Cambridge International IGCSE Physics (0625) · CAIE 0625
2 Thermal physics
Written & reviewed by James Millett — Biology (Imperial College London), PGCE Science (University of Cambridge).
Practice questions on Thermal physics
- Explain why a central heating system that pumps hot water through pipes to radiators is ab… (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why placing a hot drink in a vacuum flask with a shiny inner surface helps to keep… (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why a black, dull-surfaced metal container of hot water cools down more quickly th… (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why a metal railway track has a higher thermal expansion than a wooden railway sle… (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why two substances made of different materials but with the same mass require diff… (4 marks, Explain)
- Describe the differences between boiling and evaporation. In your answer, refer to where e… (4 marks, Describe)
- Explain why evaporation causes a liquid to cool, and state two ways in which the rate of e… (4 marks, Explain)
- A solid is heated until it melts and then continues to be heated until it boils. Explain, … (4 marks, Explain)
- When a puddle of water evaporates on a warm day, the ground beneath the puddle becomes coo… (4 marks, Explain)
- A fixed mass of gas is compressed to a smaller volume at constant temperature. Explain why… (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why smoke particles suspended in still air move in a random, zigzag path. (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why the pressure of a fixed mass of gas increases when its temperature is raised a… (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why the temperature of a liquid remains constant during boiling, even though therm… (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why a room heated by a radiator warms up throughout, even in parts of the room far… (4 marks, Explain)
- Explain why metals are better thermal conductors than non-metals, and why gases are poor t… (4 marks, Explain)