A Level Physics 9702, topic 17.3
Damped and forced oscillations, resonance: past paper questions
5 Cambridge A Level Physics 9702 questions on Damped and forced oscillations, resonance (17.3) from 5 papers, 2023 to 2025. Open the paper or try a question free.
Practising builds a set from this topic, free with an account. One question opens straight away, with no account.
- Questions
- 5
- Papers
- 5
- Years
- 2023 to 2025
- Total marks
- 44
- Average per question
- 8.8 marks
- Largest question
- 10 marks
By type: Structured 5
What the syllabus asks
- understand that a resistive force acting on an oscillating system causes damping
- understand and use the terms light, critical and heavy damping and sketch displacement–time graphs illustrating these types of damping
- understand that resonance involves a maximum amplitude of oscillations and that this occurs when an oscillating system is forced to oscillate at its natural frequency
How hard the questions are
- Recall0
- Apply2
- Analyse3
- Not banded0
Derived from the command word Cambridge prints in each question, banded by a fixed table beside the syllabus's own definitions. A question printing no command word is unbanded: unknown, not middling.
Command words
- sketchApply5 questions
make a simple freehand drawing showing the key features
- stateRecall5 questions
express in clear terms
- determineApply3 questions
establish an answer using the information available
- explainAnalyse3 questions
set out purposes or reasons/make the relationships between things evident/provide why and/or how and support with relevant evidence
- calculateApply2 questions
work out from given facts, figures or information
Where the questions come from
By year
- 20251
- 20242
- 20232
By session
- May/June2
- Oct/Nov3
By paper
- Paper 45
Questions on this topic
Showing 3 of 5, spread across the years. Open one to write your answer and have it marked.
- Try this questionQuestion 5Oct/Nov 2025, paper 42Structured10 marksHas a diagram
A steel ball on the end of a thin string oscillates with small oscillations, as shown in Fig. 5.1. The displacement of the centre of the ball from its equilibrium position is . Fig. 5.2 shows the variation with of the acceleration of the ball.
- Try this questionQuestion 4May/June 2024, paper 41Structured8 marksHas a diagram
State what is meant by resonance.
- Try this questionQuestion 4Oct/Nov 2023, paper 41Structured9 marksHas a diagram
A heavy metal sphere of mass is suspended from a string. The sphere is undergoing small oscillations from side to side, as shown in Fig. 4.1.