Physical quantities
1.1What the syllabus asks of you
- understand that all physical quantities consist of a numerical magnitude and a unit
- make reasonable estimates of physical quantities included within the syllabus
Read the notes first
Chapter 1: Physical quantities
Drill this topic
Every question on Physical quantities, untimed, marked as you go.
Make a worksheet
Choose the years and how many questions, then print it with the answers on separate pages.
52 questions
1May / June 2026 · Paper 11 · Q3Show mark scheme →
A3.0
Bkilogram
C7 N
D40%
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2May / June 2026 · Paper 11 · Q10Show mark scheme →
A5 × 10³ kg m s⁻¹
B7 × 10⁴ kg m s⁻¹
C9 × 10⁵ kg m s⁻¹
D2 × 10⁶ kg m s⁻¹
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3May / June 2026 · Paper 14 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Anewton
Bpower
C6.4%
D9.6 J
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4May / June 2026 · Paper 14 · Q3Show mark scheme →
A6000 mm³
B60 cm³
C6000 cm³
D0.60 m³
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5Oct / Nov 2025 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A7 × 10⁰ N
B7 × 10² N
C7 × 10⁴ N
D7 × 10⁶ N
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6Oct / Nov 2025 · Paper 14 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Aa base unit and a number
Ba unit and a number expressed in standard form (scientific notation)
Ca unit and a numerical magnitude
Dan SI unit and a numerical magnitude
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7May / June 2025 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Aa direction and a magnitude
Ba direction and a unit
Ca magnitude and a prefix
Da magnitude and a unit
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8May / June 2025 · Paper 13 · Q2Show mark scheme →
A8 µA
B8 mA
C8 A
D8 kA
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9May / June 2025 · Paper 14 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A10^{17}
B10^{26}
C10^{32}
D10^{37}
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10Oct / Nov 2024 · Paper 11 · Q4Show mark scheme →
A60 mm³
B600 mm³
C6000 mm³
D60 000 mm³
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11Oct / Nov 2024 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Amass — gram
Blength — metre
Ccharge — ampere
Dtemperature — kelvin
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12Oct / Nov 2024 · Paper 12 · Q2Show mark scheme →
A5 × 10^4 J
B5 × 10^7 J
C5 × 10^10 J
D5 × 10^13 J
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13Oct / Nov 2024 · Paper 13 · Q1Show mark scheme →
AA physical quantity does not always have a magnitude or a unit.
BA physical quantity must always have a magnitude but does not always have a unit.
CA physical quantity must always have a unit but does not always have a magnitude.
DA physical quantity must always have a magnitude and a unit.
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14Oct / Nov 2024 · Paper 13 · Q2Show mark scheme →
A0.1 kg
B10 kg
C1000 kg
D100 000 kg
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15May / June 2024 · Paper 12 · Q8Show mark scheme →
A1 × 10⁴ kg m s⁻¹
B1 × 10⁵ kg m s⁻¹
C1 × 10⁶ kg m s⁻¹
D1 × 10⁷ kg m s⁻¹
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16Oct / Nov 2023 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A1 × 10⁻³ m²
B8 × 10⁻⁵ m²
C8 × 10⁻⁷ m²
D1 × 10⁻⁹ m²
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17Oct / Nov 2023 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Acontainer ship: 10 m s⁻¹
BOlympic sprinter: 0.1 km s⁻¹
Cracing car: 9000 cm s⁻¹
Dsnail: 0.01 km h⁻¹
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18May / June 2023 · Paper 11 · Q2Show mark scheme →
A5 × 10¹⁵
B5 × 10²⁵
C5 × 10²⁹
D5 × 10³¹
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19May / June 2023 · Paper 13 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Aan integer value for the quantity
Ban SI unit
Ca numerical value for the quantity
Da unit expressed in base units
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20Feb / March 2023 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A3.0
Bkilogram
C7.0 N
D40%
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21Oct / Nov 2022 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Aa base unit and a number
Ba unit and a number expressed in standard form (scientific notation)
Ca unit and a numerical magnitude
Dan SI unit and a numerical magnitude
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22Oct / Nov 2022 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Aflavour
Bkelvin
Cminute
Dpotential difference
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23May / June 2022 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Ametre
Bpercentage uncertainty
Cquark flavour
Dspring constant
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24May / June 2022 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A1 × 10⁻³ kg for the mass of a grain of sand
B1 × 10⁻² m³ for the volume of a tennis ball
C1 × 10⁰ J for the work done lifting an apple from waist height to head height
D1 × 10⁴ W for the power of a light bulb in a house
Mark scheme
25May / June 2022 · Paper 13 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Acharge and ampere
Befficiency and kilogram
Cpascal and strain
Dperiod and potential difference
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26Oct / Nov 2021 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Athe measurement has an SI unit
Bthe measurement has a unit and a number
Cthe measurement has a unit given as a base unit
Dthe measurement is from an analogue scale
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27Oct / Nov 2021 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Amagnitude ✓, direction ✓, unit ✓
Bmagnitude ✓, direction ✓, unit ✗
Cmagnitude ✓, direction ✗, unit ✓
Dmagnitude ✗, direction ✗, unit ✓
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28Oct / Nov 2021 · Paper 13 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A0.013 mm
B0.017 mm
C0.13 mm
D0.17 mm
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29May / June 2021 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A0.10 m³
B0.50 m³
C1.0 m³
D2.0 m³
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30May / June 2021 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A2 × 10³ W for the power dissipated by the heating element of an electric kettle
B4 × 10² m³ for the volume of water in a swimming pool
C5 × 10⁵ N s for the momentum of a lorry moving along a road
D6 × 10² N for the weight of a fully grown racehorse
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31May / June 2021 · Paper 12 · Q4Show mark scheme →
A76 mA
B165 mA
C183 mA
D190 mA
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32Feb / March 2021 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A2 × 10² g cm⁻³
B2 × 10³ g cm⁻³
C2 × 10¹ kg m⁻³
D2 × 10³ kg m⁻³
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33Oct / Nov 2020 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Aatomic number
Befficiency
Cnumber density of charge carriers
Dstrain
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34Oct / Nov 2020 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Aestimate of the diameter
Bestimate of the mass
Cestimate of the thickness
Duse of the formula for the volume of a cylinder
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35Oct / Nov 2020 · Paper 13 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A600 cm³
B6000 cm³
C60 000 cm³
D600 000 cm³
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36May / June 2020 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A10² J
B10⁴ J
C10⁶ J
D10⁸ J
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37May / June 2020 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A10¹ kg
B10⁻¹ kg
C10⁻³ kg
D10⁻⁵ kg
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38Feb / March 2020 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A
B
C
D
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39Oct / Nov 2019 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Afrequency of a radio wave 500 pHz
Bmass of an atom 500 µg
Cthe Young modulus of a metal 500 kPa
Dwavelength of green light 500 nm
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40Oct / Nov 2019 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
AThe kinetic energy of the cyclist is 1 × 10³ J.
BThe kinetic energy of the car is 7 × 10⁴ J.
CThe momentum of the cyclist is 4 × 10² kg m s⁻¹.
DThe momentum of the car is 2 × 10⁵ kg m s⁻¹.
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41May / June 2019 · Paper 13 · Q4Show mark scheme →
A400 J
B4000 J
C40 000 J
D400 000 J
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42May / June 2019 · Paper 13 · Q39Show mark scheme →
A10⁻¹⁴ m
B10⁻¹⁸ m
C10⁻²² m
D10⁻²⁶ m
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43Feb / March 2019 · Paper 12 · Q4Show mark scheme →
Agraph A: current/mA against weight/N, curve concave down from (0,0) to (30,2)
Bgraph B: current/mA against weight/N, curve decreasing from (0,2)
Cgraph C: current/mA against weight/N, curve concave up from (0,0) to (30,2)
Dgraph D: current/mA against weight/N, curve concave down from (0,2) to (30,0)
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44Oct / Nov 2018 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Abasketball
Bcherry
Cgolf ball
Dtennis ball
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45Oct / Nov 2018 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Akinetic energy 3 × 10⁵ J, momentum 3 × 10⁴ kg m s⁻¹
Bkinetic energy 3 × 10⁵ J, momentum 5 × 10⁶ kg m s⁻¹
Ckinetic energy 2 × 10⁷ J, momentum 3 × 10⁴ kg m s⁻¹
Dkinetic energy 2 × 10⁷ J, momentum 5 × 10⁶ kg m s⁻¹
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46Oct / Nov 2018 · Paper 13 · Q1Show mark scheme →
AAtmospheric pressure at sea level is about 1 × 10^5 Pa.
BLight takes 5 × 10^2 s to reach us from the Sun.
CThe frequency of ultraviolet light is 3 × 10^12 Hz.
DThe lifespan of a man is about 2 × 10^9 s.
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47Oct / Nov 2018 · Paper 13 · Q4Show mark scheme →
A0.75 A
B1.5 A
C3.8 A
D7.5 A
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48May / June 2018 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A4
B7
C400
D700
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49May / June 2018 · Paper 13 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Aa quantity with a magnitude and a direction but no unit
Ba quantity with a magnitude and a unit
Ca quantity with a magnitude but no direction
Da quantity with a unit but no magnitude
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50May / June 2017 · Paper 11 · Q1Show mark scheme →
Acurrent in a fan heater — 12 A
Bmass of an adult person — 70 kg
Cspeed of an Olympic sprint runner — 10 m s⁻¹
Dwater pressure at the bottom of a garden pond — 10⁶ Pa
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51May / June 2017 · Paper 12 · Q1Show mark scheme →
A6 m s–1
B9 m s–1
C12 m s–1
D15 m s–1
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52Feb / March 2017 · Paper 12 · Q2Show mark scheme →
A30 m s^{-1}
B300 m s^{-1}
C30 000 m s^{-1}
D300 000 000 m s^{-1}
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