Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Gravitational Potential and Kinetic Energy — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Gravitational Potential and Kinetic Energy, 22 marks, about 22 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Gravitational Potential and Kinetic Energy — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
5 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Name (1 mark)
- the correct quantity, unit or component
- Calculate (1–5 marks)
- select the equation, substitute, evaluate — and state the unit Misread as: giving a bare number with no equation and no unit
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- the physics that causes it, set out as a line of reasoning Misread as: describing the change without giving the physical reason for it
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught physics to an unfamiliar arrangement
- State (1 mark)
- one precise fact or definition
Assessed on Paper 1 (4PH1/1P) and Paper 2 (4PH1/2P), against AO1, AO2.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics (4PH1) — statements 4.13 · 4.14 · 4.15. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 10 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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A ball of mass 0.42 kg is held 4.5 m above the ground and released. Air resistance can be ignored. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
(a)
(3)Calculate
Calculate the gravitational potential energy of the ball before it is released.
A ball of mass 0.42 kg is held 4.5 m above the ground and released. Air resistance can be ignored. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
............................ J
(b)
(1)State
State the kinetic energy of the ball at the moment it reaches the ground.
A ball of mass 0.42 kg is held 4.5 m above the ground and released. Air resistance can be ignored. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
............................ J
(c)
(3)Calculate
Calculate the speed of the ball as it reaches the ground.
A ball of mass 0.42 kg is held 4.5 m above the ground and released. Air resistance can be ignored. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
............................ m/s
(d)
(2)Explain
In reality the ball hits the ground more slowly than your answer to part (c). Explain why.
A ball of mass 0.42 kg is held 4.5 m above the ground and released. Air resistance can be ignored. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
(Total for Question 1 = 9 marks)
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(1)Name
Name the energy store that increases when an object is lifted.
(Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(3)Calculate
A cyclist and bicycle have a combined mass of 78 kg and are travelling at 6.0 m/s. Calculate their kinetic energy.
kinetic energy = ............................ J
(Total for Question 3 = 3 marks)
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(2)Explain
Explain why doubling the speed of a car increases its kinetic energy by a factor of four.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(2)Suggest
A pendulum swings back and forth, rising to almost the same height on each side. Suggest why it eventually stops.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(1)State
State what happens to an object's gravitational potential energy when it is lifted to twice the height.
(Total for Question 6 = 1 mark)
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(4)Calculate
A 0.15 kg ball is dropped from a height of 1.8 m. Assuming no energy is lost to the air, calculate its speed just before it lands. Take g as 10 N/kg.
speed = ............................ m/s
(Total for Question 7 = 4 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 10 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Gravitational Potential and Kinetic Energy to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Émilie du Châtelet over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Gravitational Potential and Kinetic Energy — Two equations, one conversion — and why the square in the second one changes everything.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice