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SHIRE HIGHLANDS EDUCATION DIVISION

2024 MALAWI SCHOOL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION MOCK
EXAMINATION

PHYSICS
Subject Number: M164/I
Friday, 22nd March Time allowed: 2 Hours
08: 00am – 10: 00am
PAPER I
Theory
(100 marks)
Instructions
1. This paper contains 11 printed
pages. Please check. Question Tick if Do not write
2. This paper contains two sections A Number answered in these
and B. In Section A there are short columns
answer questions while in Section B 1
there are restricted essay questions. 2
3. Answer all the thirteen questions in
3
the spaces provided.
4. Write the name of your school and 4
examination number in the spaces 5
provided.
6
5. The maximum number of marks for
each answer is indicated against each 7
question. 8
6. In the table provided on this page,
9
tick against the number of the
question you have answered. 10
7. Hand in your aper at the end of the 11
examination
12
13

© SHED 2024 Turn over

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Section A (70 marks)

Answer all the ten questions in this section in the spaces provided.

1. a. i. State the pressure gas law.

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(1 mark)
ii. Calculate the final volume of a fixed mass of a gas at a pressure of 760mmHg and
temperature of 0oC if the gas initially occupied a volume of 300cm3 at pressure of 250mmHg
and temperature of 20oC

(3 marks)
b. i. Describe the effect of including gaps in the construction of railway lines.
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2. a. Why it is easy to walk on the sand with flat shoes?
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b. State how parallax error can be minimized in an experiment.
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c. How does concave lens placed in front of short sighted eye corrects the defect?
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d. State the energy work theorem

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3. a. Calculate the atmospheric pressure in Pascals at the top of Mulanje mountain given that the
reading of a mercury barometer at the top of Mulanje Mountain is 760 mmHg.
(Density of mercury is 1.36 x 104 kg/m3 and take g = 10N/kg.)

(3 marks)
e. State any one advantage of using mercury over alcohol in a glass thermometer
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b. Figure 1 shows two cylinder of different cross-section area connected with a

tube. The cylinders contain a hydrodraulic fluid. Opposing forces P and Q
are applied to the pistons such that the pistons do not move.

i. State any one property of the fluid in the set up.

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_________________________________________________________________(1 mark)
ii. Calculate value of force Q if the pressure on the smaller piston is 5N/m2

(4 marks)
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4. a. i. Define static friction

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ii. Why is acceleration a vector quantity?
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(1 mark)
iii. Figure 2 shows dots produced on a tape pulled through a ticker
timer by a moving body .

The frequency of the ticker –timer is 50 Hz. Calculate the acceleration of the body.

(4 marks)

b. State any one type potential energy

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5. a. Figure 3 is the graph of velocity against time for a small steel ball falling in a
viscous liquid.
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i. Mention any two forces acting on the steel ball as it falls.

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(2 marks)

ii. Describe the motion of the steel ball from O to B

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b. Calculate the weight required to produce an extension of 20cm on a spring balance which
has a spring constant of 125N/m

(3 marks)

6. a. Figure 4 is a bottle top opener being used to open a bottle.

i. Indicate on the diagram the direction of effort. (2 marks)

ii. Name the class of the lever shown in figure 4.

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(1 mark)

b. i. Why does an alpha particle ionize the gas through which it travels?

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(2 marks)
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ii. How is radioactivity used in power generation?

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7. a. i. State the between an Ohmic and non-Ohmic conductor

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ii. Draw a symbol of n-p-n transistor.

(2 marks)

b. State any two ways of increasing the magnitude of induced current in a generator.
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c. State the kinetic theory of matter

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8. a. Explain the effect of resistance of the coils on efficiency of a transformer

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b. Figure 5 is a simple transformer connected to a 12 V a.c. source and an

a.c. voltmeter.
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i. Name the type of the transformer.

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ii. Calculate the reading on the voltmeter, V.

(3 marks)

9. a. i. Mention any one characteristics of a digital signal.

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b. Table 1 shows some selected resistor colour codes

Table 1: Resistor colour codes

Colour codes Black 0 Brown Red Orange

1 2 3
Tolerance Red Gold Silver No colour
±2% ± 5% ± 10% ± 20%

Work out the resistance of a resistor with the colour rings

Red – Red – Red – Red

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__________________________________________________________________(2 marks)

c. Bullet of mass 24g travelling in a horizontal path with a velocity of 450m/s

strikes a wooden block of wood of mass 976g resting on a rough horizontal
surface. After impact, the bullet and the block move together for a distance
of 7.5m before coming rest.
i. Name the type of collision.
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ii. What is the velocity of the two bodies when they start sliding?

(3 marks)

10. a. Figure 5 is a wave.

a. i. Name the type of the wave in figure 5.

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ii. Calculate the frequency of the wave.

(2 marks)

b. Name the type of electromagnetic wave that is be detected by an electroscope

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____________________________________________________________________(1 mark)
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c. Calculate the image distance of an object placed 8cm in front of converging lens of focal
length 24cm

(3 marks)

Section B (30 marks)

Answer all the three questions in the section in the spaces provided.

11. a. Using a truth table, describe how a NAND logic gate works.

(5 marks)

b. Describe how the speed of the sound can be measured using an echo method.

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12. a. With an aid of the diagram, describe how a full wave rectification can be
achieved in a circuit using four diodes.

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b. Describe the motion of a parachutist jumping from an aeroplane before and after
opening the parachute to the ground.
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13. a. Using kinetic theory of matter, explain why gas pressure in a container
increases with an increase in temperature.
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__________________________________________________________________(5 marks)

b. With the aid of a well labeled diagram, describe how a thermocouple thermometer works.

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END OF QUESTION PAPER

NB: This paper contains 11 printed pages.