Physics Preliminary Questions

Question 1

Give three possible reasons (apart from ‘the battery is flat’) why the lamps do not light when the switch is closed

Answer 1

There is a gap in the circuit, one or more of the lamps might be broken or one of the cells is the wrong way round

Question 2

Why can the term ‘short circuit’ be rather misleading?

Answer 2

Currents always take the easiest route, which may not always be the shortest route

Question 3

What are four things a force can do?

Answer 3

Forces make a stationary object move, make a moving object go faster or slower, make a moving object change direction, make a moving object stop or change the shape of an object

Question 4

What is meant by the term reaction force?

Answer 4

When a force acts, the other force of the pair acting in the opposite direction is called the reaction force

Question 5

What is gravity?

Answer 5

Gravity is the name for a force that pulls everything down toward the centre of the Earth.