HOI PING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SECONDARY SCHOOL

Half-yearly Examination 2023/2024

S.3 Physics Time allowed: 45 minutes

Name: ______________________________ Full mark: 50

Class: 3________ Class Number: ___________

Instructions:

1. Write your name, class and class number in the spaces provided above.

2. There are TWO sections in this paper.

Section A: 15 Multiple Choice Questions. Each carries 1 mark.

Section B: 6 structural questions which carries 35 marks.

You are advised to finish Section A in about 15 minutes.

3. Answer ALL questions. Answers to Section A should be marked on the Multiple-choice Answer

Sheet while answers to Section B should be written in the spaces provided in the Question-

Answer Book.

4. The full mark is 50.

1
Section A: Multiple-choice questions (15 marks)

There are 15 questions in this section. Each carries 1 mark.

1.

Photo credit: MIXA Co., Ltd

Sometimes, we cannot see the writings clearly on a blackboard due to glare. Which of the
following can explain this phenomenon?
(1) Regular reflection
(2) Diffuse reflection
(3) Refraction
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

2.

A light ray from X is reflected to the observer’s eye as shown. Which position best shows the
location of image formed?
A. P
B. Q
C. R
D. S

3.

The figure above shows the image of a digital clock face formed by a plane mirror. What is the
time shown by the clock?
A. 12:10
B. 10:12
C. 01:15
D. 01:51
2
4. The image formed by a plane mirror is said to be virtual because
A. it is laterally inverted.
B. it cannot be caught by a screen.
C. it is the same size as the object.
D. it cannot be seen.

5.

The figure above shows an ambulance. Words will be painted to the front part of the ambulance
(area X in the figure) to raise the awareness of the car drivers who are driving ahead. Which of
the following words should be painted to the front part of the ambulance in order for them can
be viewed correctly by the car drivers through rear-view mirrors?

A. B.
C. D.

6.

Photo credit: Fer Gregory. Shutterstock

In cinemas, we can see the light travelling from the film projector to the screen because
(1) light travels from the projector to our eyes.
(2) part of the light travelling to the screen is reflected to our eyes.
(3) light does not travel in a straight line.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

3
7. In a room ABCD, a tall plane mirror of width 1 m is placed at the middle of the wall BD. The
top view of the room is shown below.
A B

4m mirror 1m

C D

9m
A student facing the mirror wants to see the objects placed at corners A and C at the same time.
At most how far can he stand away from the mirror?
A. 2.25 m
B. 3 m
C. 5 m
D. 6 m

8. When light travels from an optically denser medium to an optically less dense medium,
(1) its speed increases.
(2) its colour changes.
(3) it bends away from the normal.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

9. The following figure shows a light ray travelling from medium X to a vacuum. What is the
refractive index of medium X?

𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛽
A. sin(90°−𝜃)

sin(90°−𝜃)
B. sin(90°−𝛽)

sin(90°−𝜃)
C.
sin β

𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛽
D. sin 𝜃

4
10. A light ray travelling in air hits a rectangular glass block. Which of the lines A, B, C or D best
represents the path of the light ray?

glass
C
air

B
A

11. A light ray is incident on a glass window with certain thickness at an angle of 30 to the normal
as shown. At what angle (to the normal) does it go out from the other side?
Given: refractive index of glass = 1.5

30

glass window

A. 19.5
B. 30
C. 48.6
D. 60

12. A light ray travels from medium X to medium Y as shown. The refractive indices of media X
and Y are 1.7 and 1.2 respectively.

medium Y

medium X

15

What is the angle of refraction?

A. 10.5
B. 18.1
C. 21.5
D. 26.1

5
13. Which of the following statements about refraction of light is/are correct?
(1) A light ray is bent towards the normal when it passes from an optically less dense medium
to an optically denser medium.
(2) The ratio of the angle of incidence to the angle of refraction is constant.
(3) When a light ray passes from one medium to another, it is refracted because the speed of
light is different in the two media.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

14. A light ray enters a semicircular glass block as shown.

Which of the following equations is/are correct?

(1) i = r1
𝑟
(2) Refractive index of glass =𝑟2
1
(3) r1 = r2
A. (1) only
B. (1) and (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

15. It is known that the refractive index of ice is lower than that of quartz, while the refractive index
of quartz is lower than that of diamond. The figure below shows how a ray of light travels
through the three materials.

material A

material B

material C

Which of the following combinations is the most appropriate?

material A material B material C
A. ice quartz diamond
B. quartz diamond Ice
C. ice diamond quartz
D. diamond quartz ice

END OF SECTION A
6
 HOI PING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SECONDARY SCHOOL

Half-yearly Examination 2023/2024

S.3 Physics

Section B: Question-Answer Book B

Name: ___________________________________ Marks: _________________________

Class: 3 _____ Class number: _____

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SECTION B

(1) After the announcement of the start of the examination, you should first write your name, class
and class number in the space provided.
(2) Refer to the general instructions on the cover of the Question Paper for Section A.
(3) Answer ALL questions.
(4) Write your answers in the spaces provided in this Question-Answer Book.
(5) No extra time will be given to candidates for filling in the question number boxes after the
‘Time is up’ announcement.

7
Section B: Structured questions (35 marks)
There are 6 questions in this section. Answer all questions in the spaces provided.
Show all your work clearly.

Question 1 2 3 4 5 6
Marks 5 5 5 7 6 7

1. A man wearing a hat stands 100 cm in front of a circular plane mirror AB. He can just see points
C and D in the mirror. His eyes E are 5 cm above B and 15 cm below A.

(a) In the figure above, draw the paths of two rays, one from C and one from D, to show how
he sees the two points in the mirror. (2 marks)

(b) (i) Find the length of CE. (1 mark)

(ii) Find the length of CD. (1 mark)

(c) The man then walks towards the mirror by 0.5 m. Can he still see points C and D?
(1 mark)

*(d) (BONUS) If the mirror is moved at 2 cm s-1 towards the man, what is the speed of the
image? (1 bonus mark)

8
2. An object AB is placed in front of a plane mirror as shown.

5 cm

5 cm B

Figure 2

(a) Draw the image in Figure 2 and mark it as A’B’. (2 marks)

(b) Draw ALL reflected rays in Figure 2. (2 marks)

(c) State ONE nature of the image. (1 mark)

3. When a beam of white light passes through a glass prism, a colour spectrum is formed.

(a) What is the name of this phenomenon? (1 mark)

(b) State whether the following statements are correct or not.

(i) Different colours of light travel at different speeds in glass. (1 mark)

(ii) Green light refracts more than violet light when entering the prism. (1 mark)

(c) Complete the diagram by drawing the red light ray (label the ray as “R”) and violet light ray
(label the ray as “V”). (2 marks)

9
4. The following figure shows an experimental set-up for studying the refractive property of a
semicircular glass block M.

The angles of refraction r are measured for different angles of incidence i.

(a) Why is the light ray not bent when it leaves M? (1 mark)

(b) (i) The results obtained are shown below. Complete the following table. (2 marks)

i 20 30 40 50 60

r 13 18 25 32 36
sin i 0.34 0.50 0.64 0.87
sin r 0.22 0.42 0.53 0.59

10
 The graph of sin i against sin r is plotted as shown.

(ii) Calculate the slope of the straight line from the graph. Show your working steps.
(2 marks)

(iii) State the physical meaning of the slope found in the graph. (1 mark)

(c) Another semicircular block N with a higher refractive index is used instead of M to repeat
the experiment. How are the values of r different from those recorded in the above table?
(1 mark)

11
5. In Figure 5, a light ray enters water from air at an angle of 45.
(Given: refractive index of water = 1.33)

Figure 5

(a) Draw the refracted ray in Figure 5. (1 mark)

(b) Calculate the angle of refraction. (3 marks)

(c) If the angle of incidence is changed to , the angle of refraction becomes 13. Calculate
the angle of incidence . (2 marks)

12
6. A boy under water observes an aeroplane as shown in Figure 6.
(Given: refractive index of water = 1.33)

Figure 6

(a) Sketch a ray diagram to show how the boy sees the aeroplane. You can treat the aeroplane
as a point object. Locate the image (as a point) of the aeroplane as seen by the boy.
(3 marks)

(b) Describe the position of the aeroplane as seen from the boy. (1 mark)

(c) What will happen to the speed of light when it travels from the air to the water?
(1 mark)

(d) Calculate the speed of light when it travels from the air to the water. Given that the speed
of light in air is 3  108 m s1.
(2 marks)

END OF PAPER

13
 Hoi Ping Chamber of Commerce Secondary School
Half-yearly Examination (2023 – 2024)
Physics
Marking Scheme
Secondary 3
Section A: Multiple-choice questions (15 marks; 1 mark each)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A B D B C B B C A B
11 12 13 14 15
B C C A B

Section B: Structured questions (35 marks)

Q1
Solutions Marks
(a)

(A ray from C to A and then E) 1A

(A ray from D to B and then E) 1A
(b) (i) CE = 2  15 = 30 cm 1A
(ii) DE = 2  5 = 10 cm
CD = 30 + 10 = 40 cm 1A
(c) Yes 1A
*(d) 4 cm s-1 *1A

Q2

A A’

5 cm

5 cm B B’

(a) Correct location and height (1A)

Labelling (1A)
Deduct 1 mark if it not dotted line / without using ruler

14
 (b) Two rays from A (1A), two rays from B (1A).
(c) The image is virtual / erect / the same size as the object (ANY ONE 1A@).

Q3
Solutions Marks
(a) Dispersion 1A
(b)(i) True 1A
(ii) False 1A
1A
1A

Q4
Solutions Marks
(a) This is because the light ray hits the interface along the normal when it
leaves M. 1A
(b) (i)
sin i 0.34 0.50 0.64 0.77 0.87
sin r 0.22 0.31 0.42 0.53 0.59
(Correct data) 1A@

0.90  0
(ii) Slope = = 1.5 1M+1A
0.60  0
1A
(iii) It is the refractive index of M.
(c) The values become smaller. 1A
15
 1A

Q5
Solutions Marks
(a) 1M

(b) By Snell’s law,

sin i
n=
sin r 1M

sin i sin 45 1A

 sin r = =
n 1.33
 r = 32.1 1A
The angle of refraction is 32.1.
(c) n1 sin2 = n2 sin2
sin = n2 sin13 1M
 = 17.4 1A

6(a)

(Each correct ray) 2  1A

(Correct position of image) 1A
(b) It seems to be further away. 1A
(c) It becomes slower 1A
3×108 1M+1A
(d)𝑣 = 1.33
=2.26 × 108 𝑚𝑠 −1

16