
(d) Use your graph in (c) to determine

(i) the total stopping distance D for a speed of 35 m s–1.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(2)

D
(ii) the intercept on the v axis.

..............................................................................................................
...........
(1)

(iii) the gradient of the best-fit line.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(2)

(e) Using your answers to (d)(ii) and (d)(iii), deduce the equation for D in
terms of v.

D
= ...........................................................................................................
..............
(1)

(f) (i) Use your answer to (e) to calculate the distance D for a speed v of
35.0 m s–1.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................

36
 ...........
(1)

(ii) Briefly discuss your answers to (d)(i) and (f)(i).

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(1)
(Total 14 marks)

11. This question is about data analysis.

Data for the refractive index n of a type of glass and wavelength λ of the light
transmitted through the glass are shown below.

Only the uncertainties in the values of n are significant and these uncertainties
are shown by error bars.
1 .6 0 6 5

1 .6 0 6 0

1 .6 0 5 5

1 .6 0 5 0

1 .6 0 4 5
n
1 .6 0 4 0

1 .6 0 3 5

1 .6 0 3 0

1 .6 0 2 5

1 .6 0 2 0

1 .6 0 1 5
300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650
/n m

37
(a) State why the data do not support the hypothesis that there is a linear
relationship between refractive index and wavelength.

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............
(1)

(b) Draw a best-fit line for the data points.

(2)

38
(c) The rate of change of refractive index D with wavelength is referred to as
the dispersion.
At any particular value of wavelength, D is defined by

n
D = 

Use the graph to determine the value of D at a wavelength of 380 nm.

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............
(4)

39
(d) Based on the plotted data, it is suggested that the relationship between n
and λ is of the form

B
n=A+ 
2

where A and B are constants.

1
To test this suggestion, values of n are plotted against values of  . The
2

resulting graph with the line of best fit is shown below.

1 .6 0 6 5

1 .6 0 6 0

1 .6 0 5 5

1 .6 0 5 0

1 .6 0 4 5

n 1 .6 0 4 0

1 .6 0 3 5

1 .6 0 3 0

1 .6 0 2 5

1 .6 0 2 0

1 .6 0 1 5

1 .6 0 1 0
0 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3 0 .4 0 .5 0 .6 0 .7 0 .8 0 .9 1 .0 1 .1 1 .2

1 -1 5 -2
2 / 1 0 m

40
(i) Use the graph to determine the value of the constant A.

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............
(3)

(ii) State the significance of the constant A.

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............
(1)
(Total 11 marks)

41
12. Some data for the resistance R of an electrical component at different
temperatures are shown below.

t /°C R/Ω
10.0 2600
15.0 2150
25.0 1510
30.0 1280
35.0 1080
40.0 925

A graph of the variation with temperature t of the resistance R of the component

is shown below. Error bars have been included.

3400

3200

3000

2800

2600

2400

2200
R /
2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
t/ C

42
(a) Estimate the uncertainty range in the temperature measurements.

.......................................................................................................................
..............
(1)

(b) Use the graph to determine the

(i) most probable resistance of the component at 20.0°C and at 5.0°C.

Resistance at
20.0°C ........................................................................................
(1)

Resistance at
5.0°C ..........................................................................................
(2)

(ii) rate of change of resistance with temperature at 20.0°C.

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............

..............................................................................................................
.............
(3)

(c) The relationship between resistance and temperature is not linear.

Describe, and explain, the evidence for a non-linear relationship that is
provided by the graph.

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............
(2)

43
(d) A student suggests that the relationship between the resistance R and
temperature is of the form

c
R= T

where c is a constant and T is the thermodynamic (absolute) temperature.

Use data from the table to determine, without drawing a graph, whether
this suggestion is correct.

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............

.......................................................................................................................
..............
(3)
(Total 12 marks)

44
13. This question is about the electrical power available from a wind turbine.

The maximum electrical power generated by a wind turbine, Pout , was

measured over a range of incident wind speeds, vin.

The graph below shows the variation with vin of Pout. Uncertainties for the data
are not shown.

v in .
(a) It is suggested that Pout is proportional to

(i) Draw the line of best-fit for the data points.

(1)

(ii) State one reason why the line you have drawn does not support this
hypothesis.

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........

..............................................................................................................
...........
(1)

(iii) The uncertainty in the power at 15 m s–1 is 5. Draw an error bar on
the graph to represent this uncertainty.
(2)

45
(b) The theoretical relationship between the available power in the wind, Pin,
and incident wind speed is shown in the graph below.
4000

3500

3000

2500

2000
P m / kW

1500

1000

500

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
V m / m s–1

Using both graphs,

(i) determine the efficiency of the turbine for an incident wind speed of
14 m s–1.

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(3)

46
 (ii) suggest, without calculation, how the efficiency of the turbine
changes with increasing wind speed.

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(3)

(c) Outline one advantage and one disadvantage of using wind turbines to
generate electrical energy.

Advantage: .................................................................................................
..

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..

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..

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..

Disadvantage: ............................................................................................
.......

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..

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..

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..
(2)
(Total 12 marks)

47