GCSE AQA Physics - Unit 1

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It all begins in GCSE AQA Physics - Unit 1, the first in a trilogy of epic units. The journey starts in the land of infrared radiation, where Dr.Physics and his band of Physicists must face the horses of conduction, convection, condensation and evaporation, but will they survive long enough to stop the might of the great Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation...
James Jolliffe
Flashcards by James Jolliffe, updated more than 1 year ago
James Jolliffe
Created by James Jolliffe about 9 years ago
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Question Answer
What does infrared radiation involve? The transfer of heat energy by electromagnetic radiation.
What does Kinetic Theory explain? The different states and properties of matter in terms of the movement of the millions and millions of particles.
What is conduction? The transfer of energy by heating without the substance itself moving. For example, metals are good conductors of energy. Insulators are materials that have few or no free electrons, so they can't readily transfer their energy by heating.
What is convection? The transfer of energy by heating though the movement of particles. Convection occurs in liquids and gases, creating convection currents.
What is evaporation? The transfer of energy at the surface of a liquid. The opposite effect, where the gas or vapour returns to a liquid state at the surface, is called condensation.
What factors affect the rate at which a material transfers energy? - Its surface area and volume - The type of material - The nature of the surface - Its temperature
What do U-values measure? What does a lower U-value mean? How effective a particular material is as an insulator. The better the material is as an insulator.
What is the Specific heat Capacity? The amount of energy required to change the temperature of 1kg of a material by 1°C.
What is a Sankey Diagram? A diagram that shows the relative proportions of energy transfers using arrow. The width of arrows are proportional to the amount of energy they represent.
What does the efficiency of a device refer to? The proportion of energy (or power) that is usefully transferred.
Give two examples of fossil fuels Coal Oil Gas
What is a biofuel? Solid, liquid or gas obtained from lifeless or living biological material.
A rapidly evolving technology involves carbon capture. Why is this important? Where will it be stored? Prevents carbon dioxide build up in the atmosphere. Stored in old oil fields or gas fields.
What are transformers used for? To change the potential difference (voltage) of the alternating current (a.c.) before and after it is transmitted through the National Grid.
Fill in the missing gaps: Power Station --> Step-____ Transformer --> Power Lines --> Step-____ Transformer --> Houses, shops, etc... Up Down
What is a Transverse Wave? A wave where the oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer.
What is a Longitudinal Wave? A wave where the oscillations are parallel to the direction of energy transfer.
What is the amplitude of a wave? The distance from the rest position to the crest position which is half the vertical distance from a trough to a crest.
What is the frequency of a wave? The number of waves passing a fixed point each second.
What 7 things does the Electromagnetic Spectrum consist of? Radio Waves Micro Waves Infrared Radiation Visible Light Ultraviolet rays X-Rays Gamma Rays
A Radio Wave has a ____ Frequency and a _____ Wavelength. Low Long
A Gamma Ray has a ____ frequency and a _____ wavelength. High Short
What are Radio Waves used for? Television and radio signals
What are Microwaves used for? Mobile phone networks and satellite communication Cooking - water molecules absorb microwaves and heat up
What is Infrared Radiation used for? Remote controls for televisions Grills, toasters and radiant heaters Optical Fibre communication
What is reflection? When a wave strikes a surface and it changes direction.
What is the normal line? A construction line drawn perpendicular to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence.
When an object is viewed in a plane mirror the image formed is... Virtual (i.e. on the opposite side of the mirror) Upright (i.e. in the same orientation) The same size (as the object) Laterally inverted (i.e. left becomes right)
What type of wave is a sound wave? A longitudinal wave.
Between what two frequencies can humans hear sound? 20Hz and 20,000Hz
What is the Doppler effect? It’s the apparent change in the frequency of a wave caused by relative motion between the source of the wave and the observer.
What is red-shift? When a light source moves away from you, the observed wavelength increases and the frequency decreases. (The opposite applies for blue shift)
The light observed from distant galaxies in the universe is ____-shifted. red
Give two pieces of evidence that the red-shift of light provides in terms of our universe. The whole universe is expanding The expansion began from a very small initial point in a huge explosion known as the Big bang.
What does CMBR stand for, and what is it? Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation A form of electromagnetic radiation that fills the entire Universe. It comes from radiation that was around shortly after the beginning of the universe, but which has now been stretched.
What is the unit for specific heat capacity? J/kg°C
What are the advantages of a Nuclear power source? - Cost of fuel is low. - Rate of fuel use is low. - Doesn't produce CO2 and SO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
What are the disadvantages of a Nuclear power source? - Radioactive waste produced. - Difficulty of storing radioactive material for thousands of years. - Building new power stations is very costly. - Decommissioning is very costly. - Accident and radioactive contamination risks are high.
What is the advantage of a Coal power source? - Relatively easy and cheap to extract.
What are the disadvantages of a Coal power source? - Burning produces CO2 and SO2. - Only a few hundreds years left.
What are the advantages of an Oil power source? - Has been easy to find. - Perhaps large amounts left.
What are the disadvantages of an Oil power source? - Burning produces CO2 and SO2. - Significant risk of spillage and pollution. - Destruction of wildlife habitats.
What are the advantages of a Gas power source? - Has been easy to find. - Perhaps large stocks left. - No SO2 emissions.
What are the disadvantages of a Gas power source? - Burning produces CO2 emissions. - Expensive pipelines and networks are required. - Visual pollution of landscape. - Destruction of wildlife habitats.
What are the advantages of Wind Turbines? - No fuel or little maintenance. - No polluting gases. - Can be built offshore.
What are the disadvantages of Wind Turbines? - Land based ones are visually polluting. - High initial costs. - Not flexible in meeting demands. - Variation in wind affects output.
What are the advantages of Tidal and Waves as an energy source? - No fuel required. - No polluting gases produced. - Barrage water can be released when demand is high.
What are the disadvantages of Tidal and Waves as an energy source? - Visual pollution + hazard to shipping. - Can destroy wildlife habitats. - Variations in tides. - High capital costs to build them.
What are the advantages of Hydroelectricity as an energy source? Fast start-up time. - No polluting gases produced. - Water can be pumped back to the reservoir when demand is low.
What are the disadvantages of Hydroelectricity as an energy source? - Involves damaging upland valleys. - Destruction of wildlife habitats. - Need an adequate rainfall. - Very high initial costs.
What are the advantages of Solar Cells as an energy source? - Uses light from the Sun. - Useful in remote locations. - No polluting gases produced. - Small-scale production possible.
What are the disadvantages of Solar Cells as an energy source? - Depends on light intensity. - Use of high cost semiconductor materials. - Efficiency is poor. - Visual pollution of large areas of solar panels.
What are the advantages of Biofuels as an energy source? - Flexible product. - Cost effective. - Little impact on the environment.
What are the disadvantages of Biofuels as an energy source? - Some pre-processing of the material is required. - Limited resources due to land area requirements.
What are the advantages of Geothermal energy sources? - No pollutants produced. - Uses naturally occurring hot water and steam. - Low start-up costs.
What are the disadvantages of Geothermal energy sources? - Restricted to only certain volcanic areas. - Subsidence risk.
From fastest to slowest, which of these has the fastest start-up times? - Coal - Gas - Nuclear - Oil FASTEST Gas Oil Coal Nuclear SLOWEST
What is the voltage of electricity in power stations? 25 000V
What is the voltage of electricity in power lines? 400 000V
What is the voltage of electricity in houses? 230V
What are the range of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum? SHORT 10 to the power of -15 to LONG 10 to the power of 4
What is the pitch of a sound determined by? Its frequency
What are echoes examples of? Sound being reflected at a surface.
Do radio waves and gamma rays travel at the same speed through a vacuum (space)? Yes
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