The Perfect Answer

Revision Guide To…

Physics
Edexcel IGCSE
9-1
Triple Award
1st Edition
Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 1

Hazel Lindsey
For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Units and symbols ...................................................................................................... 3
1. Forces and motion..................................................................................................4
2. Electricity ................................................................................................................ 7
3. Waves................................................................................................................... 10
4. Energy resources and energy transfers ...............................................................14
5. Solids, liquids and gases ...................................................................................... 16
6. Magnetism ............................................................................................................18
7. Radioactivity and particles....................................................................................20
8. Astrophysics .........................................................................................................24
Equations ................................................................................................................. 28

Copyright © Hazel Lindsey 2018. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission from Science with Hazel Ltd

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 2

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Units and symbols

SI unit Symbol

Power Watts W

Work done joules J

Energy joules J

Current amps A

Charge coulombs C

Resistance ohms Ω

Voltage volts V

Pressure pascal Pa or N/m2

Distance metres m

Time seconds s

Speed or velocity - m/s

Momentum - Kg m/s

Moment - Nm

Acceleration - m/s2

Force newtons N

Density - Kg/cm3

Weight newtons N

Frequency hertz Hz

Radioactivity Becquerel Bq

Temperature Celsius or Kelvin °C or K

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 3

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
1. Forces and motion

Movement and position

Average speed = distance moved

time taken

How do you find speed on a distance-time graph?

- Calculate gradient
Acceleration = change in velocity
time taken

a = (v - u)
t

How do you find the distance travelled in a speed-time graph?

- Calculate area under the graph
How do you find acceleration on a speed-time graph?
- Calculate gradient
Relationship between final speed (v), initial speed (u), acceleration (a) and distance (s)
v2 = u2 + 2as

Forces, movement, shape and momentum

What effect does a force have on an object?

- Changes object’s speed
- Changes object’s direction
- Changes object’s shape
List the different types of forces
- Gravitational
- Electrostatic
- Weight
- Normal reaction
- Friction
- Air resistance
- Upthrust
- Nuclear
- Magnetic
What is the difference between scalar and vector?
- Scalar - magnitude only
- Vector - magnitude and direction
Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 4

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
There are only 6 vector quantities (assume everything else is scalar!)
- Displacement
- Velocity
- Acceleration
- Force
- Weight
- Momentum
What is Newton’s 1st Law?
- If forces acting on an object are balanced, the resultant force is zero
- Object at rest, stays stationary
- Object moving, continues to move in same direction and at same speed
What is Newton’s 2nd Law?
- Acceleration is proportional to resultant force
- Inversely proportional to mass of object
How to calculate resultant force acting along a line
- Add up all forces acting in useful direction
- Subtract all forces acting in the opposite direction
Force = mass x acceleration
F=mxa

Weight = mass x gravitational field strength

W=mxg

Stopping distance = thinking distance + braking distance

Define stopping distance

- The distance travelled by a vehicle after a hazard has been spotted until it comes to a
complete rest
- Stopping distance = thinking distance + braking distance
What factors affect braking distance?
- Speed vehicle is travelling
- Mass of vehicle
- Condition of road
- Tyres and brakes
How is braking distance increased?
- If vehicle is travelling at higher speed
- Worn brakes
- Icy road

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 5

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
What factors affect thinking distance?
- Reaction time
- Tiredness
- Drink and drugs
How is thinking distance increased?
- Tiredness
- Driving under the influence of drink and drugs
Describe the process of terminal velocity
- Weight acts downwards
- Drag acts upwards
- Object accelerates downwards
- Eventually weight = drag
- No resultant force, no acceleration, forces are balanced
- Terminal velocity (constant velocity) is reached
What is Hooke’s law?
- The extension of a spring is directly proportional to the force applied, provided its limit
of proportionality is not exceeded

Define elastic behaviour

- The ability of a material to revert to its original shape after the forces causing deforma-
tion have been removed

What happens if elastic limit is exceeded?

- Material will no longer revert to original shape after the forces have been removed
- Momentum = mass x velocity
- p=mxv

What is the unit of momentum?

- kg m/s
Explain how seat belts/crumple zones/air bags prevent serious injury
- Same momentum change
- But time of impact increases
- Reducing force felt
- Seat belt stretches increasing area over which force acts
- Pressure on body reduces
When 2 vehicles collide:
- They exert equal and opposite forces on each other
- Their total momentum is unchanged

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 6

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Force = change in momentum
Time
F = (mv - mu)
t

What is Newton’s 3rd Law?

- Two objects exert equal and opposite forces on each other
What is a moment?
- The turning effect of a force
Moment = force x perpendicular distance from pivot

How do you increase the moment of a force?

- Increase distance
- Increase force
Define ‘centre of mass’
- The point where the mass appears to be concentrated
2. Electricity

Mains electricity

Power = current x voltage

P=IxV

Energy transferred = current x voltage x time

E=IxVxt

Voltage = current x resistance

V=IxR

Charge = current x time

Q=Ixt

Energy transferred = charge x voltage

E=QxV

What is an electric current?

- A flow of negatively charged electrons
Why does resistance increase in a filament when the temperature increases?
- Positive ions vibrate faster
- Inhibit flow of electrons
Define alternating current
- A current which changes direction continuously

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 7

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Define direct current
- A current which flows in one direction only
What is a circuit breaker?
- A device which stops the current flowing in a circuit when the current is too high
What is a fuse?
- A wire which melts if the current is too high
Why are fraying cables, long cables and water dangerous when using mains electricity in
the home?
- Fraying cables: potential electrocution risk
- Long cables: tripping hazard
- Water (and metal objects): conduct electricity and could electrocute you
What are the various wires in a plug?
- Green and yellow - earth
- Brown - live
- Blue - neutral
What is double insulation and why is it used?
- Both the wires inside a device and the outer case of the device are insulated
- No chance of electrocution
What is Ohm’s law?
- The current through a resistor at constant temperature is directly proportional to the
potential difference across the resistor

What is a diode?
- A device which allows current to flow in one direction only
What is a thermistor?
- A temperature dependent resistor
- Its resistance decreases when temperature increases
What is a LDR?
- Light dependent resistor
- Its resistance decreases when light intensity increases
What are the current and voltage rules in a series circuit?
- Current is the same everywhere
- Total voltage is the sum of all the individual components’ voltage
What are the current and voltage rules in a parallel circuit?
- Voltage is the same everywhere
- Total current is the sum of the individual components’ current

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 8

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Why is current conserved at a junction?
- In parallel circuit, current is shared between each component
- Total amount of current flowing into the junction is equal to the total current flowing out
- Current is described as being conserved
Electric charge (static electricity)

Provide some examples of electrical conductors

- Metals
Provide some examples of electrical insulators
- Plastic
- Wool
- Wood
How may a substance become charged?
- Friction
- Transfer of electrons
How is a positive electrostatic charge produced?
- Through loss of negatively charged electrons
How is a negative electrostatic charge produced?
- Through gain of negatively changed electrons
What are the advantages of using an electrostatic paint sprayer to paint a bike?
- Bike given positive charge
- Paint given negative charge - paint droplets repel - form a fine mist - less paint is wast-
ed
- Better finish to bike
Why do your hairs stand up on end when you slide down a plastic slide?
- Charging due to friction
- All hairs are the same charge and repel
What problems are associated with static electricity?
- Aeroplanes become charged due to friction with clouds —> spark from plane could ig-
nite fuel tanker and lead to an explosion
- TV monitors become charged and attract dust
- Clothing may become charged —> electric shock
Describe how a photocopier works
- Drum is charged
- Image of object to be copied is projected onto the drum
- Charge stays only where image is dark
- Toner drops onto drum
- Toner sticks to charged areas only
- Excess toner removed
- Paper rolled onto drum
- Toner sealed onto paper using heat
Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 9

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Describe how an inkjet printer works
- Ink is given a charge
- Inkjets fire a stream of ink droplets onto paper
- Deflecting plates direct the ink to the correct place
- Charges on deflecting plates change hundreds of times each second
Describe how electrostatic precipitators work
- Smoke leaving factories contains soot and dust
- Smoke is given charge
- Metal plates in precipitator given opposite charge
- Soot and dust sticks to metal plates
- Plates knocked together regularly to remove smoke and dust
3. Waves

What is a transverse wave?

- A wave where vibrations occur perpendicular to the direction the wave is travelling
What is a longitudinal wave?
- A wave where vibrations occur parallel to the direction the wave is travelling
Define amplitude
- The maximum distance between the peak or trough of a wave and its equilibrium point.
Define wavefront
- A horizontal line drawn linking all the peaks in a set of waves
Define wavelength
- The distance from point on a wave to the same point on the next wave
Define frequency
- Number of waves per second
Define the period of a wave
- Time taken to complete one wave cycle
Equation for wave speed
- Wave speed = frequency x wavelength
Equation for wave frequency
- Frequency = 1 .
time period

What property do all waves have in common?

- They can be reflected and refracted

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 10

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
What is the Doppler effect?
- The change in frequency and wavelength caused by relative movement of the source of
wave or observer

Give an example of the Doppler effect in sound waves

- When an ambulance goes past you the siren decreases in pitch
- This is because the wavelength of the sound waves increases
Give an example of the Doppler effect in light waves
- Light from distant planets looks red (it’s red-shifted)
- Because planets are moving away from us so wavelength becomes longer and there-
fore moves to the red spectrum

Electromagnetic spectrum

Which EM waves can be used in cooking?

- Microwaves and infrared radiation
Which EM wave causes burns?
- Infra-red radiation
Which EM wave causes skin cancer?
- UV
What are the dangers of X-rays and gamma rays?
- Ionising radiation
- Mutation
- Cancer
What do all EM waves have in common?
- All transfer energy
- All travel at the same speed in a vacuum
- Can be reflected, refracted and diffracted
- All transverse waves

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 11

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
 EM wave Use Dangers and how they
may be overcome

- Longest wavelength Radiowaves - broadcasting

- Lowest energy - communications
- Lowest frequency

Microwaves - cooking - internal heating of

- satellite communica- body tissues
tion

Infra-red - heaters/cooking - skin burns

- remote controls
- night vision

Visible - optical fibres

- photography

Ultra violet - detecting forged - damaged to surface

bank notes cells (e.g. skin can-
- fluorescent lamps in cer)
sun beds - blindess
- protective goggles,
glasses, suncream

Xrays - observing internal - mutation leading to

structures of objects cancer
- medicine e.g. X-rays - lead screen, protect-
ive clothing

- shortest wavelength Gamma rays - sterilising surgical - mutation leading to

- highest energy equipment cancer
- highest frequency - killing cancer - lead screens, boxes
and aprons

What are the advantages of optic fibres?

- Carry more information per second
- More secure
How are x-rays and gamma rays similar?
- Both short wavelength EM waves
- Carry lots of energy per second
How do x-rays and gamma rays differ?
- X-rays are made when electrons moving at high speeds are stopped
- Gamma rays are released from unstable nuclei
- Gamma is more penetrative
- Gamma has shorter wave length

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 12

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Light and sound

Describe the properties of light waves

- Transverse wave
- Transfer energy
- Can be reflected, refracted, diffracted
- A wave where vibrations occur perpendicular to the direction the wave is travelling
What is a normal line?
- A line drawn perpendicular to the mirror
What is the law of reflection?
- Angle of incidence = angle of reflection
What is refraction?
- A change in direction of waves when they travel across a boundary from one medium
to another

Describe how a light ray changes direction when it enters and leaves a glass block
- Bends towards the normal as it enters the block
- Bends away from the normal as it leaves the block
n = sin i
sin r

Define critical angle

- Angle of incidence beyond which rays of light are totally internally reflected
Define total internal reflection
- When the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle
- All light is reflected, none is refracted
How do optical fibres work?
- Total internal reflection
- Core of fibre made out of glass with high refractive index
- Cladding is made out of glass with lower refractive index
- Light entering core is at an angle greater than the critical angle so light is TIR
Give examples of the use of optical fibres
- Endoscope - used in keyhole surgery
- Communication as less energy is lost when compared to using copper wiring
Sin c = 1
n

Describe the properties of sound waves

- Longitudinal waves
- Transfer energy
- Can be reflected, refracted and diffracted
Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 13

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
What is the the range of human hearing?
- 20 Hz - 20,000Hz
How are pitch and frequency related?
- The higher the pitch, the higher the frequency of a sound wave
How are loudness and amplitude related?
- The louder the sound, the higher the amplitude
What is an oscilloscope?
- A machine used to view sound waves
4. Energy resources and energy transfers

Different types of energy:

- Chemical energy e.g. fuel, food, batteries
- Kinetic energy e.g. man running
- Gravitational e.g. sitting on a ski lift
- Elastic e.g. elastic bands
- Nuclear energy e.g. uranium fuel
- Thermal energy e.g. hot water
- Magnetic energy
- Electrostatic
How may energy be transferred?
- Mechanically
- Electrically
- By heating
- By radiation (light and sound)
Describe the energy changes in an object falling to ground
- Kinetic energy increases
- Gravitational potential energy decreases
Describe the energy changes when a falling object hits the ground
- Kinetic energy decreases
- Wasted energy is thermal and sound energy
How may thermal energy transfer take place?
- By conduction, convection and radiation
Describe the process of conduction
- Heat makes the particles vibrate more
- Particles collide with each other and pass their kinetic energy along
- Eventually the energy will be spread through the solid

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 14

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Describe the process of convection
- Heat causes particles to gain kinetic energy
- Particles vibrate and spread out
- Particles become less dense
- Particles rise
- Particles cool and sink setting up a convection current
- Process repeats
Radiation summary:
- White, shiny surfaces reflect radiation
- Dark, matt surfaces absorb radiation
- The hotter the substance, the more radiation that occurs

How does heat transfer occur in a vacuum?

- By radiation only
How does a vacuum flask prevent heat loss?
- Shiny walls reflect infra-red radiation
- Plastic lid is a good insulator
- Vacuum prevents heat loss by conduction and convection
How may the rate of energy transfer be reduced at home?
- Loft insulation - fibreglass is a good insulator
- Cavity wall insulation - foam is a good insulator and prevents convection currents being
set up
- Aluminium foil behind radiators - reflects IR
- Double glazed windows - vacuum between glass slows conduction and stops IR
Define conservation of energy
- Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be converted from one form into
another

work done = force x distance

work done = energy transferred

gravitational potential energy = mass x gravitational field strength x height

kinetic energy = 1/2 x mass x velocity2

Define power
- The rate of energy transfer (or rate of doing work)
power = work done
time taken

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 15

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
 Summary Advantages Disadvantages

Wind power an electricity generator - renewable - expensive

on top of tall tower - little pollution - lots of cables needed
- unreliable
- visual pollution

Wave power waves turn a floating - renewable - unreliable

generator - little pollution
Hydroelectric generators are turned - renewable - expensive
by water running - reliable - destroys habitats
downhill - little pollution
Tidal power traps high tide and - renewable - unreliable
uses it to turn generat- - little pollution - expensive
ors

Solar cells flat solid cells that con- - good for remote - unreliable
vert solar energy dir- places - expensive
ectly into electricity - little pollution

Solar heating panels use Sun’s energy to - good for remote - unreliable
heat water directly places - expensive
- little pollution

Geothermal water pumped into hot - reliable - rare

rocks underground - little pollution
produces steam to turn
turbines

5. Solids, liquids and gases

density = mass
volume

How do you measure the density of a solid object?

- Use a balance to measure its mass
- Use a ruler to measure the volume of a regular solid or
- Lower an irregular solid into a known volume of liquid and measure its new volume
- Density = mass/volume
How do you measure the density of a liquid?
- Measure mass of empty beaker using a balance
- Measure mass of beaker now containing liquid
- Density = mass/volume
pressure = force
area

- Pressure at a point in a gas or liquid acts equally in all directions

pressure difference = height x gravitational field strength x density

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 16

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Describe the structure of solids, liquids and gases
- Solids - particles arranged regularly and packed closely together. Vibrate in fixed posi-
tions. Strong forces between particles
- Liquids - particles are mostly touching with some gaps. Particles move about about at
random. Medium forces between particles
- Gases - particles move at random (Brownian motion) and quickly. Particles are far
apart. Weak forces between particles.

Give the proper name for the following conversions:

- Solid —> liquid (melting)
- Liquid —> gas (boiling)
- Gas —> liquid (condensing)
- Liquid —> solid (freezing)

Define specific heat capacity

- The energy required to change the temperature of an object by 1C per kilogram of
mass (J/KgC)

Summary of atmospheric pressure

- Pressure at a point in a gas or liquids acts in all directions
- Atmospheric pressure increases the lower down you go because there is more air
above you
- Atmospheric pressure is 100,000 Pa at sea level
How is pressure created by gas in a container?
- Random movement
- Gas particles collide with walls of container
- Creating small force
Why does the pressure of a gas increase with increased temperature?
- Molecules move faster so they hit the walls with more force
- Number of impacts per second increases
- Total force increases
What is absolute zero?
- -273C
- This is when the pressure of gas is zero
- 0C = 273K
- What is 20C in K? 293K
- What is 50K in C? -223C

The Kelvin temperature of a gas is proportional to the average kinetic energy of the mole-
cules
- p1 = p2
T1 T2

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 17

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
The relationship between the pressure and volume of a fixed mass of gas at constant
temperature:
- p1V1 = p2V2
6. Magnetism

Summary of magnetism
- South poles attract north poles (and vice versa)
- Some material may become magnetised when placed in a magnetic field
- Iron, steel, nickel, cobalt are magnetic
What is the difference between steel and iron’s magnetism?
- Steel - hard magnetic material - retains magnetism
- Iron - soft magnetic material - loses magnetism
Define magnetic field line
- The space around a magnet where magnetism can be detected
- Magnetic field line can be seen through use of either plotting compasses or iron filings
What are the properties of a uniform magnetic field?
- Field lines are parallel
- Field lines are evenly spaced
-
How may an objects’ magnetism be induced (created)?
- Place a magnetic object e.g. one made from steel or iron into a magnetic field
- Object becomes a magnet (magnetism has been induced)
- The magnetism is temporary as the object loses its magnetism when it’s removed from
the magnetic field

How is a simple electromagnet constructed?

- Connect a wire to a current, add an iron core, wrap wire around a solenoid
What is a solenoid?
- Coil of wire
How can the magnetic field around a current carrying wire be made stronger?
- Increasing current
- Wrapping the wire into a coil (solenoid)
- Add an iron core
How can the magnetic field around a solenoid be made stronger?
- Increasing the number of turns on the solenoid
- Increasing the current
Describe the movement of a charged particle in a magnetic field
- The particle will move
- As long as its motion is not parallel to the field

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 18

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Explain why a force is experienced by a wire when a current flows through it
- A current flows through the wire creating a magnetic field around the wire
- This temporary magnetic field interacts with the permanent magnetic field of the bar
magnets
- A force is created
Describe how a motor works
- A current flows through the wire creating a magnetic field around the wire
- this temporary magnetic field interacts with the permanent magnetic field of the bar
magnets
- A force is created
- The force turns the coil of wire
- A motor has been made
How may the motor be made to spin faster?
- Increase the current
- Increase the number of turns of wire
- Increasing the strength of the magnetic field
Describe how a loud speaker works
- A current flows through the wire creating a magnetic field around the wire
- This temporary magnetic field interacts with the permanent magnetic field of the bar
magnets
- A force is created
- The force moves the speaker cone
- This vibrates air particles creating sound waves
- When the direction of the current changes, the direction of the force changes
Describe how voltage (or current) may be induced
- If a wire is moved across a magnetic field at right angles
- A voltage is induced
- If the wire is attached to a complete circuit, a current is induced
- This is electromagnetic induction
How may the size of the induced voltage (and current) be increased?
- Wrapping the wire into a coil
- Using a stronger magnet
- Moving the wire more quickly
Describe how a dynamo works in a bicycle light
- Simple generator
- As bicycle moves, the wheel turns a magnet inside a coil
- The magnetic field cuts through the surrounding coil inducing a current

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 19

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Describe the structure of a transformer
- Laminated core made from iron
- 2 coils found on opposite sides
- Step-up transformers have more turns on the secondary coil than primary
- Step-down transformers have fewer turns on the secondary coil than the primary
What is the role of transformer?
- To change the size of the alternating voltage
- There are a different number of turns on the input and output sides
What is the difference between Step-Up and Step-Down transformers?
- Step-up used to step up power station voltages to grid voltage
- Step-down used to step down the grid voltage to a voltage that can be used safely in
our homes (230V)

input (primary) voltage = primary turns

output (secondary) voltage = secondary turns

Vp = np
Vs ns

input power = output power

VpIp = VsIs

for 100% efficiency

7. Radioactivity and particles

Mass Charge

Electron 1/2000 -1

Proton 1 +1

Neutron 1 0

E.g.

23Na
11

Na - sodium
Mass number = 23
Atomic number = 11
Proton number = 11
Neutron number = 12

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 20

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Define atomic number
- Number of protons
Define mass number
- Number of protons + number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
Define nucleon number
- Number of protons + number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
What is an isotope?
- An atom of the same element with the same number of protons but different number of
neutrons

How may ionising radiation be emitted from an atom?

- Random process
- Alpha, beta, gamma may be emitted from an unstable nucleus
How is alpha, beta, and gamma radiation stopped?
- Alpha - few cms of air, paper
- Beta - 10cm air, aluminium foil
- Gamma - several inches thick lead, metres of concrete
List alpha, beta and gamma in order, starting with the most ionising
- Alpha, beta, gamma
What is the nature of an alpha particle and what happens when a nucleus emits alpha?
- Alpha is a helium nucleus
- 2 protons and 2 neutrons are emitted
- Mass number decreases by 4, atomic number (proton number) decreases by 2

What is the nature of a beta particle and what happens when a nucleus emits beta?
- Fast moving electron
- A neutron turns into a proton and stays in the nucleus
- Mass number unchanged, atomic number (proton number) increases by 1

What device is used to measure the amount of radioactivity?

- Geiger-Muller detector
What is background radiation?
- Radiation which is always present
Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 21

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Give some sources of background radiation
- Cosmic rays
- Medicine
- Food and drink
- Radon gas
- Ground and buildings
What is the unit for measuring radioactivity?
- Becquerel (Bq)
Define half life
- Time taken for half the radioactive nuclei to decay
Describe the nature of radioactive decay
- Random process
Why is tossing a coin a good model for radioactive decay?
- Random
- Unable to predict whether you will land on a head or tail - with radioactive decay you
don’t know when the nuclei will breakdown (decay)

What are the limitations of tossing a coin as a model for radioactive decay?
- You can only toss the coin at most 1000 times really
- In radioactive material there are millions of nuclei that have the potential to decay
Describe how alpha is used in smoke alarms
- Alpha source ionises the air creating small current
- Picked up by a detector
- In a fire, alpha is stopped by smoke.
- Alarm sounds
Describe the properties of medical tracers
- Short half life
- Stable product
- Decays not so fast that can’t be used as a tracer but not so long that it has damaging
effects

Describe the use of radiation in carbon dating

- C-14 is a radioactive isotope. Found in carbon dioxide
- There is a small amount of radioactive carbon-14 in all living organisms because it en-
ters the food chain.
- Once an organism dies, it stops taking in carbon-14.
- Over time radioactivity of the material decreases.
- Age of organism can be worked out by measuring the amount of carbon-14 left in its
remains compared to the amount in living organisms.

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 22

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
How can your reduce your risk of radiation?
- Limit exposure time
- Shielding e.g. lead
- Using tongs to handle radiation
What is the difference between irradiation and contamination?

Contamination Irradiation

When the radioactive source is on the ob- When an object is exposed to a source of
ject radiation

Radiation can not be blocked using lead Radiation can be blocked using lead
shielding shielding

The object is radioactive as long as the Doesn’t cause the object to become ra-
source is on the object dioactive

Radiation remains as long as the source Radiation stops as soon as radioactive

is on it source is removed

Nuclear Fission

List some examples of nuclear reactions which can provide energy?

- Nuclear fission (in nuclear reactors)
- Nuclear fusion (occurs in stars)
- Radioactive decay
What fuel is used in a nuclear reactor?
- Uranium-235
What is nuclear fission?
- Splitting of atomic nuclei
Where is nuclear fission carried out?
- In a nuclear generator
What is the role of the control rods?
- Absorb neutrons to slow down the reaction
What is the role of the moderator in a nuclear reactor?
- Slows the neutrons, increases likelihood of successful collisions
What is the role of the water in the nuclear reactor?
- Moderator - slows down the neutrons
Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 23

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
What is the role of the lead shielding in a nuclear reactor?
- Stops radiation causing cancer in employees
How may a chain reaction be set up in a nuclear reactor?
- Fast moving neutron collides with uranium nuclei
- Nuclei split forming 2 radioactive daughter nuclei and 2-3 neutrons
- Neutrons hit other uranium nuclei
- Chain reaction set up
How does nuclear fission lead to the production of electricity?
- Thermal energy released used to heat water to create steam
- Steam turns a turbine
- Turbine turns a generator
What are the disadvantages of using a nuclear reactor?
- High decommissioning costs
- Radioactive waste - dangerous- may cause cancer
- Long term storage due to very long half lives of radioactive materials
What is nuclear fusion?
- Joining of atomic nuclei
- Creates larger nuclei, resulting in the loss of mass from small nuclei
- Releases energy
What is the difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion?
- Nuclear fusion - a reaction where 2 nuclei combine releasing energy (occurs on stars)
- Nuclear fission - splitting of atomic nuclei (occurs in nuclear reactors) What is the
source of energy for stars

What is the source of energy for stars?

- Nuclear fusion
Why does nuclear fusion not occur at low temperature?
- Nuclear fusion involves 2 nuclei joining
- But nuclei are positively charged and therefore repel
- Therefore needs extremely high temperature to overcome the repulsion
- These temperatures are only currently found in stars
8. Astrophysics

Motion in the universe

What does our solar system consist of?

- Sun
- Planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)
- Comets and asteroids
- Moons

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 24

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
What is the order of planets (starting from closest to the Sun)?
- My (Mercury) Very (Venus) Easy (Earth) Method (Mars) Just (Jupiter) Speeds (Saturn) Up
(Uranus) Naming (Neptune)

What is a universe?
- Large collection of billions of galaxies
What is a galaxy?
- Large collection of billions of stars
What is the name of our galaxy?
- The Milky Way
What is a satellite?
- An object which orbits a planet - can be either natural (moon) or artificial (man-made)
What is a comet
- Ball of ice and dust that orbits the sun
What is a day?
- time taken for Earth to rotate once on its axis
What is a month?
- time taken for the Moon to orbit the Earth once
What is a year?
- time taken for the Earth to complete one orbit of the Sun
What does the size of the gravitational force depend on?
- masses of objects
- distance between the objects
Why do larger planets exert larger gravitational forces?
- Larger masses (not larger size!)
Why does our weight vary on Earth and on the Moon?
- Gravitational field strength is weaker on the moon
- Weight = mass x gravitational field strength
- Mass is unchanged
Gravitational force causes the following:
- Moons to orbit planets
- Planets to orbit the Sun
- Artificial satellites to orbit the Earth
- Comets to orbit the Sun
Compare the orbit of planets and comets
- Planets and comets both orbit the Sun
- Comets have very elliptical orbits

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 25

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Orbital speed = 2 x pi x orbital radius
time period

Stellar evolution

What can the colour of a star tell you?

- Its temperature
What do the following colours tell you about a star’s temperature?
- Blue = very hot star
- Yellow = medium hot star
- Red = cooler star
What is a nebula?
- A cloud of dust and gas in outer space
- Gets pulled together by gravitational forces
Describe the life cycle of a small star
- Nebula - cloud of dust and gas in outer space are pulled together by gravitational force
- Main sequence - forces are balanced and hydrogen nuclei join (nuclear fusion). Huge
amounts of thermal and light energy released
- Hydrogen fuel runs out
- Star expands to become red giant
- Heavier elements formed by fusion
- Star shrinks to become white dwarf
- Star cools to become black dwarf
Describe the life cycle of a large star
- Nebula - cloud of dust and gas in outer space are pulled together by gravitational force
- Main sequence - forces are balanced and hydrogen nuclei join (nuclear fusion). Huge
amounts of thermal and light energy released
- Hydrogen fuel runs out
- Star expands to become red supergiant
- Explosion - supernova
- Star becomes neutron star
- Very large stars become black holes - light can’t escape
What does the brightness of a star depend on?
- Distance of the star from the Earth
- What the star is made from
- Type of nuclear reactions taking place
What are the 3 ways astronomers decide the brightness of a star?
- The luminosity of a star - a measure of the amount of light energy released from the
star’s surface every second
- Measure how bright the star is from Earth - ‘apparent brightness’
- Measure how bright the stars are if they were all placed the same distance from the
Earth - ‘absolute brightness’ - allows us to make comparisons

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 26

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Cosmology

What is the Big Bang Theory?

- The universe is expanding after exploding suddenly in a Big Bang from a very small
point
- Space, time and matter were created in the Big Bang.
What is the evidence for the universe expanding/Big Bang Theory?
- Red shift
- CMBR (cosmic microwave background radiation)
What is red shift?
- Light from distant galaxies is red shifted indicating that these galaxies are moving away
from us
- Galaxies furthest away are red shifted the most
Relationship between wavelength, galaxy velocity and speed of light
- change in wavelength = velocity of galaxy
reference wavelength speed of light

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 27

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
Equations

You will need to learn…

Acceleration = change in velocity

time taken

Moment = force x perpendicular distance from pivot

power = current x voltage

p=IxV

charge = current x time

Q=Ixt

voltage = current x resistance

V=IxR

wave speed = frequency x wavelength

v=fxλ

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 28

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
law of refraction: refractive index,
n = sin i/sin r (sin i = sin angle of incidence, sin r = angle of refraction)

efficiency = useful energy output from system/ total energy output into system x 100

work = force x distance

w=Fxd

GPE = mass x gravitational field strength x height

GPE = m x g x h

KE = ½ mass x speed²
KE = ½mv²

density = mass/ volume

p = m/v

pressure = force/ area

p = F/A

pressure difference = height x density x gravitational field strength

p = h x p x g (in liquids)

input voltage/ output voltage = primary turns/ secondary turns

Vp/Vs = n1/n2

Input power = output power (for 100% efficiency)

Vp Ip = Vs Is

You will be given (but need to know how to use)…

v2 = u2 + 2as
where v = final speed
u = initial speed
a = acceleration
s = distance

energy = current x voltage x time

E=IxVxt

pressure is proportional to absolute temperature

P1/T1 = P2/T2

pressure x volume = constant

P1 x V1 = P2 x V2

Frequency = 1 / time period

F=1/T

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 29

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.
power = work done/ time taken
P = W/t

energy = power x time

E=pxt

total internal reflection: refractive index,

n = 1/sin c

orbital speed = (2π x orbital radius) / time period

Copyright © 2018 Hazel Lindsey 30

For use by abdul nasar Hassim [email protected] ONLY. Not for redistribution.