Key term
OCR GCSE Physics A J249
Electricity
Topic overviewCharge, and producing static electricityTransfer of electrons, and electric fieldsCurrent as a rate of flow of chargeCharge, current and timeSeries and parallel circuits, and circuit symbolsCurrent, potential difference and resistanceResistors whose resistance changes, and investigating themLinear and non-linear circuit elements from graphsNet resistance in series and parallelCircuits for measurement, and electrical power
Energy
Topic overviewConservation of energy, and energy storesEnergy changes on heating, and calculating themEnergy of a moving body, a spring and a raised objectDissipation, and energy transfer in domestic devicesPower ratings, and calculating efficiencyReducing unwanted energy transfer, and the rate of cooling
Forces
Topic overviewMeasuring distance and time, and calculating speedConverting units, and ratesVectors and scalars in motionDistance-time and velocity-time graphsAverage speed, and the equations of uniform motionHow objects interact, and forces as vectorsNewton's first lawNewton's second lawForce and the time taken to change velocityWork done, and stored energyPower, and Newton's third lawStretching, bending and compressing; elastic and plasticForce and extension, linear and non-linearThe spring constant, and work done in stretchingGravitational fields, weight and free fallCalculations with weight and gravitational field strengthTurning forces and the moment of a forceLevers and gearsPressure in fluids, and the force on a surface
Global Challenges
Topic overviewTypical speeds and everyday accelerationsReaction time, stopping distance and the dangers of large decelerationsEstimating stopping distances and the forces in a collisionEnergy resources, and trends in their useThe national grid, and step-up and step-down transformersWhy the national grid is efficient, and power in a transformerMains electricity: a.c., d.c. and the domestic supplyLive, neutral and earth wires, and electrical dangerRed-shift and the Big BangThe formation of the Sun, and radiation from bodiesThe solar system
Magnetism and Magnetic Fields
Matter
Topic overviewHow the atomic model changed, and the structure of the atomThe size of atoms, and defining densityDensity of the states of matter, and density calculationsConservation of mass in changes of stateHeating a system, and specific heat capacityCalculations with specific heat capacity and latent heatGas molecules, temperature and pressureCompressing a gas, and changing its volumeAtmospheric pressure and why it varies with height
Radioactivity
Topic overviewProtons, neutrons and isotopesUnstable nuclei and the emissions they give outBalancing nuclear equationsElectron energy levels, and radiation from atomsHalf-life and the randomness of decayPenetration of alpha, beta and gammaContamination and irradiation, and half-life as a hazardUses of nuclear radiationNuclear fission and fusion
Waves in Matter
Topic overviewAmplitude, wavelength, frequency and periodThe wave equationTransverse and longitudinal wavesSound crossing a boundary; reflection, transmission and absorptionModelling waves with ripples and soundElectromagnetic waves as transverse, and energy transferFrequency and wavelength across the spectrumWhat our eyes detect, and light as an electromagnetic waveUses of electromagnetic wavesHazards of ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma raysRay diagrams for reflection and refractionHow colour arises
Radioactivity
Nuclear fission and fusion
- 3 things to know
- Paper 2
Overview
Nuclear fission, the neutron that starts it and what it releases, chain reactions and how control rods keep them steady, uranium and plutonium fuels, fusion in stars and the mass converted to energy, why fusion needs extreme conditions, and how fission and fusion differ.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Name a fuel whose nuclei undergo fission in a reactor.
Key term
How is the energy released by fission carried away from the split nucleus?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is nuclear fission?
Model answer
It is the splitting of a large unstable nucleus into two smaller nuclei.
- 2
What usually has to happen to an unstable nucleus before it will undergo fission?
Model answer
It must first absorb a neutron.
- 3
Apart from the two smaller nuclei, what else comes out of a fission event?
Model answer
Two or three neutrons are released, along with energy carried as gamma radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments.
- 4
What is a chain reaction?
Model answer
It is when neutrons released by one fission are absorbed by other nuclei and make them split in turn, so the process keeps itself going.
- 5
Name a fuel whose nuclei undergo fission in a reactor.
Model answer
Uranium-235 is used, and plutonium-239 can also be used.
- 6
How is the energy released by fission carried away from the split nucleus?
Model answer
Mostly as kinetic energy of the fast-moving fragments and neutrons, and partly as gamma radiation.
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