A-Level AQA 2024 Physics Paper 3
Absolute magnitude - ANSthe stars apparent magnitude at a distance of 10 parsecs
from earth
Airy disc - ANSthe bright central region in an optical diffraction pattern caused by light
entering a circular aperture
Angular magnification - ANSthe magnifying power of a refracting telescope given by the
ratio of the objective focal legnth to the eyepiece focal length
Apparent magnitude - ANSthe magnitude of a star as it appears form earth
astronomical unit - ANSthe mean distance from the earth to the sun
Balmer series - ANSa series of emission or absorption lines in the visible spectrum of
hydrogen. Resulting from electrons moving from the first excitation level to higher levels
Binary star system - ANStwo stars revolving around a common centre of mass
Black body radiation - ANSA body that absorbs all wavelength of electromagnetic
radiation, and can emit all waveles of electromagnetic radiation
blue shift - ANSa decrease in wavelength radiation emitted by an object approaching an
observer
ccd - ANScharged coupled device an electronic light detector composed of many pixels
each gaon charge proportionally to NUMBER of photons detected
chromatic aberration - ANSan optical defect that causes light of different
colours/wavelength to be focused at different locations
CMBR - ANScosmic microwave background radiation, at 2.7k
Continuous spectrum - ANSa spectrum of electromagnetic radiation distributed over a
range of wavelengths without ant spectral lines
cosmological principle - ANSon a large scale, the universe is homogeneous and
isotropic
Dioptre - ANSunit used to measure refractive power of a lens
Doppler effect - ANSthe apparent changing wavelength of radiation due to relative
motion of the source and observer
homogeneous - ANSevery part is the same as every other part
,A-Level AQA 2024 Physics Paper 3
Hubbles law - ANSthe redshifts of distant galaxies is proportional to their distance from
the earth
intrinsic brightness - ANSluminosity or amount of energy emitted per second
isotropic - ANSeverything looks the same in every direction
Light year - ANSthe distance light travels in a year 9.46x10^15
luminosity - ANSthe output of a power of a star in watts
neutron star - ANSmade of neutrons and very dense
principal focus - ANSthe point at which rays of light that strike a convex lens parallel to
the principal axis are brought together
pulsar - ANSrapidly rotating neutron star with strong radio emissions
quasar - ANSan astronomical object with a very large red shift and high luminosity
rayleigh criterion - ANSa way of assessing the resolving power of a telescope
red shift - ANSNEED BETTER DEFINITION
reflecting telescope - ANSuses mirrors to capture and focus light
schwarzschild radius - ANSradius from black hole at which escape velocity equals the
speed of light
spherical aberration - ANSdistortion of an image due to imperfections in the mirror or
lens
standard candle - ANSastronomical object of known intrinsic brightness example
supernova
supernova - ANSstar with big luminosity increase due to it exploding and ejecting most
of its mass
weins displacement law - ANSrelationship between temp of. a black body and peak
wavelength
Absolute magnitude - ANSthe stars apparent magnitude at a distance of 10 parsecs
from earth
Airy disc - ANSthe bright central region in an optical diffraction pattern caused by light
entering a circular aperture
,A-Level AQA 2024 Physics Paper 3
Angular magnification - ANSthe magnifying power of a refracting telescope given by the
ratio of the objective focal legnth to the eyepiece focal length
Apparent magnitude - ANSthe magnitude of a star as it appears form earth
astronomical unit - ANSthe mean distance from the earth to the sun
Balmer series - ANSa series of emission or absorption lines in the visible spectrum of
hydrogen. Resulting from electrons moving from the first excitation level to higher levels
Binary star system - ANStwo stars revolving around a common centre of mass
Black body radiation - ANSA body that absorbs all wavelength of electromagnetic
radiation, and can emit all waveles of electromagnetic radiation
blue shift - ANSa decrease in wavelength radiation emitted by an object approaching an
observer
ccd - ANScharged coupled device an electronic light detector composed of many pixels
each gaon charge proportionally to NUMBER of photons detected
chromatic aberration - ANSan optical defect that causes light of different
colours/wavelength to be focused at different locations
CMBR - ANScosmic microwave background radiation, at 2.7k
Continuous spectrum - ANSa spectrum of electromagnetic radiation distributed over a
range of wavelengths without ant spectral lines
cosmological principle - ANSon a large scale, the universe is homogeneous and
isotropic
Dioptre - ANSunit used to measure refractive power of a lens
Doppler effect - ANSthe apparent changing wavelength of radiation due to relative
motion of the source and observer
homogeneous - ANSevery part is the same as every other part
Hubbles law - ANSthe redshifts of distant galaxies is proportional to their distance from
the earth
intrinsic brightness - ANSluminosity or amount of energy emitted per second
isotropic - ANSeverything looks the same in every direction
, A-Level AQA 2024 Physics Paper 3
Light year - ANSthe distance light travels in a year 9.46x10^15
luminosity - ANSthe output of a power of a star in watts
neutron star - ANSmade of neutrons and very dense
principal focus - ANSthe point at which rays of light that strike a convex lens parallel to
the principal axis are brought together
pulsar - ANSrapidly rotating neutron star with strong radio emissions
quasar - ANSan astronomical object with a very large red shift and high luminosity
rayleigh criterion - ANSa way of assessing the resolving power of a telescope
red shift - ANSNEED BETTER DEFINITION
reflecting telescope - ANSuses mirrors to capture and focus light
schwarzschild radius - ANSradius from black hole at which escape velocity equals the
speed of light
spherical aberration - ANSdistortion of an image due to imperfections in the mirror or
lens
standard candle - ANSastronomical object of known intrinsic brightness example
supernova
supernova - ANSstar with big luminosity increase due to it exploding and ejecting most
of its mass
weins displacement law - ANSrelationship between temp of. a black body and peak
wavelengthAbsolute magnitude - ANSthe stars apparent magnitude at a distance of 10
parsecs from earth
Airy disc - ANSthe bright central region in an optical diffraction pattern caused by light
entering a circular aperture
Angular magnification - ANSthe magnifying power of a refracting telescope given by the
ratio of the objective focal legnth to the eyepiece focal length
Apparent magnitude - ANSthe magnitude of a star as it appears form earth
astronomical unit - ANSthe mean distance from the earth to the sun
Absolute magnitude - ANSthe stars apparent magnitude at a distance of 10 parsecs
from earth
Airy disc - ANSthe bright central region in an optical diffraction pattern caused by light
entering a circular aperture
Angular magnification - ANSthe magnifying power of a refracting telescope given by the
ratio of the objective focal legnth to the eyepiece focal length
Apparent magnitude - ANSthe magnitude of a star as it appears form earth
astronomical unit - ANSthe mean distance from the earth to the sun
Balmer series - ANSa series of emission or absorption lines in the visible spectrum of
hydrogen. Resulting from electrons moving from the first excitation level to higher levels
Binary star system - ANStwo stars revolving around a common centre of mass
Black body radiation - ANSA body that absorbs all wavelength of electromagnetic
radiation, and can emit all waveles of electromagnetic radiation
blue shift - ANSa decrease in wavelength radiation emitted by an object approaching an
observer
ccd - ANScharged coupled device an electronic light detector composed of many pixels
each gaon charge proportionally to NUMBER of photons detected
chromatic aberration - ANSan optical defect that causes light of different
colours/wavelength to be focused at different locations
CMBR - ANScosmic microwave background radiation, at 2.7k
Continuous spectrum - ANSa spectrum of electromagnetic radiation distributed over a
range of wavelengths without ant spectral lines
cosmological principle - ANSon a large scale, the universe is homogeneous and
isotropic
Dioptre - ANSunit used to measure refractive power of a lens
Doppler effect - ANSthe apparent changing wavelength of radiation due to relative
motion of the source and observer
homogeneous - ANSevery part is the same as every other part
,A-Level AQA 2024 Physics Paper 3
Hubbles law - ANSthe redshifts of distant galaxies is proportional to their distance from
the earth
intrinsic brightness - ANSluminosity or amount of energy emitted per second
isotropic - ANSeverything looks the same in every direction
Light year - ANSthe distance light travels in a year 9.46x10^15
luminosity - ANSthe output of a power of a star in watts
neutron star - ANSmade of neutrons and very dense
principal focus - ANSthe point at which rays of light that strike a convex lens parallel to
the principal axis are brought together
pulsar - ANSrapidly rotating neutron star with strong radio emissions
quasar - ANSan astronomical object with a very large red shift and high luminosity
rayleigh criterion - ANSa way of assessing the resolving power of a telescope
red shift - ANSNEED BETTER DEFINITION
reflecting telescope - ANSuses mirrors to capture and focus light
schwarzschild radius - ANSradius from black hole at which escape velocity equals the
speed of light
spherical aberration - ANSdistortion of an image due to imperfections in the mirror or
lens
standard candle - ANSastronomical object of known intrinsic brightness example
supernova
supernova - ANSstar with big luminosity increase due to it exploding and ejecting most
of its mass
weins displacement law - ANSrelationship between temp of. a black body and peak
wavelength
Absolute magnitude - ANSthe stars apparent magnitude at a distance of 10 parsecs
from earth
Airy disc - ANSthe bright central region in an optical diffraction pattern caused by light
entering a circular aperture
,A-Level AQA 2024 Physics Paper 3
Angular magnification - ANSthe magnifying power of a refracting telescope given by the
ratio of the objective focal legnth to the eyepiece focal length
Apparent magnitude - ANSthe magnitude of a star as it appears form earth
astronomical unit - ANSthe mean distance from the earth to the sun
Balmer series - ANSa series of emission or absorption lines in the visible spectrum of
hydrogen. Resulting from electrons moving from the first excitation level to higher levels
Binary star system - ANStwo stars revolving around a common centre of mass
Black body radiation - ANSA body that absorbs all wavelength of electromagnetic
radiation, and can emit all waveles of electromagnetic radiation
blue shift - ANSa decrease in wavelength radiation emitted by an object approaching an
observer
ccd - ANScharged coupled device an electronic light detector composed of many pixels
each gaon charge proportionally to NUMBER of photons detected
chromatic aberration - ANSan optical defect that causes light of different
colours/wavelength to be focused at different locations
CMBR - ANScosmic microwave background radiation, at 2.7k
Continuous spectrum - ANSa spectrum of electromagnetic radiation distributed over a
range of wavelengths without ant spectral lines
cosmological principle - ANSon a large scale, the universe is homogeneous and
isotropic
Dioptre - ANSunit used to measure refractive power of a lens
Doppler effect - ANSthe apparent changing wavelength of radiation due to relative
motion of the source and observer
homogeneous - ANSevery part is the same as every other part
Hubbles law - ANSthe redshifts of distant galaxies is proportional to their distance from
the earth
intrinsic brightness - ANSluminosity or amount of energy emitted per second
isotropic - ANSeverything looks the same in every direction
, A-Level AQA 2024 Physics Paper 3
Light year - ANSthe distance light travels in a year 9.46x10^15
luminosity - ANSthe output of a power of a star in watts
neutron star - ANSmade of neutrons and very dense
principal focus - ANSthe point at which rays of light that strike a convex lens parallel to
the principal axis are brought together
pulsar - ANSrapidly rotating neutron star with strong radio emissions
quasar - ANSan astronomical object with a very large red shift and high luminosity
rayleigh criterion - ANSa way of assessing the resolving power of a telescope
red shift - ANSNEED BETTER DEFINITION
reflecting telescope - ANSuses mirrors to capture and focus light
schwarzschild radius - ANSradius from black hole at which escape velocity equals the
speed of light
spherical aberration - ANSdistortion of an image due to imperfections in the mirror or
lens
standard candle - ANSastronomical object of known intrinsic brightness example
supernova
supernova - ANSstar with big luminosity increase due to it exploding and ejecting most
of its mass
weins displacement law - ANSrelationship between temp of. a black body and peak
wavelengthAbsolute magnitude - ANSthe stars apparent magnitude at a distance of 10
parsecs from earth
Airy disc - ANSthe bright central region in an optical diffraction pattern caused by light
entering a circular aperture
Angular magnification - ANSthe magnifying power of a refracting telescope given by the
ratio of the objective focal legnth to the eyepiece focal length
Apparent magnitude - ANSthe magnitude of a star as it appears form earth
astronomical unit - ANSthe mean distance from the earth to the sun
