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Wjec GCSE Physics > Physics 1 (Year 10) > Flashcards

Physics 1 (Year 10) Flashcards

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1
Q

Why is electricity so useful as a form of energy transfer?

A

Electricity is easy to transport

Electricity can easily be changed into other forms of energy (heat in a kettle, sound+ light in a TV etc)

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2
Q

What does the term ‘commissioning costs’ mean? Give some examples.

A

Commissioning costs are the costs associated with building a power station.

Examples include; costs for building materials, construction workers, environmental surveys.

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3
Q

What does the term ‘running costs’ mean? Give some examples.

A

Running costs are the costs associated with running a power station.

Examples include; costs for workers, maintenance and fuel.

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4
Q

What does the term ‘decommissioning costs’ mean? Give some examples.

A

Decommissioning costs are the costs associated with taking down a power station.

Examples include; Costs for deconstruction, safe removal of dangerous items/fuel, costs for cleanup of site.

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5
Q

Compare the advantages and environmental impact of nuclear power stations.

A

Nuclear Power:

Disadvantages; Produces harmful nuclear waste, long start up time (1day), waste is expensive to dispose of, non-renewable, powerstations are ugly and noisy, high cost to commission/decommission, etc.

Advantages: No harmful pollution, reliable, cheap, predictable output.

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6
Q

Compare the advantages and environmental impact of fossil fuel power stations.

A

Coal Oil and Gas:

Disadvantages; Produce CO2 (global warming) and SO2 (acid rain). Mining can damage the landscape. Power stations look ugly. Noise can affect people and animals. Non-renewable

Advantages; Cheap, reliable, low start up time.

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7
Q

Compare the advantages and environmental impact of different forms of micro-generation.

A

Disadvantages; Unreliable (only works if windy/sunny/etc) Doesn’t produce much power, some people think they are ugly. They are expensive to set up (for the people who buy them)

Advantages; Renewable, no CO2 or SO2, don’t have to pay for fuel. Can sell spare electricity back to the national grid.

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8
Q

Explain why we need an electrical distribution system (the national grid).

A

We need a reliable energy supply. If one power station develops a fault we need others to take their place. We also need to be able to respond to changing demand (more power in the day than at night etc.) so we need to be able to bring more power stations online or take some offline.

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9
Q

Describe the national grid in terms of what it is made up of.

A

The national grid is a system of transformers, substations and transmission wires that connect all the power stations to all the homes and industry in the UK

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10
Q

Explain in terms of efficiency and safety, why electricity is transmitted at high voltages but used at low voltages in the home

A

Step up transformers increase the voltage and decrease the current. A low current means that less energy will be lost as heat in the transmission wires (that send the electricity across the UK)

Low voltages are used in the home because they are much safer and much less likely to cause electrical fires/death.

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11
Q

distinguish between power and energy

A

Power is the rate of transfer of Energy

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12
Q

Explain how the efficiency of fossil-fuel power stations and the national grid could have an impact on global warming.

A

If the national grid OR power stations were more efficient then this means that less electricity would need to be generated. This means less fossil fuels will need to be burned, so less CO2 will be released into the atmosphere, so there will be less global warming. N.b. “anthropogenic” means “caused by humans”

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13
Q

Explain what is meant by conduction and how it’s reduced

A

How heat travels through a solid, it passes from hot to cold.

Can be reduced by using a good insulator (air trapped in a blanket for instance)

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14
Q

Explain what is meant by convection and how it’s reduced

A

When a liquid or gas gets hotter it expands. When it expands its density decreases. When its density decreases it rises. This means that hot air rises and heat can be lost this way.

This can be reduced by trapping the air in foam like in cavity wall insulation. This stops the air from rising

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15
Q

Explain what is meant by transfer of heat by radiation and how it’s reduced.

A

Radiation is the only form of energy transfer that can occur in space. It is energy carried by EM waves.

This can be reduced by using something shiny to reflect the radiation back.

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16
Q

Explain how heat loss from the windows, doors, walls, roof and floors of houses can be reduced. (heat loss cannot be STOPPED)

A

Walls: Cavity wall insulation – foam insulation in the cavity between the two walls of the house.

Roof: Loft insulation - foam insulation in the roof

Doors: Draught excluders – fit under doors to reduce draughts

Windows: Double glazing – Layer of air (partial vacuum) reduces conduction through window

Floors: Carpet - reduces conduction through the floor

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17
Q

What is meant by the term wavelength

A

Wavelength is the length of one complete wave

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18
Q

What is meant by the term Amplitude

A

Amplitude is the height of the wave.

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19
Q

What is meant by the term frequency

A

Frequency is the number of complete waves passing a point per second.

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20
Q

What happens to the frequency of an electromagnetic wave as you increase its wavelength?

A

As you increase the wavelength the frequency and energy decrease. The waves also become less dangerous.

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21
Q

State the order of the electromagnetic spectrum

A

Radio, Microwave, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-rays, Gamma

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22
Q

Which type of EM wave has:

a) The highest frequency,
b) The lowest frequency,
c) The longest wavelength,
d) The shortest wavelength

A

Gamma waves have the highest frequency and the shortest wavelength. They also has the highest energy (this is why its the most dangerous)

Radio waves have the lowest frequency and the longest wavelength. They also have the lowest energy

23
Q

What do all EM waves have in common?

A

They all carry energy and information. They all travel at the same speed

3 x 108m/s.

24
Q

How does the nature of surfaces affect the radiation emitted and absorbed?

A

Black, dull/matte (not shiny) lumpy surfaces emit most radiation.

White/shiny/metallic smooth surfaces emit the least radiation.

25
Q

How does the radiation emitted by an object change as its temperature increases?

A

The hotter an object is the more radiation it emits.

The hotter it gets the more its PEAK emissions move towards the gamma end of the spectrum. It still emits ALL types of radiation.

26
Q

Describe the greenhouse effect in terms of visible radiation from the Sun and infra-red from the Earth.

A

The sun emits ALL types of EM-radiation – But mostly visible light.

Greenhouse gases reflect SOME of this light (the infrared part) back into space. The rest of the light is used to warm the Earth.

The Earth emits mainly Infrared, MOST of which is reflected back by greenhouse gases.

This acts like a blanket FURTHER warming the Earth.

27
Q

What is a Geosynchronous orbit?

A

A geosynchronous orbit is when a satellite orbits above the equator. It is an orbit that takes 24 hours to complete. Because it takes 24 hours (the same speed the Earth rotates) it is always above the same place on the Earth.

28
Q

Why do satellites used for communication have to be in geosynchronous orbit?

A

In a geosynchronous orbit they can be used at the same location 24 hours a day. If they weren’t in geosynchronous orbit they would only be able to be used at certain times and this would be no good for communications/satellite TV

29
Q

Which type of radiation is used for communicating with satellites in orbit?

A

Microwave radiation

30
Q

How fast to EM waves travel in space?

A

3 x 108m/s

31
Q

How fast do EM waves travel in an optical fibre cable

A

2 x 108m/s

32
Q

What type of radiation is used in fibre optic cables?

A

Infra red

33
Q

What are the differences and similarities between the energy given out by radioactive sources (α,β,γ) and “electromagnetic waves”

A

Both Alpha, Beta, and gamma, as well as EM waves can be referred to as “radiation” and carry energy and information. Alpha (α) and Beta(β) are NOT EM waves.

34
Q

Which parts of the EM Spectrum are Ionising?

A

Ultraviolet, X-ray, and Gamma (γ).

(Remember that alpha (α) and beta (β) are NOT EM-radiation, but ARE ionising)

35
Q

What does the word Ionising mean?

A

This means it is able to interact with atoms, and damage cells. It can also break apart molecules, in particular DNA. It can cause cancer.

36
Q

How do we deal with nuclear waste from power stations/hospitals? Why do we have to do this?

A

Nuclear waste is harmful to human health and remains radioactive for thousands of years. Because it is so dangerous it has to be buried deep underground where it won’t come into contact with animals

37
Q

How do scientists account for the random nature of radiation when undertaking experimental work with radioactive sources?

A

Because radioactive sources emit radiation randomly, we have to perform these experiments over a long enough time so that the randomness “average out”.

38
Q

What other allowances have to be made to get accurate results?

A

There is always a low level of background radiation present and this needs to be subtracted from the results of the experiment.

39
Q

Describe the properties of alpha radiation

A

Low penetration, stopped by thin paper or skin, very ionising

40
Q

Describe the properties of beta radiation

A

Moderately penetrating, stopped by thin sheet of aluminium, moderately ionising.

41
Q

Describe the properties of gamma radiation

A

Very penetrating, stopped by thick lead, not very ionising.

42
Q

Which type of radiation is more dangerous inside the body and why

A

Alpha radiation is most dangerous inside the body because it is highly ionising and cannot escape the body because of its low penetration, so all its energy is transferred to your insides.

43
Q

Which type of radiation is more dangerous outside the body and why

A

Gamma radiation is most dangerous outside the body because of its ability to penetrate everything except thick lead.

44
Q

Name the 7 sources of background radiation and state which two are artificial (man-made) sources.

A

Cosmic rays, radon, rocks, food, buildings, medical, nuclear industry.

Of the seven, only medical and nuclear industry are artificial

45
Q

Why does the amount of background radiation (specifically radon gas) change from place to place.

A

Different areas have different rocks in different amounts. Granite gives off radon gas, so the more granite an area has, the higher the background.

46
Q

Compare the scale of planets, the Solar System, the Milky Way galaxy and the observable universe.

A

Distances between planets are millions of km;

“light years” between stars;

millions of “light years” between galaxies

The observable (whole) universe is thousands of millions of “light years” across.

47
Q

Explain how, by using a spectrum, scientists can tell what a star is made of.

A

When you split the light from a star you will see black lines at certain wavelengths. These black lines act like a fingerprint. Depending on how many black lines there are, and where they are, you can tell what a star is made from.

48
Q

Explain how an absorption spectra is created

A

Light from the surface of a star is a continuous spectrum – gas atoms in the atmosphere of the star absorb specific wavelengths and reveal the chemical makeup of the star’s atmosphere and therefore the star itself.

49
Q

What did Edwin Hubble observe by studying the cosmic red shift of distant galaxies?

A

He discovered that the further a galaxy is away from us, the faster it is travelling away from us, so the more it is red shifted – in other words the more its wavelength increases.

50
Q

Describe the big bang theory

A

The whole universe was in a (small) hot dense state, then it began to expand and cool and form galaxies.

51
Q

How does the Big Bang theory explain the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)?

A

When the universe was young and HOT it was full of gamma radiation. As the universe expanded this gamma radiation was red shifted (its wavelength was stretched out) so it eventually became microwave radiation.

52
Q

Draw an energy transfer diagram for…..

A
53
Q

Show the path taken by signals between ground stations and satellites.

A

Wjec GCSE Physics (4 decks)

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