NKUMBA SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

S.5 PHYSICS PAPER 2

MID TERM TWO 2017
DURATION 1HOUR 30MIN
ATTEMPT ANY 3 QUESTIONS;
1. (a) Sketch the electric field lines between two large parallel metal plates across which a P.d is applied.
(b) (i) Describe with aid of a diagram, how you would investigate the factors which affect the capacitance
of a parallel plate capacitor (ii) Calculate the capacitance of a parallel capacitor whose plates are 10cm by
10cm separated by an air gap of 5mm
c) A hollow spherical conductor of diameter 21.4cm carrying a charge of 6.9 x 10-10c is raised to a potential of 50v.
Find the permittivity of the surrounding medium
(d) (i) Show that the effective capacitance, C, of two capacitances C1 and C2, connected in series is given by
1 2
=
1 + 2
e(i) A 20F capacitor is charged to 40V and they connected across an unchanged 60F capacitor. Calculate the
potential difference across the 60F capacitor. (ii) Find the change in energy. (iii) Account for the energy change

2 a) Define
(i) amplitude of a stationary wave (1)
(ii) State two characteristics of a stationary wave (2)
b) A progressive wave y=asin (t-kx) is reflected at a barrier to interfere with the incoming wave. Show that the
resultant wave is a stationary one. (4)
(c) A vibrating tuning fork of frequency 340HZ is held over a long glass tube full of water which is allowed to run out
slowly. Given that the velocity of sound is340ms-1 and the diameter of the tube is 4cm. calculate the end correction
C and the length of the air column giving the first two positions of resonance. (6)
(d) Explain why open pipes are preferred to closed pipes as musical instruments (1)
(e) Two open pipes of length 92cm and 93cm are found to give beat frequency of 3.0Hz when each is sounding in its
fundamental note. If the end errors are 1.5cm and 1.8 cm respectively, calculate the
(i) Velocity of sound in air (4)
(ii) Frequency of each note (2)

3 (a) Define
(i) The tesla (1)
(ii) Magnetic flux DENSITY (1)
(b) Two infinitely long straight wires carrying currents I1 and L2 respectively are placed parallel to each other in
vacuum at a distance , d metres apart, Derive an expression for the force per meter between the wires.
(c). (i) Sketch the magnetic field pattern on the plane containing the center, due to a current flowing in a circular coil
(ii) Write an expression for magnetic flux density, B at the center of a circular coil of N turns each of
radius r and carrying a current I
 iii) A wire of length 7.85 m is wound into a circular coil of radius 0.05m. If a current of 2A passes through the coil,
find the magnetic flux density at the center of the coil
(4)
d(i) Explain the term back emf in a.d.c. motor (2)
(ii) Show how the back emf in a motor is related to the efficiency of the motor (4)

4 (a) Distinguish between electrical resistance and reactance (2)

(b) An alternating current I flows through a coil of inductance L. The instantaneous value of current is I = Io sin 2ft,
where Io is the amplitude and f is the frequency.
(i) Derive the expression for the voltage V across the coil (4)
(ii) State the phase of V relative to that of I (1)
(iii) If the coil is a pure inductor , explain why it is non dissipative (3)
(c). A sinusoidal voltage of rms value 20V is applied across a 70 F capacitor. If the frequency of the a.c. supply is
50HZ; calculate;
(i) The rms value of the current through the capacitor
(ii) The maximum charge on the capacitor
(d) With the aid of a diagram describe how a thermocouple meter works \

5a) (i) Define focal length of a convex mirror. (01 mark)

(ii) With aid of a ray diagram, show that the radius of curvature
of a convex mirror is twice the focal length of the mirror. (04 marks)
(b) Describe the action of a sextant. (05marks)
(c) Explain why parabolic reflectors are used in search lights instead of
Concave. (03 marks)
(d) Describe how you can determine the focal length of a concave mirror, using
a search pin. (05 marks)
e) State the characteristics of images formed in plane mirrors. (02mks)

END