Admissions Test Preparation · Practice Set 20
ESAT Physics Mock Module 3 of 3
27 a full 27-question module, the same length and shape as one sitting of the real test. Electricity and magnetism, kinematics and forces, energy and power, thermal physics, matter and pressure, waves and optics, and radioactivity. This module was written to close the last two gaps in our Physics coverage - the magnetic field around a current-carrying wire, and convection - so every one of the 32 Physics sub-topics now has a question.
How to use this set
Every question carries a target time, and no question needs a calculator. Attempt each one against the clock with the solution collapsed. If you are still setting up algebra when the target time passes, stop and open the solution: the shortcut is what the question is testing, and the arithmetic is not.
Read the Key Idea before the full breakdown. If the key idea alone lets you redo the question in under a minute, the method has landed and you can move on. If it does not, work the step-by-step breakdown and then return to the question a day later.
The Common Mistake section on each question is the slower route that still reaches the right answer. Under exam conditions that route is usually the difference between finishing the module and running out of time.
Modules in this set
Select a module below to view the questions and their step-by-step worked solutions:
Physics
27 questions, 40 minutes in the real test. Electricity and magnetism, kinematics and forces, energy and power, thermal physics, matter and pressure, waves and optics, and radioactivity. 27 worked solutions.
Shortcut index
Use this as a revision checklist. If you can state the shortcut before opening the question, you already have the mark.
Physics
| # | Topic | Shortcut rehearsed |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Field around a straight current-carrying wire | Right-hand grip: thumb along the current, fingers give the field |
| Q2 | Distance under uniform acceleration | Average velocity times time, when the acceleration is uniform |
| Q3 | Why a heater belongs at floor level | Warm fluid expands, becomes less dense and rises |
| Q4 | Frequency from speed and wavelength | Divide the speed by the wavelength |
| Q5 | Pressure at the bottom of a tank | Density times g times depth - the area never appears |
| Q6 | Daughter nuclide after alpha emission | Alpha takes 4 off the top and 2 off the bottom |
| Q7 | Useful output power of a crane | Energy first, then divide by the time |
| Q8 | Current drawn by a series-parallel network | Reduce the parallel block first, then add the series resistance |
| Q9 | Identifying a Newton's third law pair | A third-law pair is the same kind of force, on two different bodies, swapped |
| Q10 | Energy to heat a mass of water | Mass times specific heat capacity times temperature *change* |
| Q11 | Frequency and wavelength on refraction | Frequency is set by the source and never changes at a boundary |
| Q12 | Density of a rectangular block | Grams per cubic centimetre times 1000 gives kilograms per cubic metre |
| Q13 | Half-life from an activity drop | Count the halvings, then divide the elapsed time by that count |
| Q14 | Secondary voltage of a step-down transformer | Voltages are in the same ratio as the turns |
| Q15 | Speed after a perfectly inelastic collision | Momentum before equals momentum after, whatever the collision does to the energy |
| Q16 | Why metal feels colder than wood | Feeling cold measures the rate energy leaves your hand, not temperature |
| Q17 | Ordering the electromagnetic spectrum | Radio longest, gamma shortest - everything else sits between |
| Q18 | Pressure of a gas at constant volume | At constant volume, pressure is proportional to absolute temperature |
| Q19 | Direction of the force on a current in a field | Fleming's left hand: First finger field, seCond current, thuMb motion |
| Q20 | Load for a required extension | Within the elastic limit, extension is proportional to load |
| Q21 | Surface and the rate of cooling | A good absorber is an equally good emitter |
| Q22 | Timing an echo from a wall | An echo travels there and back - double the distance |
| Q23 | Sharing charge between identical spheres | Identical conductors in contact share the total charge equally |
| Q24 | Balancing moments about a pivot | Clockwise moments equal anticlockwise moments |
| Q25 | Cutting a bar magnet in half | You cannot isolate a magnetic pole |
| Q26 | Mass and weight on the Moon | Mass travels with you; weight depends on where you are |
| Q27 | Induction requires relative motion | No relative movement, no induced voltage |
Where to go from here
Everything on this page is free and stays free. These are the three things worth doing next.
- Take the 15-question ESAT diagnostic - Twenty minutes, scored instantly, with a worked solution for every question you miss
- Follow the dated preparation plan - Every ESAT page on this site, sequenced backwards from the October sitting
- Sitting another admissions test as well? - TMUA, PAT, MAT and STEP each have their own preparation page and free practice
- Join the ESAT preparation list - One email a week from June to October, and nothing else
- Enquire about one-to-one preparation - For candidates who want the gap closed rather than mapped
One-to-one places are limited and taken by application, not by the hour.