Waves | AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy Physics, Foundation tier (8464)
Waves
- 77 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Physics Paper 2
- Physics Paper 2
Waves is examined in Physics Paper 2.
It covers transverse and longitudinal waves, and the wave equation, wave properties, and refraction at a boundary, types and uses of electromagnetic waves and radio waves, and the hazards of ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays.
Sample questions from Waves
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Transverse and longitudinal waves, and the wave equation
What evidence shows that air is not carried across a room by a sound wave from a loudspeaker?
Show the answer
No air is felt moving across the room, because the air particles only vibrate about fixed positions while the wave itself travels. -
Transverse and longitudinal waves, and the wave equation
Describe how the frequency of the waves in a ripple tank can be measured.
Show the answer
Count the number of waves passing a fixed point in 10 s and divide that number by 10. -
Wave properties, and refraction at a boundary
Write the equation linking period and frequency in symbols and give the unit of period.
Show the answer
T = 1 / f, with the period T measured in seconds, s. -
Wave properties, and refraction at a boundary
When a ray meets a boundary, from which line are the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction measured?
Show the answer
From the normal, the line drawn at right angles to the boundary where the ray meets it. -
Types and uses of electromagnetic waves
Which group of the electromagnetic spectrum has the highest frequency?
Show the answer
Gamma rays. -
Types and uses of electromagnetic waves
Name two uses of microwaves.
Show the answer
Satellite communications and cooking food. -
Radio waves, and the hazards of ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays
What two things decide how harmful an exposure to radiation is?
Show the answer
The type of radiation and the size of the dose. -
Radio waves, and the hazards of ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays
Data show that aircraft crew receive a higher yearly dose than office workers. What conclusion can be drawn?
Show the answer
Working at high altitude increases the dose received, and so increases the risk of harm.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Transverse and longitudinal waves, and the wave equation | The two wave types and how their oscillations differ, compressions and rarefactions, why the medium is not carried along, the wave equation v = f λ, and measuring the speed of sound and of ripples. | 29 |
| Wave properties, and refraction at a boundary | Amplitude, wavelength, frequency and period, the equation linking period and frequency, the hertz, wave speed and the wave equation with calculations, measuring the angles of incidence and refraction from the normal, which way a ray bends entering a glass block, and comparing the infrared emitted by different surfaces using a cube of hot water. | 17 |
| Types and uses of electromagnetic waves | Electromagnetic waves as transverse waves that transfer energy, the continuous spectrum and a single speed in a vacuum, the order of the groups by wavelength and frequency, the colours of visible light, energy transferred to an absorber, and the uses of radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. | 17 |
| Radio waves, and the hazards of ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays | Where gamma rays originate, the changes in atoms and nuclei that generate or absorb electromagnetic waves, the three groups hazardous to body tissue, what radiation dose measures and converting millisieverts to sieverts, drawing conclusions from dose data, and the harm ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays do to the body. | 14 |
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
AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy Physics, Foundation tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 994 questions with their answers.