Skip to content

Paper Together: sit a paper in a room with your friends.See how it works

Particle model of matter: GCSE Combined Science Physics practice questions

Foundation and Higher · Grade 5

A second set of questions on particle model of matter. They are different from the ones on the topic page. Try each, then open the answer and compare your working.

More questions

Question 1 Hard

Work out the energy needed to make 2 kg of lead melt. The specific latent heat of fusion is 23 000 J/kg.

Show answer

Answer: 46000 J

  1. E = m × L
  2. 2 × 23000 = 46000 J

Question 2 Hard

Work out the energy needed to make 0.5 kg of lead melt. The specific latent heat of fusion is 23 000 J/kg.

Show answer

Answer: 11500 J

  1. E = m × L
  2. 0.5 × 23000 = 11500 J

Question 3 Hard

Work out the energy needed to make 0.01 kg of water boil away. The specific latent heat of vaporisation is 2 260 000 J/kg.

Show answer

Answer: 22600 J

  1. E = m × L
  2. 0.01 × 2260000 = 22600 J

Question 4 Hard

Work out the energy needed to make 0.03 kg of water boil away. The specific latent heat of vaporisation is 2 260 000 J/kg.

Show answer

Answer: 67800 J

  1. E = m × L
  2. 0.03 × 2260000 = 67800 J

Quick checks

Short questions with options. Choose one before you open the answer.

Check 1

What is the unit of density used for a small solid block?

  1. g/cm³, or kg/m³.
  2. g/cm, or kg/m.
  3. J/kg.
Show answer

g/cm³, or kg/m³. g/cm³ is used when mass is in grams and volume is in cm³.

Check 2

How do you calculate density?

  1. Mass divided by volume.
  2. Mass multiplied by volume.
  3. Volume divided by mass.
Show answer

Mass divided by volume. density = mass ÷ volume.

Check 3

Which state has a fixed shape?

  1. A liquid.
  2. A gas.
  3. A solid.
Show answer

A solid. The particles of a solid are held in place.

Check 4

Which state can be compressed easily?

  1. A solid.
  2. A gas.
  3. A liquid.
Show answer

A gas. The particles in a gas are far apart, so there is space to squash them into.

Check 5

What happens to the temperature while a solid is melting?

  1. It stays the same.
  2. It rises quickly.
  3. It falls.
Show answer

It stays the same. The energy increases potential energy, not the speed of the particles.

Check 6

What does specific heat capacity measure?

  1. The energy needed to melt 1 kg of a substance.
  2. The mass of 1 cm³ of a substance.
  3. The energy needed to raise 1 kg of a substance by 1 °C.
Show answer

The energy needed to raise 1 kg of a substance by 1 °C. It tells you how hard a substance is to warm up.

Check 7

What does specific latent heat measure?

  1. The energy to raise 1 kg by 1 °C.
  2. The energy needed to change the state of 1 kg of a substance.
  3. The heat lost by a flask.
Show answer

The energy needed to change the state of 1 kg of a substance. It does not change the temperature.

Check 8

How do you find the volume of an irregular stone?

  1. By displacement, using a measuring cylinder or displacement can.
  2. By length × width × height.
  3. By weighing it.
Show answer

By displacement, using a measuring cylinder or displacement can. The volume of water pushed out of the way equals the volume of the stone.

Check 9

Why does the pressure of a sealed gas rise when it is heated?

  1. The particles get bigger.
  2. More particles appear.
  3. The particles hit the walls harder and more often.
Show answer

The particles hit the walls harder and more often. Faster particles cause bigger and more frequent collisions.

Check 10

What is internal energy?

  1. The total kinetic and potential energy of all the particles.
  2. Only the kinetic energy of the particles.
  3. The energy stored in a battery.
Show answer

The total kinetic and potential energy of all the particles. Kinetic plus potential energy of the particles.

Check 11

What is the unit of specific heat capacity?

  1. J/kg °C.
  2. J/kg.
  3. kg/m³.
Show answer

J/kg °C. Joules per kilogram per degree Celsius.

Check 12

What is the unit of specific latent heat?

  1. J/kg °C.
  2. J/kg.
  3. g/cm³.
Show answer

J/kg. Joules per kilogram.

Check 13

What is the name for the change from liquid to gas at the boiling point?

  1. Boiling.
  2. Melting.
  3. Condensing.
Show answer

Boiling. The particles gain enough energy to break away from each other.

Check 14

What is the name for the change from solid to liquid?

  1. Freezing.
  2. Boiling.
  3. Melting.
Show answer

Melting. At the melting point the particles break free from their fixed places.

Check 15

What is the name for the change from gas to liquid?

  1. Condensing.
  2. Evaporating.
  3. Freezing.
Show answer

Condensing. The particles slow down and come together.

Check 16

A block has mass 56 g and volume 8 cm³. What is the density?

  1. 448 g/cm³
  2. 7 g/cm³
  3. 0.14 g/cm³
Show answer

7 g/cm³ 56 ÷ 8 = 7 g/cm³.

Check 17

A 0.5 kg block has c = 400 J/kg °C and warms by 10 °C. What energy is needed?

  1. 2000 J
  2. 4000 J
  3. 200 J
Show answer

2000 J E = m × c × Δθ = 0.5 × 400 × 10 = 2000 J.

Check 18

The mass is 3 kg and L is 20 000 J/kg. What energy changes its state?

  1. 6667 J
  2. 20 003 J
  3. 60 000 J
Show answer

60 000 J E = m × L = 3 × 20 000 = 60 000 J.

Check 19

Write the equation for the energy to change a temperature, in words.

  1. Energy = mass × specific heat capacity × temperature change.
  2. Energy = mass × specific latent heat.
  3. Energy = mass ÷ volume.
Show answer

Energy = mass × specific heat capacity × temperature change. E = m c Δθ.

Check 20

Why is a gas much less dense than a solid?

  1. Its particles are much lighter.
  2. Its particles are far apart, so there is little mass in each unit of volume.
  3. Its particles are all moving.
Show answer

Its particles are far apart, so there is little mass in each unit of volume. Density depends on how closely the mass is packed.

Check 21

A student says energy is destroyed when ice melts. What is wrong with that?

  1. The energy goes into the potential energy of the particles.
  2. Nothing. The energy disappears.
  3. The energy makes the ice colder.
Show answer

The energy goes into the potential energy of the particles. Energy is conserved. It changes the arrangement of the particles.

Check 22

A student finds density by multiplying mass and volume. What is wrong with that?

  1. Nothing. Multiplying is correct.
  2. It should be volume divided by mass.
  3. Density is mass divided by volume.
Show answer

Density is mass divided by volume. Always divide mass by volume.

Check 23

Why does a liquid keep its volume but change its shape?

  1. Its particles stay close together but can slide past each other.
  2. Its particles are far apart.
  3. Its particles are in a fixed pattern.
Show answer

Its particles stay close together but can slide past each other. Close particles fix the volume, and sliding particles let it flow.

Check 24

Why does the sea take a long time to warm up on a sunny day?

  1. Water has a high specific heat capacity, so it needs a lot of energy.
  2. Water reflects all of the Sun’s radiation.
  3. Water has a very low density.
Show answer

Water has a high specific heat capacity, so it needs a lot of energy. It takes 4200 J to warm 1 kg of water by 1 °C.

Check 25

What is sublimation?

  1. A gas turning into a liquid
  2. A solid turning straight into a gas
  3. A liquid turning into a solid
Show answer

A solid turning straight into a gas A change of state from a solid straight to a gas.

Check 26

Why is a change of state a physical change?

  1. It makes new substances.
  2. The mass changes.
  3. It can be reversed and the material gets its properties back.
Show answer

It can be reversed and the material gets its properties back. The material recovers its original properties if the change is reversed.

Check 27

How do you draw a gas in a particle diagram?

  1. A few circles far apart
  2. Circles touching in neat rows
  3. Circles touching but jumbled
Show answer

A few circles far apart A few particles far apart, with plenty of empty space.

Check 28

Which instrument measures the dimensions of a small object more precisely than a ruler?

  1. A balance
  2. A micrometer or Vernier callipers
  3. A stopwatch
Show answer

A micrometer or Vernier callipers A micrometer or Vernier callipers.

Check 29

How do you find the volume of a small stone?

  1. Measure its length, width and height with a ruler.
  2. Weigh it on a balance.
  3. Measure the water it displaces.
Show answer

Measure the water it displaces. Measure the water it displaces, using a displacement can or a measuring cylinder.

Check 30

How do you find the mass of a liquid with a measuring cylinder and a balance?

  1. Subtract the mass of the empty cylinder.
  2. Add the mass of the cylinder to the liquid.
  3. Read the volume and use that.
Show answer

Subtract the mass of the empty cylinder. Subtract the mass of the empty cylinder from the mass of the cylinder with the liquid.

Check 31

1 kg of water freezes into ice. What is the mass of the ice, and is ice more or less dense?

  1. Less than 1 kg, and ice is denser.
  2. 1 kg, and ice is less dense.
  3. More than 1 kg, and ice is less dense.
Show answer

1 kg, and ice is less dense. 1 kg. The ice takes up more volume, so it is less dense.

Check 32

What does a cooling curve show while a gas condenses?

  1. A line that rises steeply
  2. A line that keeps falling
  3. A flat line, because the temperature stays the same
Show answer

A flat line, because the temperature stays the same The temperature stays the same, because energy is being given out as the particles come together.

Check 33

What happens to the internal energy of a system when it is heated?

  1. It increases.
  2. It decreases.
  3. It stays the same.
Show answer

It increases. It increases. The temperature rises or the state changes.

Check 34

What is the difference between specific heat capacity and specific latent heat?

  1. They are the same thing.
  2. Heat capacity is for a temperature change. Latent heat is for a change of state.
  3. Latent heat is for a temperature change and heat capacity is for a change of state.
Show answer

Heat capacity is for a temperature change. Latent heat is for a change of state. Specific heat capacity is for a temperature change. Specific latent heat is for a change of state at constant temperature.

Check 35

What is the specific latent heat of fusion?

  1. The energy to boil 1 kg of a liquid
  2. The energy to raise 1 kg by 1 °C
  3. The energy to melt 1 kg with no temperature change
Show answer

The energy to melt 1 kg with no temperature change The energy needed to change 1 kg of a substance from a solid to a liquid with no change in temperature.

Check 36

How is the temperature of a gas related to its molecules?

  1. It is related to their average kinetic energy.
  2. It is related to the number of molecules only.
  3. It is related to the size of the molecules.
Show answer

It is related to their average kinetic energy. It is related to the average kinetic energy of the molecules.

Check 37

Which words describe the motion of molecules in a gas?

  1. Slow and in a pattern
  2. Constant and random
  3. Still, with only vibration
Show answer

Constant and random Constant and random.

Keep going with Particle model of matter

Practise free

Start free

Yumio is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to AQA, Pearson Edexcel or any other exam board.

Next topicPractise free