Waves | AQA GCSE Physics, Foundation tier (8463)
Waves
- 145 questions
- 8 subtopics
- Paper 2
- 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, reflection of waves, types and uses of electromagnetic waves, radio waves, and the hazards of ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays, lenses, visible light and emission and absorption of infrared radiation, and black bodies.
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
Write the wave equation using the symbols for wave speed, frequency and wavelength.
Show the answer
v = f λ. -
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. -
Reflection of waves
State the law of reflection.
Show the answer
The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. -
Types and uses of electromagnetic waves
Which group of the electromagnetic spectrum has the highest frequency?
Show the answer
Gamma rays. -
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. -
Lenses
What is a real image?
Show the answer
An image formed where light rays actually meet, so it can be caught on a screen. -
Visible light
How does a colour filter work?
Show the answer
It absorbs certain wavelengths of light and transmits the others. -
Emission and absorption of infrared radiation, and black bodies
What is a perfect black body?
Show the answer
An object that absorbs all of the radiation that falls on it.
The 8 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. | 30 |
| 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 |
| Reflection of waves | Reflection, absorption and transmission at a boundary between materials, why glass is see-through and wood is not, the law of reflection with angle calculations, sound absorbed by a curtain and light by a matt black surface, radio signals blocked by a metal lift, and the practicals investigating reflection and refraction with a ray box and protractor. | 16 |
| 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 |
| Lenses | How lenses form images, convex lenses bringing parallel rays to the principal focus and the focal length, concave lenses spreading rays out, real and virtual images, the magnifying glass, rays through the centre of a lens, magnification from image and object height with calculations and matching units, and ray diagram symbols for both lenses. | 20 |
| Visible light | The wavelength and frequency of each colour of visible light, specular and diffuse reflection, how colour filters work, why opaque objects look coloured, white or black, objects seen under coloured light, transparent and translucent materials, and explaining the colours of leaves, filtered objects and shirts under coloured lamps. | 20 |
| Emission and absorption of infrared radiation, and black bodies | How every object emits and absorbs infrared radiation and how the amount rises with temperature, what a perfect black body is and why it is the best emitter, painting a radiator matt black, how the intensity and wavelengths of emitted radiation change as an object gets hotter, and why objects at room temperature do not glow. | 11 |
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.