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
Planning
- 3 subtopics
- 9 things to know
- Components 01, 02 and 03
What Planning covers
Planning 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 choosing apparatus and techniques, Identifying and controlling variables and judging whether a method will work.
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.
- Choosing apparatus and techniquesRecall questions on matching an instrument's resolution and range to the measurement, preliminary trials, spanning the independent variable, and letting the physics and the intended graph guide the choice.Open →
- Identifying and controlling variablesRecall questions on independent, dependent, control and confounding variables, why only one variable is changed at a time, the variables to control in resistance, pendulum, spring, light intensity and gas pressure experiments, keeping a wire's temperature constant, showing a control variable stayed constant, and monitoring variables that cannot be controlled.Open →
- Judging whether a method will workRecall questions on whether a method's precision can test the aim, producing a measurable change, how many repeats to take, writing a repeatable method, repeatable against reproducible results, why repeats miss a systematic fault, timing many oscillations, deciding the graph first, checking against a known value, safety and time as limits, and avoiding an overloaded instrument.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Before an experiment begins, what should be planned, how can the method be shown trustworthy, and why does safety matter?
Key term
Planning to measure a trolley's acceleration on a ramp: how many readings, what apparatus, and why choose the apparatus before writing the method?
Key term
What makes a written method repeatable by someone else?
Key term
Define a control variable.
Key term
A wire has a diameter of roughly 0.4 mm. Explain why a micrometer is chosen instead of a millimetre rule.
Key term
A student investigates how the resistance of a wire depends on its length. Name two variables that must be controlled.
Key term
Why must the range of an instrument be checked before it is used?
Key term
An experiment measures how the period of a simple pendulum depends on its length. State two control variables.
Take Planning further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Control variable vs Controlled experiment
Control variable: a quantity that could affect the outcome and is therefore deliberately held constant throughout, so it cannot influence the result. Controlled experiment: An investigation designed so that just one chosen quantity is altered while every other quantity that could affect the result is kept the same.
Range vs Resolution
Range: the span between the smallest and the largest values an instrument is able to read. Resolution: The smallest change in a quantity that an instrument is able to show on its scale or display.
Precision needed vs Precision available
Precision needed: how finely the quantity must be measured before the expected effect can be told apart from experimental scatter. Precision available: How finely the chosen apparatus and technique are actually able to measure that quantity.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What makes the resolution of an instrument suitable for a particular measurement?
Model answer
The resolution must be fine enough for the smallest value being measured to be recorded to two or three significant figures, so that the percentage uncertainty stays small.
- 2
A wire has a diameter of roughly 0.4 mm. Explain why a micrometer is chosen instead of a millimetre rule.
Model answer
A micrometer resolves 0.01 mm, giving a percentage uncertainty of about 2.5%, whereas a rule read to the nearest 0.5 mm would give an uncertainty of over 100%.
- 3
Why must the range of an instrument be checked before it is used?
Model answer
If the quantity exceeds the range the reading is lost and the instrument may be damaged, and if the quantity is far below the range most of the resolution is wasted.
- 4
Why is an ammeter with a full-scale reading of 10 A a poor choice for a current of about 20 mA?
Model answer
The reading occupies only a tiny part of the scale, so the resolution of the instrument is comparable with the current itself and the percentage uncertainty is very large.
- 5
State what is meant by a preliminary trial.
Model answer
A short trial run carried out before the main experiment to check that the chosen apparatus, range and timings produce measurable results.
- 6
What can a preliminary trial tell a planner?
Model answer
It shows whether the dependent variable changes measurably over the chosen range, and whether the apparatus, timings and resolution are adequate before time is spent on a full set of readings.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Planning revision questions
- What does Planning cover in OCR A-Level Physics B?
- 3 subtopics: choosing apparatus and techniques, identifying and controlling variables and judging whether a method will work. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Planning organised?
- By the OCR H557 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Planning, 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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