AQA GCSE Physics Paper 1 Higher June 2025 question paper 8463/1H

Tides and wind are two renewable energy resources.

Describe the difference between renewable energy resources and non-renewable energy resources.

Figure 1 shows a new design of tidal turbine to generate electricity using the tides.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet to answer questions 01.2 and 01.3.

Write down the equation which links density (ρ), mass (m) and volume (V).

The mass of seawater passing through the tidal turbine each second is 824 000 kg.

Calculate the volume of seawater passing through the tidal turbine each second.

The speed of the tide or the speed of the wind past a turbine is called the ‘flow speed’.

Figure 2 shows how the power output of a tidal turbine compares with a wind turbine for different flow speeds.

As flow speed increases, power output increases.

Give two other conclusions that can be made using information from Figure 2.

Figure 3 shows the turbines used to obtain the data for Figure 2.

Compare the environmental impacts of the wind turbine and the tidal turbine in Figure 3.

A student determined the specific heat capacity of water.

Figure 4 shows the apparatus used.

The joulemeter measures energy transfer.

Give one hazard in the investigation.

Describe how the student could determine the specific heat capacity of water using the apparatus in Figure 4.

One source of error in the experiment was energy loss to the surroundings.

Suggest one change to the apparatus to reduce energy loss to the surroundings.

The student’s value for the specific heat capacity of water was 4410 J/kg °C.

The actual value for the specific heat capacity of water is 4200 J/kg °C.

Calculate the percentage difference between the student’s value and the actual value.

A student investigated how the current in an LED varies with the potential difference across the LED.

Figure 5 shows the circuit used.

Figure 6 shows the results.

Give one way the student could have varied the potential difference across the LED.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet to answer questions 03.2 and 03.3.

Which of the following equations links current (I), potential difference (V) and resistance (R)?

Tick () one box.

Determine the resistance of the LED when the potential difference across the LED was 3.0 V.

Use Figure 6.

The student reversed the connections to the power supply and varied the potential difference across the LED.

Explain why the ammeter displayed a value of 0.0 A for all the values of potential difference the student used.

Manufacturing a car produces carbon dioxide.

Explain one environmental problem caused by the emission of carbon dioxide.

Figure 7 shows the carbon dioxide produced during the lifetime of two types of car.

What mass of carbon dioxide is produced during the manufacture of the electric car?

At one distance, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by both cars is the same.

What is this distance?

Some energy resources emit carbon dioxide when used to generate electricity.

The battery-powered electric car does not emit carbon dioxide as it is driven.

Explain why more carbon dioxide is produced as the distance travelled by the electric car increases.

Which two of the following energy resources do not emit carbon dioxide when used to generate electricity?

Tick () two boxes.

Scientists have used lasers to start a nuclear fusion reaction.

The scientists used the lasers to heat a small amount of an isotope of hydrogen.

Describe what is meant by ‘isotopes’ of an element.

Explain how nuclear fusion releases energy.

The fusion reaction releases large amounts of energy.

The fusion reaction takes place in a reactor.

Explain why the walls of the reactor should be made from a material with a very high specific heat capacity.

Nuclear fusion is safer than nuclear fission.

Nuclear fission can lead to an uncontrolled chain reaction.

Give one consequence of an uncontrolled chain reaction.

Figure 8 shows a battery-powered hand warmer that contains a heating pad.

The battery transfers energy to increase the temperature of the heating pad.

The heating pad has a mass of 0.20 kg.

When the hand warmer was switched on, the energy transferred to the heating pad was 8000 J.

specific heat capacity of heating pad = 1600 J/kg °C

Calculate the temperature increase of the heating pad.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

The hand warmer was powered by a 5.0 V battery.

The battery transferred 180 kJ of energy to the heating pad.

Calculate the charge flow through the battery.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

The circuit inside the hand warmer can be connected to a mobile phone to recharge the mobile phone.

Figure 9 shows the circuit diagram when the hand warmer is connected to a mobile phone.

The heating pad of the hand warmer is represented by the resistor symbol.

Explain how closing both switches S₁ and S₂ affects the power output of the battery compared with only closing switch S₁.

Some atoms emit radiation.

Why do scientists sometimes change the model used to describe the structure of the atom?

Tick () one box.

When radioactivity was discovered, the dangers of radiation were not known.

Some scientists were irradiated and contaminated while working with the radioactive materials.

Describe the difference between irradiation and radioactive contamination.

Polonium-210 was one of the first radioactive elements to be discovered.

Polonium-210 (Po) decays into lead (Pb).

Complete the nuclear equation for polonium-210.

Polonium-210 has a half-life of 138 days.

A sample of polonium contains 256 000 atoms.

Calculate the time taken for the number of polonium-210 atoms to reach 16 000.

A sample of polonium contains equal numbers of polonium-209 atoms and polonium-210 atoms.

Polonium-209 has a half-life of 125 years.

Polonium-210 has a half-life of 138 days.

Explain how the activity of polonium-209 compares with the activity of polonium-210 in this sample.

A scientist poured some liquid nitrogen into a container.

The container was then sealed.

Figure 10 shows the container.

The liquid nitrogen was at its boiling point.

When 9950 J of thermal energy was transferred to the liquid nitrogen, 50 g of the nitrogen turned into a gas.

Calculate the specific latent heat of vaporisation of nitrogen.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

Explain how the internal energy of the nitrogen changed as the nitrogen turned from a liquid to a gas.

After the nitrogen had boiled, the temperature of the gas increased.

Explain how the pressure in the container changed as the temperature increased.

Figure 11 shows a garden water feature.

The water feature has an electric motor that pumps water from the bottom container to the top container.

The pump transfers 0.343 J of gravitational potential energy to the water each second.

gravitational field strength = 9.8 N/kg

Determine the mass of water passing through the pump each second.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

The power of the pump motor is 4.86 W.

The resistance of the pump motor is 6.0 Ω.

Calculate the charge flow through the motor in 30 minutes.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

The pump motor breaks and is replaced with a new motor.

The new pump motor has the same power input, but has a greater efficiency.

Explain how the new pump motor would affect the flow of water in the water feature.

Figure 12 shows a device that accelerates a toy car at the start of a race track.

Pulling the handle compresses the spring in the device by 0.075 m.

When the handle is released, the energy stored in the compressed spring is transferred to the toy car.

spring constant = 64 N/m

mass of toy car = 0.052 kg

Calculate the maximum possible speed of the toy car just after the car starts to move.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

Give your answer to 2 significant figures.

Figure 13 shows the path of the toy car along a loop section of the race track.

The car moves along the track from position A to position B and then to position C.

Describe how the energy stores of the car change as the car moves along the track from position A to position C.

Ignore the effects of friction and air resistance.

At the end of the race track, the toy car passes through a light gate that measures the speed of the car.

Which two measurements are needed to determine the speed of the car?

Tick () two boxes.