Describe how timing an echo can be used to find the speed of sound in air.

Measure the distance to a large wall, make a sharp sound and time the echo, then divide twice that distance by the time.

Give one way of reducing the timing error when the speed of sound is measured by timing echoes.

Time a run of several echoes and divide by how many there were, or stand much further from the wall.

Describe how the speed of ripples on water can be found using the wave equation.

Count the ripples passing a mark in a measured time to get the frequency, measure the wavelength, then multiply the two.

Describe how the speed of ripples on water can be found by timing them directly.

Time a single ripple as it crosses a measured distance in the tank, then divide that distance by the time taken.

Edexcel GCSE Combined Science Physics 1SC0

Key Concepts of Physics

Topic overview SI units in physics Multiples and sub-multiples of units Converting units, significant figures and standard form

Motion and Forces

Topic overview Scalar and vector quantities Examples of vectors and scalars, and velocity Speed, distance, time and distance-time graphs Acceleration and the equation v squared minus u squared Velocity-time graphs and free fall Measuring speed in the laboratory, and typical everyday speeds Newton's first law, and investigating force, mass and acceleration Newton's second and third laws Weight, mass and gravitational field strength Reaction time, stopping distance and large decelerations Factors affecting stopping distance and reaction time

Conservation of Energy

Topic overview Gravitational potential and kinetic energy Energy transfer diagrams and conservation of energy Energy stores and closed systems Dissipation and wasteful energy transfer Reducing unwanted energy transfer Calculating efficiency Energy resources and trends in their use

Waves

Topic overview What waves transfer, and the evidence for it Frequency, wavelength, amplitude and period Longitudinal and transverse waves The wave equation Measuring wave speed, and what happens at a boundary Measuring waves in ripple tanks, strings and solids

Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Topic overview Properties of electromagnetic waves Investigating refraction in glass blocks The groups of the electromagnetic spectrum The continuous spectrum, and what our eyes can detect How radiation is generated, and why danger rises with frequency Harmful effects of excessive exposure to radiation Uses of electromagnetic radiation

Radioactivity

Topic overview The atom and the size of atoms Isotopes, atomic number and mass number Relative masses and charges of subatomic particles Electron orbits and energy levels Forming ions, and how the atomic model changed Types of ionising radiation Background radiation and detecting radioactivity Alpha, beta and gamma, and their penetrating power Beta-minus and beta-plus decay Effects of decay on atomic number and mass number Balancing nuclear equations Activity and the becquerel Half-life and the randomness of decay Half-life calculations The dangers of ionising radiation Safety precautions, contamination and irradiation

Energy – Forces Doing Work

Topic overview Energy stores and energy transfer diagrams Changing a system's energy, and measuring work done Work done and the energy changes it causes Gravitational potential and kinetic energy calculations Dissipation and wasted energy Power as the rate of energy transfer The watt, and calculating efficiency

Forces and Their Effects

Topic overview Contact and non-contact forces Vectors and scalars, and reducing friction

Electricity and Circuits

Magnetism and the Motor Effect

Topic overview Magnetic poles, permanent and induced magnets Uses of magnetic materials The magnetic field around a bar magnet Plotting compasses and the Earth's magnetic field The magnetic effect of an electric current Solenoids and electromagnets

Electromagnetic Induction

Topic overview The national grid, and step-up and step-down transformers Transformer power calculations

Particle Model

Topic overview Kinetic theory and differences in density Calculating density, and investigating it Changes of state and internal energy Specific heat capacity Specific latent heat and thermal insulation Investigating the specific heat capacity of water Gas pressure and the motion of particles Absolute zero and the kelvin scale

Forces and Matter

Topic overview Elastic and inelastic distortion Spring constant, and linear and non-linear behaviour Work done in stretching a spring

Waves

Measuring wave speed, and what happens at a boundary

3 things to know
Paper 5

Overview

Finding the speed of sound by echoes or two microphones, ripple speeds in a tank, the normal and how light bends entering and leaving a glass block, water waves crossing into shallow water, and a model of a wave changing direction.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Describe methods for measuring the speed of sound in air and the speed of ripples on water.

Key term

Explain why twice the distance to the wall is used when finding the speed of sound by timing an echo.

Key term

Describe how two microphones and an oscilloscope can be used to measure the speed of sound in air.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Describe how timing an echo can be used to find the speed of sound in air.
Model answer
Measure the distance to a large wall, make a sharp sound and time the echo, then divide twice that distance by the time.
2
Explain why twice the distance to the wall is used when finding the speed of sound by timing an echo.
Model answer
The sound has to travel to the wall and back again before the echo is heard.
3
Describe how two microphones and an oscilloscope can be used to measure the speed of sound in air.
Model answer
Place the microphones a measured distance apart, make a sound, and divide that distance by the time delay between the two traces.
4
Give one way of reducing the timing error when the speed of sound is measured by timing echoes.
Model answer
Time a run of several echoes and divide by how many there were, or stand much further from the wall.
5
Describe how the speed of ripples on water can be found using the wave equation.
Model answer
Count the ripples passing a mark in a measured time to get the frequency, measure the wavelength, then multiply the two.
6
Describe how the speed of ripples on water can be found by timing them directly.
Model answer
Time a single ripple as it crosses a measured distance in the tank, then divide that distance by the time taken.

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Key Concepts of Physics

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Conservation of Energy

Waves

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