January 2026 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.
Forces and motion (M3.2)
Two small spheres of the same size and shape are dropped in still air. In this speed range, the drag force on a sphere is approximately proportional to the square of its speed. Sphere B has twice the mass of Sphere A,...
Projectile motion (Module 3)
A student uses a launcher to fire a small ball from ground level at 35° to the horizontal on a calm day. Air resistance is negligible. If the launch speed is doubled while keeping the angle the same, what happens to...
Electromagnetic induction — generators (qual.) (M6.3)
A bicycle dynamo acts as a simple AC generator. At 5.0 revolutions per second, the oscilloscope shows a peak emf of 3.0 V. With the same coil and magnetic field, and negligible load on the dynamo, what is the peak emf...
Foundations of Physics (M2)
A small rubber ball is fired horizontally at a stationary lab trolley on a smooth track. In trial 1 the ball sticks to the trolley. In trial 2 the ball bounces straight back from the trolley. The ball is launched at...
Materials: mechanical properties and practical measurement (Module 3)
In a lab test of elastic extension, a student hangs a 10 N load from a steel wire and measures its extension with a pointer and ruler. With a 2.0 m wire of diameter 0.50 mm, the extension is 0.40 mm and the wire...
Simple harmonic motion (A2)
In a lab, a trolley attached to a horizontal spring oscillates with negligible friction. You pull it back farther so that the amplitude increases from 3.0 cm to 6.0 cm, with the same mass and spring. Which statement...
Kinematics: linear motion under gravity (g = 9.81 m s^-2)
In a lab test of a floor sensor, a technician drops identical steel bearings from rest from heights 0.80 m and 3.2 m above the sensor. Air resistance is negligible and g = 9.81 m s^-2. Compared with the 0.80 m drop,...
Momentum & impulse (M3) — conservation of momentum (1D)
Two low-friction trolleys on a level track move in the same straight line and collide, latching together. During the brief collision, external effects like track friction and air resistance are negligible compared with...
Astrophysics & Cosmology (M5)
A small unpowered spacecraft drifts inward from 100,000 km to 50,000 km from Earth’s centre. Take gravitational potential to be zero at infinity and ignore the atmosphere. Which statement must be true?
Forces and motion (Module 3): Dynamics, drag and terminal velocity
A lightweight coffee filter is dropped from rest and soon falls at a steady terminal velocity through air. Which statement must be true at terminal velocity?
Projectile motion (Module 3: Kinematics)
A student fires identical foam pellets from a bench at the same launch speed but at two angles: 30° and 60° to the horizontal. Air resistance is negligible and the pellets land at the same height as launch. Which...
Capacitance II: charging/discharging; time constant τ = RC; qualitative exponential behaviour
In a lab test, an initially uncharged 1000 µF capacitor is connected to a 9.0 V DC supply through a resistor and a switch. In Setup A the resistor is 1.0 kΩ; in Setup B it is 2.0 kΩ. The switch is closed at t = 0 in...
Sensors with potential dividers (AS Electricity)
A porch light controller uses a 6.0 V supply with a fixed 1.0 kΩ resistor in series with an LDR. The output voltage V_out is measured across the LDR to ground. In dim light the LDR is 2.0 kΩ and V_out = 4.0 V. In...
Foundations of Physics (M2)
A technician builds a potential divider using a 6.0 V DC supply, a fixed 1.0 kΩ resistor R1 from the positive terminal to a node, and a variable resistor R2 from the node to 0 V. The output V_out is measured across R2...
Electricity (M4)
A portable heater has two identical heating elements and a switch that connects them either in series (LOW) or in parallel (HIGH) across the same 230 V supply. Treat each element as a constant resistor. When switching...
Materials: springs in series/parallel
A desk lamp of weight W is hung from the ceiling using two identical springs, each with the same stiffness k. You can arrange the springs either in series (end-to-end as one hanger) or in parallel (side-by-side sharing...
Projectile motion (M3.1.3)
In a school lab, a student uses a launcher to fire a rubber ball from ground level at a fixed angle to the horizontal. Air resistance is negligible. They double the launch speed while keeping the angle the same. Which...
Electric fields: E = V/d (M6.3)
In a vacuum tube, two large parallel plates 5.0 mm apart are connected to a 200 V supply, producing a uniform electric field. An electron is released from rest at the negative plate and accelerates to the positive...
DC Circuits (M4)
A student builds a potential divider with a 3.0 kΩ resistor on the top and a 6.0 kΩ resistor on the bottom across a 12 V supply of negligible internal resistance. The output V_out is taken across the 6.0 kΩ resistor....
Dynamics: drag and terminal velocity (M3.2)
Two identical coffee-filter cones are dropped in still air. A single filter reaches a steady terminal speed of 1.5 m/s. In a wind-tunnel test on this shape, the drag force is 0.05 N at 1.5 m/s and 0.20 N at 3.0 m/s. If...
Capacitance I: dielectric (qual.)
In a lab, a parallel‑plate capacitor is connected to a constant 9 V DC supply. A thin plastic sheet is slid fully into the gap so it fills the space between the plates. Which statement must be true immediately after...
Forces and Motion (M3)
Two spheres of the same diameter, one steel and one plastic, are dropped from a tall stairwell into still air. After falling long enough for each to reach terminal speed, which statement must be true about their...
Momentum & impulse (M3.5)
In a lab, a 1.0 kg trolley moving at 3.0 m/s on a straight, level track collides and couples with a 2.0 kg trolley initially at rest. External forces are negligible during the collision. Which outcome for their common...
Mechanics & Materials (M3)
On a straight test track, two cars start from rest. Car X accelerates uniformly at 2.0 m/s^2 for 10 s. Car Y accelerates uniformly at 4.0 m/s^2 for 5.0 s. Ignore resistive forces. Which statement must be true?
Archimedes’ principle (Mechanics, Module 3)
A small boat floating on a still pond carries a dense rock. The rock is lifted out and dropped over the side where it sinks to the bottom. Neglect splashes and assume the pond is large. Which statement must be true...
High level GCSE electricity
A camping setup uses a 12 V battery and two identical resistive heating pads each rated "6.0 W at 12 V". When correctly wired in parallel, both run from 12 V. A student mistakenly wires the two pads in series across...
Quantum I: photon model; E = hf; intensity vs photon rate; threshold frequency (conceptual)
Two monochromatic LEDs (red at 4.0×10^14 Hz and green at 6.0×10^14 Hz) are adjusted so that a calibrated light meter reads the same intensity at a photodiode for each LED. The photodiode absorbs all incident photons in...
Moments and equilibrium (M3.2)
A mechanic tries to loosen a rusted nut with a spanner. She pushes down with the same force at the very end of the handle. She swaps to a spanner with twice the handle length, applying the force in the same direction...
Forces & Motion (M3) — drag and terminal velocity
Which statement must be true when a skydiver with the parachute fully open has reached terminal velocity during descent?
Dynamics: terminal velocity; drag (qualitative)
Which statement must be true when a falling raindrop has reached terminal velocity in still air?
SHM: energy interchange (M5.3)
A frictionless mass–spring system is released from rest at its right-hand extreme (+A). When the kinetic energy first equals the spring’s elastic energy, which combination of displacement and speed is correct?
Gravitational fields: gravitational potential and energy (M5.1.3)
In a tethered test near a small spherical moon (no atmosphere), a 1.0 kg package is moved very slowly by a winch from a distance R from the moon’s centre to 2R, and later from 2R to a point so far away the moon’s pull...
Momentum & impulse (M3)
In a lab, a 0.50 kg trolley glides on a near-frictionless track at 0.80 m/s to the right and collides with an identical 0.50 kg trolley at rest; they stick together. Immediately after the collision, what is the speed...
High level GCSE electricity — series/parallel circuits and power
Two identical 12 V, 6 W bicycle lamps are designed to run from a 12 V battery when wired in parallel. By mistake, the lamps are wired in series across the same ideal 12 V battery. Treat each lamp as an ohmic resistor...
Thermal Physics & Gases (M5)
A sealed rigid steel can of air is warmed in sunlight from 20 °C to 60 °C. Assuming the gas behaves ideally and the can’s volume does not change, what happens to the pressure inside? Choose the closest option.
Practical methods of measuring material properties (Module 3.4)
In a lab determination of Young modulus using a metal wire, a student wants to increase the measured extension to reduce percentage uncertainty. They switch to a wire of the same material that is twice the original...
Circular Motion & SHM (M5)
On a low-friction air track, a trolley attached to a horizontal spring oscillates with small amplitude. The student then repeats the trial but pulls the trolley twice as far from equilibrium before releasing it. The...
DC Circuits (M4)
A 12 V bench power supply powers a single resistor R; the supply reads current I and the resistor dissipates power P. The setup is changed so that two identical resistors, each of resistance R, are connected in...
Kinematics (displacement–time)
In a school lab, a toy robot moves in a straight line along a track. A motion sensor records its displacement from the start point against time. Over one 4 s interval, the displacement–time graph is a straight line...