MID TERM EXAMINATION

SEPTEMBER 2021
GRADE: 9 MAX. MARKS: 100
SUBJECT: PHYSICS TIME: 2 HRS

INSTRUCTIONS
 Write your Admission No., Name, Grade and Subject in the answer sheet.
 Use black or dark blue pen. You may use an HB pencil for any diagram or graph.
 Do not use correction fluid.
 Answer all questions.
 You may use a calculator.
INFORMATION
 The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].

SECTION A

EACH QUESTION CARRIES 1 MARK

1. A screw gauge micrometre can be used to measure a certain quantity.

Which quantity can it measure?

a) temperature b) pressure

b) length d) wavelength

2. The graph shows how the speed of a car changes with time.

Between which two times is the car stationary?

a) U and V b) V and W

c) W and X d) X and Y

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 1

3. A child is standing on the platform of a station.

A train travelling at 30m/ s takes 3.0s to pass the child.

What is the length of the train?

a) 10 m b) 27 m c) 30m d) 90 m

4. The weight of an object is to be found using the balance shown in the diagram.

The object is put in the left-hand pan and various standard weights are put in the right-hand pan.
These are the results.

What is the best estimate of the weight of the object?

a) 0.27N b) 0.29N c) 0.31N d) 0.58N

5. The diagrams show four blocks with the same mass.

Which block is made from the least dense material?

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 2

6. A uniform rod rests on a pivot at its centre. The rod is not attached to the pivot. Forces are then
applied to the rod in four different ways, as shown. The weight of the rod can be ignored.

Which diagram shows the rod in equilibrium?

7. Which combination of forces produces a resultant force acting towards the right?

8. A student adds weights to an elastic cord. He measures the length of the cord for each weight.

He then plots a graph from the results, as shown.

Which length has he plotted on the vertical axis?

a) measured length c) (measured length – original length)

b) original length d) (measured length + original length)

9. A pendulum is set in motion and timed.

The time measured for 20 complete swings is 30s.

What is the time for one complete swing of the pendulum?

a) 0.67s b) 0.75s c) 1.5s d) 3.0s

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 3

10. A student wishes to measure the speed of sound in air.

She plans to measure the time between making a sound and hearing the echo from a cliff.

She will use the equation: speed = distance/ time.

Which type of sound should she make and which distance should she use in her calculation?

11. Two stones of different weight fall at the same time from a table. Air resistance may be ignored.

What will happen and why?

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 4

12. A large bag of feathers and a steel block balance each other on some scales.

What does this show about the masses and the weights of the bag of feathers and the steel block?

a) It shows that the masses are equal and the weights are equal.

b) It shows that the masses are equal, but the weights might be different.

c) It shows that the masses might be different and the weights might be different.

d) It shows that the weights are equal, but the masses might be different.

13. A parachutist inside an aeroplane has a mass of 70kg.

What is his mass after he has jumped from the aeroplane?

a) 0kg b) between 0kg and 70kg c) 70kg d) greater than 70kg

14. The diagram shows sections of four objects of equal mass. The position of the centre of mass of each

object has been marked with a cross.

Which object is the most stable?

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 5

15. A see-saw is made by resting a long plank of wood with its centre of mass on a barrel.

A boy sits on one side of the barrel and a girl sits on the other side so that the see-saw is balanced.

Which statement must be true?

a) boy’s weight = girl’s weight c) total downward force = total moment about the barrel

b) distance x = distance y d) resultant force and resultant moment are both zero

16. A power station uses nuclear fission to obtain energy.

In this process, nuclear energy is first changed into

a) chemical energy. c) gravitational energy

b) electrical energy. d) thermal (heat) energy.

17. The reading on a spring balance with a holder and eight identical discs is 3.0N. Six discs are removed

and the reading becomes 1.2N.

What is the weight of one disc?

a) 0.2N b) 0.3N c) 0.5N d) 0.6N

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 6

18. Which row identifies quantities that are measured in newtons?

19. A large parcel is on a horizontal conveyor belt. The conveyor belt moves the parcel towards a lorry.

The parcel travels towards the lorry at a constant speed. Only two horizontal forces act on the parcel:

air resistance, and friction with the conveyor belt.

Which row correctly compares the directions and the sizes of these two forces?

20. A rollercoaster speeds along a track with considerable momentum.

If a different rollercoaster travels at four times the speed but with half of mass, its momentum would

be

a) Zero c) twice as much as

b) Four times as much as d) unchanged

21. Four athletes run twice around a track. The table shows their times at the end of each lap. Which

athlete runs the second lap the fastest?

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 7

22. The extension/ load graph for a spring is shown. The unloaded length of the spring is 15.0cm.

When an object of unknown weight is hung on the spring, the length of the spring is 16.4cm.

What is the weight of the object?

a) 0.55N b) 0.67N c) 3.5N d) 4.1N

23. A car is driven on a long journey along a flat, horizontal road. The car stops several times on the

journey and its engine becomes hot.

Which type of energy does not change during the journey?

a) the chemical energy in the fuel tank c) the internal (thermal) energy of the engine

b) the gravitational energy of the car d) the kinetic energy of the car

24. Which of these is designed to change electrical energy into kinetic energy?

a) a capacitor b) a generator c) a motor d) a transformer

25. A force acts on a moving rubber ball.

Which of these changes could not happen to the ball because of the force?

a) a change in direction

b) a change in mass

c) a change in shape

d) a change in speed

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 8

 SECTION B

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

1. Two girls attempt to measure the speed of the water in a river, as shown in Fig. 2.1.

(a) The distance between the two bridges is measured as 50 m. Suggest an appropriate instrument that

they might use to measure this distance.

............................................................................................................................................... [1]

(b) The girl on bridge 1 drops a piece of wood into the water. The girl on bridge 2 measures how long it

takes for the piece of wood to reach bridge 2. It takes 400 s to travel between the two bridges.

(i) Name an appropriate instrument that could be used to measure this time.

....................................................................................................................................... [1]

(ii) Describe the procedure for measuring this time.

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

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

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

........................................................................................................................................... [3]

(iii) Calculate the speed of the water.

speed = ...................................................... [4]

[Total: 9]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 9

2. (a) In a laboratory experiment to find the centre of mass of a triangular piece of card, the card is

suspended first from point A and then from point B, as shown in Figs. 3.1 and 3.2.

When suspended from A, point D is found to be vertically below A.

When suspended from B, point E is vertically below B.

(i) What piece of apparatus might be used to determine the vertical lines through A and B?

....................................................................................................................................... [1]

(ii) On Fig. 3.3 below, draw construction lines to find the position of the centre of mass of the

triangular card. Label this point clearly with the letter G.

[3]

(c) Fig. 3.4 illustrates a toy that always returns to the upright position, whatever position it is put in
to start with.

On one of the three positions of the toy shown in Fig. 4.3, clearly mark X at a possible position for the
centre of mass of the toy. [2]

[Total: 6]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 10

3. (a) An empty glass beaker has a mass of 210 g.

When 200 cm3 of olive oil is poured into the beaker, the total mass is 394 g.

Calculate the density of the olive oil.

density = .......................................................... [4]

(b) When the beaker and olive oil are heated, the olive oil expands. What happens to the density of

the olive oil?

.............................................................................................................................................. [1]

[Total: 5]

4. (a) State what is meant by the moment of a force.

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

.............................................................................................................................................. [1]

(b) A warehouse worker is about to close a large door, as shown in Fig. 3.1

(i) State, with a reason, which of the two positions, A or B, will enable him to close the door

with least force.

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

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

...................................................................................................................................... [1]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 11

 (ii) On another occasion, with the door in the position shown in Fig. 3.1, two workers each

push on the door with the same force at the same time. One worker pushes at A, from the

side seen in Fig. 3.1. The other worker pushes at B, from the other side of the door.

Which way does the door move, if at all? Tick one box.

[1]

[TOTAL: 3]

5. Fig. 1.1 shows the route OPQR taken by a car.

Fig. 1.2 shows the speed-time graph for the car journey. The car starts from rest at O

(a) State the value of the distance represented by the shaded area.

...............................................................................................................................................[1]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 12

 (b) State what the car was doing during the interval

(i) OP, ................................................................................................................................. [1]

(ii) PQ, ................................................................................................................................ [1]

(iii) QR. ................................................................................................................................ [1]

(b) Is the average speed during the journey the same as, less than or more than the maximum

speed shown on the graph?

............................................................................................................................................... [1]

[Total: 5]

6. An archer pulls the string of his bow, and moves the arrow to the position shown in Fig. 4.1. He then
releases the string so that the arrow is fired towards a target.

(a) The archer does work on the bow.

When is this work done? Tick one box.

[1]

(b) What type of energy is stored in the bow because it is bent?

...................................................................................................................................... [1]

(c) What type of energy does the arrow have because it is moving?

......................................................................................................................................[1]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 13

 (d) On another occasion, the archer fires the arrow so that it rises up to a maximum height before
falling back down to the ground.

Use words from the following list to complete the sentences below.

gravitational potential, kinetic, thermal, maximum, minimum, zero

As the arrow rises, its ..................................................... energy increases. At the top of the

flight, this energy is at a ...................................................... As the arrow falls, this energy is

converted into ..................................................... energy. When it hits the ground, the energy

of the arrow is converted into ..................................................... energy.

[4]

[Total: 7]

7. Two boys, X and Y, decide to measure the speed of some of the vehicles travelling along a road. The
two boys stand 405 m apart beside the road, as shown in Fig. 1.1.

Boy X has a stopwatch which he sets to zero. As a vehicle passes boy Y, boy Y drops his hand as a
signal to boy X to start his stopwatch. Boy X then stops the stopwatch as the vehicle goes past him.
The appearance of the stopwatch is then as shown in Fig. 1.2.

(a) How long did it take for the vehicle to travel from Y to X?

time = ............................................... s [1]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 14

 (b) Calculate the average speed of the vehicle as it travels from Y to X.

average speed = ................................................. [3]

(c) The vehicle in (a) and (b) is accelerating as it travels from Y to X.

(i) How does its speed at X

compare with that at Y?

Tick one box

(ii)How does its speed at X compare with the average speed calculated in (b)? Tick one box

[2]

[Total: 6]

8. Here is a list of energy resources available to the world. Some of these are renewable and some are

non-renewable. In the first blank column, put a tick by any two resources that are renewable. In the

second blank column, put a tick by any two resources that are non-renewable.

[4]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 15

9. Solids, liquids and gases have different properties. The list below gives some of them.

shape --- completely fills the container

fills the container from the bottom

fixed shape

molecules --- move around, close together

move around, far apart

vibrate about a fixed position

Use descriptions from the list to complete the table. Any description may be used more than once if
appropriate. Two spaces have been filled in to help you.

[4]

10. An aluminium rod is cut into a longer section and a shorter section, as shown in Fig. 4.1.

(a) The shorter section of the rod is placed into a measuring cylinder containing water. Fig. 4.2
shows the appearance of the measuring cylinder before and after this is done.

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 16

 (i) Calculate the volume of the shorter section of aluminium rod.

volume = .......................................... cm3 [3]

(ii) The mass of this shorter section is measured as 21.2 g.

1. Name a laboratory instrument that might have been used to measure this mass.

............................................................................................................................. .[1]

2. Calculate the density of aluminium.

density = ..................................................[4]

(b) (i) Name an instrument that could be used to measure the length of the longer section of

aluminium rod.

.............................................................................................................................. [1]

(iii) Suggest a method, different from that in Fig. 4.2, that could be used to determine the

volume of this longer section.

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

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

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

.................................................................................................................................. [2]

[Total: 11]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 17

 SECTION C

ALTERNATE TO PRACTICAL

1. An IGCSE student is determining the weight of a metre rule.

Fig. 1.1 shows the apparatus.

X is a 1.0 N load.

The student places the load X on the rule so that its centre is at d = 5.0 cm from the zero end of the
rule, as shown in Fig.1.1. He adjusts the position of the rule so that it is as near as possible to being
balanced, with the 50.0 cm mark to the right of the pivot.

He measures and records the distance x from the centre of the load X to the pivot, and the distance y
from the pivot to the 50.0 cm mark on the rule. He repeats the procedure using d values of 10.0 cm,
15.0 cm, 20.0 cm and 25.0 cm. The readings of d, x and y are shown in Table 1.1.

(a) Plot the graph of y / cm (y-axis) against x / cm (x-axis). You do not need to include the origin
(0,0) on your graph.

[4]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 18

 (b) Determine the gradient G of the graph. Show clearly on the graph how you obtained the
necessary information.

G = .......................................................... [2]

(c) Calculate the weight W of the metre rule using the equation W = L G, where L = 1.0 N.

W = .......................................................... [1]

(d) The calculation of W is based on the assumption that the centre of mass of the rule is at the

50.0 cm mark.

(i) Describe briefly how you would determine the position of the centre of mass of the rule.

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

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

(ii) Describe how you would modify the experiment if the centre of mass was at the 49.7 cm
mark.

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

.......................................................................................................................................[2]

[Total: 9]

2. The IGCSE class is investigating springs.

A student measures the length l 0 of a spring and then uses a stand and clamp to suspend the spring
vertically. He hangs a weight W on the spring and measures the new length l. He calculates the
extension e of the spring. He repeats the procedure using a range of weights.

Table 5.1 shows some readings obtained by the student. The unstretched length l 0 of the spring is
16 mm

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 19

 (a) Complete the column headings in Table 5.1. [1]

(b) Complete the third column in the table by calculating the extension e of the spring. [1]

© State whether the results support the suggestion that the extension is directly proportional to the

load. Justify your answer by reference to the results.

statement ..................................................................................................................................

justification ................................................................................................................................

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

............................................................................................................................... [2]

(d) Draw a diagram of the apparatus including the spring, clamp, a weight hanging on the spring

and a ruler positioned to measure the length of the spring.

[2]

[Total: 6]

PHY/MID TERM/SEPTEMBER 2021 20