Practise 21 real questions on General physics from 2021 to 2026. See the answer and explanation as soon as you answer.
General physics is one of the 14 main topics in our O Level Physics (Cambridge (CAIE) 5054) question bank, and about 3% of its real questions come from it. Tayyari Karo has 21 real questions on this topic from 2021 to 2026, from Paper 1, Paper 2; 19 are multiple choice and marked instantly, and the rest are structured questions with a model answer. By difficulty: 15 easy, 6 medium.
Work through the questions below, then open the explanation for each one. Redo the ones you missed a few days later.
These are real past-paper questions. Think of your answer first, then open the explanation.
A car travels along a road at x, where x is 15 m / s due north.
Which term describes x?
Answer: D. vector
15 m/s due north has both size and direction, so it is a velocity, which is a vector quantity.
Quantities can be described as scalar or vector.
Which row shows scalar quantities and vector quantities?
Answer: D. scalar: distance, mass, temperature — vector: displacement, force, weight
Distance, mass and temperature have magnitude only (scalars); displacement, force and weight also have direction (vectors).
A student determines the density of a solid metal cube.
Which pieces of equipment does the student use?
Answer: B. a balance and a ruler
Density needs mass and volume: the balance gives the mass and the ruler gives the side length, from which the volume of a cube is calculated.
Three forces of 3 N, 11 N and 2 N act on a block. Together they give a resultant force of 6 N to the right.
One additional force is now applied to the block so that the resultant force on it becomes 3 N to the left.
Which additional force produces this resultant force of 3 N to the left?
Answer: B. 9 N to the left
The resultant must change from 6 N right to 3 N left, a change of 9 N in the leftward direction, so the extra force is 9 N to the left.
Which quantity is a vector?
Answer: B. force
Weight/force has both magnitude and direction, so it is a vector; speed, mass and distance are scalars.
An underwater diver moves from the ocean (denser water) to a fresh water lake (less dense water). In which position does the diver experience the smallest pressure due to the water: point A (shallow, ocean), point B (deep, ocean), point C (shallow, lake), or point D (deep, lake)?
Answer: C. C (shallow, lake)
Pressure due to a liquid = ρgh, so pressure is smallest where both depth and density are smallest — the shallow point in the less dense lake water, point C.
| Session | Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
|---|---|---|
| May/June 2026 | 1 | – |
| May/June 2025 | 1 | – |
| Oct/Nov 2025 | 1 | – |
| Oct/Nov 2024 | 2 | – |
| May/June 2023 | 3 | – |
| Oct/Nov 2023 | 1 | 1 |
| May/June 2022 | 1 | – |
| Oct/Nov 2022 | 2 | – |
| May/June 2021 | 1 | – |
| Oct/Nov 2021 | 6 | 1 |
21 real O Level Physics (5054) questions on General physics from 2021 to 2026, from Paper 1, Paper 2. Each one shows the year, session and paper it came from.
Yes. Every question shows the correct answer and a short explanation the moment you answer.
You can start free with no signup. A small set of papers per subject is free, and Premium unlocks every paper, the full question bank and the paper PDFs.
