Cambridge A Level · 9702 · Paper 1 · Multiple choice
Physics 9702/12 Feb/March 2021 past paper
Cambridge A Level Physics (9702) Paper 1 (Multiple choice), variant 2, Feb/March 2021: the question paper and its official mark scheme, 40 questions worth 40 marks, with the grade thresholds. Free to open, no account needed.
- Questions
- 40
- Marks
- 40
- Grade A from
- 26
File names: 9702_m21_qp_12 · 9702_m21_ms_12
Grade thresholds for 9702/12 Feb/March 2021
The minimum raw marks Cambridge set for each grade on this component (out of 40). Thresholds change every session and variant, so always compare your score with the paper you actually sat.
| A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 23 | 19 | 16 | 13 |
Topics in this paper
Which syllabus chapters 9702/12 Feb/March 2021 tested, by marks. Each chapter links to every past-paper question on it.
| Chapter | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 10 | 10 |
| Waves | 8 | 8 |
| Kinematics | 6 | 6 |
| Forces, density and pressure | 5 | 5 |
| Dynamics | 2 | 2 |
| Work, energy and power | 2 | 2 |
| Deformation of solids | 2 | 2 |
| Particle physics | 2 | 2 |
| Physical quantities and units | 1 | 1 |
| Superposition | 1 | 1 |
| D.C. circuits | 1 | 1 |
Questions in 9702/12 Feb/March 2021
- Question 1
What is a reasonable estimate for the density of sand? …
- Question 2
Which physical quantity could have units of …
- Question 3
A velocity vector is shown. 30 North East …
- Question 4
A micrometer screw gauge is used to measure the diameter of a copper wire. The reading with the wire in position is shown in diagram 1. The wire is removed and the jaws of the micrometer are closed. The new …
- Question 5
A student measures the current and the potential difference for a resistor in a circuit. current …
- Question 6
Four cars, A, B, C and D, move from rest in a straight line. The cars take the same time to accelerate to a velocity of 60 km h–1. Their velocity–time graphs are shown. Which car reaches a velocity of …
- Question 7
A cannon fires a cannonball with an initial speed v at an angle α to the horizontal. …
- Question 8
A ball strikes a horizontal surface with momentum p at an angle θ to the surface, as shown. p p surface The ball rebounds with the same magnitude of momentum at an angle θ to the surface. The …
- Question 9
A skydiver, who is falling vertically through the air, opens his parachute. Which row describes the velocity of the skydiver immediately after he opens his parachute? direction of velocity magnitude of velocity A downwards decreases B downwards increases C upwards …
- Question 10
A stationary firework explodes into four fragments which travel in different directions in a horizontal plane. The diagram shows the velocity and mass of each fragment. …
- Question 11
A particle with mass moves in a horizontal straight line through a uniform electric field in a vacuum. The electric field is vertical. particle horizontal path of particle electric field direction of gravitational field There is a significant gravitational effect …
- Question 12
Two parallel forces, each of magnitude F, act on a rod of length 5d. Which diagram shows the positions of the two forces that will produce the largest torque on the rod? …
- Question 13
A mass of 30 kg is suspended from the end of a wire. A horizontal force F acts on the mass so that it is in equilibrium, with the wire at an angle of 30° to the vertical, as shown. …
- Question 14
A balance is used to measure the mass m of a number of cylindrical metal rods of length l. All the metal rods have the same radius r. The graph shows the variation with l of …
- Question 15
Two blocks, X and Y, are on a horizontal frictionless surface. The mass of block Y is greater than that of block X. Block Y has a spring attached to its end. The blocks are pushed together so that the …
- Question 16
A gas is contained in a cylinder by a movable piston. 20.0 cm 30.0 cm 35.0 cm final position of piston gas cylinder initial position of piston The cylinder has a circular cross-section of diameter 20.0 cm. The pressure of …
- Question 17
An egg of mass 25 g falls vertically downwards from the surface of a table which is 900 mm above the ground. Air resistance is negligible. What is the kinetic energy of the egg when it hits the ground? …
- Question 18
An aircraft travels at a constant velocity of …
- Question 19
Which expression is equal to the stress on a wire? A extension original length B force cross-sectional area C force extension D Young modulus original length
- Question 20
A wire is stretched by applying increasing values of force F. For each value of force applied, the extension x is recorded. A force–extension graph is plotted from the data obtained. Which statement about the area under the graph must …
- Question 21
A progressive radio wave in a vacuum has a frequency of 75 MHz. What is the phase difference between two points on the wave that are 50 cm apart from each other? …
- Question 22
Which statement is correct for longitudinal waves but not correct for transverse waves? A They can form stationary waves. B They can only travel through a medium. C They can transfer energy in the direction of travel. D They consist …
- Question 23
A loudspeaker emitting a sound wave of a single frequency is placed a distance L from a reflecting surface, as shown. loudspeaker microphone path of microphone L reflector A stationary wave is formed with an antinode at the loudspeaker. A …
- Question 24
A source of sound of frequency F at point Z is moving at a steady speed. The pattern of the emitted wavefronts is shown. …
- Question 25
What is not a possible value for the wavelength of the named electromagnetic waves when it is travelling in a vacuum? electromagnetic wave wavelength …
- Question 26
Two waves, P and Q, meet at a point X and superpose. Initially, the two waves meet at X in phase (zero phase difference) so that the resultant wave has an amplitude of 14.0 cm at that point. The phase …
- Question 27
A water wave is diffracted as it passes through a gap between two barriers in a ripple tank. The wave is observed to ‘spread out’ as it moves through the gap. Which two factors both affect the amount of diffraction …
- Question 28
Two sources of microwaves P and Q produce coherent waves with a phase difference of 180°. The waves have the same wavelength …
- Question 29
A beam of red laser light of wavelength 633 nm is incident normally on a diffraction grating with 600 lines per mm. light beam diffraction grating screen first-order maximum first-order maximum zero-order maximum The beam of red light is now …
- Question 30
Which diagram best represents the field lines in the electric field produced by a combination of one point positive charge and one point negative charge? …
- Question 31
The diagram shows a thundercloud whose base is 500 m above the ground. 500 m The potential difference between the base of the cloud and the ground is 200 MV. A raindrop with a charge of …
- Question 32
The current I in a metal wire is given by the equation I = Anvq. What does the symbol n represent? A the number of charge carriers in the wire B the number of charge carriers per unit cross-sectional area …
- Question 33
A cell of negligible internal resistance is connected to resistors R1, R2 and R3, as shown. The cell provides power to the circuit and power is dissipated in the resistors. …
- Question 34
A fixed resistor and a diode are connected in series to a battery of electromotive force …
- Question 35
An electrical cable consists of seven strands of copper wire, each of diameter 0.30 mm, connected in parallel. The resistivity of copper is …
- Question 36
A cell that has internal resistance is connected to a switch S and a variable resistor. A voltmeter is connected between the terminals of the cell, as shown. V S When switch S is open, the voltmeter reads 1.5 V. …
- Question 37
A cell of electromotive force (e.m.f.) E and negligible internal resistance is connected into a circuit, as shown. …
- Question 38
A battery is connected to a potentiometer. The potentiometer consists of a uniform resistance wire and a sliding contact …
- Question 39
The figure shows part of a chart of nuclides where neutron number is plotted against proton number. An unstable nuclide X decays by emitting an α-particle. Which nuclide is formed by the decay of nuclide X? neutron number proton number …
- Question 40
The nuclei of common isotopes of hydrogen, helium, lithium and beryllium are shown. Which nucleus contains equal numbers of up and down quarks? …
Other Physics papers from Feb/March 2021
- 9702/22 AS structured questions
- 9702/42 A Level structured questions
- 9702/52 Planning, analysis & evaluation