The Physics Question Bank

Ramped Questions for GCSE Physics

Energy Stores and Changes in Systems for AQA GCSE Physics

For AQA GCSE Physics, you need to be able to describe what happens to energy when a system changes. A system could be one object, such as a car, or a group of objects, such as a kettle and the water inside it. When something happens to a system, energy may be transferred from one…
Explain what a system is – this appears right at the start of the Energy topic for AQA GCSE Physics

A system is the object, or group of objects, that we decide to focus on in a physics problem. It is like drawing an invisible box around the thing we are studying. Anything inside the box is part of the system. Anything outside the box is the surroundings. For AQA GCSE Physics, systems are usually…
Explain Why Total Resistance in Parallel Is Smaller Than the Lowest Resistor

In a parallel circuit, the current has more than one route to take. Each extra branch gives the charge another pathway through the circuit. This means more charge can flow each second from the cell or power supply. If more current flows for the same potential difference, the overall resistance must be lower. So, when…
10 Specific Themes Pupils Find Hardest in GCSE Physics

GCSE Physics becomes hard when pupils have to do more than remember a definition. The tricky parts usually involve equations, graphs, invisible ideas, or explaining cause and effect clearly. 1. Current, potential difference and resistance This is one of the biggest problem areas in GCSE Physics. Pupils often think current is “used up” as it…
Explaining Isotopes for GCSE Physics

Isotopes are different versions of the same element. Atoms of the same element always have the same number of protons. This is what makes them that element. For example, every carbon atom has 6 protons. If it did not have 6 protons, it would not be carbon. Isotopes have the same number of protons, but…
Explaining the Difference Between Contamination and Irradiation for GCSE Physics

Contamination and irradiation are often mixed up, but they mean different things. Contamination is when unwanted radioactive material gets onto or inside something. For example, radioactive dust could get onto a person’s skin, clothing, food or equipment. The danger is that the radioactive material stays there and keeps giving out radiation. This means the person…
Explain Rutherford Scattering: The Gold Foil Experiment

Rutherford scattering helped scientists understand what atoms are really like inside. Before this experiment, scientists used the plum pudding model. This suggested that an atom was a ball of positive charge with negative electrons dotted inside it. Rutherford’s team fired alpha particles at a very thin sheet of gold foil. Alpha particles are positively charged,…
The History of the Atom

Our ideas about the atom have changed over time. Each model was accepted until new evidence showed that it needed to be improved. At first, Dalton described atoms as tiny solid spheres. He thought atoms were very small particles that could not be divided. This was a useful early model, but it did not explain…
The Life Cycle of Stars

A star begins in a nebula, which is a large cloud of dust and gas. Gravity pulls the dust and gas together. As the particles move closer, the gas becomes hotter and denser. This forms a protostar. If the temperature becomes high enough, hydrogen nuclei start to join together. This is called nuclear fusion. Fusion…
How a transformer works

A transformer changes the size of an alternating voltage. It only works with alternating current because the magnetic field needs to keep changing. A transformer has two coils of wire wrapped around an iron core. The input coil is called the primary coil and the output coil is called the secondary coil. When an alternating…