GCSE Physics Paper 1 AQA Grade 9 Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering AQA GCSE Physics Paper 1 topics including energy, electricity, particle model of matter, and atomic structure.

Contamination

Radioactive particles getting onto objects.

Irradiation

Exposure to radiation; objects near a radioactive source are vradiated by IE.

Alpha radiation (Inside the body)

The most dangerous form of radiation inside the body because they do all their damage in a very localised area.

Beta radiation (Inside the body)

Less damaging inside the body because it is absorbed over a wider area.

Gamma radiation (Inside the body)

The least damaging inside the body because they mostly pass straight out.

Ohmic conductor

A component where, at a constant temperature, current is directly proportional to the potential difference.

Filament lamp

A component where as current increases, resistance increases because the temperature increases as current flows.

Diode

A component where current flows when potential difference flows forward, but there is very high resistance in reverse.

Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

A component where there is high resistance at low light intensity and low resistance at high light intensity.

Thermistor

A component where there is high resistance at low temperatures and low resistance at high temperatures.

Series Circuit

An electrical circuit where components are arranged in a line and the same amount of current flows through all components.

Parallel Circuit

An electrical circuit where components are arranged parallel to each other and the voltage across each of the resistors is the same.

Mains Electricity (UK)

An AC supply with a frequency of $50\,Hz$ and a potential difference of about $230\,V$.

Live wire

The brown wire which carries the alternating potential difference from the supply.

Neutral wire

The blue wire which completes the circuit.

Earth wire

The green and yellow striped safety wire used to stop an appliance from becoming live.

Power

The rate at which energy is transferred, calculated as $P = \frac{E}{t}$.

Efficiency

The proportion of energy which is usefully transferred, calculated as $\frac{\text{USEFUL ENERGY OUTPUT}}{\text{TOTAL ENERGY INPUT}} \times 100\%$.

Renewable resource

A resource that is being generated faster than it is being used and will never run out, such as Biofuel, wind, or solar.

Non-renewable resource

A resource that is being used up faster than it is being generated and will eventually run out, such as coal, oil, gas, or nuclear.

Current

The flow of electrical charge; it is the same everywhere in a single closed loop.

Step-up transformer

Used to increase the potential difference from the power station to the transmission cables.

Step-down transformer

Used to decrease the potential difference to a much lower value for domestic use.

Solid

A state of matter with a regular arrangement where particles vibrate about a fixed position and are held by strong forces.

Liquid

A state of matter where particles are randomly arranged, move around each other, and have weaker forces maintaining contact.

Gas

A state of matter where particles are randomly arranged, move quickly in all directions, and are far apart.

Density

The mass per unit volume of an object, calculated using the formula $\text{Density} = \frac{\text{mass}}{\text{volume}}$, where $1\,ml = 1\,cm^3$.

Kinetic energy

Energy stored by a moving object, calculated as $E_k = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$.

Elastic potential energy

Energy stored in a stretched spring or elastic band, calculated as $E_e = \frac{1}{2}ke^2$.

Specific heat capacity

The energy that one kilogram of a substance absorbs to cause its temperature to change by $1\,^{\circ}C$, calculated as $\Delta E = mc\Delta \theta$.

Conservation of energy

Principle stating that in a closed system, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred.

Gravitational potential energy

Energy gained by raising an object against the action of a gravitational field ($g = 9.8\,N/kg$ on Earth), calculated as $E_g = mgh$.

Alpha decay

A type of radioactive decay where the nucleus loses $2$ protons and $2$ neutrons.

Beta decay

A type of radioactive decay where a neutron changes to a proton and a fast-moving electron.

Gamma decay

The emission of an electromagnetic wave from the nucleus.

Half-Life

The time taken for the count-rate or the number of atoms to decrease by half.

Activity

The rate at which radioactive decay happens, measured in Becquerels ($Bq$).