Waves — IGCSE Sciences - Co-Ordinated (0654) questions by topic
Calculating a refractive index from angles of incidence and refraction through a glass block, naming the radiation that causes sunburn, working with a transparent block's given refractive index, and comparing which animals can hear pitches beyond a rat's range span the 14 waves questions from 2023 and 2024, worth 7 to 12 marks.
State, calculate and determine dominate the command words, with complete and identify used for diagram-based questions on refraction or the electromagnetic spectrum. Because a refractive-index calculation collapses quickly if a ratio is inverted, practise the calculation questions here and submit for instant marking to catch a swapped angle or an inverted formula before it costs marks across a whole optics question.
What examiners look for
- Examiners note some candidates multiplied weight by mass rather than dividing weight by mass when finding density.
- A recurring criticism is multiplying mass by volume rather than dividing to find density.
- Reports flag that 'water' alone was not accepted as a sufficient response where more detail was required.
- Most candidates did correctly determine the time taken for a bat to travel a given distance.
May–June 2024, Paper 41
Fig. 3.1 shows apparatus called a ripple tank, used to investigate water waves. An electric motor causes the board to vibrate, producing waves at a constant rate. The electric…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 31
Fig. 9.1 shows a moth, with points X and Y on the moth's wings. A student forms an image of the moth on a screen using a thin converging lens. A ray of light has been drawn from…
Answer this question and get it marked →Visible light travels 1.5 x 10^8 km from the Sun to the Earth. The speed of light is 3.0 x 10^8 m/s. Calculate the time taken for visible light to travel from the Sun to the Earth.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 32
A person climbs a mountain. The person is exposed to infrared and ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Infrared and ultraviolet radiation are part of the electromagnetic spectrum.…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 33
A person climbs a mountain. The person is exposed to infrared and ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Infrared and ultraviolet radiation are part of the electromagnetic spectrum.…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 41
Fig. 6.1 shows a mobile phone (cell phone) on a wireless charging pad, with the screen, the wireless charging pad and the mains cable labelled. The screen of the mobile phone is…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 42
Angler fish live in the sea at depths of up to 2000 m. Fig. 6.1 shows an angler fish with a light-emitting lure to attract smaller fish. The frequency of light emitted by the lure…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 32
Table 6.1 shows the audible frequency range of five animals (highest/lowest frequency in Hz): bat 200000/2000, dog 50000/50, elephant 12000/5, rat 76000/200, whale 123000/1000.…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 33
Table 6.1 shows the audible frequency range of five animals (highest/lowest frequency in Hz): bat 200000/2000, dog 50000/50, elephant 12000/5, rat 76000/200, whale 123000/1000.…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 43
X-rays are part of the electromagnetic spectrum; hospitals use X-rays for medical imaging. State the speed of X-rays.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 32
State which animals from Table 9.1 can hear sounds with a pitch higher than a rat can hear. Explain your answer.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 33
A man is sitting on a beach on a sunny day. The man is out in the Sun for too long and gets sunburned. State the name of the electromagnetic radiation that causes sunburn.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 41
Fig. 12.1 shows a ray of light refracted as it enters a glass block. The angle of incidence (in air) is 53 degrees and the angle of refraction (in the glass) is 31 degrees. Use…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 42
Light is a transverse wave which is refracted by a transparent material. Fig. 6.1 shows the refraction of a ray of light as it enters a transparent block (not to scale). The…
Answer this question and get it marked →Other IGCSE Sciences - Co-Ordinated topics
- Practical skills (146)
- Motion, forces and energy (41)
- Organic chemistry (16)
- Electricity and magnetism (15)
- Reproduction (13)
- Nuclear physics (13)
- Coordination and response (12)
- Organisms and their environment (12)
- Metals (11)
- Atoms, elements and compounds (10)
- Stoichiometry (9)
- Thermal physics (9)