plumiKinetic theory of gases: OCR A‑Level Physics B questions
OCR A-Level Physics B past-paper questions on 5.2.1.4 Kinetic theory of gases, 2016–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
All papers
All years
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ6(a)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ6(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ6(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ3(b)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ3(c)(i)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ3(c)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ38(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ38(b)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFQ40(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ40(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ32(b)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ37(c)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ4(a)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ4(a)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDF
All 25 questions on Kinetic theory of gases, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q20 (1 mark): What happens to the root mean square speed of the molecules in the gas when the volume is increased to 3V and the pressure is increased to 3P? A It stays the sa
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q6(a)(i) (4 marks): Explain why it is necessary to keep the temperature of the air constant during the demonstration. Use ideas from kinetic theory to explain the effect of the tem
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q6(b)(i) (3 marks): The temperature of the trapped air is 293 K. Show that the root mean square speed of the air molecules is about 500 m s–1. Assume the mass of a molecule is 4.8
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q6(b)(ii) (1 mark): The movement of particles in an ideal gas can be described as a ‘random walk’. State the meaning of ‘random walk’ in this context. [1]
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q20 (1 mark): A closed cylinder contains equal numbers of particles of two ideal gases, X and Y. Particles of gas X have twice the mass of particles of gas Y. Which is the co
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q3(b) (3 marks): The temperature of the gas is 298 K. The mass of an argon atom is 6.6 × 10–26 kg. Show that the root mean square speed of the atoms is about 430 m s–1. [3]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q3(c)(i) (2 marks): The collision between the atom and the piston is elastic. Explain why the velocity of the gas atom is – 433 m s–1 after the collision. [2]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q3(c)(ii) (3 marks): Describe and explain how the behaviour of the gas would change if the gas were compressed more quickly. You may use equations and refer to your graphs in Fig. 3
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q38(b)(ii) (3 marks): Use the kinetic model of ideal gas behaviour to explain why length L increases when the temperature of the trapped gas increases without change in atmospheric p
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q38(b)(iii) (3 marks): The temperature of the gas inside the cylinder is raised and length L increases to 1.8 m. Atmospheric pressure remains at 1.0 × 105 Pa. Calculate the r.m.s. spe
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q7 (3 marks): This question is about the movement of energy through the radiative zone (lines 53 – 60). Use the equation given in the article (line 58) to estimate the number
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q40(b)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the root mean square speed for helium gas at 300 K. molar mass for helium = 4.0 × 10–3 kg speed = m s–1 [2]
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q40(b)(ii) (2 marks): A typical speed for an air molecule at 300 K is about 4 × 103 m s–1. Explain why the scent from an air freshener may take several minutes to reach across a room
- November 2020, Paper 1, Q14 (1 mark): Which statement about the kinetic theory of ideal gases is correct? A Particles have a significant volume compared to the gas volume. B Particles have average e
- November 2020, Paper 1, Q32(b) (3 marks): During driving, the tyres warm to 47 °C and the volume remains constant. Using ideas from kinetic theory, explain what happens to the air pressure in the tyres.
- June 2019, Paper 1, Q18 (1 mark): A fixed mass of gas occupies a volume V. The temperature of the gas is increased so that the mean square speed of the molecules is doubled. What is the new volu
- June 2019, Paper 1, Q25 (1 mark): What is the best estimate of the average pressure exerted on the lead by the α-particles? 2 × 10−20 Pa A 2 × 10−16 Pa B 2 × 10−12 Pa C 2 × 10−8 Pa D Your answer
- June 2019, Paper 1, Q37(c)(i) (3 marks): The density of the bead of solid 2H and 3H (1:1 ratio by atoms) is 230 kg m−3. Estimate the energy needed to produce plasma at 400 MK from this bead of material
- June 2019, Paper 3, Q4(a)(i) (3 marks): Explain what is meant by an ideal gas. [3]
- June 2019, Paper 3, Q4(a)(ii) (3 marks): The average kinetic energy of the particles (atoms) in an ideal gas at absolute (kelvin) temperature T is given by the equation average kinetic energy = 3 2 kT
- June 2019, Paper 3, Q4(b) (3 marks): Argon is a gas at room temperature. You may assume that it behaves as an ideal gas at this temperature. The molar mass of argon is 0.0399 kg mol–1. Calculate th
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q39(a) (6 marks): 39 (a)* Boyle’s Law states that at constant temperature, pressure is proportional to volume. Explain how the random motion of particles gives rise to Boyle’s la
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q39(b)(i) (3 marks): Calculate the ratio: . speed of xenon atom with average kinetic energy Make your reasoning clear. ratio = [3]
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q19 (1 mark): Two samples L and M contain the same mass of an ideal gas. In which of the following cases will it always be true that the molecules in L have a larger root mea
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q3(a) (3 marks): Explain how air particles exert a pressure on a sail and why, when no wind is blowing, the sail experiences the same pressure on both sides. [3]
Questions, mark schemes and examiner’s reports are © OCR, from their published past papers. Plumi isn’t affiliated with any exam board. Want whole papers? OCR A-Level Physics B past papers.
The Plumi iPad app also offers exam-style questions with AI feedback on your handwritten working.