West African Examinations Council
WASSCE Physics · Paper 3 — Practical
Sat separately from the written papers.
8 exam-style questions, written to the West African Examinations Council format and free to read. The answers are here too — what they do not tell you is how many you would get right with a clock running.
1. A student uses a rectangular glass block to investigate refraction.
(a) Describe the procedure for tracing the path of a ray of light through the block. [10 marks]
(b) State how the refractive index of the glass would be calculated from the measurements taken. [6 marks]
(c) State two precautions when marking the ray path with pins. [4 marks]
2. A student connects a wire of unknown resistance in series with an ammeter and a battery, with a voltmeter across the wire.
(a) State how the ammeter and the voltmeter must each be connected, and explain why. [8 marks]
(b) Describe how the readings would be used to obtain the resistance of the wire. [6 marks]
(c) State two sources of error in this measurement. [6 marks]
3. A student measures the diameter of a wire with a micrometer screw gauge at five points, obtaining 0.42, 0.43, 0.42, 0.44 and 0.42 mm.
(a) Present the readings in a suitable table and calculate the mean diameter. [7 marks]
(b) State why the measurement is taken at five different points rather than one. [5 marks]
(c) State two precautions when using a micrometer screw gauge. [8 marks]
4. A metre rule is pivoted at its centre. A known mass is hung 20 cm from the pivot and balanced by an unknown mass on the other side.
(a) State the principle used to find the unknown mass. [4 marks]
(b) Describe the procedure, including how the balance point is judged. [10 marks]
(c) State two precautions necessary for an accurate result. [6 marks]
5. A student uses a resonance tube and a tuning fork to determine the speed of sound in air.
(a) Describe how the first resonance position is located. [8 marks]
(b) State the relationship between the tube length at first resonance and the wavelength of the sound. [6 marks]
(c) State two factors that affect the speed of sound in air. [6 marks]
Reading these is not the same as sitting them.
Every question above is answerable given time. The exam does not give you time. Sit the whole paper on the real clock and the number you get back is the one that means something.
Sit it against the clock — freeExampaper is an independent study service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to WAEC, NECO, JAMB or any examination body. Exam names and subject titles are used only to describe what each paper is for.