What to Know For Your Exam

1. Know your SI and fundamental units!!

2. Numerical references (eg. 2.1) refer to the Pearson Physics textbook chapter

Waves
- Determine wavelength, frequency, period, speed and amplitude from graphs
- Relate these properties of waves to the appropriate properties of light and sound
- Label diagrams of transverse and longitudinal waves
- Recall and apply the law of reflection
- Explain and use calculations to show why and how refraction occurs
- Calculate using Snell's law
- Draw diagrams showing and explaining refraction

Notes
2.1

- Vibrating objects transfer energy through waves, travelling outwards from the source
- A wave may be a single pulse or continuous or periodic
- A wave only transfers energy from one point to another (does not transfer matter)
- Mechanical waves require a medium to transfer energy
- Mechanical waves can be either transverse or longitudinal
- In a transverse wave, particles oscillate perpendicular to the direction of energy
- In a longitudinal wave, particles oscillate parallel to the direction of energy transfer
- Electromagnetic radiation includes visible light, which does not need a medium to travel
through
2.2

- Waves can be represented by displacement-time graphs or distance-displacement graphs

- From a displacement-time graph, you can determine amplitude, period and frequency
1
- Period is inversely proportional to frequency (𝑇 = 𝑓
) where T = period (s), f = frequency (Hz)
𝑣
- Wave equation is λ = 𝑓
, where λ = wavelength (m), v = wave speed (ms-1), f = frequency (Hz)

2.3

- Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves made of mutually perpendicular, oscillating

electric and magnetic fields
- Electromagnetic radiation travels through a vacuum at 3×108ms-1 (c)
𝑐
- The wave equation λ = 𝑓
can be used to calculate the frequency and wavelength of
electromagnetic waves
- Electromagnetic radiation can be used for a variety of purposes depending on the frequency
- Electromagnetic spectrum (decreasing in size):
- Radiowaves
- Microwaves
- Infrared waves
 - Visible light
- UV light
- Gamma rays
3.1

- Huygen’s Principle states that each point on a wavefront can be considered as a source of
secondary wavelets (producing a new front)
- In reflection, the angle of incidence relative to the normal is equal to the angle of reflection
relative to the normal
- Refraction is the change in direction of light that occurs when light moves from one medium
to another due to a chance in the speed of light in the material
𝑐
- The refractive index (n) is given by 𝑛 = 𝑣
where v = speed of light in the material
- Change in speed between two materials can be given by n1v1 = n2v2
- The amount of refraction of a light wave (Snell’s Law) is 𝑛1 × 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ𝑖 = 𝑛2 × 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ𝑟
𝑛2
- The critical angle is given by 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ𝑐 = 𝑛1
(when θ𝑖 > θ𝑐 gives T.I.R, provided n1 > n2)

- Optical effects in which the apparent position of an object does not match its true position
occurs due to changes in ‘n’ between source of light wave and the observer

3.2

- Different colours of light have different wavelengths

- Dispersion occurs because when white light is incident on a medium (water or air for
example), red light refracts more than blue light (longer wavelength)
- Coloured fringes on images are due to dispersion of light
- Light waves emitted from an unpolarised source can oscillate in many planes perpendicular
to the direction of travel
- Polarisation occurs when light travels through a polarisation filter and is only allowed to
vibrate in one plane

Heat
- Interpret phase change diagrams
- Explain how substances react when they absorb and release heat
- Define absolute zero
- △
Calculations using Q=mc T and Q=mL
- Discuss causes and effect of greenhouse and enhanced greenhouse effect
- Apply Wien's Law to stars, flames and other bodies
Notes
4.1

- Temperature is related to the average kinetic energy of particles in a substance

- Heat is the transfer of thermal energy (measured in Joules)
- ℃
0K = -273.15 ; This is called absolute zero, at which all particles stop moving
- Internal energy is the total kinetic energy of particles in a substance and the
potential energy of those particles
- Total energy in a system is constant
- Any change to the internal energy of a system (∆U) is equal to the energy added by
heating (+Q) or removed by cooling (-Q), minus the work done on (-W) or by (+W)
the system: ∆𝑈 = 𝑄 − 𝑊
- Zeroth law of thermodynamics relates to thermal equilibrium and thermal contact.
- Two objects in thermal contact, energy can flow between them.
- Thermal equilibrium is the flow of energy from higher to lower temperatures
(balance out the temperature)
4.2

- Specific heat capacity of material ‘c’ is the amount of energy that must be
℃
transferred to change the temperature of 1kg of the material by 1 or 1K
- NOT used during a phase change, only whilst temperature is changing
- The amount of energy (Q) added or removed from a substance is proportional to the
change in its temperature (∆T), mass (m) and specific heat capacity (c): 𝑄 = 𝑚𝑐∆𝑇
- Q is measured in J
- m is measured in kg or g
- c is measured in Jkg-1K-1 or Jg-1K-1
- ∆T is measured in ℃ or K
- A substance has different specific heat capacities in different states
4.3

- Latent heat is the energy released or absorbed during a state change

- Whilst a substance is changing state, temperature remains constant
- Latent heat is calculated by 𝑄 = 𝑚𝐿 where Q is heat energy is transferred (J), m is
mass (kg or g), L is the latent heat (Jkg-1 or Jg-1)
- A change with solid/liquid is called latent heat of fusion, and a change with
liquid/gas is called latent heat of vaporisation
- The rate of evaporation depends on the volatility, temperature, surface area of the
liquid and the presence of a breeze
5.1
−3
- Wien’s law states that: λ𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑇 = 2. 898 × 10 𝑚𝐾
where λ max is the peak wavelength of the emitted radiation in metres (m)
T is the surface temperature of the object in kelvin (K)
- any object whose temperature is greater than absolute zero emits thermal energy by
radiation
5.2
- The long-wavelength infrared radiation emitted by Earth is readily absorbed by
the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This creates what is called the greenhouse
effect
- Earth’s atmosphere acts as a greenhouse, trapping some of the Sun’s
 - energy to keep our planet at a constant temperature.
- The overall temperature of Earth is determined by the total thermal energy received
from the Sun and the amount that is lost back to space. Any change in that balance
will lead to a warming or cooling of Earth as a whole

Nuclear Radiation
- Write and apply decay equations
- Identify the physical structure of different isotopes
- Calculate mass defect, binding energy
- Calculate dosages related to exposure to radiation
- Discuss uses of radiation
- Read and interpret decay graphs
- Calculations using decay equation
- Discuss nuclear reactions in the australian context
- Write balanced nuclear reaction

Notes
6.1

- The nucleus of an atom consists of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons.
Collectively, protons and neutrons are known as nucleons
- The nucleus of the atom is extremely small but contains most of the atom’s mass
- The atomic number, Z, is the number of protons in the nucleus. The mass number, A,
is the number of nucleons in the nucleus; it is the combined number of protons and
neutrons. Elements are represented as AZX
- Isotopes of an element have the same number of protons but different numbers of
neutrons. Isotopes of an element are chemically identical to each other, but have
different physical properties
- An unstable isotope - a radioisotope - may spontaneously decay by emitting a
particle from the nucleus

6.2

- In any nuclear reaction, both the atomic and mass numbers are conserved
- The strong nuclear force is a short-range but powerful force of attraction that acts on
all nucleons to hold the nucleus together. It opposes electrostatic repulsion between
protons and results in nuclear stability
- The weak nuclear force acts in the nucleus to cause radioactive decay. It allows a
nucleus to become more stable by rearranging the number of protons and neutrons
into a more energy-favourable ratio vis beta decay
- Radioactive isotopes may decay by emitting alpha, beta or gamma radiation from
their nuclei:
- Alpha particles:
- Consist of two protons and two neutrons and thus have a double
positive charge
- Are identical to helium nuclei and can be written as 42He
 - Are emitted from the nuclei of some radioisotopes at around 10% of
the speed of light
- Are relatively heavy and have poor penetrating power
𝐴 4 𝐴−4
- 𝑋𝑍 → 𝐻𝑒2 + 𝑌𝑍−2
- Beta particles:
- Emanate from the nucleus at up to 90% of the speed of light
- Are much lighter than alpha particles and have moderate penetrating
ability
- Have a single negative charge (B-) or single positive charge (B+)
𝐴 0 𝐴 −
- 𝑋𝑍 → 𝑒−1 + 𝑌𝑍+1 (β particle production)
𝐴 0 𝐴 +
- 𝑋𝑍 → 𝑒1 + 𝑌𝑍−1 (β particle production)
- Gamma rays:
- Are high-energy electromagnetic radiation that is emitted from the
nuclei of radioactive atoms
- Usually accompanies by an alpha or a beta emission
- Travel at the speed of light
- No charge
- High penetrating power

6.3

- The rate of decay of a radioisotope is measured by its half-life (t1/2), which is the
amount of time it takes for half of the radioisotope to decay
- The activity of a sample indicates the number of emissions per second
- The number of atoms of a radioisotope will decrease over time (over one half-life the
number of atoms of a radioisotope will halve)
𝑇
- To find number of half-lives, use: 𝑛 = 𝑡1
, where T is the total time passed, and t1/2 is
2

the length of the half-life

- The half-life equation can be used to calculate the number (N) of a radioisotope
1 𝑛
remaining after a number of half-lives (n) has passed: 𝑁 = 𝑁0( 2 )
- When a radioisotope decays its daughter nucleus is usually also radioactive. This
daughter will then decay to a granddaughter nucleus, which could also be
radioactive. This is called the decay series.

6.4

- Exposure to some ionising radiation is a natural part of human existence, however

large doses need to be avoided
- The equivalent dose gives a measure of the biological damage that a dose of
radiation causes: 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑠𝑒 = 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑠𝑒 × 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 (Sv)
- The quality factor is a constant specific to each type of exposure faced by the
person (the quality factor of alpha particles is 20, 10 of neutrons with energy under
10keV, 1 for beta particles, etc)
 - Absorbed dose (measured in Greys (Gys, or 1 Jkg-1)) is the amount of radiation
absorbed per kg of tissue, and is calculated by the energy absorbed by the tissue (J)
divided by the mass of the tissue (in kg)
- The effective dose is the sum of the dose equivalent, multiplied by the weighting
factor for each organ affected by the radioactive dose:
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑠𝑒 = Σ(𝐸𝑄 × 𝑊) (Sv)
- Exposure to ionising radiation can lead to somatic and genetic effects
- Somatic effects can be small (nausea) or large (death)
- Genetic effects can include if a person’s reproductive cells are damaged by
radiation, giving rise to potential future genetic anomalies
- A radioisotope can also be called a radionuclide or radioactive tracer
- A radiopharmaceutical (often called a medical tracer) is a drug that has a
radioisotope bonded to it, which can either provide imaging to the hospital, or can
deliver radiation from inside the body to kill the cancer cells at their location

7.1

- The electron volt (eV) is a unit of energy equal to 1.6 x 10-19J

- The mass of a nucleus is always smaller than the sum of the masses of the individual
nucleons that made it up (this is called the mass defect, ∆m)
- The mass defect is converted into energy that holds the nucleus together, called the
binding energy, ∆E, which is equivalent to the energy required to break a nucleus
completely into its individual nucleons
- The mass defect is found by ∆𝑚 = Σ(𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠) − 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
2
- The binding energy can be calculated by using: 𝐸 = ∆𝑚𝑐

7.2

- Nuclear fission occurs when a nucleus is made to split and release a number of
neutrons, which can be induced by striking a fissile nucleus with a neutron, which
releases a large amount of energy
- When fission occurs, the mass of the fission fragments is always less than the mass of
the original particles. The decrease in mass is proportional to the energy emitted, as
per Einstein’s equation
- In a fission reaction, usually two or three neutrons per fission are produced
- Nuclear fusion is the combining of light nuclei to form heavier nuclei. Extremely high
temperatures are required for fusion to occur
- When fusion occurs, the mass of the combined nucleus is less than the original,
separate nuclei. This decrease in mass is proportional to the energy emitted, as also
given by Einstein’s equation
- The amount of energy released per nucleon is greater for fusion than for fission
- The binding energy per nucleon is equal to the binding energy of a nucleus divided
by the number of nucleons in that nucleus (describes the stability of the nucleus)
- If a large nucleus (ie Uranium) splits into two fragments, the binding energy per
nucleon increases and so the daughter nuclei becomes more stable
- The binding energy per nucleon increases dramatically when very small nuclei fuse
together and so the product becomes more stable
Electricity
- Identify key features of circuits
- Define voltage, resistance, current
- Draw circuits
- Analyse circuits for voltage, current and resistance
- Calculate power, energy, current, charged electrons, cost using appropriate
equations
- Discuss analogies for voltage, current and resistance in circuits.
- Explain differences in the types of circuits and how/why different devices are
connected in particular ways
- Explain the law of electric charges and identify charge on different objects

Notes
8.1

- Unlike charges attract; like charges repel

- When an object loses electrons, it develops a positive charge if it loses an electron,
and a negative charge if it gains an electron
- The letter Q is used to represent the amount of charge, and the SI unit for it is the
Coulomb (C)
- The amount of charge is equivalent to the number of charges multiplied by the
charge of an electron: 𝑄 = 𝑛𝑒
- The elementary charge (e) for a proton is 1.6 x 10-19C, and the elementary charge of
-e is for an electron, and is -1.6 x 10-19
- Electrons move easily through conductors, but not through insulators

8.2

- Current will flow in a circuit only when the circuit forms a closed loop from one
terminal of a power supply to the other terminal
- When there is a current, electrons all around the circuit move towards the positive
terminal, at the same time, which is called the electron flow
- Conventional current in a circuit is from the positive terminal to the negative
terminal
- Current (I, measured in Amperes) is defined as the amount of charge (Q), that passes
through a point in a conducting wire per second, and is equivalent to Coulombs per
𝑄
second (𝐼 = 𝑡
)
- Current is measured with an ammeter connected along the same path as the current
within the circuit

8.3

- Electrical potential difference measures the difference in electrical potential energy

available per unit charge
- Potential difference can be defined as the work done to move a charge against an
𝐸
electric field between two points, using the equation: 𝑉 = 𝑄
 - In an electric circuit, the energy required for charge separation is provided by a cell
or battery. The chemical energy within the cell is transformed into electrical
potential energy
- Work done by the circuit is 𝐸 = 𝑉𝐼𝑡, where E is the work done by the circuit, in J, V
is the potential difference, I is the
- Power is the rate at which energy is transformed in a circuit component. It is defined
𝐸
and quantified by the relationships: 𝑃 = 𝑡
= 𝑉𝐼

8.4

- Resistance is a measure of how hard it is for charge to flow through a particular

material. The unit of resistance is the ohm (Ω)
- The resistance of a material depends on its length, cross-sectional area and
ρ𝐿
temperature: 𝑅 = 𝐴
, where R is resistance, p is resistivity of the material (called
Rho), L is the length of wire and A is the cross-sectional area
- Ohm’s law describes the relationship between current, potential difference and
resistance: 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅
- Ohmic conductors have a constant resistance at a constant temperature. The
resistance of non-ohmic conductors varies for potential differences

9.1

- When resistors are connected in series, the current through each resistor is the same,
the sum of the potential differences is equal to the potential difference provided to
the circuit, and the equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of the individual
resistances
- Parallel circuits allow individual components to be switched on and off
independently
- When resistors are connected in parallel, the voltage across each resistor is the
same, the current is shared between the resistors, and equivalent resistance is given
1 1 1 1
by the equation: 𝑅𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙
= 𝑅1
+ 𝑅2
+... + 𝑅𝑛

- Complex circuit analysis may require the calculation of both equivalent series and
equivalent parallel resistances
- A parallel circuit generally draws more power than a series circuit using the same
resistors
- KiloWatt Hours
- 1KWh = 3,600,000J
- KW = 1000W
- Hour = 3600s
- Energy (kWh) = time (h) x Power (kW)