plumiE.m.f., internal resistance and terminal p.d. (core practical 8): Edexcel International A Level Physics questions
Edexcel International A Level Physics past-paper questions on 2.4.4.1 E.m.f., internal resistance and terminal p.d. (core practical 8), 2019–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
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Q14(a)
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All 42 questions on E.m.f., internal resistance and terminal p.d. (core practical 8), as a list
- June 2025, AS Unit 2, Q14(a) (3 marks): One cell is removed from the battery and connected in the circuit shown. V When the resistance of the variable resistor is 10 Ω , the reading on the voltmeter i
- June 2025, AS Unit 2, Q14(b) (4 marks): The battery in an electric bicycle gets warm when the battery supplies power to the motor in the bicycle. Explain why the battery gets hot when the bicycle is g
- June 2025, AS Unit 2, Q16(a) (1 mark): State what is meant by an e.m.f. of 6.00 V. (1)
- June 2025, AS Unit 3, Q3(b)(i) (1 mark): Determine the internal resistance of the power supply. (1) Internal resistance =
- June 2025, AS Unit 3, Q3(b)(ii) (2 marks): Determine the output potential difference of the power supply when the power output is a maximum. (2) Output potential difference =
- June 2025, AS Unit 3, Q3(c) (2 marks): When the power output is at its maximum value, the overall efficiency is 50%. Radio transmitters are used to transmit radio waves over a large area. The aerial
- January 2025, AS Unit 2, Q10 (1 mark): A student connected the circuit shown. 9 V 10 Ω V The reading on the voltmeter was 6 V. Which of the following expressions gives the internal resistance, in Ω ,
- January 2025, AS Unit 2, Q16(a) (1 mark): State what is meant by the e.m.f. of a cell. (1)
- January 2025, AS Unit 2, Q16(b) (6 marks): The voltmeter measures the terminal potential difference across the cell. Explain how increasing the intensity of light incident on the LDR affects the reading
- June 2024, AS Unit 2, Q5 (1 mark): The circuit shown includes a cell with internal resistance 0.5 Ω. 0.5 Ω 6 Ω V 1.2 V Which of the following expressions gives the e.m.f., in V, of the cell? A 1.
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q14(a) (2 marks): The student connected a high resistance voltmeter across the battery. The battery was not connected to any other components. Explain why the reading on the volt
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q14(b) (2 marks): The student investigated how the potential difference V across the battery varied with the current I in the battery. Draw a circuit diagram for this investigati
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q14(c)(i) (3 marks): Determine the e.m.f. and internal resistance of the battery. (3) e.m.f. = Internal resistance =
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q14(c)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why there is a maximum current that can be supplied by the battery. (2)
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q19(c) (5 marks): A student connected two solar cells in series with a 4.0 Ω resistor as shown. solar cell 4.0 Ω The student adjusted the light conditions so that each solar cell
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q13(b)(i) (3 marks): The reading on the voltmeter was 1.4 V. Calculate the internal resistance of the cell. (3) Internal resistance =
- June 2023, AS Unit 2, Q12(a) (3 marks): Determine the e.m.f. ε of the cell, and the internal resistance r of the cell. (3) ε = r =
- June 2023, AS Unit 2, Q12(b) (2 marks): The student placed an identical cell in series with the original cell in the circuit. He connected the voltmeter across both cells and repeated the investigatio
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q17(a) (2 marks): Show that, for this circuit, R = ε I – r (2)
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q17(b) (3 marks): The student varied R and measured corresponding values of I. The student then plotted a graph of R against 1 I , as shown. 10 8 6 4 R / Ω 1 2 I / A –1 0 0 1 2 3
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q17(c) (3 marks): The student suggested that the power dissipated by the internal resistance r decreases as R increases. Comment on the student’s suggestion. No further calculati
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q17(d) (3 marks): The student added a second, identical cell in series with the first cell and repeated the experiment. Add a line to the graph to show the result of this experim
- October 2022, AS Unit 2, Q12(a) (3 marks): Draw a diagram of a circuit that can be used for this experiment. (3)
- October 2022, AS Unit 2, Q12(b) (4 marks): The student plotted a graph of the terminal potential difference V of the cell against the current I in the cell, as shown. V 0 I Explain how ε and r for the ce
- June 2022, AS Unit 2, Q15(b)(ii) (3 marks): The resistors are connected to a different cell, with e.m.f. E , as shown. The cell has an internal resistance. E C A B Describe how a single ammeter reading ca
- January 2022, AS Unit 2, Q3 (1 mark): The diagram shows a cell of e.m.f. ε and internal resistance r. The cell is connected in series with two resistors of resistance R1 and R2. The potential differ
- October 2021, AS Unit 2, Q17(a) (5 marks): Calculate r. (5) r =
- October 2021, AS Unit 2, Q17(b) (2 marks): Increasing R would make the terminal potential difference value closer to ε. Explain why, without further calculation. (2)
- October 2021, AS Unit 2, Q17(c) (4 marks): A voltmeter is added to the circuit as shown. ε mA V Explain how this circuit can be used to determine a value for r using a graphical method. (4)
- June 2021, AS Unit 2, Q12(a) (3 marks): Explain why the reading on the voltmeter is less than 9.0 V when the switch is closed. (3)
- June 2021, AS Unit 2, Q12(b) (3 marks): Calculate the reading on the voltmeter when the switch is closed. (3) Reading on voltmeter =
- January 2021, AS Unit 2, Q5 (1 mark): Corresponding values of potential difference V and current I were taken after adjusting the variable resistor. A graph of V on the y-axis against I on the x-axi
- January 2021, AS Unit 2, Q6 (1 mark): The resistance of the variable resistor is R. Which of the following gives the current in the cell? ε A R ε B r ε C ( R + r ) ε D ( R − r )
- October 2020, AS Unit 2, Q12(b) (4 marks): The student sets up the circuit and observes that the reading on the voltmeter is lower than the value calculated in (a). Explain two reasons for the lower volt
- January 2020, AS Unit 2, Q17(a) (1 mark): State what is meant by e.m.f. (1)
- January 2020, AS Unit 2, Q17(b)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the internal resistance of the car battery. (2) Internal resistance =
- January 2020, AS Unit 2, Q17(b)(ii) (3 marks): The student adjusted the variable resistor several times and recorded corresponding values from the ammeter and voltmeter. Describe how the values can be used t
- January 2020, AS Unit 2, Q17(c) (4 marks): With use, the internal resistance of a battery will increase. Eventually the power available from a battery will become too small to be useful. The student calc
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q1 (1 mark): Which of the following is an SI unit for electromotive force (e.m.f)? A coulomb B joule C newton D volt
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q19(a) (2 marks): Complete the diagram below to show a circuit that could be used in order to determine İ and r for the potato cell. (2) potato cell
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q19(b) (4 marks): The student completed the experiment and plotted a graph showing the relationship between potential difference V and current I as shown. 0.30 0.25 0.20 V / V 0.
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q19(c) (4 marks): In a separate experiment two resistors, with equal resistance R, are connected to a battery (with internal resistance r) with the two resistors firstly in a ser
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