Cambridge O Level · 5054 · Paper 1 · Multiple choice
Physics 5054/11 May/June 2025 past paper
Cambridge O Level Physics (5054) Paper 1 (Multiple choice), variant 1, May/June 2025: 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
- 28
File names: 5054_s25_qp_11 · 5054_s25_ms_11
Grade thresholds for 5054/11 May/June 2025
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 23 | 17 | 15 | 14 |
Topics in this paper
Which syllabus chapters 5054/11 May/June 2025 tested, by marks. Each chapter links to every past-paper question on it.
Questions in 5054/11 May/June 2025
- Question 1
Which quantity has both magnitude and direction, and is it a scalar quantity or a vector quantity? quantity with magnitude and direction scalar quantity or vector quantity A mass scalar B mass vector C weight scalar D weight vector
- Question 2
The speed–time graph shows part of the journey of a bicycle for a time of …
- Question 3
Which statement explains why a heavy coin that falls through a short distance towards the ground does not reach terminal velocity? A The coin has not hit the ground. B The weight of the coin equals the air resistance. C …
- Question 4
The diagram shows the load–extension graph for a spring. load extension …
- Question 5
Some students measure the masses and the volumes of differently sized samples of a type of wood. Which graph shows their results? volume mass B volume mass 0 A volume mass C volume mass …
- Question 6
The diagram shows a section of a roller coaster ride that is a circle arranged vertically. The truck is moving at constant speed at the position shown. Which arrow shows the direction of the resultant force acting on the truck? …
- Question 7
What is a unit for momentum? A kg …
- Question 8
In a safety test, a car collides with a concrete block. The impulse exerted by the block on the car is …
- Question 9
An object pulled along horizontal ground accelerates to the right. The diagram shows the directions of the forces acting on the object. contact force weight frictional force pulling force Which force is multiplied by the distance moved to calculate the …
- Question 10
The mass of object P is greater than the mass of object Q. The objects contain different amounts of matter and have a different resistance to change of motion. Which row is correct? greater amount of matter greater resistance to …
- Question 11
A builder leaves two identical, heavy, stone tiles resting on soft earth. One is vertical and the other is horizontal. After a few hours, the vertical tile has started to sink into the soft earth. The horizontal one has not …
- Question 12
Four beakers contain the same liquid. At which point is the pressure the greatest? …
- Question 13
The strength of the forces between the particles of a solid determines how much the solid expands when heated. Which statement about these forces is correct? A The forces are strong so solids expand less than liquids and gases. B …
- Question 14
Air is heated in a sealed container with constant volume. Why does the air pressure increase when the temperature increases? A The air molecules expand. B The air molecules bounce off each other more frequently. C The air molecules bounce …
- Question 15
A student determines the specific heat capacity of a metal by carrying out an experiment. The list shows the apparatus that the student has available. 1 electronic balance 2 ruler 3 thermometer 4 heater operating at a power of …
- Question 16
When a liquid evaporates, molecules escape from its surface. Which molecules escape, and what happens to the average kinetic energy of the molecules remaining in the liquid? A The less energetic molecules escape and the average kinetic energy decreases. B …
- Question 17
A sample of water in a beaker is at a temperature T. The surface area of the water is A and an electric fan blows air across the top of the beaker at a speed v. For which values of …
- Question 18
Thermal energy passes quickly from hot regions of a metal to cold regions of the metal. Why are metals good conductors of thermal energy? A Electrons in the metal vibrate about fixed points and quickly pass energy from one electron …
- Question 19
The diagram shows light striking a plane mirror and reflecting. Which angle is the angle of incidence? mirror normal …
- Question 20
A shoe shop puts a mirror on the wall so that customers can look at their shoes. The length of the mirror is 50 cm. A customer has eyes 150 cm above ground level. 150 cm 50 cm h mirror …
- Question 21
Which description of a dull black surface is correct? A good emitter, good absorber and good reflector of radiation B good emitter, poor absorber and poor reflector of radiation C good emitter, good absorber and poor reflector of radiation D …
- Question 22
The rays of light from a ray-box pass through three lenses placed at positions 1, 2 and 3. position 1 position 2 position 3 ray-box Which type of lens is used at each position? position 1 position 2 position 3 …
- Question 23
A swimming pool is lit by an underwater light. A ray of light is incident on the surface of the water. What is the path for the ray of light? surface of the water …
- Question 24
When a converging lens is used as a magnifying glass, what is the nature of the image? A real and inverted B real and upright C virtual and inverted D virtual and upright
- Question 25
A sound wave consists of compressions and rarefactions. Which type of wave is sound and how does the pressure in a rarefaction compare with the pressure in a compression? type of wave pressure in a rarefaction A longitudinal smaller B …
- Question 26
What happens to a sound wave when the note heard gets louder? A Its amplitude increases. B Its frequency increases. C Its speed increases. D Its wavelength increases.
- Question 27
A pulse of ultrasound from a sensor is reflected back to the sensor by a crack in a piece of metal and by the bottom surface of the metal. sensor x pulse reflected by crack pulse reflected by bottom surface …
- Question 28
A 12 V battery is connected to a resistor of resistance 100 . How much charge passes through the resistor in 30 minutes? …
- Question 29
A circuit consists of a resistor connected between the positive terminal and the negative terminal of a power supply. Which row describes the direction of conventional current and the direction of flow of free electrons in the resistor? direction of …
- Question 30
The graph shows how the resistance of a thermistor varies with temperature. …
- Question 31
Each of the resistors in the circuit shown has a resistance of …
- Question 32
An alternating current (a.c.) generator is connected to an oscilloscope. The diagram shows the trace produced on the oscilloscope screen. …
- Question 33
A beam of beta particles travelling vertically downwards enters the magnetic field between two magnetic poles. S N beam of beta particles The beta particles experience a force due to the magnetic field. What is the direction of the force …
- Question 34
A step-up transformer is connected between a power station and a long-distance electricity transmission cable. What is the purpose of the step-up transformer, and does it operate using alternating current (a.c.) or using direct current (d.c.)? purpose of a step-up …
- Question 35
Each diagram shows the nucleus of an atom. proton key neutron …
- Question 36
A radioactive nucleus X decays to another radioactive nucleus. After a number of decays, a stable nucleus Q is produced. The proton number (atomic number) of X is equal to that of Q. The nucleon number (mass number) of X …
- Question 37
The graph shows the results of an experiment to measure the count rate of a radioactive isotope. …
- Question 38
During fission, a nucleus of uranium-235 (U-235) absorbs one neutron to produce two daughter nuclei and three neutrons. Krypton-92 (Kr-92) is one of the daughter nuclei and it contains 92 nucleons. How many nucleons does the other daughter nucleus contain? …
- Question 39
The orbital speed of a planet around the Sun is v and its orbital period is T. Jupiter is further from the Sun than the Earth. Which planet has the greater value for v and which planet has the greater …
- Question 40
What is the Earth’s position in the order of planets from the Sun? A closest planet to the Sun B second closest planet to the Sun C third closest planet to the Sun D fourth closest planet to the Sun
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