IGCSE Physics 0625 Paper 2 Practice Paper (Extended Multiple Choice) — 40 questions, 45 minutes, answers and explanations

Original IGCSE Physics 0625 Paper 2 (Extended multiple choice) practice paper: 40 questions, 40 marks, 45 minutes, with full answers and explanations for every question.

Syllabus areas and marks

Questions (40 items, 1 mark each)

1.　A cyclist rides 150 m in 12 s at a steady speed. What is the average speed?

A　0.080 m/s

B　18.0 m/s

C　12.5 m/s

D　1800 m/s

2.　A car speeds up uniformly from 4.0 m/s to 16.0 m/s in 6.0 s. What is its acceleration?

A　2.0 m/s²

B　0.50 m/s²

C　12 m/s²

D　20 m/s²

3.　A speed–time graph shows an object moving at a steady 15 m/s for 8.0 s, then slowing uniformly to rest in 4.0 s. What is the total distance travelled?

A　120 m

B　180 m

C　240 m

D　150 m

4.　A student has a mass of 3.0 kg. On Earth g = 10 N/kg. What is his weight?

A　0.30 N

B　3.0 N

C　30 N

D　300 N

5.　A metal block has a mass of 216 g and a volume of 24 cm³. What is its density?

A　0.11 g/cm³

B　9.0 g/cm³

C　192 g/cm³

D　240 g/cm³

6.　A spring extends 3.0 cm when a 12 N load hangs from it. Within the limit of proportionality, what is the extension with a 20 N load?

A　5.0 cm

B　1.8 cm

C　6.7 cm

D　8.0 cm

7.　A uniform metre rule is pivoted at the 50 cm mark. A 40 N weight hangs at the 20 cm mark. At which mark must a 60 N weight hang to balance the rule?

A　60 cm

B　70 cm

C　80 cm

D　90 cm

8.　A crane does 1500 J of work in 5.0 s. What is its power?

A　7500 W

B　75 W

C　750 W

D　300 W

9.　A car of mass 1200 kg travels at 15 m/s. What is its kinetic energy?

A　9.0 kJ

B　18 kJ

C　135 kJ

D　270 kJ

10.　A motor takes in 1200 J of energy and delivers 900 J of useful output. What is its efficiency?

A　75%

B　33%

C　25%

D　133%

11.　A box weighing 600 N stands on a floor. The area in contact with the floor is 0.040 m². What pressure does it exert on the floor?

A　24 Pa

B　15 000 Pa

C　240 Pa

D　24 000 Pa

12.　A tank holds water to a depth of 0.50 m. The density of water is 1000 kg/m³ and g = 10 N/kg. What is the pressure of the water on the bottom (atmospheric pressure excluded)?

A　500 Pa

B　50 000 Pa

C　0.50 Pa

D　5000 Pa

13.　In a hydraulic press the small piston has area 20 cm² and is pushed with 60 N. The large piston has area 200 cm². What force does the large piston deliver (friction ignored)?

A　600 N

B　60 N

C　6.0 N

D　6000 N

14.　2.0 kg of water is heated from 20 °C to 50 °C. The specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J/(kg °C). How much energy is needed, ignoring losses?

A　63 kJ

B　25.2 kJ

C　252 kJ

D　1260 kJ

15.　0.50 kg of ice at 0 °C melts completely to water at 0 °C. The specific latent heat of fusion of ice is 3.34 × 10⁵ J/kg. How much energy is needed?

A　16.7 kJ

B　167 kJ

C　334 kJ

D　668 kJ

16.　Brass expands more than iron when heated. A brass strip and an iron strip are firmly joined to make a bimetallic strip. What happens when it is heated?

A　It stays straight and simply gets longer

B　It bends towards the iron side, brass on the outside

C　It bends towards the brass side, brass on the inside

D　It bends to the iron side and stays deformed when cooled

17.　One end of a metal rod is heated and energy travels quickly to the other end. What is the main reason?

A　Free electrons in the metal carry energy quickly

B　Metal particles move bodily from the hot end to the cold end

C　Hot air convects along the surface of the metal

D　The metal radiates energy as visible light

18.　A sound wave has a frequency of 170 Hz and travels at 340 m/s in air. What is its wavelength?

A　0.50 m

B　510 m

C　2.0 m

D　170 m

19.　A wave has a frequency of 250 Hz. What is its period?

A　250 s

B　4.0 × 10³ s

C　2.5 × 10⁻³ s

D　4.0 × 10⁻³ s

20.　Two astronauts standing face to face on the Moon cannot hear each other speak directly. What is the main reason?

A　The Moon’s gravity is too weak and holds the sound

B　The Moon has almost no atmosphere, so sound has no medium to travel through

C　The helmet reflects all the sound back

D　The temperature is so low that the speed of sound falls to zero

21.　A ray of light strikes a plane mirror at 35° to the surface of the mirror. What is the angle of incidence?

A　55°

B　35°

C　70°

D　145°

22.　What happens when light passes obliquely from air into glass?

A　It speeds up and bends away from the normal

B　Its speed is unchanged and it continues in a straight line

C　It slows down and bends towards the normal

D　It is always totally internally reflected at the surface

23.　Light travels from glass (refractive index 1.50) towards air. Which value is closest to the critical angle?

A　30°

B　42°

C　48°

D　60°

24.　Which of these electromagnetic waves has the longest wavelength?

A　Gamma rays

B　Ultraviolet

C　Infrared

D　Radio waves

25.　An object is placed beyond 2F of a converging lens. What is the image like?

A　Real, inverted and diminished

B　Real, inverted and magnified

C　Virtual, upright and magnified

D　Virtual, upright and diminished

26.　A ship sends an ultrasound pulse to the sea bed and receives the echo 0.24 s later. Sound travels at 1500 m/s in sea water. How deep is the sea?

A　90 m

B　180 m

C　360 m

D　720 m

27.　A steady current of 3.0 A flows for 20 s. How much charge passes a point in the wire?

A　0.15 C

B　6.7 C

C　60 C

D　600 C

28.　The potential difference across a 4.0 Ω resistor is 12 V. What is the current through it?

A　3.0 A

B　0.33 A

C　16 A

D　48 A

29.　An appliance is connected to a 230 V supply and takes a current of 2.0 A. What is its power?

A　115 W

B　232 W

C　4600 W

D　460 W

30.　A 2.0 kW heater is used continuously for 3.0 hours. How much electrical energy does it use?

A　0.67 kWh

B　60 kWh

C　6.0 kWh

D　6000 kWh

31.　Two 6.0 Ω resistors are connected in parallel. What is the total resistance of the combination?

A　12 Ω

B　3.0 Ω

C　6.0 Ω

D　0.33 Ω

32.　What happens to the resistance of an NTC thermistor as its temperature rises?

A　It stays the same

B　It increases

C　It first increases, then decreases

D　It decreases

33.　Which change makes the magnetic field of an electromagnet stronger?

A　Increasing the current in the coil

B　Reducing the number of turns on the coil

C　Replacing the soft-iron core with a copper core

D　Changing the direct current to alternating current

34.　An ideal transformer has 1000 turns on the primary connected to a 240 V a.c. supply and 200 turns on the secondary. What is the secondary voltage?

A　24 V

B　1200 V

C　48 V

D　240 V

35.　The coil of a d.c. motor keeps turning in the same direction mainly because…

A　the coil carries static charge and is attracted to the casing

B　the coil cuts the magnetic field and an induced current is produced

C　the commutator increases the current in the coil

D　the commutator reverses the current every half turn, so the force keeps pushing the coil round

36.　How many neutrons are there in a uranium-235 nucleus (²³⁵₉₂U)?

A　143

B　92

C　235

D　327

37.　A radioactive sample of mass 8.0 g has a half-life of 10 minutes. What mass is still undecayed after 30 minutes?

A　4.0 g

B　2.0 g

C　1.0 g

D　0.25 g

38.　What is an alpha particle made of?

A　One proton and one electron

B　One high-energy photon

C　One electron

D　Two protons and two neutrons

39.　The asteroid belt lies between the orbits of which two planets?

A　Earth and Mars

B　Jupiter and Saturn

C　Venus and Earth

D　Mars and Jupiter

40.　Absorption lines in the spectrum of a distant galaxy are shifted towards the red end compared with the same lines in the laboratory. What does this show?

A　The galaxy is moving towards us

B　The galaxy is moving away from us

C　The temperature of the galaxy is falling

D　The galaxy is spinning rapidly in place

Answers and explanations

Q1　C　Average speed = distance ÷ time = 150 ÷ 12 = 12.5 m/s.

Q2　A　a = (v − u) ÷ t = (16.0 − 4.0) ÷ 6.0 = 2.0 m/s². 12 m/s² is the change in speed, not divided by time.

Q3　D　Distance = area under the graph = 15 × 8.0 + ½ × 15 × 4.0 = 120 + 30 = 150 m.

Q4　C　W = mg = 3.0 × 10 = 30 N. Mass stays 3.0 kg; weight depends on g.

Q5　B　ρ = m ÷ V = 216 ÷ 24 = 9.0 g/cm³ (= 9000 kg/m³).

Q6　A　Extension is proportional to force: x = 3.0 × 20 ÷ 12 = 5.0 cm.

Q7　B　40 × 30 = 60 × d → d = 20 cm from the pivot, i.e. the 50 + 20 = 70 cm mark.

Q8　D　P = W ÷ t = 1500 ÷ 5.0 = 300 W.

Q9　C　Ek = ½mv² = ½ × 1200 × 15² = 135 000 J = 135 kJ. Forgetting to square v gives 18 kJ.

Q10　A　Efficiency = useful output ÷ total input × 100% = 900 ÷ 1200 × 100% = 75%.

Q11　B　p = F ÷ A = 600 ÷ 0.040 = 15 000 Pa (= 15 kPa).

Q12　D　p = hρg = 0.50 × 1000 × 10 = 5000 Pa. It depends only on depth, density and g.

Q13　A　The pressure is the same throughout the liquid: F₂ = 60 × 200 ÷ 20 = 600 N.

Q14　C　E = mcΔθ = 2.0 × 4200 × 30 = 252 000 J = 252 kJ.

Q15　B　E = mL = 0.50 × 3.34 × 10⁵ = 167 000 J ≈ 167 kJ. The temperature stays at 0 °C during melting.

Q16　B　Brass expands more, so it forms the longer outer arc and the strip bends towards the iron.

Q17　A　Metals contain free electrons that transfer energy quickly. Particles only vibrate about fixed positions.

Q18　C　λ = v ÷ f = 340 ÷ 170 = 2.0 m.

Q19　D　T = 1 ÷ f = 1 ÷ 250 = 0.0040 s = 4.0 × 10⁻³ s (4.0 ms).

Q20　B　Sound is a mechanical wave and needs a medium; the Moon has almost no atmosphere, so radio is used.

Q21　A　The angle of incidence is measured from the normal: 90° − 35° = 55°, and the angle of reflection is also 55°.

Q22　C　Glass is optically denser, so light slows down and bends towards the normal.

Q23　B　sin c = 1 ÷ n = 1 ÷ 1.50 = 0.667, so c = 41.8° ≈ 42°.

Q24　D　From longest to shortest: radio → microwave → infrared → visible → ultraviolet → X-ray → gamma.

Q25　A　With the object beyond 2F the image lies between F and 2F: real, inverted and diminished (a camera).

Q26　B　The pulse travels 1500 × 0.24 = 360 m there and back, so the depth is 360 ÷ 2 = 180 m.

Q27　C　Q = It = 3.0 × 20 = 60 C.

Q28　A　I = V ÷ R = 12 ÷ 4.0 = 3.0 A.

Q29　D　P = VI = 230 × 2.0 = 460 W.

Q30　C　E = Pt = 2.0 kW × 3.0 h = 6.0 kWh.

Q31　B　1/R = 1/6.0 + 1/6.0 = 2/6.0, so R = 3.0 Ω; a parallel combination is always smaller than either resistor.

Q32　D　NTC means negative temperature coefficient: resistance falls as temperature rises, so it is used as a temperature sensor.

Q33　A　Field strength increases with current and number of turns; a soft-iron core concentrates the field.

Q34　C　Vs = Vp × Ns ÷ Np = 240 × 200 ÷ 1000 = 48 V (a step-down transformer).

Q35　D　The commutator reverses the current every half turn so the magnetic force always drives the coil the same way.

Q36　A　Neutrons = mass number − proton number = 235 − 92 = 143.

Q37　C　30 min is 3 half-lives: 8.0 → 4.0 → 2.0 → 1.0 g.

Q38　D　An alpha particle is a helium-4 nucleus: 2 protons + 2 neutrons, charge +2, mass number 4.

Q39　D　The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter.

Q40　B　Red shift means the wavelengths are stretched (Doppler effect), so the galaxy is receding; the farther the galaxy, the greater the red shift — evidence for an expanding universe.

Quick answer key

Grade guide (out of 40)

Suggested timing (45 minutes)

Notices

•　This paper has 40 four-option questions, 1 mark each, 40 marks in 45 minutes. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so answer every question.

•　Choose exactly one option per question; multiple or blank responses score 0.

•　Unless stated otherwise, g = 10 N/kg, density of water = 1000 kg/m³ and specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J/(kg °C).

•　Answers and explanations are in the answer PDF. Sit the whole paper before checking.

•　All questions are original and are not Cambridge past-paper questions; the grade bands are this paper’s own guide.

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This is original TutorZone practice material, not Cambridge past-paper content. The paper structure quoted (45 minutes, 40 four-option questions, 40 marks, 30% weighting) is taken from the Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 syllabus for 2026–2028, page 9.