AQA A-level Physics Paper 3 - 3 June 2019 [Exam Discussion]

If i got around 55% on Paper 1, 45% Paper2, can I still get B/A if I master the paper3?

Yes if you get about 70-80% on paper 3 to balance out the lost marks from the other two papers. I’m going off the consistent grade boundaries of 65% for an A

Reply 21

yerselfesteem

5

how are you all revising for the practical skills section?

Reply 22

bayanotbee

9

according to unofficial mark schemes i got somewhere between 45%-55% on paper 1 and paper 2 - do you think there's any chance that that could be a B? and if not what sort of mark would i have to get on paper 3 to bring my grade up to a B?

(unlikely that i'm gonna do better than the other 2 papers since astro & practical skills are my worst topics but oh well)

Reply 23

bayanotbee

9

haven't really started yet ngl but the ISA papers here seem to be pretty similar to the sort of stuff they'll ask https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/past-papers/a-level-physics/aqa-unit-3/

Original post by yerselfesteem

how are you all revising for the practical skills section?

Reply 24

j.1.2

16

paper 3 section A is gonna be physics sour farewell for all of us

Reply 25

Trapmoneybenny

15

Original post by yerselfesteem

how are you all revising for the practical skills section?

AS paper 2 past papers and of course the regular A-level past papers.....

Reply 26

BlueSoybean

18

for those doing astrophysics

"a UV telescope uses mirrors to focus incoming UV radiation onto a UV detector"

are these parabolic mirrors like a Cassegrain telescope or??? in what way are they using the mirrors?

Reply 27

Trapmoneybenny

15

I'd say so?... I don't believe in depth knowledge of the structure of the telescope is required but yeah most telescopes and I'd imagine all of them on satellites like UV are reflective mirrors using the cassegrain system

Original post by Leviathan1611

for those doing astrophysics

"a UV telescope uses mirrors to focus incoming UV radiation onto a UV detector"

are these parabolic mirrors like a Cassegrain telescope or??? in what way are they using the mirrors?

Reply 28

daily_stoic

15

Original post by Leviathan1611

for those doing astrophysics

"a UV telescope uses mirrors to focus incoming UV radiation onto a UV detector"

are these parabolic mirrors like a Cassegrain telescope or??? in what way are they using the mirrors?

Yes, both IR and UV telescopes use the same Cassegrain arrangement with two parabolic mirrors and an eye lens. In many cases I think they use CCDs just like in standard optical telescopes as the radiation detectors. Also, don't forget that the shorter the wavelength the more precise (higher quality) the mirrors have to be to avoid spherical aberration (the inability of rays to converge on a singular point). So UV telescope mirrors have to have even more precise than optical telescope mirrors due to their shorter wavelengths. IR and radio are less fiddly to manufacture since longer wavelengths don't notice the gaps as much.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 29

BlueSoybean

18

Original post by TheProctor

Yes, both IR and UV telescopes use the same Cassegrain arrangement with two parabolic mirrors and an eye lens. In many cases I think they use CCDs just like in standard optical telescopes as the radiation detectors. Also, don't forget that the shorter the wavelength the more precise (higher quality) the mirrors have to be to avoid spherical aberration (the inability of rays to converge on a singular point). So UV telescope mirrors have to have even more precise than optical telescope mirrors due to their shorter wavelengths. IR and radio are less fiddly to manufacture since longer wavelengths don't notice the gaps as much.

thank you🙂

Reply 30

BlueSoybean

18

Original post by Trapmoneybenny

I'd say so?... I don't believe in depth knowledge of the structure of the telescope is required but yeah most telescopes and I'd imagine all of them on satellites like UV are reflective mirrors using the cassegrain system

thank you🙂

Reply 31

Alayna1234

18

Original post by Leviathan1611

for those doing astrophysics

"a UV telescope uses mirrors to focus incoming UV radiation onto a UV detector"

are these parabolic mirrors like a Cassegrain telescope or??? in what way are they using the mirrors?

I don’t know if this will help

D9C681B2-1032-4B5A-8F5A-9A9DCDD71448.jpg.jpeg27.4KB

Reply 32

bayanotbee

9

for the practical skills section, what do we actually need to know for it?? because i've just been revising uncertainty calculations and doing a couple practice questions but should we learn all the required practical methods? will they ask us to write our own practical method?

Reply 33

xipo7101

9

99% chance they wouldn't ask anything on official practicals ( but still have to know them 1% chance ayy)
Section A is mostly true intelligence test ( in my opinion), you can't really revise for what they are asking, you either naturally smart or not ( this is why grade boundaries are mad low cuz not everybody are a born physicist) , all they gonna do is throw at you unfamiliar scenarios and in some parts if you lucky they might ask you to calculate uncertainty, use your practical skills all that jazz...
SO GL to you and me.
I will share a good file to improve your practical skills, those questions were asked by AQA so those are the golden questions.
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/aqa-a-level-physics-7407-7408-paper-3-practical-questions-and-mark-scheme-11476463

Original post by bayanotbee

for the practical skills section, what do we actually need to know for it?? because i've just been revising uncertainty calculations and doing a couple practice questions but should we learn all the required practical methods? will they ask us to write our own practical method?

Reply 34

chrismichael00

6

Original post by i.rai

Guys I have a question
For the advantages of nuclear power I put:

1) a small amount of nuclear power produces a large amount of electricity
2) can be useful in medical examinations and a radiation transmitter can be place in the body to find any problems
3) can be useful for finding leaks such as injecting a radioactive tracer into pipes to find the source of the leak.

Would I get any marks out of 3? 😭

i'd think the first point will get a mark but the 2nd and 3rd will not as you're discussing about how nuclear is used, not so much for the advantages. my personal opinion!

Reply 35

Tintin44

5

Just curious, but is there going to be a 6 marker in this paper, or has aqa given up on those?? They've done a few 6 markers in the optional section in the past so could they do the same thing this year? I wouldn't mind a lovely 6 marker on engineering, just so long as it's not on practical stuff😱😬

Reply 36

tjto

10

Any ideas for the topics in section A likely to come up. I know that those that came up in section A in 2017 & 2018 were different... any major topics not yet tested in these 2 years?

2017: Stationary Waves & Capacitors.
2018: Moments/Magnetic Fields & Gas Laws.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 37

amartyasen

13

why is the answer to draw from the centre of the sphere to the right side of the mark? could someone please explain?