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0625 Examiner Tips

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36 views

0625 Examiner Tips

Uploaded by

Syed Shah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cambridge Professional Development

Key messages from the PERT

1. Many candidates find it difficult to rearrange formulas of the form V = IR. If a question asks for a
current, then a common error is to see candidates write I = VR.

2. Units of force, energy and power are confused by candidates who are not certain of the exact
definitions of these quantities.

3. When numbers are substituted into the expression ½mv2, the square is sometimes omitted but even
more commonly, the calculation is performed ignoring it.

4. The limit of proportionality (a syllabus term) is frequently referred to as the elastic limit (not a syllabus
term). The elastic limit is usually at a different point on the extension-load graph.

5. The terms resultant force and resistive force are sometimes confused.

6. For equilibrium, there must be no resultant force and no resultant turning effect; the second
requirement is often not mentioned.

7. A question might ask what the difference is between a scalar and a vector. The answer: ‘A vector has
magnitude and direction’ does not make it clear that it is the direction that is the difference rather than
the magnitude.

8. The definition of efficiency must include the term energy (twice) or the term power (twice). The
output
expression: is not sufficiently precise.
input

9. Diagrams representing the molecular structure of solids or liquids commonly have distances between
the molecules or molecules of different sizes.

10. The increase in the pressure of A heated gas is caused by the more frequent bombardment of the
molecules against the container walls. The phrase there are more collisions is not enough.

11. The expression pV = constant, is often interpreted to mean that the pressure and volume are directly
proportional. Some candidates have stated that a decrease in the volume leads to a decrease in the
pressure.

12. The explanation of convection often confuses more dense with less dense. An answer might be ‘The
heated gas expands, becomes more dense and rises’.

13. The sensitivity of a liquid-in-glass thermometer is the distance moved by the thread along the tube per
unit temperature rise; it is measurable and the unit is mm / °C. It is not dependent on the thickness of
the glass in the bulb. It is commonly incorrectly described as the speed with which the final
temperature reading is reached. This would be affected by the thickness of the glass in the bulb.

Key messages from the PERT 0625_E2_Key_PERT_v1


14. Heat is given out when a liquid solidifies, the heat is not taken in. The reverse error is much less
common.
15. The role of electrons in thermal conduction in metals is rarely discussed and when it is, it is often
stated that electrons vibrate and pass the vibrations on to their neighbours. This confuses the
mechanism of electron conduction with that of lattice vibration.

16. The ray diagrams drawn to locate the image produced by a thin converging lens commonly include
rays that are incorrect.

17. When defining longitudinal or transverse, the vibration direction is often clearly referred to. The energy
travel direction is much less clearly referred to. An answer such as: ‘The vibration direction is at right
angles to the movement of the particles’ is not clear.

18. Sometimes the angle between the surface of a glass block and the ray of light entering it is taken to be
the angle of incidence.

19. There are two conditions that must be satisfied for total internal refraction. One that is commonly
ignored is that the light must be passing from a denser into a rarer medium.

20. Ultrasound, a-particles and b-particles are not components of the electromagnetic spectrum. The
speed of sound is not 3.0 ×108 m/s in any medium.

21. The term charged is sometimes applied to steel that has merely been magnetised.

22. The three uses of the term induction (magnetic, electric and electromagnetic) are sometimes
confused.

23. Whilst current is usually understood, electromotive force and potential difference are less well
understood. A phrase such as: ‘the voltage flowing through the resistor’ is an indication of confusion.

24. Candidates rarely state that logic gates have an external power source (they are not passive circuit
components). Candidates therefore cannot understand that two inputs of 0 to a NAND gate produce
an output of 1.

25. The manner in which fuses behave and the importance of an earthed casing for the effective operation
is rarely described accurately.

26. When the effective resistance of two resistors in parallel is calculated, a common error is to leave out
the final stage (taking the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals) and to give a value that is actually
1/Reff rather than Reff.

27. Questions on electromagnetic induction are usually poorly answered. It is a difficult topic but it is
commonly explained with no mention of any magnetic effect.

28. When the advantages of high-voltage transmission are discussed, a common error is to state that
increasing the voltage reduces the resistance of the transmission cables. It is not clear why this is so
frequently stated.

Key messages from the PERT 0625_E2_Key_PERT_v1


29. Although the nuclide notation for a b-particle is commonly correct ( −01β ), the -1 term is often
mishandled. The proton number of the daughter product is very often reduced by 1 rather than
increased by 1.

30. If a radioactive isotope is left for one half-life, it is often stated that the mass halves. Since the
daughter product is likely to have a nuclear mass that is a very significant proportion of the original
nuclear mass, this is not correct.

Copyright © UCLES 2017

Key messages from the PERT 0625_E2_Key_PERT_v1

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