Equilibrium of a rigid body: past paper questions
Real questions on equilibrium of a rigid body
The newest 20 of 43 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.
- 9231/31 · October/November 2025 · Q5a[3]
3-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · October/November 2025 · Q5b[4]
4-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · October/November 2025 · Q5c[2]
2-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/32 · October/November 2025 · Q1[4]
4-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/32 · October/November 2025 · Q2a[3]
3-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/32 · October/November 2025 · Q2b[3]
3-mark “Find” question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/32 · October/November 2025 · Q3a[4]
4-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/32 · October/November 2025 · Q3b[2]
2-mark “Find” question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/33 · October/November 2025 · Q5a[3]
3-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/33 · October/November 2025 · Q5b[4]
4-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/33 · October/November 2025 · Q5c[2]
2-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · May/June 2025 · Q3a[2]
2-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · May/June 2025 · Q4a[4]
4-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · May/June 2025 · Q4b[3]
3-mark “Find” question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · May/June 2025 · Q7a[5]
5-mark “Find” question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · May/June 2025 · Q7b[1]
1-mark “Find” question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · May/June 2025 · Q7c[4]
4-mark “Find” question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/32 · May/June 2025 · Q4a[4]
4-mark question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/32 · May/June 2025 · Q4b[3]
3-mark “Find” question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
See it on the paper → - 9231/31 · October/November 2024 · Q6a[3]
3-mark “Find” question — its maths and diagrams are best seen on the paper.
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What examiners said
This question proved challenging for many candidates, who nevertheless often scored the marks allocated to the equilibrium of forces, including the use of the equation F = µ R . Stronger candidates took moments about point P and quickly obtained the correct answer, often in an elegant way. In questions where many forces are involved candidates are encouraged to examine the diagram carefully before...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 9231/31 Q3 (Cambridge)
This part question required the candidates to consider the equilibrium of forces at P and Q , combine the two equations to eliminate the tension, and solve the resulting quadratic equation. Stronger candidates had no problems doing all these steps, often in a very neat manner. A common mistake among the candidates who applied the correct approach (equilibrium of forces) was in the signs of the ten...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 9231/31 Q6(b) (Cambridge)
In answering this part question many candidates correctly applied the Principle of the Conservation of Energy, showing a good understanding of this topic. To answer this part question, they also had to write the equation for the equilibrium of forces at points A and B . While the former equation did not create problems to many candidates, only the stronger ones read the text carefully and realised...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 9231/32 Q5(a) (Cambridge)
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