PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS

TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

PAPER-1 Multiple Choice

1- Density changes are responsible for which method of thermal energy transfer?
A conduction only B convection only
C radiation only D conduction, convection and radiation [May-2006]

2- The heat from the hot water in a metal radiator passes through the metal and then spreads around the
room. What are the main processes by which the heat is transferred through the radiator and then spread
around the room?

through the metal radiator around the room

A conduction conduction
B conduction convection
C radiation conduction
D radiation convection
[Nov-2006]

3- Fibre is used for home insulation in a cold country, as

shown in the diagram.Heat cannot easily escape through the
ceiling because the fibre

A - traps air. B - is warm.

C - is tightly packed. D - heats the roof space.

[Nov-2002]

4- The diagram shows a thick copper plate that is very hot. One side is
black, the other is shiny. A student places her hands the same distance
from each side as shown. Her left hand feels warmer than her right
hand. Which statement is the correct conclusion from the experiment?

A - The black side is hotter than the shiny one.

B - The black side radiates more heat.
C - The shiny side radiates more heat.
D - The shiny side is cooling down faster than the black side.

[May-2005]

5- In a vacuum flask, which methods of heat transfer are

prevented by the vacuum?
A - conduction only B - convection only
C - conduction and convection only D - conduction, convection, and radiation
[May-2008] / [Nov-2003]

6- How does thermal energy (heat energy) travel through the vacuum between the Earth and the
Sun?
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

A by conduction B by convection C by radiation D by radioactive decay

7- Water at the top of a hot-water tank is heated and the water becomes hot. No
water enters or leaves the tank. Water at the bottom of the tank stays cold for
some time. Why is this?

A Cold water at the top of the tank falls to the bottom.

B Hot water at the bottom of the tank rises to the top.
C Water is a poor conductor of heat.
D The insulation is a poor conductor of heat.

8- The diagram shows a room seen from above. It is

cold outside the room. The room is heated by a
small fire in the fireplace. Where is most heat lost by
convection?
A carpet B chimney
C glass window D solid wall

[Nov-2005]

9- An experiment is carried out as shown in the

diagram. Why does the ice take a long time to melt,
even though the water at the top of the tube is boiling?
A Convection never occurs in water.
B Ice is a poor conductor of heat.
C The gauze prevents the energy reaching the ice.
D Water is a poor conductor of heat.

[Nov-2005]

10- A teacher has a large tank of water in which he wants to set up a convection
current. Which of the following arrangements would do this?

A cooling at X B cooling at Y C heating at Y D heating at Z

[Nov-2004]
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

11- The diagram shows a vacuum flask and an enlarged

view of a section through the flask wall.

The main reason for the silvering is to reduce heat transfer

by
A conduction only. B radiation only.
C conduction and convection.
D convection and radiation.
[May-2004]

12- The diagram shows four similar cans. Each can contains the same volume of water initially at
80 °C. After five minutes, which can will contain the coolest water?

13- A double-glazed window has two sheets of glass separated by a layer of air.
Thermal energy is conducted and convected through the layer of air. The amount of conduction
and convection varies with the thickness of the layer of air, as shown in the graph.

Which thickness of air produces the smallest energy transfer, and why?
A 0.5 cm because there is little convection
B 1.0 cm because the total thermal energy transfer is least
C 1.5 cm because the total thermal energy transfer is small and conduction is low
D 2.0 cm because there is little conduction [May-2007]
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

14- A student needs a double-walled glass vessel to contain a hot liquid.

What reduces heat losses by radiation?

A a vacuum in the space between the walls B painting surface Q black

C painting surface R black D painting surface S silver [May-2009]

15- The diagrams show four cans in a cool room. They are painted as shown. One pair is filled with hot
water and left to cool down. The other pair is filled with cold water and placed near infra-red heaters.

The hot water in the black can cools more quickly than the hot water in the white can. The cold water in the
black can heats up more quickly than the cold water in the white can. Which row shows the reasons for
this?

better emitter of infra-red better absorber of infra-red

A black black
B black white
C white black
D white white
[Nov-2009]

16- When a refrigerator is switched on for the first time, the air surrounding the ice-box is cooled.
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

What happens to the density of this air and to its position inside the
refrigerator?

density position of the air

A decreases sinks to the bottom
B decreases stays at the top
C increases sinks to the bottom
D increases stays at the top
[May-2010]

17- The tubes inside solar heating panels use the Sun’s radiation to warm water. Why are the tubes painted
black?

A Black surfaces absorb radiation well. B Black surfaces conduct heat well.
C Black surfaces emit radiation well. D Black surfaces reflect radiation well. [Nov-2010]

PAPER-2 Theory

1- Heat is transferred by conduction, convection and radiation.

(a) (i) State which of the three methods is responsible for the transfer of heat from the Sun to the Earth.
(ii) Explain why the other two methods cannot be involved in
this transfer.
(b) A hand feels hot when placed above a lighted match, as shown
in Figure
Explain in detail how convection causes this to happen.

(c) Figure shows a layer of fibreglass placed

between the ceiling of a room and the roof of a
house.
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

Explain how the layer of fibreglass helps to keep the room warm when it is cold outside. [May-2004]

2- Fig. 9.1 shows an electric boiler in a school

kitchen.
The boiler contains 35 kg of water at 22 °C. The
specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J / (kg °C).
(a) (i) Calculate the thermal energy (heat) needed
to raise the temperature of the water from 22 °C to
its boiling point.

(ii) The water in the boiler is heated with a

2600 W immersion heater. Calculate the minimum
time for the heater to bring the water to its boiling
point.

(iii) Suggest one reason why the actual time is

greater than the time calculated in (ii).
(b) (i) The immersion heater is placed in the
water at the bottom of the boiler. Explain in detail
how this ensures that the thermal energy (heat) is
transferred throughout the water.
(ii) The boiler is made of steel and has two large plastic handles. When the water is boiling,the steel
surface at X is hot while the plastic handle at Y is cool. Explain why.
(c) Before the water reaches boiling point, water vapour is seen escaping from the boiler.
(i) State the name of the process that produces this water vapour.
(ii) State two differences between this process and boiling.

3- When a house is heated, energy is lost

to the outside. Figure shows where the
energy is lost from the house.
(a) (i) Calculate the percentage of the
energy lost through the roof.

(ii) Energy is lost through the roof by

conduction and from the roof by
convection and by
radiation. Explain in detail how this happens.

(iii) Fitting carpets on the floor reduces energy loss. Explain how a carpet reduces energy
loss.
(b) The table gives information about three methods of reducing energy loss.
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

(i) Calculate the values of X and Y.

(ii) Which one of these three methods should the house owner choose?
Explain your answer.
(iii) State two other ways, not already mentioned, of reducing energy loss from the house.
[May-2005]

4- Fig. 5.1 shows the arrangement of atoms in a solid block.

(a) End X of the block is heated. Energy is conducted to end Y, which becomes warm.
(i) Explain how heat is conducted from X to Y by the atoms.
(ii) Explain why the solid block expands when it is heated.
(b) The block is heated and becomes a liquid. Describe the changes that occur to the arrangement and the
motion of the atoms.
[Nov-2007]

5- Three horizontal rods are placed with one end

just above a Bunsen flame. The other end of
each rod is coated with wax, as shown in Fig. 3.1.
(a) Describe how you would use the apparatus to
discover which rod is the best conductor
of heat.
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

(b) Two metal teapots are identical except that one is black on the outside and the other is white on the
outside, as shown in Fig. 3.2.
The teapots each contain the same amount of hot water.
State and explain which teapot will cool down more quickly.

[Nov-2006]

6- A heat pipe is a device that transmits thermal energy along

its length. It can transmit energy thousands of times faster than
a solid copper rod. Fig. 8.1 shows a heat pipe attached to black
metal fins. The fins absorb energy from the Sun. The sealed
pipe transmits this energy along its length into a tank of cold
water.
Thermal energy from the fins is conducted through the walls of the copper pipe and causes the alcohol to boil. The
boiling creates a higher pressure. At the end of the
copper pipe in contact with cold water, the alcohol
condenses and creates a lower pressure. The liquid
alcohol runs along the
pipe to be boiled again. There is little change in the
temperature of the alcohol.

(a)
(i) Describe how molecules in the copper conduct
energy to the alcohol.
(ii) Explain how boiling and condensation within
the heat pipe cause the transfer of energy.
(iii) Explain why the heat pipe is able to transfer
energy at a fast rate.

(b) In one minute, a mass of 25 g of alcohol condenses

at the end of the heat pipe. The specific latent heat of
vaporisation of alcohol is 840 J/g.
(i) Define specific latent heat of vaporisation.
(ii) Calculate the amount of energy released when 25 g of alcohol condenses. You may neglect any change in the
temperature of the alcohol.
(iii) Calculate the maximum rise in temperature that the energy calculated in (ii) produces when used to heat 500 g
of cold water. The specific heat capacity of water is 4.2 J/(g °C).

(c) Black surfaces absorb and emit infra-red radiation better than white surfaces.
(i) Describe an experiment that shows black surfaces absorb radiation better than white surfaces.
(ii) Describe an experiment that shows black surfaces emit radiation better than white surfaces at the same
temperature.
[Nov-2004]

7- Fig. 4.1 shows equipment placed on top of a house that uses solar energy to produce hot
water.
(a) Explain why the solar collector has a black base.
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

(b) State and explain why the hot water in the solar collector travels to the hot-water tank.
(c) Fig. 4.1 does not show any insulation.
(i) Explain why it is important to insulate the hot-water tank.
(ii) Explain how the hot-water tank is insulated.
[Nov-2007]

8- One type of renewable energy source is shown in Fig. 3.1.

(a) (i) State the name of the renewable energy source shown in Fig. 3.1.

............................................................................................................................ [1]

(ii) State what is meant by a renewable energy source.

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................
 PHYSICS O - LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
TOPIC-10 Transfer of Heat

............................................................................................................................ [1]

(b) 1000 kg of cold water at a temperature of 20 °C is pumped down to the hot rocks. 100 kg of water
returns as steam and 900 kg as hot water, both at a temperature of 100 °C. The specific heat capacity of
water is 4200 J / (kg °C) and the specific latent heat of vaporisation of water is 2.3 × 106 J / kg.

Calculate

(i) the energy needed to heat 1000 kg of water from 20 °C to 100 °C,

energy = ...................... [2]

(ii) the energy needed to produce 100 kg of steam from water that is already at 100 °C.

energy = ....................... [2]

[Nov-2007]

9-

PAPER-4 Alternative to Practical