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Physics
Paper 2
April, 2023

2 𝟏⁄𝟒hour

ASURET SEED SECONDARY SCHOOL

END OF TERM 1 EXAM
S.4 PHYSICS
Paper 2
2 hour 15 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES.
Answer five questions.

Mathematical tables and silent non-programmable calculators may be used.

These values of physical quantities may be useful to you.

Acceleration due to gravity = 10ms-2

Speed of sound in air = 340ms-1

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1. (a) (i). What is meant by non – uniform acceleration? (01 mark)
(ii). Describe an experiment to determine acceleration due to gravity using a simple pendulum.
(05 marks)
(b). An object is projected vertically upwards at a speed of 15ms-1. How long will it take to return to
the same level of projection? (03 marks)
(c). the data in the table below represents the motion over a period of 7 seconds.

Time (s) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Displacement (m) 0 20 40 60 80 95 105 110

(i). plot on a graph paper, a graph of displacement (along vertical axis) against time. (03 marks)

(ii). Explain the motion of the vehicle for the first 4 seconds. (02 marks)

(iii). Determine the velocity at 4.5s and 6.5s. (02 marks)

2. (a). (i). What is a barometer? (01 mark)

(ii). Explain why water is not a suitable liquid in the construction of a barometer. (02 marks)

(b). The figure below shows a simplified hydraulic jack. The cross sectional area, A2 of the load
piston is 25 times the effort piston A1.

(i) Write an expression for the pressure exerted on the liquid by the piston. (01 mark)

(ii) A machine applied a force of 100N on the effort piston while raising the rear part of a car.
Determine the maximum load that can be raised. (02 marks)

(iii) Explain why a gas is not suitable for use in place of the liquid in the jack. (01 mark)

(c).

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 The figure below shows a device for losing a steam outlet. The area of the piston is 4.0 x 10-4
m2 and the pressure of the steam in the boiler is 2.0 x 105Nm-2. Determine the weight, W, that
will just hold the bar in the horizontal position shown. (03 marks)

(d). (i) What is meant by moment of a force? (01 mark)

(ii). Explain why it is very difficult to open a door from a point too close to the hinges.
(02 marks)
(iii). Describe how mass of a uniform metre rule can be determined using a known mass.
(03 marks)

3. (a). Define the term upthrust. (01 mark)

(b).(i). State the law of floatation. (01 mark)
(ii). Explain why ships are able to float in water and yet they are made of metallic parts.
(03 marks)
(iii). Describe an experiment to verify the law of flotation. (05 marks)
(iv). Name three forces that act on a body when it falls through a fluid. (1 ½ marks)
(c). A wooden sphere of mass 6kg and volume 0.02m3 floats in water. Calculate the;
(i). Volume of the sphere below the water surface. (02 marks)
(ii). Density of the wood. (1 ½ marks)
(iii). Fraction of the sphere that would be submerged if it floats in a liquid of density 800kgm-3.
(02 marks)
4. (a). Name two types of progressive waves. (02 marks)
(b). the figure below shows a displacement – time graph of a wave. The velocity of the wave is
50cms-1.

Determine the;
(i) . Amplitude. (01 mark)
(ii). Period. (01 mark)
(iii). Frequency. (01 mark)
(iv). Wave length. (1 ½ marks)
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 (c). the figure below shows two identical sources of sound, S1 and S2 emitting same frequency
sound waves.

Explain the observation that will be made by an observer listening to the sound emitted who was
moving slowly along PQ. (03 marks)
(d). (i). Describe an experiment to determine the speed of sound in air by resonance method.
(05 mark)
(ii). An observer watching fireworks display sees the light from an explosion and hears the
sound 2 seconds later. How far was the explosion from the observer (speed of sound in air
= 340ms-1). (02 marks)
5. (a). (i). What is meant by focal length of a lens? (01 mark)
(ii). Describe an experiment to determine the focal length of a converging lens. (05 marks)
(b). With the aid of a ray diagram, explain how long sightedness can be corrected. (03 marks)
(c). A biconvex lens forms an erect image 5cm high and 12cm from the lens. If the focal length of
the lens is 8cm, determine by scale drawing the;
(i). Object distance. (03 marks)
(ii). Object size (01 marks)
(d). A microscope is focused on a mark on a horizontal surface. A rectangular glass block 30mm
thick is placed on the mark. The microscope is then adjusted 10mm upwards to bring the
mark back to focus. Determine the refractive index of the glass. (03 marks).
6. (a). (i). State two factors which affect the resistance of a conductor. (02 mark)

(ii). A student wishes to investigate the relationship between current and voltage for a certain
device, X. draw a circuit diagram which includes two cells, rheostat, ammeter, voltmeter,
and device, X and use it to describe how the relationship can be arrived at. (06 marks)

(b). The figure below shows four resistors connected together in a circuit.

Determine the;

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 (i). Effective resistance. (02 marks)
(ii). Ammeter reading. (02 marks)
(c). (i). What is a step up transformer? (01 marks)
(ii). Explain why transmission voltage has to be stepped down before it is distributed to
consumer units. (02 marks)
(d). Explain what happens to a resistor when a steady current flows through it for some time.
(02 marks)
7. (a). Distinguish between soft and hard magnetic material. (02 marks)
(b). (i). Explain how hammering demagnetizes a magnet. (02 marks)
(ii). Describe an experiment to show that the strength of a magnet is concentrated at the
poles. (02 marks)
(c). In the set up in the figure below, a suspended meter rule is in equilibrium balanced by a
magnet and the weight shown. The iron core is fixed on the bench.

(i). State and explain the effect on the metre rule when switch K is closed. (03 marks)
(ii). What would be the effect of reversing the terminals? (01 mark)
(d). Using a labelled diagram, explain the working of a simple magnetic relay. (05 marks)
8. (a). What is meant by;
(i). Radioactive decay? (01 mark)
(ii). Half-life of a radioactive sample? (01 mark)
(b). A radioactive element has a half-life of 30 minutes. If the initial count rate is 512 per
minute;
(i). How long does it take to reach the count rate of 32 per minute? (03 marks)
(ii). What fraction of the original number of atoms decay in this time? (02 marks)
(c). (i). What are cathode rays? (01 mark)
(ii). Describe briefly how cathode rays are produced in a cathode ray tube. (04 marks)
(d). Define;
(i). Thermionic emission. (01 mark)
(ii). Photoelectric emission. (01 mark)
END
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