Paper 5 · Question 1 · 9702/52 May/June 2024 · 15 marks

Magnet pulled off a card by a spring: plan it, then see the model answer.

Test ks = ALBZ / t: vary the card thickness, find the spring extension as the magnet lets go, and get Z from the gradient. Read the question, write your own plan on paper, then build it below box by box and see how many of the 15 marks it earns. The worked example shows a full-mark plan with the mark scheme point each line scores.

Past-paper referenceRephrased from Cambridge AS & A Level Physics 9702/52, May/June 2024, Question 1 (Paper 5, Planning, Analysis and Evaluation), for teaching. The figures, workout and worked example are ours.

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How Question 1 is marked

Defining the problem (2 marks)

Name the independent and dependent variables (the quantity you change and the one you measure) and say which quantity in the relationship is kept constant, in so many words.

Methods of data collection (4 marks)

A labelled diagram of an arrangement that would work, and how each quantity in the relationship is measured: the instrument and the technique.

Method of analysis (3 marks)

The graph to plot (both axes named), “the relationship is valid if” it is a straight line (through the origin, or with a stated gradient), and the constant made the subject of an equation using the gradient or intercept.

Additional detail including safety (6 marks)

Marked from a list of points specific to this experiment: a precaution tied to a real hazard here, how to measure the other quantities, repeats and averages, and techniques that make each reading more reliable.

Habits that save marks

The question on this page is rephrased from a Cambridge International past paper for teaching. The figures, wording of the workout and the worked example are our own; the marking follows the published mark scheme. The original question paper is available from Cambridge.