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Component 3 Light, Nuclei and Options

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do X-rays, ultrasound and PET scanning use physics to image the body, and how is radiation dose measured?

Medical physics option: the production and attenuation of X-rays, ultrasound imaging and acoustic impedance, PET scanning and positron annihilation, and radiation dose and its biological effect.
A focused answer to the Eduqas A-Level Physics Component 3 medical physics option, covering the production and attenuation of X-rays, ultrasound imaging and acoustic impedance, PET scanning and positron annihilation, and the measurement of radiation dose and its biological effect.
13 min answer →

How do unstable nuclei decay, and how do we describe the random process mathematically?

Nuclear decay: alpha, beta and gamma radiation and their properties, the random nature of decay, activity and the decay constant, the exponential decay law, and half-life.
A focused answer to the Eduqas A-Level Physics Component 3 nuclear decay content, covering the properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiation, the random nature of radioactive decay, activity and the decay constant, the exponential decay law N = N0 e^(-lambda t), and half-life.
13 min answer →

Where does nuclear energy come from, and why do both fission and fusion release it?

Nuclear energy: mass-energy equivalence, the mass defect and binding energy, binding energy per nucleon, and the energy released in nuclear fission and fusion.
A focused answer to the Eduqas A-Level Physics Component 3 nuclear energy content, covering mass-energy equivalence, the mass defect and binding energy, the binding energy per nucleon curve, and why both nuclear fission and fusion release energy.
13 min answer →

What are the fundamental building blocks of matter, and how are they classified into quarks and leptons?

Particles and nuclear structure: the nuclear model of the atom, the classification of particles into hadrons and leptons, the quark model of protons and neutrons, and conservation laws in particle interactions.
A focused answer to the Eduqas A-Level Physics Component 3 particle physics content, covering the nuclear model of the atom, the classification of particles into hadrons and leptons, the quark model of protons and neutrons, and the conservation laws governing particle interactions.
13 min answer →

What are the four Component 3 options, and what physics does each apply?

The options: an overview of the four Component 3 options (alternating currents, medical physics, the physics of sports, energy and the environment) and the core physics each one extends.
A focused answer to the structure of the Eduqas A-Level Physics Component 3 options, giving an overview of the four choices (alternating currents, medical physics, the physics of sports, and energy and the environment) and the core physics each one extends.
12 min answer →