Fundamental Data Analysis | OCR A-Level Physics B (Advancing Physics) (H557)

Fundamental Data Analysis

89 questions
6 subtopics
Practical and data analysis skills, examined on all three papers
Component 01, Component 02 and Component 03

Fundamental Data Analysis 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 factors affecting accuracy and uncertainty, units, prefixes, standard form and angles, the language of measurement, Distributions, dot-plots and graphical displays, calculating and combining uncertainties and estimating magnitudes of everyday quantities.

Sample questions from Fundamental Data Analysis

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Factors affecting accuracy and uncertainty

Distinguish the two kinds of contribution to the difference between a measurement and the true value.

Show the answer
Random contributions scatter readings either side of the true value and are reduced by averaging repeats, while systematic contributions shift every reading the same way and are not.
Factors affecting accuracy and uncertainty

Why should the largest source of uncertainty in an experiment be identified?

Show the answer
The overall uncertainty is dominated by the largest contribution, so effort and any improvement must be directed at that quantity if the result is to become more certain.
Units, prefixes, standard form and angles

An arc of a circle of radius 0.25 m subtends an angle of 1.20 rad at the centre. Calculate the length of the arc.

Show the answer
Using s = rθ with θ in radians, s = 0.25 × 1.20 = 0.30 m.
Units, prefixes, standard form and angles

Why is a quantity written in standard form?

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It keeps very large and very small values readable, and it states unambiguously how many significant figures are being claimed.
The language of measurement

What is meant by the uncertainty in a measurement?

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It is the interval within which the true value is expected to lie, quoted either as an absolute value or as a percentage of the measurement.
The language of measurement

Which of random and systematic error is reduced by repeating a measurement and averaging?

Show the answer
Only random error is reduced, since systematic error displaces every reading in the same direction and survives averaging unchanged.
Distributions, dot-plots and graphical displays

How is a potential outlier recognised on a dot-plot?

Show the answer
It sits clearly apart from the cluster formed by all the other points, separated by much more than the typical spacing within the group.
Distributions, dot-plots and graphical displays

When is a logarithmic scale used on a graph?

Show the answer
When the values span several orders of magnitude, or when a power law or exponential relationship is being tested.

The 6 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Factors affecting accuracy and uncertainty	Recall questions on the resolution floor of a single reading, poorly defined quantities, fluctuating displays, random against systematic contributions, calibration and response time, and finding which source of uncertainty dominates.	13
Units, prefixes, standard form and angles	Recall questions on defining and converting radians, arc length, a calculator left in the wrong angle mode, the prefixes from pico to giga, and arithmetic in standard form.	15
The language of measurement	Recall questions on accuracy, precision and resolution and how they differ, sensitivity, response time, uncertainty, systematic and zero errors, which errors averaging reduces, an instrument that is sensitive but not accurate, why a large thermometer bulb responds slowly, and a drifting balance.	15
Distributions, dot-plots and graphical displays	Recall questions on reading a mean and its spread from a dot-plot, when a median is better, recognising and handling an outlier, scatter and pie charts, logarithmic scales, and uncertainty bars.	15
Calculating and combining uncertainties	Recall questions on absolute against percentage uncertainty, combining them through sums, products and powers, why subtracting similar values is costly, uncertainty in a gradient or intercept, and quoting an uncertainty.	17
Estimating magnitudes of everyday quantities	Recall questions on order of magnitude estimates and their uses, estimating the mass of an apple and a person, the volume of a laboratory, the thickness of paper, a kettle's power and heating time, walking speed and a lifetime of heartbeats, the densities of air and water, the diameter of an atom, and spotting an implausible answer.	14

Fundamental Data Analysis is 89 of the 2,455 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

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.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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.
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.