Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Momentum — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on momentum, 30 marks, about 30 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 Momentum — 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
8 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
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught physics to an unfamiliar arrangement
- Identify (1–2 marks)
- the correct item selected from what is shown
- Determine (1–4 marks)
- a value obtained by combining a reading or gradient with a relationship
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 1.2 · 1.25 · 1.26. 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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A car of mass 1200 kg is travelling at 15 m/s when it hits a wall and stops. A crash-test dummy of mass 60 kg is strapped into the driver's seat.
Table 1 — stopping time for the dummy in three cars Car Safety features fitted Time taken for the dummy to stop / s A none 0.020 B seatbelt only 0.10 C seatbelt, airbag and crumple zone 0.30 (a)
(2)Calculate
Calculate the momentum of the dummy just before the crash.
A car of mass 1200 kg is travelling at 15 m/s when it hits a wall and stops. A crash-test dummy of mass 60 kg is strapped into the driver's seat.
Table 1 — stopping time for the dummy in three cars Car Safety features fitted Time taken for the dummy to stop / s A none 0.020 B seatbelt only 0.10 C seatbelt, airbag and crumple zone 0.30 ............................ kg m/s
(b)
(2)Identify
Identify the car in Table 1 in which the dummy experiences the smallest force, and give a reason.
A car of mass 1200 kg is travelling at 15 m/s when it hits a wall and stops. A crash-test dummy of mass 60 kg is strapped into the driver's seat.
Table 1 — stopping time for the dummy in three cars Car Safety features fitted Time taken for the dummy to stop / s A none 0.020 B seatbelt only 0.10 C seatbelt, airbag and crumple zone 0.30 (c)
(3)Determine
Determine the average force on the dummy in car A, using Table 1.
A car of mass 1200 kg is travelling at 15 m/s when it hits a wall and stops. A crash-test dummy of mass 60 kg is strapped into the driver's seat.
Table 1 — stopping time for the dummy in three cars Car Safety features fitted Time taken for the dummy to stop / s A none 0.020 B seatbelt only 0.10 C seatbelt, airbag and crumple zone 0.30 average force on the dummy = ............................ N
(d)
(3)Suggest
Suggest why fitting a seatbelt alone, as in car B, reduces the force so much more than the airbag and crumple zone add on top of it.
A car of mass 1200 kg is travelling at 15 m/s when it hits a wall and stops. A crash-test dummy of mass 60 kg is strapped into the driver's seat.
Table 1 — stopping time for the dummy in three cars Car Safety features fitted Time taken for the dummy to stop / s A none 0.020 B seatbelt only 0.10 C seatbelt, airbag and crumple zone 0.30 (Total for Question 1 = 10 marks)
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(1)Which
Which is the correct unit for momentum?
Unit A N B kg m/s C N m D J (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State what is meant by
State what is meant by the momentum of an object.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(3)Calculate
Calculate the momentum of a 1400 kg van travelling at 18 m/s.
............................ kg m/s
(Total for Question 4 = 3 marks)
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(3)Calculate
A trolley has a momentum of 4.5 kg m/s and a mass of 1.8 kg. Calculate its velocity.
velocity = ............................ m/s
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain how a car's crumple zone reduces the force on the driver in a crash.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(2)Give
Give two other safety features that work in the same way as a crumple zone.
(Total for Question 7 = 2 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest why a gymnast landing on a thick foam mat is less likely to be injured than one landing on a wooden floor.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Calculate
A 0.058 kg tennis ball travelling at 25 m/s is returned along the same line at 30 m/s. The racket is in contact with it for 0.0060 s. Calculate the average force the racket exerts.
average force = ............................ 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 momentum to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against René Descartes over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Momentum — Why a slow lorry is harder to stop than a fast bicycle — and why every safety device ever designed does the same one thing.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice