Key term
OCR A-Level Physics B H557
Planning
Implementing
Analysis
Evaluation
Practical Skills
Use of Apparatus and Techniques
Fundamental Data Analysis
Imaging and Signalling
Topic overviewReal images and the curvature of wave-frontsLens power and focal lengthThe thin lens equation and the Cartesian conventionLinear magnificationMeasuring the power and focal length of a converging lensImages as arrays of numbersBits, bytes and the information in an imageEnhancing a digital imageWave-forms, frequency and wave speedSampling and digitising an analogue signalNoise, resolution and digital transmissionPolarisation of electromagnetic waves
Sensing
Topic overviewCurrent and the flow of chargePotential difference, e.m.f. and energy transferResistance, conductance and Ohm's lawSeries and parallel combinationsPower and energy in electric circuitsInternal resistance and e.m.f.Kirchhoff's laws and conservation in circuitsResistivity and conductivityCharge carrier number density in metals, semiconductors and insulatorsCurrent-potential difference characteristics and circuit componentsThe potential dividerSensing circuits and calibration
Mechanical Properties of Materials
Topic overviewElastic and plastic deformation and fractureHooke's law and force-extension graphsElastic strain energyStress, strain and the Young modulusMeasuring the Young modulus and fracture stress of a metalDescribing and comparing materialsMetals, ceramics and polymersDirect evidence for the size and spacing of particles
Waves and Quantum Behaviour
Topic overviewWaves, phase and superpositionStanding waves on stringsStanding waves in air columns and the speed of soundRefraction, refractive index and Snell's lawTwo-slit interferenceDiffraction at a narrow apertureThe diffraction gratingMeasuring the wavelength of lightPhotons and the quantum E = hfEvidence that photons exchange energy in quantaQuantum behaviour: phasors and probability of arrivalElectron diffraction and the de Broglie wavelength
Space, Time and Motion
Topic overviewScalars, vectors and their representationResolving and adding vectorsDescribing motion: displacement, velocity and accelerationMotion graphsThe kinematic equations for constant accelerationProjectiles and motion in two dimensionsMeasuring motion in the laboratoryDetermining the acceleration of free fallNewton's laws of motionTerminal velocity and resistive forcesMomentum and impulseConservation of momentum and collisionsWork, energy and its conservationPower and modelling motion in small time steps
Creating Models
Topic overviewCapacitance and charge storageEnergy stored on a capacitorCapacitor discharge and the exponential modelThe time constant of an RC circuitCharging a capacitorInvestigating capacitor charge and dischargeRadioactive decay as a random processActivity, decay constant and half-lifeDetermining the half-life of an isotopeIterative numerical models of exponential changeExponential curves on linear and logarithmic scalesSimple harmonic motion: the defining relationshipSolutions and graphs of simple harmonic motionModelling oscillations step by stepEnergy in simple harmonic motionPeriod of a mass–spring system and a simple pendulumFree and forced vibrations, damping and resonance
Out Into Space
Topic overviewGravitational and kinetic energy changesMotion in a uniform gravitational fieldGravitational force and the radial fieldGravitational field strengthGravitational potential energy in a radial fieldGravitational potential and equipotentialsGraphs and diagrams of gravitational fieldsAngular velocity and motion in a horizontal circleCircular gravitational orbits
Our Place in the Universe
Matter: Very Simple
Topic overviewEnergy transfer and specific thermal capacityFinding specific thermal capacity by an electrical methodIdeal gases and the gas lawsInvestigating the gas laws and absolute zeroMoles, the Avogadro constant and the Boltzmann constantThe equation of state for an ideal gasImpulse and force–time graphsThe kinetic theory of ideal gasesTemperature, average energy per particle and internal energyRandom walk of molecules in a gas
Matter: Hot or Cold
Electromagnetism
Topic overviewMagnetic flux, B-fields and flux linkageElectromagnetic induction: Faraday's and Lenz's lawsGraphs of current, flux and induced e.m.f.The dynamoThe transformerEddy currents and real transformersForces on current-carrying conductorsMagnetic circuits, permeance and machine designInvestigating induction, flux density and transformers
Charge and Field
Topic overviewThe uniform electric fieldRadial fields and the inverse square lawElectric potential and potential energyField and potential graphsField lines and equipotential surfacesThe electronvolt and accelerating chargesMillikan's experiment and the discreteness of chargeMoving charges in magnetic fieldsComparing electric and gravitational fields
Probing Deep Into Matter
Topic overviewParticle accelerators and high-energy beamsScattering and the nuclear atomPaths of scattered particles and closest approachDiscrete energy levels in atomsElectron standing waves and the confined electronQuarks, hadrons and leptonsConservation laws and nuclear equationsCharged particles in detectors and magnetic fieldsRelativistic energy and the relativistic factor
Ionising Radiation and Risk
Topic overviewThe nature of ionising radiationsEffects on living tissue and radiation safetyAbsorbed dose, effective dose and riskBinding energy and nuclear stabilityThe Nuclear Valley and modes of decayFission, fusion and nuclear powerActivity, half-life and the decay constantInvestigating absorption and half-life
Implementing
- 3 subtopics
- 9 things to know
- Components 01, 02 and 03
What Implementing covers
Implementing is examined in all three written papers — the specification states that Components 01, 02 and 03 each assess content from across all the teaching modules, so nothing is confined to one paper. It covers using apparatus and techniques correctly, units for measurements and recording and presenting observations.
Where it is assessed
Components 01, 02 and 03
Every module can be assessed on any of the three papers.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 3 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Using apparatus and techniques correctlyRecall questions on avoiding parallax, where meters go in a circuit and why their resistances differ, clamping and levelling apparatus, circuit care while reading, and zeroing a balance.Open →
- Units for measurementsRecall questions on the SI base units, expressing the newton, joule, volt and coulomb in base units, the units of the Young modulus and resistivity, converting cm³, g cm⁻³, cm², GHz and nm, checking v² = u² + 2as for consistent units, units in table headings, negative indices, and using units to catch a wrong equation.Open →
- Recording and presenting observationsRecall questions on setting out results tables and their headings, recording raw readings to the right precision, qualitative observations worth noting, bar charts versus line graphs, and the three parts of a properly quoted final result.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Why should a circuit be switched on only while each reading is taken, why is a metre rule reading often started from the 100 mm mark, and how is a mirror-scale meter read?
Key term
Choose between a bar chart and a line graph, state what a final result must include, and justify the order of table rows.
Key term
Where in a circuit is an ammeter connected, and where is a voltmeter?
Key term
Express the newton in SI base units.
Process
Why should processed values be placed in their own columns rather than replacing the raw data?
Key term
Why is apparatus clamped to a stand rather than held by hand while readings are taken?
Key term
Express the joule in SI base units.
Key term
When is a bar chart the correct way to present results, and when is a line graph?
Take Implementing further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Ammeter in series vs Voltmeter in parallel
Ammeter in series: the circuit is broken at that point so the whole current in the component passes through the instrument itself. Voltmeter in parallel: The instrument is joined across the component, one lead at each end, so it experiences the same potential difference.
Raw data vs Processed data
Raw data: a reading taken straight from an instrument and written down exactly as its scale or display gave it. Processed data: A value worked out by calculation from the readings, which belongs in a column of its own so the originals survive.
m/s with a division sign vs m s⁻¹ with negative indices
m/s with a division sign: the solidus form, read the same way but ambiguous once several units are combined, since it does not show which are being divided by which. m s⁻¹ with negative indices: The index form, which states the power of each unit explicitly and stays unambiguous for a compound unit such as kilogram per metre per second squared.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is parallax error and how is it avoided when reading a scale?
Model answer
It is the error caused by viewing a scale from an angle, and it is avoided by placing the eye directly in line with the mark being read, using a mirror scale or a set square where one is available.
- 2
Where in a circuit is an ammeter connected, and where is a voltmeter?
Model answer
The ammeter is connected in series with the component so the same current passes through it, and the voltmeter is connected in parallel across the component.
- 3
Why should a voltmeter have a very high resistance?
Model answer
So that it draws almost no current from the circuit and therefore does not change the potential difference it is measuring.
- 4
Why should an ammeter have a very low resistance?
Model answer
So that it adds almost no resistance to the circuit and therefore does not reduce the current it is measuring.
- 5
Why is apparatus clamped to a stand rather than held by hand while readings are taken?
Model answer
A hand cannot hold a position steady, so the quantity being measured drifts while the reading is taken and the arrangement cannot be reproduced for the next reading.
- 6
What must be done before a thermometer reading is taken?
Model answer
The bulb must be fully immersed in the substance and left long enough for the thermometer to reach the same temperature as it.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Implementing revision questions
- What does Implementing cover in OCR A-Level Physics B?
- 3 subtopics: using apparatus and techniques correctly, units for measurements and recording and presenting observations. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Implementing organised?
- By the OCR H557 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Implementing, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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