Magnetism and Electromagnetism | AQA GCSE Physics, Foundation tier (8463)
Magnetism and Electromagnetism
- 55 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Paper 2
- Paper 2
Magnetism and Electromagnetism is examined in Physics Paper 2.
It covers poles of a magnet, magnetic fields around a magnet, the compass, and plotting a magnetic field and electromagnetism.
Sample questions from Magnetism and Electromagnetism
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Poles of a magnet
When two magnets are brought close together, does only one of them feel a force?
Show the answer
No, the two magnets exert a force on each other, so both feel a force. -
Poles of a magnet
A steel paper clip is picked up by a bar magnet but drops off as soon as the magnet is taken away. Explain why.
Show the answer
The clip becomes an induced magnet in the field and is attracted to the magnet, and it loses its magnetism quickly once the field is removed. -
Magnetic fields around a magnet
What kind of force acts between a magnet and a magnetic material such as iron?
Show the answer
The force is always one of attraction. -
Magnetic fields around a magnet
How is the direction of the magnetic field at a point defined?
Show the answer
It is the direction of the force that would act on a north pole placed at that point. -
The compass, and plotting a magnetic field
What does a compass tell you about the magnetic field at the place where it is put?
Show the answer
It shows the direction of the magnetic field at that point. -
The compass, and plotting a magnetic field
How does a field pattern show where the field is strong and where it is weak?
Show the answer
The lines are close together where the field is strong, at the poles, and further apart where it is weaker. -
Electromagnetism
Why is the field of a solenoid stronger than the field of the same wire held straight?
Show the answer
Because the fields produced by all the separate turns add together. -
Electromagnetism
Describe a simple way of showing that a current produces a magnetic field.
Show the answer
Put a plotting compass beside a wire and switch on the current; the needle is deflected, and it deflects the other way when the current is reversed.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Poles of a magnet | Where magnetic forces are strongest, attraction and repulsion between poles as a non-contact force felt by both magnets, permanent and induced magnets, why induced magnetism always attracts and is lost outside the field, and testing whether a steel bar is a permanent magnet. | 13 |
| Magnetic fields around a magnet | The magnetic field and the magnetic materials iron, steel, cobalt and nickel, why copper is not attracted, the attractive force on magnetic materials, how field strength falls with distance and is greatest at the poles, and the direction of field lines from the north pole and why they never cross. | 13 |
| The compass, and plotting a magnetic field | What a compass contains and why it lines up with the Earth's field, plotting the field around a bar magnet, and what the pattern shows about field strength and the Earth's core. | 13 |
| Electromagnetism | The magnetic field around a current-carrying wire and what decides its strength, solenoids and why their field is stronger, the field inside and around a solenoid and which end is north, electromagnets with iron cores, showing and describing the field around a straight wire, and electromagnets lifting scrap steel and working relays. | 16 |
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 Physics, Foundation tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,263 questions with their answers.