Practical questions
During the GCSE Physics course you will complete practical activities from eight Practical Activity Groups (PAGs).
The exams will include questions about the apparatus, methods, safety precautions, results, analysis and evaluation of some of these experiments. You may also be asked to apply your knowledge to unfamiliar practical contexts, which will draw on your practical knowledge and understanding.
Practical questions will appear throughout both exams papers (Breadth and Depth), and at both Foundation tier and Higher tier.
Remember to look at your lab book or your notes from the practical activities you have done when you鈥檙e revising for the exams.
The practical questions also test your knowledge of 'Ideas about Science'.
There are four main aspects to 'Ideas about Science'. These are:
- planning practical experiments and investigations (including writing hypotheses and predictions, selecting apparatus and describing methods, controlling factors, and working safely)
- processing and analysing data (including doing calculations, presenting data graphically, identifying patterns and trends, evaluating results and experiments, and interpreting data to draw appropriate conclusions)
- developing scientific explanations (including ideas about correlation and cause, peer review, and the use of models in science)
- the impacts of applications of science (including positive and negative impacts on people, other organisms and the environment, and ideas about risk and ethics)
Learn about practicals with Dr Alex Lathbridge
Listen to the full series on 大象传媒 Sounds.
Dr Alex Lathbridge answers questions about practicals.
Sample question 1 - Foundation and Higher
Question
Sam is doing an experiment to investigate the output of a solar panel. She is using a small photocell to model the panel.
She is measuring the power output of the photocell when it is at different distances from a lamp, as shown below.
a) Describe how this experiment could be completed to get a valid set of data. [4 marks]
b) Tom has done an identical experiment to Sam's in a different part of the same lab.
He uses an identical lamp, photocell and resistor, but his values of power were much lower than Sam's for the same distances.
He thinks that his part of the lab must be different from Sam's.
Suggest and explain a reason for the difference in their results. [2 marks]
OCR 21st Century Science, GCE Physics, Paper J259, 2016.
a) Put the lamp at different distances from the photocell and read I and V at each distance. Repeat readings at each distance. If any outliers are produced in your data you should repeat the result. Once you have three results for each distance you should calculate the mean I and V for each distance.
This question covers practical skills and 'Ideas about Science'. To get full marks in this question you should consider all the best practice that you do when completing a practical. First you must recall the readings you must take. In this experiment these are the current and voltage at varying distances. Next you must discuss ways of ensuring validity, repeating readings and repeating any outliers. Finally you should state that you would calculate the mean of your results.
b) Tom's photocell must be getting less light. This is probably due to him being in a darker area of the lab.
This is a two mark question. You need to state that the photocell must be getting less light. You also need to suggest why, for example Sam may have been near a window, or Tom was in a dark corner of the room.
Sample question 2 - Foundation and Higher
Question
A student wants to measure the current and potential difference for a fixed resistor in a circuit. Draw the circuit diagram that they could use to measure these values. [3 marks]
OCR 21st Century Science, GCE Physics, PAG, January 2017.
When drawing a circuit diagram it is important to use a ruler for the wires. Voltmeters measure the voltage across a component so should be placed in parallel with the component. Ammeters measure the current through a component and should be placed in series with the component.
Sample question 3 - Foundation and Higher
Question
Name the following circuit components. [4 marks]
OCR 21st Century Science, GCE Physics, PAG, January 2017.
A = Diode
B = Resistor
C = Lamp
D = LDR
More guides on this topic
- Electric charge - OCR 21st Century
- How to affect electric current - OCR 21st Century
- Series and parallel circuits - OCR 21st Century
- Electrical power and energy - OCR 21st Century
- What are magnetic fields? - OCR 21st Century
- Electric motors - Higher - OCR 21st Century
- What is the process inside an electric generator? - Higher