Physics Paper 1 Flashcards
What is the ‘Control variable’?
What is kept constant in the experiment
What is the ‘Dependant variable’?
What happens as a cause to the change
What is the ‘Independent variable’?
What you change in the experiment
What are the main types of energy stores?
Kinetic, thermal, chemical, gravitational potential, elastic potential, nuclear, magnetic, electrostatic.
What are the four main ways energy can be transferred?
Mechanically, electrically, by heating, and by radiation.
What does the law of conservation of energy state?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or stored.
How can you reduce energy wasted due to friction?
Use lubrication.
How can you reduce heat loss from buildings?
Use thermal insulation.
What does efficiency measure?
How much input energy is usefully transferred.
What is current?
The flow of electric charge.
What is voltage?
The energy transferred per unit of charge.
What is resistance?
The opposition to current flow in a circuit.
In a series circuit, how is current and voltage shared?
Current is the same everywhere; voltage is shared between components.
In a parallel circuit, how is current and voltage shared?
Voltage is the same across branches; current splits between branches.
What are the colours and purposes of the three wires in a plug?
Live (brown) – carries voltage, Neutral (blue) – completes the circuit, Earth (green/yellow) – safety.
What is the purpose of a fuse in a plug?
It breaks the circuit if the current is too
What is the purpose of the earth wire?
It prevents electric shocks by carrying current to the ground if there’s a fault.
What are the three states of matter?
Solid, Liquid, Gas.
What happens to particles when a substance changes state?
They gain or lose energy but stay the same substance.
Is a change of state a physical or chemical change?
Physical change.
What is internal energy?
The total of kinetic and potential energy in a substance’s particles.
What happens to temperature during a change of state?
It stays the same while the substance is changing state.
What does specific heat capacity describe?
How much energy is needed to change the temperature of a material.
What does specific latent heat describe?
How much energy is needed to change the state of a material.
What does the density of a substance depend on?
Its mass and volume.
What particles are in an atom?
Protons, neutrons, and electrons.
What is an isotope?
Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.
What is radioactivity?
The emission of particles or energy from unstable nuclei.
What are the three types of nuclear radiation?
Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.
Which type of radiation has the lowest penetration?
Alpha radiation.
Which type of radiation is the most penetrating?
Gamma radiation.
What is a half-life?
The time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms to decay.
What are some uses of radioactive substances?
Carbon dating, medical tracers, cancer treatment.
