The Physics Question Bank

Hints for every question on the June 2023 GCSE Physics Paper 2 Higher (8463/2H). Get the paper from AQA’s GCSE Physics page (Filter → Question papers → June 2023). The hints tell you which equation to use and what to watch out for – but not the answer. Try each question first, and only open a hint if you’re stuck. ← All past papers

Question 1 – Infrared radiation and pressure (17 marks)

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• 01.1 One word meaning “at right angles”. Parallel, opposite and proportional are all wrong.
• 01.2 (6 marks) Write a method someone could follow, in order. Include: the same volume of hot water in each flask; how you measure (a thermometer in each flask, or an infrared detector at the same distance from each); readings at the start and after 10 minutes, timed with a stop clock. For Level 3 you must say how you use the readings: calculate the change for each flask and compare them to test the hypothesis.
• 01.3 The rate of emission depends on how much hotter the water is than the surroundings. When is that difference biggest? Your reason must use a superlative – greatest temperature difference, or highest temperature.
• 01.4 The dependent variable is what you measure. Be precise – it’s an increase, not a decrease.
• 01.5 Make two separate, fair comparisons: black vs white, and matt vs shiny of the same colour. Talk about absorbing infrared – conclusions about emitting or reflecting score zero.
• 01.6 Find it on the equation sheet.
• 01.7 (4 marks) Use p = F ÷ A, rearranged to F = p × A. The area is the base only (side × side) – not the total surface area or the volume. Convert the side from cm to m before you square it.

Question 2 – Aeroplane journey (10 marks)

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• 02.1 Displacement is the straight line from start to finish, not the route. Measure it with a ruler in cm, then use the scale on Figure 3.
• 02.2 Add the forces acting in each direction, then find the difference. Include every force on Figure 4.
• 02.3 Use your 02.2 answer. Describe the motion using velocity or acceleration words – the question says the plane is moving, so “stationary” is wrong.
• 02.4 A force that needs the objects to be touching. Gravity, magnetic and electrostatic forces are non-contact. (Drag is ignored – it’s the same as air resistance.)
• 02.5 Figure 5: a flat line = not moving; a curve getting steeper = speeding up. Translate each part to a velocity–time graph, and change shape at the same time as on Figure 5.
• 02.6 Draw a smooth curve of best fit and extend (extrapolate) it to 10 km – a straight line won’t get the first mark. Check the scale on the pressure axis before you read off.
• 02.7 Higher up, there’s less air above you and the air is thinner. Which statement matches that?

Question 3 – Car handbrake and motion (13 marks)

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• 03.1 moment = force × perpendicular distance from the pivot. You can’t change the lever itself – so what could the driver change about where they push?
• 03.2 (4 marks) Read the velocity at 3 s from Figure 9 (write it down – it’s worth a mark). Then use p = m v, rearranged to m = p ÷ v.
• 03.3 Distance = area under the velocity–time graph. Split it into shapes – a triangle while accelerating, then a rectangle – work out each area, then add.
• 03.4 Build the chain: stopping distance = thinking distance + braking distance → distraction affects the driver’s reaction time → so which distance increases, and why?
• 03.5 “Friction” on its own won’t score. Say that work is done against friction, and name the energy store that increases.

Question 4 – Megaphone and loudspeaker (12 marks)

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• 04.1 A microphone turns sound into an electrical signal. What electrical quantity varies?
• 04.2 Magnetic field lines always point from north to south outside a magnet.
• 04.3 “Temporary magnet” alone isn’t enough. Say when it becomes a magnet – and what happens when you take it away.
• 04.4 A current-carrying wire in a magnetic field feels a force. What’s that effect called?
• 04.5 (4 marks) Use F = B I l, rearranged to B = F ÷ (I × l). Convert mA to A first (÷ 1000). Unit: tesla (T).
• 04.6 (4 marks) Use the key on Figure 13 to see how people A, B and C differ. Make at least one comparison about age and one about working in a loud environment – each time compare two people who differ in only that factor. Quote numbers (frequencies and sound levels) from the graph. Also notice what happens to all three as frequency increases.

Question 5 – Bumper cars (10 marks)

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• 05.1 Think about what stays constant in a closed system – energy, momentum – or what can’t act on it from outside.
• 05.2 Newton’s Third Law is about two objects. Name both, and say how the two forces compare in size and direction.
• 05.3 Force = rate of change of momentum: F = Δp ÷ Δt. No conversions needed.
• 05.4 Chain of three: the bumper increases the time of the collision → so the rate of change of momentum… → so the force on the people… “Reduces the impact” is too vague.
• 05.5 Use v² − u² = 2 a s. You want u, so rearrange to u² = v² − 2 a s. Don’t forget to square-root at the end.

Question 6 – The Hubble Space Telescope (12 marks)

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• 06.1 What do we call the Moon and the International Space Station?
• 06.2 (5 marks) Use v = f λ, rearranged to f = v ÷ λ. Convert 12.5 cm to m first. Standard form: a number between 1 and 10 × 10 to a power – there’s a mark just for this.
• 06.3 Gravity pulls the telescope towards the Earth, so it accelerates towards the Earth. What does that change – its speed or its direction? And so what happens to its velocity?
• 06.4 Compare each galaxy’s dark lines with the Sun’s. Which way have they shifted, and which galaxy shifted more? Then link: bigger red-shift → moving away faster → further away.

Question 7 – Reflection and refraction (10 marks)

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• 07.1 There are two types of reflection – from a smooth surface and from a rough surface. Which name goes with smooth?
• 07.2 Compare the angle of incidence with the mean angle of reflection in each row.
• 07.3 The results are scattered either side of the true value – what type of error is that? For the cause, be specific about why a reading could be misjudged (where your eye is, where the ray is marked, where the mirror is). “Measured the angle wrong” is not enough.
• 07.4 Look at the angle the ray hits the block at in Figure 18. What’s special about a ray that travels along the normal?
• 07.5 What’s the resolution of the protractor in Figure 19? Could it really measure to one decimal place?
• 07.6 Use the wave fronts: one part of a wave front reaches the glass before the rest. Light is slower in glass – so what happens to that part compared to the rest of the wave front?

Question 8 – Transformer (7 marks)

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• 08.1 Name the material, then give the property that makes it good for a core. Steel won’t score.
• 08.2 (5 marks) Two steps. Step 1: use the turns ratio V_p ÷ V_s = n_p ÷ n_s with the numbers on Figure 21 to find the secondary p.d. Step 2: 100% efficient means power in = power out, so use P = V I with the secondary p.d. to find the current. (You can also use V_p I_p = V_s I_s.)

Question 9 – Dynamo (9 marks)

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• 09.1 (5 marks) Two parts. Why is anything induced? The coil cuts magnetic field lines → a p.d. is induced → there’s a complete circuit, so a current flows. Why direct? Look at the split-ring commutator: what happens to the connections to the brushes every half turn, and what does that do to the direction of the current in the lamp?
• 09.2 A d.c. dynamo’s output never changes sign. How many peaks do you get per revolution? Sketch two full revolutions.
• 09.3 With the lamp disconnected, is there a current in the coil? Without a current, is there a magnetic field around the coil to oppose the rotation?

✅ Finished? Mark your paper with the mark scheme, then read the examiners’ report for the questions you found hardest. Find both on AQA’s GCSE Physics page (Filter → June 2023).