science topic test term 2 2026
Q: What is light?
A: The visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum that travels as a transverse wave.
Q: What are the primary colours of light?
A: Red, green, and blue.
Q: What colour has the longest wavelength?
A: Red.
Q: What colour has the shortest wavelength?
A: Violet (or blue-violet).
Q: What is white light?
A: A combination of all colours in the visible spectrum.
Q: What is dispersion?
A: The splitting of white light into its component colours by a prism.
Q: What is a luminous object?
A: An object that produces its own light.
Q: What is a non-luminous object?
A: An object that reflects light.
Q: What is a transparent material?
A: A material that allows light to pass through clearly.
Q: What is a translucent material?
A: A material that allows some light through but not clearly.
Q: What is an opaque material?
A: A material that does not allow light to pass through.
Q: What is reflection?
A: The bouncing of light off a surface.
Q: What is refraction?
A: The bending of light as it moves between different media.
Q: What is the refractive index?
A: A measure of how much light bends in a substance.
Q: What happens when light enters a higher refractive index medium?
A: It bends towards the normal.
Q: What happens when light enters a lower refractive index medium?
A: It bends away from the normal.
Q: What is wavelength?
A: The distance between two matching points on a wave.
Q: What is frequency?
A: The number of waves passing a point each second.
Q: What unit is frequency measured in?
A: Hertz (Hz).
Q: What is amplitude?
A: The maximum height of a wave from its middle position.
Q: What type of wave is light?
A: Transverse.
Q: What type of wave is sound?
A: Longitudinal.
Q: What are the electromagnetic spectrum bands in order?
A: Radio, Microwave, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-ray, Gamma.
Q: Which electromagnetic wave has the highest energy?
A: Gamma rays.
Q: Which electromagnetic wave has the lowest energy?
A: Radio waves.
Q: What is heat?
A: Energy transferred due to a temperature difference.
Q: What is temperature?
A: A measure of the average kinetic energy of particles.
Q: Which direction does heat move?
A: From hot objects to cold objects.
Q: What is conduction?
A: Heat transfer through direct particle collisions.
Q: Where does conduction occur best?
A: Solids.
Q: What is convection?
A: Heat transfer by moving liquids or gases.
Q: What is radiation?
A: Heat transfer by infrared electromagnetic waves.
Q: What is a conductor?
A: A material that transfers heat easily.
Q: What is an insulator?
A: A material that resists heat transfer.
Q: What causes sound?
A: Vibrations.
Q: What are compressions?
A: Regions where particles are close together.
Q: What are rarefactions?
A: Regions where particles are spread apart.
Q: Can sound travel through a vacuum?
A: No.
Q: What is the speed of sound in air at 20°C?
A: Approximately 343–344 m/s.
Q: What determines pitch?
A: Frequency.
Q: High frequency produces what type of pitch?
A: High pitch.
Q: Low frequency produces what type of pitch?
A: Low pitch.
Q: What determines loudness?
A: Amplitude.
Q: What unit measures loudness?
A: Decibels (dB).
Q: What range of frequencies can humans hear?
A: Approximately 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
Q: What part of the ear collects sound waves?
A: The outer ear.
Q: What vibrates when sound enters the ear?
A: The eardrum.
Q: What does the cochlea do?
A: Converts vibrations into nerve impulses.
Q: What carries sound information to the brain?
A: The auditory nerve.
Q: What is the function of the cornea?
A: Begins focusing light entering the eye.
Q: What is the function of the iris?
A: Controls the amount of light entering the eye.
Q: What is the pupil?
A: The opening that allows light into the eye.
Q: What is the function of the lens?
A: Focuses light onto the retina.
Q: What is the retina?
A: A layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye.
Q: What do rods detect?
A: Brightness and dim light.
Q: What do cones detect?
A: Colour.
Q: What does the optic nerve do?
A: Sends visual information to the brain.
Q: What is the fovea?
A: The area of sharpest vision on the retina.
Q: What is myopia?
A: Short-sightedness.
Q: What is hyperopia?
A: Long-sightedness.
Q: What is astigmatism?
A: Blurred vision caused by an irregularly shaped cornea.
What is a convex lens? :: A lens that is thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges.
What is another name for a convex lens? :: A converging lens.
What does a convex lens do to light rays? :: It bends light rays towards each other so they meet at a focal point.
What type of image can a convex lens produce? :: A real image or a virtual image depending on the object's position.
How does a magnifying glass use a convex lens? :: It produces an upright, enlarged virtual image.
What is a concave lens? :: A lens that is thinner in the middle and thicker at the edges.
What is another name for a concave lens? :: A diverging lens.
What does a concave lens do to light rays? :: It spreads light rays apart.
What type of image does a concave lens produce? :: A smaller upright virtual image.
Which lens is used to correct myopia (short-sightedness)? :: A concave lens.
Which lens is used to correct hyperopia (long-sightedness)? :: A convex lens.
State one difference between a convex and concave lens. :: A convex lens converges light rays, while a concave lens diverges light rays.
Wave Properties
What is a crest? :: The highest point of a wave.
What is a trough? :: The lowest point of a wave.
How are frequency and wavelength related? :: Higher frequency means shorter wavelength, while lower frequency means longer wavelength.
Conductors & Insulators
What materials are generally good conductors of heat? :: Metals.
Name three good conductors of heat. :: Copper, aluminium and silver.
What is a conductor? :: A material that transfers heat easily.
What is an insulator? :: A material that resists heat transfer.
Name three good insulators. :: Plastic, wood and wool.
Why are saucepan handles often made from insulators? :: To reduce heat transfer to your hands.
Hearing
How does hearing occur? :: Sound waves enter the outer ear, vibrate the eardrum, pass through the middle-ear bones, move the fluid in the cochlea, and are converted into nerve signals sent to the brain.
What is the function of the outer ear? :: To collect sound waves.
What is the function of the eardrum? :: To vibrate when sound waves hit it.
What is the function of the three middle-ear bones? :: To amplify vibrations.
What is the function of the cochlea? :: To convert vibrations into nerve impulses.
What is the function of the auditory nerve? :: To carry sound information to the brain.
What are common causes of hearing loss? :: Ear canal blockages, fluid in the middle ear, ruptured eardrums, damaged cochlear cells, or nerve damage.
Eye Structures
What is the cornea? :: The clear front surface of the eye that begins focusing light.
What is the aqueous humour? :: A clear fluid between the cornea and lens.
What is the vitreous humour? :: A clear jelly-like substance behind the lens that helps maintain the eye's shape.
What is the sclera? :: The tough white outer covering of the eye.
What is the choroid? :: A blood-rich layer that nourishes the retina.
What is the blind spot? :: The point where the optic nerve leaves the eye and there are no light-sensitive cells.