Daily A Level Physics question archive
Free AS and A2 Daily MCQs from PhysicsUK. Questions appear here after a 7-day delay so pupils can practise with the answer and explanation available.
Circular motion (M5.2)
A washing machine increases its spin rate from 1000 rpm to 1200 rpm while the drum radius stays the same. For a 0.20 kg portion of wet clothes pressed against the drum wall, by what percentage does the centripetal...
Dynamics (AS): Newton’s laws; friction & drag; terminal velocity
A skydiver falls at terminal velocity before opening a parachute, then opens it and waits until a new steady descent is reached. Assume the skydiver’s weight is unchanged. Which statement must be true when comparing...
Mechanics & Materials (M3): Young modulus (required practical)
In a Young modulus practical, a steel wire of length 2.0 m and diameter 1.0 mm extends by 0.50 mm when an extra 10 N load is added. A second steel wire of the same length but diameter 0.50 mm is tested with the same...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
A designer uses a 6.0 V potential divider to feed a microcontroller input. The upper leg is an LDR connected to +6.0 V; the lower leg is a fixed 4.0 kΩ resistor to 0 V. The output voltage is taken at their junction. In...
DC circuits: potential dividers
In a lab temperature probe, a 6.0 V supply feeds a fixed 4.0 kΩ resistor in series with an NTC thermistor. V_out is taken across the thermistor. At 20 °C the thermistor is 4.0 kΩ; when warmed its resistance halves....
Kinematics (M3)
A student throws a small ball straight up and it returns to her hand at the same height. Air resistance is negligible. At the highest point of its flight, which statement must be true?
Projectile motion (M3)
In a school lab, a launcher fires a small rubber stopper at a fixed angle of 40° to the horizontal. Air resistance is negligible. If the launch speed is doubled while keeping the angle the same, what happens to the...
Fields: Gravitational, Electric & Magnetic (M5/M6)
Which statement must be true when testing whether the gravitational field strength g around a spherical planet follows a 1/r² model? A probe finds g = 6.0 N kg^-1 at r = 2000 km from the planet’s centre. At r = 4000...
Capacitance & RC (M6)
In a lab setup, a 9.0 V battery with internal resistance 1.0 Ω charges a 2200 μF capacitor through a 4.0 Ω series resistor when a switch is closed. Neglect leakage. Estimate when the capacitor voltage first reaches 6.0...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
A stadium t-shirt cannon fires two shirts at the same speed from pitch level: Shot 1 at 30° and Shot 2 at 60° above the horizontal. Ignore air resistance and assume both are caught back at pitch level. Which statement...
Nuclear physics (Module 6): mass–energy and binding energy; fission/fusion (qualitative)
In a simplified reactor model, a U-235 nucleus fissions into two medium-mass fragments. Before fission, the average binding energy per nucleon is about 7.6 MeV; for the fragments it is about 8.5 MeV. If the two...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
In a required practical to estimate the density of a short cylindrical metal rod, a student measures mass m with a digital balance (±0.01 g), length L with a steel ruler (±0.5 mm), and diameter d with a micrometer...
Consolidation: DC circuits mixed reasoning (A2)
A student builds a 5.0 V potential divider using two identical 10 kΩ resistors. They measure the output by connecting a digital voltmeter (input resistance 100 kΩ) from the midpoint to ground (i.e. across the lower 10...
Kinematics — displacement–time graphs (Mechanics, Module 3)
In a lab, a motion sensor tracks a trolley moving along a straight track. Its displacement–time graph is piecewise linear: from t = 0 s to t = 12 s the displacement increases uniformly from 0 m to +24 m; from t = 12 s...
Gravitational fields & orbits (5.3)
An Earth-observation satellite is raised slowly from one stable circular orbit to another with twice the orbital radius, ending in a new stable circular orbit. Ignoring atmospheric drag and mass change, which statement...
Materials (Module 3.4)
In a lab tensile test, two uniform circular wires are hung vertically and loaded in their elastic regions until each extends by exactly 1.0 mm. Wire S (steel) is 1.0 m long with diameter 0.50 mm and requires a 20 N...
Dynamics (AS Module 3): drag and terminal velocity
A skydiver of fixed mass falls vertically. Before opening a parachute, they eventually reach a terminal speed v1. The parachute is then opened, increasing the effective frontal area by a factor of 3 while everything...
Wave optics I: refraction & Snell; TIR; refractive index; optical fibres (qual.)
In a lab test, a step-index optical fibre with core refractive index 1.50 and cladding 1.40 carries light by repeated internal reflections at the core boundary. A small chip in the cladding is covered by an...
Electricity (Module 4.1): energy, power and resistance; series/parallel
In a lab check of heating, two fixed resistors labelled R and 2R are tested with the same 9 V battery. Test 1: they are connected in series for one minute. Test 2: they are reconnected in parallel, each directly across...
Capacitance II (RC, time constant, qualitative)
In a lab dimming circuit for an LED, a charged capacitor is allowed to discharge through a resistor when the power is switched off. Two versions are tested, both starting from the same initial voltage: Setup 1 uses a...
Cross-topic problem solving (mechanics ↔ circuits energy)
An electric hoist is powered by a 9.0 V battery with internal resistance 3.0 Ω. While lifting a 20 N load vertically at steady speed, the current is 1.5 A. Only 60% of the electrical power delivered to the motor...
Energy & power in DC circuits
A car headlamp bulb is rated 12 V, 55 W at normal operating temperature. In a lab test it is connected to a regulated 9.0 V DC supply. The filament’s resistance increases strongly with temperature. Which statement must...
Quantum (Module 4): Photoelectric effect and stopping potential
A student measures the stopping potential for a clean metal photocathode using a vacuum photocell. With 405 nm violet light, the stopping potential is 1.0 V. With 650 nm red light, no photoelectrons are detected at any...
Quantum I (Module 4): photon model; intensity vs photon rate
In a dark lab, two monochromatic LED sources each emit 3.0 mW of light into identical beam areas. One is green at wavelength 500 nm, the other is red at 750 nm. A photon-counting detector with equal efficiency at both...
Electricity: DC circuits & sensors (M4)
A garden light uses an LDR in a potential divider to sense daylight. A 4.0 kΩ fixed resistor is connected from +6.0 V to the output node; the LDR is connected from the output node to 0 V. In shade the LDR is 8.0 kΩ....
DC Circuits (M4): Sensors with potential dividers
A student builds a light sensor using a potential divider: an LDR is connected to the +5 V supply and in series with a fixed resistor R to 0 V. The output voltage V_out is taken across R. The LDR’s resistance decreases...
Foundations of Physics (M2)
In a lab, a student estimates the density of a flat metal coin by measuring its mass and its diameter and thickness. The balance and thickness gauge are well calibrated, but the calipers used for the diameter have a...
Kinematics (displacement–time)
In a lab, a trolley moves along a straight track and its displacement x from a marker is plotted against time t. The x–t graph is three straight segments: from t = 0.0 s to 3.0 s, x increases uniformly from 0.00 m to...
Materials (M3): Practical methods
In a lab determination of Young modulus using a steel wire, you plot force against extension measured with a ruler that reads to 0.5 mm. The main limitation is that the extensions are small compared with this reading...
Simple harmonic motion (SHM): energy interchange
A low-friction glider on an air track is attached to a spring and oscillates with constant amplitude A in simple harmonic motion. At an instant the glider is at displacement x = A/2 from equilibrium. Which statement...
DC Circuits (M4)
A student builds a simple temperature probe using a 9.0 V supply and a potential divider: a 6.0 kΩ fixed resistor in series with an NTC thermistor. The output Vout is measured across the thermistor to ground. At 20 °C...
Practical methods of measuring material properties
In a lab to determine the stiffness of a steel wire, a student measures the wire’s diameter with a micrometer that reads 0.02 mm too high (positive zero error). The true diameter is 0.50 mm, but the student does not...
Waves II: stationary waves; harmonics; boundary conditions; air column examples (M4)
A lab tube of fixed length 0.80 m is used to find resonances with a phone’s tone generator. With one end firmly capped (other end open), the lowest resonant note is 110 Hz at room temperature. The cap is then removed...
Electromagnetic induction (M6): Lenz’s law
In a school demo, a strong neodymium magnet is dropped through a vertical copper pipe (the pipe is not part of an external circuit). Which statement must be true?
High level GCSE physics
In a lab, a friction pad exerts the same average retarding force each time a cart passes through it. Two identical carts start from rest at the top of smooth ramps of heights h and 2h, roll down, and then enter the...
Synoptic: measurement strategies for RC transients (no ln)
In a lab test, a student discharges a capacitor through a 100 kΩ resistor and estimates the circuit’s RC time by timing how long the capacitor’s voltage falls from 5.0 V to 2.5 V. An oscilloscope (input resistance 1.0...
Electric circuits: potential dividers (M4)
A student makes a mid-supply reference using two identical 3.0 kΩ resistors in series across a 9.0 V battery; V_out is taken across the lower resistor relative to ground. They then connect a 3.0 kΩ load in parallel...
Nuclear II: mass–energy; binding energy per nucleon; fission/fusion (qual.)
A revision poster lists average binding energy per nucleon (BE/A): U-235 = 7.6 MeV, typical fission fragments near A ≈ 120 = 8.5 MeV, deuterium (2H) = 1.1 MeV, helium-4 (4He) = 7.1 MeV. A student compares two...
Momentum & impulse (M3)
A worker (mass 80 kg) runs at 5.0 m/s and jumps onto a stationary trolley on low-friction wheels; they stick together and roll off as one. Assume external horizontal forces are negligible during the short collision....
Simple Harmonic Motion (M5)
A glider on a low-friction air track is attached to a horizontal spring and oscillates with small amplitude. When the glider is at its maximum displacement to the right, which statement must be true?
Mechanics: Moments & Equilibrium (M3)
In a lab, a uniform beam is pivoted at its centre and held horizontal. A 20 N weight is hung 0.60 m from the pivot on the left. To balance the beam, at what distance from the pivot on the right should a 15 N weight be...
Waves: superposition and path difference (Module 4)
Two identical loudspeakers S1 and S2 are driven by the same signal generator so they emit in phase. At a point P in front of them, the distances to S1 and S2 differ by 0.50 m. The wavelength of the sound is 0.20 m....
Kinematics — projectile motion (M3)
In a lab, a steel ball rolls off a 1.2 m-high bench horizontally at 1.5 m/s. In a second trial, it’s rolled off the same bench at 3.0 m/s. Air resistance is negligible. Which statement must be true?
DC circuits (Module 6.1.1): internal resistance, terminal p.d., meter loading (qualitative)
In a lab, a student connects a digital voltmeter directly across the terminals of a cell to “measure its emf”. The cell has noticeable internal resistance, and the voltmeter’s input resistance is large but finite....
SUVAT problems (Module 3.1.1 Motion)
A car on a dry road brakes with a steady deceleration. From 15 m/s it takes 20 m to come to rest. Under the same conditions, what is the stopping distance from 30 m/s (ignore reaction time)?
Electricity & Circuits (M4): Sensor circuits
A museum display uses a light sensor based on a potential divider: an LDR is connected to +9.0 V and a 4.0 kΩ fixed resistor to 0 V. The output voltage V_out is taken at their junction and measured by a high‑resistance...
Cross-topic problem solving (mechanics ↔ circuits energy)
A 12.0 V battery with internal resistance 1.0 Ω powers a small lab hoist that lifts a 2.0 kg mass vertically by 0.80 m in 1.6 s at steady speed. The current is 2.0 A throughout the lift. Neglect any change in kinetic...
DC circuits: meter loading; internal resistance & terminal pd (Module 4.3)
A student measures the emf of a 1.50 V cell that has an internal resistance of 50 Ω using an analogue voltmeter with sensitivity 1 kΩ per volt set to the 1.5 V range (so the meter’s input resistance is about 1.5 kΩ)....
Cross-topic problem solving (mechanics ↔ circuits energy; graphs & modelling)
A 12 V DC bench supply with some internal resistance powers a small winch that lifts a 0.50 kg mass vertically at a steady 0.40 m s−1. The p.d. across the motor terminals during the lift is 9.0 V. Assume essentially...
Dynamics: terminal velocity & drag (M3.2)
In a lab, a single paper coffee filter dropped from rest quickly reaches a steady falling speed of 1.5 m/s. Stacking two identical filters together keeps the cross-sectional area essentially the same but doubles the...
Fields: Gravitational, Electric & Magnetic (M5/M6)
In a lab, a conducting aluminium ring is dropped coaxially toward the open end of a vertical solenoid that carries a steady DC current. Air resistance is negligible. Compared with an identical drop when the solenoid...
Electricity — DC circuits (Module 4.2)
In a lab, a 9.0 V DC bench supply is connected to a single 18 Ω resistor R1; an ammeter in series with R1 reads the current in R1. Without changing the supply, a second identical 18 Ω resistor R2 is connected in...
Nuclear physics (A2): activity, decay law (qual.), half-life
In a school lab, a GM tube measures background radiation at 40 s⁻¹. With a sealed source at a fixed distance, the initial total count rate is 1040 s⁻¹. Several hours later, under identical setup, the total count rate...
Foundations of Physics (M2)
In a lab rig, a mass is hung from a plate attached to the ceiling by two branches in parallel. Branch 1 is a single light spring of constant k. Branch 2 is two identical light springs, each of constant k, connected in...
Projectile motion and suvat (Module 3)
A bench-top launcher in a physics lab fires a steel ball at a fixed speed u. With the barrel set to 30° above the horizontal, the ball lands back at the same height as launch. The launcher is then set to 60° with the...
Energy & power in DC circuits
An electric lab heater is powered by an ideal 12 V dc supply. When new, the heater's resistance is 6.0 Ω. After use, oxidation increases its resistance by 50% but the supply voltage remains 12 V. Which statement about...
Waves & optics (M4.2.2)
In a school lab, a green laser produces a double-slit interference pattern on a screen 2.0 m away. The double-slit slide is replaced with one where the slit separation is half the original, while slit widths and the...
Energy & power in DC circuits
A 3.0 V head torch originally uses a 0.60 W filament bulb. It is upgraded to a 1.2 W LED module, still powered by the same 3.0 V battery pack. For a continuous 30 min walk, which value is closest to the extra...
DC Circuits (M4)
In a lab test, a bench power supply is set to 6.0 V and connected to a resistor using long, thin leads. The current is 0.50 A. A voltmeter across just the resistor reads 5.8 V. Which statement must be true about the...
Electromagnetic induction (M6.3.2)
In a lab, a bar magnet’s north pole is pushed straight towards a flat coil. With a 200-turn coil and speed v, the peak induced emf is 3.0 V. The coil is then replaced by a 400-turn coil and the magnet is pushed at...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
A football is kicked from level ground at 45° with initial speed u, giving a range R (air resistance negligible). On the next attempt, the same angle is used but the launch speed is increased by 20%. What happens to...
Kinematics: displacement–time
A cyclist travels along a straight cycle path. Displacement from the start is defined positive in the forward direction. From 0–20 s the displacement increases uniformly at 2.0 m/s; from 20–40 s it is constant; from...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
A small car collides head-on with a much heavier lorry on a straight road. During the brief impact, which statement must be true?
Work, energy & power (M3)
A garden fountain pump draws a steady electrical power of 200 W and raises water to a spout 10 m above the reservoir. When running, the flow reaches a steady value. If only 50% of the input power goes into increasing...
Kepler's laws (Module 5.4)
A comet follows a highly elliptical orbit around the Sun. As it travels from its farthest point (aphelion) towards its closest approach (perihelion), which statement must be true?
Quantum (M4)
In a darkened lab, a student shines a monochromatic green LED onto a small photodiode. They increase the LED’s intensity using its driver, while keeping the colour exactly the same. Ignoring heating, which statement...
Medical imaging I: X-rays — attenuation & HVT (M6.2)
In a quality-control test of an X-ray beam at fixed kVp, two 8.0 mm-thick inserts are compared. For this beam, material A has a half-value thickness (HVT) of 2.0 mm and material B has an HVT of 4.0 mm. Which statement...
Kinematics (M3.1.1)
In a lab, a motion sensor records a trolley that starts from rest, speeds up uniformly to 2.4 m/s in 2.0 s, then immediately slows uniformly to rest taking 4.0 s. The velocity–time graph is a straight-line rise...
Electric circuits & sensors (Module 4)
A light sensor is made by placing an LDR in series with a fixed resistor across a 5.0 V supply. The output voltage V_out is taken across the fixed resistor (from the junction to ground). As the room gets brighter, what...
Internal resistance & terminal pd (Module 4)
A bench power supply has an emf of 12.0 V and an internal resistance of 0.25 Ω. A student increases the current drawn from 2.0 A to 4.0 A by changing the external load. What happens to the terminal potential difference...
High level GCSE electricity, Potential dividers and sensor circuits, Meter loading (qualitative and simple quantitative)
A student tests a light sensor circuit powered by 5.0 V: a 10 kΩ fixed resistor is in series with an LDR to 0 V, and a voltmeter with 20 kΩ input resistance is connected across the LDR to read V_out at the junction....
Electricity (M4)
A student powers one small torch bulb from a 6 V battery. They then add a second identical bulb in parallel with the first using short, negligible-resistance wires. Assume the bulbs behave like simple resistors over...
Archimedes’ principle (M3.2)
A wooden block floats in fresh water. A 1 kg sealed metal tool can either be placed gently on top of the block (remaining above the water) or suspended from the block by a light string so the tool is fully submerged...
Thermal physics I (M5)
In a lab, identical 0.50 kg samples of water and an unknown liquid X are heated by the same immersion heater for the same time. Both start at 20 C. After heating, the water is at 25 C while liquid X is at 28 C. Assume...
Waves & Optics: Refraction and TIR (Module 4)
A narrow laser beam travels inside a glass block (refractive index 1.50) and strikes the glass–air boundary from the glass side. As the angle of incidence inside the glass is slowly increased, at roughly what angle to...
Quantum II: photoelectric effect; stopping potential; work function; de Broglie wavelength (intro)
In a lab, a clean metal photocathode with threshold frequency f0 is illuminated by monochromatic light of frequency 1.20 f0 and intensity I. The magnitude of the reverse potential needed to reduce the photocurrent to...
Practical skills: uncertainties & data handling (Modules 1–2)
A student estimates the acceleration a of a trolley down a shallow ramp from measurements of distance s and time t using a = 2s/t^2. They record s = 0.80 m with a metre rule (resolution 1 mm) and t ≈ 1.2 s with a...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
On a dry test track the same car makes two emergency stops using the same brakes so the braking force is effectively constant. From 15 m/s it comes to rest in 20 m (braking distance only). From 30 m/s, what is the...
DC circuits: potential dividers and sensors (Revision weeks 1–6)
A light sensor uses a 9 V supply with a fixed 10 kΩ resistor in series with a light-dependent resistor (LDR). The output voltage is measured across the LDR. When the light level on the LDR increases, which statement...
Applied contexts: sensor circuits (M4.3)
An automatic night‑light uses a 5.0 V supply and a potential divider with an LDR to +5 V and a fixed 10 kΩ resistor to ground. The output voltage V_out (to a microcontroller) is taken across the 10 kΩ resistor. In...