MINEDUC

SOUTHERN PROVINCE
RUHANGO DISTRICT
PHYSICS EXAM SECOND TERM FOR S3 2021—2022

Marking guide / 100 marks

SECTION A: Attempt all questions from this section. (55 marks)

1. For each of the statements below, indicate true if it is correct and false if it is
wrong.
a)According to the kinetic theory of matter, when a gas is heated, it cannot expand.
False (1 mark)
b) The freezing point of water is equal to the melting point of ice in the same
atmospheric conditions. True (1 mark)
c)Temperature and heat have the same units. False (1 mark)
d) Thermal equilibrium means the condition under which two or more
substances in physical contact with each other exchange no heat energy
and thus they are at the same temperature. True (1 mark)
2. Which instrument would you use to measure each of the following quantities? (4 marks)
(i) The mass of an answer booklet
(ii) The thickness of 20 Rwf coin
(iii) The length of a classroom
(iv) The small volume of liquid
(i) Balance(1mark) such as electronic balance, triple beam balance
(ii) Micrometer (1mark) or vernier caliper
(iii) Meter rule (1mark)
(iv) Graduated cylinder (1mark)
3. a) Select a derived physical quantity among the following: time, mass,
{acceleration}, and length. (1
mark)
b) A piece of rock with a volume of 15 cm3 has a mass of 45 g.
(i)Express its volume in m3. (1
mark)
(ii)What is its mass in kg? (1
mark)
(i) V = 15 X 10 -6 m3
(ii) m = 45 X 10 -3 kg = 0.045 kg
4. A car is uniformly accelerated from rest and after 5s acquires a speed of 20ms -1. It
maintains the speed for the next 10s. With the aid of graph, determine the total
distance it covers
(4 marks)
 v

20

0 5 15 t
The graph forms the trapezium in which, from 0 to 20 on velocity it is the height h
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= 20, from 0 to 15 on time it is big base B = 15 and from 5 to 15 on time it is small
base b = 10
Therefore, the area of trapezium is equal to the total distance covered by
the car.
(B+ b)× h (15+10)×20
Thus, area A= = =250 m
2 2
5. a) What will happen to an object at rest if a force is acted upon it? (1
mark)
 It will either: move, change shape, or remains at rest.

b) Why do you need to wear a seatbelt in a moving car? (2

marks)
 We wear a seatbelt in a moving car to avoid injuries due to inertia or when
a car is in motion, our body is also in motion. If a driver applies the brakes
due to inertia of body, our body is pushed forward, and the seatbelt stops
it.
c) Why does the moon orbit around the Earth? (1 mark)
 The change of the direction of the velocity of the moon when it is
orbiting around the Earth is due to the universal gravitational attraction,
centripetal force that the Earth exerts on the moon.

6. You are provided with three electric components namely: one ordinary diode,
one resistor, one dry cell and connecting wires. Use the symbols of these
elements to draw a complete electric circuit such that the ordinary diode is
forward biased. (3 marks)

 Complete circuit with the three elements

7. (a) Find the equivalent resistance between points a and b in the figure below. (3
marks)
(b) A potential difference of 34.0V is applied between points a and b. Calculate
the current in each resistor.
(2 marks)

(a) Let R1=4 Ω , R2=7 Ω , R3=10 Ω ,∧R4 =9 Ω

1 1 1 1 1
R2∧R 3 are ∈¿ ,Then = + = +
R 23 R2 R3 7 10
1 17 70
= =¿ R 23=
R 23 70 17
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 We then have R1 , R 23∧R4 which are∈series ,
70 68+70+ 153 291
then R eq=R 1+ R 23+ R 4=4+ +9= =  Req ≈ 17.12 Ω
17 17 17
V V 34
(b) V =IR , I = Then I = = =1.98 A ≈ 2 A
R Req 17.12
8. a) What type of renewable energy comes from trapping heat generated
inside the Earth? (1 mark)
Geothermal energy.
b) Why is the use of renewable energy advantageous to people? (2 marks)
 Cheaper
 Produce less pollution.
 It can last forever; reduction of greenhouse gas emission provides clean air
and water
9. a) What do you understand by the term ‘Pascal’s principle’? (2 marks)
 Pascal’s principle states that when a change in pressure is applied to an enclosed
fluid at rest, it is transmitted equally to all portions of the fluid and to the walls of
its container.

b) Give any two applications of Pascal’s principle in everyday life? (2

marks)
 Hydraulic jack, Hydraulic press, Hydraulic brakes, Water towers,
Hydraulic lift pump…
10. The volume of 600 ml of air assumed to be an ideal gas is at 27ºC.
a) Convert 27ºC and 67ºC into Kelvin? (2
marks)
b) What is its volume at
67ºC? (Assume that the pressure of the air is kept constant). (2 marks

(a) 27ºC= (27 + 273) K = 300 K

67ºC= (67 + 273) K = 340 K
(b) The new volume is given by

11. A simple machine requires 1000 J of work (work input) to raise a load of 500
N through a vertical distance of 1.5 m. Find:
a)The work output (work done by the force of 500 N). (2 marks)
b) The efficiency of the
machine in %. (2 marks)

12. Suppose a high resistance voltmeter reads 1.5 V when connected across a
dry cell on open circuit. It reads 1.2 V when the same battery is supplying a
current of 0.30 A through the circuit when connected to a resistor of resistance
R. Determine:
a)The electromotive force of the battery. (2 marks)
b)Resistance ( R). (3 marks)

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13. A 1000 kg car starts from rest and accelerates uniformly to a speed of 72
km/h for 50 seconds.
a)Express the car’s speed in m/s? (1 mark)
b)Show that its acceleration is 0.4 m/s2. (2 marks)
c) Prove that the linear momentum of the car moving with a speed of 72
km/h is 20 000 kgm/s. (2 marks

14. A charge Q = 1 x 10-11 acts as a positive point charge to create an electric

field at 0.05m away.
a) Draw the electric field line created by Q at 0.05 m away. (1 mark)
b) Determine the electric field strength created by Q at 0.05 m. (Coulomb’s
law constant k = 9 x 109 Nm2/C2) (2 marks)

SECTION B: Attempt only three questions (30 marks)

15. (a) Define the term “Friction”
(2 marks)
 Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid
layers, and material elements sliding against each other.

(b)State:
(i) Three advantages of frictional force (3
marks)
 It helps to move
 It helps to make fire
 Helps slow down moving objects as it acts in opposite direction,
especially on slippery road.
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  Helps in fixing nail on wood.
 Helps in writing using a pencil.

(ii) Two disadvantages of frictional force (2

marks)
 Causes tear and wear in our shoes.
 Causes the unnecessary noises
 Reduce motion of moving parts of a machine.
 Leads to bicycles rubber breaks to wear out.
 You can also mark other right answer provided by learners.

(c) A force of 25 N just limits the motion of a block of mass 50 kg which is being
dragged on the horizontal ground. Calculate the coefficient of static friction force.
(3 marks)

16. a) Complete the following statements.

(i)The linear motion can be of two types: uniform motion with constant VELOCITY and
uniform motion with non-zero ACCELERATION. (2marks)

(ii) If a feather and an iron ball are released from the same height in a room without
air resistance, both reach the floor at the same TIME due to GRAVITY. (2marks)

(iii) DISPLACEMENT is a vector quantity whose length is the shortest distance from
the initial position to the final position of a moving body (1mark)

b) The distance travelled by a moving body is given by X=4t +12 in m. Determine

(i) the speed of this body? (1mark)
(ii) initial position of the body (1mark)

i) The speed, ¿ general x=v 0 t+ x 0

v 0=4 m/s
ii) initial position is at t=0 , x 0=4 ( 0 ) +12=12 m

c)A car moving with a velocity of 10 m/s accelerates uniformly at the rate of 3 m/s 2 to
reach 34 m/s. Find
(i) the time taken (2 marks)
(ii)the distance travelled in this time (1 mark)

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 (i) the time taken

(ii) The travelled distance

Or ,
17. a) Define: Velocity ratio of a machine. (2 mark)
 Velocity ratio (V.R) is defined as the ratio of distance the effort moves to
that moved by the load.
Distance moved by the effort d E
Velocity ratio= = .
Distance moved by the load d L
 The velocity ratio of a pulley system is equal to the number of strings
sections supporting the load.

b) States any three type of simple machine

(3 marks)
 Lever
 Inclined plane
 Pulley
 Wheel and axle
 Screw and Bolt

c) The diagram below shows a pulley system carrying a 40kg object.

i) State the velocity ratio of the pulley system. (1 mark)

 V.R. = 2
ii) If the efficiency of this pulley system is 80%, find the effort applied to it to lift the
load. (4
marks)
MA
 Efficiency= ×100 % , Efficiency=80 %
VR
MA × 100
 80 %= % ,VR=2
VR
MA ×100 160
 80=  160=MA ×100  MA= =1.6
2 100
L
 MA= , L=m× g=40 kg ×10 N /kg=400 N
E
L 400
 E= = =250 N
MA 1.6
18. a) What do you understand by the term pressure as a term used in Physics (1 mark)
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 F
P=
 Pressure is the force per unit area. You can accept also A where F is
force and A surface area

b) Why are water tanks placed at the highest places? (2 marks)

 The reason is that as greater is the height h of tank, more will be the
pressure P of the water in the taps of the house for a good supply of water
by gravity
Note that this pressure p =ρgh

c) Calculate the pressure the water exerts at 8 m below the surface of the water in a
lake. Assume the density of water ρ=1000 kg/m 3 and g=9.81 m/s2
(3 marks)
Pressure p =ρgh
=1000 kg/m3×9.81 m/s2×8 m
= 78 480 Pa

d)You have a rock with a volume of 30 cm3 and a mass of 60 g

(i)What is its density? (2 marks)
(ii)Will the rock float or sink in the water? Explain. The density of water is 1g/cm 3 (2
marks)

(i)The density

(ii)Will sink, its density is greater than the density of water.

19. a) State the laws of reflection (4 marks)

 Incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal to the surface of the mirror
all lie in the same plane
 The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection

b) We wish to obtain an erect/upright image of an object using a concave mirror of

focal length 15 cm
(i)What should be the range of distance of the object from the mirror? (1 mark)
 Object position is between 0 cm(vertex) and 15 cm (focal point) from the
mirror, or the object position is less than 15 cm
(ii)What is the nature of the image? (1 mark)
 Virtual image

(iii)Is the image smaller or greater than the object? (1 mark)

 Image dimension is greater than the object dimensions or image is
magnified

c) Name the type of mirror used in the following situations

(i) Headlights of a car (1mark)
 Concave mirrors
(ii) Side/rear view mirrors of a vehicle (1mark)
 convex mirrors
(iii) Mirrors used in dressing rooms (1mark)
 Plane mirrors
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SECTION C: This question is compulsory. (15 marks)
20. A student carried an experiment to determine the electromotive force, E, of
a dry cell.
The results were as follows:
a) Complete the table above including only R and 1/I. Round off to one
𝟏 𝟏
decimal place for example 2.1 or 3.0

𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑰
Resistance, Current, , /𝑨−𝟏
R/Ω I/A
2 0.385 2.6
4 0.250 4.0
6 0.200 5.0
8 0.150 6.7
10 0.125 8.0
12 0.100 10.0

b) Plot a graph of 1/I (vertical axis) against R (on horizontal axis) and
draw the best fit straight line.

c) Determine the slope S

d) Determine the value of E given that 𝐸 and interpret your results.

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