TAIBAH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Cambridge Assessment International Education
Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education
* 3 5 0 7 5 6 7 1 6 7 *
PHYSICS 0625/31
Paper 3 Theory (CORE)
1 hour
Candidates answer on the Question Paper.
No Additional Materials are required.
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST
Write your centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in.
Write in dark blue or black pen.
You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams or graphs.
Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid.
DO NOT WRITE IN ANY BARCODES.
Answer all questions.
Electronic calculators may be used.
You may lose marks if you do not show your working or if you do not use appropriate units.
Take the weight of 1.0 kg to be 10 N (acceleration of free fall = 10 m / s2).
At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
2
1 Some students observe drops of water falling from a tap that leaks, as shown in Fig. 1.1.
Fig. 1.1
(a) The students measure the time for 50 drops to fall from the tap. The time for 50 drops to fall is
20 s.
Calculate the average time between two drops falling.
average time = ..................................................... s [2]
(b) The students collect some drops of water.
(i) The students measure the volume of the water they collect.
State the term for the equipment that is suitable for measuring the volume accurately.
..................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) In a similar experiment, another student collects 0.21 kg of water.
Calculate the weight of this water.
weight of water = .................................................... N [3]
[Total: 6]
2
1 Fig. 1.1 shows a speed-time graph for a student who is running.
speed 4
m/s
3
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
time / s
Fig. 1.1
(a) (i) Describe the movement of the student, as shown in Fig. 1.1.
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.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) Calculate the distance travelled by the student between 80 s and 100 s.
distance travelled = .......................................................m [3]
(b) An athlete runs 630 m in 130 s on a flat section of a road and then 254 m in 40 s on a downhill
slope.
Calculate the average speed for the total distance run by the athlete.
average speed = ................................................... m / s [3]
[Total: 8]
2
1 Fig. 1.1 shows a coil of wire.
length of coil
Fig. 1.1 (not to scale)
(a) A student measures the length of the coil using a ruler. His measurement is 3.8 cm.
There are 20 turns of wire in the coil. The student uses his measurement to calculate the
average thickness of the wire.
(i) Show that the average thickness of the wire is about 0.2 cm.
average thickness of wire = .................................................. cm [2]
(ii) The student’s measurement of 3.8 cm is inaccurate.
Suggest one reason why the measurement is inaccurate.
...........................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................... [1]
(b) The volume of the wire in the coil is 16.6 cm3 and its mass is 148 g.
Calculate the density of the metal used for the wire in the coil.
density = ............................................. g / cm3 [3]
3
(c) The student has a measuring cylinder and a beaker of water, as shown in Fig. 1.2.
coil measuring beaker of water
cylinder
Fig. 1.2
Describe how the student can determine the volume of the coil by using the equipment shown
in Fig. 1.2.
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[Total: 10]
4
3 A tower crane has a load W, as shown in Fig. 3.1.
8.0 m 5.0 m
counterweight
pivot
80 000 N
tower
load
Fig. 3.1
(a) The counterweight has a weight of 80 000 N. This acts at a distance of 5.0 m from the pivot, as
shown in Fig. 3.1.
Calculate the moment of the counterweight about the pivot. Give the unit.
moment = ...........................................................[3]
(b) The tower crane in Fig. 3.1 balances horizontally when holding the load W.
Calculate the weight of load W.
weight = ....................................................... N [3]
[Total: 6]
12
10 Fig. 10.1 shows a circuit used by a student to test a metal wire made of nichrome.
ammeter X
A
0.8 A
ammeter Y
A
component Z V
nichrome wire
Fig. 10.1
(a) State the name of component Z.
.............................................................................................................................................. [1]
(b) The current reading on ammeter X is 0.8 A. State the reading on ammeter Y.
.............................................................................................................................................. [1]
(c) The current in the nichrome wire is 0.8 A. The potential difference (p.d.) across the nichrome
wire is 4.5 V.
Calculate the resistance of the nichrome wire.
resistance = ..................................................... Ω [3]
(d) The student tests a different nichrome wire, which is thicker than the wire in (c), but of the
same length. When testing this wire, the current in the wire is different from the value given
in (c).
State and explain the difference in current.
...................................................................................................................................................
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.............................................................................................................................................. [2]
[Total: 7]
8
7 (a) A ray of white light is incident on a glass prism. It forms a spectrum that is visible on the
screen. Fig. 7.1 shows the arrangement.
screen
narrow slit
ray of white light red
violet
Fig. 7.1
Two of the colours in the visible spectrum are listed in the box below.
Complete the box. List the five missing colours of the visible spectrum, in the correct order.
red .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. violet
[2]
(b) Electromagnetic radiation has many uses.
(i) Draw a line from each use to the type of radiation it requires.
use type of radiation
radio waves
detecting an intruder at night microwaves
infra-red
communicating by satellite
visible light
for a telephone
ultraviolet
detecting broken bones in
the body X-rays
gamma rays
[3]
9
(ii) The types of radiation listed in (b)(i) form the electromagnetic spectrum.
amplitude frequency velocity
Complete the sentence. Choose a word from the box.
The position of each type of radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum depends on its
........................................ . [1]
[Total: 6]
16
12 Radioactive sources emit α-(alpha), β-(beta) and γ-(gamma) radiations.
(a) State which of these types of radiation can pass through paper.
............................................................................................................................................. [1]
(b) Barium-137 is a radioactive isotope. The nuclide notation for barium-137 is
137Ba
56
Determine the number of neutrons in a nucleus of barium-137.
number of neutrons = ........................................................ [1]
(c) An isotope of barium-137 has a half-life of 3 minutes.
A radioactive source contains 36 mg of this isotope.
Calculate the mass of the isotope that remains in the source after 9 minutes.
mass of the isotope remaining = .................................................. mg [3]
[Total: 5]
16
12 (a) Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon. An atom of carbon-14 has 6 protons in its
nucleus.
Another isotope of carbon is carbon-12.
(i) Determine the number of protons in a carbon-12 nucleus.
..................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) Determine the number of neutrons in a carbon-14 nucleus.
..................................................................................................................................... [1]
(iii) Determine the number of electrons orbiting the nucleus of a single carbon-14 atom.
..................................................................................................................................... [1]
(b) Carbon-14 decays by emitting a β-particle.
State what happens to a nucleus of carbon-14 when it emits a β-particle.
............................................................................................................................................. [1]
(c) People working with radioactive sources need to take safety precautions.
(i) A shielding material can absorb ionising radiation and reduce the damage to living tissue.
State a suitable material that will absorb all types of naturally occurring nuclear radiation.
..................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) Apart from using shielding, state how a person can reduce the amount of ionising
radiation they absorb when they handle samples of radioactive substances.
..................................................................................................................................... [1]
[Total: 6]
14
11 (a) A student has a model electric railway. The model railway uses a step-down transformer.
The input voltage is 230 V. The transformer has 1710 turns on the input coil and 90 turns on
the output coil.
Calculate the output voltage of the transformer.
output voltage = ....................................................... V [3]
(b) A step-up transformer is used to increase voltage.
Step-up transformers and step-down transformers have different coil arrangements.
Describe the differences in the coil arrangement for the two types of transformer.
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(c) Explain the advantage of transmitting electricity at high voltages, rather than at low voltages.
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[Total: 7]
