JAMB Physics 2022 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2022 JAMB Physics paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 37 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

JAMB Physics 2022 questions and answers

1. 1.

   In the formation of sea breeze, wind blows from?

   1. A
      The sea towards the land
      Correct
   2. B
      The land towards the sea
   3. C
      The upper atmosphere towards the sea
   4. D
      The highlands towards the sea
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   Answer: A

   During the day, the land heats up faster than the sea because land has a lower specific heat capacity than water. The air above the land warms, expands and rises, creating a region of low pressure over the land.

   Over the sea, the air stays cooler and denser, giving a region of higher pressure. Since wind always blows from a high-pressure region to a low-pressure region, cool air flows in from the sea to the land, and that is what is called a sea breeze.

2. 2.

   The eclipse of the moon occurs when?

   1. A
      When the moon is at its closest point to the earth in its orbit
   2. B
      When the earth is directly between the sun and the moon
      Correct
   3. C
      When the sun is directly between the earth and the moon
   4. D
      When the moon is directly between the sun and the earth
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   An eclipse of the moon (lunar eclipse) happens when the earth passes directly between the sun and the moon. The earth then blocks sunlight from reaching the moon, and the moon passes through the earth's shadow, making it look dark or reddish from earth. This can only happen during a full moon, when the sun, earth and moon are roughly in a straight line with the earth in the middle.

   Placing the moon between the sun and the earth instead describes a solar eclipse, where the moon blocks sunlight from reaching the earth — that is the opposite arrangement, a common mix-up.

3. 3.

   Which of these is a derived unit?

   1. A
      Newton
      Correct
   2. B
      Second
   3. C
      Ampere
   4. D
      Kilogram
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   Answer: A

   In the SI system, some units are base (fundamental) units — they are defined on their own and are not made from other units. The seven base units are the metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole and candela.

   A derived unit is one obtained by combining base units through a physical relationship. The newton (unit of force) comes from Newton's second law, F = ma, so its unit is kg·m/s² — a combination of the base units kilogram, metre and second. This makes it a derived unit.

   The kilogram is a base unit of mass, the ampere is a base unit of electric current, and the second is a base unit of time — none of these is built from other units, so they are not derived.

4. 4.

   A tuning fork having a frequency of 312 Hz emits a wave which has a wavelength of 1.10 m. Calculate the velocity of sound

   1. A
      686.4 m/s
   2. B
      171.6 m/s
   3. C
      283.6 m/s
   4. D
      343.2 m/s
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The velocity of a wave is given by v = fλ, where f is the frequency and λ is the wavelength.

   Here, f = 312 Hz and λ = 1.10 m, so:

   v = 312 × 1.10 = 343.2 m/s

   This is correct, and it also matches the known speed of sound in air, which is a good check on the arithmetic.

   A candidate who divides frequency by wavelength instead of multiplying gets 283.6 m/s, mixing up the wave equation. Doubling the wavelength value before multiplying gives 686.4 m/s, while mistakenly halving the frequency first gives 171.6 m/s. Both come from misapplying the formula rather than working v = fλ directly.

5. 5.

   An isotope has an initial activity of 120 Bq. 6 days later its activity is 15 Bq. The half-life is?

   1. A
      3 days
   2. B
      1.5 days
   3. C
      2 days
      Correct
   4. D
      4 days
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   Activity falls from 120 Bq to 15 Bq, so the fraction remaining is 15/120 = 1/8.

   Since 1/8 = (1/2)³, the sample has gone through exactly 3 half-lives in the 6 days given.

   Half-life = 6 days ÷ 3 = 2 days.

   A candidate who mistakenly counts only 2 half-lives (treating 1/8 as if it were 1/4) lands on 3 days. Dividing 6 days by 4 (miscounting the halvings) gives 1.5 days, and taking half of the total time span gives 4 days — none of these match the actual number of halvings needed to reach 1/8 of the original activity.

6. 6.

   Which component of fiber-optic connector has a provision of entry for the fibre along with the fixationto connector housing?

   1. A
      Strain-relief boot
   2. B
      Coupling device
   3. C
      Cable jacket
   4. D
      Ferrule
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   The ferrule is correct. A fibre-optic connector is built from a few standard parts: the ferrule, the connector body (housing), the cable, the coupling device, and the strain-relief boot.

   The ferrule is a small precision tube, usually ceramic, with a fine bore running through its centre. The bare optical fibre is threaded into this bore, which lines the fibre up accurately and also gives it a fixed entry point into, and mechanical attachment to, the connector housing. This is exactly the "entry for the fibre along with fixation to connector housing" described in the question.

7. 7.

   Water is not a good thermometric liquid because it?

   1. A
      has too high a boiling point
   2. B
      is too dense to rise easily in a capillary tube
   3. C
      is a poor conductor of heat
   4. D
      does not expand uniformly with rise in temperature
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   A good thermometric liquid must change volume uniformly as temperature changes, so that equal temperature intervals give equal, evenly-spaced marks on the scale.

   Water fails this test because of its anomalous expansion: as it is heated from 0°C to 4°C it actually contracts (density increases to a maximum at 4°C), and only above 4°C does it begin to expand normally. This irregular, non-uniform change in volume means a water thermometer cannot give a reliable, evenly graduated scale, so the correct reason is that water does not expand uniformly with rise in temperature.

8. 8.

   One of the following is a scalar quantity?

   1. A
      Force
   2. B
      Velocity
   3. C
      Work
      Correct
   4. D
      Momentum
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   Work is the scalar quantity.

   A quantity is a scalar if it has magnitude only, and a vector if it has both magnitude and direction.

   Velocity, force and momentum are all vectors: velocity is speed in a stated direction, force always acts in a particular direction, and momentum (mass x velocity) takes its direction from the velocity. Each of these needs a direction stated alongside its size to be meaningful, so picking any of them as the scalar is a mistake.

9. 9.

   If an object just begins to slide on a surface inclined at 30ºto the horizontal,the coefficient of friction is?

   1. A
      0.58
      Correct
   2. B
      1.73
   3. C
      0.50
   4. D
      0.87
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   At the point an object just begins to slide, the applied force along the incline (mg sinθ) is exactly balanced by the maximum static friction (μmg cosθ). This is the condition of limiting equilibrium, and it gives the well-known relation:

   μ = tan θ

   Here the angle of inclination is 30°, so:

   μ = tan 30° = 0.58

   This is the correct coefficient of friction.

   So the correct working is μ = tanθ = tan30° ≈ 0.58.

10. 10.

    The main factor which affects the speed of sound wave is the?

    1. A
       Wavelength of the sound wave
    2. B
       Frequency of the sound wave
    3. C
       Amplitude of the sound wave
    4. D
       Nature (elasticity and density) of the medium through which it travels
       Correct
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: D

    The speed of a sound wave is given by v = √(E/ρ), where E is the elastic modulus (elasticity) and ρ is the density of the medium. This shows that speed depends on the nature of the medium the sound travels through — that is why sound moves fastest in solids, slower in liquids, and slowest in gases.

    So the correct factor is the nature of the medium — its elasticity and density.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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Practise all 37 questions we hold from the 2022 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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