Structured questions
Simple recall questions are usually worth one mark. They often have command words like give, state, name or identify. Some questions may ask you to state two things, rather than just one, and will be worth two marks.
Structured questions, with command words such as 'describe' or 'explain', will be worth two or more marks:
- if you are asked to describe something, you need to give an account but no reason
- if you are asked to explain something, you must give reasons or explanations
More complex structured questions will be worth three to five marks. They include questions with complex descriptions and explanations, questions in which you need to compare and contrast two different things, or calculations with several stages.
The mark schemes given here may show answers as bullet points. This is to show clearly how a mark can be obtained. However, it is important that your answer is written in a logical, linked way.
Learn about command words with Dr Alex Lathbridge
Listen to the full series on 大象传媒 Sounds.
Understanding the different command words in your science GCSE exams.
Sample question 1 - Foundation
Question
A student completes an experiment to find the specific heat capacity of a metal block. The student takes voltage and current measurements.
Suggest three other measurements they need to take. [3 marks]
OCR Gateway Science, GCE Physics, Paper J249, 2016.
- the temperature rise or the start and end temperatures [1]
- the time that the heater is switched on [1]
- the mass of the block [1]
Sample question 2 - Foundation
Question
A depth of 10 m of water exerts the same amount of pressure as the entire Earth鈥檚 atmosphere which is ~120 km thick.
Suggest why. [1 mark]
OCR Gateway Science, GCE Physics, Paper J249, 2016 - Higher.
Water is much denser than air. [1]
Sample question 3 - Higher
Question
A student completes an experiment to find the specific heat capacity of a metal block. The student takes measurements of voltage, current, time, mass of block and change in temperature.
Describe how these measurements could be used to determine the specific heat capacity of the metal. [2 marks]
OCR Gateway Science, GCE Physics, Paper J249, 2016 - Higher.
Calculate energy: energy = voltage 脳 current 脳 time [1]\(specific~heat~capacity = \frac{energy}{(mass \times temperature~rise)}\) [1]
Sample question 4 - Higher
Question
A diver takes some pressure readings. Their results are in the table below.
| Depth of water (m) | Pressure (standard units) |
| 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 20 | 3 |
| 30 | 4 |
| 40 | 5 |
| 50 | 6 |
| Depth of water (m) | 0 |
|---|---|
| Pressure (standard units) | 1 |
| Depth of water (m) | 10 |
|---|---|
| Pressure (standard units) | 2 |
| Depth of water (m) | 20 |
|---|---|
| Pressure (standard units) | 3 |
| Depth of water (m) | 30 |
|---|---|
| Pressure (standard units) | 4 |
| Depth of water (m) | 40 |
|---|---|
| Pressure (standard units) | 5 |
| Depth of water (m) | 50 |
|---|---|
| Pressure (standard units) | 6 |
Use the data to describe the relationship between the depth of water and pressure. [2 marks]
OCR Gateway Science, GCE Physics, Paper J249, 2016 - Higher.
As depth increases by 10 metres the pressure increases by one unit [1], this shows that there is a direct linear relationship between pressure and depth [1].