OCR G482 Physics A EWP Unofficial mark scheme

All OCR do is to say that - yes this is our course. They don't even look at the content.

LOl. Maybe - but to be fair I ask my students how they think they did. Obviously they are better taught than the average ...

Got anywhere from 67/100 to 77/100 :/ No chance of full UMS for me

I have also read parts of the CGP AS Physics (OCR A) book and the Collins Physics general book in order to ensure I do well, but then they decide to throw in a question about a fan which literally took them a huge paragraph to explain properly. Since when did a heater have two elements powered differently or three different switches, plus that awful supposedly polarised wave...

Do you think it's worth writing a letter to Ofqual and OCR with my points, and possibly even my local MP? If the OCR endorsed books haven't taught you the syllabus, surely it is solely their responsibility if they haven't taught you that microwave emitters are polarised?

yes, that is certainly proof.

either
you can show that power < 2.0W
or
you can show that pd across bulb < 6V

it's all linked.

(Brightness proportional to power which is proportional to V^2)

The fan wasn't too bad, thankfully my teacher mentioned the symbol for a motor before hand. The two heater system idea was fine, it's like a normal generic heater. But the questions on it weren't the nicest

The polarised wave was an annoying question. They're trying to make the exams harder, which they are but it shouldn't disadvantage people from getting the grades they want or need. I'm not saying everyone should get A grades but if you put enough time and effort into a subject you should expect a good grade. They can't put in questions not in the specification. It isn't fair. I think this year they were on the edge of the specification.

If you feel that you should contact OCR, then do so. I think it'd be interesting to see what their reply will be.

I'd expect that when the official mark scheme comes out, credit will be given to those students who said that if the microwaves aren't polarized the intensity at the receiver wont change.

To be honest, I don't know if every microwave transmitter produces polarized waves. Microwave ovens?

I'd expect that when the official mark scheme comes out, credit will be given to those students who said that if the microwaves aren't polarized the intensity at the receiver wont change.

To be honest, I don't know if every microwave transmitter produces polarized waves. Microwave ovens?

I have also read parts of the CGP AS Physics (OCR A) book and the Collins Physics general book in order to ensure I do well, but then they decide to throw in a question about a fan which literally took them a huge paragraph to explain properly. Since when did a heater have two elements powered differently or three different switches, plus that awful supposedly polarised wave...

Do you think it's worth writing a letter to Ofqual and OCR with my points, and possibly even my local MP? If the OCR endorsed books haven't taught you the syllabus, surely it is solely their responsibility if they haven't taught you that microwave emitters are polarised?

Quick question, unless I am counting it wrong how does question 4 add up to 12?

It doesn't - it should be 17.

Endorsing is just a publisher's con trick. Lots of books are 'endorsed. You'd think the best book would be the one written by the chief examiner but I don't particularly like it. And of course, he isn't allowed to say he is the Chief examiner!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-Physics-Student-Unit-Guide/dp/0340958081/ref=pd_bxgy_14_text_y[/QUOTE]


My daughter got that book at the last minute. It's an extremely condensed account of the syllabus. Perhaps it contains all the crucial information, but don't think it would have helped in yesterday's exam - not if you're aiming for high grades. Useful to have for revision, perhaps.

Say I worked out wavelength to be 0.3m instead of 0.03m , but halve my value in the latter question ( distance you move speaker back) to get 0.15m instead of 0.015m , would I get the marks on that q?

if you feel strongly about it, then you should do it. Nothing to loose, but time.

(My experience of writing to AQA on the subject of errors on Physics GCSE, is that you'll get a very defensive letter back and that will be that.)

The arrangement of the switches on the fan heater is actually how most are in real life. But whether it is fair to include very verbose questions in such an exam (took my daughter 30 mins to figure that one out) is another matter.

The question on the microwaves also appeared poorly written that my daughter also had trouble figuring it out and eventually wrote:

' if they are polarised, then then signal will go to zero '

To be fair there are some examples of this question in past papers and I recall in one text-book it showed some diagram for this experiment. I don't recall, however, whether it mentioned anywhere that they are always polarised.