Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Generating Electricity — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Generating Electricity, 25 marks, about 25 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Generating Electricity — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
8 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- Name (1 mark)
- the correct quantity, unit or component
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer
- Describe (2–4 marks)
- developed, linked statements of what happens — including a named direction where one exists
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- the physics that causes it, set out as a line of reasoning Misread as: describing the change without giving the physical reason for it
- Discuss (3–6 marks)
- more than one consideration weighed, reaching a position
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught physics to an unfamiliar arrangement
- Identify (1–2 marks)
- the correct item selected from what is shown
Assessed on Paper 1 (4PH1/1P) and Paper 2 (4PH1/2P), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics (4PH1) — statements 4.19 · 4.18. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 10 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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A country is deciding how to replace an old coal-fired power station. Its energy department published figures for three of the options under consideration, based on stations already operating elsewhere.
Table 1 — three options for replacing the coal station Resource Typical output / MW Carbon dioxide released while generating Time to start up from cold Gas 800 high about 30 minutes Nuclear 1200 none about 2 days Wind farm 0 to 600 none immediate, when the wind blows (a)
(1)Identify
Identify the option in Table 1 with the largest output, using Table 1.
A country is deciding how to replace an old coal-fired power station. Its energy department published figures for three of the options under consideration, based on stations already operating elsewhere.
Table 1 — three options for replacing the coal station Resource Typical output / MW Carbon dioxide released while generating Time to start up from cold Gas 800 high about 30 minutes Nuclear 1200 none about 2 days Wind farm 0 to 600 none immediate, when the wind blows (b)
(2)Explain
Explain why the wind farm's output in Table 1 is given as a range rather than a single figure.
A country is deciding how to replace an old coal-fired power station. Its energy department published figures for three of the options under consideration, based on stations already operating elsewhere.
Table 1 — three options for replacing the coal station Resource Typical output / MW Carbon dioxide released while generating Time to start up from cold Gas 800 high about 30 minutes Nuclear 1200 none about 2 days Wind farm 0 to 600 none immediate, when the wind blows (c)
(4)Discuss
Discuss which of the three options in Table 1 the country should choose to replace its coal station.
A country is deciding how to replace an old coal-fired power station. Its energy department published figures for three of the options under consideration, based on stations already operating elsewhere.
Table 1 — three options for replacing the coal station Resource Typical output / MW Carbon dioxide released while generating Time to start up from cold Gas 800 high about 30 minutes Nuclear 1200 none about 2 days Wind farm 0 to 600 none immediate, when the wind blows (Total for Question 1 = 7 marks)
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(1)Which
Which of these energy resources is non-renewable?
Resource A wind B natural gas C geothermal D solar (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name the energy store that is emptied when coal is burned in a power station.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of generating electricity from wind.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(4)Describe
Describe the energy transfers in a coal-fired power station, from the fuel to the electricity leaving the building.
(Total for Question 5 = 4 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why a solar cell is unlike almost every other way of generating electricity.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(4)Discuss
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear power for large-scale electricity generation.
(Total for Question 7 = 4 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest which resource the island should choose, and justify the choice from the information given.
A remote volcanic island — A small island 900 km from the nearest continent needs its own electricity supply. It sits on an active volcanic zone where rock a few hundred metres down is hot enough to boil water. It is frequently cloudy, has no rivers large enough to dam, and any fuel would have to arrive by ship.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 10 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Generating Electricity to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Nikola Tesla over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Generating Electricity — Seven ways of turning something into electricity — and the trade-offs that make the choice hard.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice