Waves | AQA GCSE Physics, Higher tier (8463)

Waves

209 questions
10 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, sound waves, ultrasound, echo sounding and seismic 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.

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

What is the unit of frequency and what does one of these units mean?

Show the answer
The hertz, Hz; a frequency of 1 Hz means one wave passes a point each second.
Reflection of waves

State the law of reflection.

Show the answer
The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
Sound waves

Why is human hearing restricted to a limited range of frequencies?

Show the answer
Converting sound waves into vibrations of the solid parts of the ear only works over a limited range of frequencies.
Ultrasound, echo sounding and seismic waves

Give one industrial use of ultrasound.

Show the answer
Imaging the inside of a metal casting to find hidden flaws.
Types and uses of electromagnetic waves

Give an example of energy being transferred by an electromagnetic wave to an absorber.

Show the answer
Radiation from the Sun being absorbed by the ground, which warms up.
Radio waves, and the hazards of ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays

What kinds of change can result in an electromagnetic wave being generated or absorbed?

Show the answer
Changes in atoms and changes in the nuclei of atoms.
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.

The 10 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, what can happen to electromagnetic waves meeting a substance, why waves refract and change direction at a boundary, and comparing the infrared emitted by different surfaces using a cube of hot water.	21
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
Sound waves	How sound passes through a solid such as a door or a rail, how the ear drum turns vibrations into the sensation of sound, and why hearing runs from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.	15
Ultrasound, echo sounding and seismic waves	Why waves reveal hidden structures, what makes sound ultrasound and how its partial reflection measures distance, its medical and industrial uses, echo sounding, and what P-waves and S-waves show about the Earth's core.	20
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, the uses of radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays, and why some suit their uses.	28
Radio waves, and the hazards of ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays	How oscillations in a circuit produce radio waves and induce a current in a receiver, where gamma rays originate, what radiation dose measures, and the harm ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays do to tissue.	19
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, what a perfect black body is, how intensity and wavelength change with temperature, and how rates of absorption, emission and reflection set the Earth's temperature.	20

Waves is 209 of the 1,495 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £7

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.