Thermal properties and temperature: past paper questions

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• Question 16May/June 2026, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  What is the name of the change of state that occurs when a substance changes from a solid to a liquid?

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• Question 17May/June 2026, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  Liquid nitrogen boils at $77\text{ K}$. What is the boiling temperature of liquid nitrogen in ${}^{\circ }\text{C}$?

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• Question 15Oct/Nov 2025, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  A student investigates how changing the temperature of a gas affects the volume of the gas. The gas is kept at a constant pressure. Which graph shows the relationship between the temperature and the volume of a sample of gas at constant pressure?

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• Question 23Oct/Nov 2024, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Thermal energy is supplied at a constant rate to a fixed mass of a substance that is initially solid. The graph shows how the temperature of the fixed mass of the substance varies with time. In which sections of the graph does the substance absorb latent heat?

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• Question 18May/June 2026, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Cooking oil of mass $0.25\text{ kg}$ is heated using a heater of power $50\text{ W}$. The graph shows how the temperature of the cooking oil changes with time. Thermal energy transfer from the oil to the surroundings is negligible.

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• Question 16Oct/Nov 2024, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The table shows the melting and boiling temperatures of three elements. element | melting temperature / °C | boiling temperature / °C argon | –189 | –185 nitrogen| –210 | –196 oxygen | –218 | –183 At which temperature are the three elements in different states?

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• Question 17Oct/Nov 2023, paper 12Multiple choice1 mark

  Which diagram shows the names of the changes of state that correspond to the directions of the arrows?

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• Question 19May/June 2026, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Some of the liquid in a dish evaporates, as shown in the diagrams. Which molecules leave the liquid and which molecules in the liquid have greater average kinetic energy?

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• Question 23Oct/Nov 2025, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The diagram shows two changes of state, X and Y. Which row gives the names of the two changes of state?

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• Question 17Oct/Nov 2024, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The diagram shows a liquid at room temperature in a beaker. What reduces the rate of loss of liquid by evaporation?

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• Question 20Oct/Nov 2023, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Pot X and pot Y are both in a cool room. Pot X contains hot water below its boiling point. Pot Y is identical to pot X but contains water that is kept boiling by a hotplate underneath it.

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• Question 16May/June 2026, paper 12Multiple choice1 mark

  Which terms describe the changes in state between a gas and a liquid?

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• Question 3Oct/Nov 2025, paper 21Structured7 marksHas a diagram

  Fig. 3.1 shows a small block of ice at $0{}^{\circ }\text{C}$ and a plastic cup that contains $0.24\text{ kg}$ of water. The initial temperature of the water in the cup is $22.0{}^{\circ }\text{C}$. The block of ice is dropped into the water.

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• Question 2Oct/Nov 2024, paper 21Structured8 marks

  A student makes a ball from modelling clay. The ball has a mass of $0.20\text{ kg}$. She drops the ball from a height of $40\text{ m}$ above the ground.

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• Question 3Oct/Nov 2023, paper 21Structured10 marks

  When the temperature of a liquid increases, the kinetic energy of its particles increases and the liquid expands. Explain, by referring to particles, why a liquid expands when heated.

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• Question 5Oct/Nov 2025, paper 21Structured10 marksHas a diagram

  An iron beaker containing liquid X is placed on the bench in a laboratory. Liquid X begins to evaporate slowly. Explain why the evaporation causes the temperature of liquid X to decrease.

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• Question 4Oct/Nov 2024, paper 41Essay6 marks

  A student uses ice cubes to investigate the time taken for different masses of ice to melt when the ice cubes are placed in water. Plan an experiment using ice cubes to investigate how the mass of ice affects the time taken for the ice to melt.

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• Question 5Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured5 marksHas a diagram

  Fig. 5.1 shows a device that cools the air in a room by evaporation. Water drips from the container into the sponge block and keeps it wet. Air flows in through one grille and out through the other.

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• Question 4May/June 2026, paper 22Structured10 marksHas a diagram

  Figure 4.1 shows a travel mug used to keep a liquid hot. Inside the mug, there are metal walls with a vacuum between the walls. The mug contains $250\text{ g}$ of water, initially at $90{}^{\circ }\text{C}$.

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• Question 1Oct/Nov 2025, paper 41Structured10 marksHas a diagram

  A student measures the efficiency of a small electric heater. The student is provided with the circuit shown in Fig. 1.1. The coil of wire is the small electric heater.

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• Question 4Oct/Nov 2024, paper 42Essay6 marks

  Water is heated from room temperature to its boiling temperature in a glass beaker. Plan an experiment to investigate if the time taken for the water to reach its boiling temperature depends on the diameter of the water surface exposed to the air.

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• Question 16May/June 2023, paper 11Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  An incomplete statement about latent heat is given. Latent heat is the ......1...... required to overcome the bonds between molecules and change the ......2......

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• Question 4May/June 2026, paper 42Essay6 marks

  When air moves over the surface of hot water in a beaker, it changes the rate of cooling of the hot water. Plan an experiment to investigate the relationship between the speed of a fan producing the moving air and the rate of cooling of the hot water in the beaker.

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• Question 13May/June 2025, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  The strength of the forces between the particles of a solid determines how much the solid expands when heated. Which statement about these forces is correct?

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• Question 18May/June 2024, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  The temperature of a substance is measured with a liquid-in-glass thermometer. Which physical property changes so that the temperature can be measured?

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• Question 16May/June 2023, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The diagrams show examples of thermal expansion.

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• Question 19May/June 2024, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  Boiling and evaporation are different processes. Which statement is correct?

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• Question 4May/June 2023, paper 22Structured9 marksHas a diagram

  Fig. 4.1 shows the particles (atoms) at one instant in a sample of iron at a temperature below its melting point. State the lowest possible temperature on the Celsius scale and on the Kelvin scale.

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• Question 16May/June 2025, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  When a liquid evaporates, molecules escape from its surface. Which molecules escape, and what happens to the average kinetic energy of the molecules remaining in the liquid?

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• Question 1May/June 2023, paper 41Structured10 marksHas a diagram

  A student investigates specific heat capacity. He puts $25{\text{ cm}}^3$ of water in a beaker. The thermometer in Fig. 1.1 shows the temperature ${\theta }_1$ of the water.

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