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AS Level Physics topical MCQs with answers

Practise AS Level Physics (9702) with 758 exam-style MCQs by chapter, each with the answer and a short explanation. Every test is marked the moment you finish and shows your score chapter by chapter, so you know what to revise next. It is free and needs no sign-up.

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AS Level Physics topical MCQs with answers

Practise AS Level Physics (9702) with 758 exam-style MCQs by chapter, each with the answer and a short explanation. Every test is marked the moment you finish and shows your score chapter by chapter, so you know what to revise next. It is free and needs no sign-up.

758 questions · 11 chapters

What each chapter covers 11 chapters

The questions follow the syllabus chapter by chapter. You can test the whole subject or one chapter at a time.

  1. Physical quantities and units 86 questionsPhysical quantities, SI units, Errors and uncertainties, Scalars and vectors
  2. Kinematics 30 questionsEquations of motion
  3. Dynamics 69 questionsMomentum and Newton’s laws of motion, Non-uniform motion, Linear momentum and its conservation
  4. Forces, density and pressure 69 questionsTurning effects of forces, Equilibrium of forces, Density and pressure
  5. Work, energy and power 50 questionsEnergy conservation, Gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy
  6. Deformation of solids 50 questionsStress and strain, Elastic and plastic behaviour
  7. Waves 109 questionsProgressive waves, Transverse and longitudinal waves, Doppler effect for sound waves, Electromagnetic spectrum, Polarisation
  8. Superposition 90 questionsStationary waves, Diffraction, Interference, The diffraction grating
  9. Electricity 74 questionsElectric current, Potential difference and power, Resistance and resistivity
  10. D.C. circuits 78 questionsPractical circuits, Kirchhoff’s laws, Potential dividers
  11. Particle physics 53 questionsAtoms, nuclei and radiation, Fundamental particles
Sample AS Level Physics MCQs with answers 12 questions

12 questions from the test, one or two from each chapter. Try each one, then open the answer.

1. Which quantity is an SI base quantity?

  1. A
    force
  2. B
    energy
  3. C
    electric current
  4. D
    charge
Show answer

Answer: C. The base quantities are mass, length, time, current, temperature, amount of substance and luminous intensity. Force, energy and charge are derived.

2. A car travels at constant velocity along a straight road and then brakes with constant deceleration until it stops, and stays at rest. Which describes its displacement–time graph?

  1. A
    a straight line of positive gradient, then a straight line of negative gradient down to the time axis
  2. B
    a straight line of positive gradient, then a horizontal line
  3. C
    a curve of increasing gradient, then a horizontal line
  4. D
    a straight line of positive gradient, then a curve whose gradient decreases to zero, then a horizontal line
Show answer

Answer: D. Constant velocity gives a constant gradient. While braking the velocity (gradient) falls steadily to zero, so the line curves over; at rest the displacement stays constant. Displacement does not fall back to zero, because the car never reverses.

3. A block slides across a rough horizontal floor. Which statement about the frictional force on the block is correct?

  1. A
    it acts parallel to the floor, opposing the motion of the block relative to the floor
  2. B
    it acts in the direction of motion
  3. C
    it acts vertically upwards, balancing the weight
  4. D
    it is zero once the block is moving
Show answer

Answer: A. Friction acts along the surfaces in contact and opposes their relative motion. The vertical force balancing the weight is the normal contact force.

4. A force acts on a lever at an angle to it. Which change on its own doubles the moment of the force about the pivot?

  1. A
    doubling the force and halving its distance from the pivot
  2. B
    doubling the angle between the force and the lever from 30° to 60°
  3. C
    moving the force so that its line of action passes through the pivot
  4. D
    doubling the perpendicular distance from the pivot to the line of action
Show answer

Answer: D. Moment = F × perpendicular distance, so doubling that distance doubles the moment. Doubling 30° to 60° multiplies sin θ by only 1.73, and a line of action through the pivot gives zero moment.

5. A ball of mass 0.20 kg is thrown vertically upwards at 15 m s−1 and rises 9.0 m before stopping. What is the average force of air resistance on the ball as it rises? (g = 9.81 m s−2)

  1. A
    0.54 N
  2. B
    2.0 N
  3. C
    2.5 N
  4. D
    4.8 N
Show answer

Answer: A. KE lost = ½ × 0.20 × 152 = 22.5 J; GPE gained = 0.20 × 9.81 × 9.0 = 17.7 J. Work against drag = 4.8 J over 9.0 m, so F = 4.8 ÷ 9.0 = 0.54 N. 4.8 is the energy, not the force.

6. A toy launcher uses a spring of spring constant 800 N m−1 compressed by 5.0 cm. It fires a 20 g ball vertically upwards. Ignoring air resistance and the energy kept by the spring, how high does the ball rise? (g = 9.81 m s−2)

  1. A
    5.1 × 10−3 m
  2. B
    5.1 m
  3. C
    10 m
  4. D
    50 m
Show answer

Answer: B. EP = ½kx2 = ½ × 800 × 0.0502 = 1.0 J = mgh, so h = 1.0 ÷ (0.020 × 9.81) = 5.1 m. Leaving out the ½ gives 10 m; leaving out g gives 50 m.

7. A source of frequency 400 Hz moves directly towards a stationary observer at 20 m s−1. The speed of sound is 340 m s−1. What is the wavelength of the sound reaching the observer?

  1. A
    0.80 m
  2. B
    0.85 m
  3. C
    0.90 m
  4. D
    1.2 m
Show answer

Answer: A. Ahead of the source each wave is squeezed into (v − vs)/fs = 320 ÷ 400 = 0.80 m. 0.85 m is the wavelength from a stationary source; 0.90 m is behind the moving source.

8. Two coherent waves with amplitudes 3A and A interfere. What is the ratio of the intensity at a maximum to the intensity at a minimum?

  1. A
    2
  2. B
    4
  3. C
    9
  4. D
    16
Show answer

Answer: B. Maximum amplitude = 4A and minimum amplitude = 2A. Intensity ∝ amplitude2, so the ratio is (4/2)2 = 4. The amplitude ratio alone is 2.

9. The p.d. across a component is 12 V and a charge of 5.0 C passes through it. How much energy is transferred?

  1. A
    2.4 J
  2. B
    17 J
  3. C
    60 J
  4. D
    0.42 J
Show answer

Answer: C. W = QV = 5.0 × 12 = 60 J. The volt is a joule per coulomb.

10. A 12 V supply of negligible internal resistance drives current through two resistors in series, 20 Ω and 40 Ω. What is the current?

  1. A
    0.2 A
  2. B
    0.3 A
  3. C
    0.6 A
  4. D
    1.2 A
Show answer

Answer: A. Total R = 60 Ω; I = 12 ÷ 60 = 0.20 A.

11. What is the charge of an antiproton?

  1. A
    +1
  2. B
    0
  3. C
    −1
  4. D
    +2
Show answer

Answer: C. Antiparticles have the same mass and opposite charge: the antiproton (anti-up, anti-up, anti-down) has charge −1.

12. Which estimate is NOT reasonable?

  1. A
    the weight of a 1.0 kg bag of sugar is about 1 N
  2. B
    the speed of sound in air is about 330 m s−1
  3. C
    room temperature is about 293 K
  4. D
    the mass of 1 litre of water is about 1 kg
Show answer

Answer: A. Weight = mg = 1.0 × 9.81 ≈ 10 N, not 1 N; mass and weight are different quantities. The other three estimates are sensible.

Try 746 more questions

Ways to practise 5 ways

When you get a question wrong, a short note called "The idea behind this" explains the topic it belongs to, with the rules to remember and a worked example.

Topics explained 32 topics

Each topic has a short explanation, the rules to remember, a worked example and practice questions.

Physical quantitiesSI unitsErrors and uncertaintiesScalars and vectorsEquations of motionMomentum and Newton's laws of motionNon-uniform motionLinear momentum and its conservationTurning effects of forcesEquilibrium of forcesDensity and pressureEnergy conservationGravitational potential energy and kinetic energyStress and strainElastic and plastic behaviourProgressive wavesTransverse and longitudinal wavesDoppler effect for sound wavesElectromagnetic spectrumPolarisationStationary wavesDiffractionInterferenceThe diffraction gratingElectric currentPotential difference and powerResistance and resistivityPractical circuitsKirchhoff’s lawsPotential dividersAtoms, nuclei and radiationFundamental particles

All AS Level Physics rules on one page

AS Level Physics: frequently asked questions

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How many AS Level Physics questions are there?

758 MCQs with answers, covering 11 chapters of the syllabus. Each test draws new questions, so you can practise many times.

Are these AS Level Physics past paper questions?

No. The 758 MCQs are our own, written to the syllabus in the style of the exam.

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Instantly. You see your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the topics to work on next. Questions you got wrong are saved so you can retry them.

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