Edexcel A Level Physics Paper 1: Advanced Physics I June 2025 question paper 9PH0/01

Which of the following was investigated by the large-angle alpha particle scattering experiment?

Which of the following is a scalar quantity?

A ball is tied to the end of a length of string. A person holds the other end of the string. The person spins the ball and string around in a horizontal circle, as shown.

Which of the following statements best describes why the person feels a force from the string?

A wire of resistance R has a circular cross-sectional area.

A second wire has the same length and is made of the same material. The diameter of the second wire is double the diameter of the first wire.

Which of the following is the resistance of the second wire?

A positron produced a track in a detector, as shown.

(Source: © Science Source/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)

Which of the following is the direction of the magnetic field in this detector?

Questions 6 and 7 refer to the information below.

A high-voltage d.c. power supply was connected to two parallel metal plates and an ammeter, as shown.

6 The distance between the two plates was decreased.

Which row of the table is correct?

Questions 6 and 7 refer to the information below.

A high-voltage d.c. power supply was connected to two parallel metal plates and an ammeter, as shown.

The initial potential difference (p.d.) across a capacitor is V₀. The capacitor is discharged through a resistor. The p.d. across the capacitor decreases to in 2 milliseconds.

Which of the following is equal to the time constant, in milliseconds, for this capacitor-resistor circuit?

Questions 9 and 10 refer to the information below.

9 Which of the following is a free-body force diagram for the ball at its maximum height?

Questions 9 and 10 refer to the information below.

Diodes are used in a variety of electrical circuits.

Sketch the current-potential difference graph for a diode.

A package containing a light emitting diode (LED) is marked

“20 mA 3.2 V to operate normally”.

A student uses a 5 V power supply of negligible internal resistance to operate the LED.

Calculate the resistance of a protective resistor required to operate the LED normally from this power supply.

The photograph shows a lever-arm balance. The balance can be used to measure the mass of objects to the nearest gram.

The lever-arm is a length of metal, bent at one end as shown in the diagram below. The lever-arm can rotate around the pivot, P.

The arrangement is in equilibrium.

State the two conditions needed for the arrangement to be in equilibrium.

Determine the weight of the counterweight.

Assume the mass of the lever-arm is negligible.

mass of pan = 260 g

An object is placed in the pan. The lever-arm moves along the scale.

Explain why the lever-arm pointer moves through a large distance whilst the pan moves a much shorter distance.

Solar cells are being used in increasing numbers around the world.

The current I from a solar cell can be varied by connecting it to a variable resistor. The graph shows how I and the terminal potential difference V across a solar cell vary.

Complete the circuit diagram below to show how the data for the graph could be obtained.

Show that the maximum power output from the solar cell is about 2 W. You should use values from the graph.

The area of the solar cell is 104 cm².

Determine the efficiency of the solar cell when operating at maximum power.

intensity of sunlight = 1000 W m^–2

Calculate the internal resistance of the solar cell when operating at maximum power.

Flowers can attract bees by being colourful or by producing a scent. Some flowers also attract bees by producing an electric field.

When a bee gets close to a flower it can detect the electric field. The charge on the flower acts as a point charge at the centre of the flower.

At a distance of 0.06 m from the centre of a particular flower the potential is –16 V.

Show that the charge on this flower is about –0.1 nC.

The minimum field strength that a bee can detect is 120 V m^–1.

A teacher suggests that bees can detect the field when they are closer than 10 cm from the flower in (b)(i).

Deduce whether this suggestion is correct.

It is suggested that the hairs on a bee deflect slightly when close to the flower.

Explain what would cause a hair to deflect in an electric field.

Complete the particle equation for this decay.

Explain whether the conservation laws of charge and baryon number are obeyed for this decay.

The table summarises the charges for three types of quark.

The sigma particle has one strange quark within its structure.

State why the neutron does not leave a track.

The initial momentum of the positive pion is 1.1 10^–19N s. The scale of the diagram is 1 cm represents 15 cm.

Determine the magnitude of the magnetic flux density acting perpendicularly to the tracks.

Curling is a sport played on ice. Players slide stones made of granite along the ice. The aim of the sport is to slide a stone into a circular area called the target.

The diagram below shows two stones, A and B. Each stone has a mass of 18 kg.

Stone A is moving with a velocity of 2.1 m s^–1, as shown. B is initially stationary.

Show that the momentum of A is about 40 N s.

Stone A collides with stone B.

The diagram below shows the velocity of stone B after the collision. The point

Deduce whether stone A moves in the direction shown after the collision.

Stone A comes to rest 1.9 m from X. The deceleration of the stone on the ice

Deduce whether the collision was elastic.

The diagram shows a section through the components of a speedometer for a bicycle. The front wheel axle of the bicycle is connected to a cable. The cable rotates as the bicycle wheel rotates. The other end of the cable is connected to a magnet which also rotates, as shown.

An aluminium disc is shaped so that it is close to, but not touching, the magnet. The disc is connected to a pointer by a shaft. A spring prevents the disc and shaft from freely rotating.

*(a) Explain why the aluminium disc rotates in the same direction as the magnet.

The road speed of the bicycle should be displayed by the speedometer.

Explain why the displayed speed can not be accurate, as bicycles can have different wheel diameters.

At the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) isotopes of elements that do not occur naturally can be produced.

FRIB contains a linear accelerator. The initial section of the accelerator is shown.

Explain why the tubes get progressively longer.

A uranium atom (²³⁸₉₂U) has 80 electrons removed. The uranium ion is then accelerated between two adjacent tubes until its kinetic energy is 200 MeV per nucleon.

Calculate the accelerating potential difference.

Show that the uranium ions will reach a velocity of about 65% of the speed of light.

When a uranium ion hits a target at this speed the ion is likely to break up and produce smaller elements. One particular isotope produced in this way is⁴⁰₁₂Mg. The naturally occurring common stable isotope of magnesium is²⁴₁₂Mg. Explain why the break-up of²³⁸₉₂U is likely to produce unusual isotopes such as⁴⁰₁₂Mg.