Evaluation | OCR A-Level Physics B (Advancing Physics) (H557)
Evaluation
- 45 questions
- 3 subtopics
- Practical and data analysis skills, examined on all three papers
- Component 01, Component 02 and Component 03
Evaluation is examined in all three written papers — the specification states that Components 01, 02 and 03 each assess content from across all the teaching modules, so nothing is confined to one paper.
It covers drawing conclusions and identifying anomalies, precision, accuracy and margins of error and Limitations and improvements.
Sample questions from Evaluation
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Drawing conclusions and identifying anomalies
What can cause a single anomalous reading?
Show the answer
A misread or mistyped value, and a momentary change in conditions such as a loose contact, a draught or the apparatus being disturbed. -
Drawing conclusions and identifying anomalies
Why must a conclusion be limited to the range of values actually tested?
Show the answer
Outside that range the relationship has not been examined and may not hold, so any statement about it would be unsupported by the evidence. -
Precision, accuracy and margins of error
A length is recorded as 25.0 ± 0.1 cm. Calculate its percentage uncertainty.
Show the answer
The percentage uncertainty is (0.1 ÷ 25.0) × 100 = 0.4%. -
Precision, accuracy and margins of error
A student times 20 complete oscillations as 16.4 ± 0.2 s. Calculate the period and its uncertainty.
Show the answer
The period is 16.4 ÷ 20 = 0.820 s with an uncertainty of 0.2 ÷ 20 = ±0.010 s. -
Limitations and improvements
How can parallax be removed when a scale is read?
Show the answer
Use an instrument with a mirror scale, or fix a set square against the scale so the reading is taken at right angles to it. -
Limitations and improvements
How can the measurement of the wavelength of ripples in a ripple tank be improved?
Show the answer
Measure the distance across ten wavelengths and divide by ten, so the uncertainty in the single distance measurement is spread over ten values.
The 3 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing conclusions and identifying anomalies | Recall questions on spotting and handling an odd reading, telling it from random scatter, when two results agree, uncertainty bars, and limiting a conclusion to the range tested. | 15 |
| Precision, accuracy and margins of error | Recall questions on precision against accuracy, random and systematic errors, the uncertainty of millimetre scale and digital readings, percentage uncertainty and percentage error, zero errors, margins of error, the period and its uncertainty from many oscillations, quoting uncertainties to one significant figure, calibration, and thermometer uncertainties. | 15 |
| Limitations and improvements | Recall questions on distinguishing a limitation from a mistake, improving hand timing and small measurements, reducing heat loss and heating effects, data loggers, and why vague suggestions do not count. | 15 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Physics B (Advancing Physics) Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,455 questions with their answers.