Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Weight and Terminal Velocity — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on Weight and Terminal Velocity, 29 marks, about 29 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 Weight and Terminal Velocity — 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
- Describe (2–4 marks)
- developed, linked statements of what happens — including a named direction where one exists
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught physics to an unfamiliar arrangement
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer
- 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 1.18 · 1.21. 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 skydiver of mass 80 kg jumps from a plane and falls without opening her parachute for the first part of the descent. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
Figure 1 — velocity against time for the skydiver before the parachute opens. Plotted as a line; the graph is drawn in Incandio and the readings are below. Time / s Velocity / m/s 0 0 2 19 4 34 6 44 8 50 10 53 12 54 14 54 (a)
(2)Calculate
Calculate the weight of the skydiver.
A skydiver of mass 80 kg jumps from a plane and falls without opening her parachute for the first part of the descent. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
Figure 1 — velocity against time for the skydiver before the parachute opens. Plotted as a line; the graph is drawn in Incandio and the readings are below. Time / s Velocity / m/s 0 0 2 19 4 34 6 44 8 50 10 53 12 54 14 54 weight of the skydiver = ............................ N
(b)
(1)Give
Give the terminal velocity reached by the skydiver, using Figure 1.
A skydiver of mass 80 kg jumps from a plane and falls without opening her parachute for the first part of the descent. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
Figure 1 — velocity against time for the skydiver before the parachute opens. Plotted as a line; the graph is drawn in Incandio and the readings are below. Time / s Velocity / m/s 0 0 2 19 4 34 6 44 8 50 10 53 12 54 14 54 ............................ m/s
(c)
(3)Determine
Determine the air resistance acting on the skydiver at 14 s, and give a reason for your answer.
A skydiver of mass 80 kg jumps from a plane and falls without opening her parachute for the first part of the descent. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
Figure 1 — velocity against time for the skydiver before the parachute opens. Plotted as a line; the graph is drawn in Incandio and the readings are below. Time / s Velocity / m/s 0 0 2 19 4 34 6 44 8 50 10 53 12 54 14 54 ............................ N
(d)
(3)Suggest
A second skydiver of mass 100 kg jumps in the same way. Suggest how her graph would differ from Figure 1.
A skydiver of mass 80 kg jumps from a plane and falls without opening her parachute for the first part of the descent. The gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
Figure 1 — velocity against time for the skydiver before the parachute opens. Plotted as a line; the graph is drawn in Incandio and the readings are below. Time / s Velocity / m/s 0 0 2 19 4 34 6 44 8 50 10 53 12 54 14 54 (Total for Question 1 = 9 marks)
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(1)Which
Which is the correct unit for weight?
Unit A kg B N C N/kg D m/s² (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State what is meant by
State what is meant by the weight of an object.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(3)Calculate
Calculate the weight of a 6.5 kg bowling ball on Earth, where g = 10 N/kg.
weight of a 6 = ............................ N
(Total for Question 4 = 3 marks)
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(3)Calculate
An astronaut's equipment has a weight of 264 N on the Moon, where g = 1.6 N/kg. Calculate its mass.
mass = ............................ kg
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(2)Explain
Explain why an object taken to the Moon has the same mass but a smaller weight.
(Total for Question 6 = 2 marks)
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(3)Describe
Describe how the forces on a falling object change from the moment it is released until it reaches terminal velocity.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest why a skydiver's terminal velocity falls sharply the moment her parachute opens.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain how a skydiver reaches a terminal velocity, and why opening a parachute gives a new, lower terminal velocity.
(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 Weight and Terminal Velocity to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Robert Boyle over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Weight and Terminal Velocity — What weight actually is, why it is not the same as mass, and what happens to a falling object once the air starts pushing back.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice