UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN

POST UTME COACHING PROGRAMME

PHYSICS TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

INSTRUCTION: ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS TIME ALLOWED: 2HRS

1. Which pair of these parameters contains one derived quantity and one fundamental quantity?
A. Mass: time B. Force: momentum C. Distance: velocity D. Velocity: mass
2. Which of the following is a set of vectors?
A. Weight, distance, moment B. Electric potential, heat capacity and power
C. Density, mass and momentum D. Weight, Impulse and electric field intensity
3. Two forces 80 N and 100 N act an angle of 600 with each other. Determine the magnitude of
the resultant of the two forces.
A. 156.2 N B. 180 N C. 300 N D. 20 N
4. A ball of mass 100 g moving horizontally with a speed of 5 ms-1 hits a vertical wall and
rebounds with the same speed. The impulse experienced by the ball is
A. 1 kgms-1 B. 2 kgms-1 C. 3 kgms-1 D. 4 kgms-1
5. Determine the maximum range of a gun which can fire a shell with a speed of 500 m/s.
( Take g = 9.8 m/s2)
A. 50 km B. 25.51 km C. 85 km D. 100 km
6. If the length of a simple pendulum is cubed, its frequency is

A. increased by a factor of 3 B. decreased by a factor of √3

C. increased by a factor of √3 D. decreased by a factor of 3
7. The centripetal acceleration of an object moving at constant speed around a circular path is
I directly proportional to the cube of the speed of the object
II directly proportional to the mass of the object
III directly proportional to the square of the speed of the object
IV inversely proportional to the radius of the circular path
Which of the above statements are correct?
A. I and II only B. III and IV only C. II and III only D. II, III and IV only
8. The ratio of the diameter of the large piston to that of the small piston in a hydraulic press is
4:1. To move a load of 200 N on the large piston, the effort that must be applied to the small
piston is
A. 50 N B. 25 N C. 12.5 N D. 250 N
9. A truck weighing 6000 kg runs into a car weighing 800 kg. The truck was moving at 15 ms -1
and the car was rest. Assume that the truck and car continue to move together, what is the final
speed of the combined car/truck system?
A. 1.8 ms-1 B. 7.5 ms-1 C. 13 ms-1 D. 17 ms-1
10. A simple pendulum has a period of 4 s. Its period decreases to 3.51 s when 92 cm of string is
cut off. Calculate the acceleration due to gravity from these measurements.
A. 9.87 m/s2 B. 10.52 m/s2 C. 12. 0 m/s2 D. 13.2 m/s2
11. A body of mass 25 kg moving at 3 m/s on a rough horizontal floor is brought to rest after
sliding through a distance of 2.50 m on the floor. Determine the coefficient of sliding friction.
( Take g as 10 m/s2)
A. 0.09 B. 0.18 C. 0.36 D. 0.54
12. A gas at 270C is heated at constant pressure so that its volume is doubled. Determine the new
temperature.
A. 5400 K B. 600 K C. 270 K D. 600C
13. When a brass metal is heated, it expands because its molecules
A. vibrate with smaller amplitude B. vibrate with greater amplitude
C. increase their speed of random motion D. decrease their speed of random motion
14. A 50 W heating coil is used for 2 minutes to heat a metal block of mass 0.5 kg and specific
heat capacity 1000 J/kgK. Determine the temperature rise.
A. 120 C B. 150C C 240C D. 280C
15. The expression MxLyTz , when x = -1, y =3 and z = -2 is the dimension of
A. Force B. Energy C. Universal Gravitational Constant D. Power
16. The net downward force on a metal ball falling through a liquid at the terminal velocity is
A. zero B. its weight C. the viscous force D. the upthrust
17. An object of mass 5 kg initially at rest falls freely under gravity. If g = 10 m/s 2 , the distance
covered by the object in the 6th second of fall is
A. 20 m B. 45 m C. 55 m D. 60 m
18. A car spends two hours driving at 20 km/hr and then an hour driving at 50 km/hr. Determine
the average speed of the car.
A. 50 km/hr B. 45 km/hr C. 35 km/hr D. 30 km/hr
19. An upward force of 6 kN is required to raise a mine cage vertically at a speed of 2.5 m/s.
Calculate the power output of the motor lifting the mine cage.
A. 1500 W B. 3000 W C. 15000 W D. 30 000 W
20. A spring with a spring constant 250 N/m is stretched to a distance of 15 cm beyond its
natural length. Determine the energy stored in the spring.
A. 2.8 J B. 28 J C. 14 J D. 140 J
21. A force of 5 N is applied to a toy truck that makes an angle of 30 0 with the floor. Calculate
the work done in dragging the truck a distance of 4 m across the floor.
A. 10 J B. 15 J C. 17.32 J D. 35 J
22. A 2 kg block of iron at 250C is heated by placing it in hot water. If it gains 4500 J of heat
from the water , determine the final temperature of the iron.( Specific heat capacity of iron is 450
J kg-1K-1)
A. 200C B. 300C C. 350C D. 400C
23. Three identical resistors of 3Ω are connected in parallel in a circuit. Calculate the effective
resistance.
A. 1Ω B. 3Ω C. 6Ω D. 9Ω
24. A 0.5 kg mass of ice at 0 0C is added to 3 kg of water at 40 0C. The mixture is stirred and
becomes all water. Calculate the temperature of the mixture. ( Specific heat capacity of water =
4200 J/kg0C; Specific latent heat of fusion = 340000 Jkg-1 )
A. 31.70C B. 32.30C C. 22.70C D. 10.70C
25. 1840 cm3 of sulphuric acid of density 1.84 gcm -3 is mixed with 160 cm 3 of water. Calculate
the density of the solution.
A. 1.77 gcm-3 B. 2.84 gcm-3 C. 1.42 gcm-3 D. 1.84 gcm-3
26. When a substance melts, its temperature does not rise because

A. energy is lost somewhere B. energy is used to break the bonds

C. energy is used to make bonds D. energy is conserved
27. If a machine is lubricated with oil
A. the mechanical advantage of the machine increases
B. the efficiency of the machine increases
C. both its mechanical advantage and efficiency increase
D. its efficiency increases, but its mechanical advantage decreases
28. Two capacitors of capacitance 1 µF and 2 µF are connected in series. Calculate the effective
capacitance.
A 4 µF B. 3 µF C. 3/2 µF D. 2/3 µF
29. The hydraulic automobile jack illustrates:

A. Archimedes’ principle B. Pascal’s principle C. Hooke’s law D. Newton’s third law

30. Strain can be measured in:

A. N/m2 B. N m2 C. N/m D. None of the above

31. Two charges Q1 and Q2 are separated by a distance r . The charges attract each other with a
force F. Determine the new force between the charges if the distance is tripled.

A. 16F B. 2F C. 4F D. 1/9F

32. Which of the following is a characteristic of stationary waves?

A. They are formed by two identical waves travelling in opposite direction

B. They can be transverse or longitudinal

C. The distance between two successive node is one wavelength

D. The antinode is a point of minimum displacement

33. In cold weather the metal blade of a knife feels colder than the wooden handle because the

A. Metal is at a lower temperature than the wood

B. Metal is a better conductor of heat than the wood

C. Metal has a smaller specific heat capacity than the wood.

D. Metal has a brighter surface than the wood

34. Which of the graphs below represents the results of an experiment to verify Boyle’s law?
 35. A ball is thrown vertically upwards with a velocity of 20 ms-1 . Determine the time of
flight neglecting the air resistance (g = 10 ms-2).

A. 2 s B. 4 s C. 6 s D. 8 s

36. Which of the following statements is/are true about boiling and freezing point of water?

(i) The boiling point of water is raised if the pressure above it is increased.
(ii) The freezing point of water is raised if the pressure above it is increased.
(iii) If salt is added to water, both freezing point and the boiling point are raised.
A. (i) alone B. (iii) alone C. (i) and (ii) only D. (ii) and (iii) only

37. A body falls from a height of 45 m to the ground. Calculate the time taken by the body to
reach the ground (g = 10 ms-2).

A. 3 s B. 4 s C. 5 s D. 6 s
38. A bomb of mass 6 kg initially at rest explodes into two fragments of masses 4 kg and 2 kg,
respectively. If the greater mass moves with a velocity of 5 ms-1 , find the velocity of the 2 kg
mass.
A. 8 ms-1 B. – 8 ms-1 C. 10 ms-1 D. -10 ms-1
39. A certain simple pendulum has a period of 2 s. What will its period be when the length of
the pendulum is doubled?
√
A. 2 s B. 2 2 s √ C. 3 s √ D. 2 3 s √
40. A plank of length 4 m is inclined to the ground such that its one end is resting on the ground
and the other end is 1 m above ground level. Calculate the effort that has to be applied to push a
load of 48 N up the plank.
A. 10 N B. 12 N C. 15 N D. 20 N
41. A force of 8 N is applied to a body at a distance of 20 cm from the point at which it is
pivoted. Determine the torque or moment of force about the point.
A. 1. 6 Nm B. 3.2 Nm C. 16 N m D. 32 N m
42. A car has a steering wheel of diameter 30 cm. It is turned with anti-clockwise parallel
forces of magnitude of 4 N each. Calculate the moment of couple
 A. 1.2 Nm B. 1.6 Nm C. 2.4 Nm D. 3.6 Nm
43. The area of cross-section of two cylinders of a hydraulic press are 10 cm2 and 50 cm2,
respectively. In order to move up a weight of 100 N placed on the piston of larger area of the
press, what force should be applied on the piston of smaller area?
A. 10 N B. 15 N C. 20 N D. 25 N
44. A body weighs 75 g in air, 51 g when completely immersed in a liquid and 67 g when
completely immersed in water. Calculate the density of the liquid.
A. 3 g cm-3 B. 4 g cm-3 C. 5 g cm-3 D. 7 g cm-3
45. A cylindrical body floats in water such that one quarter of its volume lies above the
surface of water. Find the density of the material with which the body is made of.
A. 0.5 g cm-3 B. 0.75 g cm-3 C. 1.50 g cm-3 D. 2.0 g cm-3
46. Suppose A = BC, where A has the dimensions L/M and C has the dimensions L/T. Then B
has the dimensions:
A. T/M B. L2/TM C. TM/L2 D. L2T/M
47. The velocity of an object is given as a function of time by v = 4t – 3t2 , where v is in m/s
and t is in seconds. Determine its average velocity over the time interval from t= 0 to t= 2s.
A. 0 B. – 2 m/s C. 2 m/s D. – 4 m/s
48. A car initially at rest travels 20 m in 4 s along a straight line with constant acceleration.
Calculate the acceleration of the car.
A. 0.4 m/s2 B. 1.3 m/s2 C. 2.5 m/s2 D. 4.9 m/s2
49. A feather, initially at rest, is released in a vacuum 12 m above the surface of the earth.
Which of the following statements is correct?
A. The maximum velocity of the feather is 9.8 m/s
B. The acceleration of the feather decreases until terminal velocity is reached.
C. The acceleration of the feather remains constant during the fall.
D. The acceleration of the feather increases during the fall.
50. The coordinate- time graph of an object is a straight line with a positive slope. The object
has:
A. Constant displacement B. steadily increasing acceleration C. steadily
decreasing acceleration D. constant velocity
51. A car travels east at constant velocity. The net force on the car is
A. East B. West C. Up D. Zero
52. A car starts from location X, goes 50 km in a straight line to location Y, immediately turns
around and returns to X. The time for this round trip is 2 hrs. The magnitude of the average
velocity of the car for this round trip is:
A. 0 B. 50 km/hr C. 100 km/hr D. cannot be calculated without knowing the
acceleration
53. A car starts from location X, goes 50 km in a straight line to location Y, immediately turns
around and returns to X. The time for this round trip is 2 hrs. The magnitude of the average
speed of the car for this round trip is:
A. 0 B. 50 km/hr C. 100 km/hr D. cannot be calculated without knowing the
acceleration
54. The coordinate of a particle in metres is given by x(t) = 16t – 3.0 t3 , where the time t is in
seconds. Determine the time when the particle is momentarily at rest.
A. 0.75 s B. 1.3 s C. 5.3 s D. 7.3 s
55. A racing car starts from rest at t= 0 and moves along a straight line with velocity given by
v = bt2 , where b is a constant. The expression for the distance travelled by this car from its
position at t=0 is:
A. bt3 B. bt3/3 C. 4 bt2 D. 3 bt2
56. Out of the following situations, which one is impossible?
A. A body having velocity due east and acceleration due east
B. A body having zero velocity and non-zero acceleration
C. A body having constant acceleration and variable velocity
D. A body having constant velocity and variable acceleration
57. The area under a velocity-time graph represents:
A. Acceleration B. change in acceleration C. speed D. displacement
58. A stone thrown from the top of a tall building follows a path that is:
A. Circular B. hyperbolic C. parabolic D. a straight line
59. A particle moves at constant speed in a circular path. The instantaneous velocity and
instantaneous acceleration vectors are:
A. Both tangent to the circular path B. both perpendicular to the circular path
C. perpendicular to each other D. opposite to each other
60. A car rounds a 20-m radius curve at 10 m/s. The magnitude of its acceleration is:
A. 0 B. 0.20 m/s C. 5.0 m/s D. 40 m/s
61. Two projectiles are in flight at the same time. The acceleration of one relative to the other:
A. is always 9.8 m/s2 B. can be as large as 19.8 m/s2 C. can be horizontal
D. is zero
62. Which of the following quantities is NOT a vector?
A. Mass B. Displacement C. Weight D. Force
63. The inertia of a body tends to cause the body to:
A. Speed up B. slow down C. resist any change in its motion D. fall toward
Earth
64. Two objects, one having three times the mass of the other, are dropped from the same
height in a vacuum. At the end of their fall, their velocities are equal because:
A. Anything falling in vacuum has constant velocity
B. All objects reach the same terminal velocity
C. The force of gravity is the same for both objects
D. None of the above
65. The block shown moves with constant velocity on a horizontal surface. Two of the forces
on it are shown. A frictional force exerted by the surface is the only other horizontal force on
the block. The frictional force is:
A. 0 B. 2 N, leftward C. 2N, rightward D. slightly more than 2N, leftward
66. A book rests on a table, exerting a downward force on the table, the reaction to this force
is:
A. The force of earth on the block
B. The force of the table on the book
C. The force of earth on the table
D. The force of the book on earth
67. Two blocks with masses m and M are pushed along a horizontal frictionless surface by a
horizontal applied force F as shown below. The magnitude of the force of either of these
blocks on the other is:
A. mF/ (m + M) B. m F/M C. mF/( M- m) D. MF/ ( M + m)

68. A 1000-kg airplane moves in straight flight at constant speed. The force of air friction is
1800 N. The net force on the plane is:
A zero B. 11800 N C. 1800 N D. 9800 N
69. Why do raindrops fall with constant speed during the later stages of their descent?
A. The gravitational force is the same for all drops
B. Air resistance just balances the force of gravity
C. The drops all fall from the same height
D. The force of gravity is negligible for objects as small as raindrops.
70. The magnitude of the force required to cause a 0.04-kg object to move at 0.6 m/s in a
circle of radius 1.0 m is:
A. 2.4 x 10-2 N B. 1.4 x 10-2 N C. 1.4π x 10-2 N D. 3.13 N
71. An object moves around a circle. If the radius is doubled keeping the speed the same, then
the magnitude of the centripetal force must be:
A. Doubled B. halved C. tripled D. the same
72. An object moves in a circle. If the mass is tripled, the speed halved, and the radius
unchanged, then the magnitude of the centripetal force must be multiplied by a factor of:
A. 3/2 B. ¾ C. 9/4 D. 6
73. Which of the following groups does NOT contain a scalar quantity?
A. Velocity, force, power B. displacement, acceleration, force C. acceleration,
speed, work D. energy, work, distance
74. A boy holds a 40-N weight at arm’s length for 10 s. His arm is 1.5 m above the ground.
The work done by the force of the boy on the weight while he is holding it is:
 A. 0 B. 6.1 J C. 40 J D. 60 J
75. An object moves in a circle at constant speed. The work done by the centripetal force is
zero because:
A. The displacement for each revolution is zero
B. The average force for each revolution is zero
C. The centripetal force is perpendicular to the velocity
D. There is no friction
76. A man pulls a sled along a rough horizontal surface by applying a constant force F at an
angle θ above the horizontal. In pulling the sled a horizontal distance d , the work done by the
man is:
A. F d B. F d cosθ C. F d sinθ D. F d tanθ
77. Which of the following bodies has the largest kinetic energy?
A. Mass 3M and speed V B. Mass 3M and speed 2V C. Mass 2M and speed 3V
D. Mass M and speed 4V
78. Two trailers, X with mass 500 kg and Y with mass 2000 kg, are being pulled at the same
speed. The ratio of the kinetic energy of Y to that of X is:
A 1:1 B. 2:1 C. 4:1 D. 9:1
79. The weight of an object on the moon is one-sixth of its weight on Earth. The ratio of the
kinetic energy of a body on Earth moving with speed v to that of the same body moving with
speed v on the moon is:
A. 6:1 B. 36:1 C. 1:1 D. 1:6
80. Which of the following is the correct combination of dimensions for energy?
A. M L T B. L T2/M C. M L2 / T2 D. M2 L3
81. The amount of work required to stop a moving object is equal to:
A. The velocity of the object B. the kinetic energy of the object C. the mass of the
object times its acceleration D. the square of the velocity of the object
82. A 5.0 kg cart is moving horizontally at 6.0 m/s. In order to change its speed to 10.0 m/s,
the net work done on the cart must be:
A. 40 J B. 90 J C. 160 J D. 400 J
83. A baseball player catches a ball of mass m that is moving toward him with speed v. While
bringing the ball to rest, his hand moves back a distance d . Assuming constant deceleration,
the horizontal force exerted on the ball by his hand is:
A. mv/d B. mvd C. m v2/d D. m v2/ (2d)
84. In raising an object to a given height by means of an inclined plane, as compared with
raising the object vertically, there is a reduction in:
A. Work required B. distance pushed C. force required D. value of the
acceleration due to gravity
85. Power has the dimensions of
A. M L2 / T2 B. M T/ L2 C. M L/ T2 D. M L2/ T3
86. A person holds an 80-N weight 2 m above the floor for 30 s. Determine the power
required to do this.
A. 80 W B. 40 W C. 20 W D. None of the above
87. The wound spring of a clock possesses:
 A. Kinetic but no potential energy B. Potential but no kinetic energy
C. neither potential nor kinetic energy D. both potential and kinetic energy in
equal amounts
88. Suppose that the fundamental dimensions are taken to be: force (F) , velocity (V) and time
(T). The dimensions of potential energy are then:
A. F/T B. FVT C. FV/T D. F/T2
89. An elevator is rising at constant speed. Consider the following statements:
I. The upward cable force is constant
II. The kinetic energy of the elevator is constant
III. The gravitational potential energy of the Earth-elevator system is constant.
IV. The acceleration of the elevator is zero.
V. The mechanical energy of the Earth-elevator system is constant
A. Only II and V are true B. Only IV and V are true C. Only I, II and III
are true D. Only I, II and IV are true
90. A force of 10 N holds an ideal spring with a 20-N/m spring constant in compression. The
potential energy stored in the spring is:
A. 0.5 J B. 2.5 J C. 5 J D. 10 J
91. Momentum may be expressed in:
A. Kg/m B. kg.s C. N s D. N/s
92. The momentum of an object at a given instant is independent of its:
A. Inertia B. mass C. speed D. acceleration
93. Two bodies A and B have equal kinetic energy. The mass of A is nine times that of B. The
ratio of the momentum of A to that of B is:
A. 1:9 B. 9:1 C. 1:3 D. 3:1
94. Two objects P and Q have the same momentum. Q has more kinetic energy than P if it:
A. Weighs more than P B. is moving faster than P C. weighs the same as P
D. is moving slower than P
95. A 1.0-kg ball moving at 2.0 m/s perpendicular to a wall rebounds from the wall at 1.5m/s.
The change in the momentum of the ball is:
A. Zero B. 0.5 N.s away from wall C. 0.5 Ns towards wall
D. 3.5 Ns away from wall
96. If the total momentum of a system is changing:
A. Particles of the system must be exerting forces on each other
B. The system must be under the influence of gravity
C. A net external force must be acting on the system
D. None of the above
97. A 2.5 kg stone is released from rest and falls towards Earth. After 4.0 s, the magnitude of
its momentum is:
A. 98 kg m/s B. 78 kg m/s C. 39 kg m/s D. zero
98. A rifle of mass M is initially at rest but free to recoil. It fires a bullet of mass m and
velocity v (relative to the ground). After firing, the velocity of the rifle ( relative to the
ground) is:
A. – mv B. – M v/ m C. – mv/ M D. mv/M
99. The physical quantity ‘ impulse’ has the same dimensions as that of:
A. Force B. power C. energy D. momentum
100. In simple harmonic motion, the magnitude of the acceleration is:
A. Constant B. proportional to the displacement
C. inversely proportional to displacement D. greatest when the velocity is greatest