Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Magnets and Magnetic Fields — exam questions
11 original Incandio exam-style questions on Magnets and Magnetic Fields, 27 marks, about 27 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 Magnets and Magnetic Fields — 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
- State what is meant by (1–2 marks)
- the definition
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer
- Compare (2–4 marks)
- explicit comparison naming both cases
- 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
- 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 6.2 · 6.4 · 6.3. 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 11 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 student is given four identical-looking grey metal bars, labelled W, X, Y and Z, and asked to find out which of them are magnets. She brings each end of each bar close to each end of every other bar in turn and records whether they attract, repel or do nothing.
Table 1 — what the student observed Pair of bars Observation W and X attract at one arrangement, repel at another W and Y attract whichever way round they are held X and Y attract whichever way round they are held W and Z no effect at all Y and Z no effect at all (a)
(1)Identify
Identify the two bars in Table 1 that must both be magnets.
A student is given four identical-looking grey metal bars, labelled W, X, Y and Z, and asked to find out which of them are magnets. She brings each end of each bar close to each end of every other bar in turn and records whether they attract, repel or do nothing.
Table 1 — what the student observed Pair of bars Observation W and X attract at one arrangement, repel at another W and Y attract whichever way round they are held X and Y attract whichever way round they are held W and Z no effect at all Y and Z no effect at all (b)
(3)Explain
Explain what Table 1 shows about bar Y.
A student is given four identical-looking grey metal bars, labelled W, X, Y and Z, and asked to find out which of them are magnets. She brings each end of each bar close to each end of every other bar in turn and records whether they attract, repel or do nothing.
Table 1 — what the student observed Pair of bars Observation W and X attract at one arrangement, repel at another W and Y attract whichever way round they are held X and Y attract whichever way round they are held W and Z no effect at all Y and Z no effect at all (c)
(3)Suggest
Suggest what bar Z is made of, and one further test the student could do to check.
A student is given four identical-looking grey metal bars, labelled W, X, Y and Z, and asked to find out which of them are magnets. She brings each end of each bar close to each end of every other bar in turn and records whether they attract, repel or do nothing.
Table 1 — what the student observed Pair of bars Observation W and X attract at one arrangement, repel at another W and Y attract whichever way round they are held X and Y attract whichever way round they are held W and Z no effect at all Y and Z no effect at all (Total for Question 1 = 7 marks)
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(1)Which
Which observation proves that two metal bars are both magnets?
Observation A they attract each other B they repel each other C one of them picks up iron filings D neither of them affects the other (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State what is meant by
State what is meant by a magnetic field line.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give one use of a magnetically hard material and one use of a magnetically soft material.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(3)Compare
Compare the behaviour of a magnetically hard material with that of a magnetically soft material.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Describe
Describe the magnetic field around a bar magnet.
Figure 1 — the field around a bar magnet (Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why attraction between two objects is not enough to show that both of them are magnets.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest why the screwdriver behaves in this way, and how the effect could be removed.
A screwdriver that has picked up a habit — A steel screwdriver has been kept for years in a drawer next to a strong magnet. It now picks up small screws by itself, which is convenient, but it also drags iron filings out of the workbench, which is not. Its tip has been near the magnet the whole time but has never touched it.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain the difference between a permanent magnet and an induced magnet, and why a steel paperclip can pick up a second paperclip while it is held on a magnet.
(Total for Question 9 = 4 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 — 11 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Magnets and Magnetic Fields to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against William Gilbert over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Magnets and Magnetic Fields — Why only repulsion proves you are holding a magnet, and what a field line is actually a picture of.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice