Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1 · Free · no account needed
Uses and Dangers of Electromagnetic Radiation — exam questions
11 original Incandio exam-style questions on Uses and Dangers of Electromagnetic Radiation, 26 marks, about 26 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 Uses and Dangers of Electromagnetic Radiation — 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 (1 mark)
- one precise fact or definition
- 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
- Compare (2–4 marks)
- explicit comparison naming both cases
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught physics to an unfamiliar arrangement
- Determine (1–4 marks)
- a value obtained by combining a reading or gradient with a relationship
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 3.12 · 3.13. 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 radiographer takes X-ray images of patients all day, about 250 exposures in a working day. The patient is in the beam for a fraction of a second at a time, but the radiographer is in the room for every exposure. The room has a lead-lined screen with a leaded glass window, and the radiographer stands behind it while each image is taken.
Table 1 — dose received from one exposure Position Dose per exposure / µSv Patient, in the beam 200 Beside the patient, no screen 8 Three metres away, no screen 0.8 Behind the lead screen 0.004 (a)
(1)Give
Give the dose received per exposure three metres from the patient with no screen, using Table 1.
A radiographer takes X-ray images of patients all day, about 250 exposures in a working day. The patient is in the beam for a fraction of a second at a time, but the radiographer is in the room for every exposure. The room has a lead-lined screen with a leaded glass window, and the radiographer stands behind it while each image is taken.
Table 1 — dose received from one exposure Position Dose per exposure / µSv Patient, in the beam 200 Beside the patient, no screen 8 Three metres away, no screen 0.8 Behind the lead screen 0.004 (b)
(2)Determine
Determine the total dose the radiographer receives behind the lead screen during one working day, using Table 1.
A radiographer takes X-ray images of patients all day, about 250 exposures in a working day. The patient is in the beam for a fraction of a second at a time, but the radiographer is in the room for every exposure. The room has a lead-lined screen with a leaded glass window, and the radiographer stands behind it while each image is taken.
Table 1 — dose received from one exposure Position Dose per exposure / µSv Patient, in the beam 200 Beside the patient, no screen 8 Three metres away, no screen 0.8 Behind the lead screen 0.004 ............................ µSv
(c)
(3)Explain
Explain why the radiographer needs the lead screen even though each patient is exposed to a much larger dose than the radiographer is.
A radiographer takes X-ray images of patients all day, about 250 exposures in a working day. The patient is in the beam for a fraction of a second at a time, but the radiographer is in the room for every exposure. The room has a lead-lined screen with a leaded glass window, and the radiographer stands behind it while each image is taken.
Table 1 — dose received from one exposure Position Dose per exposure / µSv Patient, in the beam 200 Beside the patient, no screen 8 Three metres away, no screen 0.8 Behind the lead screen 0.004 (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which electromagnetic radiation is used by a television remote control?
Radiation A gamma rays B infrared C ultraviolet D X-rays (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State
State one use of gamma rays.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give two uses of microwaves.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(3)Describe
Describe how X-rays are used to produce an image of a broken bone.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why too much exposure to ultraviolet radiation is harmful to the skin.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Compare
Compare the way microwaves harm the body with the way gamma rays harm it.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest why the goggles must block ultraviolet but need not block visible light.
Curing a dental filling — A dentist hardens a white filling by shining a small lamp on it for twenty seconds. The lamp emits both visible violet light and ultraviolet. The dentist and the patient both wear tinted goggles, and the dentist needs to be able to see the tooth while the lamp is on.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain why ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays are dangerous to living cells while radio waves and microwaves are far less so.
(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 Uses and Dangers of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Marie Curie over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Uses and Dangers of Electromagnetic Radiation — Seven bands, seven jobs — and why the danger rises steadily as you move along the spectrum.
- All of Incandio Physics · Incandio Exam Practice