Key term
OCR A-Level Physics A H556
Practical Skills in the Written Papers
The Practical Endorsement
Topic overviewAnalogue and digital measuring instrumentsImproving accuracy with repeat timing, fiducial markers and plumb linesTiming, calipers and micrometersConstructing and testing circuitsSignal generators and oscilloscopesGenerating and measuring wavesData loggers, modelling software and ionising radiation
Physical Quantities and Units
Making Measurements and Analysing Data
Nature of Quantities
Motion
Forces in Action
Work, Energy and Power
Materials
Newton’s Laws of Motion and Momentum
Charge and Current
Energy, Power and Resistance
Electrical Circuits
Waves
Topic overviewProgressive waves and their propertiesThe wave equationReflection, refraction and diffractionWave graphs and intensityThe electromagnetic spectrumPolarisationRefraction and refractive indexCritical angle and total internal reflectionThe principle of superpositionInterference, coherence and path differenceTwo-source interference, Young's double-slit experiment and the diffraction gratingForming stationary wavesStationary waves on strings and in air columnsMeasuring the speed of soundNode spacing, amplitude and phase in stationary wavesHarmonics and the fundamental mode
Quantum Physics
Thermal Physics
Topic overviewThermal equilibrium and absolute temperatureThe kinetic model of solids, liquids and gasesBrownian motion and internal energySpecific heat capacityMeasuring specific heat capacitySpecific latent heatMeasuring specific latent heatMoles, the Avogadro constant and kinetic theoryGas laws, the ideal gas equation and r.m.s. speedMaxwell-Boltzmann distribution, Boltzmann constant and internal energy
Oscillations
Gravitational Fields
Astrophysics and Cosmology
Topic overviewThe solar system and the birth of a starThe death of a low-mass starSupernovae, neutron stars and black holesThe Hertzsprung-Russell diagramEnergy levels and emission spectraAbsorption spectra and spectral linesPhoton energy and the diffraction gratingWien's law and Stefan's lawAstronomical distances, parallax and the cosmological principleDoppler shift and Hubble's lawThe expanding universe and the Big BangEvidence for the Big Bang and dark energy
Capacitors
Topic overviewCapacitance and charging a capacitorCapacitors in seriesCapacitors in parallel and combined circuitsEnergy stored by a capacitorCharging and discharging through a resistorInvestigating capacitor dischargeThe time constantIterative modelling, exponential decay and the constant-ratio property
Electric Fields
Electromagnetism
Nuclear and Particle Physics
Topic overviewAlpha-particle scattering and the nuclear modelProton number, nucleon number and isotopesThe strong nuclear force and nuclear radiusParticles, antiparticles and hadronsLeptons and the quark modelQuark composition and chargesBeta decay in the quark modelRadioactive decay and the three radiationsNuclear decay equationsActivity, decay constant and half-lifeExponential decay and radioactive datingMass-energy equivalenceAnnihilation, mass defect and binding energyBinding energy per nucleon and induced fissionThe fission reactor and nuclear wasteNuclear fusion and balancing nuclear equations
Quantum Physics
Demonstrating the photoelectric effect
- 3 things to know
- Papers 2 and 3
Overview
Recall questions on what the photoelectric effect is, the gold-leaf electroscope and zinc plate demonstration, the one-to-one photon-electron interaction, and why wave theory cannot explain a threshold frequency.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
In a simple demonstration of the photoelectric effect, what is attached to a gold-leaf electroscope?
Key term
What is the photoelectric effect?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What evidence does the photoelectric effect provide about the nature of electromagnetic radiation?
Model answer
It provides evidence for the particulate nature of electromagnetic radiation (i.e., that light consists of photons/discrete packets of energy).
- 2
In a simple demonstration of the photoelectric effect, what is attached to a gold-leaf electroscope?
Model answer
A clean zinc plate.
- 3
Before shining light on the zinc plate in a photoelectric effect demonstration, how must the electroscope be charged and what is observed?
Model answer
The electroscope must be charged negatively, causing the gold leaf to deflect.
- 4
What type of electromagnetic radiation is shone onto the zinc plate in the gold-leaf electroscope demonstration of the photoelectric effect?
Model answer
Ultraviolet light.
- 5
What happens to the gold leaf when ultraviolet light shines on the negatively charged zinc plate, and why?
Model answer
The gold leaf falls because photoelectrons are emitted from the zinc surface, causing the negative charge to be lost.
- 6
Describe the nature of the interaction between photons and electrons in the photoelectric effect.
Model answer
There is a one-to-one interaction between a single photon and a single surface electron.
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