AQA A-Level Physics

Component Code 7407 and 7408

Note for user:

This resources was created by an A Level Student (momondi on TES) in 2017 in

preparation for upcoming A level Exams. As such if there are any errors, do contact
the author of this resource.

This is intended as a guide for useful formulae that can be used in exam questions
and to help build understanding on the topics studied at AQA

Resources referred to making this resource:

CGP A Level Year 1 – The Complete Course for AQA

CGP A Level Year 2 – The Complete Course for AQA
Advanced Physics For You
AQA Specification
AQA A Level Physics formula sheet
 𝑄 1𝑒𝑉 = 1.6 × 10−19 𝐽
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 =
𝑚
This is the charge to mass ratio for a ℎ𝑓 = 𝐸1 − 𝐸2
particle/nucleus/ion. (𝐶𝑘𝑔−1 )
The de-excitation of an electron
𝐸𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 2𝐸0 𝐸𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝐸0 between two energy levels will
emit a photon of EM radiation.
Pair Production: Annihilation
The minimum energy needed The minimum energy of one photon An electron must gain a specific
for pair production is equal to produced is equal to the rest energy of amount of energy in order to be
double the rest energy of one one of the particles which have been excited to a higher energy level
particle produced annihilated
Particles with a larger
The energy of a
ℎ ℎ momentum will have a
ℎ𝑐 𝜆= = smaller de Broglie
𝐸 = ℎ𝑓 =
photon of EM 𝑝 𝑚𝑣
radiation is directly wavelength.
𝜆
proportional to its
𝜙 = ℎ𝑓0 frequency 𝐸𝑘(𝑚𝑎𝑥) = 𝑒𝑉𝑠
Stopping potential, 𝑉𝑠 is the potential
The work function, 𝜙 is the minimum ℎ𝑓 = 𝜙 + 𝐸𝑘(𝑚𝑎𝑥) difference needed to stop the fastest
amount of energy needed to release an
moving electron in a photocell experiment
electron from the surface of a metal
The kinetic energy of photoelectrons is up to a maximum because:
The threshold frequency, 𝑓0 is the minimum
• Photons are absorbed by electrons on a one to one basis
frequency of EM radiation needed to release
• Some electrons are deeper in the metal than others
an electron from the surface of a metal
• This means that they require more energy than the work function
Planck’s
constant ℎ = 6.63 × 10−34 𝐽𝑠 to be released, so their kinetic energy will be lower than those
from the surface
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 1 𝑐
𝑓= 𝑐 = 𝑓𝜆 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒 ∝ (𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒)2 𝑛=
𝑇 𝑐𝑠
The refractive index must
𝑃 Intensity is the energy
2𝜋𝑑 always be higher than 1! The
𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝐼= transferred per second over
higher the number, the more
𝜆 𝐴 an area of 1𝑚2 (𝑊𝑚−2 )
optically dense the medium is
The frequency of the first harmonic on a string
𝑛2
𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 =
1 𝑇 𝑛1
𝑓= 𝜇=
2𝐿 𝜇 𝐿 𝑛2 is the more dense medium in this case

Where 𝜇 is the total mass of the

string divided by its total length
(mass per unit length, 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 ).
The frequency of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th
harmonics etc will be a multiple
of the first harmonic
𝑑 sin 𝜃 = 𝑛𝜆
Diffraction Gratings
• 𝑛 stands for the order, the
position of a maxima
• For a fixed slit width, 𝑑, light
with a longer wavelength will
be diffracted more
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
Note: If you get math
𝑛2 error, the refractive
sin 𝜃𝑐 = indexes are the wrong
𝑛1 way round
The critical angle can only occurs when light goes
𝜆𝐷 from a more dense to a less dense medium.
𝑤=
𝑠 This means that 𝑛2 must be less dense in this case
Young Double Slit Experiment 𝑛1 sin 𝜃1 = 𝑛2 sin 𝜃2
• 𝑤 is the fringe spacing
• 𝐷 is the distance from the screen to the slit Snell’s law
• 𝑠 is the slit separation 𝜃1 is the angle of incidence
𝜃2 is the angle of refraction
 S.U.V.A.T Equations Remember to consider which
1
𝑣 2 = 𝑢2 + 2𝑎𝑠 𝐸𝑘 = 𝑚𝑣 2 Δ𝐸𝑝 = 𝑚𝑔Δℎ forms energy is transferred into
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡 2 before making equations equal!

1 2 𝑢+𝑣 A moment is the force multiplied by the

𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 𝑠= 𝑡 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝐹𝑑 distance perpendicular from the line of action
2 2 of the force to the pivot. Measured in 𝑁𝑚.
Assumptions made
• No air resistance acting 𝑊 = 𝐹𝑠 cos 𝜃
• Object is moving uniformly so the
Work done is the transfer of energy from
acceleration is constant
one form to another when a force is moved
Δ𝑠 Δ𝑣 through a distance. Measured in joules, 𝐽
𝑣= 𝑎=
Δ𝑡 Δ𝑡 The cos 𝜃 indicates the force must be
Newton’s Second Law resolved in the direction of motion

Δ(𝑚𝑣) Δ𝑊
𝐹= 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 𝑃= = 𝐹𝑣
Δ𝑡 𝑝 = 𝑚𝑣 Δ𝑡
Momentum is an object’s mass Power is the energy transferred per
The RESULTANT FORCE, 𝐹, is
multiplied by velocity. It is measured in second or the rate at which work is done.
directly proportional to the rate of It is measured in Watts, 𝑊
𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −1 Vector quantity
change of an object’s momentum

𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 𝐹Δ𝑡 = Δ(𝑚𝑣) In 𝑃 = 𝐹𝑣, F is the force causing the

If air resistance is not acting and
an object falls due to gravity,
then its mass does not affect its
acceleration
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
motion. 𝑣 is the velocity in that direction
Impulse is the resultant force on an
object multiplied by the length of time 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
it acts for. It can be measured in 𝑁𝑠 or 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 =
𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −1 . Vector quantity. 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
 𝑚 Density is the mass per unit volume of a material,
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
𝜌= a measure of how much mass each cubic metre of
𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠 =
𝑉 volume contains. It is measured in 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛
All this means is find the total mass
𝜌1 𝑉1 + 𝜌2 𝑉2 of the two materials, and divide by 𝐹×𝐿
𝜌𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑦 = 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠 =
𝑉1 + 𝑉2 the total volume they take up, to
𝐴 × Δ𝐿
find the overall density of an alloy
Hooke’s Law
The force applied in stretching/compressing a The Young Modulus of a material is a
material is directly proportional to its extension until
𝐹 = 𝑘Δ𝐿 the limit of proportionality.
measure of how difficult it is to change the
shape of a material. The higher the value, the
stiffer the material. It is measured in 𝑃𝑎.
1 1 2
𝐸 = 𝐹Δ𝐿 𝐸 = 𝑘 Δ𝐿 The gradient of a stress-strain graph gives the
2 2 Young Modulus. The gradient is only taken
Energy stored by a stretched/compressed up until the limit of proportionality
material (obeying Hooke’s Law)

𝐹
𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 = Δ𝐿
𝐴 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 =
𝐿
This is the force applied in
deforming a material divided This is the extension of a material
by its cross-sectional area. divided by its original length. It has
Measured in 𝑁𝑚−2 or 𝑃𝑎 no units as it is a ratio

1
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = × 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 × 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛
2
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 Δ𝑄 Current is the rate of flow of charge 𝑊 Potential difference is the work done per coulomb of
𝐼= passing a point per second. 𝑉= charge passing between two points in a circuit. It is
Δ𝑡 Measured in amps, A or 𝐶𝑠 −1 𝑄 measured in volts, V or 𝐽𝐶 −1
Resistance is the ratio of the Resistivity is a property specific to a material which
𝑉 𝑅𝐴 measures the resistance to the flow of current
potential difference across a 𝜌=
𝑅= component to the current passing 𝐿 when taking into account the cross sectional area
𝐼 through it. It is measured in Ω and its length. It is measured in Ωm.

Rule for the total resistance of a series circuit 𝐸 Electromotive force (e.m.f), 𝜀 is the amount of
𝜀= electrical energy supplied per coulomb of
𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 + ⋯ 𝑄 charge from a source. It is measured in volts, V

Rule for the total resistance of a parallel circuit 𝜀 = 𝐼(𝑅 + 𝑟) 𝜀 =𝑉+v

If a power supply has internal resistance,
1 1 1 1 some energy is wasted per coulomb of
= + + +⋯ charge. This is referred to as lost volts.
𝑅𝑇 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3 The useful energy transferred per coulomb
2 of charge to the rest of the circuit is called
𝑉 the terminal p.d.
𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉 = 𝐼 2 𝑅 =
𝑅 𝐸 = 𝐼𝑡𝑉 𝑅1
Electrical Power is the rate of energy 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛 ×
transfer from an electrical component.
Total energy 𝑅1 + 𝑅2
transferred by a
component in a Potential dividers are used to vary the potential difference
Doubling the current through a given time supplied by a source to different components.
component will quadruple the power
losses of a component. (Useful to know
They split the potential difference across each component
for A2 when studying transformers)
in order to obtain an output p.d.
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 *𝜃 must be in
𝜃 Anglular speed is the angle an object rotates through per
𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 𝑟𝜃* radians!
𝜔= second. It is measured in radians per second (𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 −1 )
𝑡
𝑣 The further a point is from the centre 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑒 = 2𝜋𝑟
𝜔= of a uniformly rotating object, the
𝑟 faster its linear velocity. 𝜋
1𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 =
Linear velocity is always at a tangent 180°
to the circle
𝑚𝑣 2
𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓 𝐹= = 𝑚𝜔2 𝑟
𝑟
The frequency of a rotating object is
The resultant force which causes an
the number of complete revolutions
object to undergo circular motion is
per second (𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑠 −1 𝑜𝑟 𝐻𝑧)
called the centripetal force.

𝑣2 Resolve forces carefully to check

𝑎= = 𝜔2 𝑟 which forces are contributing to the
𝑟 centripetal force!
If an object’s direction is
constantly changing, its velocity
is changing. If its velocity is
changing over time, then it is
accelerating.

This is called centripetal

acceleration (𝑚𝑠 −2 )
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 For an object to undergo SHM, its acceleration must be directly proportional to its displacement from
2
𝑎 = −𝜔 𝑥 the equilibrium position in the opposite direction.

2 The acceleration of the object At 𝑡 = 0, the object is at maximum

𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝜔 𝐴 will be at a maximum when it 𝑥 = 𝐴 cos 𝜔𝑡 displacement.
is at its maximum amplitude This is equal to the amplitude, 𝐴

𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝜔𝐴 For a simple pendulum, the time period is

𝑣 = ±𝜔 𝐴2 − 𝑥 2 𝑙 only affected by the length of the pendulum
𝑇 = 2𝜋
The velocity of the object will be at a
𝑔 and the gravitational field strength
maximum when it is passing through the
equilibrium position

The gradient of the displacement graph

will give you the velocity at any point.
Displacement

Velocity
𝑚
𝑇 = 2𝜋
𝑘
Acceleration For a mass-spring system, the
time period is only affected by
the object’s mass and the spring
constant of the spring
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 𝑁𝐴 is Avogadro’s number, the number of molecules present in 1
𝐾 = 𝐶 + 273 𝑁 = 𝑛𝑁𝐴 mole. 𝑁 is the number of molecules and n is the number of moles
Absolute zero is the point at which all (Relative) Molecular mass, 𝑀𝑟 is the sum of the atomic masses
molecules have zero kinetic energy 𝑚 which make up a molecule (measured in grams)
𝑛=
A change of 1𝐾 equals a change of 1°𝐶 𝑀𝑟 The molar mass, 𝑀𝑢 , is the mass of one mol of a substance
(usually measured in 𝒌𝒈𝒎𝒐𝒍−𝟏 , but check units in questions!)
𝑄 = 𝑚𝑐Δ𝜃
𝑝𝑉 = 𝑛𝑅𝑇 𝑝𝑉 = 𝑁𝑘𝑇
Specific heat capacity is the energy
needed to raise the temperature of 1kg For an ideal gas, these laws show three
of a substance by 1𝐾 (or 1°𝐶). experimental relationships:
1
• 𝑃∝
It is measured in 𝐽𝑘𝑔−1 𝐾 −1 or
𝑉 𝑝𝑉
• 𝑉∝𝑇 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝐽𝑘𝑔−1 °𝐶 −1 • 𝑃∝𝑇 𝑇
Specific latent heat is the energy
Mass of ONE MOLECULE
𝑄 = 𝑚𝑙 needed per kg to be gained or 1
lost in order to change state. It is 𝑝𝑉 = 𝑁𝑚 𝑐𝑟𝑚𝑠 2
measured in 𝐽𝑘𝑔−1 . 3
𝒍𝒇 means the latent heat of fusion (solid to liquid) The kinetic theory equation demonstrates that
𝒍𝒗 means the latent heat of vaporisation (liquid to gas) that for 𝑁 molecules of gas at a given volume, the
mass and the r.m.s. speed affect the pressure
Δ𝑊 = 𝑝Δ𝑉
1 2
3 3𝑅𝑇 The average kinetic energy of a single
This equation only applies if 𝑚 𝑐𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑘𝑇 = molecule of gas is directly proportional to
there is a constant pressure 2 2 2𝑁𝐴 temperature of the gas.
and temperature.
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2 Force between two masses is directly proportional to the product of their
𝐹= masses and inversely proportional to the distance between them squared.
r2 Vector quantity

𝐺𝑀 𝐹
𝑔= 2 𝑔=
𝑟 𝑚
Gravitational field strength is the
Gravitational field strength in a radial field is inversely force per unit mass (𝑁𝑘𝑔−1 )
proportional to the distance from the mass squared Vector quantity

Δ𝑊 = 𝑚Δ𝑉
Δ𝑉
Gravitational Potential is the work 𝑔=−
done per unit mass in bringing a
Δ𝑟
point mass from infinity to a point in
a gravitational field (𝐽𝑘𝑔−1 ) The gradient of a graph showing distance
Scalar quantity against gravitational potential gives you
the gravitational field strength.

Gravitational Potential is always negative The area of a graph showing gravitational

𝐺𝑀 as by convention, zero potential is at a field strength against distance gives you
𝑉=− point which is an infinite distance away gravitational potential
𝑟 from a gravitational field

Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2 2
𝐸𝑝 = − 4𝜋
𝑟 𝑇2 = 𝑟3
𝐺M
Gravitational Potential Energy in a radial field

The time period of a satellite’s orbit around a

The orbital speed of a satellite planet squared is directly to proportional to the
𝐺𝑀 is inversely proportional to the radius of its orbit cubed (Circular motion applies)
𝑣= square root of the radius of its
𝑟 orbit

2𝐺𝑀 The escape velocity of an object is the velocity

𝑣= needed for an object to be completely free of a
𝑟 gravitational field from a planet

Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 1
∗𝑘 =
𝑘𝑄1 𝑄2 Force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of their 4𝜋𝜀0
𝐹=± charges and inversely proportional to the distance between them squared.
r2 Vector quantity, +ve force = repulsion, -ve force = attraction

++++ +++ ++
𝑘𝑄 𝑉
𝐸= 2 - + 𝐹 = 𝐸𝑄 𝐸=
𝑟 𝑑
- - - - -
Electric field strength in a radial Electric field strength is the force per unit charge
field is inversely proportional to the (𝑁𝐶 −1 ) Vector quantity
distance from the charge squared

Δ𝑉
Δ𝑊 = QΔ𝑉 𝐸=
Δ𝑟
Electric Potential is the work done per The gradient of a graph showing distance
unit charge in bringing a positive charge against electric potential gives you the
to infinity from a point in an electric field electric field strength
(𝐽𝐶 −1 𝑜𝑟 𝑉) Scalar quantity
The area of a graph showing electric field
+ + strength and distance gives you electric
𝑘𝑄 potential
𝑉=±
𝑟 + -
Depending on the charge, electric potential may be 𝑘𝑄1 𝑄2 Electric Potential Energy
positive or negative as it is the work done in bringing a 𝐸𝑝 = − in a radial field
positive point charge to a point in a field
𝑟
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 𝑄 Capacitance is the charge stored Capacitance is directly
𝐶= per unit potential difference by a 𝐴𝜀0 𝜀𝑟 proportional to the area of the
𝑉 capacitor (𝐹𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠, 𝐹 𝑜𝑟 𝐶𝑉 −1 ) 𝐶= plates, and inversely proportional
𝑑 to the distance between them
𝜀1 𝑄 𝐶 The higher the relative permittivity of a material, the
𝜀𝑟 = 𝜀𝑟 = 𝜀𝑟 = higher the capacitance
𝜀0 𝑄0 𝐶0
The rate of flow of charge will always
𝑡
Relative permittivity is the ratio between −𝑅𝐶 decrease at an exponential rate, regardless of
the permittivity of a material and the 𝐼= 𝐼0 𝑒 whether a capacitor is charging or discharging
permittivity of free space (𝐹𝑚−1 )

1 1 2 1 𝑄2
𝐸 = 𝑄𝑉 = 𝐶𝑉 = 𝑡 𝑡
−𝑅𝐶 −𝑅𝐶
2 2 2 𝐶 𝑄 = 𝑄0 𝑒 𝑉= 𝑉0 𝑒
The gradient of a graph showing voltage against For a discharging capacitor, the rate at
charge will give you the capacitance which charge and voltage change over time
obey an exponential decay relationship
The area under graph will give you the energy
stored by the capacitor
𝑇1 = ln 2 𝑅𝐶 𝑡
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 = 𝑅𝐶 2 𝑄= 𝑄0 1 − 𝑒 −𝑅𝐶

The time constant is the time taken for the The half life of a capacitor is the time 𝑡
voltage/current/charge of a capacitor to taken for the voltage/current/charge of a −𝑅𝐶
1
𝑉 = 𝑉0 1 − 𝑒
reach 𝑒 of its original value (≈ 37%) capacitor reaches half of its original value

Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 The force on a charge in a magnetic field is affected by
𝐹 = 𝐵𝐼𝑙 𝐹 = 𝐵𝑄𝑣 the magnetic flux density, the size of the charge and the
velocity of its motion perpendicular to the field.
The force on a current carrying wire is directly
proportional to the magnetic flux density (field strength), The radius of a charged particle moving through
the current in the wire and the length of the wire.
𝑚𝑣 a magnetic field is directly proportional to its
𝑟=
𝐵𝑄 momentum and inversely proportional to the
Magnetic Flux Density is measured in magnetic flux density and its charge.
𝑇𝑒𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑠, 𝑇 𝑜𝑟 𝑁𝐴−1 𝑚−1 Vector quantity
2𝜋𝑚 The time period of a charged particle moving
Φ = 𝐵𝐴 𝑇= through a magnetic field is independent of its
𝐵𝑄 velocity.
Magnetic Flux is the total magnetic flux
passing through a given area. It is 𝐼0 𝑉0
measured in 𝑊𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑊𝑏 𝑜𝑟 𝑇𝑚−2 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 =
Scalar quantity √2 √2
𝑁Φ = 𝐵𝐴𝑁 cos 𝜃 The r.m.s. current/voltage of an A.C supply
can be directly compared to its DC
Magnetic flux linkage is the total magnetic flux equivalent
which flows through a cross section of a coil of 𝑃 = 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠
wire. It is measured in 𝑊𝑏 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠
𝑁𝑠 𝑉𝑠 𝐼𝑠 𝑉𝑠
ΔΦ
The induced emf across a conductor is
= 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 =
𝜀=𝑁 directly proportional to the rate of 𝑁𝑝 𝑉𝑝 𝐼𝑝 𝑉𝑝
Δ𝑡 change of flux linkage in a magnetic field

The emf of a coil rotating uniformly in Assuming that a transformer is 100% efficient, the
𝜀 = 𝐵𝐴𝑁𝜔 sin 𝜔𝑡 a magnetic field is dependant on the ratio of the number of turns on the primary and
flux linkage and the angular speed. secondary coil is equal to the ratio of their voltages
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
Alpha Decay, 𝛼 Beta minus decay, 𝛽 − Beta plus decay, 𝛽 +
Nucleon number decreases by 4 Nucleon number stays the same Nucleon number stays the same
Proton number decreases by 2 Proton number increases by 1 Proton number decreases by 1
The intensity of radiation
𝑘 is inversely proportional
𝑘𝑄1 𝑄2 When determining the radius of a nucleus
𝐼= 2 𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐸 𝑘 = through electron diffraction, the minimum
𝑥 to the distance from the 𝑟 angle of diffraction is given as follows
source squared
The distance of closest approach for a nucleus can
Δ𝑁 be found when an alpha particle with kinetic energy 1.22𝜆
= −𝜆𝑁 𝐴 = 𝜆𝑁 is fired to a nucleus. The distance is where 𝐸𝑘 = 𝐸𝑝 sin 𝜃 ≈
Δ𝑡 2𝑅
The activity, 𝐴 of a radioactive sample is
directly proportional to the number of nuclei 1
present. It is measured in becquerels, 𝐵𝑞 𝑅= 𝑅0 𝐴3
Nuclear decay is random and spontaneous.
The radius of a nucleus is directly
The decay constant, 𝜆 is the probability of a
proportional to the cube root of an
nucleus decaying in a given time. 𝐸 = 𝑚𝑐 2 atoms nucleon number
It is measured in 𝑠 −1 This equation can be used to:
• Find the binding energy of a nucleus – the energy that
The number of nuclei and activity
𝑁 = 𝑁𝑜 𝑒 −𝜆𝑡 of radioactive substance follow
would be needed to separate a nucleus into its individual
parts
an exponential decay • Calculate the energy released in a nuclear reaction
𝐴 = 𝐴𝑜 𝑒 −𝜆𝑡 relationship over time 𝑚 is the mass difference or the mass defect in kg

ln 2 The half life of a radioactive substance is

𝑇1 = the time taken for the activity/ number 1𝑢 = 931.5𝑀𝑒𝑉 = 1.661 × 10−27 𝑘𝑔
2 𝜆 of radioactive nuclei present to half
1 atomic mass unit has a binding energy of 931.5𝑀𝑒𝑉
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae
 The lens equation Diverging lenses have a negative power
1 1 1 𝑓 is the focal length
1 Converging lenses have a positive power
= + 𝑃 =
𝑓 𝑢 𝑣 𝑢 is the object distance from the lens 𝑓 2
𝑣 is the image distance from the lens 𝐼𝑟 𝑧2 − 𝑧1 𝑍 = 𝑝𝑐
𝑣 Magnification 𝑃 The intensity of a sound wave is =
𝑚= the energy transferred per 𝐼𝑖 𝑧2 + 𝑧1
𝑢 of a lens 𝐼 =
𝐴 second per metre squared
perpendicular to the direction of The larger the difference in acoustic impedance
−12 −2 −2 between two materials, the higher the intensity
𝐼0 = 1.0 × 10 𝑊𝑚 wave travel. Measured in 𝑊𝑚
of the reflected ultrasound wave, 𝐼𝑟
The threshold of hearing is the lowest
intensity sound which the human ear The intensity of X-rays
can hear at a frequency 1kHz 𝐼 = 𝐼0 𝑒 −𝜇𝑥 through a material
follows an exponential
𝐼 decay relationship
𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 = 10 log
𝐼0 The half value thickness is
the thickness of a material
The intensity of sound can also be measured ln 2 needed to reduce the
in decibels (dB). The intensity level follows a 𝑥1 =
logarithmic scale. This is for going from 2 𝜇 intensity of an X-ray beam to
intensity in 𝑊𝑚−2 to decibels half its original value
𝜇
This equation can be 𝜇𝑚 = The mass attenuation coefficient is a measure of how
𝜌 much radiation is absorbed per unit mass of a material
𝐼 = 𝐼0 × 100.1(𝑑𝐵) used for going from −2
decibels back to 𝑊𝑚 The effective half life of a radioactive
Perceived loudness in tracer depends on the physical half life of
𝐼2 decibels is proportional
1 1 1 the substance and the biological half life
Δ𝐿 ∝ log = +
𝐼1 logarithmically to the ratio 𝑇𝐸 𝑇𝐵 𝑇𝑃 which is how long the body’s biological
of intensity before and after processes take to remove the substance
Key
Blue equation– Given formulae
Red equation – Not given formulae