MaterialsEdexcel International A Level Physics: Topic test

20 questions, 54 marks

Edexcel International A Level Physics

Materials topic test

Total 54 marks

Name

Class

Date

1
A uniform wooden block of dimensions 0.20 m × 0.10 m × 0.050 m and mass 0.60 kg floats at rest in fresh water of density 1000 kg m⁻³, with its largest face horizontal. The gravitational field strength is 9.81 N kg⁻¹.
(a)
What is the density of the wood?
[1 mark]
A600 kg m⁻³
B1.7 × 10⁻³ kg m⁻³
C1000 kg m⁻³
D60 kg m⁻³
(b)
What is the upthrust on the block?
[1 mark]
A0.60 N
B9.8 N
C5.9 N
D59 N
(c)
Calculate the depth of the block below the water surface.
[2 marks]
Total for question 1: 4 marks
2
A car has four identical suspension springs, each of stiffness 3.0 × 10⁴ N m⁻¹. Each spring obeys Hooke's law. The car has a mass of 1200 kg and its weight is shared equally between the four springs. The gravitational field strength is 9.81 N kg⁻¹.
(a)
By how much is each spring compressed by the weight of the car?
[1 mark]
A0.39 m
B0.098 m
C0.049 m
D0.010 m
(b)
Passengers and luggage of total mass 300 kg are added to the car, and the extra weight is shared equally between the four springs. By how much is each spring compressed further?
[1 mark]
A0.098 m
B0.39 m
C0.010 m
D0.025 m
(c)
A driver overloads the car so much that one spring is taken beyond its limit of proportionality. State what is meant by the limit of proportionality and describe how the force–compression graph differs beyond it.
[2 marks]
Total for question 2: 4 marks
3
A copper rod of original length 1.50 m and diameter 12 mm is used as a tie-bar and carries a steady tensile force of 18 kN. The Young modulus of copper is 1.2 × 10¹¹ Pa. The rod stays within its limit of proportionality.
(a)
Calculate the tensile stress in the rod.
[3 marks]
(b)
Calculate the extension of the rod.
[4 marks]
Total for question 3: 7 marks
4
A nylon tow rope has a natural length of 5.0 m and a cross-sectional area of 4.0 × 10⁻⁴ m². The nylon has a Young modulus of 3.0 × 10⁹ Pa, and the rope obeys Hooke's law up to a tension of 24 kN.
(a)
The rope carries a tension of 15 kN. Determine its extension, the stiffness of the rope and the elastic strain energy stored in it.
[6 marks]
(b)
A student claims that a rope of the same nylon and the same length, but with twice the diameter, would store twice as much elastic strain energy at the same extension of 0.0625 m. Evaluate this claim.
[6 marks]
Total for question 4: 12 marks
5
A catapult uses an elastic band of stiffness 150 N m⁻¹. The band obeys Hooke's law for extensions up to 0.40 m.
(a)
What is the elastic strain energy stored in the band when it is stretched by 0.20 m?
[1 mark]
A6.0 J
B15 J
C3.0 J
D1.5 J
(b)
The band is now stretched by 0.40 m instead of 0.20 m. How does the stored elastic strain energy change?
[1 mark]
AIt doubles
BIt increases by a factor of √2
CIt increases by a factor of 8
DIt quadruples
(c)
A student says that the work done in stretching the band by 0.20 m is 30 N × 0.20 m = 6.0 J. Explain why this value is wrong.
[2 marks]
Total for question 5: 4 marks
6
A small glass bead of radius 1.5 mm and density 2500 kg m⁻³ is released at rest below the surface of a tall tank of engine oil. The oil has density 880 kg m⁻³ and viscosity 0.25 Pa s. Assume that Stokes' law applies to the bead throughout and that the gravitational field strength is 9.81 N kg⁻¹.
(a)
What is the upthrust on the bead when it is fully submerged?
[1 mark]
A1.2 × 10⁻⁴ N
B3.5 × 10⁻⁴ N
C1.2 × 10⁻⁵ N
D9.8 × 10⁻⁴ N
(b)
What is the terminal velocity of the bead?
[1 mark]
A0.049 m s⁻¹
B0.032 m s⁻¹
C0.066 m s⁻¹
D0.016 m s⁻¹
(c)
The experiment is repeated with the oil at a higher temperature. Explain the effect on the terminal velocity of the bead.
[2 marks]
Total for question 6: 4 marks
7
A steel bar was tested in tension. Its original length was 0.80 m and its cross-sectional area was 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ m². The stress was directly proportional to the strain up to a stress of 3.0 × 10⁸ Pa, at which the strain was 1.5 × 10⁻³. This is also the elastic limit of the bar. The bar then deformed plastically and broke when the stress reached 4.5 × 10⁸ Pa.
(a)
Calculate the Young modulus of the steel.
[3 marks]
(b)
Calculate the force needed to break the bar and the force above which it would be permanently deformed. State what happens to the length of a bar that is loaded to a stress of 4.0 × 10⁸ Pa and then unloaded.
[4 marks]
Total for question 7: 7 marks
8
A spring of stiffness 40 N m⁻¹ hangs vertically from a clamp and obeys Hooke's law throughout. A small solid metal object is hung from the spring and the spring extends by 4.90 cm. While the object remains attached, it is lowered at rest until it is completely submerged in water of density 1000 kg m⁻³, and the extension decreases to 3.09 cm. The gravitational field strength is 9.81 N kg⁻¹.
(a)
Determine the density of the metal.
[6 marks]
(b)
A student estimates the decrease in the elastic strain energy stored in the spring as the object is lowered into the water as (upthrust × decrease in extension). Evaluate this estimate.
[6 marks]
Total for question 8: 12 marks

End of questions

Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).