Edexcel GCSE Combined Science Paper 5: Physics 1 Higher June 2023 question paper 1SC0/1PH

Which of these is a scalar quantity?

A student has some cupcake cases.

One cupcake case is shown in Figure 1.

The student drops a stack of cupcake cases with the base facing downwards, as shown in Figure 2.

(Source: © Elena Schweitzer/Shutterstock)

Figure 2

The speed of the falling stack of cupcake cases depends on the number of cupcake cases in the stack.

The student also has a stop clock and a metre rule.

Describe an investigation to show how the speed of the falling stack of cupcake cases depends on the number of cupcake cases in the stack.

A stack of cupcake cases has a mass of 0.005 kg.

Calculate the weight, in newtons, of the stack of cupcake cases.

Gravitational field strength = 10 N / kg

Use the equation

W = mg

Figure 3 shows a cupcake case that is falling at a constant velocity.

Draw an arrow on Figure 3 to show the force due to air resistance on the cupcake case.

State the value of the acceleration of the cupcake case when it is falling at a constant velocity.

Figure 4 shows a football kicked against a wall.

The football has a mass of 0.42 kg.

The football gains 11 J of gravitational potential energy as it moves from the ground to the wall.

Calculate the height at which the ball hits the wall.

Gravitational field strength = 10 N / kg

Use the equation

∆ GPE = m × g × ∆ h

height =_........ m

Calculate the kinetic energy of the football when it is moving at a velocity of 12 m / s.

Use the equation

kinetic energy =_........ J

Describe the energy transfers that happen when the ball hits the wall.

A stone is held at rest above the ground.

The stone is released and falls until its velocity is 17 m / s.

Calculate the distance the stone has fallen when its velocity has reached 17 m / s.

distance =_........ m

Figure 5 is a velocity/time graph for a lift moving upwards in a tall building.

For what length of time is the lift at rest during the first 16 s?

Use the graph in Figure 5 to determine the maximum velocity of the lift during the first 16 s.

maximum velocity =_........ m / s

Use the graph in Figure 5 to determine the acceleration of the lift during the first 1.4 s.

acceleration =_........ m / s²

Use the graph in Figure 5 to determine the distance that the lift travelled during the first 6.0 s.

distance =_........ m

At 18 s, the lift starts to move downwards.

Sketch a line on the graph in Figure 5 to show the lift moving downwards after 18 s.

Figure 6 shows two technicians, L and M, measuring the speed of sound in air.

L fires a starting pistol.

M starts a stopwatch when first seeing the smoke from the starting pistol.

M stops the stopwatch when hearing the bang made by the starting pistol.

The distance between L and M is 120 m.

M’s reaction time is 0.23 s.

The speed of sound in air is 330 m / s.

Calculate M’s reaction time as a percentage of the time sound takes to travel from L to M.

_........ %

Which of these would improve the technicians’ measurement of the speed of sound?

Figure 7 shows the difference in refraction of sound waves and light waves when these waves travel from air into water.

Explain why the refraction of the sound wave is different from the refraction of the light wave in Figure 7.

Light is one example of an electromagnetic wave.

Light can transfer energy from a lamp to the leaf of a plant, causing chemical reactions in the leaf.

Describe examples of two other electromagnetic waves transferring energy.

Figure 8 is the symbol for a nucleus of americium-241.

Figure 8

Americium-241 is a radioactive isotope of americium.

Americium-241 decays by emitting alpha (α) particles.

Which of these is the symbol for another radioactive isotope of americium?

Which of these is the approximate maximum distance that alpha particles can travel in air at normal atmospheric pressure?

Complete the equation in Figure 9 for americium-241 decaying into neptunium (Np).

Figure 9

The activity of a radioactive source is measured as 128 Bq.

This is shown as a point on the graph in Figure 10.

The half-life of this radioactive source is 17 s.

Use this information to plot three more points on the graph grid in Figure 10 to show how the activity of the source changes with time.

Describe what happens in the nucleus of an atom when a positron is emitted.

An atom of mass 6.6 × 10^–26kg is moving with a velocity of 480 m / s.

Calculate the momentum of the atom.

momentum =_........ kg m / s

Figure 11 shows a ball before and after it collides with a wall.

The arrows show the direction of movement of the ball.

Before the collision, the momentum of the ball is 0.80 kg m / s.

After the collision, the momentum of the ball is 0.60 kg m / s in the opposite direction.

The ball is in contact with the wall for a time of 70 ms during the collision.

Calculate the force exerted on the ball by the wall.

Use an equation selected from the list of equations at the end of the paper.

force =_........ N

*(c) Newton’s second law can be stated as

force = mass × acceleration

A student is provided with a trolley and a runway on a bench, as shown in Figure 12, and access to other equipment.

Describe a procedure the student could use to investigate how the acceleration of the trolley depends on the force applied to the trolley.

You may add to the diagram in Figure 12 to help your answer.