Planning | OCR A-Level Physics B (Advancing Physics) (H557)
Planning
- 45 questions
- 3 subtopics
- Practical and data analysis skills, examined on all three papers
- Component 01, Component 02 and Component 03
Planning 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 choosing apparatus and techniques, Identifying and controlling variables and judging whether a method will work.
Sample questions from Planning
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Choosing apparatus and techniques
What can a preliminary trial tell a planner?
Show the answer
It shows whether the dependent variable changes measurably over the chosen range, and whether the apparatus, timings and resolution are adequate before time is spent on a full set of readings. -
Choosing apparatus and techniques
Why is a digital balance normally preferred to a spring balance for finding mass?
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It has a finer resolution, cannot be misread by parallax, and can be tared so that the mass of a container is removed automatically. -
Identifying and controlling variables
How is the temperature of a wire kept constant during a resistance experiment?
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The current is kept small and the circuit is switched on only while each reading is taken, so that little heating occurs between readings. -
Identifying and controlling variables
A student measures how the intensity of light from a lamp varies with distance. Name two variables that must be controlled.
Show the answer
The supply voltage to the lamp must be constant so its output does not change, and the background light reaching the detector must be kept the same. -
Judging whether a method will work
Distinguish between results that are repeatable and results that are reproducible.
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Repeatable results are obtained again by the same experimenter using the same method and apparatus; reproducible results are obtained by a different experimenter or with different apparatus. -
Judging whether a method will work
How can a method be checked to see whether it gives trustworthy values?
Show the answer
Use it to measure a quantity whose value is already known and compare the result with the accepted value.
The 3 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing apparatus and techniques | Recall questions on matching an instrument's resolution and range to the measurement, preliminary trials, spanning the independent variable, and letting the physics and the intended graph guide the choice. | 15 |
| Identifying and controlling variables | Recall questions on independent, dependent, control and confounding variables, why only one variable is changed at a time, the variables to control in resistance, pendulum, spring, light intensity and gas pressure experiments, keeping a wire's temperature constant, showing a control variable stayed constant, and monitoring variables that cannot be controlled. | 15 |
| Judging whether a method will work | Recall questions on whether a method's precision can test the aim, producing a measurable change, how many repeats to take, writing a repeatable method, repeatable against reproducible results, why repeats miss a systematic fault, timing many oscillations, deciding the graph first, checking against a known value, safety and time as limits, and avoiding an overloaded instrument. | 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.