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Grade 12 Physics entrance exam, 2009 E.C. (2017)

Real questions from the Grade 12 university entrance exam in Physics, as students sat it in 2009 E.C. Every question comes with the correct answer and a worked explanation.

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  • Natural science stream

    Who sits it

  • 2009 E.C. (2017)

    Exam year

  • 45 questions with answers

    In this set

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Answer each question yourself before opening the answer. The explanations point to the exact place in the textbook, so you know which page to reread when you miss one.

Question 12

Which of the following statements is correct about the first condition of equilibrium?

  1. A.The net force on an object must be zero.
  2. B.The sum of all torques must be zero.
  3. C.Clockwise moments should balance counter clockwise moments.
  4. D.The torque produced by a force should be perpendicular to the force.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A The net force on an object must be zero.

Why

The first condition of equilibrium states that for an object to be in translational equilibrium, the vector sum of all external forces acting on it must be zero (net force = 0). The condition regarding torques is the second condition of equilibrium.

Question 13

A 4m long uniform board of mass 10kg hinged on the ground at one end is hanging by a string at the other end. A block of mass 8kg is placed at 1m from the hinge on the ground as shown in the diagram below. What is the tension in the string? [Figure: A hand-drawn sketch, tall and narrow. At the bottom is hatched horizontal ground; a long straight board (drawn as a narrow rectangle) is hinged at its lower end on that ground and leans up and slightly to the left, making an angle marked 60060^0 with the ground on the right-hand side. From the top end of the board a string runs upward and slightly left to a hatched ceiling/support at the top of the figure. Leaning against the lower left part of the board is a small block labelled 8kg; a short dimension line at the bottom left marked 1m indicates its distance from the hinge.]

  1. A.10N
  2. B.50N
  3. C.70N
  4. D.110N
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C 70N

Why

Taking torques about the hinge, the counter-clockwise torque from the vertical tension balances the clockwise torques from gravity: T(4)cos(60°) = (10 kg × 10 m/s² × 2 m)cos(60°) + (8 kg × 10 m/s² × 1 m)cos(60°). This simplifies to 4T = 200 + 80 = 280, yielding T = 70 N.

Question 14

Which of the following refers to the definition of strain as a ratio?

  1. A.Extension to the original length.
  2. B.Force applied to area of the object normal to the force.
  3. C.Stress to Young modulus.
  4. D.Tensile to applied force.
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Answer: A Extension to the original length.

Why

Tensile or compressive strain is defined as the ratio of the change in length (extension) to the original length of the material. It is a dimensionless quantity.

Question 15

Which of the following is the application of Pascal�s law?

  1. A.Hydraulic brake in vehicles.
  2. B.Siphon to remove fluids.
  3. C.Working of submarines.
  4. D.Sucking of liquid into a syringe.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A Hydraulic brake in vehicles.

Why

Hydraulic brakes operate on Pascal's principle, which states that pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminished to every portion of the fluid and the walls of the containing vessel.

Question 17

If a precision of surveyor measured a distance of 500 meters /between two points in a village/ using a meter that has centimetre division on it, then what is the measurement result?

  1. A.500m
  2. B.500.0m
  3. C.500.00m
  4. D.500.000m
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C 500.00m

Why

A measuring device with centimetre divisions has an uncertainty at the hundredth of a metre level (0.01 m). Therefore, the recorded measurement should have two decimal places, i.e., 500.00 m.

Question 18

From the figures given below, which one of them shows precise but not accurate measurements? T represents the true value. [Figure: Four photographed hand-drawn distribution graphs, one per option. Every graph has the same axes: the vertical axis is labelled "Number of readings" and the horizontal axis is labelled "Reading", with a single letter T marked as a tick position on the horizontal axis. Graph A: T is marked near the left of the axis; a tall, narrow, sharply peaked curve rises well to the right of T, clearly separated from it (narrow spread, displaced from the true value). Graph B: T is marked on the axis and the tall, narrow, sharply peaked curve sits directly over T (narrow spread, centred on the true value). Graph C: a broad, low, wide hump whose maximum lies a little to the left of T, its tail spreading past T to the right (wide spread, roughly straddling the true value). Graph D: a broad, low, wide hump whose maximum lies well to the left of T, dying away just before T (wide spread, displaced from the true value).]

  1. A.Graph A: a tall narrow peak located well to the right of T.
  2. B.Graph B: a tall narrow peak centred on T.
  3. C.Graph C: a broad low hump whose maximum lies just to the left of T.
  4. D.Graph D: a broad low hump whose maximum lies well to the left of T.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A Graph A: a tall narrow peak located well to the right of T.

Why

High precision is represented by a narrow, sharply peaked distribution (small random error), while low accuracy is indicated by the peak being significantly displaced from the true value T (large systematic error). This corresponds to Graph A.

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Physics papers from other years

2018 E.C. (2026)2017 E.C. (2025)2016 E.C. (2024)2015 E.C. (2023)2014 E.C. (2022)2013 E.C. (2021)2012 E.C. (2020)2011 E.C. (2019)2010 E.C. (2018)2008 E.C. (2016)2007 E.C. (2015)2006 E.C. (2014)2005 E.C. (2013)

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Are these the real 2009 E.C. Physics entrance exam questions?

Yes. They come from the national university entrance exam in Physics that students sat in 2009 E.C. (2017). Our set holds 45 of its questions, each with its answer and an explanation that points back to the textbook.

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