Name: __________________

HKDSE
PHY Class: _____________ ( )

PAPER 1A Date: __________________

TIMES PUBLISHING (HONG KONG) LTD.

HONG KONG DIPLOMA OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION EXAMINATION

PHYSICS PAPER 1
(SAMPLE MOCK PAPER)
Time allowed : 2 hours 30 minutes
This paper must be answered in English.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
(1) There are TWO sections, A and B, in this Paper. You are advised to finish Section A in about
60 minutes.
(2) Section A consists of multiple-choice questions in this question paper, while Section B contains
conventional questions printed separately in Question-Answer Book B.
(3) Answers to Section A should be marked on the Multiple-choice Answer Sheet while answers to
Section B should be written in the spaces provided in Question-Answer Book B. The Answer
Sheet for Section A and the Question-Answer Book for Section B will be collected
separately at the end of the examination.
(4) The diagrams in this paper are NOT necessarily drawn to scale.
(5) The last two pages of this question paper contain a list of data, formulae and relationships which
you may find useful.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SECTION A (MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS)

(1) Read carefully the instructions on the Answer Sheet. After the announcement of the start of the
examination, you should fill in the information required in the space provided. No extra time
will be given for filling in the required information after the “Time is up” announcement.
(2) When told to open this book, you should check that all the questions are there. Look for the
words ‘END OF SECTION A’ after the last question.
(3) All questions carry equal marks.
(4) ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS. You are advised to use an HB pencil to mark all the answers on
the Answer Sheet, so that wrong marks can be completely erased with a clean rubber. You must
mark the answers clearly; otherwise you will lose marks if the answers cannot be captured.
(5) You should mark only ONE answer for each question. If you mark more than one answer, you
will receive NO MARKS for that question.
Not to be taken away before the
end of the examination session

HKDSE-PHY 1A-1 (Sample Mock Paper) 1  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
 (6) No marks will be deducted for wrong answers.

HKDSE-PHY 1A-2 (Sample Mock Paper) 2  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 Section A

There are 36 questions. Questions marked with * involve knowledge of the extension component.

1. Express the surface temperature at arctic region in Kelvin scale. (The average surface temperature at
arctic region is 37°C)
A. 154 K
B. 236 K
C. 300 K
D. 310 K

2. Two identical thermal flasks X and Y contain 0°C water. Which of the following statements about
the flasks is/are correct?
(1) Water molecules in flasks X and Y have the same kinetic energy.
(2) The temperature of water remains 0°C after mixing the water in flasks X and Y.
(3) Flask X and Y contain the same amount of potential energy.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

3. A student uses an electric stove to boil a kettle of water. 1.6 MJ of energy is given out by the stove
in 15 minutes. Given that only 85% of energy is transferred to water in the kettle, find the average
power of the stove.
A. 1 511 W
B. 1 777 W
C. 2 090 W
D. 2 400 W

4. Which of the following statement correctly describes the motion of a basketball after it just hits on
the floor and bounces back? Take the downward direction as positive.
A. The momentum of the basketball remains the same after it hits on the floor and bounces
back.
B. The velocity of the basketball is negative.
C. The acceleration of the basketball changes from positive to negative.
D. The acceleration of the basketball changes from negative to positive.

HKDSE- PHY 1A-3 (Sample Mock Paper) 3  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 5. A car is moving in a uniform velocity initially and gradually decelerates to stationary. After a
moment, the car accelerates in an opposite direction. Which of the following graphs correctly
describes its motion?

(1) (2) (3)

A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1) and (3) only

6. The figure shows the path taken by an ant to move from point X to point Y. The ant takes 512
seconds to complete the journey. Find the velocity of the ant.

average velocity
A. 0.031 m s1
B. 0.104 m s1
C. 0.204 m s1
D. 0.350 m s1

HKDSE-PHY 1A-4 (Sample Mock Paper) 4  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 7. A fireman slides from a steel pole from stationary from 3th floor to the ground. The fireman is
initially at rest and then accelerates in 5.21 m s2. It takes 2.54 s to reach the ground. Find the length
of the pole.
A. 16.8 m
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B. 25.4 m page
C. 33.6 m
D. cannot be determined

8. Which of the following statements about the motion of objects is/are correct?
(1) Both velocity and acceleration are vector quantities.
(2) Objects with a velocity of zero must have an acceleration of zero.
(3) If an object has a non-zero acceleration, the net force on the object must be non-zero.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. none of the above

9. The graph below shows the relationship between physical quantity A and time t.

Which of the following is/are possible quantity for physical quantity A?

(1) The velocity of a free falling object.
(2) The displacement of an object moving forward with a uniform acceleration.
(3) The displacement of a moving object with a uniform deceleration.
A. (1) only
B. (1) and (2) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

HKDSE- PHY 1A-5 (Sample Mock Paper) 5  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 10. A firework rocket is fired vertically in an initial velocity of 35 m s–1. It does not explode after it
reached the highest point and falls on the sea eventually. Which of the following figures best
describes the relationship between velocity of the rocket v and time t, from leaving the launch
station until it reaches the sea? Take the upward direction as positive.

A. B.

C. D.

11. A wooden box of mass 3 kg slides down along an inclined plane of 25. The box decelerates from 7
m s–1 until it becomes stationary. The distance that it moved is 5 m. Find the friction between the
plane and the box.

A. 5 N
B. 12.7 N
C. 27.4N
D. 30 N

Go on to the next
page

HKDSE-PHY 1A-6 (Sample Mock Paper) 6  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 12. A rectangular advertising sign of mass 65 kg and length 3 m is hung by an iron chain on the wall. It
remains horizontal and stationary. Given that the maximum tension of the iron chain is 1700 N. Find
the minimum value of θ.

A. 3°
B. 11°
C. 56.2°
D. 65°

*13. A cannon ball is fired upwards at an angle θ° to horizontal plane. Which of the following figures
1
best describes the acceleration a when the ball reaches of the highest height that it can reach?
4

A. B.

C. D.

*14. An astronomical telescope is orbiting around a planet with a period of T. The telescope descends
1
towards the planet so that the radius of the orbit is reduced to of the original orbit. Find the new
3
period of the telescope.
A. T
T
B.
2
T
C.
2 2
T
D.
3 3

HKDSE- PHY 1A-7 (Sample Mock Paper) 7  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 15. A longitudinal wave travels from right to left in a slinky spring. The figure below shows the
positions of particles of the spring at a certain moment and their equilibrium positions.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(1) Particle 4 is instantaneously stationary.
(2) The distance between particle 1 and 5 is the wavelength of the longitudinal wave.
(3) Particle 1 and 9 are moving to left.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

16. A stationary wave is travelling in a medium. Particle X and Y are in the same phase. Which of the
following statements is/are correct?
(1) Particle X and Y are in between two nodes.
(2) Particle X and Y are vibrating in the same frequency.
(3) The distance between X and Y must be equal to wavelength of the stationary wave.
A. (1) only
B. (1) and (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

17. Plane water waves are produced in a water trough. The figure shows the waveform at a certain
moment.

If the frequency of the wave is 9 Hz, which of the following is the speed of the wave?
A. 0.81 m s−1
B. 0.9 m s−1
C. 4.05 m s−1
D. 45 m s−1

Go on to the next
page

HKDSE-PHY 1A-8 (Sample Mock Paper) 8  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 18.

In the figure above, water waves travel from a deep region to a shallow region of water, which of
the following will occur?
(1) refraction
(2) diffraction
(3) interference
A. (1)
B. (2)
C. (1) and (2) only
D. none of the above

19. Which of the following figures best represents the wavefronts of a wave travelling from a deep
region to a shallow region of water?

A. B.

C. D.

HKDSE- PHY 1A-9 (Sample Mock Paper) 9  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 20. Young double slit experiment shows that
(1) Light is a form of energy.
(2) Light shows interference which is a property of waves.
(3) Light travels fastest in vacuum.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only

21. An object is placed at 80 cm in front of a concave lens. The focal length of the lens is 30 cm. Which
of the following are the properties of the image formed?
A. The image is erect and magnified.
B. The image is erect and has the same size as the object.
C. The image is erect and diminished.
D. The image is inverted and has the same size as the object.

22. Which of the following is/are the application(s) of ultrasound?

(1) measuring body temperature
(2) examining foetus
(3) detecting cracks in a rail
A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

*23. In a Young’s double slit experiment, the distance between fifth order and third order dark fringes is
4 cm. Given that the wavelength of the incident light is 4.5 × 10 −7 m and the slit-to-slit separation is
3 × 10−5 m, determine the distance between the slit and the screen.
A. 1.33 m
B. 2.33 m
C. 2.66 m
D. 4.5 m

Go on to the next
page
HKDSE-PHY 1A-10 (Sample Mock Paper) 10  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 24. In the figure, the distance between two point charges Q1 = +q and Q2 = +3q is d. F is the
electrostatic force between two charges.

If Q1 is replaced by another point charge Q3 = +3q and the distance between the two charges
increases to 2d, find the ratio between the new electrostatic force and the original electrostatic force.
4
A.
3
3
B.
4
r
C.
3
2r
D.
3

25.

In the figure, three metal spheres A, B and C are put on insulated stands. Metal sphere A and B are in
contact with each other while metal sphere C remains untouched with the two metal spheres. A
negatively charged plastic rod is brought near metal sphere A and metal sphere C is touched with a
finger momentarily. The plastic rod is then removed. Which of the following combinations correctly
describes the charges on the three spheres?

metal sphere A metal sphere B metal sphere C

A. negative negative positive
B. positive negative positive
C. neutral neutral positive
D. neutral neutral neutral

HKDSE- PHY 1A-11 (Sample Mock Paper) 11  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 26. Which of the following figures best describes the electric field between a positive and a negative
point charges with different magnitudes of charges?

A. B.

C. D.

27. Which of the following is/are units for electric potential?

(1) V
(2) C
(3) J C-1
A. (2) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1) and (3) only

28. A student connects a 12 V battery to a model car. When the car is switched on, the starting current is
0.48 A. Calculate the electric resistance of the model car.
A. 12 Ω
B. 25 Ω
C. 48 Ω
D. 220 Ω

Go on to the next
page

HKDSE-PHY 1A-12 (Sample Mock Paper) 12  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 29. Two identical light bulbs X and Y are connected in series to a battery in the figure below. Which of
the following statements about the light bulbs is correct?

A. The current flows through light bulb Y is higher than that of light bulb X.
B. The current flows through light bulb Y is smaller than that of light bulb X.
C. The amount of charges flows through light bulb X per unit time is the same as the charges
flow through light bulb Y.
D. Light bulb X consumes more electrical energy than that of light bulb Y.

30. Which of the following is the correct connection of wires A, B, C from the electric kettle to the
plug?

X connects to Y connects to Z connects to

A. C B A
B. B A C
C. A B C
D. C A B

31. An air conditioner with an average power of 2500 W is turned on for 11 hours.
Which of the following is the electricity fee? (Given 1 kW h costs $1.1.)
A. $11.0
B. $25.00
C. $30.25
D. $302.5

HKDSE- PHY 1A-13 (Sample Mock Paper) 13  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 32. Two parallel long straight wires P and Q carry currents of I and 2I respectively. Their lengths are L
and 3L respectively. The distance between two wires is d. Find the magnitude of the magnetic force
F acting on wire Q。

2μ 0 I
A. F d
π3L
3μ I 2
B. F 0 L
πd
6μ 0 I 2 2
C. F L
πd 2
12μ 0 I 2
D. F L
πd

*33. The voltage of an alternating current power source is represented by V  220 cos(340 πt ) . A
DVD player of 35 Ω is connected to that power source.
Find the maximum instantaneous power of the player.
A. 35 W
B. 1380 W
C. 7700 W
D. 44400 W

Go on to the next
page

HKDSE-PHY 1A-14 (Sample Mock Paper) 14  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 34. The photograph below shows the tracks in a diffusion cloud chamber:

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(1) The tracks are formed by film exposed to nuclear radiation.
(2) Inside the diffusion cloud chamber, it is full of tracks formed by fast moving electrons.
(3) Nature of rays emitted by the radioactive source is helium nucleus.
A. (2) only
B. (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

35. When a nuclide undergoes α-decay, which of the following statements about the nuclides is/are
correct?
(1) The atomic number of the nuclide decreases.
(2) The number of neutrons in the nuclide increases.
(3) The nuclide becomes more stable.
A. (2) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)

36. Which of the following equations represents a nuclear fusion?

A.
222
86 Rn  218
84 Po  2 He
4

28 Ni   +1.33MeV
Ni *  60
60
B. 28

C.
235
92 U  P 144
56 Ba  Q  2 0 n
1

D.
2
1 H  21 H 23 He 01 n

END OF SECTION A

HKDSE- PHY 1A-15 (Sample Mock Paper) 15  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
 List of data, formulae and relationships

HKDSE-PHY 1A-16 (Sample Mock Paper) 16  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.
HKDSE- PHY 1A-17 (Sample Mock Paper) 17  Times Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd.