Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Magnetic fields
A magnetic field is a region where magnetic materials feel a force. Magnetic fields are
created by magnets, or current flowing in a wire. Here are some magnetic fields you should
know about :
A bar magnet
Notice that the field lines get further apart the further they are from the wire, since the
magnetic field is getting weaker.
A flat coil
Notice that the field lines inside the coil are almost
straight and parallel this shows the magnetic field
has a constant strength in this region.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 1
The Motor Effect
Current into
wire
The size of the force on the wire can be increased by doing one of three things :
Its possible to predict the direction of the force by using Flemings LEFT hand
rule.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 2
The Motor
The split ring commutator ensures that the force on any wire on the left hand side
of the motor is always directed upwards, and that the force on the right hand side is
always downwards. This makes sure that the coil turns continuously in one direction.
A A
N S N S
B
Commutator B
Question : Match each label (17) to the correct part (ag) for the
simple dc electric motor below :
3. Magnetic field b
4. Motion / Force
c
5. Coil
d
6. Electric current e
7. Brushes f
g
. 1=f, 2=e, 3=b, 4=a, 5=c, 6=d,7=g Answer :
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 3
Electromagnetic Induction
As you can see in the diagrams below, it makes no difference whether its a magnet turning
inside a coil, or a coil turning inside a magnetic field, the effect is the same electricity is
induced in the coil.
coil rotating
N S
Coil carbo
n
brush
contact rings
Generators are a crucial part of all power stations (except for solar PV).
Shown below is a wind turbine the generator can be seen at the back.
Heres a
generator from a
hydroelectric
power station
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 4
Generators
The direction of the induced current can be predicted by using Flemings RIGHT hand rule.
If the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand are
placed at right angles to each other as shown then,
Usually, the circular movement that occurs in generators produces an alternating voltage or
current. Alternating means that the current/voltage direction changes regularly. For most
generators the circular movement also means that the output current is constantly changing
in size this is explained on the next page.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 5
Generators
Voltage
1.5
(V)
N S 1
A
Voltage
A
1.5
(V)
N S 1
_ 0.5 Time (s)
N S 0
_ -0.5 0 90 180270360450540630720810
Side A of the coil is still cutting -1
A upwards through magnetic field lines, -1.5
and so the voltage is still positive.
B However, because of the angle, the
coil isnt cutting the lines as quickly as
before, and so theres less voltage.
A
Voltage
1.5
(V)
N S 1
_ 0.5 Time (s)
0
N S -0.5 0 90 180270360450540630720810
_ The coil is not cutting any field lines -1
A its just moving along with them in -1.5
the North-South direction.
B This means that NO voltage is
produced.
Voltage
A 1.5
(V)
N S 1
_ 0.5 Time (s)
N S 0
_ -0.5 0 90 180270360450540630720810
Once again lines are being cut at -1
maximum rate, but side A of the coil is
B A now cutting down through the magnetic -1.5
field.
This changes the direction of the voltage.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 6
Using Induction - TRANSFORMERS
A transformer is a device that makes use of the fact that electricity can be created (induced)
by a changing magnetic field. Transformers are used to increase (step-up) or decrease (step-
down) the voltage.
Heres a diagram of a transformer where two separate coils have been wound around two
sides of the same piece of solid iron core:
240 V
Secondary
Primary voltage Primary coil Secondary coil voltage (output)
(input) Iron core
The explanation for how electricity is created in the secondary coil could be asked for in a
QWC-style examination question. Heres an example of a well-structured answer :
The alternating current in the primary coil creates a changing magnetic field around it.
Iron is a magnetic material, and so easily transmits this magnetic field to the secondary coil.
The constantly changing magnetic field around the secondary coil induces a voltage in this
coil.
Additionally, whether this output voltage is greater or lesser than the primary voltage
depends on the amount of turns in the secondary coil as compared to the primary.
Example : The input (primary) voltage of a phone charger is 240V (mains). The output needs
to be 4.8 V. Calculate N2 (the number of turns on the secondary coil) if N1 = 2000.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 7
Unit 2 Properties of waves + Structure of the Earth
Longitudinal waves: The oscillations of the particles are in the same direction
as the wave is moving.
1.Wavelength The distance from a crest to the next crest or the distance
it takes to repeat itself.If there are 10 waves in 5 metres Metres, m
then the wavelength is 0.5m
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 8
Properties of waves
Reflection. As the waves strike a plane (flat) barrier they are reflected. This is very similar for
a beam of light reflecting on a plane mirror. If a curved (concave) barrier such as a satellite dish
is used, the waves can be made to converge (concentrate) at a point. The angle of incidence and
reflection will be equal.
Reflection on a satellite dish.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 9
Total internal reflection
(a) (b) (c)
This phenomenon occurs when light moves from a more optically dense material (e.g.
water) to a less optically dense material (e.g. air) causing a change in speed.
1. The incident angle 1 is less than the critical angle and so the light ray refracts/
bends away from the normal as it emerges from the water. 2 is the angle of refraction.
2. The incident angle 1 equal to the critical angle and so the light ray passes along the
surface of the boundary.
3. The incident angle is greater than the critical angle and so the light ray is
reflected back into the water. This phenomenon is known as total internal reflection.
1 = 2
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 10
Seismic waves / Earthquakes
The mechanisms and processes involved when earthquakes occur are extremely complex.
However some of the characteristics of earthquakes can be explained:
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 11
The speed of seismic waves.
Speed of P-waves in the core: the density of the iron core is very much greater than
that of the mantle, their speed is much less. As in the mantle, the speed increases with
depth and the speed increases as it crosses into the more rigid solid inner core.
speed / km/s
15
MANTLE O-Core I - Core
P-waves
10
5 S-waves
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 Depth / km
Look at the graph and notice that there are no S-waves in the outer core. P-waves, S-
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 12
Refraction of seismic waves.
Both the density and stiffness increase with depth in the mantle, but the rigidity wins and
so the speed of both S- and P-waves increases with depth. If the speed of the waves
changes then the waves will refract and so will change direction.
Refraction in the Mantle Over a few hundred km refraction has the following effect
ignoring the curvature of the Earth:
The waves curve because the bottom edge travels faster than the top edge and so it
overtakes the top edge. This makes it bend upwards. Note that both P- and S-waves curve
like this. They both travel faster the deeper they go into the mantle.
If the waves pass through the inner core, they refract again. They also refract as they
pass back into the mantle.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 13
Shadow zones.
The outer core of the Earth is _____________. The mantle and the inner core are
__________ . Only ___ waves can travel through the liquid outer core. By measuring 'P'
and 'S' waves after an earthquake at different points across the globe, we can estimate
the size of the Earth's liquid outer core.
P and S waves travel very differently through the Earth. Initially P and S waves travel in
all directions from the epicentre of an earthquake outwards. They are refracted as they
travel from the epicentre and follow arcs.
However, S waves cannot travel through the
liquid outer core of the Earth.
Note that there is a considerable change in density from the solid mantle to the liquid
outer core. By finding the angles at which the P and S waves both disappear we can
calculate the radius of the liquid core of the earth.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 14
Seismogram.
Seismograms can be used to locate the epicentre of an earthquake.
Example question.The diagram shows the first seismic signals received from an
earthquake at two monitoring stations A and B.
1. What evidence is shown by the seismic data that suggests A is nearer the epicentre than B?
2. What evidence suggests P and S waves have travelled with different speeds from the earthquake?
3. The time lag between the arrival of the P and S waves for a seismic station which is 100km from the
epicentre of an earthquake is 12s. Calculate the distance of the monitoring station A from the epicentre
of this earthquake.
Answer : 1st step is to work out the time gap between P and S waves for station A. Between 12:21 :30 and
12:22:41 there is a 71s gap/delay.
2nd step is to realise that there is a 12s delay for each 100km (as stated). How many times
more is 12s than 71s ?
So, 71 12 = 5.92 and then 5.92 x 100 = 592km
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 15
Unit 3 Motion
The equations
Speed is defined as the distance moved per unit time, and hence, the equation for
speed is :
If the speed is not constant this equation can still be used, but it gives a value for the
average speed.
There are also equations for objects that are accelerating, e.g.
Re-arranging v = u + at
If the acceleration is constant, then there are 3 other equations that we can use. These are
known as the equations of motion or kinematic equations, and are all given in the
examination :
v = u + at x = (u +v) t
2
x = ut + a t2 v2 = u2 + 2a x
All the above quantities, except for time, are vectors, meaning that they must have a
direction. For example, displacement is simply the straight line distance between the
start and end point of your journey, in a certain direction.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 16
The equations
Remember !!
These equations only work if the acceleration is constant.
This means that the equations work well for objects moving under
the influence of gravity, but only if the friction and air-resistance
are negligible. They work very well on the surface of the moon and
Mars etc., since theres little or no air, so the acceleration due to
gravity has a constant value near the surface. They also work fairly
well on Earth, as long as air-resistance isnt too large !
Mars curiosity probe, 2012
Example 1
A child, initially sitting on the edge of a diving platform, lets himself drop
into the swimming pool 4 m below. Assuming no air-resistance, and given
that the acceleration due to gravity is 9.81 m/s2, calculate,
(i) the childs speed as he hits the water
(ii) the time it takes the child to reach the waters surface
Since these equations only work if the acceleration is constant, we can only calculate the
speed of the child just before making contact with the floor, as once contact is made, the
acceleration changes. This is very important in cases where something falls to the ground
the final velocity,v, is NOT ZERO since were calculating the velocity just before the object
hits the ground.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 17
The equations
Remember that displacement, velocity and acceleration are all vectors you
must be aware of their directions.
In the last example this wasnt a problem since the direction of movement was in the same
direction as gravity (downwards). However, you must be prepared for examination questions
that involve using the correct direction, as shown in the next example :
Example 2
A ball is thrown vertically upwards with a speed of 7.2 m/s.
Taking the acceleration as 9.81 m/s2 , calculate,
v = u + at
Re-arranging t = v u = 0 - 7.2 = + 0.73 s
a - 9.81
Notice that if we had NOT taken direction into account, the acceleration value would have
been positive, and the answer would have been 5.256 + 2.614, which is incorrect !!
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 18
Momentum
Docked !!
This law is perfectly consistent with Newtons 3rd Law ! Take a look at the imminent collision
below :
Car A Car B
As they collide, car A will create a force to the right () on car B. Newtons 3rd Law states
that car B will therefore produce an equal but opposite force on car A to the left ().
We need Newtons 2nd Law too !
Re-arranging F x t = p
Since the cars are in contact with each other for the same amount of time, F x t will have
the same value for both cars, and hence, p will have the same value for both cars this is
conservation of momentum since any momentum lost by car A will be given to car B.
(Remember that momentum is a vector, and so positive momentum () from car A will
seem to cancel out some of car Bs negative momentum !)
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 19
20 www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision
Answer
(a) (i) p = mv = 800 x 15 = 12000 kg m/s
(ii) v = p / m = 12000 / 1600 = 7.5 m/s (Notice the mass is the total mass of both cars)
(iii) F = 16 000 N to the left (equal but opposite)
(b) (i) v = zero !!
(ii) Momentum is a vector. The total momentum before collision is therefore zero since they have equal
momenta, but in opposite directions. Hence, the total momentum after collision must be zero.
(b)
(a)
Example
Momentum
Is kinetic energy conserved in collisions ?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. However, energy can be transferred from the
kinetic energy of a colliding object (e.g. a car) into heat and sound energy which
escapes into the surroundings.
This means that its quite normal (even expected) that KE is lost from the colliding
objects during a collision. Look at the situation below :
Before collision
uA =12 m/s
After colliding, the velocity of car A reduces to 2m/s (). If the mass of car A, mA = 1400 kg, and
car B, mB = 1200 kg, then by conservation of momentum,
Note : Since the answer is a positive number, we therefore know that it is to the right.
We can now check to see what happens to the kinetic energy of the cars :
KE before = KEcar A = 0.5 m v2 = 0.5 mA uA2 = 0.5 x 1400 x 122 = 100 800 J
This shows that some KE is lost during the collision. Notice we do not take direction into
consideration here since kinetic energy is NOT a vector.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 21
Unit 4 Gases & the Kinetic Theory
Pressure
Pressure = Force P = F
Area A
Another common unit for pressure is Pascal, Pa, but only if the area is measured in m2
(rather than cm2).
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 22
Pressure, Volume & Temperature
Pressure
gauge
Gas particles
Plunger
0 50 100 cm3
cm3
Glass syringe
As the volume decreases, the pressure increases. In fact, you can see from the
graph that if the volume halves, the pressure doubles. This means that
pressure is inversely proportional to the volume, and hence we can write :
p x V = constant
Glass
syringe
Bunsen burner
If the temperature is measured in KELVIN rather than degrees Celsius (see later
on !), the graph would show that the pressure doubles when the temperature
doubles. This means that pressure is directly proportional to the temperature,
and hence we can write :
p = constant
T
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 23
Pressure, Volume & Temperature
Glass
syringe
Bunsen burner
If the temperature is measured in KELVIN rather than degrees Celsius (see later
on !), the graph would show that the volume doubles when the temperature
doubles. This means that volume is directly proportional to the temperature,
and hence we can write :
V = constant
T
If we combine all the results/conclusions from the three experiments, we get the
following result :
Note
Strictly speaking, this is only true for an Ideal gas where the particles dont affect
each other in between collisions, and their size is extremely small in comparison
to their (average) separation. However, this ideal gas equation works very well in
most every-day situations.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 24
Temperature
Once scientists realised that there is a direct link between the temperature William Thomson, 1846
of a gas and the average kinetic energy of the particles in that gas, they also
realised that there must be a minimum temperature. This minimum temperature is known as
absolute zero, and occurs when the (average) kinetic energy of the particles is zero, i.e. they
stop moving !
This led Lord Kelvin (aka William Thomson) to propose a new scale
for temperature :
This then means that the freezing point of water is about 273 K, and the boiling point of
water is 373 K.
Any equation used in this section only works if the temperature is measured in
kelvin, K.
Example
A can of baked beans is mistakenly left sealed and placed in an oven. The air above
the beans is initially at room temperature, 18 C, and atmospheric pressure (100kPa).
Calculate the pressure of the air inside the can when its temperature reaches 220 C.
(Assume theres no change in volume).
First we must convert the temperatures to kelvin using the following information seen on page
2 of the exam. paper :
18 C = 18 + 273 = 291 K
220 C = 220 + 273 = 493K
Note : This is likely to cause the can to explode, so do not try this at home !!! ;-)
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 25
Variation of pressure with volume or temperature
When the volume of a gas is decreased (i.e. the gas is compressed) the pressure increases.
As the volume decreases, the same number of gas particles are moving around in a smaller
space, and so they are closer together. If this is done at a constant temperature, the
average speed of the particles stays the same. However, there are now more particles
striking each unit area of the inside of the container each second. When particles strike
the wall of the container theres a change in momentum of the particles (Newtons 2nd
law) which results in a force on the particles and hence an equal but opposite force on the
wall (Newtons 3rd law). This means that there is more force acting on the inside surface.
Since P = F / A , the pressure will increase.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 26
Conduction & Convection
Conduction
The atoms in gases are much further apart, and so collide less often. This is why
conduction is very slow in gases.
Metals conduct heat very quickly making them better conductors, because they have
free electrons which can move around within the metal, and therefore can carry the
heat energy much more rapidly from one place to another.
Convection
The fluid in this locality is now less dense than surrounding fluid, and so it rises,
forming a convection current.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 27
UNIT 5 Origin of the chemical elements.
The Big Bang
It is believed that the universe started with a Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago. What
evidence do we have to support this theory?
1. Red shift of galaxies showing that they are moving away.
25% Helium
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 28
Life cycle of the stars.
The diagram below shows the possible life cycle for stars of different masses. SM stands
for Solar Masses. If a star is 3SM then it is 3 times the mass of the Sun.
Planetary nebula
Supernova explosion.
Elements heavier than
lead are formed.
Black hole.
Stars greater than 25 SM. White dwarf
Neutron star
Brown dwarfs are failed stars that never have enough mass in order to get hot enough to
achieve nuclear fusion.
Red dwarf stars: these are low mass stars that do achieve nuclear fusion. They are not
very bright and have long lifetimes. They are main sequence stars.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 29
Forces within a star.
pressure.
If the pressure in the middle falls, this will cause a star to shrink this will cause the
pressure to rise once more until a new equilibrium is established with the star smaller. If
the pressure increases, the star will expand.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 30
End of main sequence stage.
Once a star has exhausted (run out) of its supply of
hydrogen it will swell up into a red giant. The temperature
of the star will decrease as nuclear fusion ceases. This
means that the gravitational force is greater than the gas
and radiation pressure causing the core to shrink.
Fusion of helium has begun and the temperature increases
once again resulting in an increase in gas and radiation
pressure.
4 11 4
2 + 2 0
1
Hydrogen Helium Positron
total Z = 4 x 1 = 4 total Z = 2 + (2 x 1) = 4
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 31
Nuclear fusion
E = mc2
Energy (J) = mass (kg) x speed of light squared (m/s) (300,000,000 m/s or 3x108)
Question 1. When 1kg of coal is burnt 3x107J of energy is released. Calculate the mass lost.
Question 2. Calculate the mass loss per second from the Sun given that its energy output
is 41026 W and the speed of light is 3x108 m/s.
The first step is to realise that power is energy transferred per second. So the energy
transferred from mass into energy per second is 4 1026 J. Now we must calculate how
much mass this is equivalent to.
This means that the sun is losing 4.4 million tonnes a second!!!!!!!!!!!!
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 32
What happens to Stars which are heavier than our Sun?
It is much more difficult to fuse heavier elements because heavier nuclei repel each
other more strongly than light nuclei and so require much higher temperatures and
pressures to fuse. So the fusion of heavier nuclei only occurs in stars of greater mass
than our Sun.
The neutron star is very dense indeed. One teaspoon has a mass of 6 billion tons.
2. As the shock encounters material in the stars outer layers, the material is
heated to billions of degrees, fusing to form the heavier elements. All elements
heavier than iron/nickel-56 (all the way up to Uranium) are formed in supernovae
explosions.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 33
Nucleosynthesis - Binding energy.
Formation of the elements. The graph below is of the binding energy per nucleon for
atoms of differing nucleon number.
This curve indicates how stable atomic nuclei are. The higher the binding energy per
nucleon the more stable the nuclei are. Iron (Fe) is the most stable nucleus.
Fusion.
Elements above iron in the periodic table cannot be
formed in the normal nuclear fusion processes in
stars. Energy is only released up to a nucleon
number of 56 (iron or nickel) and thus can proceed.
But since the "iron group" is at the peak of the
binding energy curve, fusion of elements above iron
dramatically absorbs energy. Heavier elements
absorb energy when they fuse.
Very heavy stars run out of energy when they produce iron and nickel 56 and die in a
supernova. Because of the extra energy released in a supernova, heavier elements are
produced all the way up to uranium. These are blasted into space and form part of the
cloud of gas and dust from which new solar systems are born. So the Earths uranium, in
fact all the heavy elements, were produced in supernovae. Most of the atoms in your body
were formed in the core of a star or in a supernova explosion!!!!!!
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 34
Fission
Nuclear fission. This is a decay process in which an unstable nucleus splits into two
fragments of comparable mass or to put it another way it is the splitting of a heavy
nucleus into two lighter nuclei.
In nuclear fission the elements/nuclei like uranium are split into smaller fragments which
have higher binding energy per nucleon than the uranium (parent nucleus). This increase in
binding energy per nucleon results in a release of energy.
Elements like uranium, are only produced from the energy released during the
gravitational collapse of massive stars, and so we are only able to use uranium in a fission
reactor because of the release of this element in a supernova.
Main points.
Hydrogen and helium are the most common elements, followed by oxygen and iron.
The general trend is for the abundance of the elements to decrease with an
increase in proton number. You would expect a decrease for elements heavier than
iron since they are only formed in supernova explosion.
The fact that some elements like oxygen and carbon are more common has been
explained through scientific research.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 35
How science works Fred Hoyle
Overview : Working from experimental results on the results of
collision experiments between nuclei, and making assumptions
about conditions in stars, including supernovae, Hoyle and others
were able to show that heavy elements could be produced and
they were able to explain why some elements are much more
common than others, e.g. Carbon and Oxygen
In summary, Sir Fred Hoyle and others used experimental results to:
(i) Show how the heavy elements could be produced.
(ii) Explain why some elements were more common than others e.g Carbon
and oxygen.
They came up with a theory about how
science works.
this theory.
www.bangor.ac.uk/GCSErevision 36