Edexcel GCSE Physics Paper 1 Foundation June 2024 question paper 1PH0/1F

This question is about the electromagnetic spectrum.

X-rays and microwaves are both parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Use words from the box to complete the sentences.

amplitude frequency longitudinal speed transverse wavelength

X-rays and microwaves are both_........ waves.

In a vacuum, x-rays and microwaves always have the same_........ .

X-rays always have a higher_........ than microwaves.

Figure 1 shows the full electromagnetic spectrum.

Figure 2 gives information about four of the types of electromagnetic radiation shown in Figure 1.

State the name of each type of radiation next to its information.

A flag has three colours in daylight.

The flag is taken into a dark room.

Figure 3 shows the flag when a torch shines white light on to the flag.

Figure 4 shows the same flag when the torch is covered with a coloured filter.

State the colour of the filter that has covered the torch.

A student uses a converging lens to produce an image of a tree on a screen.

The image of the tree on the screen is shown in Figure 5.

The student is asked to describe the image of the tree.

The student’s descriptions are shown in the table.

The first description is correct, the image is upside down.

Complete the table by adding the correct descriptions of the image.

A student uses a ray box to investigate two lenses, P and Q.

Figure 6 shows the student’s drawings of rays of light before and after passing through the lenses.

Complete the following sentences.

The focal length of lens P is_........ than the focal length of lens Q.

The power of lens P is_........ than the power of lens Q.

Figure 7 shows light reflecting from two mirrors in a bathroom.

Mirror R has a dry surface.

Mirror S has lots of small drops of water on the surface.

A person looks into each mirror.

Explain the difference between the image seen in mirror R and the image seen in mirror S.

Figure 8 shows two types of force that act in the Sun.

One type of force acts inwards, towards the centre of the Sun.

The other type of force acts outwards, away from the centre of the Sun.

Outward forces are a result of nuclear fusion in the Sun.

State what causes the inward forces.

The inward and outward forces in stars like the Sun stay balanced for 10 billion years.

In the Sun, these forces have been balanced for 46 % of this time.

Calculate for how many billions of years these forces have been balanced in the Sun.

time =_........ billion years

Describe what will happen to the Sun when the inward and outward forces become unbalanced.

Nuclear fusion reactions take place in the Sun.

Describe what happens in a nuclear fusion reaction.

In 1989, two scientists claimed that they could produce a nuclear fusion reaction in their laboratory.

They said their reaction could take place at room temperature in a test tube.

Explain why other scientists did not believe them.

A car is being driven at a constant velocity.

The driver sees an obstacle in the road ahead.

The driver uses the brakes to stop as quickly as possible.

Figure 9 shows the velocity/time graph for the car from the time when the driver sees the obstacle.

Which of these is the driver’s reaction time shown in Figure 9?

State one factor that might increase a driver’s reaction time.

Calculate the distance travelled between when the driver applies the brakes and when the car comes to rest in Figure 9.

Use the equation

distance = area under the sloping line of the graph in Figure 9

The stopping distance of a car is the thinking distance plus the braking distance.

A car has a device that can detect an obstacle in the road ahead.

The device is linked to a computer that can apply the brakes.

It is claimed that, in an emergency, the computer-controlled car will have a shorter stopping distance than if the car is controlled by a human driver.

Explain why this claim could be true.

A different car has a device that can detect rain.

This device is linked to a computer that can change the speed of the car.

In wet weather, the computer changes the speed of the car.

State the change in speed that the computer should make when the road is wet.

Give a reason why this change in speed is necessary when the road is wet.

A sound wave can transfer information across a room.

Which row of the table shows what else a sound wave can transfer?

Which of these always increases as a sound gets louder?

The speed of a sound wave in air is 330 m/s.

The wavelength of this wave is 0.75 m.

Calculate the frequency of this wave.

Use the equation

Figure 10 shows a water wave.

Which of these is the amplitude of the wave shown in Figure 10?

Ripples travel out from the centre of a small circular pond to its edge.

Describe how a student could determine the wave speed of the ripples.

Figure 11 shows a duck floating on the pond.

The ripples cause the duck to move.

Draw arrows on Figure 11 to show how the duck moves due to the ripples.

Figure 12 is a diagram representing an atom.

Write the names of the particles X, Y and Z on the lines next to each letter in Figure 12.

The nucleus of a different atom emits a gamma ray.

What happens to the number of particles in the nucleus?

A teacher demonstrates a radioactivity experiment to a class of students.

The teacher places a radioactive source in front of a radiation detector.

State one safety precaution the teacher should take.

The teacher uses the detector to measure the activity of the source several times.

Figure 13 shows the results.

The teacher tells the class that radioactive decay is random.

State how the data in Figure 13 supports this statement.

Calculate the mean of the four measurements in Figure 13.

The teacher moves the radiation detector to different distances from the radioactive source.

The teacher determines the mean detector reading at each distance from the source.

The teacher plots the results on graph paper, as shown in Figure 14.

The source emits alpha radiation only.

Explain how the graph in Figure 14 shows that the source only emits alpha radiation.

Give a reason why the mean detector reading in Figure 14 does not fall to zero in this experiment.

Figure 15 shows an artificial satellite in orbit around the Earth.

Which of these shows the direction of the force that keeps the satellite in orbit around the Earth?

The satellite travels at a constant speed around the Earth.

Explain why the satellite is accelerating even though it travels at a constant speed.

The Hubble Space Telescope is an artificial satellite in orbit about 500 km above the Earth’s surface.

This telescope is used to observe the light from very distant objects in the Universe.

Explain why the Hubble Space Telescope must be high above the Earth’s surface to make its observations.

There are many other artificial satellites in orbit around the Earth.

Figure 16 shows the time taken to complete one orbit for satellites at different heights above the Earth’s surface.

time to complete one orbit in minutes

Figure 16

Describe the relationship shown in Figure 16.

*(d) A long time ago, many people thought that the objects seen in the sky were arranged as shown in Figure 17.

Compare the arrangement shown in Figure 17 with what we now know about the Solar System.

Your answer should refer to

• the objects that are in the Solar System

• how these objects are arranged.

You may draw a diagram to help your answer.

Figure 18 shows a person on a skateboard at the top of a ramp.

At P, the person is not moving.

The person rides the skateboard down the ramp from P to Q.

The gravitational potential energy of the person decreases by 980 J.

The mass of the person is 35 kg.

Calculate h, the height of the ramp.

Use g = 10 N/kg.

Use the equation

change in gravitational potential energy = m g h

The kinetic energy, KE, of the person at Q is 950 J.

The mass of the person is 35 kg.

Calculate the velocity of the person at Q.

Use the equation

Figure 19 is a diagram that represents energy changes from P to Q.

State what is represented by X.

Calculate the value of X.

Calculate the efficiency of the system represented in Figure 19.

The person would like to start from P again but have a greater velocity at Q.

Suggest two ways that this can be achieved.

Two people, L and M, have a 100 m race.

L starts running before M.

Figure 20 shows a distance/time graph of the race.

State the distance that L has run when M overtakes.

Calculate the velocity of L when running the 100 m race.

A motorcycle is travelling at a velocity of 6.2 m/s.

The motorcycle accelerates at 2.5 m/s² until its velocity is 10 m/s.

Calculate the time taken for this acceleration.

Use the equation

The motorcycle now decelerates (slows down) from 10 m/s to a stop.

The deceleration is at a constant rate of 4.4 m/s².

Calculate the distance the motorcycle travels as it slows down to a stop.

Use the equation

*(c) A student has a trolley and a ramp, as shown in Figure 21.

The height, H, of one end of the ramp can be adjusted.

The student investigates how the average speed of the trolley between X and Y depends on the height, H, of the ramp.

Describe

• the additional equipment that the student needs

• how that equipment is used to obtain the measurements needed.

Radiation is used to treat tumours (cancer).

The source of the radiation can be inside or outside the human body.

Which of these has a radiation source that can be positioned inside the body to treat tumours?

Figure 22 shows a PET scanner used to detect cancerous tumours.

A radioactive isotope is injected into a patient.

The isotope is absorbed by the tumour.

The isotope emits positrons from the location of the tumour.

The ring of radiation detectors rotates around the person.

Explain how the scan can give the location of the tumour.

Explain why the radioactive isotope injected into the patient must be produced near to the place where it is to be used.

Radiotherapy can involve irradiation of patients.

Radioactive tracers can involve contamination of patients.

State two differences between irradiation and radioactive contamination.

Figure 23 shows the decay curves of two different isotopes, Q and P.

Use the graph in Figure 23 to determine the half-life of isotope P.

Suggest a reason why the sample of isotope Q could be more dangerous to humans than the sample of isotope P.