Exam papers

Grade 12 Physics entrance exam, 2018 E.C. (2026), version 1

Real questions from the Grade 12 university entrance exam in Physics, as students sat it in 2018 E.C. Every question comes with the correct answer and a worked explanation. The 2018 E.C. exam went out in several versions. This page holds version 1; the others are listed further down.

Start practicing free Question paper

Natural science stream
Who sits it
2018 E.C. (2026), version 1
Exam year
46 questions with answers
In this set

Try questions from this paper

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 1

Which of the following is not true about uniform motion?

A.It covers equal interval of distance at equal interval of time in a fixed direction.
B.Its speed remains constant throughout its motion along straight line.
C.Its acceleration stays uniform throughout its motion on its way at a given time.
D.Its graph is a straight line with constant positive slope.

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C Its acceleration stays uniform throughout its motion on its way at a given time.

Why

Uniform motion means the velocity never changes. If the velocity never changes then the acceleration is zero at every moment, so describing the motion as having an acceleration that stays uniform does not fit. Options A and B are two ways of saying the speed and the direction stay the same, and D is the straight line a constant speed gives on a distance time graph. Option D is the one that tempts, because a sloping line looks like something is speeding up, but on a distance time graph a constant slope is what constant speed looks like.

Question 2

Two students walk from school to home. Student A takes a short cut in straight line, but student B follows the road which curves around a hill. Which one is true?

A.Student A has greater distance but the same displacement
B.Student B has greater distance but the same displacement
C.Student A has greater displacement but the same distance.
D.Both distance and displacement are the same for both students.

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B Student B has greater distance but the same displacement

Why

Displacement is the straight line from start to finish. Both students begin at the school and end at the same home, so their displacements are the same. Distance is the length of the path actually walked, and the road curving around the hill is longer than the straight short cut, so student B covers more distance. Option A says the right thing with the names swapped: A is the one who took the short cut, so A cannot be the one with the greater distance.

Question 5

Which statement is wrong about average velocity and instantaneous velocity?

A.Average velocity depends on total displacement, instantaneous velocity does not.
B.Average velocity and instantaneous velocity are equal when an object moves in straight line with constant velocity.
C.The speed shown on a speedometer at a moment represents instantaneous velocity.
D.The average velocity expresses motion of an object at specific moment in time.

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D The average velocity expresses motion of an object at specific moment in time.

Why

Instantaneous velocity is the velocity at one moment. Average velocity is the total displacement divided by the total time for a whole trip. Statement D hands the description of instantaneous velocity to average velocity, so D is the wrong one. Option A can look suspicious, but it is true: the average needs the whole displacement, while the instantaneous value needs only what is happening at that instant.

Question 6

If the force of attraction between two point masses at a distance r is 250N, what will be the new force if the distance between them decreases by quarter for the same masses? (G = 6.67×10⁻¹¹ Nm²/kg²)

A.1600N
B.8000N
C.4000N
D.1200N

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C 4000N

Why

Newton's law of gravitation gives

F = \frac{Gm_1m_2}{r^2}

, so the force depends on

1/r^2

. When the separation drops to a quarter,

r

becomes

r/4

, so

r^2

becomes

r^2/16

and the force becomes 16 times larger:

F' = 16 \times 250 = 4000\ \text{N}

. The value of

G

is not needed, because the masses do not change and only the ratio matters. Option B, 8000 N, would need the force to grow 32 times, and no reading of the change in distance gives that factor.

Question 7

All are dimensionless except

A.Specific gravity
B.Young's modulus
C.Strain
D.Index of refraction

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B Young's modulus

Why

Young's modulus is stress divided by strain. Strain is one length divided by another, so it carries no unit, which leaves Young's modulus with the unit of stress,

\text{N/m}^2

. The other three are all ratios of two like quantities: specific gravity compares two densities, strain compares two lengths, and the index of refraction compares two speeds. Option C, strain, is the tempting pick, but it is the very quantity whose lack of a unit is what gives Young's modulus its unit.

Question 8

Which of the following is necessarily true?

A.If the velocity of an object is zero, then acceleration is also zero.
B.If acceleration of an object is zero then its velocity is also zero.
C.Deceleration means that acceleration is necessarily negative.
D.The instantaneous acceleration has the same value as the average acceleration if the motion is uniformly accelerated motion.

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D The instantaneous acceleration has the same value as the average acceleration if the motion is uniformly accelerated motion.

Why

In uniformly accelerated motion the acceleration holds the same value at every moment, so the value at any instant equals the value averaged over any interval. That makes D true. A fails at the top of a thrown ball's flight, where the velocity is zero while gravity still pulls. B fails for a car at steady speed, where the acceleration is zero but the velocity is not. Option C is the tempting one: deceleration means the speed is falling, and for a body moving in the negative direction a positive acceleration is what slows it, so a deceleration is not always a negative acceleration.

Download the whole paper as a PDF

All 46 questions in this set as a printed paper, and the answer key with 46 worked explanations as a second file. Print them or read them with no data.

Free, and it needs no account.

Question paper Answer key and explanations

Sit the full paper, timed and scored

A free Temari account gives you the whole Physics paper, and every other year, as timed mock exams with instant scoring. It works on any phone, even over a weak connection.

Start practicing free

Temari.et is also an Android app, free on Google Play.

About the Temari app

The other Physics papers of 2018 E.C.

2018 E.C. (2026)2018 E.C. (2026), version 2

Physics papers from other years

2017 E.C. (2025)2017 E.C. (2025), version 1 2017 E.C. (2025), version 2 2016 E.C. (2024)2016 E.C. (2024), Tigray 2016 E.C. (2024), round 1 2016 E.C. model exam 2015 E.C. (2023)2014 E.C. (2022)2013 E.C. (2021)2012 E.C. (2020)2011 E.C. (2019)2010 E.C. (2018)2009 E.C. (2017)2008 E.C. (2016)2007 E.C. (2015)2006 E.C. (2014)2005 E.C. (2013)

More papers like this one

All Grade 12 Physics papers All papers of 2018 E.C.Every subject and year

Revise Physics before you sit this paper

The Grade 12 Physics short notes hold 28 cards. Each one gives the rule, what its symbols stand for and the mistake that costs marks, chapter by chapter from the national textbook.

Open the Physics notes

Are these the real 2018 E.C. Physics entrance exam questions?

Yes. They come from the national university entrance exam in Physics that students sat in 2018 E.C. (2026). Our set holds 46 of its questions, each with its answer and an explanation that points back to the textbook.

How do I practice the full paper?

Create a free account with a phone number. The full paper runs as a timed mock exam with instant scoring, and the AI tutor upgrade at 199 ETB per month can walk you through anything you miss.

Can I download the Physics 2018 E.C. paper as a PDF?

Yes, and it is free. The question paper is one file and the answer key with its worked explanations is another, so you can attempt the paper first. Print them, or keep them on your phone for revision when there is no data.