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MARANDA HIGH SCHOOL

Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education
CYCLE 2 TERM 1 EXAMINATIONS 2024

232 Composite PHYSICS FORM 3

FEBRUARY 2024 TIME: 2 Hours

Name: ………………………………………….....…… Adm No: ………………

Class: ………………Candidate’s Signature: …………………. Date: …../2/2024.

Instructions to candidates

(a) Write your name and admission number in the spaces provided above.
(b) Sign and write the date of the examination in the spaces provided above
(c) This paper consists of TWO sections A and B.
(d) Answer all the questions in section A and B in the spaces provided
(e) All working MUST clearly be shown in the spaces provided in this booklet.
(f) Non-programmable silent electronic calculators and KNEC mathematical tables may be
used except where stated otherwise.
(g) Candidates should check the question paper to ensure that all the 9 pages are printed
as indicated, and that no questions are missing.

FOR EXAMINER’S USE ONLY.

Section Question Maximum score Candidate’s score

A 1  11 25

12 14

13 16
B
14 13

15 12

TOTAL 80

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SECTION A (25 MARKS)

Answer all questions in this section.
1. Figure 1 shows a measuring cylinder which contains water initially at a level A. A spherical solid
is immersed in the water and the level rises to B.
cm 3
5
B
4
A
3

2
Solid
1

Determine the diameter of the spherical ball. (2 marks)

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Figure 1
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2. Explain why a mountain climber who climbs high is likely to experience a nose bleed. (1 mark)
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3. A beaker is filled completely with water. A spoonful of common salt is added slowly. The salt
dissolves and the water does not overflow. Give a reason why the water doesn’t overflow.
(1 mark)
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4. A person of mass 70kg stands on a scale balance in a lift. At a particular instant the lift is moving
downward at uniform velocity of 2.8m/s2. Calculate the reading on the scale in S.I. units.
(2 marks)
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5. Air is blown over a piece of paper as shown in Figure 2.
Piece of paper hold horizontally here
Piece of paper
Air blown
horizontall
y
Figure 2

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State what is observed. (1 mark)

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6. An object of height 5cm is placed 25cm in front of a concave mirror. A real image is formed 75cm
from the mirror. Calculate the height of the image formed.
(3 marks)
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7. A girl standing 600m away from a cliff bangs two pieces of wood together and hears an echo 3.5
seconds later. Determine the speed of sound in air at that place. (3 marks)
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8. A body is projected vertically upwards and returns to the original point. Sketch a velocity – time
graph on the grid below. (1 mark)

Velocity

Time

Figure 3

9. Figure 4 shows a uniform rod of the length 4 m and mass 4 kg pivoted at the 3.6m mark. The rod
is held horizontally with a vertical rope at 4 m mark as shown below.
3.6cm
4m

Rope
Figure 4
Calculate the tension T in the rope (Take g = 10N/kg) (3 marks)
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10. An uncalibrated thermometer is placed first in melting ice then in boiling water. The lengths of the
liquid column are 22 mm and 79 mm respectively. What temperature in oC would correspond to a
length of 63 mm? (2 marks)
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11. Figure 5 shows a rod with a high negative charge being brought slowly near the cap of a positively
charged gold-leaf electroscope. It is observed that the leaf initially falls then rises.

Cap

Figure 5
Explain this observation. (2 marks)
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12. Figure 6 shows two parallel current carrying conductors A and B placed close to one another.
Current flows in the opposite directions. (2 marks)

Figure 6

On Figure 6, draw the expected magnetic field lines due to the stated flow of current.
13. State two major defects of a simple cell. (2 marks)
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SECTION B: (55 MARKS)

Answer all questions from this section.
14.
a) Define the term acceleration (1 mark)
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b) A matatu starts from rest and accelerates to cover a distance of 98 m in 14 seconds. Determine:
i) Its acceleration (3 marks)
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ii) Its velocity after 14 seconds. (3 marks)
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c) A trolley moving on a horizontal bench of height 1.2 m, strikes a barrier at the edge of the
bench. The brass mass on the top of the trolley flies off on impact and lands on the ground 2.5
m from the edge of the bench. Determine:
i) The time taken by the brass mass to reach the ground. (3 marks)
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ii) The speed at which the trolley struck the barrier. (2 marks)
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15. In an experiment to estimate the size of oil molecule an oil drop of diameter 0.05cm spreads over
water to form a circular patch whose diameter is 15cm.
a) Explain why the oil spreads over water. (1 mark)
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b) Determine:
i) Volume of the drop. (2 marks)
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ii) Area of the patch. (2 marks)

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iii) Size of the oil molecule. (3 marks)
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c) State two assumptions made in b) (iii) above. (2 marks)
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16. Figure 7 shows the path of a ray of yellow light through a glass prism. The speed of yellow light
in the prism is 1.88x 108 m/s

Glass Prism

Yellow light
Figure 7

a) Determine the refractive index of the prism material (3 marks)

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b) Show on Figure 7, the critical angle C, and determine its value. (3 marks)
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c) Given that r = 31.2o determine the angle θ (3 marks)

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d) On Figure 7 sketch the path of light after striking the prism if the prism was replaced by another
one of lower refractive index. (Use dotted lines for your answer.) (1 mark)

e) State two conditions necessary for total internal reflection (2 marks)

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17.
a) State Newton’s second law of motion (1 mark)
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b) Figure 8 shows two mini buses A and B at a speed of 40m/s and 20m/s respectively moving
in opposite directions. They collided head on

Figure 8

Determine the common speed of the vehicles if they stuck to each other (3 marks)

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c) A ball of mass 100g is dropped from a height of 1.25m above the ground surface. It rebounds
to a height of 1.1m. Calculate:
i) Velocity of ball before impact (3 marks)
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ii) Force of impact (Take g = 10N/kg) (3 marks)

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18.
a) Distinguish between transverse and longitudinal waves (2 marks)
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b) Water waves are observed as they pass a fixed point at a rate of 30 crests per minute. A
particular wave crest takes 2s to travel between two fixed points 6m apart. Determine for the
wave the:
i) Frequency (2 marks)
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ii) Wavelength (2 marks)

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c) Figure 9 shows a displacement –position graph of a slinky spring as it is continuously vibrated

at one end.

Figure 9
i) Name the type of wave generated. (1 mark)
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ii) Determine the:

I. Amplitude of the wave (1 mark)
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II. Wavelength of the wave (1 mark)

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iii) On Figure 9 draw a wave form obtained when the frequency is doubled. (2 marks)

Maranda High School Form 3 Physics Composite Mid Term 1 2024