UNIT 1: Physical Quantities, Vectors and Kinematics

1. Which set of physical quantities consists of only vector quantities?

A. Time, mass and luminous intensity
B. Temperature, volume and current
C. Momentum, velocity and weight
D. Force, power and potential difference

2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about vector?

A. The product of any scalar and vector is a scalar
B. Vector subtraction is not commutative
C. The sum of two vectors is a vector
D. Vector addition is commutative

3. While going to school, a student travels 6 km east and then 8 km north in 2 hrs. The
magnitude of the student's average velocity and speed are, respectively:
A. 2 km/hr and 7 km/hr
B. 2.5 km/hr and 3.5 km/hr
C. 3.5 km/hr and 2.5 km/hr
D. 5 km/hr and 7 km/hr

4. A car starts moving from rest and its motion on a straight line is shown in the figure
below. What is the displacement of the car within the first 6 seconds?
A. 24 m
B. 34 m
C. 28 m
D. 36 m

5. The relative velocity of two cars moving in the same direction is 40 m/s and when they
move in opposite direction their relative velocity is 60 m/s. What is the velocity of each car?
A. 10 m/s, 50 m/s
B. 30 m/s, 10 m/s
C. 35 m/s, 25 m/s
D. 15 m/s, 45 m/s

6. Which one of the following is the property of projectile motion?

A. Horizontally changing velocity
B. Acceleration in the horizontal direction
C. Acceleration changes its direction
D. Vertically changing velocity

7. If two balls A and B are kicked at an angle of 37° and 53° with the horizontal
respectively, with the same initial velocity u, which ball has the maximum horizontal
displacement?
A. Ball A
B. Ball B
C. Both have the same range
D. All

UNIT 2: Dynamics (Forces and Newton’s Laws of Motion)

1. Which one of the following statements is NOT correct about the concept and units of
coefficient of friction?
A. Coefficient of static friction has no unit
B. The coefficient of friction is always less or equal to one
C. Coefficient of friction is the ratio of frictional force to normal force
D. Coefficient of static friction is less than its value of kinetic friction

2. A 20 kg mass is suspended on the roof of an elevator with a string. What is the tension
force on the string when the elevator is moving upward with acceleration of 2 m/s²?
A. 250 N
B. 240 N
C. 100 N
D. 400 N

3. Which of the following are contact forces?

A. Friction, tension, thrust, and air resistance
B. Friction, gravity, electrostatics, and kicks
C. Electrostatic, magnetic, weight, and viscous
D. Gravity, magnetic, electrostatic, and buoyant

4. An object of mass m is suspended in air under the action of three forces in the same
plane as shown in the figure below. If the mass is in equilibrium, what will be the weight of
the object?
A. 28 N
B. 35 N
C. 25 N
D. 21 N

5. The apparent weight of a 60 kg student standing inside a lift is:

A. 600 N when the lift accelerates with acceleration equal to gravity
B. 720 N when the lift is at rest
C. 600 N when the lift accelerates upward with 2 m/s²
D. 480 N when the lift accelerates downward with 2 m/s²

6. Suppose the gravitational force between two spheres is 60 N. If the magnitude of each
mass doubles, what will be the force between the masses?
A. 160 N
B. 150 N
C. 320 N
D. 240 N

UNIT 3: Work, Energy and Power

1. Work is said to be done on an object if
A. The object is moving with constant velocity
B. The object is at rest
C. The force applied and the displacement are parallel
D. The force applied and the displacement are perpendicular

2. Which one of the following is non-renewable energy source?

A. Geothermal
B. Nuclear
C. Hydroelectric
D. Wind

3. If a projectile rises vertically upward as it is fired from the surface of the earth, what
would happen to its kinetic energy (KE), potential energy (PE) and mechanical energy
(ME)?
A. PE increases, KE increases, ME increases
B. PE increases, KE remains constant, ME increases
C. PE increases, KE decreases, ME remains constant
D. PE decreases, KE increases, ME remains constant

4. How much does it cost to burn a 100 W light bulb for 240 hours, if cost of electricity is 20
cent per kilowatt hour?
A. 2.40 Birr
B. 4.80 Birr
C. 8.50 Birr
D. 4.40 Birr

UNIT 4: Momentum and Collisions

1. In a perfectly inelastic collision, which of the following is TRUE?
A. Neither kinetic energy nor momentum is conserved
B. Total mass is not conserved but momentum is conserved
C. Momentum is conserved but kinetic energy is not conserved
D. Momentum is not conserved but kinetic energy is conserved
UNIT 5: Circular Motion and Rotational Dynamics
2. A particle moves in a circle of radius r with angular velocity ω and angular acceleration
α. What is the centripetal acceleration of the particle?
A. ω²r
B. ωr
C. αr
D. ωr²

3. An object moves in a circle at constant speed. The work done by centripetal force is zero
because
A. The magnitude of acceleration is zero
B. The displacement of each revolution is zero
C. The average force for each revolution is zero
D. The centripetal force is perpendicular to the velocity

4. A wheel rotates counterclockwise in the xy-plane. What will be the direction of both
angular velocity and angular acceleration if the angular velocity is decreasing in time?
A. ω out of the plane, α into the plane
B. ω into the plane, α out of the plane
C. ω out of the plane, α out of the plane
D. ω into the plane, α into the plane

UNIT 6: Electrostatics
1. A boy observed that a pen rubbed on his dry hair attracted a neutral piece of paper.
What is the cause of the attraction?
A. Magnetic force
B. Electrostatic force
C. Gravitational force
D. Nuclear force

2. An electron, a proton and a neutron are located at point A below in an electric field.
After a short period of time, at which position will the proton be located?
A. Point A
B. Point B
C. Point C
D. Point D

3. The electrostatic force between two equal charges is 9 × 10⁵ N. If they are 1 m apart from
each other, what is the magnitude of these charges?
A. 10⁻² C
B. 10⁻⁴ C
C. 10² C
D. 10⁴ C
4. What will happen to the leaves of a negatively charged electroscope when touched by a
negatively charged body?
A. The divergence decreases
B. The divergence increases
C. The divergence remains constant
D. The divergence first increases then decreases

UNIT 7: Capacitance and Electric Potential

1. If the potential difference across a parallel plate capacitor is reduced by one-third, by
what factor does the energy stored in the capacitor change?
A. 1/12
B. 1/8
C. 1/6
D. 1/9

2. The insertion of a dielectric material between the plates of a capacitor results in

A. Decrease in stored charge
B. Increase in potential difference
C. Increase in capacitance
D. Discharging of the capacitor

UNIT 8: Current Electricity

3. A current of 1 A corresponds to the flow of one coulomb of charge
A. In one second at a given time
B. Across 1 V potential difference
C. In a uniform electric field
D. Across 1 ohm resistor

4. An 8 Ω speaker is connected across the output terminal of a power amplifier that

delivers 64 W to it. What is the current supplied to the speaker?
A. 8 A
B. √2 A
C. 4 A
D. 2√2 A

5. A series circuit consists of three identical lamps connected to a battery. The switch S is
closed. What happens to the brightness of lamp C?
A. It increases
B. It decreases
C. It does not change
D. It drops to zero

UNIT 9: Magnetism
1. What is our best evidence that Earth has a magnetic field?
A. A compass needle lines up with it
B. All things fall toward Earth’s center
C. Winds blow from east to west
D. Earth’s oceans all have currents

2. A 300 mm long conductor carrying 10 A current is at right angles to a magnetic field of

flux density 0.8 T. What force is exerted on the conductor?
A. 240 N
B. 0.24 N
C. 24 N
D. 2.4 N

3. The magnetic force between two parallel wires carrying currents in opposite directions is
A. Attractive
B. No force exists
C. Repulsive
D. None

4. Which of the following is NOT correct about magnetic field?

A. Magnetic field lines are closed
B. Magnetic monopoles exist
C. Closer lines indicate stronger field
D. Magnetic field is produced by moving charge

UNIT 10: Electronics

1. A transistor can be used as the following EXCEPT:
A. Rectifier
B. Voltage amplifier
C. As a switch
D. Current amplifier

2. A diode is an electronic component that

A. Allows current when p-type is connected to negative terminal
B. Allows current in both directions
C. Converts DC to AC
D. Allows current in one direction

3. When a P–N junction is forward biased,

A. Electrons flow from P-type to N-type
B. The depletion layer size decreases
C. The depletion layer size increases
D. Current cannot flow

UNIT 11: Geometrical Optics

1. When an object is placed in front of a plane mirror, the image is
A. Upright, magnified and real
B. Inverted, diminished and real
C. Upright, same size and virtual
D. Inverted, magnified and virtual

2. An object is placed 25 cm in front of a concave mirror of focal length 10 cm. The

magnification is
A. 0.67
B. 1.5
C. 2.5
D. 16.7

UNIT 12: Modern Physics and Applications

3. What is the primary focus of spectroscopy?
A. Matter and gravity
B. Matter and electromagnetic radiation
C. Matter and sound
D. Matter and electricity

4. What branch of physics studies the birth, life and death of stars and galaxies?
A. Astrophysics
B. Quantum physics
C. Geophysics
D. Thermodynamics

5. How does radar technology collect information about distant objects?

A. Sound waves
B. Electromagnetic waves
C. Gravitational forces
D. Fluid flow

UNIT 13: Mechanics of the Human Body and Fluids

1. How does Newtonian mechanics relate to stable equilibrium in the human body?
A. Center of mass outside base
B. Wider base leads to instability
C. Stability unrelated to center of mass
D. Center of mass over base

2. In biology, what does physics of fluid flow help understand?

A. Air circulation in lungs
B. Metabolism in cells
C. Blood circulation and pressure
D. Mechanics of motion

3. Which statement is CORRECT about pressure under a fluid?

A. Depends on volume
B. Depends on density
C. Depends on container shape
D. Independent of depth

4. In a hydraulic press, a force of 60 N is applied to a piston of area 0.3 m². What load is
supported by a piston of area 0.6 m²?
A. 120 N
B. 150 N
C. 200 N
D. 160 N

UNIT 14: Properties of Matter and Fluid Mechanics

1. Specific gravity is defined as
A. Product of densities
B. Difference of densities
C. Ratio of density of substance to water
D. Ratio of density of water to substance

2. Atmospheric pressure increases as

A. Altitude increases
B. Air temperature decreases
C. Air density decreases
D. Latitude increases

[Link] to Archimedes’ principle, if a solid floats, the volume of displaced water equals
the volume of
A. Part above water
B. Part submerged
C. Half the object
D. Whole object