December 2025 Daily Physics questions
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.
Kinematics: suvat problems (Module 3)
In a lab, a trolley on a smooth horizontal track starts from rest and accelerates uniformly. It travels 1.6 m in the first 2.0 s. If the same acceleration continues, how far does it travel during the next 2.0 s (from t...
Kinematics: displacement–time graphs (Module 3.1)
In a lab, a trolley moves along a straight track while a motion sensor records its displacement s from a fixed marker against time t. The graph consists of three straight sections: from 0–20 s it is a straight line...
Kinematics: projectile motion (intro)
On level ground with no air resistance, a student launches a foam dart at speed u at 45° to the horizontal. She wants the new launch to have the same total time in the air as before but to land 50% further away...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
On level ground, a student fires a foam dart from a launcher at 30° to the horizontal with speed u. Air resistance is negligible. They want to double the horizontal range but keep the launch angle the same. By what...
Waves & Optics (M4)
In a lab, a glider attached to a spring oscillates with small amplitude on a near-frictionless air track. A data logger flags the instants when the glider’s kinetic energy equals the elastic potential energy. The...
Work, Energy & Power (M3)
A lab winch lifts a 5 kg load at steady speed. In trial 1 it raises the load 1.0 m in 2.0 s. In trial 2 it raises the same load 2.0 m in 4.0 s. Ignore energy losses. Compared with trial 1, what happens to the average...
Foundations of Physics (M2)
On a dry test track, the same car makes two emergency stops: Run 1 from speed v, Run 2 from speed 2v. The driver’s reaction time is the same non‑zero value in both runs. Once the brakes are applied, the car experiences...
Kinematics: displacement–time (M3)
A trolley’s displacement s from a motion sensor at one end of a straight track is recorded against time t. The displacement–time graph is a straight line with a constant negative gradient. Which statement must be true?
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
In a lab, a launcher fires the same ball from floor level at a fixed speed of 20 m/s. The first shot is at 50° above the horizontal; the second is at 60°, with the ball landing back at floor level and air resistance...
Thermal physics (M5)
In a lab, equal masses of copper and aluminium blocks start at the same temperature. Each is heated for the same time by an identical electric heater supplying the same power, and heat losses are negligible. Which...
Forces and Motion (M3) — Projectile motion
On a calm day, a launcher fires two identical balls from level ground at the same initial speed u but at 30° (shot A) and 60° (shot B) above the horizontal. Air resistance is negligible. Which statement about their...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
In a controlled dry-road brake test, the same car is brought from speed u to rest using the same maximum braking force each time (so the deceleration magnitude is the same in both runs). In the second run the initial...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
In a lab test, two identical light springs are used to support the same hanging weight W. Setup S has the springs connected one below the other; Setup P has the springs side by side attached to the same top support and...
AS Mechanics: Momentum (1D)
Two students on low-friction trolleys push apart from rest in a straight line. Student A has mass 50 kg and moves east at 1.2 m/s immediately after the push. Student B has mass 75 kg. Air resistance is negligible. What...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
On level ground, a tennis ball launcher fires balls at 45° to the horizontal. Ignoring air resistance, the coach doubles the launch speed but keeps the angle the same. What happens to the horizontal range?
Foundations of Physics (M2)
A student throws a ball straight up from ground level. As it passes the level of a balcony 15 m above the ground, a motion sensor measures its speed as 10 m/s upward. Ignore air resistance and take g = 9.81 m s−2....
Dynamics: terminal velocity
In a viscosity experiment, two solid spheres of equal radius are dropped one at a time into a tall cylinder of oil. The steel sphere S has weight 2.0 N in air and the plastic sphere P has weight 1.0 N in air. The...
Kinematics (displacement–time)
A small delivery cart moves in a straight warehouse aisle. Its displacement s from the start is recorded against time t. From t = 0 to 20 s, the s–t graph is a smooth curve whose gradient increases with time; over this...
Kinematics: suvat (Module 3.1.1)
A car on a level road is brought to rest by a constant braking deceleration. If the initial speed is doubled (same braking force so the deceleration is unchanged), what happens to the stopping distance?
Mechanics — suvat problems (Module 3)
On a dry test track a car brakes uniformly from 20 m s^-1 to rest in 25 m. Under the same conditions with the same braking force, the driver repeats the test starting at 30 m s^-1. Which is the best estimate of the...
Thermal physics: Specific heat capacity (Module 5.1)
Two identical insulated beakers each contain 0.50 kg of liquid at 20°C: one water and one cooking oil. Identical immersion heaters supply the same amount of electrical energy to each. Which statement must be true?
Foundations of Physics (M2)
On a level, low-friction track, a 2.0 kg trolley moving at 0.60 m s−1 collides and couples with a stationary 0.80 kg trolley. Ignoring external forces, which option gives their common speed immediately after impact and...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
In a drop-timer lab, a steel ball released from rest falls 1.20 m and the measured time is 0.495 s. The setup is repeated from 2.40 m with air resistance negligible and g = 9.81 m s^-2. Using proportional reasoning...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
A skydiver falls in the spread-eagle position at a steady speed for several seconds, then quickly tucks into a streamlined shape without changing mass. Which statement must be true in the moments just after tucking in?
suvat problems
A car on a dry test track brakes with the same constant deceleration each time. If the initial speed is doubled, what happens to the braking distance before it stops? Assume reaction time is zero and ignore air...
Upthrust and Archimedes’ principle (M3.1.3)
Which statement must be true when a 2000 kg dayboat floating at rest in freshwater (density 1000 kg m−3) moves into seawater (density 1025 kg m−3) with the same load? Consider the change in the submerged volume of the...
Forces and motion (M3): drag and terminal velocity
A skydiver has been falling belly-to-earth and has reached terminal speed. They then deploy a much larger parachute. Immediately after the parachute opens (before a new steady speed is reached), which statement must be...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
On a smooth straight track, a 0.40 kg trolley moving at 2.5 m/s to the right collides and sticks to a 0.60 kg trolley at rest. Neglect external forces during the brief collision. What is the speed and direction of the...
Work, energy and power (M3)
Two electric heaters each transfer 150 kJ of energy to identical beakers of water. Heater A takes 3.0 minutes; Heater B takes 2.0 minutes. Compared with Heater A, the power of Heater B is:
Work, energy & power (M3.3)
Two electric kettles are identical except for their power ratings: one is 1.5 kW and the other is 2.0 kW. Both heat the same mass of water from the same starting temperature to boiling with negligible heat loss....
Kinematics — suvat (M3)
A ball is launched straight up from a bench in a lab. Take upward as positive and assume a constant downward acceleration of 9.8 m s−2. A motion sensor shows that in the first 0.50 s after launch, the displacement is...