Maths questions
Don鈥檛 forget to take a ruler and calculator into the exam.
Maths questions often start with the command words like calculate, determine, estimate and measure. They will then include blank space for you to show your working.
When an answer to a maths question is marked:
- full marks are given for the right answer (but it鈥檚 wise to show your working so you can check your answer)
- marks are given for working, including substitution and rearrangement
- errors carried forward are taken into account
Errors carried forward is to do with what happens if a later answer depends on an earlier answer, and you get the earlier one wrong. You could still get full marks in the later answer if your working is correct but you use the incorrect earlier answer.
If your answer has many decimal places or figures, make sure you give it to an appropriate number of decimal places or significant figures. You may be asked to give units. This may earn you an additional mark, so don鈥檛 forget to check whether you need to do this.
Some maths questions might ask you to plot or complete a graph or table. When you draw a graph, make sure you:
- plot each point accurately
- draw a best fit straight line or curve
You may be given a grid with axes and scales already given. Sometimes you may be given an empty grid for you to supply your own axes. You should:
- put the independent variable on the x-axis and the dependent variable on the y-axis
- make sensible scales so that the plotted points cover at least 50% of the area of the graph
- label the axes with their quantity and unit, eg time (s)
Learn maths skills with Dr Alex Lathbridge
Listen to the full series on 成人快手 Sounds.
Brush up on the maths you need for your exam - percentages, averages and converting units.
Sample question 1 - Foundation
Question
Wood has a density of 180 kg/m3.
Calculate the mass of this piece of wood.
Show your working and give the units. [6 marks]
OCR Gateway Science, GCE Physics, Paper J249, 2016.
- conversion of cm to m (i.e. divide each length by 100) [1]
- calculation of volume: 0.2 脳 0.3 脳 1.2 = 0.072 m3 [1]
- re-arrangement of formula for mass (mass = density 脳 volume) [1]
- substitution: 180 脳 0.072 [1]
- answer: 13 (or 12.96) [1]
- units: kg [1]
- write out exact answer more clearly = 13 (or 12.96) kg
Sample question 2 - Foundation
Question
An aluminium block has a mass of 2.0 kg. An electric heater increases the temperature of the block by 10 掳C. The specific heat capacity of aluminium is 920 J/kg掳C.
Calculate the energy transferred by the heater to the block. [2 marks]
Use:
change in energy (J) = mass (kg) 脳 specific heat capacity (J/kg掳C) 脳 change in temperature (掳C)
This question has been written by a Bitesize consultant as a suggestion to the type of question that may appear in an exam paper.
- energy = 2.0 脳 920 脳 10 [1]
- = 18,400 J [1]
Sample question 3 - Higher
Question
A container of vegetable oil has three holes in it.
The vegetable oil has a density of 9.1 脳 102 kg/m3.
Calculate the change in pressure from A to B.
Show your working and give your answer to 2 significant figures. [4 marks]
Use:
pressure due to a column of liquid (Pa) = height of column (m) 脳 density of liquid (kg/m3) 脳 g (N/kg)
OCR Gateway Science, GCE Physics, Paper J249, 2016 - Higher.
- g = 10 N/kg [1]
- pressure = (4/100) 脳 9.1 脳 102 脳 10 [1]
- = 364 Pa [1]
- = 360 Pa to 2 significant figures [1]
If you have used 9.8 N/kg for g, and got 356.72 Pa as your answer, you will still get the marks.
Sample question 4 - Higher
Question
A jug containing 0.250 kg of liquid is put into a refrigerator.
Its temperature decreased from 20掳C to 15掳C.
The amount of energy transferred from the liquid was 5,250 J.
Calculate the specific heat capacity of the liquid. [3 marks]
Use:
change in energy (J) = mass (kg) 脳 specific heat capacity (J/kg掳C) 脳 change in temperature (掳C)
This question has been written by a Bitesize consultant as a suggestion to the type of question that may appear in an exam paper.
- specific heat capacity = change in energy 梅 (mass 脳 change in temperature) [1]
- = 5,250 梅 (0.250 脳 5) [1]
- = 4,200 J/kg掳C [1]