AQA GCSE Physics · Topic 4.1
Practice questions covering energy from this specification. Every question below is the real AQA question as it is printed on the paper, with its mark scheme.
Tier
6 questions on Energy, each with its mark scheme and worked method. Reveal the answer when you have had a go.
[3 marks]
Total for this question: 3
[2 marks]
Total for this question: 2
[2 marks]
Total for this question: 2
[4 marks]
Total for this question: 4
[3 marks]
Total for this question: 3
[3 marks]
Total for this question: 3
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Printable question pack — 4.1 EnergyAll 73 questions across 7 specification points — 67 more than the 6 above — with the full mark scheme. Guest accessible · browser print.78 questions shown as printed, 6 reference-only · newest series first
Question and mark-scheme extracts © AQA. Reproduced for educational use; the original paper is linked on every question. Contact hello@oscarsongtutoring.co.uk for removal.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1F · Q1 · 2 marks
2 marks
Examiner report
[01.2] Just over half of the students read the correct value of ‘6000 kg’ from the graph. The most common incorrect answer was 38 000 kg.
Manufacturing a petrol car and driving it cause carbon dioxide to be emitted into the atmosphere.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1F · Q2 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[02.3] Almost 90 % of the students scored 2 marks on this SHC calculation. Students who scored only the substitution mark usually did not put the denominator in brackets when entering the calculation in their calculator.
A student investigated the thermal conductivity of equal-sized rods made from copper, iron, nickel and steel. A drawing pin was attached to each rod with wax and the joined rods were heated centrally. Times for each pin to fall were: copper 10 s; iron 22 s; nickel 18 s; steel 24 s.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1F · Q5 · 9 marks
9 marks
Examiner report
[05.3] Most of the students scored 2 marks on this grade 1-3 calculation.
An electric kettle is connected to the mains supply by a three-core cable and plug and contains a heating element.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1F · Q6 · 11 marks
11 marks
Examiner report
[06.4] About 65 % of the students understood that the elastic potential energy of the spring decreased.
A spring-mounted toy is pulled down and released. It moves upward from position A, is still moving upward at B, and reaches maximum height at C.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1F · Q7 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[07.2] A grade 1-3 calculation of energy transferred with 95 % of the students scoring 2 marks.
A student used a motor to lift a mass through 1.0 m and investigated how motor efficiency varies with speed.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1F · Q8 · 6 marks
6 marks
Examiner report
[08.2] Almost all of the students scored this mark for writing down the equation which links density, mass and volume. © 2025 AQA
Tides and wind are two renewable energy resources. A new design of tidal turbine generates electricity using the tides.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1F · Q9 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[09.1] Electrical devices near water were insufficient, as was wires in the water. A low p.d. power supply also is not a hazard, unless water was spilled on it, in which case it would score for the ‘spilled water’ which is a hazard by itself in a typical Science lab. Risks by themselves like electrocution, electric shock or burns did not score but were ignored if given with an appropriate hazard. Nearly 50 % of the students scored this mark.
A student determined the specific heat capacity of water using a beaker, water, heater, thermometer, joulemeter and balance.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1H · Q1 · 6 marks
6 marks
Examiner report
[01.5] A good range of environmental impacts were described by many students. To score within level 2, students needed to make at least one comparative statement about a factor for both turbines. The simplest way of doing this was to compare relative size. An answer; ‘The wind turbine is larger, but harms birds. The tidal turbine harms fish but does not cause visual pollution’ would score 4 marks. Nearly all of the students scored some marks with nearly 50% scoring 3 or 4 marks.
Tides and wind are two renewable energy resources. A new design of tidal turbine generates electricity using the tides.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1H · Q2 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[02.3] Almost all of the students scored this mark for identifying that the beaker of water needed insulation and/or a lid. Any named insulation was allowed for this question. Aluminium / tin foil was also allowed as it would reduce energy transfer by infrared radiation. Place the beaker on a ‘heatproof’ mat was also creditworthy as it would decrease energy transfer through the base of the beaker by conduction.
A student determined the specific heat capacity of water. The apparatus included water in a beaker, a heater, a thermometer, a joulemeter and a balance. The joulemeter measures energy transfer.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1H · Q4 · 6 marks
6 marks
Examiner report
[04.5] Just over 70 % of the students chose nuclear and solar as the correct energy resources. The most common incorrect choice was biofuel.
Manufacturing a car produces carbon dioxide. Some energy resources emit carbon dioxide when used to generate electricity.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1H · Q5 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[05.4] Just over 30 % of the students scored the mark for the consequence of an uncontrolled chain reaction. ‘Explosion’ unqualified was insufficient to score the mark.
Scientists used lasers to start a nuclear fusion reaction by heating a small amount of an isotope of hydrogen.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1H · Q6 · 7 marks
7 marks
Examiner report
[06.3] Students found this question difficult with very few scoring marks because of incorrect assumptions about how potential difference, current and resistance are affected by series and parallel circuits. Marking point 2 was dependent on marking point 1 so that students who stated that the current was increased without a valid reason would not score. The third mark was demanding in requiring an understanding of how P = IV related to the circuit being considered. Just over 80% of the students scored no marks.
A battery-powered hand warmer contains a heating pad. The battery transfers energy to increase the temperature of the heating pad.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1H · Q9 · 12 marks
12 marks
Examiner report
[09.1] Many of the students did not convert the 70 cm into metres and some students converted the energy unnecessarily. Not converting the height stopped marking point 1 from scoring and converting the energy unnecessarily stopped 1 marking point from being scored too. Some students, despite setting out their calculations correctly, did not use brackets around the denominator and arrived at an answer of 0.0245 or 2.45. Nearly 80 % of the students scored full marks on this question.
A garden water feature has an electric motor that pumps water from a bottom container to a top container. The vertical height difference shown is 70 cm.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 1H · Q10 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[10.2] Students who stated the names of energy stores didn’t score any marks unless they stated how the amount of energy changed or stated that kinetic energy was transferred to gravitational potential energy, for example. Mention of elastic potential energy from the spring in Q10.1 was ignored for this question. Ek and KE were acceptable abbreviations for kinetic energy; Ep and GPE were acceptable abbreviations for gravitational potential energy. Just over 60 % of the students scored 3 marks, while just over 10% scored 2 marks and just fewer than 10 % scored 1 mark.
A spring-powered device accelerates a toy car at the start of a race track.
AQA 8463 · June 2025 · Paper 2H · Q6 · 13 marks
13 marks
Examiner report
[6.3] Just over 40 % of the students gained full marks for this multi-step calculation. Those who did mostly chose to use the equations of motion method before substituting their value of acceleration into F=ma. Very few students approached the problem from the kinetic energy method. The method using the average velocity was commonly used. However, very few students realised the necessity to use average velocity in their solution and were as a result a factor of two out in their final answer. This method also highlights that many students do not know which equations relate to constant velocity, and which relate to changing velocity. © 2025 AQA
Cars X and Y are identical except that X has greater mass.
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1F · Q3 · 11 marks
11 marks
Examiner report
[03.5] 56% of students scored all 3 marks for this standard demand calculation question. For 3 mark calculations, these general principles apply: The 1st mark is for the substitution. The 2nd mark is for the rearrangement. The 3rd mark is for the answer. In straightforward calculations, no working needs to be shown, but students should be encouraged to do so just in case the final answer is incorrect. If the answer is correct, 3 marks can score.
A person is strapped into a pod attached to two stretched bungee cords. The cords behave like springs.
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1F · Q5 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[05.1] 48% of students understood that the volume of air in the syringe decreased.
A student compressed a fixed mass of air in a sealed syringe. The air was then compressed quickly enough to ignite cotton wool.
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1F · Q7 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[07.1] 42% of students answered this question correctly, identifying the colour of the insulation around the live wire.
A mains appliance uses a three-core cable and a plug containing a fuse wire that melts if the current is too large.
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1F · Q9 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[09.3] Many students failed to realise that the calculations needed were to show the amount of stored energy wasted or the amount of stored energy usefully transferred. Simple subtractions were insufficient to score the calculation marks. To score 4 marks, two comparisons were needed in addition to a comparative calculation. Although the comparative calculation performed by a minority of students involved dividing 33 600 kJ by 490 kJ and getting an answer of 68.6, which is the number of times more energy stored by method A compared to B. This single calculation was enough to score 4 marks with the two simple comparisons. The installation comparison only scored if value was added to the information eg Method A is easier to install or is likely to cost less money. 21% of students scored 3 or 4 marks, while 65% of students scored 1 or 2 marks.
Surplus wind-turbine energy may be stored by A: heating 100 kg of water by 80 °C (33 600 kJ stored, 40% wasted, install anywhere), or B: pumping 100 kg of water uphill by 500 m (490 kJ stored, 25% wasted, requires high mountains).
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1F · Q10 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[10.4] 13% of students scored a mark. ‘Wear protective clothing’ or ‘hazmat suits’ were common incorrect answers. Any idea of burying the radioactive waste was credited, so ‘bury it in a field’ was ok, as was ‘bury it in landfill’, which from a student’s perspective is equivalent to burying it underground. ‘Keeping it away from people’ was insufficient.
Nuclear fission is used in nuclear power stations.
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1H · Q1 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[01.1] 98% of students scored this mark, identifying the energy store which increases when water is heated.
Surplus wind-turbine energy may be stored by A: heating 100 kg of water by 80 °C (33 600 kJ stored, 40% wasted, install anywhere), or B: pumping 100 kg of water uphill by 500 m (490 kJ stored, 25% wasted, requires high mountains).
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1H · Q2 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[02.1] A sentence completion question about nuclear fission which discriminated well between students. 72 % of students scored 3 marks, 21% scored 2 marks and 5% scored 1 mark.
Nuclear fission is used in nuclear power stations.
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1H · Q6 · 9 marks
9 marks
Examiner report
[06.3] 12% of students scored 2 marks, while 46% of students scored 1 mark, in this question for identifying the ways in which energy was dissipated.
A 240 kg pod is attached to two identical stretched bungee cords. Each cord has extension 8.0 m and spring constant 735 N/m; g = 9.8 N/kg.
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1H · Q8 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[08.3] A grade 6-7 calculation question which discriminated well between students. Many students failed to convert the specific heat capacity so scored 3 marks instead of 4. Some students tried to convert the energy into kJ but very few did this successfully, usually ending with a ‘power of 10’ error. 22% of students scored 3 marks while 62% of students scored 4 marks.
A student compressed a fixed mass of air in a sealed syringe; a fire piston compresses air quickly enough to ignite cotton wool.
AQA 8463 · June 2024 · Paper 1H · Q10 · 11 marks
11 marks
Examiner report
[10.4] A grade 6-7 calculation of mass. 61% of students scored 4 marks. 31% of students scored 3 marks for either incorrectly converting, or not converting, the unit.
A live wire in a three-core cable is connected to a fuse. The fuse wire melts when the current becomes too large.
AQA 8463 · June 2023 · Paper 1H · Q1 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[01.4] 84% of students answered correctly. In this exam series, students were provided with all the equations on an Equations Sheet. Students who quoted the version of the efficiency equation with power input and power output scored zero.
This question is about the National Grid, which connects power stations to consumers.
AQA 8463 · June 2023 · Paper 1H · Q2 · 3 marks
3 marks
Examiner report
[02.3] 72% of students scored 2 marks, while 27 % of students scored 1 mark for identifying the effect of adding insulation.
A student used an electric immersion heater, a power supply and a thermometer to determine the specific heat capacity of iron. The iron block the student used has two holes, one for the heater and one for the thermometer.
AQA 8463 · June 2023 · Paper 1H · Q4 · 9 marks
9 marks
Examiner report
[04.2] In this exam series students were provided with all the equations on an Equations Sheet. 67% of students scored 5 marks, while 18 % of students scored 4 marks, for either not converting or incorrectly converting the power, or failing to put their answer in standard form. The standard form mark scored independently as long as the student had given a calculated value using data from the question in standard form.
A remote village in the UK uses a hydroelectric generator to provide electricity.
AQA 8463 · June 2023 · Paper 1H · Q6 · 13 marks
13 marks
Examiner report
[06.4] Only 2 % of students scored 2 marks and 11 % of students scored 1 mark. This question was targeted at grade 8-9 students so required a precisely worded answer. Most students thought that the student believed that power and p.d. were directly proportional but had done the calculation incorrectly, so the power should be 2.0 W not 4.0 W. Statements like ‘if power was proportional to p.d. then the power should be 2 W not 4 W’ were commonly seen and scored zero.
A student investigated how the current in a filament lamp varies with the potential difference across the filament lamp, for both positive and negative values of potential difference.
AQA 8463 · June 2023 · Paper 1H · Q7 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[07.1] 64% of students scored the mark. ‘Over extend was insufficient’, but ‘exceed elastic limit’ was allowed as it is correct but not on the specification.
A baby bouncer is a harness attached to a spring that hangs from a door frame. The baby in the bouncer moves between two positions: position A, where the baby is at its highest point, and position B, where the baby is at its lowest point and the spring is stretched.
AQA 8463 · June 2023 · Paper 2H · Q5 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[05.3] 96% of students scored both mars for calculating the force.
A bumper car collides with a barrier as a closed system. It has a flexible bumper.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1F · Q1 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[01.3] Students were required to multiply their answer to question 01.2 by 40. However, many students did not answer this correctly. Many students tried to calculate the elastic potential energy using the equation, scoring zero marks. About 60% of students answered this question correctly.
A boy bounces on a trampoline. As he lands, each of the trampoline's 40 identical springs extends by 0.015 m. Each spring has spring constant 120 000 N/m.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1F · Q2 · 7 marks
7 marks
Examiner report
[02.5] 90% of students completed this calculation correctly, scoring 2 marks. The most common mistake was to not square the speed. This would then just score a mark for the substitution, if correct.
A girl and a boy run up stairs of height 1.7 m. The gravitational field strength is 9.8 N/kg.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1F · Q5 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[05.1] 65% of students chose the correct measuring instrument.
A student determines the specific latent heat of vaporisation of water using an immersion heater and a beaker.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1F · Q7 · 11 marks
11 marks
Examiner report
[07.1] Approximately 50% of students scored both marks. Many students stated nuclear was renewable. Many students stated biofuel was non-renewable. Students who guessed often scored zero as 2 correct ticks were not enough to score a mark.
Electricity is transmitted from power stations to consumers through the National Grid. A large battery supplies a current of 130 000 A.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1F · Q8 · 2 marks
2 marks
Examiner report
[8.5] Some students seemed to think that the conclusion they were asked for related to the anomaly, rather than all the data on the graph, so suggested improvements rather than conclusions. Many students stated the converse conclusion for the second conclusion scoring only 1 mark. 20% of students scored 2 marks, while about 45% of students scored 1 mark. Please note there is no reference to 08.6 or 08.7
A student compares the cooling of hot water using thick and thin insulation.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1F · Q9 · 9 marks
9 marks
Examiner report
[09.1] Approximately 10% of students scored 2 marks. The unit conversion caused a problem for many students and powers of 10 errors were frequently seen. A correct calculation using an incorrectly or not converted value for power would score 1 mark.
An offshore wind farm has mean power output 696 MW, enough for 580 000 homes.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1F · Q11 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[11.1] About 90% of students answered this question correctly as they had all the Physics equations on the Equations Sheet for the 2022 series.
Pavement tiles generate electricity as people walk on them. One tile provides 4.4 W at a potential difference of 40 V. An LED supplied by the tile has total input power 4.0 W and efficiency 0.85.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1H · Q1 · 9 marks
9 marks
Examiner report
[01.1] About 55% of students scored 2 marks. The unit conversion caused a problem for many students and powers of 10 errors were frequently seen. A correct calculation using an incorrectly or not converted value for power would score 1 mark.
An offshore wind farm has mean power output 696 MW, enough for 580 000 homes.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1H · Q3 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[03.3] Over 99% of students answered this question correctly as they had all the Physics equations on the Equations Sheet for the 2022 series.
Pavement tiles generate electricity as people walk on them. One tile provides 4.4 W at a potential difference of 40 V. An LED supplied by the tile has total input power 4.0 W and efficiency 0.85.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1H · Q4 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[04.1] A large number of students found it difficult to identify the independent and dependent variables in the investigation that was described. Control variables appeared often in students’ answers. ‘Temperature change’ seemed to be the most common incorrect answer for the dependent variable. About 50% of students scored 2 marks and approximately 35% of students scored 1 mark.
A student wraps the same thickness of different insulating materials around a can, adds a fixed volume of boiling water, and measures the time for a fixed temperature decrease. For one material, 10.5 kJ is transferred as the water cools from 85.0 °C to 65.0 °C; water has specific heat capacity 4200 J/kg °C. A second comparison gives 450 s for material X and 745 s for material Y for the same 20 °C drop.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1H · Q9 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[09.3] About 75% of students identified the correct conclusion.
A 60.0 kg girl runs up stairs of vertical height 175 cm in 1.40 s. The gravitational field strength is 9.8 N/kg.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 1H · Q10 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[10.1] About 45% of students scored 6 marks for this extended calculation, but in the 2022 series students were provided with an Equations Sheet with all the equations. Therefore, students were supported when it came to attempting this question. With an alternative approach using equations from paper 2, students’ answers were marked on whichever approach brought them closest to the correct final answer. An answer of 6 m/s with no supporting working did not score full marks as students could achieve this answer by multiplying the spring constant and the extension together, which would give them the maximum force acting on the toy aeroplane.
A 0.020 kg toy aeroplane is launched by a spring of spring constant 50 N/m extended by 0.12 m.
AQA 8463 · June 2022 · Paper 2H · Q4 · 6 marks
6 marks
Examiner report
[04.3] About 80% of the students scored this mark.
A hailstone falls from a cloud and eventually reaches terminal velocity.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1F · Q2 · 10 marks
10 marks
Electricity is transmitted through the National Grid at high potential difference. A power station produces 500 000 000 J each second at 25 000 V. A house has a 230 V supply and appliance currents: dishwasher 6.50 A, DVD player 0.10 A, lamp 0.40 A and TV 0.20 A.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1F · Q6 · 10 marks
10 marks
Fixed solar cells charge a battery. Their mean current is 3.5 A. At one time total input power is 7500 W and efficiency is 0.16.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1F · Q7 · 7 marks
7 marks
A diver falls toward water and reaches 12 m/s with kinetic energy 5040 J.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1F · Q9 · 10 marks
10 marks
An electric-car battery stores 162 000 000 J. A charging station supplies 7200 W. The motor circuit operates at 480 V and 15 A. Alternative chargers A and B use 13 A and 26 A respectively at the same 230 V.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1F · Q10 · 9 marks
9 marks
Fusion power from deuterium needs a 4.0 g sample heated by 50 000 000 °C. Deuterium has specific heat capacity 5200 J/kg °C.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1H · Q1 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
Very few students answered 01.1 correctly, but students were much more successful with equation recall and the subsequent calculations that followed, with around 80% answering 01.2 and 01.3 correctly and over 90% answering 01.4 and 01.5 correctly.
An electric-car battery stores 162 000 000 J. A charging station supplies 7200 W. The motor circuit operates at 480 V and 15 A. Alternative chargers A and B use 13 A and 26 A respectively at the same 230 V.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1H · Q2 · 9 marks
9 marks
Examiner report
Question 02.1 was not very well answered, around half the students scored the first marking point, but very few scored the second. The calculation was well answered, the most common mistake was not converting the mass from g to kg. Questions 02.3 and 02.4 were generally well answered due to the numerous options allowed in the mark scheme.
Fusion power from deuterium needs a 4.0 g sample heated by 50 000 000 °C. Deuterium has specific heat capacity 5200 J/kg °C.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1H · Q5 · 11 marks
11 marks
Examiner report
Calculations in question 05 were well answered, but students often failed to convert units, converted units incorrectly or made ‘power of ten’ errors, so did not gain full marks. Students found 05.4 difficult with almost no students scoring 2 marks and only 25% of students scoring 1 mark.
In one year the National Grid transfers 1.25 × 10¹⁸ J over 3.16 × 10⁷ s. Solar cells transfer 27 000 C to a battery in 24 h. At one time their total input is 7.8 kW and efficiency 0.15.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 1H · Q8 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
This question was well attempted, with the multistep calculation in 08.2 discriminating well between students. Many students calculated the change in gravitational potential energy but couldn’t take the next step in the calculation, so scored 2 marks only.
A 0.040 kg toy car is released from rest 0.90 m above point B on a looped track. Take g = 9.8 N/kg. Position C has 0.20 J more gravitational potential energy than B.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 2F · Q8 · 14 marks
14 marks
A 1600 kg car experiences a mean braking force of 7200 N. In its hydraulic brake, a 60 N force acts on a piston while the fluid pressure is 120 000 Pa.
AQA 8463 · November 2021 · Paper 2H · Q1 · 14 marks
14 marks
Examiner report
Part 01.1 asked students to explain factors and not simply list them. However, this is what many of the students did. Another common error was to explain factors affecting thinking distance rather than as asked, braking distance. The required equations were well known and the calculation required to answer 01.3 was often given correctly. Reading values from a graph proved difficult with only about half of the students answering 01.4 correctly.Less than 50% of the students scored full marks in part 01.6. Generally only those students completing the calculation correctly scored the unit mark. However many of the students did score the mark for correctly giving a calculated incorrect numerical answer in standard form.
A 1600 kg car experiences a mean braking force of 7200 N. In its hydraulic brake, a 60 N force acts on a piston while the fluid pressure is 120 000 Pa.
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1F · Q1 · 10 marks
10 marks
The National Grid connects power stations to consumers. Graphs compare UK gas-fired generation from 2014 to 2018 and the output of offshore and onshore wind farms over 24 hours. Figure 3 plots power (MW) from 12:00 to 12:00. Offshore solid-line samples are approximately (12:00,43.5), (16:00,42), (20:00,40), (00:00,38), (04:00,34), (08:00,38), (12:00,38.5). Onshore dashed-line samples are approximately (12:00,38.5), (16:00,36.5), (20:00,34), (00:00,27), (04:00,22), (06:00,21), (08:00,26), (10:00,32), (12:00,34.5). The points on each series are joined by the smooth irregular line shown.
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1F · Q2 · 7 marks
7 marks
Riders on an AquaShute sit on a sled and move down a 16.0 m slide with a layer of water between sled and slide.
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1F · Q7 · 18 marks
18 marks
A student heats 0.50 kg of water in an electric kettle. A thermistor switches the kettle off at 100 °C; the heating-element resistance is 15 Ω and current is 12 A.
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1F · Q9 · 11 marks
11 marks
An LED torch contains one LED, one switch and three cells. It operates for 14 400 s at 50 mA; LED input power is 0.24 W and efficiency 0.75.
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1F · Q10 · 11 marks
11 marks
A hydroelectric power station stores 6 500 000 m³ of water of density 998 kg/m³. Its generators supply 1.5 × 10⁹ W for at most five hours. Figure 15's demand curve (power in 10⁹ W) is approximately: (04:00,30), (06:00,40), (08:00,43), (12:00,44), (14:00,44.5), (16:00,49).
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1H · Q2 · 11 marks
11 marks
Examiner report
[02.1] 69% of students chose the correct circuit.
An LED torch contains one LED, one switch and three cells. It operates for 14 400 s at 50 mA; LED input power is 0.24 W and efficiency 0.75.
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1H · Q3 · 11 marks
11 marks
Examiner report
[03.1] 91% of students answered this question correctly. The equation was acceptable using symbols or words. Students should be encouraged not to give multiple answers due to the list principle being applied: right + wrong = 0 marks. eg ρ = m/V and m = ρ /V would score zero.
A hydroelectric power station stores 6 500 000 m³ of water of density 998 kg/m³. Its generators supply 1.5 × 10⁹ W for at most five hours. Figure 5's demand curve (power in 10⁹ W) is approximately: (04:00,30), (06:00,40), (08:00,43), (12:00,44), (14:00,44.5), (16:00,49).
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1H · Q4 · 9 marks
9 marks
Examiner report
[04.4] Only 5% of students scored 3 marks on this challenging question. Very few realised that the important factor was the change in resistance with temperature in the region of temperatures corresponding to the sea temperature values. The majority of students chose thermistor A ‘because it has the lowest resistance’. 18% of students scored 1 mark and 73% of students scored no marks.
Graphs compare UK coal- and gas-fired generation, mean sea-surface temperature from 1988–2016, and resistance-temperature curves for thermistors A–D. Sea-temperature samples (year, °C) are approximately (1988,16.45), (1990,16.40), (1991,16.51), (1993,16.38), (1996,16.49), (1997,16.45), (1998,16.67), (1999,16.45), (2001,16.60), (2004,16.66), (2008,16.58), (2010,16.72), (2011,16.62), (2014,16.72), (2016,16.95), joined by the official smooth irregular line. Approximate thermistor anchors (temperature °C, resistance kΩ) are: A (−75,10), (−50,5), (−25,1), (0,0); B (−50,>50), (−25,20), (0,8), (25,3), (50,1); C (−10,50), (0,35), (25,15), (50,7), (75,3), (100,1); D (50,50), (75,22), (100,12), (125,7), (150,4), (175,2), (200,1). Each is a smooth decreasing curve.
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1H · Q6 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[06.2] 73% of students scored all 4 marks for this question. A common mistake was not to convert the energy into J. This meant that the mass of the boy was much lower than the expected value (0.05 kg). Weaker students then rearranged the equation incorrectly to get a more believable answer, a common response was 20 kg ((17 x 9.8) / 8.33). Another common calculation error was to divide 8330 by 9.8 then multiply by 17.0 resulting in a mass of 1445 kg, which apparently didn’t strike students as being a high value for the mass of a boy.
A rider and sled descend an AquaShute. A light gate determines speed. One rider loses 8.33 kJ of gravitational potential energy over 17.0 m; g = 9.8 N/kg.
AQA 8463 · November 2020 · Paper 1H · Q7 · 9 marks
9 marks
Examiner report
[07.3] Very few students scored 2 or 3 marks on this question, 10% of students scored 1 mark. Weaker students misunderstood which straight section the question referred to thinking it was the horizontal section. Only the highest-scoring students understood that the rate of temperature increase (from the gradient of the diagonal line) could be used in conjunction with the equations for specific heat capacity and E = Pt to calculate useful power output. A lot of students thought that the efficiency equation could be used, but usually failed to score any marks.
An electric kettle heats water. Its temperature-time curve is approximately (time s, temperature °C): (0,22), (10,22), (20,26), (30,35), (40,45), (50,55), (60,65), (70,75), (80,85), (90,95), (100,100), with a straight central section and smooth ends. In 100 s, 155 000 J is transferred; c = 4200 J/kg °C.
AQA 8463 · June 2019 · Paper 1F · Q3 · 7 marks
7 marks
Examiner report
[03.2] Students were often very successful in calculation, with around 91% scoring 2 marks.
A person slides down a zip wire from a tower.
AQA 8463 · June 2019 · Paper 1F · Q5 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[05.5] Only around 5% of students scored 2 marks whilst half of the students scored 1 mark. Some students failed to make the connection between the time of day and sunrise. Some students talked vaguely about the energy stored by solar panels, confusing them with solar heating panels rather than solar photovoltaic panels.
Figure 6 summarises UK electricity generation on one day in June 2018: Solar 24%, Coal 3%, Gas 28%, Other 23%, with Nuclear unlabeled. Figure 7 shows demand rising from a minimum of 25 000 MW to a maximum of 37 500 MW, including a rise between 06:00 and 09:00.
AQA 8463 · June 2019 · Paper 1F · Q6 · 10 marks
10 marks
Examiner report
[06.1] More than half of the students scored 2 marks. To score a mark a comparative statement was needed eg lower, not low mass of power source. A statement using the word ‘better’ would be insufficient.
An electric car has a battery-powered motor; a diesel car has a diesel-fuelled engine. Table 2: electric car maximum acceleration 4.8 m/s<sup>2</sup>, power-source mass 420 kg, maximum power output 220 kW, range 200 km; diesel car maximum acceleration 3.2 m/s<sup>2</sup>, power-source mass 51 kg, maximum power output 120 kW, range 1120 km.
AQA 8463 · June 2019 · Paper 1F · Q8 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[08.1] Around 63% of students answered this question correctly.
A student used an insulated beaker, heater and thermometer to determine the specific heat capacity of water. The thermometer scale has 1 °C divisions. The beaker-and-water balance reading is 0.26 kg; the water mass is 0.20 kg.
AQA 8463 · June 2019 · Paper 1F · Q9 · 11 marks
11 marks
Examiner report
[09.4] More than half of students answered this correctly. Some students failed to score the mark by writing input for both the denominator and the numerator.
Light bulbs are labelled with a power input. Table 3: bulb P input 6.0 W, useful output 5.4 W, efficiency 0.90; Q input 40 W, output 2.0 W, efficiency 0.05; R input 9.0 W, useful output X, efficiency 0.30.
AQA 8463 · June 2019 · Paper 1F · Q10 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[10.1] This question produced a good spread of marks. A mean score of 2.1 was achieved by students on the Foundation tier. Students who had experience of a similar practical benefitted from this as they were able to describe a method in sufficient detail to achieve Level 2. To achieve Level 3, a student needed to indicate that several values of number of layers were used, referring to the interval of 8 layers (as the graph showed) or that the experiment should be done with no layers. A control variable was also needed, either the initial temperature of the water, or the volume of water in each experiment. Some students gained no credit by describing different required practical methods. Around 2% of students scored 6 marks, around 15% of students scored 4 marks and about a fifth of students scored 2 marks. Around 10% of students didn’t attempt the question.
A student investigated the insulating properties of newspaper. The apparatus is a lidded metal can containing hot water, wrapped in newspaper, with a digital thermometer and stopclock. Results compare temperature decrease after 5 minutes for 0, 8, 16, 24 and further layers of newspaper. A digital thermometer and datalogger both display temperature to 0.1 °C; the datalogger records 10 readings each second.
AQA 8463 · June 2019 · Paper 1F · Q11 · 12 marks
12 marks
Examiner report
[11.3] Despite being asked to recall the equation in 11.2, most students simply multiplied or divided the 2 values given in the question (3.0 and 270), scoring 0 marks. Only around 19% of students scored 3 marks.
A scientist investigated maximum human muscle power against age and gender. Volunteers jumped from a platform; an electronic timer measured time in the air. Sampled points from the smooth muscle-power curves (age in years, power in W/kg) are: male solid (5,15), (10,30), (20,45), (25,47), (30,45), (40,40), (50,35), (60,30), (70,25); female dashed (5,10), (10,27), (15,34), (20,37), (25,36), (30,34), (40,30), (50,27), (60,24), (70,21).
AQA 8463 · June 2018 · Paper 2F · Q10 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[10.1] Many of the students found the velocity-time graph difficult to interpret and relate to the motion of the ball, with many stating the ball was going upwards at an angle between A and B. However about 50% of students correctly stated that the ball accelerated between points A and B on the graph, however very few of these recognised that a straight line velocity- time graph represents a uniform acceleration and so failed to score the second mark available. Comments such as ‘the ball accelerates at a constant speed’ did not score a mark.
A dropped ball's velocity-time graph consists of straight segments from A (0.00 s, 0.0 m/s) to B (0.70 s, +7.0 m/s), a vertical change to C (0.70 s, -5.0 m/s), then from C to D (1.20 s, 0.0 m/s). Air resistance is ignored.
AQA 8463 · June 2018 · Paper 2H · Q1 · 8 marks
8 marks
Examiner report
[01.2] Just over 70% of the students understood that the ball would be moving upwards.
A dropped ball's velocity-time graph consists of straight segments from A (0.00 s, 0.0 m/s) to B (0.70 s, +7.0 m/s), a vertical change to C (0.70 s, -5.0 m/s), then from C to D (1.20 s, 0.0 m/s). Air resistance is ignored.
AQA 8463 · sample1 · Paper 1F · Q12 · 8 marks
8 marks
A student put an insulated pan of water in direct sunlight and measured the time for its temperature to rise by 0.6 °C. The energy transferred to the water was 1050 J, the time was 5 minutes, and the specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J/kg °C.
AQA 8463 · sample1 · Paper 1F · Q13 · 7 marks
7 marks
A motor lifts a 2.5 N weight through 2.0 m. The student measures lifting speed and efficiency and repeats the experiment. The efficiency graph has points approximately (speed m/s, efficiency %): (0.07,21.5), (0.14,33), (0.20,41), (0.27,47), (0.33,51), joined by a smooth best-fit curve.
AQA 8463 · sample1 · Paper 1H · Q5 · 7 marks
7 marks
A motor lifts a 2.5 N weight through 2.0 m. The student measures lifting speed and efficiency and repeats the experiment. The efficiency graph has points approximately (speed m/s, efficiency %): (0.07,21.5), (0.14,33), (0.20,41), (0.27,47), (0.33,51), joined by a smooth best-fit curve.
AQA 8463 · sample1 · Paper 2F · Q10 · 14 marks
14 marks
A car initially has equal forward and resistive horizontal forces. Later it accelerates from 9 m/s to 18 m/s in 6 s. Car mass=1120 kg and driver mass=80 kg.
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