Edexcel GCSE Physics Paper 1 Higher November 2021 question paper 1PH0/1H

This question is about ultrasound.

Which of these is a frequency of ultrasound?

Ultrasound has many uses.

One device called a pest repeller emits ultrasound.

The ultrasound keeps mice out of the garden.

Explain why the device affects mice but does not affect humans.

A technician has a different ultrasound device.

This device can emit and detect short pulses of ultrasound.

The device can also measure the time, in ms, from emitting a pulse to detecting the same pulse.

Describe how the technician can use this device to determine the speed of ultrasound in air.

Figure 1 shows part of a wave.

Use data from Figure 1 to calculate the wavelength of the wave.

Figure 2 shows a student sitting on the shore of a lake watching ripples on the surface of the water moving past a toy boat.

The student has a stopwatch.

Describe how the student could determine the frequency of the ripples on the lake.

The speed of a water wave is 1.5 m/s.

The frequency of the wave is 0.70 Hz.

Calculate the wavelength of this wave.

Use the equation

v = f × λ

Water waves are transverse waves.

Describe the difference between transverse waves and longitudinal waves.

This question is about radioactivity.

Alpha (α), beta (β) and gamma (γ) are three types of radioactive emissions.

Which statement describes all of these radioactive emissions?

Fluorine-19 is a stable isotope of the element fluorine.

The element fluorine also has several radioactive isotopes.

Describe one similarity and one difference between the numbers of particles in one nucleus of fluorine-19 and one nucleus of a radioactive isotope of fluorine.

Figure 3 shows a Geiger-Muller (G-M) tube attached to a counter. The G-M tube is used to measure the activity of a source of beta (β) radiation. There is an aluminium sheet between the beta source and the G-M tube. The counter is switched on and after 1 minute shows a count of 268.

The aluminium sheet is taken away. The counter is reset to zero and then switched on again. A new count is taken for 1 minute.

Explain why the new count is greater than 268.

The beta source is then also taken away. The counter is reset to zero and switched on again. A new count is taken for 1 minute.

Give a reason why there would now be a reading on the counter.

State the SI unit for the activity of a radioactive source.

Radium-223 is a radioactive substance.

Radium-223 is an alpha emitter.

The half-life of radium-223 is 11 days.

A radioactive source contains 1.7 × 10²³ nuclei of radium-223.

Calculate the number of radium-223 nuclei remaining in the source after a time of 33 days.

The Big Bang theory is one theory for the origin of the Universe.

The Big Bang theory suggests:

• the Universe had a beginning

• the Universe is still expanding.

Which of these provides evidence that the Universe had a beginning?

Evidence that the Universe is still expanding comes from observations of light from distant galaxies.

Describe how light from distant galaxies shows that the Universe is still expanding.

The Steady State theory is also a theory about the origin of the Universe.

Give one similarity and one difference when comparing the Big Bang theory with the Steady State theory.

Observations of the expanding Universe have shown that the further away a galaxy is from the Earth, the faster the galaxy is moving away from the Earth.

Figure 4 shows how the velocity of galaxies is related to their distance from the Earth.

Mpc is a unit of distance used for large distances in space.

Use Figure 4 to estimate the velocity of a galaxy that is 15 Mpc away from the Earth.

Calculate the gradient of the line shown in Figure 4.

State the unit.

The gradient of the line in Figure 4 can be used to estimate the age of the Universe.

Explain why the gradient of the line in Figure 4 can only provide an estimate of the age of the Universe.

A student is investigating the refraction of light.

Figure 5 shows part of the apparatus and the angles to be measured.

The student measures angle r for several different values of angle i.

Figure 6 shows the student’s results.

On the graph in Figure 6, draw the best fit curve.

Use the graph in Figure 6 to estimate the value of angle r when angle i is 80°.

Describe how angle r changes with angle i for the results shown on the graph in Figure 6.

In Figure 5, the frequency of the light remains the same in glass as in air.

Which row of the table describes what happens to the wave velocity and to the wavelength of the light when the light travels from air to glass?

In Figure 7, only refraction of light is shown.

Other things happen to the light as it travels from P to Q.

The intensity (brightness) of the light at Q is less than the intensity of the light at P.

Explain the decrease in intensity as the light travels from P to Q.

You may add to Figure 7 to help your answer.

Figure 8 is a velocity/time graph showing a 34 s part of a train’s journey.

Calculate the acceleration of the train in the 34 s.

Give your answer to an appropriate number of significant figures.

acceleration =_........ ²

Calculate the distance the train travels in the 34 s.

Figure 9 shows a rocket soon after it takes off from the ground.

The force that the rocket engines produce remains constant during the first few seconds after take-off.

Explain what happens to the acceleration during the first few seconds.

Figure 10 shows a small steel ball held at a height, h, above the ground.

The ball is released and allowed to fall to the ground.

The height h is 1.4 m.

Calculate the time, t, for the ball to reach the ground.

Use the equation

Two students use the arrangement shown in Figure 10.

They use a stopwatch to time the ball falling through the height of 1.4 m.

The students repeat the measurement many times, but their average value for t is different from the calculated value.

Suggest a reason why the students’ value for t is different from the calculated value.

Suggest one improvement the students could make to their procedure so that their value for t is closer to the calculated value.

Figure 11a shows a box falling towards a hard floor.

The box hits the floor and crumples a little before it comes to rest as shown in Figure 11b.

The momentum of the box just before it hits the floor is 8.7 kg m/s.

The box comes to rest 0.35 s after it first hits the floor.

Calculate the magnitude of the force exerted by the floor on the box.

Use an equation selected from the list of equations at the end of this paper.

State the magnitude and direction of the force exerted by the box on the floor.

Figure 12 shows a ball held in a clamp at R, above the ground.

The ball is released from the clamp and falls.

S is 3.8 m below R.

At S the momentum of the ball is 0.40 kg m/s.

Calculate the mass of the ball.

Acceleration due to gravity, g, = 10 m / s²

mass of the ball_........

The Asteroid Belt is part of our Solar System.

Vesta is an asteroid in the Asteroid Belt.

Vesta orbits the Sun between the orbits of

Vesta has an orbital speed of 1.9 × 10⁴ m/s.

Vesta travels a distance of 2.2 × 10¹² m when it orbits the Sun once.

Calculate the time taken for Vesta to orbit the Sun once.

Explain why Vesta is accelerating even when it is travelling at a constant speed.

Energy is transferred from the Sun to Vesta by radiation.

Explain why the temperature on Vesta does not continue to rise, even though it is absorbing energy from the Sun.

The distance between Vesta and the Sun is 2.4 AU.

1 AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

The intensity of the Sun’s radiation reaching the Earth is 1400 W/m².

1 W = 1 J/s

The intensity of the Sun’s radiation at a distance, d, from the Sun is given by the equation

where K always has the same value.

State the unit of K.

Calculate the intensity of the radiation from the Sun at Vesta.

Sometimes food can become contaminated with radioactive substances.

Describe the harmful effects of eating food contaminated with radioactive substances.

Gamma radiation can be used in food processing to irradiate food.

Explain why some food is irradiated with gamma radiation.

Gamma radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

When the nucleus of an atom emits a gamma ray, the number of protons in the nucleus and the number of neutrons in the nucleus do not change.

State how the nucleus does change when it emits a gamma ray.

*(d) Gamma radiation is produced by radioactive decay.

Alpha radiation and beta radiation are also produced by radioactive decay.

Compare the processes of alpha decay and beta decay.

Your answer should include what each radiation is and what effect each decay has on the original nucleus.

Figure 13 shows wind turbines, used to generate electricity for the National Grid.

The wind turns the turbine blades.

The wind is a renewable source of energy.

State two other renewable sources of energy.

For one turbine

• the energy input per second from the wind is 6.2 kJ

• the energy output per second to the National Grid is 2.2 kJ.

Calculate the efficiency of this turbine.

Suggest a reason why it is impossible for the turbine to use all the kinetic energy of the wind.

*(b) Nuclear fission and nuclear fusion are two non-renewable sources of energy.

Compare nuclear fission and nuclear fusion as possible sources of energy for generating electricity using a nuclear reactor.

Your comparison should refer to

• the differences between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion

• the relative advantages and difficulties involved in using these sources.