Edexcel A-Level Physics 2027 Predicted Practice Paper — Paper 1

Answer ALL questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided. You must write down all the stages in your working.

Section A

Multiple choice. Answer ALL questions.

• 1

  Question SECTION-A1 (1 mark)

  A car of mass 1200 kg travels at a constant velocity of 15 m/s along a straight, level road. Which quantity is zero for the car during this motion?

  A. Its kinetic energyB. Its momentumC. The resultant force on itD. The normal contact force on it

  (Total for Question SECTION-A1 is 1 mark)
• 2

  Question SECTION-A2 (1 mark)

  A resistor obeys Ohm's law. The potential difference across it is doubled while its temperature is kept constant. The power dissipated in the resistor is multiplied by a factor of:

  A. 1/2B. 2C. 4D. 8

  (Total for Question SECTION-A2 is 1 mark)
• 3

  Question SECTION-A3 (1 mark)

  Which of the following is a scalar quantity?

  A. DisplacementB. AccelerationC. MomentumD. Kinetic energy

  (Total for Question SECTION-A3 is 1 mark)
• 4

  Question SECTION-A4 (1 mark)

  A wave has a frequency of 250 Hz and travels at 340 m/s. Its wavelength is closest to:

  A. 0.74 mB. 1.36 mC. 8.5 mD. 85000 m

  (Total for Question SECTION-A4 is 1 mark)
• 5

  Question SECTION-A5 (1 mark)

  The activity of a radioactive source falls from 800 Bq to 100 Bq in 24 minutes. The half-life of the source is:

  A. 3 minutesB. 6 minutesC. 8 minutesD. 12 minutes

  (Total for Question SECTION-A5 is 1 mark)
• 6

  Question SECTION-A6 (1 mark)

  A stationary nucleus emits an alpha particle. Compared with the alpha particle, the recoiling daughter nucleus has:

  A. equal and opposite momentumB. equal kinetic energyC. greater speedD. the same charge

  (Total for Question SECTION-A6 is 1 mark)
• 7

  Question SECTION-A7 (1 mark)

  Which graph line, plotted for a fixed mass of ideal gas at constant temperature, would be a straight line through the origin?

  A. pressure against volumeB. pressure against (1/volume)C. pressure against temperature in degrees CelsiusD. volume against temperature in degrees Celsius

  (Total for Question SECTION-A7 is 1 mark)
• 8

  Question SECTION-A8 (1 mark)

  A photon has energy 3.2 x 10^-19 J. Using the Planck constant h = 6.63 x 10^-34 J s, the frequency of the photon is closest to:

  A. 2.1 x 10^-52 HzB. 4.8 x 10^14 HzC. 2.1 x 10^15 HzD. 4.8 x 10^-14 Hz

  (Total for Question SECTION-A8 is 1 mark)
• 9

  Question SECTION-A9 (1 mark)

  A capacitor of capacitance 220 microfarad is charged to a potential difference of 12 V. The energy stored is closest to:

  A. 1.3 x 10^-3 JB. 1.6 x 10^-2 JC. 2.6 x 10^-3 JD. 3.2 x 10^-2 J

  (Total for Question SECTION-A9 is 1 mark)
• 10

  Question SECTION-A10 (1 mark)

  The gravitational field strength at the surface of a planet is g. At a distance of two planetary radii from the centre of the planet, the field strength is:

  A. gB. g/2C. g/4D. g/8

  (Total for Question SECTION-A10 is 1 mark)
• 11

  Question SECTION-A11 (1 mark)

  An object performs simple harmonic motion. Its acceleration is at maximum magnitude when its:

  A. displacement is zeroB. displacement is maximumC. velocity is maximumD. kinetic energy is maximum

  (Total for Question SECTION-A11 is 1 mark)
• 12

  Question SECTION-A12 (1 mark)

  A transformer is 100% efficient. The primary coil has 500 turns and the secondary coil has 2000 turns. If the primary current is 8.0 A, the secondary current is:

  A. 2.0 AB. 4.0 AC. 16 AD. 32 A

  (Total for Question SECTION-A12 is 1 mark)
• 13

  Question SECTION-A13 (1 mark)

  Which of the following particles is NOT a hadron?

  A. ProtonB. NeutronC. PionD. Electron

  (Total for Question SECTION-A13 is 1 mark)
• 14

  Question SECTION-A14 (1 mark)

  A stress-strain graph is plotted for a metal wire that is loaded within its elastic limit. The gradient of the linear region is equal to the:

  A. spring constantB. ultimate tensile stressC. Young modulusD. elastic strain energy

  (Total for Question SECTION-A14 is 1 mark)
• 15

  Question SECTION-A15 (1 mark)

  Light of a single frequency passes through two narrow slits and forms an interference pattern. To increase the separation of the bright fringes on the screen, one could:

  A. increase the slit separationB. decrease the wavelengthC. increase the distance to the screenD. increase the light intensity

  (Total for Question SECTION-A15 is 1 mark)
• 16

  Question SECTION-A16 (1 mark)

  A ball is thrown vertically upwards and air resistance is negligible. During the entire flight, the acceleration of the ball is:

  A. zero at the highest pointB. directed downwards throughoutC. upwards while rising, downwards while fallingD. always zero

  (Total for Question SECTION-A16 is 1 mark)
• 17

  Question SECTION-A17 (1 mark)

  The unit of magnetic flux density, the tesla, is equivalent to:

  A. kg A^-1 s^-2B. kg m A^-1 s^-2C. kg m^2 A^-1 s^-2D. kg A s^-2

  (Total for Question SECTION-A17 is 1 mark)
• 18

  Question SECTION-A18 (1 mark)

  Two resistors of 6.0 ohm and 3.0 ohm are connected in parallel. The combined resistance is:

  A. 2.0 ohmB. 4.5 ohmC. 9.0 ohmD. 18 ohm

  (Total for Question SECTION-A18 is 1 mark)
• 19

  Question SECTION-A19 (1 mark)

  An electron is accelerated from rest through a potential difference of 500 V. The kinetic energy gained by the electron, in electronvolts, is:

  A. 500 eVB. 500 JC. 800 eVD. 3.2 x 10^-16 eV

  (Total for Question SECTION-A19 is 1 mark)
• 20

  Question SECTION-A20 (1 mark)

  A satellite is in a stable circular orbit around the Earth. The centripetal force required for this orbit is provided by:

  A. air resistanceB. the gravitational attraction of the EarthC. the thrust of its enginesD. the magnetic field of the Earth

  (Total for Question SECTION-A20 is 1 mark)

Section B

Short-answer and structured questions. Answer ALL questions.

• 1

  Question SECTION-B1 (6 marks)

  A cyclist and bicycle have a combined mass of 90 kg. Starting from rest, they accelerate uniformly along a straight horizontal road, reaching a speed of 8.0 m/s after travelling 40 m. (a) Calculate the acceleration of the cyclist. (2) (b) Calculate the resultant horizontal force on the cyclist and bicycle. (2) (c) The total resistive force opposing motion during this acceleration is 25 N. Calculate the forward driving force provided by the cyclist. (2)

  (Total for Question SECTION-B1 is 6 marks)
• 2

  Question SECTION-B2 (7 marks)

  A student investigates a filament lamp connected to a variable power supply. (a) Sketch the shape of the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic expected for the filament lamp, with current on the vertical axis, and describe its shape in words. (3) (b) Explain, in terms of the behaviour of the metal filament, why the graph has this shape. (2) (c) At an operating point the lamp draws a current of 0.30 A at a potential difference of 6.0 V. Calculate the resistance of the filament at this operating point. (2)

  (Total for Question SECTION-B2 is 7 marks)
• 3

  Question SECTION-B3 (6 marks)

  A trolley of mass 0.80 kg moving at 3.0 m/s to the right collides head-on with a stationary trolley of mass 1.2 kg on a frictionless horizontal track. After the collision the two trolleys move off together. (a) State the principle of conservation of linear momentum. (1) (b) Calculate the common velocity of the trolleys after the collision. (3) (c) By calculation, determine whether the collision is elastic or inelastic. (2)

  (Total for Question SECTION-B3 is 6 marks)
• 4

  Question SECTION-B4 (7 marks)

  A capacitor of capacitance 470 microfarad is charged to a potential difference of 9.0 V and then discharged through a fixed resistor of resistance 22 kohm. (a) Calculate the initial charge stored on the capacitor. (2) (b) Calculate the time constant of the discharge circuit. (2) (c) Calculate the potential difference across the capacitor 15 s after the discharge begins. (3)

  (Total for Question SECTION-B4 is 7 marks)
• 5

  Question SECTION-B5 (7 marks)

  A small mass on a spring oscillates vertically with simple harmonic motion. The amplitude of oscillation is 0.045 m and the period is 0.60 s. (a) Calculate the angular frequency of the oscillation. (2) (b) Calculate the maximum speed of the mass. (2) (c) Calculate the magnitude of the maximum acceleration of the mass and state where in the motion this occurs. (3)

  (Total for Question SECTION-B5 is 7 marks)
• 6

  Question SECTION-B6 (6 marks)

  A fixed mass of an ideal gas is held in a sealed rigid container of volume 2.0 x 10^-3 m^3 at a pressure of 1.5 x 10^5 Pa and a temperature of 300 K. (a) Calculate the number of moles of gas in the container. Use the molar gas constant R = 8.31 J mol^-1 K^-1. (3) (b) The gas is heated to 450 K at constant volume. Calculate the new pressure of the gas. (2) (c) State one assumption of the kinetic theory of ideal gases. (1)

  (Total for Question SECTION-B6 is 6 marks)
• 7

  Question SECTION-B7 (6 marks)

  An electron travelling at 2.4 x 10^6 m/s enters a uniform magnetic field of flux density 0.015 T. The velocity of the electron is perpendicular to the field. (Charge on electron = 1.6 x 10^-19 C, mass of electron = 9.11 x 10^-31 kg.) (a) Calculate the magnitude of the magnetic force on the electron. (2) (b) Explain why the electron follows a circular path in the field. (2) (c) Calculate the radius of the circular path. (2)

  (Total for Question SECTION-B7 is 6 marks)
• 8

  Question SECTION-B8 (7 marks)

  A distant star is observed to have a surface temperature of 8500 K. (a) Use Wien's displacement law, lambda_max x T = 2.90 x 10^-3 m K, to calculate the wavelength at which the star emits maximum power. (2) (b) State the region of the electromagnetic spectrum in which this peak wavelength lies. (1) (c) The star has a luminosity (total power output) of 6.0 x 10^27 W and radiates as a black body. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law L = sigma x A x T^4 with sigma = 5.67 x 10^-8 W m^-2 K^-4, calculate the surface area A of the star. (3)

  (Total for Question SECTION-B8 is 7 marks)

Section C

Extended writing. Answer ALL questions.

• 1

  Question SECTION-C1 (6 marks)

  A student sets up a demonstration in which a bar magnet is dropped so that it falls vertically down through a stationary copper coil connected to a data-logging voltmeter. Explain, using the laws of electromagnetic induction, why an e.m.f. is induced in the coil as the magnet passes through, why the induced e.m.f. changes sign, and how the trace would differ if the magnet were dropped from a greater height. Your answer should make clear reference to Faraday's law and Lenz's law.

  (Total for Question SECTION-C1 is 6 marks)
• 2

  Question SECTION-C2 (6 marks)

  A nuclear power station generates electrical energy by nuclear fission of uranium-235. Describe the process of induced nuclear fission and explain how a controlled chain reaction is achieved and sustained in the reactor core, referring to the roles of the moderator and the control rods, and explain why the mass of the fission products is less than the mass of the original nucleus and neutron.

  (Total for Question SECTION-C2 is 6 marks)
• 3

  Question SECTION-C3 (6 marks)

  Geostationary satellites are widely used for communications. Explain what is meant by a geostationary orbit, and use ideas of circular motion and gravitation to explain why such a satellite must orbit at one particular fixed height above the Earth's equator. Discuss one advantage and one disadvantage of using a geostationary satellite compared with a satellite in a low polar orbit.

  (Total for Question SECTION-C3 is 6 marks)