Dynamics 2021

A couple of songs to start this unit. I think we should start all topics with a song.

I can’t condone where this guy is putting his hands!

Most up-to-date notes,

covering all outcomes

This is the updated version of the Dynamics booklet, updated to match the 2017 SQA changes.

The latest version February 2020

Dynamics Summary Notes

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!

From A Milner, these are so comprehensive

Other mind maps by Melanie Ehsan, with thanks to eSgoil (who provide lots of online materials), the first of a collection of mindmaps.

Scalars and Vectors

Speed, Velocity, Acceleration

Velocity time graphs

Newton’s Laws of Motion

With a little help from the IoP here is my updated Newton’s 3 Laws. I hope you can understand it. I’m quite scared to share it with you! The pdf will miss some detail as I’ve overlapped some images.

ENERGY

Projectiles

OTHER RESOURCES

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

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29th December 2021

Mrs Physics

29th December 2021

Waves Resources

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

2018 Wave Notes as produced by Miss Horn

Wave notes pdf

Wave notes word

Waves Summary Notes

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!

https://mrsphysics.co.uk/n5/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Waves-Summary-Notes-all.pdf

Revision Mind Map

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.

Reflection is not in the N5 Course, but it is good to know about reflection!

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

I2_Waves&Optics

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Januarty 2021

HSDU powerpoint questions

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.

Radiation

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

click on the image for the pdf Summary Sheet for Radiation

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

Fusion is the process when two SMALL NUCLEI join to form a LARGER NUCLEI with the production of ENERGY

Fission

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.

Chain Reaction

When neutrons split nuclei by fission and extra neutrons are produced which can split further nuclei. Large quantities of energy are produced.

Reducing exposure to ionising radiation.

There are 3 groups of category to reduce harm caused by radiation:

  1. MONITOR
  2. SHIELD
  3. DISTANCE

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 ¼ . 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

When it goes wrong

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster 1986- Effects and Summary

Chernobyl Surviving Disaster (BBC Drama Documentary)

Chernobyl Questions
  1. What date was the Chernobyl Disaster?
  2. What was the name of the man who hanged himself at the start, who was narrating the story?
  3. Which reactor blew?
  4. What was the cause of the accident?
  5. How many people went to see what had happened?
  6. What happened to the people who saw the hole in the reactor?
  7. What day of the week was the disaster?
  8. What town was evacuated?
  9. How did they drain the water from the reactor?
  10. How did they put out the fire?
  11. What was the reading on the counter when they measured the radiation levels?
  12. Why was this reading misleading and wrong?
  13. What was the real count when it was measured correctly?
  14. What were some of the symptoms of radiation poisoning?
  15. Who was sent to prison for crimes to do with the disaster? (or record how many people went to jail)
  16. Who was president of the USSR when the disaster occurred?
  17. What was the trigger that caused the man to hang himself?
  18. What is the “elephant’s foot?” in the reactor?
  19. Have there been any other nuclear disasters? Can you find out about them and name them?
  20. What other things did you learn about nuclear power stations and radioactivity?
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updated October 2020

Significant Figures

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.

A picture containing water, clock

Description automatically generated

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.

A close up of a measure

Description automatically generated

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

Figure 3 Here is a diagram of the jotter measured with different metre stick.

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.

How many Significant Figures?

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.

Example

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.

Summary Notes

or now called Knowledge Organisers! and other things too

New for 2024! Are you losing marks for not knowing your quantity, symbol, unit and unit symbol. Check them off here by making flashcards or going through the powerpoint. Do a few everyday and one day a week try the challenge. How many can you get through before making a mistake or forgetting something. Who can get through to the end without a mistake?

Teachers- use away but please acknowledge the author!

They were put together by the wonderful Miss Milner from Holyrood. I hope students appreciate the wonderful Physics teaching community that are so generous with such great resources.

I’ve found a producer of some succinct summary notes which I’ve updated. Some I’ve had to make from scratch.

Properties of Matter

Electricity

Waves

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!

https://mrsphysics.co.uk/n5/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Waves-Summary-Notes-all.pdf

Radiation

Thanks to Mrs Russell who started these off

click on the image for the pdf Summary Sheet for Radiation

Dynamics

This one is a joint effort by Mrs Russell and Mrs Physics with formatting help from Mr Risbridger.

Space

Mrs N Hunter Summary Notes

I am extremely grateful to Nancy Hunter from Shetland for these great summary notes. She has kindly given permission for me to upload them here.

Hope they help. I am not removing the Anderson High School as that is where they were produced! Thanks for sharing.

I’m also very grateful to Mr L Mitchell from Belmont Academy for his Key Definitions. I’ve taken the six documents and made them into one document, hope they help. Thanks for sharing!

TopicWord/Term Definition
DAcceleration The change in velocity per unit time. It is a vector quantity and is given by the gradient of the line on a velocity-time graph.
DAverage Speed The total distance travelled by an object measured over the total time taken. The rate of covering a distance. It is measured in metres per second.
DBearing A three-digit number without a degree symbol that can be used to describe direction. It is measured from North (000) in a clockwise direction.
DDeceleration A negative acceleration which indicates that an object is slowing down. The SQA have said they will use the term negative acceleration instead of using deceleration.
DDisplacement The shortest distance between the starting point and finishing point of a journey, which takes into account the direction of travel of the object. The two points are connected with a straight line. It is a vector quantity and is given by the area under a velocity-time graph.
DDistance How far an object has travelled from the starting point to the finishing point of a journey, regardless of its direction. It is a scalar quantity.
DInstantaneous Speed The speed of an object at a particular moment in time. It is measured in metres per second. The time for the instantaneous speed must be very small
DMass The quantity of particles that make up an object. It is a scalar quantity and is measured in kilograms (kg).
DResultant Vector The final vector drawn from the starting point to the finishing point after adding two vectors.
DScalar A quantity that consists of a magnitude (size) only.
DSpeed The distance travelled per unit time. The rate of covering a distance. It is a scalar quantity.
DVector A quantity that consists of a magnitude (size) and direction.
DVelocity The displacement per unit time. It is a vector quantity.
DWeight The force due to gravity acting on an object. It is a vector quantity and is measured in newtons (N).
SAsteroid Objects orbiting the sun that do not fulfil planetary criteria.
SCelestial Body A natural object in the sky.
SDocking The joining together of spacecraft modules in orbit. It requires a very precise Hohmann transfer from one orbit to the target orbit.
SDwarf Planet An object that orbits a star and is similar to a planet but is not large enough to clear its orbital path of debris.
SExoplanet A planet outside of our solar system that orbits a star.
SGalaxy A cluster of gravitationally bound stars, gas and dust clouds.
SGeostationary Satellite A satellite that has a period of 24 hours and orbits the Earth’s equator at an altitude of 36 000 km. It remains above the same point on the Earth’s surface.
SGravity Assist Using the gravitational pull of a celestial body to gain or lose orbital velocity.
SGravitational field strengthWeight per unit mass. Weight per kilogram. (Nkg -1 )
SGravity Turn A spacecraft takes a slight turn when it reaches a certain altitude after a vertical launch. This minimises the effect of the gravitational pull of the body on the spacecraft, allowing it to reach a certain horizontal speed for its desired orbit.
SHohmann Transfer The movement of a spacecraft from one circular orbit to another by gaining or losing orbital velocity.
SIon Drive Ion thrusters accelerate ions in an electric field to generate thrust rather than burning fuel. They only require a small amount of fuel to do this.
SKepler’s 3 rd Law As the orbital radius increases, the orbital period also increases.
SMoon A natural object that orbits a planet.
SOrbital Period The time taken to go around the Sun in one full revolution, or the time taken for a moon to go once around a planet etc
SOrbital Radius The distance between the centre of an object and the centre of the body it is orbiting.
SPlanet An object that does not undergo nuclear fusion but orbits a star.
SSolar System A central star orbited by planets.
SStar A large ball of hot gases that is undergoing nuclear fusion and emitting electromagnetic radiation
SSun The star at the centre of our solar system.
SUniverse Consists of many galaxies separated by empty space.
EAlternating Current (A.C.) An electric current which constantly changes direction and it's magnitude (size).
EAmmeter A component used to measure the current in a circuit.
EBattery A collection of two or more cells.
EBulb/Lamp A component that converts electrical energy to light energy.
ECell A component used to power a circuit.
EDirect Current (D.C.) The flow of electrons or charge in one direction only. Current which only flows direction in the circuit.
EElectric Field A force field that surrounds any electric charge, causing a charge to experience a force.
EElectrical Current The electric charge transferred per second.
EMains Voltage The voltage supplied to any electrical device plugged into the mains. In the UK, this is 230 V.
ENon-Ohmic Conductor A component that does not obey Ohm’s law.
EOhm’s Law For a fixed temperature, the voltage across a conductor is directly proportional to the current passing through it.
EOhmic Conductor A component that obeys Ohm’s law.
EOhmmeter A device used to measure the resistance of a circuit component.
EParallel Circuit A circuit in which there is more than one path (branch) for the current to flow.
EPotential Difference (Voltage) The energy supplied to each coulomb of charge that passes through a power supply.
EResistance The opposition to a current or electron flow.
EResistor A component that opposes the flow of current.
ESeries Circuit A circuit in which all components are connected one after the other and there is only one path for the current to flow.
ESwitch A component that allows a circuit to be turned on/off.
EVariable Resistor A component that allows the flow of current in a circuit to be changed.
EVoltmeter A device used to measure the voltage across a circuit component.
PoMAbsolute Zero The temperature at which the pressure in a substance is zero. This occurs at -273 °C (or 0 K), where we assume that the average kinetic energy of the particles is zero.
PoMCondensing The process by which a gas changes state to a liquid.
PoMConduction The transfer of heat through a solid. Heat flows from a high temperature to a low temperature.
PoMConvection The transfer of heat from one place to another by the movement of fluids (liquids and gases).
PoMFreezing The process by which a liquid changes state to a solid.
PoMFusion (Melting) The process by which a solid changes state to a liquid.
PoMHeat A form of energy measured in joules (J). It is a measure of the total kinetic energy of the particles in an object.
PoMPressure The force per unit area.
PoMRadiation The transfer of heat by electromagnetic waves (infrared).
PoMSpecific Heat Capacity The amount of heat energy required to change the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1 °C.
PoMSpecific Latent Heat The amount of heat energy required to change the state of 1 kg of a substance without a change in temperature .
PoMSpecific Latent Heat of Fusion The energy required to change 1 kg of a solid into a liquid at its melting point without a change in temperature.
PoMSpecific Latent Heat of Vaporisation The energy required to change 1 kg of a liquid into a gas at its boiling point.
PoMTemperature Indicates how hot or cold an object is, measured in degrees Celsius (°C) or kelvin (K). It is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object.
PoMVaporisation (Evaporating) The process by which a liquid changes state to a gas.
WAmplitude The maximum distance from the mean position on a wave. (The vertical distance from the axis to the top of the wave (crest) or axis to the bottom of the wave (trough). It is also half the vertical height of the wave.
WAngle of Incidence The angle measured between the incident ray and the normal.
WAngle of Refraction The angle measured between the refracted ray and the normal.
WCrest The top point (peak) of a wave.
WDiffraction The bending of waves through gaps or around obstacles.
WEletromagnetic Spectrum A group of all the types of electromagnetic radiation ordered in terms of their wavelength/frequency. All the waves travel at the speed of light (3 ´ 10 8 ms -1 )
WFrequency The number of waves produced or passing a point per second.
WLongitudinal Wave A longitudinal wave is one where the particles vibrate along the same direction as the wave.
WNormal A dashed line that is drawn perpendicular (at 90°) to any surface.
WPeriod The time taken for one wave to pass a point. It is also calculated from the inverse of the frequency.
WRefraction The change in speed of light as it passes from one medium to another (e.g. from air to glass).
WTransverse Wave A transverse wave is one where the particles move at right angles (90°) to the direction of travel of the wave.
WTrough The bottom point of a wave.
WWave speedThe distance travelled per second. It is also the frequency multiplied by the wavelength.
WWavelength The horizontal distance from one crest to the next crest, one trough to the next trough or one point on a wave to the same point on the next wave.
RAbsorbed Dose The energy absorbed by a material per unit mass.
RActivity The number of nuclear decays (or disintegrations) per second.
RAlpha Particle A particle made up of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. It is also the nucleus of a helium atom. It has a charge or +2 or 3.2 ´ 10 -19 C
RAtom An overall neutral particle consisting of a nucleus (protons and neutrons) and orbiting electrons. All matter is made up of atoms.
RBackground Radiation Radiation that is all around us and is caused by both natural and artificial sources, e.g. radon gas.
RBeta Particle A fast moving electron. It has a charge of -1. It forms in the nucleus when a neutron changes to a proton.
RElectron A negatively charged particle that orbits the nucleus of an atom. It has a charge of -1. or -1.6 ´ 10 -19 C
RFilm Badge An obsolete radiation detector worn by people who work with radioactive materials to monitor the radiation dose that they are exposed to. It uses different filters which blacken or ‘fog’ when radiation hits them.
RGamma Ray An electromagnetic wave of very high frequency and energy.
RGeiger-Muller Tube A radiation detector that uses the ionisation of gas in the tube to count the number of times radiation hits it.
RHalf LifeThe time taken for the activity/ corrected count rate(of a radioactive source)to half
RIonisation The addition or removal of an electron from a neutral atom.
RNeutron A particle with neutral charge that exists in the nucleus of an atom.
RNucleus The small, dense region containing protons and neutrons at the centre of an atom.
RProton A positively charged particle in the nucleus of an atom. It has a charge of +1. or +1.6 ´ 10 -19 C
RRadiation Weighting Factor An indicator of the relative biological effect of radiation on a material.
RScintillation Counter A radiation detector that counts the flashes of light produced when radiation hits the scintillating material.
RShielding The act of placing a material between a person and a radioactive source to absorb radiation.
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My Birthday 2024

Learning Outcome Questions.

At last I’ve completed the LOQ. There are a few mistakes in the answers but really not many.

When completing these questions there is no point in just going straight to the answers, it wont teach you anything. Use the answers after you’ve completed what you can do and had a good guess at what you can’t. Mark in green anything you’ve had to look up.

Enjoy!

Complete book of outcome questions

Final version of the Learning Outcome Questions that are matched to the compendium

Individual Sections

ALL UNITS

Dynamics

Space

ELECTRICITY

Properties of Matter

Waves

Radiation

This also contains some bonus material on problem solving questions. You’ll find these in every paper.

December 2019
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Learning Outcome Answers

This contains the N5 Physics Self Assessment Answers for each unit. Revise with these or use as homework

There is absolutely no point in just copying out the answers. There is an important requirement in checking your answers carefully to ensure you haven’t made a mistake and that you’ve understood the course specifications and the learning outcomes.

Only check over the answer when you’ve completed a section and mark them in green pen.

Advice from the SQA

From the Understanding Standards Meeting I went to Physics teachers were advised to tell their students NOT to add in the rearranging line for their calculations. Just do the formula, substitution and final line. For some of you this will involve too many steps so you might want to cross out any middle lines. I’ve shown mine in these answers to give you more help as to how to get to the answer.

All Units (the maths bit)

Dynamics

Finally finished, but I’ll need to edit out the duplicates but I’ll do that with the updated booklet so the numbers match. (updated 22nd June 2020) Not sure when they will get done, it might be a 2021 version

Space

Waves

Electricity

Properties of Matter

20/12/19 finished, thanks to Callum, some corrections made 25/0222

Radioactivity & Variables Questions

Finished 27/07/20

Please if you find mistakes in my answers please add a comment below.

I will now need to go through and make a 2021 booklet of questions and answers with the corrections. This is a long slow process! I hope you find them useful, then it will have all been worthwhile…… Now I need to start the Higher ones!

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July 2020

Space Learning Outcome Questions

Final Space Learning Outcomes.

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Sept 2020

Waves Learning Outcome Questions

Here are the Waves Learning outcome questions which will help you through your revision. They can also be found in the Learning outcome section in the Course Material drop down menu. Answers are on here too, but copying from the answers is a pointless activity. Hopefully by completing all of these questions you will have produced an excellent set of revision notes from which to revise.

You can always use these in electronic version to answer the questions but DON’T think you’ll produce one set between you and copy!

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Updated Jan 2021

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