Magnetism and Electromagnetism | AQA GCSE Physics, Higher tier (8463)
Magnetism and Electromagnetism
- 129 questions
- 9 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, electromagnetism, Fleming's left-hand rule, motors and loudspeakers, induced potential, the generator effect, alternators, dynamos and microphones, the structure of a transformer and the turns ratio and transformer power, and using the transformer equations.
Sample questions from Magnetism and Electromagnetism
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
-
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Fleming's left-hand rule, motors and loudspeakers
What force acts on a current-carrying wire that lies along the direction of the magnetic field?
Show the answer
There is no force on it, because the full force acts only when the conductor is at right angles to the field. -
Induced potential
What does the magnetic field produced by an induced current always do?
Show the answer
It opposes the change that produced it, whether that change is the movement of the conductor or a change in the magnetic field. -
The generator effect, alternators, dynamos and microphones
Why must a generator's coil keep turning if it is to give a continuous output?
Show the answer
Because a potential difference is induced only while the magnetic field through the coil is changing. -
The structure of a transformer and the turns ratio
Are the two coils of a transformer joined to each other by wire?
Show the answer
No, they are linked only by the magnetic field carried in the iron core.
The 9 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 |
| Fleming's left-hand rule, motors and loudspeakers | The motor effect and the force on the magnet, Fleming's left-hand rule, the factors deciding the force on a conductor, the equation F = BIl with its units and calculations of force and magnetic flux density, why a current-carrying coil turns in an electric motor with a split-ring commutator, and how loudspeakers and headphones use the motor effect. | 20 |
| Induced potential | The generator effect and the two ways of inducing a potential difference, when an induced current flows and why its magnetic field opposes the change, the extra effort needed to push a magnet into a coil or turn a dynamo, the factors affecting the induced potential difference, and what reverses its direction. | 13 |
| The generator effect, alternators, dynamos and microphones | The alternating current from an alternator and the direct current from a dynamo, the generator effect both rely on and how their construction differs, how each produces its output and the shape of its potential difference against time graph, the effect of turning the coil faster, and how a moving-coil microphone works. | 13 |
| The structure of a transformer and the turns ratio | The primary coil, secondary coil and iron core of a basic transformer, the job of the core and why a steady direct current will not work, the equation linking potential differences to numbers of turns, step-up and step-down transformers with calculations, and the power equation for a transformer that wastes no energy. | 13 |
| Transformer power, and using the transformer equations | Which coil gives the input and output power, why the current falls when the potential difference rises, how the alternating current in one coil induces a current in the other, and calculations for transmission. | 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.
-
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.
Nearby topics
AQA GCSE Physics, Higher tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,495 questions with their answers.