PHSI191 Biological Physics paper

Biological Physics

phsi191 practice questions

Cutline has PHSI191 practice questions with worked solutions. Course topics include mechanics, fluids and solids, thermodynamics, electricity, optics and radiation. Check the published practice below for the worksheets currently available. You can start free without a card.

Published MCQs: 926. Worksheets and mock exams: 31.

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Kinematics

A ball is thrown upward at 25 ms−125\ ms^{-1} from the edge of a cliff 30 m30\ m high. How long does it take to reach the base of the cliff?
answer choices
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correct answer: D

worked solution

Using displacement formula (with downward as negative): −30=25t−5t2⇒5t2−25t−30=0-30 = 25t - 5t^2 \Rightarrow 5t^2 - 25t - 30 = 0 t2−5t−6=0⇒(t−6)(t+1)=0t^2 - 5t - 6 = 0 \Rightarrow (t - 6)(t + 1) = 0 t=6 st = 6\ \text{s}

Published MCQ practice

Teaching practice and mock exams currently listed for this paper.

Teaching practice

MechanicsWorksheets: 6MCQs: 302
  • KinematicsMCQs: 46
  • DynamicsMCQs: 51
  • ForcesMCQs: 48
  • EnergyMCQs: 49
  • MomentumMCQs: 49
  • WavesMCQs: 59
Solids and FluidsWorksheets: 6MCQs: 119
  • Elasticity: Stress and StrainMCQs: 20
  • Pressure: Stress and StrainMCQs: 20
  • Liquid and GasesMCQs: 20
  • Liquid MechanicsMCQs: 19
  • Liquid Mechanics 2MCQs: 20
  • Viscous LiquidsMCQs: 20
ThermodynamicsWorksheets: 5MCQs: 98
  • Thermodynamics 1MCQs: 19
  • Thermodynamics 2MCQs: 20
  • Thermodynamics 3MCQs: 20
  • Thermodynamics 4MCQs: 20
  • Thermodynamics 5MCQs: 19
ElectricityWorksheets: 5MCQs: 138
  • Electricity 1MCQs: 21
  • Electricity 2MCQs: 30
  • Electricity 3MCQs: 28
  • Electricity 4MCQs: 30
  • Electricity 5MCQs: 29
OpticsWorksheets: 5MCQs: 149
  • Optics 1MCQs: 30
  • Optics 2MCQs: 30
  • Optics 3MCQs: 29
  • Optics 4MCQs: 30
  • Optics 5MCQs: 30
Radiation + HealthWorksheets: 4MCQs: 120
  • Radiation 1MCQs: 30
  • Radiation 2MCQs: 30
  • Radiation 3MCQs: 30
  • Radiation 4MCQs: 30
Open PHSI191 catalogue
What this list includes

Active products only. Published worksheets in visible groups, with unrestricted multiple-choice questions. Retired questions, module tests and written questions are excluded. This does not measure whole-course coverage or concept articles.

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what this paper covers

These are paper topics, not a list of published worksheets.

  • kinematics and motion
  • forces and dynamics
  • energy and work
  • waves and oscillation
  • fluid mechanics

how to approach phsi191

phsi191 is a text-based physics paper and the final is 55 multi-choice questions in three hours. you cannot cram that, you have to practise it. the problem types repeat, so once you have done enough reps they turn into quick marks instead of stress. the bank follows the same modules the course does, from mechanics through to radiation.

worth
18 points (0.15 EFTS)
taught
semester 1, with a catch-up in summer school
assessment
10% lab tests, 20% progress test, 70% final, a 3 hour 55-question multi-choice paper

how to actually study phsi191 (science-based)

these are established findings, not fringe claims, and recent reviews keep confirming them (Carpenter et al., 2022; Weinstein et al., 2018). the emphasis here is on the higher-order skill of applying and transferring ideas to unseen questions, which is what separates the top HSFY grades and the study habits medicine selects for.

phsi191 is a text-based physics paper whose final is a three-hour, fifty-five-question multiple-choice exam, so it rewards fluent problem-solving under time, not last-minute cramming. the methods below train that fluency and are matched to the paper’s module structure, from mechanics through to radiation.

interleave problem types

blocked practice, doing all the mechanics problems together, then all the optics problems, lets you coast because you already know which tool to use. interleaving mixes the types so you have to select the right physics for each question, and this consistently improves performance on later mixed tests, which is exactly what the exam is (Rohrer & Taylor, 2007).

phsi191’s modules, mechanics, fluids and solids, thermodynamics, electricity, optics, radiation, each have their own toolkit, and the exam interleaves them by design. practising in mixed sets trains you to look at a fresh problem and recognise, this is a Bernoulli question, or, this needs conservation of energy, before you reach for a formula. that recognition step is where most exam marks are won or lost. (Rohrer & Taylor, 2007; Brunmair & Richter, 2019)

try it: build a set that alternates a kinematics problem, a fluids problem and a lens problem instead of doing a whole module at once.

space the formulas, and when they apply

cramming a formula sheet the night before produces a memory that is gone within days. distributing your retrieval of each formula across the whole semester, testing yourself on a few at a time repeatedly, holds them far longer for the same total effort (Cepeda et al., 2006).

the phsi191 twist is that knowing a formula is not enough; you have to know the conditions under which it applies, since the wrong equation confidently applied is a classic multiple-choice trap. build a rolling deck of formula plus its conditions, and test a few each day rather than all at once, so that in the exam you recall both the equation and when it is valid. (Cepeda et al., 2006)

try it: keep a rolling deck of formula plus when do i use it, and test a few each day rather than all at once before the test.

make practice feel harder on purpose

there is a counter-intuitive principle in learning research called desirable difficulty: conditions that make study feel harder and slower often produce stronger long-term learning than conditions that feel easy and fluent (Bjork & Bjork, 2011). working with the answer or the formula sheet in view feels efficient but robs you of the retrieval that actually builds skill.

for phsi191, attempt each problem fully closed-book before you open the equation sheet, and only use the sheet to confirm rather than to lead. the struggle of recalling the method and the formula under self-imposed exam conditions is the difficulty that pays off, and it also builds the time-pressure tolerance a fifty-five-question paper demands. (Bjork & Bjork, 2011)

try it: attempt a full problem before opening the formula sheet, then use the sheet only to confirm, not to lead.

train for unfamiliar problems

a fifty-five-question physics exam rewards applying a principle to a problem you have not seen, not reciting a formula. this is transfer, and it is trained by varied retrieval practice rather than by repeating identical problems (Pan & Rickard, 2018; Carpenter et al., 2022). for HSFY students aiming at medicine, the same self-testing discipline predicts later performance on medical licensing exams (Deng et al., 2015).

deliberately practise problems that combine modules or dress a familiar principle in an unfamiliar context, a fluids problem that also needs energy conservation, say. the point is to rehearse choosing and applying the right physics when nothing tells you which topic you are in, which is exactly the exam. (Pan & Rickard, 2018; Carpenter et al., 2022; Deng et al., 2015)

try it: find or build a problem that combines two modules, then solve it without being told which principles it needs.

flashcards, spaced repetition and anki

the spacing effect is why flashcards work: revisiting a fact just as you are about to forget it locks it in far better than cramming (Cepeda et al., 2006). anki is the tool most health-science students reach for, and it is genuinely good. make cards for each formula and the conditions it applies under, and space the reviews so they are there in the exam. cutline pairs anki-style flashcards for the raw facts with a qbank of exam-style phsi191 questions, so you can drill what needs memorising and then practise applying it.

questions about phsi191

do the answers show full working, not just the final number?

yes, every worked solution shows the full method, not just the final answer.

is phsi191 concept-based or lecture-based here?

questions are organised by concept so you can drill kinematics, dynamics or waves on their own.

the evidence

the study methods above come from established research in cognitive and educational psychology.

  1. Rohrer, D., & Taylor, K. (2007). The shuffling of mathematics problems improves learning. Instructional Science, 35(6), 481–498.
  2. Brunmair, M., & Richter, T. (2019). Similarity matters: A meta-analysis of interleaved learning and its moderators. Psychological Bulletin, 145(11), 1029–1052.
  3. Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380.
  4. Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In M. A. Gernsbacher et al. (Eds.), Psychology and the real world (pp. 56–64). Worth Publishers.
  5. Pan, S. C., & Rickard, T. C. (2018). Transfer of test-enhanced learning: Meta-analytic review and synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 144(7), 710–756.
  6. Carpenter, S. K., Pan, S. C., & Butler, A. C. (2022). The science of effective learning with spacing and retrieval practice. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1(9), 496–511.
  7. Deng, F., Gluckstein, J. A., & Larsen, D. P. (2015). Student-directed retrieval practice is a predictor of medical licensing examination performance. Perspectives on Medical Education, 4(6), 308–313.
  8. Weinstein, Y., Madan, C. R., & Sumeracki, M. A. (2018). Teaching the science of learning. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 3, 2.

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