GCSE Physics practice, marked as they go.

1. 1Electric Circuits+

   • Describe the structure of an atom in terms of charged particles, and the process of charging by friction resulting in ions and the transfer of electrons
   • Understand the electric field surrounding charged objects causing attractive or repulsive forces
   • Describe electric circuits and their components, using current as the rate of charge flow due to a potential difference
   • Understand resistance and the cause of the heating effect and corresponding energy transfer
   • Investigate the factors affecting the resistance of a wire and the corresponding current–potential difference graphs
   • Analyse current–potential difference graphs to show ohmic and non-ohmic behaviour for wires, filaments and diodes
   • Investigate the relationship between the resistance of a thermistor and its temperature, and of a light-dependent resistor and light level
   • Investigate and analyse series and parallel circuits: the path of current at junctions, potential difference across branches and components, and the effect on resistance of series and parallel branches
2. 2Electricity in the Home+

   • Compare direct and alternating currents in terms of current direction
   • Use an oscilloscope to analyse changes in potential difference and to measure the peak voltage, period and frequency of a low voltage sinusoidal a.c. signal
   • Describe the UK mains supply and the wires used within it, and outline the National Grid and its high voltages
   • Understand mains circuits, including the function of the neutral and earth wires, applied to three-pin plugs and a simple ring-main
   • Understand the choice of materials for mains circuits, the need for a fuse to prevent overheating and insulation for protection from short circuits
   • Analyse circuits mathematically to determine the power supplied by a current and the relationship between power and the resistance of components
   • Consider the importance of efficiency within mains powered electrical devices and the energy efficiency ratings used when buying an appliance
3. 3Radioactivity+

   • Describe how the structure of the nucleus was discovered, and how our model of the atom changed from the plum pudding model, through the Rutherford model to the Bohr model
   • Describe the changes in the nucleus during alpha, beta and gamma decay and neutron emission, using nuclear notation for isotopes
   • Know the properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiation, their use in thickness monitoring, and the safety measures needed with radioactive materials
   • Understand activity, count rate and half-life, and the associated graphs despite the random nature of individual decays
   • Higher tier: perform calculations involving initial activity, current activity and half-life
   • GCSE Physics: discuss the application of radioactivity to medical tracers and evaluate risks and benefits
   • GCSE Physics: study nuclear fission and fusion in relation to nuclear power, including chain reactions, the fission reactor, its dangers, and fusion reactions in stars
4. 4Wave Properties+

   • Observe and describe the properties of mechanical and electromagnetic waves in terms of energy transfer with or without a transfer medium
   • Compare transverse and longitudinal waves
   • Analyse wavelength, amplitude and period, and the relationships between period, frequency and wave speed, and between frequency, wavelength and wave speed
   • Measure the speed of sound in air and the speed of ripples on water
   • Higher tier: investigate and describe reflection and refraction of waves in terms of wave fronts
   • Describe absorption, transmission and reflection of waves in terms of energy
   • GCSE Physics: investigate how sound waves are transmitted through a medium, and use echoes to measure distances
   • Higher tier GCSE Physics: investigate sound waves using oscilloscope traces, comparing amplitude and frequency, and the ear's response to frequency
5. 5Electromagnetic Waves+

   • Describe the electromagnetic spectrum in terms of different regions related to wavelength
   • Understand that the speed of electromagnetic waves in a vacuum is constant, allowing the wave equation to link wavelength and frequency, and the energy carried by the wave
   • Describe each region of the electromagnetic spectrum and its uses
   • Investigate the relationship between surface colour, temperature and the rate of emission of infra-red radiation
   • Describe the use of radio waves in communications for television and mobile phones, and the transmission of signals through optical fibres
   • Higher tier: describe the modulation of carrier waves to transmit information
   • Describe the application of ultraviolet waves in phosphorescence and the damage they can cause to skin and eyes
   • Describe the uses of X-rays and gamma rays in medical applications, ionisation and the cause of tissue damage, contrast media, detection devices such as the CCD, and the concept of radiation dose
   • Higher tier: compare the intensity of imaging and therapeutic X-rays
6. 6Light (GCSE Physics only)+

   • Look at the reflection of light by plane mirrors using both a wave front and ray model, and describe real and virtual images and why images are not formed by 'rough' surfaces
   • Investigate and describe refraction of light, analysing the change in direction of rays at boundaries between surfaces
   • Describe the relationship between colour and wavelength for visible light, the reflection of white and coloured light from coloured or white surfaces, and the additive nature of coloured light
   • Describe the differences between translucent and transparent media
   • Describe the action of lenses using the ray model and a range of ray diagrams, including converging and diverging lenses
   • Describe image properties, magnification and its calculation from image and object height
   • Construct ray diagrams for the convex lens for objects at a range of positions, and image formation for a concave lens
7. 7Forces in Balance+

   • Compare vectors and scalars using the examples of distance and displacement, and the nature of forces
   • Represent vectors using scale diagrams, and describe the forces acting in a wide variety of situations
   • Identify Newton's third law
   • Use balanced and unbalanced forces to determine the behaviour of objects, and apply Newton's first law of motion
   • Higher tier: produce free body diagrams showing the forces acting on an isolated object
   • GCSE Physics: analyse the rotational effects of forces through moments, and examine levers and gears
   • All students: determine the centre of mass of an object experimentally; GCSE Physics students analyse equilibrium conditions mathematically
   • Higher tier: use a parallelogram of forces to determine a resultant or 'missing' force, and resolve forces at right angles
8. 8Motion+

   • Recap speed and its relationship to distance travelled and time taken
   • Analyse distance–time graphs for single and multiple objects
   • Define acceleration in terms of changes in velocity and analyse it graphically and mathematically
   • Higher tier: outline circular motion as constant acceleration with constant speed
   • Investigate acceleration caused by an unbalanced force on a ramp, linking acceleration to the gradient of a velocity–time graph
   • Use the area beneath the line on a velocity–time graph to find the distance travelled
   • Use the gradient of a distance–time graph to determine speed; Higher tier use the tangent of a line
   • Apply these techniques to analyse a range of graphs to extract all the possible information
9. 9Force and Motion+

   • Experimentally determine the relationships between force and acceleration, and between mass and acceleration, leading to Newton's second law of motion and its application
   • Higher tier: define the inertial mass of an object
   • Compare mass and weight, linked by the idea of a gravitational field
   • Analyse the forces acting on an object falling through a fluid and the resulting terminal velocity
   • Analyse the forces acting when stopping a car: thinking distance and braking distance and the factors affecting them; calculate accelerations during braking
   • Higher tier: derive an appropriate equation involving the stopping distance
   • Higher tier: investigate momentum and its conservation; Higher tier GCSE Physics determine velocities after collisions or explosions, and the force acting during collisions related to the duration of impact, and discuss car safety features
   • All students: investigate the effect of forces on the stretching of materials, linear and non-linear relationships between force and extension, and apply Hooke's law
10. 10Force and Pressure (GCSE Physics only)+

    • Define pressure as a force acting over a surface, measure it and calculate the pressure acting on a surface
    • Higher tier: describe pressure in a liquid, explaining the change of pressure with depth in terms of particle behaviour, with the relevant equation
    • Discuss the cause of atmospheric pressure in terms of the behaviour of particles in the air, and consequences such as a suction cup gripping surfaces
    • Higher tier: apply the relationship between pressure, height, density and acceleration due to gravity to determine pressures at different points in the atmosphere
    • Higher tier: investigate upthrust, explain it in terms of differences in pressure inside the fluid, and explain why some objects float while others do not
11. 11Electromagnetism+

    • Reinforce knowledge of magnetism: magnetic fields around permanent magnets, induced magnetism, plotting a magnetic field and the shape of the Earth's field
    • Examine the magnetic field produced by a current and the factors that affect its direction and strength; compare the field of a solenoid with that of a bar magnet
    • GCSE Physics: investigate the factors affecting the strength of an electromagnet and how they are used in devices
    • Higher tier: describe the motor effect, how it creates an electric motor, and how the force links to magnetic flux density
    • Higher tier GCSE Physics: look at the generator effect and the factors affecting the current induced in a wire moving through a magnetic field, and the a.c. waveform from a rotating coil
    • Higher tier GCSE Physics: describe the operation of a transformer in terms of changes in magnetic fields, calculate changes in potential difference, discuss transformer efficiency, and describe their use in the National Grid
12. 12Space (GCSE Physics only)+

    • Examine the formation of the solar system from a nebula, the formation of the Sun from hydrogen gas into a protostar until it reaches the main sequence, and the source of materials for the planets
    • Describe the pathways for small stars (main sequence, red giants, white dwarfs, black dwarfs) and for larger stars (red supergiant, supernova, neutron star or black hole), and the role of supernovae in producing heavy elements
    • Examine the orbits of planets; Higher tier discuss the role of centripetal force and acceleration for planets and artificial satellites
    • Evaluate the evidence for an expanding universe from the red shift of most galaxies, and Edwin Hubble's conclusions
    • Use the cosmic microwave background radiation in a discussion of the Big Bang theory
    • Discuss models predicting the distant future of the universe, including dark matter and dark energy

Topics follow the AQA 8463 specification. PrepAcer is independent and not affiliated with the exam board.