Name: ________________________

Surname: ______________________
Teacher: _______________________

SUBJECT: Physics
Grade 12 ____
Term IІI
Summative Assessment
40 marks

Student Instructions:

1. You have _80___minutes to answer this assessment under examination conditions (no talking,
no cheating or asking for help from the teacher or other students).

2. If you need more space for any answer, use the pages provided at the back of this booklet and
clearly number the question.

3. For all numerical answers, full working of solutions should be shown and the answer should be
rounded to the correct number of significant figures and given with an SI unit.

4. It is not permitted to use electronic devices (mobile phones, iPad, tablets etc.) during
examination. For calculation it is permitted to use ONLY calculators.

For all ‘describe’ or ‘explain’ questions, the answer should be in complete sentences with all logic fully
explained. For compare and contrast both items in question should be fully explained)

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 A: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (10 marks)

Directions: Read each item carefully and choose the letter that corresponds to your correct answer.
Write the letter in the space provided below each number.

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Answer

1 In a photoelectric emission experiment on a certain metal surface, two quantities, when

plotted as a graph of y against x, give a straight line passing through the origin.

Which of the following correctly identifies x and y with the photoelectric quantities?

x y

A photocurrent threshold frequency

B frequency of incident light max. kinetic energy of photoelectrons

C light intensity photocurrent

D light intensity max. kinetic energy of photoelectrons

2 Initially, a source comprises No nuclei of a radioactive nuclide. What is the number of nuclei
decayed after a time interval of three half-lives?

A No / 16 B No/ 8 C 7 No / 8 D 15 No / 16

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3 The diagram shows the energy levels for an atom, drawn to scale. The electron transitions
give rise to the emission of a spectrum of lines λ1, λ2, λ3, λ4 and λ5.

What can be deduced from this diagram?

A 𝜆1 > λ2

B λ3 = λ4 + λ5

C λ4 is the shortest of the five wavelengths.

D The transition corresponding to wavelength λ3 represents the ionization of the atom.

4 The half-live of a certain radioactive isotope is 32 hours.

What fraction of a sample would remain after 16 hours?

A 0.25 B 0.29 C 0.71 D 0.75

5 The intensity of a beam of monochromatic light is halved. Which of the following represents
the corresponding change if any in the momentum of each photon of the radiation?

A halved

B one quarter of original

C the same

D doubled

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6 When an electromagnetic radiation falls on a particular metal surface, photoelectrons may be
emitted. The variation of the maximum kinetic energy E of these electrons with the frequency
f of the radiation is shown in the figure below.

When the experiment is repeated using another metal with a smaller work function, which
graph best represents the variation E with f of this metal (solid line)?

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7 The diagram shows part of the energy level picture of a particular element. The energy change
for Eo to E1 is the same as that for E1 to E2.

If the transition E2 to E1 corresponds to a red line in the element’s spectrum, then the
transition to Eo to E1 corresponds to

A absorption of red light

B emission of red light

C absorption of infra-red radiation

D emission of infra-red radiation

8 An electron is travelling at right angles to a uniform magnetic field of flux density 1.2 mT
with a speed of 8 × 106 m s-1, radius of circular path followed by electron is

A 3.8 cm B 3.7 cm C 3.6 cm D 3.5 cm

9 A radioactive source contains two materials. One has a half-life of 4 days and decays by the
emission of alpha particles whilst the other has a half-life of 3 days and emits beta particles.
The initial count rate is 160 Bq but when a sheet of paper is placed in between the source and
the detector, the reading drops to 96 Bq. What will be the count rate after 12 days, without
the paper present?

A 10 Bq B 14 Bq C 16 Bq D 20 Bq

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10 The graph shows how the binding energy per nucleon of a nucleon of a nucleus varies with
nucleon number, A.

Which of the following statements is not true?

A Energy is released in nuclear fission reactions from nuclei in region P.

B Nuclei in region Q are more stable than nuclei in region R.

C Nuclear fusion reactions bring nuclei closer to region Q.

D The binding energy per nucleon increases most significantly at lower numbers.

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 B: Structured Questions (30 marks)

1 Negatively-charged particles are moving through a vacuum in a parallel beam. The particles
have speed v.
The particles enter a region of uniform magnetic field of flux density 930 µT. Initially, the
particles are travelling at right-angles to the magnetic field. The path of a single particle is
shown in Fig. 1.1.

Fig. 1.1

The negatively-charged particles follow a curved path of radius 7.9 cm in the magnetic field.

A uniform electric field is then applied in the same region as the magnetic field. For an
electric field strength of 12 kVm-1, the particles are undeviated as they pass through the region
of the fields.

(a) On Fig. 1.1, mark with an arrow the direction of the electric field. [1]

(b) Calculate, for the negatively-charged particles,

(i) the speed v,

v = .......................................... m s-1[2]

(ii) the ratio charge.

mass

ratio = .............................C kg-1[2]

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2 (a) State the de Broglie relation, explaining any symbols you use.

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................[2]

(b) An electron of mass m has kinetic energy E. Show that de Broglie wavelength λ of this
electron is given by

[2]

(c) Calculate the potential difference through which an electron, initially at rest, must be
accelerated so that its de Broglie wavelength is equal to 0.40 nm (the diameter of an
atom).

potential difference = ................................V [2]

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3 (a) State what is meant by quantization of charge.

.............................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................[1]

(b) A student carries out an experiment to determine the elementary charge.

A charged oil drop is positioned between two horizontal metal plates, shown in Fig. 3.1.

Fig. 3.1

The plates are separated by a distance of 7.0 mm. The lower plate is earthed.
The potential of the upper plate is gradually increased until the drop is held stationary.
The potential for the drop to be stationary is 680 V.
The weight of the oil drop, allowing for the upthrust of the air, is 4.8 x 10-14 N.
Calculate the value for the charge on the oil drop.

charge = ................................C [2]

(c) The student repeats the experiment and determines the following values for the charge
on oil drops.

3.3 x 10-19 C 4.9 x 10-19 C 9.7 x 10-19 C 3.4 x 10-19 C

Use these values to suggest a value for the elementary charge. Explain your working.

elementary charge = ...............................................C [2]

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4 For a particular metal surface, it is observed that there is a minimum frequency of light below
which photoelectric emission does not occur. This observation provides evidence for a
particulate nature of electromagnetic radiation.

(a) State three further observations from photoelectric emission that provide evidence for a
particulate nature of electromagnetic radiation.

1.
..........................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

2.
..........................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

3.
..........................................................................................................................................

(b) .............................................................................................................................................
[3]

Some data for the variation with frequency f of the maximum kinetic energy EMAX of
electrons emitted from a metal surface are shown in Fig. 4.1.

Fig. 4.1

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(i) Explain why emitted electrons may have kinetic energy less than the maximum at
any particular frequency.

....................................................................................................................................

………………………………………………………………………………………

...............................................................................................................................[2]

(ii) Use Fig. 4.1 to determine

1. the threshold frequency,

threshold frequency = ......................................Hz [1]

2. the work function energy, in eV, of the metal surface.

work function energy = ...................................eV [2]

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5 (a) Explain what is meant by binding energy of a nucleus.

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................[2]

(b) Data for the masses of some particles are given in Fig. 5.1

Fig. 5.1

The energy equivalent of 1.0 u is 930 MeV.

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(i) Calculate the binding energy, in MeV, of a tritium ( H ) nucleus.
1

binding energy = .................................MeV [2]

210
(ii) The total mass of the separate nucleons that make up a polonium-210 ( Po )
84
nucleus is 211.70394 u.

Calculate the binding energy per nucleon of polonium-210.

binding energy per nucleon = ................................MeV [3]

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 For teachers ONLY

Section A – Multiple Choice

№ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Answer C C A C C C A A B A

Section B – Structured Questions

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