plumiResonance and damping: Edexcel International A Level Physics questions
Every Edexcel International A Level Physics exam question on Resonance and damping (specification points 148–153), 2019–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
Paper
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Exam
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Calculations
- Your answer
Q15(c)
The whole paper ↗- Your answer
- Your answer
Q3(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)(iv)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)(v)
The whole paper ↗- Your answer
Q19(b)
The whole paper ↗Q2(b)
The whole paper ↗- Your answer
Q20(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q20(b)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q20(c)
The whole paper ↗Q1(a)
The whole paper ↗Q1(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q1(b)(iii)
The whole paper ↗
All 43 questions on Resonance and damping, as a list
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q2 (1 mark): A mass is driven into oscillation, and resonance takes place. Which of the following statements is not correct? A The amplitude of oscillation of the mass is a
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q15(c) (2 marks): Explain how damping causes the amplitude of oscillation of the car body to decrease. (2)
- January 2025, Unit 5, Q2 (1 mark): Ductile materials can be used in buildings to reduce the amplitude of forced oscillations during an earthquake. Which of the following is the reason that ductil
- January 2025, Unit 5, Q8 (1 mark): A pendulum is made by attaching a light paper cone to a thin string, as shown. string paper cone The pendulum is displaced and set into oscillation. Plasticine
- January 2025, Unit 5, Q15 (6 marks): * 15 The Millennium Bridge, as shown, is a suspension bridge for people to cross the River Thames in London. (Source: © cowardlion/Shutterstock) The bridge deve
- January 2025, Unit 6, Q3(b)(i) (2 marks): Explain how a graph of ln A against n can be used to determine the value of λ. (2)
- January 2025, Unit 6, Q3(b)(ii) (5 marks): The student recorded the following results. n A / cm 5 8.5 10 7.0 15 5.5 20 5.0 25 4.0 30 3.5 Plot a graph of ln A against n on the grid opposite. Use the addit
- January 2025, Unit 6, Q3(b)(iii) (3 marks): Determine the value of λ from the graph. (3) λ =
- January 2025, Unit 6, Q3(b)(iv) (3 marks): Determine the value of A0 from the graph. (3) A0 =
- January 2025, Unit 6, Q3(b)(v) (2 marks): Explain why the value of A0 determined from the graph may not be the true value of A0. (2)
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q2 (1 mark): During an earthquake, steel‑framed buildings remove energy from the oscillation of the building. Which of the following is the reason for this? A Steel is a duc
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q19(b) (2 marks): When the mass of one animal was being determined, the amplitude of oscillation of the bag was observed to increase to a large value. Explain this observation. (
- October 2024, Unit 6, Q2(b) (6 marks): The student modified the apparatus to investigate damped oscillations of the mass‑spring system. She placed a circular piece of card between the masses to act a
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q4 (1 mark): A mass is forced into oscillation by a vibration generator. After a short time the oscillation becomes steady. Which of the following statements about the stead
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q20(b)(i) (2 marks): Explain why the damper system should be designed to oscillate at this frequency. (2)
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q20(b)(iii) (2 marks): When the building oscillates, the floor moves but the lead box tends to remain at rest. Suggest why the lead box tends to remain at rest. (2)
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q20(c) (2 marks): As the floor moves, the rollers force oil through holes in the steel plate. Explain why this reduces the amplitude of oscillation of the building. (2)
- January 2024, Unit 6, Q1(a) (3 marks): The student gave the mass a small vertical displacement and released it. She used a stopwatch to determine the time period T of the oscillations. Describe how t
- January 2024, Unit 6, Q1(b)(i) (1 mark): Determine the value of f0 from the graph. (1) f0 =
- January 2024, Unit 6, Q1(b)(iii) (2 marks): Explain why your value of f0 may not be accurate. (2)
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q4 (1 mark): A mass suspended from a spring is oscillating vertically. The oscillations are damped. Which of the following statements is correct? A The damping force is alwa
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q20(c) (2 marks): Explain why the maximum velocity of the oscillating mass decreased over time. (2)
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q6 (1 mark): Buildings in earthquake zones often have a structure that includes ductile materials. These materials help to damp oscillations of the building during an earthq
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q19(b)(i) (3 marks): Explain this observation. (3)
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q19(b)(ii) (3 marks): The student makes the following conclusion: “As the frequency is increased, the amplitude of the mass increases to a maximum, so energy conservation does not ap
- January 2023, Unit 5, Q19(a) (2 marks): Explain why the amplitude of vibration increases at a particular speed. (2)
- January 2023, Unit 5, Q19(c) (2 marks): Explain how damping reduces the large amplitude of vibration of the car on its suspension. (2)
- January 2023, Unit 6, Q3(a) (2 marks): The relationship between the maximum displacement angle θ and number of oscillations n is given by θ = θ0e–λn where θ0 is the initial displacement angle and λ i
- January 2023, Unit 6, Q3(b)(i) (5 marks): Plot a graph of ln θ against n on the grid opposite. Use the additional column for your processed data. (5)
- January 2023, Unit 6, Q3(b)(ii) (3 marks): Determine the value of λ from the graph. (3) λ =
- January 2023, Unit 6, Q3(b)(iii) (3 marks): The student claimed that the initial displacement angle was greater than 180 °. Deduce whether this claim is correct. (3)
- October 2022, Unit 5, Q10 (1 mark): The suspension system of a car was tested by forcing the car into vertical oscillations. The forcing frequency was gradually increased and corresponding amplitu
- October 2022, Unit 5, Q14(b) (3 marks): Due to the shape of the Bay of Fundy, the natural period of oscillation of water in the bay is between 12 and 13 hours. Explain why unusually high tides are obs
- June 2022, Unit 5, Q14 (6 marks): *14 A teacher is teaching her class about the phenomenon of resonance. To do this, she uses a drinking glass to produce sound in two different ways. When the gl
- June 2022, Unit 6, Q2(a) (6 marks): The time taken for the amplitude of one pendulum to change from zero to a maximum and back to zero again is P. It is suggested that the relationship between P a
- January 2022, Unit 5, Q17(c) (2 marks): At a particular frequency, the loudspeaker cone starts to oscillate with a very large amplitude. Explain why this effect is observed. (2)
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q3 (1 mark): When a train travels across a railway bridge, the bridge may be forced into resonant oscillation. Which of the following happens only when resonance occurs? A D
- January 2021, Unit 5, Q5 (1 mark): A car is driven along an uneven road. This forces the car into vertical oscillations. Over time, the energy of oscillation of the car increases by a factor of 4
- January 2021, Unit 5, Q18(c)(ii) (3 marks): Explain what is meant by resonance. (3)
- January 2021, Unit 5, Q18(c)(iii) (2 marks): The bee’s wings oscillate at a frequency of 240 Hz, but the muscles only oscillate at a frequency of 60 Hz. Suggest how impulses applied at 60 Hz can maintain a
- October 2020, Unit 5, Q10 (1 mark): Forcing a system into oscillation may result in resonance. For resonance to occur the oscillating system must be driven at its A natural frequency. B normal fre
- October 2020, Unit 5, Q19(a) (2 marks): The graph shows how the energy absorbed by a water molecule depends on the frequency of the radiation. Energy absorbed 0.1 1 10 100 frequency / GHz A website su
- October 2020, Unit 5, Q20(d) (3 marks): The mass is submerged in water as shown. The mass is set into oscillation as before. Explain how the water would affect the amplitude of oscillation of the mass
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