Measurements

Practise Questions

Multiple-Choice Question

1. A coil has a large inductance, L. A change of current in it will induce a large back e.m.f, .
The equation relating the inductance of the coil to the induced back e.m.f and the rate of
change of current dI is
dt

L
dI
dt
The SI base unit for L is

A kgm2s-2A-1 B kgm2s-1A-2 C kgm2s-2A-2 D kgms-2A-1

2. A student measured the diameter of a ping pong ball as 3.40 cm using a pair of vernier
calipers. The uncertainty in the measurement is 0.01 cm. How should the total volume of
the ping pong ball be expressed?

A (20.579 ± 0.009) cm3 B (20.58 ± 0.03) cm3

C (20.6 ± 0.1) cm3 D (20.6 ± 0.2) cm3

3. With regards to precision and accuracy, which of the following statements is true?

A A set of results with good precision suggests that there are little random errors in
the experiment.
B A set of results with poor accuracy could be improved by taking the average of
several readings.
C A set of results with high precision can be achieved by taking the average of several
readings.
D None of the above

4. A student wishes to determine the density ρ of a cylinder of mass M, height h and

diameter d, using the following formula :

π d2
M= hρ
4

If the percentage uncertainties of his measurements of M, d and h are +4%, +1% and
+0.5% respectively, what will be the percentage uncertainty of ρ?

A 1.5% B 2.5% C 5.5% D 6.5%

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5 Four physical quantities W, X, Y and Z are related by the equation W = kX + YZ where k is a
dimensionless constant. Which of the following statement is true?

A W, X, Y and Z are all vector quantities.

B W, X, Y and Z all have the same units.

C The product YZ is numerically equal to W - kX.

D The product YZ has the same units as W and kX.

Structured Question

Solution

2 A student tries to find the horizontal distance R travelled by a projectile by

recording the time taken for the projectile to reach the ground. He does it by
shooting the projectile at a known speed v at an angle of 45 0 above the
horizontal. The setup is shown below.

v
450

1.00 m

R
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The time taken for the projectile to reach the ground (as shown on the
stopwatch) is 2.80 s.

(a) State and explain the number of decimal places the student should record
down. [1]
The student should record to 1 decimal place as the uncertainty in time is 0.1 s.

(b) The graph below (not drawn to scale) shows how a component of the
velocity varies with time.

Component of
velocity

0 time
Time to reach
A the ground

Which triangle (A or B) has a larger area? Explain your answer. [3]

Triangle B. The area under the graph represents the vertical displacement of the projectile.
Triangle A represents the distance between the top of the table and the top of the path
while triangle B represents the distance between the top of the path and the ground. Since
the distance between the top of the path and the ground is larger than the distance between
the top of the path and the table top, triangle B has the bigger area.

(c) The experiment was repeated for 5 times and the value of R was recorded
down. 3 of the values are shown below.

R/m
36.0
36.3
36.1

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 The theoretical value of R is 37.5 m. Fill in the last 2 values of R in the
above table so that the list demonstrates the phrase “precise but not
accurate”. Explain why your completed list fits the phrase. [2]

(2 values of R such that the average of the 5 values will not be too close to 37.5 m and the
individual values are close to each other. The explanation should be along the same line.)

(d) The theoretical value of R differs from the experimental value. Suggest 1
reason for the difference. [1]

Air resistance may have caused the actual R to be smaller.

Kinematics

Practise Questions

Multiple-Choice Question

1. An object of mass 2.0 kg moves at a speed of 3.0 ms-1 at a bearing of 120 (at
a clockwise angle of 120o with respect to the North). A force of 1.0 N, at a
bearing of 060, acts on the object for 2.0 s. What is the final velocity of the
object? N
A 3.6 ms-1 at a bearing of 106 60 1.0 N
B 3.6 ms-1 at a bearing of 286
120
C 2.6 ms-1 at a bearing of 161
-1
D 2.6 ms-1 at a bearing of 341 3.0 ms

2. What are the necessary assumptions for usage of the equations of motion?
I. The particle must move in a straight line
II. The particle must move with constant velocity
III. The particle must move with increasing velocity
IV. The particle must move with constant acceleration
A III
B I and IV
C I, II and IV
D I, III and IV

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3. The graph shows the displacement vs time graph for 2 trains A and B running
on parallel tracks. Which statement is correct?
Displacement
A

Time
tB
A At time tB, both trains have the same velocity.
B Both trains speed up all the time.
C Both trains have the same velocity at some time before tB.
D Somewhere on the graph, both trains have the same acceleration.

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5. From the top of a tall vertical cliff overlooking the sea, ball X is projected with a speed v at
an angle  from the horizontal ( > 0) as shown in the figure below. At the same time,
ball Y, which is of the same size and shape as ball X, but with a smaller weight, is projected
vertically downwards with the same speed v. Effects of air resistance may be neglected.
v

X Y

v
cliff

sea

Which of the following is correct?

A As ball X is heavier, it may strike the surface of the sea earlier than ball Y.
B As ball X is heavier, it will strike the surface of the sea with greater kinetic energy
compared to ball Y.
C As ball X is heavier, it will strike the surface of the sea with a greater speed than ball
Y.
D Since ball X has a longer flight time, it will strike the sea with a greater speed than ball
Y.

6. A cart is released from rest at point X of the track with side view as shown in
Fig. 4.
X

Fig. 4
The cart makes dots at a constant time interval on a strip of paper laid along
the track as the cart moves from point X to Y. The tape is then removed from
the cart and laid flat. In each picture below, the tape is oriented so that the
first dot that was made on the left. Vertical grid lines have also been added to
help you gauge the distance between the dots. Neglecting friction, which of
the pictures below would most possibly represent the pattern of dots that is
made on the tape?

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Structured Questions

1 A 20-kg projectile is fired at an angle of 600 above the horizontal with a velocity
of 400 m s-1, from the ground. At the highest point of its trajectory, the projectile
explodes into two fragments of equal mass.

(a) Explain why the velocity of the projectile at the highest point of the
trajectory, just before the explosion, is 200 m s-1 in the horizontal direction. [1]

Gravitational force acts on the projectile, in the downward direction. Thus the vertical
component of the velocity decreases as the projectile rises. At the highest point of the
trajectory the vertical component of the velocity of the projectile is zero.

The horizontal component of the velocity of the projectile remains a constant. Thus at the
highest point, the total velocity is the horizontal component.

Vx = ux = u cos θ = 400 cos 600 = 200 m s-1

(b) After the explosion one of the fragments falls vertically with zero initial
speed. Find the velocity of the other fragment just after the explosion. [2]

conservation of momentum

M M
M vx = v1 + v2
2 2

Given that v1 = 0,

M M
M (200) = (0)+ v2
2 2

(c) Both fragments eventually land on the ground, at the same level as the
vfiring m s-1
2 = 400position. If the horizontal distance travelled by the projectile before
the explosion is 7100 m, find the positions of both fragments when they
land on the ground relative to the firing position. [4]

The first fragment falls vertically downward, its displacement from the starting position is
7100 m also.

The second fragment takes the same time to fall to the ground as it takes to rise.

Time taken to rise is found by

x = uxt

7100 = 200 t

t = 35.5 s Page 7
2. The graph in Fig. 1 shows the velocity of an object v travelling over a certain
time period. The displacement of the object is 0 m at t = 0 s.

v / m s-1

8.0

3.0 9.0 12.0 14.5 17.0

- 4.0 t/s
Fig. 1

(a) Calculate the displacement of the object at t = 3.0 s, 9.0 s, 12.0 s, 14.5 s
and 17.0 s.

When t = 3.0s, displacement = (8.0 x 3.0) =24 m

When t = 9.0s, displacement = 24 + (0.5 x 6.0 x 8) = 48 m

When t = 12.0s, displacement = 48 - (0.5 x 3 x 4) = 42 m
When t = 14.5s, displacement = 42 – (0.5 x 2.5 x 4 =37 m
When t = 17.0s, displacement =37 m
(b) Sketch the displacement-time graph for the motion of the car in the space
provided below. Include in your sketch all appropriate labels, including the
displacement of the object at t = 3.0 s, 9.0 s, 12.0 s, 14.5 s and 17.0 s.
s/m
48
42
37

24

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3

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Forces Practise Questions

Multiple-Choice Question

1. A 100 g block of width 8.0 cm and height 20.0 cm rests on a rough inclined
plane. The centre of gravity of the block is located 8.0 cm above its base at the
centre of its cross-section. The angle of inclination of the plane is gradually
increased until the block topples.

8.0 cm

20.0 cm
block

8.0 cm rough plane

Calculate the angle of inclination at which this occurs.

A 22o B 27o C 30o D 45o

2. When a beaker of water rests on a balance, the weight indicated is X. A solid

object of weight Y in air displaces weight Z of water when immersed. What will

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