GCSE Physics Paper 1 Memory Test

40% of the GCSE is recall of scientific ideas, principles and procedures. The following is a list of questions
covering theory that must be learnt! Questions in bold refer to triple only content.

Topic 1: Key concepts of Physics

1. Give the symbol and power of ten that the following prefixes denote:
a. Mega
b. Micro
c. Nano
d. Kilo
e. Giga
f. Milli
g. Centi
2. Covert the following:
a. 3 hours into seconds
b. 250cm3 into m3
c. 250 N/cm2 into Pascals

Topic 2: Motion and Forces

1. Explain the difference between a scalar quantity and a vector quantity and give examples of each
2. What equation defines:
a. speed
b. acceleration
c. momentum
3. How is speed found from a distance-time graph?
4. How are the following found from a velocity-time graph:
a. Acceleration
b. Distance travelled
5. How are light gates used to measure speed (include the equation the datalogger uses to calculate the
speed)
6. Give typical speeds in m/s for the following:
a. wind
b. sound in air
c. walking
d. running
e. cycling
f. car
7. What is the value of the acceleration of freefall, g, used for GCSE?
8. State the following:
a. Newton’s first law
b. Newton’s second law (in terms of momentum)
c. Newton’s 3rd law
9. What equation links mass, force and acceleration?
10. What equation links mass, weight and gravitational field strength?
11. How can the weight of an object be measured?
12. What is the resultant force that causes circular motion called?
13. How is inertia mass defined?
14. Give a method for measuring human reaction times
15. Define thinking distance, braking distance and stopping distance
16. Give 2 factors that affect the thinking distance
17. Give 3 factors that affect the braking distance
Topic 3: Conservation of Energy

1. What is the equation to calculate the change in GPE?

2. What is the equation for kinetic energy?
3. Explain what is meant by the conservation of energy?
4. What are the energy transfers for the following situations:
a. an object projected upwards or up a slope
b. a moving object hitting an obstacle
c. an object being accelerated by a constant force
d. a vehicle slowing down
e. bringing water to a boil in an electric kettle
5. What is meant by energy dissipating?
6. What are the effects of the thickness and thermal conductivity of the walls of a building on its rate of
cooling?
7. State the equation for efficiency
8. Explain what practical measures can be taken to improve the efficiency of a machine
9. You need to know about the following energy resources fossil fuels, nuclear fuel, bio-fuel, wind,
hydroelectricity, the tides and the Sun:
a. Sort these into renewable and non-renewable
b. Sort these into those that produce a predictable output and those that don’t

Topic 4: Waves

1. Fill in the blanks: Waves transfer __________ and information without transferring _______.
2. Define the following wave terminology:
a. longitudinal wave
b. transverse wave
c. frequency
d. wavelength
e. amplitude
f. period
g. wavefront
3. What two equations can be used to calculate the speed of a wave?
4. Describe what happens to a wave at an interface during the following processes:
a. reflection
b. refraction
c. transmission
d. absorption
5. What happens to the speed, wavelength and frequency of light waves when they go from air to glass?
6. What is the frequency range for human hearing?
7. Define ultrasound
8. Define infrasound
9. How do the following work:
a. Sonar
b. Foetal scanning
10. What type of waves are P and S waves?
11. What can and can’t P and S waves travel through (in terms of solid, liquid or gas)
12. What does the S wave shadow region tell us about the Earth’s core?
13. How does the speed of sound in solids, liquids and gases compare?

Topic 5 Light and the EM spectrum

1. Draw diagrams that show reflection, refraction and total internal reflection
2. Draw a diagram to show the what is meant by the critical angle and explain what this term means
3. Explain the difference between specular and diffuse reflection
 4. The colour of an object is determined by differential absorption at surfaces (a fancy way of saying
that some colours are absorbed and some reflected). Use this to explain why an object looks red in
white light, but black in blue light
5. Use the terms absorb and transmit to explain the action of a blue filter on white light
6. Relate the power of a lens to its focal length and shape
7. Use diagrams to show the difference between a converging lens and a diverging lens
8. State the difference between a real image and a virtual image
9. What is the speed of all EM waves in a vacuum?
10. State the order of the EM spectrum from longest wavelength to shortest
11. Which parts of the spectrum are classed as ionising radiation?
12. What are the specific dangers of the following regions according to the specification?:
a. Microwaves (of just the right frequency)
b. Infrared
c. UV
d. X-rays and gamma rays
13. Which part of the EM spectrum has the following use:
a. Cooking, communications and satellite transmissions
b. Sterilising food and medical equipment, and the detection of cancer and its treatment
c. Cooking, thermal imaging, short range communications, optical fibres, television remote
controls and security systems
d. Security marking, fluorescent lamps, detecting forged bank notes and disinfecting water
14. How are radiowaves produced and received in an aerial?
15. Name two ways in which the radiation emitted by an object (due to its temperature) changes as
the temperature increases.
16. In order for a body to be at a constant temperature, what must be happening to the power it
absorbs compared to the power it radiates?
17. How does the temperature of the object change when there is an imbalance between the power
absorbed and radiated?

Topic 6: Radioactivity

1. How does the mass of the nucleus compare to that of the entire atom?
2. How does the size of the nucleus compare to the size of the atom?
3. What is the approximate size of an atom: 10-4m, 10-7m, 10-10m or 10-14m?
4. What does the atomic number refer to?
5. How can you tell how many neutrons are present by looking at the mass number and atomic number of
an element?
6. What is meant by an isotope?
7. What are the relative masses and charges of the following (take the mass of a proton as 1 and the charge
on an electron as -1): proton, neutron, electron, positron
8. Electrons can change their orbit by absorbing or emitting EM radiation. To move further away from the
nucleus do they need to absorb or emit EM radiation?
9. Describe the nature of the following types of ionising radiation:
a. Alpha
b. Beta minus
c. Beta plus
d. Gamma
10. Describe what happens in the nucleus when the following are released during radioactive decays:
a. Alpha decay
b. Beta minus
c. Beta plus
d. Gamma
e. Neutron emitted
11. List alpha, beta minus and gamma in order of least to most:
 a. Ionising
b. Penetrating
c. Dangerous inside the body
d. Dangerous outside the body
12. What stops:
a. Alpha particles
b. Beta particles
c. Gamma rays
13. What is meant by background radiation?
14. Describe the origins of background radiation from Earth and space
15. What is the unit given to the activity of a radioactive source?
16. What is meant by the phrase ‘radioactive decay occurs randomly’?
17. Sketch a graph to show how the activity of a radioactive source varies with time and use it to explain the
concept of a half life
18. If radioactive decay is random, how can we quote the half-life of a radioactive isotope?
19. Describe the uses of radioactivity for:
a. household fire (smoke) alarms
b. irradiating food
c. sterilisation of equipment
d. tracing and gauging thicknesses
e. diagnosis and treatment of cancer
20. Explain why exposure to ionising radiation is dangerous to the cells of living tissue
21. Explain the precautions that can be taken to limit the exposure of a person to ionising radiation
22. Describe the differences between contamination and irradiation effects and compare the hazards
associated with these two
23. Compare and contrast the treatment of tumours using radiation applied internally or externally
24. Explain why isotopes used in PET scanners have to be produced nearby
25. Explain the difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion
26. Explain the principle of a controlled nuclear chain reaction for nuclear fission, including the role
of control rods and the moderator
27. Explain why nuclear fusion does not happen at low temperatures and pressures

Topic 7: Astronomy

1. State the order of the planets in our solar system

2. What are the heliocentric and geocentric models of the solar system?
3. Describe the orbits of comets around a star
4. Compare the steady state and big bang models of the universe
5. What are the two main pieces of evidence supporting the Big Bang theory?
6. Explain what is meant by the Doppler Effect?
7. How does the Doppler Effect relate to galaxies? Why does this support the Big Bang theory?
8. State the sequence for the life cycle of a star that has a mass:
a. Similar to our Sun
b. Much larger than our Sun
9. Explain why a main sequence star such as our Sun is able to remain stable (refer to forces in your
answer)
10. Describe how methods of observing the Universe have changed over time including why some
telescopes are located outside the Earth’s atmosphere