17 Motion in a circle
AQA Physics Checklist
Motion in a circle
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.6.1.1 Can you recognise uniform motion in a circle?
Can you describe what you need to measure to find the speed of an
3.6.1.1
object moving in uniform circular motion?
3.6.1.1 Can you define angular displacement and angular speed?
Can you explain why velocity is not constant when an object is travelling
3.6.1.1
uniformly in a circle?
3.6.1.1 Can you determine the direction of the acceleration?
3.6.1.1 Can you calculate the centripetal force?
Can you explain why a passenger in a car seems to be thrown outwards if
3.6.1.1
the car rounds a bend too quickly?
Can you describe what happens to the force between the passenger and
3.6.1.1
his seat when travelling over a curved bridge?
Can you identify the forces that provide the centripetal force on a banked
3.6.1.1
track?
Can you describe when the contact force on a passenger on a ‘big dipper’
3.6.1.1
ride is the greatest?
Can you describe the condition that applies when a passenger just fails to
3.6.1.1
keep in contact with her seat?
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18 Simple harmonic motion
AQA Physics Checklist
Simple harmonic motion
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.6.1.2 Can you explain what is meant by one complete oscillation?
3.6.1.2 Can you define amplitude, frequency, and period?
Can you describe the phase difference between two oscillators that are
3.6.1.2
out of step?
Can you state the two fundamental conditions about acceleration that
3.6.1.2
apply to simple harmonic motion?
Can you describe how displacement, velocity, and acceleration vary with
3.6.1.2
time?
Can you describe the phase difference between displacement and velocity
3.6.1.2
and displacement and acceleration?
Can you state the equation that relates displacement to time for a body
3.6.1.2
moving with simple harmonic motion?
Can you state the point at which the oscillations must start for this
3.6.1.2
equation to apply?
3.6.1.2 Can you calculate the velocity for a given displacement?
Can you state the conditions that must be satisfied for mass-spring system
3.6.1.3
or simple pendulum to oscillate with simple harmonic motion?
Can you describe how the period of a mass-spring system depends on the
3.6.1.3
mass?
Can you describe how the period of a simple pendulum depends on its
3.6.1.3
length?
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18 Simple harmonic motion
AQA Physics Checklist
Can you describe how, in simple harmonic motion, kinetic energy and
3.6.1.3
potential energy vary with displacement?
Can you describe how these energies vary with time if damping is
3.6.1.3
negligible?
Can you describe the effects of damping on the characteristics of
3.6.1.3
oscillations?
3.6.1.3 Can you state the circumstances in which resonance occurs?
3.6.1.3 Can you distinguish between free vibrations and forced vibrations?
Can you explain why a resonant system reaches a maximum amplitude of
3.6.1.3
vibration?
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19 Thermal physics
AQA Physics Checklist
Thermal physics
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.6.2.1 Can you define internal energy?
3.6.2.2 Can you state the lowest temperature possible?
3.6.2.1 Can you demonstrate the first law of thermodynamics in action?
3.6.2.1 Can you explain what is meant by heating up and cooling down?
3.6.2.1 Can you state which materials heat up and cool down the fastest?
3.6.2.1 Can you define and measure specific heat capacity?
3.6.2.1 Can you define latent heat?
3.6.2.1 Can you measure latent heat?
Can you explain why the temperature of a substance stays steady when it
3.6.2.1
is changing state?
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20 Gases
AQA Physics Checklist
Gases
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.6.2.2 Can you state the experimental gas laws?
Can you calculate the increase of the pressure of a gas when it is heated
3.6.2.2
or compressed?
3.6.2.2 Can you state what is meant by an isothermal change?
3.6.2.2 Can you calculate the work done in an isobaric process?
3.6.2.2 Can you define an ideal gas?
Can you discuss whether the experimental gas laws can be combined,
3.6.2.2
and if so, how?
3.6.2.2 Can you distinguish between molar mass and molecular mass?
Can you explain the increase of pressure of a gas when it is compressed
3.6.2.3
or heated?
3.6.2.3 Can you describe the behaviour of a gas?
Can you discuss what the mean kinetic energy of a gas molecule depends
3.6.2.3
on?
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21 Gravitational fields
AQA Physics Checklist
Gravitational fields
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.7.2.2 Can you illustrate a gravitational field?
3.7.2.2 Can you explain what is meant by the strength of a gravitational field?
3.7.2.2 Can you define w radial field and a uniform field?
3.7.2.3 Can you define gravitational potential?
Can you calculate the gravitational potential difference between two
3.7.2.3
points?
Can you explain where an object would have to be placed for its
3.7.2.3
gravitational potential energy to be zero?
3.7.2.1 Can you describe how gravitational attraction varies with distance?
3.7.2.1 Can you explain what is meant by an inverse-square law?
Can you discuss whether spherical objects, for example planets, can be
3.7.2.1
treated as point masses?
Can you describe the shape of a graph g against r for points outside the
3.7.2.2
surface of a planet
3.7.2.2 Can you compare this graph with the graph of V against r?
3.7.2.2 Can you explain the significance of the gradient of the V-r graph?
3.7.2.4 Can you state the condition needed for a satellite to be in a stable orbit?
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21 Gravitational fields
AQA Physics Checklist
Can you describe what happens to the speed of a satellite if it moves
3.7.2.4
closer to the Earth?
Can you discuss why a geostationary satellite must be in orbit above the
3.7.2.4
equator?
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22 Electric fields
AQA Physics Checklist
Electric fields
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.7.3.2 Can you explain how to charge a metal object?
Can you describe what the direction of an electric field line shows
3.7.3.2
concerning a test charge?
3.7.3.2 Can you illustrate the strength of an electric field by using field lines?
Can you describe how to measure, in principle, the strength of an electric
3.7.3.2
field?
Can you discuss whether electric field strength E is a scalar or a vector,
3.7.3.2
and describe how this affects the sign of a test charge you should use?
Can you explain why E should be describe as the force per unit charge
3.7.3.2
instead of the force that acts on one coulomb of charge?
Can you explain why potential is defined in terms of the work done per
3.7.3.3
unit + charge?
3.7.3.3 Can you calculate the electric potential difference between two points/
Can you describe how to find the change in electric potential energy from
3.7.3.3
pd?
3.7.3.3 Can you explain why potential (and pd) is measured in V?
Can you describe how the force between tow point charges depends on
3.7.3.1
distance?
3.7.3.1 Can you calculate the force between two charge objects?
3.7.3.1 Can you explain what the sign of the force (+ or –) indicates?
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22 Electric fields
AQA Physics Checklist
Can you state the equation that gives the electric field strength near a
3.7.3.1
point charge?
Can you state the equation that gives the potential associated with a point
3.7.3.1
charge?
3.7.3.3 Can you explain why E is equal to zero inside a charged sphere?
3.7.1 Can you state which electrical quantity is analogous to mass?
Can you state the main similarities between electric and gravitational
3.7.1
fields?
Can you state the principal differences between electric and gravitational
3.7.1
fields?
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23 Capacitors
AQA Physics Checklist
Capacitors
Specification Checklist
reference questions
Can you describe in terms of electron flow what is happening when a
3.7.4.1
capacitor charges up?
Can you relate the potential difference (pd) across the plates of a
3.7.4.1
capacitor to the charge on its plate?
3.7.4.1 Can you discuss what capacitors are used for?
3.7.4.3 Can you explain why a capacitor stores energy as it is being charged?
3.7.4.3 Can you describe the form of energy that is stored by a capacitor?
Can you describe what happens to the amount of energy stored if the
3.7.4.3
charge stored is doubled?
Can you describe and interpret the shape of the Q-t charging curves and
3.7.4.4
the shape of the Q-t discharging curves?
Can you explain which circuit components you would change to make the
3.7.4.4
charge/discharge slower?
3.7.4.4 Can you define the time constant of a capacitor-resistor circuit?
3.7.4.2 Can you explain how a dielectric affects a capacitor?
3.7.4.2 Can you define relative permittivity and dielectric constant?
Can you describe the action of a simple polar molecule rotating in an
3.7.4.2
electric field?
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24 Magnetic fields
AQA Physics Checklist
Magnetic fields
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.7.5.1 Can you measure the strength of a magnetic field?
Can you state the factors that the magnitude of the force on a current-
3.7.5.1
carrying wire depends on?
Can you determine the direction of the force on a current carrying wire in a
3.7.5.1
magnetic field?
3.7.5.2 Can you describe what happens to charged particles in a magnetic field?
Can you explain why a force acts on a wire in a magnetic field when a
3.7.5.2
current flows along a wire?
3.7.5.2 Can you state the equation used to find the force on a moving charge?
Can you describe what happens to the direction of the magnetic force
3.7.5.1
when electrons are deflected by a magnetic field?
3.7.5.1 Can you explain why the moving charges move in a path that is circular?
3.7.5.1 Can you state the factors that affect the radius of the circular path?
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25 Electromagnetic induction
AQA Physics Checklist
Electromagnetic induction
Specification Checklist
reference questions
Can you describe what must happen to a conductor (or to the magnetic
3.7.5.4
field in which it’s placed) for electricity to be generated?
3.7.5.4 Can you state the factors that would cause the induced emf to be greater?
Can you discuss whether an induced emf always causes a current to
3.7.5.4
flow?
3.7.5.3 Can you define the magnetic flux and the magnetic flux linkage?
Can you relate the induced emf in a coil to the magentic flux linkage
3.7.5.3
through it?
3.7.5.3 Can you state Lenz’s law and the conservation law that explains it?
Can you state the two features of the output voltage waveform that
3.7.5.4
change if the coil is turned faster?
3.7.5.4 Can you explain why the output alternates?
Can you explain why it is preferable for practical generators to have fixed
3.7.5.4
coils and a rotating (electro)magnet?
3.7.5.5 Can you define an alternating current?
3.7.5.5 Can you explain what is meant by the rms value of an alternating current?
3.7.5.5 Can you calculate the power supplied by an alternating current?
3.7.5.6 Can you explain the purpose of transformers?
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25 Electromagnetic induction
AQA Physics Checklist
3.7.5.6 Can you describe the energy changes that take place in a transformer?
Can you discuss how the efficiency of transformers is improved by better
3.7.5.6
design?
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26 Radioactivity
AQA Physics Checklist
Radioactivity
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.8.1.1 Can you state how big the nucleus is?
3.8.1.1 Can you describe how the nucleus was discovered?
3.8.1.1 Can you explain why it was not discovered earlier?
3.8.1.2 Can you define α, β, and γ radiation?
3.8.1.2 Can you explain why it is dangerous?
3.8.1.2 Can you describe the properties of α, β, and γ radiation?
3.8.1.2 Can you describe what happens to the nucleus in a radioactive change?
Can you describe how the intensity of γ radiation changes as it spreads
3.8.1.2
out?
Can you explain how to represent the change in a nucleus when it emits
3.8.1.2
α, β, and γ radiation?
3.8.1.2 Can you explain why ionising radiation is harmful?
Can you state the factors that determine whether α, β, or γ are the most
3.8.1.2
dangerous?
3.8.1.2 Can you discuss how exposure to ionising radiation can be reduced?
3.8.1.3 Can you state what is meant by the activity of a radioactive isotope?
3.8.1.3 Can you define the half-life of a radioactive isotope?
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26 Radioactivity
AQA Physics Checklist
3.8.1.3 Can you discuss whether anything affects radioactive decay?
3.8.1.3 Can you discuss whether a radioactive source can decay completely?
3.8.1.3 Can you define exponential decrease?
3.8.1.3 Can you explain why radioactive decay is a random process?
3.8.1.3 Can you describe how to do radioactive dating?
3.8.1.3 Can you define radioactive tracers?
3.8.1.3 Can you discuss what radioactivity is used for in hospitals?
Can you discuss what you can tell about radioactive isotopes from an N-Z
3.8.1.4
chart?
3.8.1.4 Can you explain why naturally occurring isotopes don’t emit β+ radiation?
Can you describe what happens to an unstable nucleus that emits γ
3.8.1.4
radiation?
3.8.1.5 Can you discuss whether more massive nuclei are wider?
Can you describe how the radius of a nucleus depends on its mass
3.8.1.5
number A?
3.8.1.5 Can you describe how dense the nucleus is?
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27 Nuclear energy
AQA Physics Checklist
Nuclear energy
Specification Checklist
reference questions
3.8.1.6 Can you explain E = mc2?
Can you describe what happens to the mass of an object when it gains or
3.8.1.6
loses energy?
3.8.1.6 Can you calculate the energy released in a nuclear reaction?
3.8.1.6 Can you define binding energy?
3.8.1.6 Can you state which nuclei are the most stable?
Can you explain why energy is released when a uranium-235 nucleus
3.8.1.6
undergoes fission?
Can you describe how much energy is released in a fission or fusion
3.8.1.7
reaction?
3.8.1.7 Can you explain why small nuclei can’t be split?
3.8.1.7 Can you explain why large nuclei can’t be fused?
3.8.1.8 Can you explain how a nuclear reactor works?
3.8.1.8 Can you describe a thermal nuclear reactor?
3.8.1.8 Can you explain how a nuclear reactor is controlled?
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