Suzhou Foreign Language School

2nd Monthly Class Test for IGCSE 2 – November 2014

Subject: Physics

Total Marks: 100 (points) Time: 90 (minutes)

Test paper makers: Rehan & Shu Xin Test paper inspector: Shu Xin
Name___________ Score___________

Part 1 Multiple Choice Questions 20 Questions (40 points)

1. Scout P signals to scout Q on the other side of a valley by using a mirror to reflect the
Sun’s rays.

Which mirror position would allow the Sun’s rays to be reflected to scout Q?

2. Rays of light enter and leave a box.

What could be inside the box to make the rays behave as shown?
A a converging lens B a parallel-sided glass block
C a plane mirror D a triangular prism
3. A boy blows a whistle that has a frequency of 10 000 Hz. The boy’s friend cannot hear the
sound from the whistle. The friend has normal hearing.
What could be a reason why he cannot hear the sound?
A The amplitude is too large. B The amplitude is too small.
C The frequency is too high. D The frequency is too low.

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4. A lighted candle is placed in front of a loudspeaker that is making a loud, steady note. The
candle flame vibrates because of the sound wave.

Which type of waves are sound waves and in which direction does the flame vibrate?

5. A boy wears a shirt with a letter F on the front. He stands in front of a plane mirror.

What does he see in the mirror?

6. The diagram shows a ray of light passing through a semicircular glass block into air.

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 Which row gives the correct name for angle P and states how angle P compares with the
critical angle?

7. When the volcano Krakatoa erupted in 1883, it was heard 5000 km away.
Which statement about the sound from the volcano is not correct?
A If such a loud sound were to be made today, an astronaut orbiting in space (a vacuum)
at a height of 400 km could hear it.
B People further from the volcano heard the sound later than people nearer to the volcano.
C The amplitude of the sound waves would have been smaller further from the volcano.
D The sound was very loud because a lot of energy was transferred to vibrations of the air.
8. A loudspeaker on a boat produces a pulse of sound in the sea. The echo of the pulse is received back
at the boat after 3.0 s. The depth of the sea under the boat is 2250 m.

From this information, what is the speed of sound in the sea water?
A 330 m / s B 750 m / s C 1500 m / s D 6750 m / s

9. To estimate the width of a valley, a climber starts a stopwatch as he shouts. He hears an echo from
the opposite side of the valley after 1.0 s.

The sound travels at 330 m / s. What is the width of the valley?

A 82.5 m B 165 m C 330 m D 660 m
10. A police car sounds its siren when travelling to an emergency. The siren produces two
different sounds P and Q, which are emitted alternately.
The diagram represents the sound waves emitted by the siren.

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 Which of the two sounds P and Q is the louder and which has the higher pitch?

11. Some sound from a loudspeaker at P travels directly to Q. Sound also reaches Q after being
reflected from a wall at R.

The speed of sound is 330 m / s.

What is the difference in time for a sound to travel from P to Q by the two routes?
A (6/330)s B (16/330)s C (6x330)s D (16x330)s
12. A ray of light in water is incident on the surface. The angle of incidence is much smaller than the
critical angle.

What happens to this ray?

A It is completely reflected.
B It is completely refracted.
C It is partially reflected and partially refracted.
D It is refracted at an angle of refraction of 90°.
13. Three loudspeakers vibrate at different frequencies of 5 hertz, 25 kilohertz and 50
kilohertz.

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 Which row shows whether the vibrations from each loudspeaker can be heard by a
human?

14. A girl writes the word LEFT on a piece of a card.

15. A girl stands a distance from a large building.She claps her hands and a short time later she
hears an echo.

Answer sheet:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

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Part 2 Structured Questions 7 Questions (70 points)
16. (a) Are sound waves in air transverse or longitudinal?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..[2]
(b) A sound wave has a frequency of 384 Hz and a wavelength of 0.86 m.
Calculate its speed in m/s.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Speed=……………………………m/s[3]
(c) Another sound wave has a frequency of 38 400 Hz.
(i) Would you be able to hear this sound wave?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………[1]
(ii) Explain your answer.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….[2]
[Total:8]
17.Some plane waves travel on the surface of water in a tank. They pass from a region
of deep water into a region of shallow water. Fig. 6.1 shows what the waves look like
from above.
(a) State what happens at the boundary, if anything, to
(i) the frequency of the waves,
..................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) the speed of the waves,
...................................................................................................................... [1]
(iii) the wavelength of the waves.
...................................................................................................................... [1]

(b) The waves have a speed of 0.12 m / s in the deep water. Wave crests are 0.08 m
apart in the deep water.

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 Calculate the frequency of the source producing the waves. State the equation that
you use.

frequency = ................................................ [3]

(c) Fig. 6.2 shows identical waves moving towards the boundary at an angle.

On Fig. 6.2, draw carefully the remainder of waves A and B, plus the two
previous waves which reached the shallow water. You will need to use your ruler
to do this. [3]
[Total: 9]

18. The diagram shows a candle 7 cm in front of a plane mirror.

(a) By accurately drawing the paths of two rays from the top of the flame, locate the image of the
flame in the mirror. [3]

(b) (i) Write down the distance between the candle and its image. [2]

(ii) The candle is moved 3 cm away from the mirror. Write down the distance between the new

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position of the candle and its image. [2]

(iii) Calculate the change in the distance between the candle and its image when the candle has
been moved 3 cm. [1]

(c) List three properties of an image formed in a plane mirror. [3]

[Total:11]

19. Figure below shows a ray PQ of light incident on the side of a rectangular glass block.

(a) (i) By drawing on the figure, continue the ray PQ through and beyond the block. [3]

(ii) Mark the angle of incidence at CD with the letter i and the angle of refraction at CD with
the letter r. [2]

(iii) What is the relationship between the incident ray at CD and the ray coming out of AB? [2]

(b) The speed of light in air is 3×108 m/s and the speed of light in glass is 2×108m/s.
(i) Write down a formula that gives the refractive index of glass in terms of the speeds of light
in air and glass. [2]

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(ii) Use the formula to calculate the refractive index of glass. [2]
[Total:11]

20.Fig. 6.1 shows white light incident at P on a glass prism. Only the refracted red ray
PQ is shown in the prism.

(a) On Fig. 6.1, draw rays to complete the path of the red ray and the whole path of
the violet ray up to the point where they hit the screen. Label the violet ray. [3]

(b) The angle of incidence of the white light is increased to 40°. The refractive index
of the glass for the red light is 1.52.
Calculate the angle of refraction at P for the red light.
angle of refraction = ........................[3]

(c) State the approximate speed of

(i) the white light incident at P, speed = ....................... [1]
(ii) the red light after it leaves the prism at Q.

speed = ....................... [2]

[Total:9]
21.A ray of monochromatic light passes through the glass prism shown in Fig. 6.1.

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(a) State the name given to what happens to the ray at A.

.............................................................................................................................. [2]
(b) Use the values on the diagram to calculate the angle of refraction at A (The angles
in a triangle add up to 180°).

angle of refraction = ................................................ [2]

(c) Calculate the refractive index of the glass.

refractive index = ................................................ [3]

(d) Explain why the ray does not emerge into the air at B, but does emerge at C.

.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................[3]
(f) An identical prism is stuck to the first prism using a transparent adhesive with the
same refractive index as the glass. This is shown in Fig. 6.2.

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 On Fig. 6.2, draw the path of the ray after it has reached B and until it has passed
into the air again. [3]
[Total: 13]

22. Straight water waves in a ripple tank, and the wavelength of the waves is 2cm.
(a) If the gap width is about 1cm, show on it what happens to the waves as they pass through the
gap. [2]

(b)If the gap width is 10cm, what will happen to the wave? Draw it below. [2]
[Total:4]

23. (a) The figure below shows the results of an experiment to find the critical angle for light in a
semi-circular glass block.

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The ray of light PO hits the glass at O at an angle of incidence of 0º. Q is the centre of the straight
side of the block.
(i) Measure the critical angle of the glass from the figure.
critical angle = [2]
(ii) Explain what is meant by the critical angle of the light in the glass. [2]

...............................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................
[Total:4]

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