England · Pearson EdexcelQ&A
PhysicsQ&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every England Physics syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
Topic 7: Astronomy
- Orbits and gravity: how gravity provides the force for circular orbits, why orbital speed sets the orbit radius, and how weight and g differ between the Earth, Moon and other bodies.2Q&A pairs
- Red-shift and the Big Bang: the change in observed frequency from a moving source, red-shift of distant galaxies, and the Big Bang and Steady State theories with their evidence.2Q&A pairs
- The life cycle of stars: the formation of a star from a nebula, the main sequence, and the different fates of stars depending on their mass.2Q&A pairs
- The Solar System: the Sun, planets, moons, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets, the order of the planets, and how models of the Solar System changed over time.2Q&A pairs
Topic 3: Conservation of energy
- Conservation and dissipation of energy: the principle of conservation of energy in a closed system, how energy is dissipated to less useful stores, and why mechanical processes waste energy by heating.2Q&A pairs
- Efficiency: the meaning of efficiency, the efficiency equation as a ratio of useful to total energy (or power), and why no device is perfectly efficient.2Q&A pairs
- Energy stores and transfers: the named energy stores, the ways energy is transferred, and drawing and interpreting energy transfer diagrams for everyday systems.2Q&A pairs
- Gravitational and kinetic energy: the change in gravitational potential energy equation, the kinetic energy equation, and how energy transfers between the two stores.2Q&A pairs
- Reducing unwanted energy transfer: lubrication and thermal insulation, and how the thickness and thermal conductivity of walls affect the rate of cooling of a building.2Q&A pairs
Topic 8: Energy - Forces doing work
- Efficiency of forces: calculating efficiency for a machine, why machines waste energy by heating, and reducing wasteful transfers by lubrication and streamlining.2Q&A pairs
- Energy stores and system changes: the ways the energy of a system can change, energy transfers in a closed system, and how energy is dissipated when forces act.2Q&A pairs
- Power: power as the rate of energy transfer or work done, the power equation, the watt as a joule per second, and the core practical measuring personal power.2Q&A pairs
- Work done and energy transfer: the work done equation, the link between work done and energy transferred, and how work done by friction raises temperature.2Q&A pairs
Topic 9: Forces and their effects
- Contact and non-contact forces: the difference between them, examples of each, and how objects can interact at a distance through fields.2Q&A pairs
- Resolving and resultant forces: combining forces into a resultant, using scale vector diagrams, and resolving a single force into perpendicular components.2Q&A pairs
Topic 5: Light and the electromagnetic spectrum
- Colour and filters: how the colour of an opaque object depends on the wavelengths it reflects and absorbs, and how a colour filter transmits some colours and absorbs others.2Q&A pairs
- Infrared radiation and surfaces (core practical): how surface colour and texture affect the emission and absorption of infrared radiation, and the link to all objects emitting radiation.3Q&A pairs
- Reflection and total internal reflection: the law of reflection, specular versus diffuse reflection, the critical angle, and the conditions for total internal reflection.2Q&A pairs
- Refraction and lenses: refraction in a glass block (core practical), converging and diverging lenses, real and virtual images, and the power of a lens linked to focal length.2Q&A pairs
- The electromagnetic spectrum: the seven groups in order, the shared properties of EM waves, and the trends in wavelength, frequency and energy across the spectrum.2Q&A pairs
- Uses and dangers of EM waves: the practical uses of each group, the harm high-frequency waves can cause to cells, and how the use links to the wave's properties.2Q&A pairs
Topic 2: Motion and forces
- Acceleration and the equations of motion: the acceleration equation, the uniform acceleration (suvat) equation linking velocity, acceleration and distance, and typical accelerations such as g.2Q&A pairs
- Distance, speed and velocity: the speed equation, rearranging it for distance and time, and recalling typical speeds for walking, running, cycling and sound.2Q&A pairs
- Distance-time graphs: interpreting the shape of the line, finding speed from the gradient, and using a tangent for the speed of an accelerating object.2Q&A pairs
- Momentum and collisions: the momentum equation p = mv, conservation of momentum in a closed system, force as the rate of change of momentum, and how safety features reduce force.3Q&A pairs
- Newton's laws of motion: the first law and resultant force, the second law F = ma and inertial mass, and the third law of equal and opposite forces.2Q&A pairs
- Scalar and vector quantities: the difference between magnitude-only scalars and vectors that also have direction, and classifying the key physical quantities.2Q&A pairs
- Stopping distances and reaction time: thinking distance plus braking distance, the factors affecting each, reaction times, and the forces and energy involved in braking.2Q&A pairs
- Velocity-time graphs: finding acceleration from the gradient and distance travelled from the area under the line, including counting squares for a curved graph.2Q&A pairs
- Weight, mass and gravity: the difference between mass and weight, the weight equation W = mg, gravitational field strength, and weight measured with a calibrated balance.2Q&A pairs
Topic 6: Radioactivity
- Background radiation and detection: the meaning and sources of background radiation from Earth and space, and detecting radioactivity with photographic film and a Geiger-Muller tube.2Q&A pairs
- Half-life: the definition of half-life, the random nature of decay, and using half-life to calculate the activity or amount of radioactive material remaining.2Q&A pairs
- Isotopes and ions: atomic and mass number notation, what makes isotopes of an element, and how atoms become ions by losing or gaining electrons.2Q&A pairs
- Nuclear decay equations: how the mass and atomic numbers change in alpha, beta-minus and beta-plus decay and gamma emission, and balancing nuclear equations.2Q&A pairs
- Nuclear fission and fusion: the splitting of large nuclei in a chain reaction, the joining of small nuclei in stars, and how each releases energy.2Q&A pairs
- The nuclear model of the atom: protons, neutrons and electrons, the size of the atom and nucleus, the relative masses and charges, and electron energy levels.2Q&A pairs
- Types of nuclear radiation: alpha, beta-minus, beta-plus, gamma and neutron radiation, their nature, and their penetrating and ionising powers.2Q&A pairs
- Uses and dangers of radiation: medical and industrial uses, the difference between irradiation and contamination, and the precautions that reduce the dangers.2Q&A pairs
Topic 4: Waves
- Measuring wave speed: the core practical for measuring the speed, frequency and wavelength of waves in a solid and a fluid, and methods for the speed of sound and water ripples.3Q&A pairs
- Reflection, refraction, transmission and absorption: what happens to waves at a boundary, why refraction changes the direction and speed of a wave, and the wavefront explanation.2Q&A pairs
- The wave speed equation: wave speed as frequency times wavelength, the distance-over-time form, and rearranging to find frequency or wavelength.2Q&A pairs
- Transverse and longitudinal waves: the difference in the direction of oscillation, examples of each, and the structure of longitudinal waves as compressions and rarefactions.2Q&A pairs
- Wave properties: amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period and wavefront, and the idea that waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter.2Q&A pairs