Physics – IGCSE: Thermal Physics

Name Grade
Day, Date Thursday, 9 May 2019
Duration 1 hour

Grade A+ A B C D E
Boundaries (%) 90-100 80-89.9 70-79.9 60-69.9 50-59.9 <50

Maximum marks: 55

SECTION A

Each question is worth for 2 marks

1) Which factors increase the rate of evaporation of a liquid?

2) Four mercury-in-glass thermometers are made with different dimensions.

Which will have the greatest sensitivity?

A. 10 cm long and bore 0.75 mm wide
B. 15 cm long and bore 0.50 mm wide
C. 25 cm long and bore 0.10 mm wide
D. 30 cm long and bore 0.25 mm wide

3) In an experiment to find the specific heat capacity of a metal, it is found that 5200 J is
needed to raise the temperature of a 2 kg block by 200C.
What value for the specific heat capacity is given by these results?
A. 130 J/(kg0C)
B. 520 J/(kg0C)
C. 52 000 J/(kg0C)
D. 104 000 J/(kg0C)

4) A person cannot unscrew the lid of a pot of jam. He finds that the lid can be unscrewed after
it has been held under hot, running water for a few seconds.

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Name: _____________________

Why is this?
A. The air pressure in the jar falls
B. The glass expands
C. The jam melts
D. The lid expands

5) The diagram shows a thick copper plate that is very hot. One side is black, the other is shiny.
A student places her hands the same distance from each side as shown.

Her left hand feels warmer than her right hand.

Which statement is the correct conclusion from the experiment?
A. The black side is hotter than the shiny one
B. The black side radiates more heat
C. The shiny side radiates more heat
D. The shiny side cooling down faster than the black side

6) The diagram shows a room seen from above. It is cold outside the room. The room is heated
by a small fire in the fireplace.

Where is most heat lost by convection?

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A. Carpet
B. Chimney
C. Glass window
D. Solid wall

7) An experiment is carried out as shown in the diagram.

Why does the ice take a long time to melt, even though the water at the top of the tube is
boiling?
A. Convection never occurs in water
B. Ice is a poor conductor of heat
C. The gauze prevents the energy reaching the ice
D. Water is a poor conductor of heat

8) What is described as ‘the escape of more energetic molecules from the surface of a liquid’?
A. Condensation
B. Evaporation
C. Melting
D. Radiation

9) The diagrams represent four thermometers.

Which thermometer has the greatest sensitivity and which thermometer has the greatest
range?

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10) The specific heat capacity of lead is 130 J/(kg0C). Lead of mass 0.50 kg is heated from 100C to
350C.
Which calculation gives the amount of thermal energy, in J, absorbed by the lead?
A. 0.50 × 130 × 25
B. 0.50 × 130 × 35
0.5×130
C. 25
0.50×130
D. 35

SECTION B

Answer all questions in the space provided

1) Figure 3.1 shows a cylindrical copper kettle that contains cold water.

The kettle is used to heat water and there is an electric heater at the base
a. State and explain the advantage of heating the water from below

[2]
b. As the water is heated, it expands.
i) Explain, in terms of molecules, why water expands when it is heated

[2]

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ii) Copper also expands when heated.

State what happens to level X of the water in the kettle. Explain your answer in
terms of the expansion of the copper and the water.

[1]
Maximum scores: 5

2) A house has several solar panels on the roof.

These panels use energy from the Sun both to generate electricity and to raise the
temperature of water that passes through tubes inside the panels.
a. The panels on the roof of the house have a black surface.
i) State how energy from the Sun travels through space before it reaches the
Earth.

[1]
ii) Explain the advantage of using panels that have a black surface

[2]
b. On one occasion, the panels are supplying an electric current of 15A at a voltage of 24 V.
i) Calculate the electrical energy generated by the panels in one hour.

Electrical energy = ……………………… [3]

ii) In the same time, 51 kg of cold water is pumped through the panels. The
temperature of the water increases from 160C to 450C.
If the specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J/(kg0C), calculate the increase in
thermal energy of the water.

Thermal energy increase = …………………………………….. [3]

Maximum scores: 3

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Name: _____________________

3) A rock from space is travelling at high speed towards the Earth.

a. Complete the equation for the kinetic energy of an object travelling with a speed 𝑣 and
state what any other terms in the equation represent.

Kinetic energy =

[1]
b. The mass of the rock is 0.60 kg. When it hits the Earth, its average temperature
increases by 250C.
i) The specific capacity of the rock is 560 J/(kg0C).
Calculate the increase in the internal energy of the rock

Increase in internal energy = ………………….. [2]

ii) Use the answer from (b)(i) to determine the minimum possible speed of the
rock when it hits the Earth.

Minimum speed = …………………………………. [2]

iii) Suggest one reason why the sped determined in (b)(ii) is less than the actual
speed of the rock when it hits the Earth.

[1]
Maximum scores: 6

4) A nurse uses a mercury-in-glass, clinical thermometer to measure the temperature of a

patient.
Fig. 5.1 shows the structure of a clinical thermometer

a. The clinical thermometer has a small range and a high sensitivity

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Name: _____________________

i) State what is meant by

1. Range,

[1]
2. Sensitivity.

[1]
ii) State and explain one feature of this clinical thermometer that produces a high
sensitivity

[2]
b. State the purpose of the constriction in the clinical thermometer

[1]
c. Explain, in terms of the mercury molecules, how an increase in temperature produces an
increased reading on the thermometer.

[3]
Maximum Scores: 8

5) Two physics teachers are getting hot drinks from a drinks machine. One teacher suggests
that the machine must contain a reservoir of hot water. The other teacher says that there
isn’t room to store water inside the machine. He suggests that the water must come from
the mains water supply and be heated by a heater in the machine, as it is needed.

The teachers take the following measurements to decide who is correct.

Mass of water in cup = 0.20 kg
Room temperature = 220C
Temperature of water in cup = 750C
Time to fill cup = 6.0 s
Specific capacity of water = 4200 J/(kg0C)

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Name: _____________________

a. Calculate the energy required to heat the water for one cup

Energy = ……………………………… [3]

b. The drink machine is marked “2500 W”. Calculate the maximum thermal energy which
the heater could supply in the time it takes to fill the cup

Energy = ……………………………………… [2]

c. Explain which suggestion is most likely to be correct

[1]
d. Heat losses were not considered. What would be the effect on the energy required to
heat the water for one cup if heat losses were considered?

[1]
Maximum marks: 7

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