Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Moments and Centre of Gravity — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on Moments and Centre of Gravity, 27 marks, about 27 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 Moments and Centre of Gravity — 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
7 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.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- State what is meant by (1–2 marks)
- the definition
- 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
- Complete (1–4 marks)
- the missing entries in a table, circuit or diagram
- Describe (2–4 marks)
- developed, linked statements of what happens — including a named direction where one exists
Assessed on Paper 1 (4PH1/1P) and Paper 2 (4PH1/2P), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics (4PH1) — statements 1.30 · 1.31 · 1.32 · 1.33. 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 12 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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Table 1 — the upward forces on a light beam resting on two supports, as a heavy box is moved along it Distance of box from support P / m Force at support P / N Force at support Q / N 0 800 0 1.0 600 200 2.0 400 400 3.0 200 600 4.0 0 to be found (a)
(1)Complete
Complete Table 1 by giving the force at support Q when the box is 4.0 m from support P.
Table 1 — the upward forces on a light beam resting on two supports, as a heavy box is moved along it Distance of box from support P / m Force at support P / N Force at support Q / N 0 800 0 1.0 600 200 2.0 400 400 3.0 200 600 4.0 0 to be found ............................ N
(b)
(2)Describe
Describe the pattern in the two force columns of Table 1.
Table 1 — the upward forces on a light beam resting on two supports, as a heavy box is moved along it Distance of box from support P / m Force at support P / N Force at support Q / N 0 800 0 1.0 600 200 2.0 400 400 3.0 200 600 4.0 0 to be found (c)
(3)Explain
Explain why the two forces in Table 1 always add to the same total.
Table 1 — the upward forces on a light beam resting on two supports, as a heavy box is moved along it Distance of box from support P / m Force at support P / N Force at support Q / N 0 800 0 1.0 600 200 2.0 400 400 3.0 200 600 4.0 0 to be found (d)
(3)Suggest
Suggest how the readings in Table 1 would differ if the box were replaced by one of half the weight.
Table 1 — the upward forces on a light beam resting on two supports, as a heavy box is moved along it Distance of box from support P / m Force at support P / N Force at support Q / N 0 800 0 1.0 600 200 2.0 400 400 3.0 200 600 4.0 0 to be found (Total for Question 1 = 9 marks)
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(1)Which
Which is the correct unit for the moment of a force?
Unit A N B N m C J D kg m/s (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State what is meant by
State what is meant by the moment of a force.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(1)State what is meant by
State what is meant by the centre of gravity of an object.
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(3)Calculate
A force of 45 N is applied at right angles to a spanner, 0.24 m from the nut. Calculate the moment about the nut.
moment about the nut = ............................ N m
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Calculate
Using the see-saw described in the stimulus, calculate the distance from the pivot at which a 450 N child must sit to balance it.
A uniform plank is balanced on a pivot at its centre. A child of weight 300 N sits 1.2 m from the pivot on the left-hand side. A second child sits on the right-hand side, and the plank balances.
............................ m
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(2)Explain
Explain why a long spanner loosens a tight nut more easily than a short one.
(Total for Question 7 = 2 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest why a bus is designed with as much of its mass as possible low down in the chassis.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Calculate
A uniform plank 3.0 m long is balanced on a pivot 1.2 m from its left-hand end. A 40 N weight hangs from the left-hand end. Calculate the weight that must hang from the right-hand end to balance it, ignoring the weight of the plank.
weight = ............................ N
(Total for Question 9 = 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 — 12 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Moments and Centre of Gravity to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Archimedes over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Moments and Centre of Gravity — Why a spanner works better when it is longer, where an object's weight can be said to act, and how two supports share a load.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice