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Double Science (Physics) Retrospective Revision guide

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Last updated about 1 year ago
146 questions
Note from the author:
A document for students to use to identify areas of the syllabus to work on.
1 Forces and motion
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2 Electricity
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3 Waves
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4 Energy resources and energy transfers
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5 Solids, liquids and gases
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6 Magnetism and electromagnetism
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7 Radioactivity and particles
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8 Astrophysics
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(a) Units

Question 1
1.

1.1
use the following units: kilogram (kg), metre (m), metre/second (m/s),
metre/second2 (m/s2), newton (N), second (s) and newton/kilogram (N/kg)

(b) Movement and position

Question 2
2.

1.3
plot and explain distance−time graphs

Question 3
3.

1.4
know and use the relationship between average speed, distance moved and time
taken:

Question 4
4.

1.5
practical: investigate the motion of everyday objects such as toy cars or tennis balls

Question 5
5.

1.6
know and use the relationship between acceleration, change in velocity and time
taken:

Question 6
6.

1.7
plot and explain velocity-time graphs

Question 7
7.

1.8
determine acceleration from the gradient of a velocity−time graph

Question 8
8.

1.9
determine the distance travelled from the area between a velocity−time graph and
the time axis

Question 9
9.

1.10
use the relationship between final speed, initial speed, acceleration and distance
moved:

(c) Forces, movement, shape and momentum

Question 10
10.

1.11
describe the effects of forces between bodies such as changes in speed, shape or
direction

Question 11
11.

1.12
identify different types of force such as gravitational or electrostatic

Question 12
12.

1.13
understand how vector quantities differ from scalar quantities

Question 13
13.

1.14
understand that force is a vector quantity

Question 14
14.

1.15
calculate the resultant force of forces that act along a line

Question 15
15.

1.16
know that friction is a force that opposes motion

Question 16
16.

1.17
know and use the relationship between unbalanced force, mass and acceleration:
force = mass × acceleration
F = m × a

Question 17
17.

1.18
know and use the relationship between weight, mass and gravitational field strength:
weight = mass × gravitational field strength
W = m × g

Question 18
18.

1.19
know that the stopping distance of a vehicle is made up of the sum of the thinking
distance and the braking distance

Question 19
19.

1.20
describe the factors affecting vehicle stopping distance, including speed, mass, road
condition and reaction time

Question 20
20.

1.21
describe the forces acting on falling objects (and explain why falling objects reach a
terminal velocity)

Question 21
21.

1.22
practical: investigate how extension varies with applied force for helical springs, metal
wires and rubber bands

Question 22
22.

1.23
know that the initial linear region of a force-extension graph is associated with
Hooke’s law

Question 23
23.

1.24
describe elastic behaviour as the ability of a material to recover its original shape
after the forces causing deformation have been removed

(a) Units

Question 24
24.

2.1
use the following units: ampere (A), coulomb (C), joule (J), ohm (Ω), second (s),
volt (V) and watt (W)

(b) Mains electricity

Question 25
25.

2.2
understand how the use of insulation, double insulation, earthing, fuses and circuit
breakers protects the device or user in a range of domestic appliances

Question 26
26.

2.3
understand why a current in a resistor results in the electrical transfer of energy and
an increase in temperature, and how this can be used in a variety of domestic
contexts

Question 27
27.

2.4
know and use the relationship between power, current and voltage:
power = current × voltage
P = I × V
and apply the relationship to the selection of appropriate fuses

Question 28
28.

2.5
use the relationship between energy transferred, current, voltage and time:
energy transferred = current × voltage × time
E = I × V x t

Question 29
29.

2.6
know the difference between mains electricity being alternating current (a.c.) and
direct current (d.c.) being supplied by a cell or battery

(c) Energy and voltage in circuits

Question 30
30.

2.7
explain why a series or parallel circuit is more appropriate for particular applications,
including domestic lighting

Question 31
31.

2.8
understand how the current in a series circuit depends on the applied voltage and the
number and nature of other components

Question 32
32.

2.9
describe how current varies with voltage in wires, resistors, metal filament lamps and
diodes, and how to investigate this experimentally

Question 33
33.

2.10
describe the qualitative effect of changing resistance on the current in a circuit

Question 34
34.

2.11
describe the qualitative variation of resistance of light-dependent resistors (LDRs)
with illumination and of thermistors with temperature

Question 35
35.

2.12
know that lamps and LEDs can be used to indicate the presence of a current in a
circuit

Question 36
36.

2.13
know and use the relationship between voltage, current and resistance:
voltage = current × resistance
V = I × R

Question 37
37.

2.14
know that current is the rate of flow of charge

Question 38
38.

2.15
know and use the relationship between charge, current and time:
charge = current × time
Q = I × t

Question 39
39.

2.16
know that electric current in solid metallic conductors is a flow of negatively charged
electrons

Question 40
40.

2.17
understand why current is conserved at a junction in a circuit

Question 41
41.

2.18
know that the voltage across two components connected in parallel is the same

Question 42
42.

2.19
calculate the currents, voltages and resistances of two resistive components
connected in a series circuit

Question 43
43.

2.20
know that:
• voltage is the energy transferred per unit charge passed
• the volt is a joule per coulomb.

Question 44
44.

2.21
know and use the relationship between energy transferred, charge and voltage:
energy transferred = charge × voltage
E = Q × V

(a) Units

Question 45
45.

3.1
use the following units: degree (°), hertz (Hz), metre (m), metre/second (m/s) and
second (s)

(b) Properties of waves

Question 46
46.

3.2
explain the difference between longitudinal and transverse waves

Question 47
47.

3.3
know the definitions of amplitude, wavefront, frequency, wavelength and period of a
wave

Question 48
48.

3.4
know that waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter

Question 49
49.

3.5
know and use the relationship between the speed, frequency and wavelength of a
wave:
wave speed = frequency × wavelength
v = f × λ

Question 50
50.

3.6
use the relationship between frequency and time period:

Question 51
51.

3.7
use the above relationships in different contexts including sound waves and
electromagnetic waves

Question 52
52.

3.8
explain why there is a change in the observed frequency and wavelength of a wave
when its source is moving relative to an observer, and that this is known as the
Doppler effect

Question 53
53.

3.9
explain that all waves can be reflected and refracted

(c) The electromagnetic spectrum

Question 54
54.

3.10
know that light is part of a continuous electromagnetic spectrum that includes radio,
microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma ray radiations and that all
these waves travel at the same speed in free space

Question 55
55.

3.11
know the order of the electromagnetic spectrum in terms of decreasing wavelength
and increasing frequency, including the colours of the visible spectrum

Question 56
56.

3.12
explain some of the uses of electromagnetic radiations, including:
• radio waves: broadcasting and communications
• microwaves: cooking and satellite transmissions
• infrared: heaters and night vision equipment
• visible light: optical fibres and photography
• ultraviolet: fluorescent lamps
• x-rays: observing the internal structure of objects and materials, including for
medical applications
• gamma rays: sterilising food and medical equipment.

Question 57
57.

3.13
explain the detrimental effects of excessive exposure of the human body to
electromagnetic waves, including:
• microwaves: internal heating of body tissue
• infrared: skin burns
• ultraviolet: damage to surface cells and blindness
• gamma rays: cancer, mutation and describe simple protective measures against the risks

(d) Light and Sound

Question 58
58.

3.14
know that light waves are transverse waves and that they can be reflected and
refracted

Question 59
59.

3.15
use the law of reflection (the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection)

Question 60
60.

3.16
draw ray diagrams to illustrate reflection and refraction

Question 61
61.

3.17
practical: investigate the refraction of light, using rectangular blocks, semi-circular
blocks and triangular prisms

Question 62
62.

3.18
know and use the relationship between refractive index, angle of incidence and angle
of refraction:


Question 63
63.

3.19
practical: investigate the refractive index of glass, using a glass block

Question 64
64.

3.20
describe the role of total internal reflection in transmitting information along optical
fibres and in prisms

Question 65
65.

3.21
explain the meaning of critical angle c

Question 66
66.

3.22
know and use the relationship between critical angle and refractive index:

Question 67
67.

3.23
know that sound waves are longitudinal waves which can be reflected and refracted

(a) Units

Question 68
68.

4.1
use the following units: kilogram (kg), joule (J), metre (m), metre/second (m/s),
metre/second2 (m/s2), newton (N), second (s) and watt (W)

(b) Energy transfers

Question 69
69.

4.2
describe energy transfers involving energy stores:
• energy stores: chemical, kinetic, gravitational, elastic, thermal, magnetic, electrostatic, nuclear
• energy transfers: mechanically, electrically, by heating, by radiation (light and sound)

Question 70
70.

4.3
use the principle of conservation of energy

Question 71
71.

4.4
know and use the relationship between efficiency, useful energy output and total
energy output:

Question 72
72.

4.5
describe a variety of everyday and scientific devices and situations, explaining the
transfer of the input energy in terms of the above relationship, including their
representation by Sankey diagrams

Question 73
73.

4.6
describe how thermal energy transfer may take place by conduction, convection and
radiation

Question 74
74.

4.7
explain the role of convection in everyday phenomena

Question 75
75.

4.8
explain how emission and absorption of radiation are related to surface and
temperature

Question 76
76.

4.9
practical: investigate thermal energy transfer by conduction, convection and radiation

Question 77
77.

4.10
explain ways of reducing unwanted energy transfer, such as insulation

(c) Work and power

Question 78
78.

4.11
know and use the relationship between work done, force and distance moved in the
direction of the force:
work done = force × distance moved
W = F × d

Question 79
79.

4.12
know that work done is equal to energy transferred

Question 80
80.

4.13
know and use the relationship between gravitational potential energy, mass,
gravitational field strength and height:
gravitational potential energy = mass × gravitational field strength × height
GPE = m × g × h

Question 81
81.

4.14
know and use the relationship:

Question 82
82.

4.15
understand how conservation of energy produces a link between gravitational
potential energy, kinetic energy and work

Question 83
83.

4.16
describe power as the rate of transfer of energy or the rate of doing work

Question 84
84.

4.17
use the relationship between power, work done (energy transferred) and time taken:

(a) Units

Question 85
85.

5.1
use the following units: degree Celsius (°C), Kelvin (K), joule (J), kilogram (kg),
kilogram/metre3 (kg/m3), metre (m), metre2 (m2), metre3 (m3), metre/second (m/s),
metre/second2 (m/s2), newton (N) and pascal (Pa)

(b) Density and pressure

Question 86
86.

5.3
know and use the relationship between density, mass and volume:

Question 87
87.

5.4
practical: investigate density using direct measurements of mass and volume

Question 88
88.

5.5
know and use the relationship between pressure, force and area:

Question 89
89.

5.6
understand how the pressure at a point in a gas or liquid at rest acts equally in all
directions

Question 90
90.

5.7
know and use the relationship for pressure difference:
pressure difference = height × density × gravitational field strength
p = h × ρ × g

(c) Ideal gas molecules

Question 91
91.

5.15
explain how molecules in a gas have random motion and that they exert a force and
hence a pressure on the walls of a container

Question 92
92.

5.16
understand why there is an absolute zero of temperature which is –273 °C

Question 93
93.

5.17
describe the Kelvin scale of temperature and be able to convert between the Kelvin
and Celsius scales

Question 94
94.

5.18
understand why an increase in temperature results in an increase in the average
speed of gas molecules

Question 95
95.

5.19
know that the Kelvin temperature of a gas is proportional to the average kinetic
energy of its molecules

Question 96
96.

5.20
explain, for a fixed amount of gas, the qualitative relationship between:
• pressure and volume at constant temperature
• pressure and Kelvin temperature at constant volume.

Question 97
97.

5.21
use the relationship between the pressure and Kelvin temperature of a fixed mass of
gas at constant volume:

Question 98
98.

5.22
use the relationship between the pressure and volume of a fixed mass of gas at
constant temperature:

p1V1 = p2V2

(a) Units

Question 99
99.

6.1
use the following units: ampere (A), volt (V) and watt (W)

(b) Magnetism

Question 100
100.

6.2
know that magnets repel and attract other magnets and attract magnetic substances

Question 101
101.

6.3
describe the properties of magnetically hard and soft materials

Question 102
102.

6.4
understand the term magnetic field line

Question 103
103.

6.5
know that magnetism is induced in some materials when they are placed in a
magnetic field

Question 104
104.

6.6
practical: investigate the magnetic field pattern for a permanent bar magnet and
between two bar magnets

Question 105
105.

6.7
describe how to use two permanent magnets to produce a uniform magnetic field
pattern

(c) Electromagnetism

Question 106
106.

6.8
know that an electric current in a conductor produces a magnetic field around it

Question 107
107.

6.12
understand why a force is exerted on a current-carrying wire in a magnetic field, and
how this effect is applied in simple d.c. electric motors and loudspeakers

Question 108
108.

6.13
use the left-hand rule to predict the direction of the resulting force when a wire
carries a current perpendicular to a magnetic field

Question 109
109.

6.14
describe how the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field changes
with the magnitude and direction of the field and current

(d) Electromagnetic induction

Question 110
110.

6.15
know that a voltage is induced in a conductor or a coil when it moves through a
magnetic field or when a magnetic field changes through it and describe the factors
that affect the size of the induced voltage

Question 111
111.

6.16
describe the generation of electricity by the rotation of a magnet within a coil of wire
and of a coil of wire within a magnetic field and describe the factors that affect the
size of the induced voltage

(a) Units

Question 112
112.

7.1 use the following units: becquerel (Bq), centimetre (cm), hour (h), minute (min) and
second (s)

(b) Radioactivity

Question 113
113.

7.2
describe the structure of an atom in terms of protons, neutrons and electrons and use
symbols such as
to describe particular nuclei

Question 114
114.

7.3
know the terms atomic (proton) number, mass (nucleon) number and isotope

Question 115
115.

7.4
know that alpha (α) particles, beta (β−) particles, and gamma (γ) rays are ionising
radiations emitted from unstable nuclei in a random process

Question 116
116.

7.5
describe the nature of alpha (α) particles, beta (β−) particles, and gamma (γ) rays,
and recall that they may be distinguished in terms of penetrating power and ability to
ionise

Question 117
117.

7.6
practical: investigate the penetration powers of different types of radiation using
either radioactive sources or simulations

Question 118
118.

7.7
describe the effects on the atomic and mass numbers of a nucleus of the emission of
each of the four main types of radiation (alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation)

Question 119
119.

7.8
understand how to balance nuclear equations in terms of mass and charge

Question 120
120.

7.9
know that photographic film or a Geiger−Müller detector can detect ionising radiations

Question 121
121.

7.10
explain the sources of background (ionising) radiation from Earth and space

Question 122
122.

7.11
know that the activity of a radioactive source decreases over a period of time and is
measured in becquerels

Question 123
123.

7.12
know the definition of the term half-life and understand that it is different for different
radioactive isotopes

Question 124
124.

7.13
use the concept of the half-life to carry out simple calculations on activity, including
graphical methods

Question 125
125.

7.14
describe uses of radioactivity in industry and medicine

Question 126
126.

7.15
describe the difference between contamination and irradiation

Question 127
127.

7.16
describe the dangers of ionising radiations, including:
• that radiation can cause mutations in living organisms
• that radiation can damage cells and tissue
• the problems arising from the disposal of radioactive waste and how the
associated risks can be reduced.

(c) Fission and fusion

Question 128
128.

7.17
know that nuclear reactions, including fission, fusion and radioactive decay, can be a
source of energy

Question 129
129.

7.18
understand how a nucleus of U-235 can be split (the process of fission) by collision
with a neutron, and that this process releases energy as kinetic energy of the fission
products

Question 130
130.

7.19
know that the fission of U-235 produces two radioactive daughter nuclei and a small
number of neutrons

Question 131
131.

7.20
describe how a chain reaction can be set up if the neutrons produced by one fission
strike other U-235 nuclei

Question 132
132.

7.21
describe the role played by the control rods and moderator in the fission process

Question 133
133.

7.22
understand the role of shielding around a nuclear reactor

Question 134
134.

7.23
explain the difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission

Question 135
135.

7.24
describe nuclear fusion as the creation of larger nuclei resulting in a loss of mass from smaller nuclei, accompanied by a release of energy

Question 136
136.

7.25
know that fusion is the energy source for stars

Question 137
137.

7.26
explain why nuclear fusion does not happen at low temperatures and pressures, due
to electrostatic repulsion of protons

(a) Units

Question 138
138.

8.1
use the following units: kilogram (kg), metre (m), metre/second (m/s),
metre/second2 (m/s2), newton (N), second (s), newton/kilogram (N/kg)

(b) Motion in the universe

Question 139
139.

8.2
know that:
• the universe is a large collection of billions of galaxies
• a galaxy is a large collection of billions of stars
• our solar system is in the Milky Way galaxy.

Question 140
140.

8.3
understand why gravitational field strength, g, varies and know that it is different on
other planets and the Moon from that on the Earth.

Question 141
141.

8.4
explain that gravitational force:
• causes moons to orbit planets
• causes the planets to orbit the Sun
• causes artificial satellites to orbit the Earth
• causes comets to orbit the Sun.

Question 142
142.

8.6
use the relationship between orbital speed, orbital radius and time period:

(c) Stellar evolution

Question 143
143.

8.7
understand how stars can be classified according to their colour

Question 144
144.

8.8
know that a star’s colour is related to its temperature

Question 145
145.

8.9
describe the evolution of stars of similar mass to the Sun through the following
stages:
• nebula
• star (main sequence)
• red giant
• white dwarf

Question 146
146.

8.10
describe the evolution of stars with a mass larger than the Sun