This document is intended to be for OCR A Level physics. It focuses on a variety of the hardest topics in the specification, and it ensures good quality, breadth, and depth. The document focuses on the new spec, after 2017.
PAPER 2 OVERVIEW
Exploring Physics
H556/02
2 hrs 15 mins
100 marks
Assesses the following modules:
Module 2: Foundations of physics
Module 4: Electrons, waves, and photons
Module 6: Particles and medical physics
MODULE 2: FOUNDATIONS OF PHYSICS
Ch 2 Fundamentals of physics:
Topics:
Quantities and units
Derived units
Scalars and vectors
Adding vectors
Resolving vectors
MODULE 4: ELECTRONS, WAVES AND PHOTONS
Topics:
Charge and current
Energy, power and resistance
Kirchoff’s laws and circuits
Waves 1
Waves 2
Quantum Physics
Charge: a quantised, physical property of ions. Like charges repel, opposites attract
Current: the rate of flow of charge, measured in Amperes
Resistance: the ratio of voltage to current, measured in Ohms
OCR PHYSICS A 2023
, I-V characteristic: a characteristic showing the variation of potential difference (x) with
current (y) which differentiates Ohmic and non-Ohmic components
Thermistor: a component with a NTC, a resistor in which the resistance is inversely
proportional to the temperature of the surroundings.
D.C: direct current, current which moves in one direction only, or example conventional
current
A.C: alternating current: a current which alternates and moves in more than one direction,
for example in electrolysis
Diode: a component which enables a current to move in one direction only, normally made
of semi-conductor material.
LED: light-emitting diode
Resistor: a device which gives rise to resistance and limits the heating effect of high
currents in a circuit
LDR: light-dependent resistor
Potential divider: a circuit which divides components’ potential differences as multiples of
the proportion of total resistance that they occupy
Thermionic emission: (typically used to describe energy transfers in an electron gun) the
process by which electrons are accelerated enough kinetic energy due to enough work done
eV on the electrons, such that they escape from the surface of the metal.
Resistivity: the product of a device’s resistance and cross-sectional area, divided by its
length
Power: the rate of energy transferred, measured in Watts. 1 W = 1Js-1
Potential difference: the work done per unit charge (per Coulomb) by charge carriers (ions)
in converting electrical energy into other useful forms of energy, such as thermal energy or
sound
Emf: electromotive force, the work done per unit charge on charge carriers in converting
other form of energy (chemical energy) into electrical energy
Electron gun: a material with an anode and a cathode (battery terminals),
Ohm’s law: for a metal wire at constant temperature, the current in the wire is directly
proportional to the potential difference across the two ends. (always define I with respect to
V, ignore R)
Ohm’s law (alternative): V=IR
Ohmic conductor: an object that obeys Ohm’s law
Conductor: Materials with a very high number density, n is of the order 1028 m-3
Semi-conductor: Materials with a lower number density than conductors, of the order 1017
m-3
Insulator: Materials which prevent conduction (transfers) of energy and have the lowest
order of magnitude of number density between materials.
OCR PHYSICS A 2023
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