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Chapter 1 Practice Paper: Measurement — question paper

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QQ/S3CPH/CH1

Secondary 3 · Combined Science (Physics) (G2 / G3)

Chapter 1 Practice Paper

Measurement

Duration: 40 minutes
Total: 30 marks
Name:
Class:
Register No.:
Date:

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

  • Answer all questions.
  • Section A: choose the one correct answer for each multiple-choice question.
  • Section B: answer in the spaces provided; show all necessary working.
  • Give numerical answers to 3 significant figures where appropriate, with units.
  • The acceleration of free fall near the Earth is 10 m/s².
  • The use of a calculator is permitted.

Original practice material written for the MOE Combined Science (Physics) syllabus. It is not an official MOE or school examination paper. Chapter 1 (quantities and base units, prefixes, orders of magnitude, range and precision, scalars and vectors).

For Examiner’s Use
Section A/ 10
Section B/ 20
Total/ 30

Section A: Multiple-choice questions[10 marks]

Choose the one correct answer for each question.

  1. 1

    Which is a correct base quantity and unit pair?

    1. Aweight — newton
    2. Bcurrent — ampere
    3. Ctemperature — joule
    4. Damount of substance — mole per litre
    ( )
  2. 2

    The prefix that means 10⁻⁹ is

    1. Amicro
    2. Bmilli
    3. Cnano
    4. Dgiga
    ( )
  3. 3

    The width of a human hair is closest to

    1. A10⁻⁹ m
    2. B10⁻⁴ m
    3. C10⁻² m
    4. D10² m
    ( )
  4. 4

    To measure whether two shelves are level to within 1 mm over 2 m, the most important instrument property is

    1. Aprecision of 1 mm or better
    2. Ba large range
    3. Ca digital display
    4. Da metal body
    ( )
  5. 5

    Which of these quantities has both a size and a direction?

    1. Aenergy
    2. Btime
    3. Cdisplacement
    4. Dtemperature
    ( )

Section B: Structured questions[20 marks]

Answer all questions in the spaces provided. Show all necessary working.

  1. 1

    A student measures the length of a metal strip three times with a millimetre rule: 14.8 cm, 14.8 cm and 14.9 cm.

    1. (a)

      State the precision of the rule.

      [1]
    2. (b)

      Calculate the mean length of the strip, giving your answer to an appropriate precision.

      mean =cm[2]
    3. (c)

      Explain why the third reading differs from the other two.

      [2]
    4. (d)

      State one measurement for which this rule would be unsuitable because of its range, and suggest a replacement.

      [1]
  2. 2

    Convert the following, showing the prefix value you use.

    1. (a)

      Convert 350 mA to A.

      current =A[2]
    2. (b)

      Convert 9.5 km to mm, in standard form.

      length =mm[2]
    3. (c)

      A processor cycle takes 0.4 ns. Write this in seconds, in standard form.

      time =s[2]
  3. 3

    Two forces act along the same straight line on a trolley: 25 N to the right and 10 N to the left.

    1. (a)

      Calculate the resultant force, stating its direction.

      resultant =N[3]
    2. (b)

      Explain why adding the two magnitudes to get 35 N would be wrong.

      [2]
    3. (c)

      State whether each of the following is a scalar or a vector: mass, weight, speed, velocity.

      [3]

— End of paper —