AQA PHYSICS EXAMS SET 2025/2026 QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔Radiators - convection currents - ✔✔Energy is transferred from the radiator to
nearby air particles by conduction. The air by the radiator becomes warmer and less
dense. This warm air rises and is replaced by cooler air. At the same time, the
previously heated air transfers energy to the surrounding and cools, becomes denser,
and sinks. This cycle repeats and causes a flow of air to circulate around the room
✔✔How to reduce unwanted energy transfers - ✔✔Lubrication and thermal insulation
✔✔Lubrication reduces frictional forces - ✔✔When something moves, there's at least
one frictional force acting on it, causing some energy to be dissipated. For objects that
are rubbed together, lubricants reduce the fiction between the object's surfaces when
moved. Lubricants tend to be liquids (like oil) to flow easily between objects and coat
them
✔✔Insulation reduces the rate of energy transfer by heating - ✔✔Things to do to
prevent energy loss through heating...
- have think walls made from low thermal conductivity material. This makes the rate of
energy transfer slower, so the building will cool more slowly.
- use thermal insulation
✔✔Thermal insulation examples - ✔✔- cavity walls made of an inner and outer wall with
an air gap in between to reduce the amount of energy transferred by conduction.
- loft insulation can reduce convection currents created in lofts
- double glazed windows have an air gap between two layers of glass to prevent energy
transfer by conduction
- draught excluders around doors and windows reduce energy transfers by convection
✔✔Most energy transfers involve some waste energy - ✔✔Efficiency = useful output
energy transfer / total input energy transfer OR efficiency = useful power output / total
power input
✔✔Non renewable energy resources will one day run out - ✔✔Fossil fuels and nuclear
fuels. Fossil fuels are typically burnt to provide coal, oil, and natural gas. They damage
the environment but provide most of our energy
✔✔Renewable energy resources will never run out - ✔✔These are: the sun, wind, water
waves, hydro-electricity, bio-fuel, tides, geothermal. Most of them do damage to the
environment, but in less nasty ways than non renewables. However, they don't provide
much energy and some are unreliable as they depend on the weather
,✔✔Energy resources can be used for transport - ✔✔Non renewable - petrol and diesel
powered vehicles use fuel from oil. Coal can be used in old fashioned steam trains to
boil water for steam.
Renewable - vehicles running on bio-fuels or a mix of a bio-fuel and petrol/diesel.
Electricity sometimes powers vehicles and can be generated using renewable or non
renewable resources
✔✔Energy resources can also be used for heating - ✔✔Non renewable - natural gas is
widely used for heating homes. The gas heats water, which gets pumped into radiators.
Coal is commonly burnt in fireplaces. Electric heaters use electricity generated from non
renewable resources.
Renewable - a geothermal heat pump uses geothermal energy resources to heat
buildings. Solar water heaters use to the sun to heat water, which gets pumped into
radiators.
✔✔Wind power - ✔✔This involves putting up lots of wind turbines in an exposed place,
like on coasts. The turbines have a generator inside them - the rotating blades turn the
generator to produce electricity.
✔✔wind power advantages - ✔✔There's limited pollution (only when they're first
manufactured), no fuel costs and minimal running costs, no permanent damage to the
landscape
✔✔wind power disadvantages - ✔✔They spoil the view, very noisy, unreliable as they
depend on the weather, initial costs are quite high
✔✔Solar cells - ✔✔They generate electric currents from the sun. They are often the
best energy source to charge calculator or watch batteries, as they don't use much
electricity.
✔✔solar power advantages - ✔✔There's no pollution (although they use a lot of energy
to manufacture), reliable in sunny countries in the daytime, energy is free and running
cost extremely low
✔✔solar power disadvantages - ✔✔Unreliable because they depend on weather, can't
increase power output when there is extra demand, initial costs are high school
✔✔Geothermal power - ✔✔This is energy in underground thermal energy stores. It is
possible in volcanic areas or where hot rocks lie close to the surface. The source of a lot
of this energy is the slow decay of various radioactive elements deep inside the earth
✔✔Geothermal power advantages - ✔✔Free energy that is reliable and does very little
damage to the environment. Can be used to generate electricity or heat buildings
, ✔✔Geothermal power disadvantages - ✔✔There aren't many suitable locations for
power plants, and the cost of building a power plant is high compared to the amount of
energy that it produces
✔✔hydroelectric power used falling water - ✔✔It tends to require the flooding of a valley
by building a dam. Water is allowed out through turbines
✔✔Hydro-electric power advantages - ✔✔There is no pollution and it can provide an
immediate response to an increased demand for electricity. It is reliable and there are
no fuel costs and minimal running costs
✔✔Hydro-electric power disadvantages - ✔✔There is a big environmental impact from
the valley flooding (rotting vegetation releases methane and CO2) and loss of habitat for
some species. Initial costs are high
✔✔Water power - ✔✔Lots of small wave-powered turbines around the coast. The
moving turbines are connected to a generator
✔✔Water power advantages - ✔✔There is no pollution, no fuel costs and minimal
running costs. Can be useful on small islands
✔✔Water power disadvantages - ✔✔It disturbs the seabed and the marine animals'
haibitats. Spoils the view, hazard to boats, fairly unreliable, initial costs are high
✔✔Tidal barrages - ✔✔Tidal barrages are big dams across river estuaries, with turbines
in them. As the tide comes in the estuary gets filled up. The water is then allowed out
through turbines at a controlled speed. Tides are produced by the gravitational pull of
the moon and sun
✔✔Tidal barrages advantages - ✔✔There is no pollution, pretty reliable as they always
happen twice a day, no fuel floats and minimal running costs
✔✔Tidal barrages disadvantages - ✔✔It prevents free access for boats. Spoils the view,
and alters habitat, the height of the tide is variable, initial costs are moderately high
✔✔Bio-fuels - ✔✔These are renewable energy resources created from plant products or
animal dung. They can be solid, liquid, or gas and can be burnt to produce electricity or
run cars in a similar way to fossil fuels
✔✔Biofuel advantages - ✔✔They are fairly reliable as crops take a relatively short time
to grow and some crops can grow all year round.
✔✔Biofuel disadvantages - ✔✔They can't respond to immediate energy demands - to
combat this, biofuels are continuously produces and stored. The cost to refine them is
ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔Radiators - convection currents - ✔✔Energy is transferred from the radiator to
nearby air particles by conduction. The air by the radiator becomes warmer and less
dense. This warm air rises and is replaced by cooler air. At the same time, the
previously heated air transfers energy to the surrounding and cools, becomes denser,
and sinks. This cycle repeats and causes a flow of air to circulate around the room
✔✔How to reduce unwanted energy transfers - ✔✔Lubrication and thermal insulation
✔✔Lubrication reduces frictional forces - ✔✔When something moves, there's at least
one frictional force acting on it, causing some energy to be dissipated. For objects that
are rubbed together, lubricants reduce the fiction between the object's surfaces when
moved. Lubricants tend to be liquids (like oil) to flow easily between objects and coat
them
✔✔Insulation reduces the rate of energy transfer by heating - ✔✔Things to do to
prevent energy loss through heating...
- have think walls made from low thermal conductivity material. This makes the rate of
energy transfer slower, so the building will cool more slowly.
- use thermal insulation
✔✔Thermal insulation examples - ✔✔- cavity walls made of an inner and outer wall with
an air gap in between to reduce the amount of energy transferred by conduction.
- loft insulation can reduce convection currents created in lofts
- double glazed windows have an air gap between two layers of glass to prevent energy
transfer by conduction
- draught excluders around doors and windows reduce energy transfers by convection
✔✔Most energy transfers involve some waste energy - ✔✔Efficiency = useful output
energy transfer / total input energy transfer OR efficiency = useful power output / total
power input
✔✔Non renewable energy resources will one day run out - ✔✔Fossil fuels and nuclear
fuels. Fossil fuels are typically burnt to provide coal, oil, and natural gas. They damage
the environment but provide most of our energy
✔✔Renewable energy resources will never run out - ✔✔These are: the sun, wind, water
waves, hydro-electricity, bio-fuel, tides, geothermal. Most of them do damage to the
environment, but in less nasty ways than non renewables. However, they don't provide
much energy and some are unreliable as they depend on the weather
,✔✔Energy resources can be used for transport - ✔✔Non renewable - petrol and diesel
powered vehicles use fuel from oil. Coal can be used in old fashioned steam trains to
boil water for steam.
Renewable - vehicles running on bio-fuels or a mix of a bio-fuel and petrol/diesel.
Electricity sometimes powers vehicles and can be generated using renewable or non
renewable resources
✔✔Energy resources can also be used for heating - ✔✔Non renewable - natural gas is
widely used for heating homes. The gas heats water, which gets pumped into radiators.
Coal is commonly burnt in fireplaces. Electric heaters use electricity generated from non
renewable resources.
Renewable - a geothermal heat pump uses geothermal energy resources to heat
buildings. Solar water heaters use to the sun to heat water, which gets pumped into
radiators.
✔✔Wind power - ✔✔This involves putting up lots of wind turbines in an exposed place,
like on coasts. The turbines have a generator inside them - the rotating blades turn the
generator to produce electricity.
✔✔wind power advantages - ✔✔There's limited pollution (only when they're first
manufactured), no fuel costs and minimal running costs, no permanent damage to the
landscape
✔✔wind power disadvantages - ✔✔They spoil the view, very noisy, unreliable as they
depend on the weather, initial costs are quite high
✔✔Solar cells - ✔✔They generate electric currents from the sun. They are often the
best energy source to charge calculator or watch batteries, as they don't use much
electricity.
✔✔solar power advantages - ✔✔There's no pollution (although they use a lot of energy
to manufacture), reliable in sunny countries in the daytime, energy is free and running
cost extremely low
✔✔solar power disadvantages - ✔✔Unreliable because they depend on weather, can't
increase power output when there is extra demand, initial costs are high school
✔✔Geothermal power - ✔✔This is energy in underground thermal energy stores. It is
possible in volcanic areas or where hot rocks lie close to the surface. The source of a lot
of this energy is the slow decay of various radioactive elements deep inside the earth
✔✔Geothermal power advantages - ✔✔Free energy that is reliable and does very little
damage to the environment. Can be used to generate electricity or heat buildings
, ✔✔Geothermal power disadvantages - ✔✔There aren't many suitable locations for
power plants, and the cost of building a power plant is high compared to the amount of
energy that it produces
✔✔hydroelectric power used falling water - ✔✔It tends to require the flooding of a valley
by building a dam. Water is allowed out through turbines
✔✔Hydro-electric power advantages - ✔✔There is no pollution and it can provide an
immediate response to an increased demand for electricity. It is reliable and there are
no fuel costs and minimal running costs
✔✔Hydro-electric power disadvantages - ✔✔There is a big environmental impact from
the valley flooding (rotting vegetation releases methane and CO2) and loss of habitat for
some species. Initial costs are high
✔✔Water power - ✔✔Lots of small wave-powered turbines around the coast. The
moving turbines are connected to a generator
✔✔Water power advantages - ✔✔There is no pollution, no fuel costs and minimal
running costs. Can be useful on small islands
✔✔Water power disadvantages - ✔✔It disturbs the seabed and the marine animals'
haibitats. Spoils the view, hazard to boats, fairly unreliable, initial costs are high
✔✔Tidal barrages - ✔✔Tidal barrages are big dams across river estuaries, with turbines
in them. As the tide comes in the estuary gets filled up. The water is then allowed out
through turbines at a controlled speed. Tides are produced by the gravitational pull of
the moon and sun
✔✔Tidal barrages advantages - ✔✔There is no pollution, pretty reliable as they always
happen twice a day, no fuel floats and minimal running costs
✔✔Tidal barrages disadvantages - ✔✔It prevents free access for boats. Spoils the view,
and alters habitat, the height of the tide is variable, initial costs are moderately high
✔✔Bio-fuels - ✔✔These are renewable energy resources created from plant products or
animal dung. They can be solid, liquid, or gas and can be burnt to produce electricity or
run cars in a similar way to fossil fuels
✔✔Biofuel advantages - ✔✔They are fairly reliable as crops take a relatively short time
to grow and some crops can grow all year round.
✔✔Biofuel disadvantages - ✔✔They can't respond to immediate energy demands - to
combat this, biofuels are continuously produces and stored. The cost to refine them is
