OCR GCSE Combined Science A (Gateway) Physics Paper 6 Foundation November 2020 question paper J250/06

A ruler can be used to estimate a student’s reaction time:

Which diagram shows the student with the shortest reaction time?

A man weighs 700 N and climbs a staircase 5 m high.

How much work does he do?

Use the equation: work done = force × distance

A 140 J

B 350 J

C 695 J

D 3500 J

Stopping distance depends on thinking distance and braking distance.

Which row in the table is correct?

A heater transfers 150 000 J of energy in 120 s.

Calculate the power of the heater.

Use the equation: energy transferred = power × time

A 0.80 W

B 1.25 W

C 1250 W

D 18 000 W

Which row in the table is correct?

Use the equation: efficiency = useful output energy transfer / input energy transfer

Hydroelectric power stations use water to transfer energy.

Which answer shows the energy transfer in a hydroelectric power station?

Brakes are used to decelerate a car safely in order to reduce the risk of injuries to the passengers.

Which row in the table is correct when the brakes are used safely?

A student wants to check the electrical power of a mains filament lamp.

He sets up the circuit in Fig. 11.1.

Complete the table to describe how he sets up the equipment in Fig. 11.1.

The student reads the meters in the circuit in Fig. 11.1.

• The value of the potential difference is 230 V.

• The value on the ammeter is 0.5 A.

Calculate the actual power of the mains filament lamp.

Use the equation: power = potential difference × current

Another lamp has a power of 100 W. 1 kW = 1000 W

What is the power of the lamp in kilowatts (kW)?

0.1 kW 1 kW 100 kW 100 000 kW

Suggest how the student can make his readings more precise.

Fig. 11.2 shows a night-light. It contains a 1.0 W lamp and a 3.0 V battery.

The student compares the mains filament lamp with the night-light. They are both used for the same amount of time.

Fig. 11.2

Use these words to complete the sentences.

You can use each word once, more than once, or not at all.

more than less than equal to

The energy transferred by the night-light is …………………………… the energy transferred by the mains filament lamp.

The power of the night-light is …………………………… the power of the mains filament lamp.

A scientist measures the activity of a radioactive isotope. She uses a Geiger-Muller tube connected to a counter.

Table 12.1 shows her results.

What is the mean activity of the isotope?

Is there a pattern in the results in Table 12.1 ?

Explain your answer using ideas about radioactivity.

Carbon-12 is a stable isotope. Carbon-14 is an unstable radioactive isotope.

Table 12.2 shows the contents of each nucleus.

Explain why carbon-12 and carbon-14 are isotopes.

This is the equation for the radioactive decay of carbon-14:

What happens to the nuclear mass (mass number) when carbon-14 decays?

Americium-241 is a radioactive isotope used in smoke alarms.

Table 12.3 shows how the activity of americium-241 changes.

What is meant by the half-life of an isotope?

Use the data in Table 12.3 to calculate the half-life of americium-241.

This is a diagram of a smoke alarm.

Smoke enters the smoke alarm, which blocks the radiation emitted by the americium-241.

A smoke alarm company decides to use a different isotope.

Table 12.4 shows the three choices of isotope.

Which isotope, A, B or C, is the best to use in a smoke alarm?

Tick (✓) one box.

Explain your answer using the information in Table 12.4.

Electromagnetic waves have similar properties.

Use these words to complete the sentences:

You can use each word once, more than once, or not at all.

Acceleration Frequency Longitudinal

Sound Speed Transverse Wavelength

Electromagnetic waves are …………………………. waves.

Electromagnetic waves travel with the same …………………………. in space.

A student wants to work out the speed of water waves in a ripple tank. Fig. 13.1 shows the apparatus the student uses.

Name the two extra pieces of apparatus she will need to work out the speed of the waves.

This question is about domestic electricity.

Draw lines to connect each term with the correct description.

Fig. 14.1 is a diagram of the wiring in a metal kettle.

The diagram in Fig. 14.1 is incomplete.

Use these words to label the 3 wires on the diagram.

You may use each word once, more than once, or not at all.

Earth Live Neutral

The table shows power losses for different voltages in a power line.

Using the data in the table, plot a graph of power loss against voltage and draw a line of best fit.

Describe the relationship between power loss and voltage.

You may use values from the graph or table in your answer.

Explain why the national grid is an efficient way to transfer energy.

15* Fig. 15.1 shows how the height of a water wave changes with distance.

Fig. 15.2 shows how the height of the same wave changes with time.

Waves can be described using these words:

• amplitude

• wavelength

• frequency

• wave speed.

Describe the wave represented by both Fig. 15.1 and Fig. 15.2 in detail.

Use calculations and definitions in your answer.

A student measures the temperature of a beaker of water as it cools down.

The graph in Fig. 16.1 shows how the temperature changes with time.

Calculate the rate of temperature change over the 5 minutes.

Rate of temperature change =........ °C / minute

Describe, in detail, how the temperature changes over the 5 minutes.

The beaker contains 0.2 kg of water.

The specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J / kg °C.

Calculate the change in thermal energy in the water after 5 minutes.

Give your answer to 1 significant figure.

Use an equation from the Data Sheet to help you.

Describe the change in energy stores as the water cools down.

The student is given some insulation. She wraps the insulation around the sides of the beaker and repeats the experiment.

Add another line to the graph in Fig. 16.1 to show how the temperature may change

when the beaker is wrapped with insulation.

State one thing the student can do to reduce the rate of cooling further.