The lovely Rachel Goddard has produced this excellent resource, taking the questions where the course report indicates that they’ve been poorly done and giving help to answer them. Use this resource well and thanks Rachel.
March 2024
This helpsheet is on the front page in the general resources but I forgot, so I’ll repost it here so that those who are looking for it get a double chance. ENJOY
Your calculator can go in to all Physics exams unless it is one that isn’t allowed. Here are the two most common calculators and how to set them up. Learning these tips will give you the edge in the exam.
No programmable calculators are allowed in the Physics Exam!
Please read the course report after completing the paper and marking it according to the General Marking Principles.
| N5 Papers | Year | Marking | Exam Reports | Digital QP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tagging xls | 2014- 2022 | tagging pdf | Skills Tagging | |
| N5 Q3-8 N5 S1 2024 N5 S2 2024 | 2024 | |||
| 2023S1QP 2023S2QP | 2023 | 2023 MI Relations | 2023S1DQP 2023S2QP |
|
| 2022S1QP 2022S2QP | 2022 | 2022 MI | 2022Report | 2022S1DQP 2022S2DQP |
| 2021S1QP 2021S2QP | 2021 | 2021 MI | 2021 QP evidence | |
| 2019QP | 2019 | 2019 MI | 2019Report | 2019DQP |
| 2018QP | 2018 | 2018 MI | 2018Report | 2018 DQP |
| Specimen QP & MI | New Model | Specimen QP & MI | Assignment Assessment | S1DQP S2DQP RelationS |
| 2017QP | 2017 | 2017 MI | 2017Report | 2017 DQP |
| 2016QP | 2016 | 2016 MI | 2016Report | 2016 DQP |
| 2015QP | 2015 | 2015 MI | 2015Report | 2015 S1 DQP 2015 S2 DQP |
| 2014QP | 2014 | 2014 MI | 2014Report | 2014 DQP |
| QP & MI | Specimen | QP & MI | ||
| READ THIS | FIRST | MARK GUIDE |
This is the legendary file from Mr Davie, with all the past paper questions matched to the topics.
I’ve just found this file, to give you some additional access to other questions to practice. Here some of the topics have got questions from SG, Int 2 and H questions.
A couple of songs to start this unit. I think we should start all topics with a song.
This is the updated version of the Dynamics booklet, updated to match the 2017 SQA changes.
Now these appear to be called “Knowledge Organisers!” Who thinks up these fancy names?
This one is a joint effort by Miss Horn and Mrs Physics with formatting help from Mr Risbridger.
These are perfect Mind Maps by Ms Milner, thanks these are the best out!
Other mind maps by Melanie Ehsan, with thanks to eSgoil (who provide lots of online materials), the first of a collection of mindmaps.
A mixture of some notes not yet tidied up!
Here are some practice questions with worked answers and 6 to a page diagram of the sky diving graph
Mrs Physics
29th December 2021
Let’s start with a song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIU69nmktm8
and I’ve downloaded the lyrics and made them into a songsheet for you. Hope Jonny doesn’t charge me for copyright!
and if you like that one, then this is Physics legend
this has got lots more information on the EM Spectrum
Wave notes pdf
Wave notes word
These are waves summary notes I’ve produced. Hope you like them. I’d appreciate someone telling me if a photodiode can detect gamma radiation!
This is part of a series of brilliant Mind Maps made by Miss Milner for the N5 Physics Course. I’ve broken it up into sections so here are the waves mind maps!
Here are a list of current wave resources. I will add more as I go through them. Thanks to other schools if you have kindly supplied material. I really appreciate it as do my students.
This is a pdf of the power point that I a using
waves-summary-notes-gairloch1 Some of these notes are for National 4, use with the content statements so you don’t spend too long learning the National 4 work.
vflambda-vdt This starts with a practical model that you can complete in class using the Virtual Physics/ Flash Learning. It then shows how v=fλ is equivalent to v=d/t. Finally some questions will let you practise what you know.
WAVES questions word WAVES questions pdf
Practice with these Dynamics wordwalls, but remember these only form a small part of your revision.
Continue reading “Dynamics wordwall revision”Practice your Physics using these Wordwalls, don’t forget this forms only PART of your revision.
Sorry I don’t know why some of these wont embed, I’ve had to post them as links. I hope you can still get to play.
Continue reading “Wordwall Revision Games”The audio can be turned off it is annoys. Here is the Virtual converted to an mp4 if I can get it to work. If people comment and find them useful I can do the rest.
PLEASE NOTE: I KNOW I HAVE A FEW BLOOPERS IN HERE. I’VE GOT TO FIND AN EDITING PACKAGE AND FIND TIME TO USE IT.
These questions will be great for student self study. Beware I will need to edit some of them later as there are some things that are out of date.
eg Q= quality factor, now called Radiation weighting factor
H = dose equivalent now called equivalent dose.
This is the main Radiation post. Start here!
Here’s the video
Thanks to Miss Horn for the Radiation Notes. Worked Answers to follow.
Thanks to Miss Horn who started these off
Radiation Mind Map- only print page 1 and 2. If anyone knows how to delete p3 I’d be grateful for a helping hand.
From Helpmyphysics
Fusion is the process when two SMALL NUCLEI join to form a LARGER NUCLEI with the production of ENERGY
Fission is the process when two large nuclei split to form two smaller nuclei with the production of energy. This can occur spontaneously or due to a collision with a neutron. Often extra neutrons are produced.
When neutrons split nuclei by fission and extra neutrons are produced which can split further nuclei. Large quantities of energy are produced.
There are 3 groups of category to reduce harm caused by radiation:
Monitor includes things like wearing radiation badges or EPUs, timing how long you are exposed to radiation, checking with radiation counters any contamination on clothes.
Shielding is placing layers of absorbers between you and the source, BEWARE, goggles and a lab coat are great at protecting against alpha but have no effect on gamma. Only thick layers of lead would offer protection against gamma.
Distance. Radiation obeys the inverse square law, as you double the distance from a source the level you are exposed to decreases by ÂĽ . Using tongs is an effective method of keeping your distance from a source.
To give you an idea of the radiation dose that would occur with radiotherapy, here is my mum’s dose. I know that she’d have been happy to share this with you as a learning experience. I really miss you mum x
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster 1986- Effects and Summary
Chernobyl Surviving Disaster (BBC Drama Documentary)
Here are some videos and powerpoint shows that I’ve made for the NPA but the outcomes are the same as those in N5 Physics. Thanks to John Sharkey for the use of the Virtual Flash Physics (Int 2) and to Julian Hamm of furryelephant for the animations of ionising an atom.
Videos
If you haven’t done much Chemistry and you don’t know the process of how chemical elements are described, I suggest you check out the video below.
NB In the video above I know totally that photographs were taken well before 1896, the first being taken in 1826. Henri Becquerel discovered that Uranium, a naturally radioactive element fogs photographic film.
Using John Sharkey’s Virtual Animations I complete the Half Life of Protactinium 234. The sound needs to be turned down after the first 60 s
This is the draft copy of the Half Life Experiment until I can take out all the noise. I might redo it a third time!
The first one is from the Flash Animations
This one below is from the Int 2 Virtual Physics. No sound, but a few notifications for Teams!
I hope that I am not breaking any rules, but these great resources no longer appear to be online. Can’t believe they are 20 years old!
The first photos show the background count rate, a reading of counts taken over a 1 minute period. The source is then taken out at 9:00 am and a count taken between 9:00 and 9:01, readings are then taken every 15 mins.
| Time & Counter | Close up ratemeter |
|---|---|
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 | Photo missing count rate= 570 |
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| Background count | |||
| Time | Time from start | Count rate | corrected count |
| (hours) | (mins) | (cpm) | (cpm) |
| 09:00 | 0 | ||
| 09:15 | 15 | ||
| 09:30 | 30 | ||
| 09:45 | 45 | ||
| 10:00 | 60 | ||
| 10:15 | 75 | ||
| 10:30 | 90 | ||
| 10:45 | 105 | ||
| 11:00 | 120 | ||
| 11:15 | 135 | ||
| 11:30 | 150 | ||
| 11:45 | 165 | ||
| 12:00 | 180 |
You will need to be able to use and understand significant figures in N5 Physics. Don’t worry if you don’t get it straight away, we’ve almost a year to get it right. The video I’ve found is clearer than I could do and sorry it is a bit long, but well worth getting to grips with. What I will add today is a document explaining the importance of significant figures to a physicist, which I will post on here and in the class Notebook section. I wouldn’t watch the hour long video as we need to move on.
You will need to correctly round to the correct number of significant figures in N5 Physics. Again you might not get it straight away, but you’ll get plenty of practice. I’ll do another helpsheet for the Class Notebook.
…..but you will need to be able to do this. You will need to know how to do Scientific Notation. I will not test you in this just now, but you should be confident about it by August. Watch this video on YouTube:Â Scientific Notation
Make a note on Scientific Notation in your Class Notebook
There will be a sheet this week to help you with this, which will be in the class materials here and in your note book as well, and on this site in the Maths bit.
Watch the video below on significant figures.
Figure 1: The red and brown is called a counting stick and can only measure to 10 cm.
Figure 2: The top part of this metre stick can read to the nearest 1 cm, the bottom to the nearest mm.
When Physicist use numbers it is usually because they have measured something. Significant figures tell us how precise our measurement.
For example a student uses a metre stick to measure the length of a jotter.
If the student measures a jotter with the “counting stick” (in the top picture in the red and brown) which is marked in 10 cm graduations they will not be able to get a very good value. You would get that the jotter was just under 30 cm long but you wouldn’t be able to say much more.
If the student uses a ruler marked in centimetre marks they could say that the jotter was over 29 cm but less than 30 cm and closer to 30 cm than 29 cm, you’d say it was about 30 cm long.
If the jotter was measured with a metre stick marked in millimetres the jotter could be measured as 29.7 cm long
You need to look at significant figures with rounding which I will cover this week too.
30 cm is one significant figure and means a number between 25 cm and 34 cm which would be rounded to 30 cm. This is how you could record the number if you used the counting stick.
29 cm is two significant figures and means a number between 29.5 cm and 30.4 cm, which would be rounded to 29 cm. This is how you could record the number if you used the metre stick marked in cm only
29.7 cm is three significant figures and means a number between 29.65 cm and 29.74 cm, which would be rounded to 29.7 cm. This is probably the best measurement we should aim to make and to do this we would need a metre stick with millimetre graduations.
29.76 cm is four significant figures and means a number between 29.755 cm and 29.764 cm, it is unlikely that you could measure a jotter to that level of precision as the pages would vary by more than this. You would need a better piece of apparatus than a metre stick to measure this.
The simple rule is this: Your answer should have no more than the number of significant figures given in the question.
If different numbers in the question are given to a different number of significant figure you should use the number of significant figures in the value given to the smallest number of significant figures.
Question: A rocket motor produces 4,570 N (3 sig fig) of thrust to a rocket with a mass of 7.0 kg (2 sig fig). What is the acceleration of the rocket?
The calculated answer to this question would be 652.8571429 ms-2 . However the least accurate value we are given in the question is the value of the mass. This is only given to two significant figures. Therefore our answer should also be to two significant figures: 650 ms–2 .
You might not think that this makes a difference, but during the SQA Intermediate 2 paper in 2006 Q25 was written to test significant figures.
