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What did you all put for the random questions like:

a) why is the motion only approximately simple harmonic
b) why did they use plutoneum as the fuel source
c) why were people worried about using plutoneum (something like that)

If i remember any others i'll put them up.
Reply 21
female_engineer
What did you all put for the random questions like:

a) why is the motion only approximately simple harmonic
b) why did they use plutoneum as the fuel source
c) why were people worried about using plutoneum (something like that)

If i remember any others i'll put them up.


a) why is the motion only approximately simple harmonic - i wrote some carp about other forces being involved such as air resistance that weren't proportional to the displacement - with true SHM relying on a closed system.
b) why did they use plutoneum as the fuel source - power last ages - long mission to jupiter or wherever it was going - no other power source so needed one that would last. i didn't answer the previous two bits to this question so just had a guess at it.
c) why were people worried about using plutoneum (something like that) - this question was shit - i had no idea what they wanted. I wrote about ti being radioactive and could be damaging to the populations health if there was an accident.

How about you?
a) I guessed and said that the motion would be damped by the resistive forces of the air
b) Said it had a very long half life so would generate power for the space probe for a long time
c) garbled on about how radioactive particles were emitted and that they are very ionsing which will lead to lung cancer for the whole population of the earth

:confused: whole paper was strange. Could do most of the past papers but the questions weren't so immediately obvious this time round...tested on the main topics, but the parts you wouldn't necessarily think to know.
I love PSA4, especially question 6, that really was a god send, although I might have got a bit technical, talking about depth of modulation and the such.
Reply 24
female_engineer
a) I guessed and said that the motion would be damped by the resistive forces of the air
b) Said it had a very long half life so would generate power for the space probe for a long time
c) garbled on about how radioactive particles were emitted and that they are very ionsing which will lead to lung cancer for the whole population of the earth

:confused: whole paper was strange. Could do most of the past papers but the questions weren't so immediately obvious this time round...tested on the main topics, but the parts you wouldn't necessarily think to know.


Yeah, i needed to get Mid to strong B's on PSA4 and 5 and i really doubt that i have done that - i just hope that everyone found the papers tough/strange and the marking quotas reflect this.
Reply 25
female_engineer
What did you all put for the random questions like:

a) why is the motion only approximately simple harmonic
b) why did they use plutoneum as the fuel source
c) why were people worried about using plutoneum (something like that)

If i remember any others i'll put them up.


a) friction in the swing makes the distances vary slightly each time
b) has a long half life
c) has radiactive decay, which is carcenogenic
Leeroy
a) friction in the swing makes the distances vary slightly each time
b) has a long half life
c) has radiactive decay, which is carcenogenic


well, you could also say that since plutonium is an alpha emitter, if it is ingested, great damage will be done internally.
Reply 27
like causing cancer (ie carcenogenic :wink: )
Leeroy
like causing cancer (ie carcenogenic :wink: )


yes, like cancer, but it still builds upon the info in the question blurb
Reply 29
So, were they hard papers? - most people on here are pretty clever so i know some people probably found them really easy, but in general were they hard enough papers for positive quota marking when uniform marks are worked out?
need_help
So, were they hard papers? - most people on here are pretty clever so i know some people probably found them really easy, but in general were they hard enough papers for positive quota marking when uniform marks are worked out?


PSA5 was horrible, the only thing from stars was radioactive decay.
Reply 31
yeh, and stars is my best topic, only one +85 on topic test :mad:
no redshift, no fate of universe etc grr

yeh they were quite tough i think, not bad but harder than the average of the pasts i thought
Leeroy
yeh, and stars is my best topic, only one +85 on topic test :mad:
no redshift, no fate of universe etc grr

yeh they were quite tough i think, not bad but harder than the average of the pasts i thought


What did you think of question 6 on PSA4
Reply 33
refresh my memory....
Reply 34
refresh my memory....
Leeroy
refresh my memory....


the properties of AM and FM
Reply 36
ah yes lol, a god send if ever there was one
Leeroy
ah yes lol, a god send if ever there was one


It was even better as I had done it to death in electronics.
Reply 38
yeh that was the only one i answered completely first time through, slipped a few diagrams in there, id be disappointed with anything less than 6 from that

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