Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Atomic Structure and Isotopes — exam questions
11 original Incandio exam-style questions on Atomic Structure and Isotopes, 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 Atomic Structure and Isotopes — 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
7 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
- 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
- Determine (1–4 marks)
- a value obtained by combining a reading or gradient with a relationship
- 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 7.3 · 7.2 · 7.1. 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 physics class was given nuclide symbols for four neutral atoms and asked to work out what each one contained. The symbols are written in the usual way, with the mass number above the atomic number.
Table 1 — four neutral atoms Atom Mass number Atomic number P 12 6 Q 14 6 R 14 7 S 235 92 (a)
(2)Determine
Determine the number of neutrons in atom S, using Table 1.
A physics class was given nuclide symbols for four neutral atoms and asked to work out what each one contained. The symbols are written in the usual way, with the mass number above the atomic number.
Table 1 — four neutral atoms Atom Mass number Atomic number P 12 6 Q 14 6 R 14 7 S 235 92 number of neutrons = ............................
(b)
(1)Identify
Identify the two atoms in Table 1 that are isotopes of each other.
A physics class was given nuclide symbols for four neutral atoms and asked to work out what each one contained. The symbols are written in the usual way, with the mass number above the atomic number.
Table 1 — four neutral atoms Atom Mass number Atomic number P 12 6 Q 14 6 R 14 7 S 235 92 (c)
(3)Explain
Explain why atoms Q and R in Table 1 are not isotopes of each other, even though they have the same mass number.
A physics class was given nuclide symbols for four neutral atoms and asked to work out what each one contained. The symbols are written in the usual way, with the mass number above the atomic number.
Table 1 — four neutral atoms Atom Mass number Atomic number P 12 6 Q 14 6 R 14 7 S 235 92 (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which particle number determines what element an atom is?
Number of A neutrons B protons C electrons D protons and neutrons together (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name the quantity given by the number of protons in a nucleus.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(3)Describe
Describe the structure of an atom in terms of its particles and where they are found.
Figure 1 — the structure of an atom (Total for Question 4 = 3 marks)
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(2)Explain
Explain what is meant by two atoms being isotopes of each other.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(2)Determine
The nucleus of an iron atom contains 30 neutrons and has a mass number of 56. Determine its atomic number.
atomic number = ............................
(Total for Question 6 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why two isotopes of the same element behave identically in chemical reactions but differently in radioactive decay.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest what the results of the experiment show about the structure of an atom.
Firing alpha particles at gold foil — Alpha particles, which are positively charged, were fired at a very thin sheet of gold foil. Almost all of them passed straight through with no change of direction. A small number were deflected through large angles, and about one in every eight thousand bounced almost straight back towards the source.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain how the results of the alpha-scattering experiment showed that an atom is mostly empty space with a tiny, dense, positive nucleus.
(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 Atomic Structure and Isotopes to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Ernest Rutherford over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Atomic Structure and Isotopes — A nucleus ten thousand times smaller than the atom around it, and why two atoms of the same element can weigh different amounts.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice