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Year 9 Exam – Physics – Practice Questions
Q1.
(a) Megan’s dog is pulling on his lead. Which arrow, A, B, C or D, shows the direction of this force? Give the letter.
................................ 1 mark
(b) Megan has to pull to keep the dog still. Which arrow shows the direction of this force? Give the letter.
................................ 1 mark
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(c) Suddenly the dog’s collar breaks.
(i) When the collar breaks, the lead moves. Draw an arrow on the diagram to show which way the lead starts to move.
1 mark
(ii) Why does the lead move when the collar breaks?
.............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................. 1 mark
Maximum 4 marks
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Q2. (a) Draw a line from each circuit symbol below to the correct name.
Draw only four lines.
circuit symbol name
3 marks
(b) Fred made circuit 1 as shown below.
Give the name of the part that is the energy source for the circuit.
......................................................... 1 mark
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(c) Fred then made circuit 2 as shown below.
In the table below, tick a box to show whether circuit 1 and circuit 2 are series or
parallel circuits. Tick only two boxes.
series parallel
circuit 1
circuit 2
1 mark
(d) What metal is usually used for wires in electric circuits?
........................................................... 1 mark
maximum 6 marks
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Q3. The table below gives information about the planets of the Solar System. They are listed in alphabetical order.
planet
average distance from
the Sun in million km
diameter
in km
time for one orbit round the
Sun
time for one rotation on its axis in hours
temperature on surface of
planet in °C
Earth 150 13 000 365 days 24 +22
Jupiter 780 140 000 12 years 9.8 –150
Mars 230 6800 687 days 25 –23
Mercury 58 4900 88 days 1400 +350
Neptune 4500 51 000 165 years 16 –220
Pluto 5900 2300 248 years 150 –220
Saturn 1400 120 000 29 years 10.2 –180
Uranus 2900 51 000 84 years 17 –210
Venus 110 12 000 225 days 5800 +480
(Data obtained from The Guinness Book of Astronomy, Patrick Moore; published by Guinness 1992)
(a) Explain why Neptune and Pluto are the coldest planets.
......................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................... 1 mark
(b) Explain why there could be no liquid water on the surface of:
(i) Mars ...................................................................................................
............................................................................................................ 1 mark
(ii) Venus .................................................................................................
............................................................................................................ 1 mark
(c) On which planet would the time between sunrise and sunset be shortest?
..................................................................…… 1 mark
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(d) Which planet has the shortest year?’ 1 mark
..................................................................……
(e) Give the name of the force which keeps the planets in their orbits.
..................................................................…… 1 mark
Maximum 6 marks
Q4. In a power station, coal can be used to generate electricity.
(a) Use words from the box to answer the questions below.
chemical electrical gravitational potential
kinetic light sound thermal
1 mark
(i) What is the useful energy transfer when coal is burnt?
............................... energy is transferred to ............................. energy 1 mark
(ii) Some of the energy stored in coal is wasted when it is burnt. Give the name of one type of energy released that is not useful.
............................... 1 mark
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(b) Wind turbines are also used to generate electricity. The wind turns the turbine blades and the turbine blades turn a generator.
Use words from the box opposite. Complete the sentence to show the useful energy transfer in a wind turbine and generator.
............................... energy is transferred to ............................. energy 1 mark
(c) Suggest one disadvantage of using wind to generate electricity.
......................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................... 1 mark
(d) Sugar cane is a plant.
The sugar from the cane is used to make alcohol. Alcohol is a fuel.
(i) Which energy source do plants use to produce sugar?
............................................................................................................. 1 mark
(ii) Is sugar cane a renewable or non-renewable source of energy? Tick one box.
renewable source non-renewable source
Give a reason for your answer.
............................................................................................................. 1 mark
maximum 7 marks
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Q5. The table below shows information about four planets.
planet time taken to orbit the Sun
(Earth years) distance from the Sun (million km)
Mercury 0.25 60
Venus 0.5 108
Earth 1.0 150
Mars 2.0 228
The diagram below shows the orbits of the Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars, and their
position at one particular time. The arrows show the direction in which the planets move.
not to scale
(a) Show the position of each planet six months later by drawing a letter X on the orbit
of each planet. 2 marks
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(b) Use the information in the table to calculate the largest and smallest distance
between the Earth and Venus.
closest ............................................ million km 1 mark
furthest ............................................ million km 1 mark
(c) The speed of light is 300 000 km/second. Calculate how long light takes to reach the Earth from the Sun.
........................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................... s 1 mark
(d) The diagram below shows the path of an asteroid around the Sun.
not to scale
(i) On the path of the asteroid, draw a letter S to show the position where the
asteroid is travelling the slowest.
On the path of the asteroid, draw a letter F to show the position where the asteroid is travelling the fastest.
1 mark
(ii) Explain why the speed of the asteroid changes.
...............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................... 1 mark
maximum 7 marks
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Q6. (a) An early type of echo sounder for a boat produces a sound of frequency 2000 Hz.
(i) The wavelength of this sound in water is 0.75 m. What is the speed of the sound in water? Give the unit.
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................ 1 mark
(ii) This sound is heard by the operator as a brief ‘ping’. The speed of sound in air is 330 m/s. What is the wavelength of the sound in air? Give the unit.
.............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................. 1 mark
(iii) Modern echo sounders use higher frequencies than the early type. Complete the sentence below to describe how the wavelength produced by a modern echo sounder compares with that produced by the early type.
The wavelength produced by a modern echo sounder is
............................................................................................................. 1 mark
(b) The diagram shows a wave in a ‘slinky’ spring.
The frequency of the waves is 5 pulses per second and the wavelength is 80 cm.
What is the wave speed? Give the unit.
...................................................................................................................... 1 mark
Maximum 4 marks
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Q7. A man does a ‘bungee jump’ over a lake. He jumps from point A with an elasticated rope tied to his ankles. The rope reaches down to point B when it is not being stretched.
The man falls past B, and the rope begins to stretch. He falls past point C to point D, which is the lowest point he reaches. Then he begins to move upwards again. Eventually he comes to rest at point C.
(a) (i) At which point, A, B, C or D, is the man when the tension in the rope is greater than his weight? ...............................
1 mark
(ii) At which point, A, B, C or D, is the man when the tension in the rope is equal to his weight? .....................................
1 mark
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(b) The graph shows how the man’s speed varies with time as he falls from point A to point D and bounces back upwards.
The point when the man jumped from A has been labelled on the curve. Label the points on the curve when the man was at points B, C and D as he fell.
3 marks
(c) The total energy of the man and the rope includes the man’s potential energy, his kinetic energy, and the elastic (strain) energy stored in the stretched rope.
Describe how the elastic (strain) energy in the rope changes as the man falls from point A to point D.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................... 2 marks
Maximum 7 marks
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Mark schemes
Q1. (a) B
1 (L3)
(b) D 1 (L3)
(c) (i)
one mark for the arrow pointing to the left the arrow may be anywhere on the diagram
accept ‘D’ on the diagram
accept arrows pointing diagonally downwards and to the left
do not accept arrows pointing vertically downwards 1 (L3)
(ii) answers should refer to a force pulling or the effect of pulling
any one from
• because Megan is pulling it
• because there is a force on it
• because the force is unbalanced
• force D is still acting
accept ‘because it was stretched’ or ‘because the dog isn’t pulling it any more’
accept answers referring to gravity, weight or falling only if the arrow in (c) (i) points diagonally or vertically downwards
do not accept ‘it is not attached to the dog any more’ 1 (L3)
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Q2. (a)
all four lines are required for three marks any three lines are required for two marks any two lines are required for one mark if more than one line is drawn from a symbol, do not give credit for that symbol
3 (L4)
(b) battery
accept ‘cell’ or ‘cells’ accept ‘power supply’ or ‘power pack’
1 (L4)
(c)
series parallel
circuit 1
circuit 2
both ticks are required for one mark if more than one box is ticked in any row, award no mark
1 (L4)
(d) copper
accept ‘aluminium’ accept ‘gold’
do not accept any other metal 1 (L4)
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Q3. (a) they are furthest from the Sun
accept ‘they are further from the Sun’ or ‘they are furthest away’ or ‘Pluto is furthest from the Sun’ do not accept ‘they are far from the Sun’
1
(b) (i) it is below the freezing point of water
accept ‘it would freeze’ or ‘it is too cold’ 1
(ii) it is above the boiling point of water
accept ‘it would boil’ or ‘it would evaporate’ or ‘it is too hot’ do not accept ‘it would dry up’ or ‘it is too close to the Sun’
1
(c) Jupiter 1
(d) Mercury 1
(e) gravity
do not accept ‘weight’ 1
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Q4. (a) (i) • chemical
answers must be in the correct order 1 (L6)
• thermal
accept ‘kinetic’
‘heat’ is insufficient ‘movement’ is insufficient
1 (L6)
(ii) any one from
• sound
• light 1 (L6)
(b) • kinetic electrical
answers must be in the correct order both answers are required for the mark ‘movement’ is insufficient for kinetic
1 (L6)
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(c) any one from
• the wind speed varies
accept ‘it depends on the weather’
• sometimes the wind does not blow
accept ‘the wind is unreliable’
• the wind cannot be controlled
accept ‘it varies’ accept ‘it could be too windy’
responses that do not refer to wind, such as ‘they spoil the landscape’ or ‘they kill birds’ or ‘they are too noisy’ or ‘interfere with TV and radio signals’ are insufficient
1 (L5)
(d) (i) • Sun(light)
accept ‘light’ accept ‘solar (energy)’
do not accept ‘heat’ ‘photosynthesis’ is insufficient
1 (L5)
(ii) • renewable source
both the correct answer and a correct explanation are required for the mark
you can grow more plants
accept ‘you grow it (again)’
do not accept ‘you can use it again’ ‘it is a biofuel’ is insufficient
1 (L6)
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Q5. (a)
for all four correct, award two marks for any two or three correct, award one mark
accept a cross drawn that lies within the width of the Sun for each planet, e.g.
2 (L7)
(b) • 42
accept ‘150-108’ 1 (L7)
• 258
accept ‘150+108’ 1 (L7)
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(c) 500
accept or
accept ‘8.3 minutes’ accept ‘about 8 minutes’
1 (L7)
(d) (i)
both answers are required for the mark accept an answer within the dotted lines at either end of the ellipse
1 (L7)
(ii) attracted by the Sun’s gravity
accept ‘increased gravity near to Sun’ 1 (L7)
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Q6. (a) (i) 1500 m/s or 1.5 km/s
unit required for the mark
accept ‘2000 × 0.75 m/s’ 1
(ii) 0.165 m or 16.5 cm or 165 mm
unit required for the mark
accept ‘330 ÷ 2000 m’ 1
(iii) shorter or less
accept ‘lower or ‘smaller’ 1
(b) 4 m/s or 400 cm/s
unit required for the mark
accept ‘5 × 0.8 m/s’ or ‘5 × 80 cm/s’ 1
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Q7. (a) (i) D
1
(ii) C 1
(b)
one mark each for correctly labelling B, C and D
accept B anywhere on the curve between 3.3 and 4.3 cm from A C is at the highest point on the curve D is at the point where the speed is zero
3
(c) zero from A to B 1
increases from B to D
accept ‘increases after B’
do not accept ‘it increases’
accept ‘it is zero from A to B and then increases’ for both marks
1
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