IGCSE Physics (9–1) 0972 · Waves · 3.3

Electromagnetic spectrum: past paper questions

76 real questionsasked in 10 of the last 10 exam series2019–2026usually: State, Describe, Calculate, Complete, Compare

Real questions on electromagnetic spectrum

The newest 20 of 76 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.

0972/31 · May/June 2026 · Q6a(i)[1]
(i) Complete the sentence about a property of electromagnetic waves. Figure 6.1, arrow indicates direction increasing ..........
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0972/31 · May/June 2026 · Q6a(ii)[2]
(ii) All electromagnetic waves are transverse waves. Describe the direction of vibration in a transverse wave. doce .......... .......... .......... [2]
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0972/31 · May/June 2026 · Q6a(iii)[3]
(iii) The frequency of an electromagnetic wave is 7.3 x 10'°Hz. The speed of the wave is 3.0 x 108 m/s. Calculate the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave. wavelength .......... [3]
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0972/32 · May/June 2026 · Q6a[2]
Complete the labelling in Figure 6.1.
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0972/32 · May/June 2026 · Q6b[1]
State the property of electromagnetic waves that increases in the direction of the arrow in Figure 6.1.
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0972/32 · May/June 2026 · Q6c[1]
Compare the speed of X-rays with the speed of radio waves in a vacuum. Complete the sentence. In a vacuum, the speed of X-rays is
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0972/32 · May/June 2026 · Q6d[1]
The different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum have different uses. Describe one use for X-rays.
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0972/32 · May/June 2026 · Q6e[2]
Energy emitted by the Sun is mostly in three regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. State the three regions.
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0972/41 · May/June 2026 · Q3b(i)[1]
(i) State the approximate speed of light in air. SPCC .......... [1]
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0972/41 · May/June 2026 · Q3b(ii)[5]
(ii) Calculate the frequency of the red light. State the unit. FrEQUENCY .......... .......... unit ..........
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0972/41 · May/June 2026 · Q3b(iii)[1]
(iii) Complete the sentence. Light single frequency described .......... light. [1]
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0972/41 · May/June 2026 · Q9b(i)[1]
The Sun emits most of its energy in three regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light is one region. State the other two regions.
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0972/41 · May/June 2026 · Q9c(i)[1]
State what is meant by redshifted. [Total: 9] Question 10 is on the back page. Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (Cambridge University Press & Assessment) to...
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0972/42 · May/June 2026 · Q6c[1]
Visible light is one region of the electromagnetic spectrum. State the name of the region of the electromagnetic spectrum which has the lowest frequency.
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0972/31 · October/November 2025 · Q6a(i)[2]
State the name of region 1 and the name of region 2. region (i)
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0972/31 · October/November 2025 · Q6a(ii)[1]
Describe one use of gamma rays. (ii)
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0972/31 · October/November 2025 · Q6a(iii)[1]
Describe one harmful effect on people of excessive exposure to gamma rays. (iii)
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0972/31 · October/November 2025 · Q6b[3]
The frequency of an electromagnetic wave is 2.0 × 10 6 Hz. The speed of the wave in a medium is 2.8 × 10 8 m / s. Calculate the wavelength of the wave. wavelength = m
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0972/31 · October/November 2025 · Q11c[3]
A device on the surface of Mars sends a radio wave to the Earth. The distance from Mars to the Earth is 1.3 × 10 11 m. The speed of the radio wave is 3.0 × 10 8 m / s. Calculate the time taken for the radio wave to travel from Mars to the Earth. time taken = s
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0972/41 · October/November 2025 · Q9b(ii)[2]
State two regions of the electromagnetic spectrum by which the Sun radiates most of its energy.
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What examiners said

The vast majority of candidates correctly identified infrared radiation and ultraviolet radiation, but a number of candidates found this challenging. Centres should encourage candidates to use a mnemonic to recall the order of the main parts of the electromagnetic spectrum and to practise writing down the names as the spelling of these two was often inaccurate.
— Examiner report, May/June 2025, 0972/31 Q7(b)(i) (Cambridge)

The majority of candidates used the equation relating distance, speed and time correctly. Only a few noticed that the distance calculated was twice the Earth–Moon distance and needed to be halved.
— Examiner report, May/June 2025, 0972/32 Q7(b) (Cambridge)

Many correct answers were seen, particularly ‘detecting fake bank notes’ and ‘sterilising water’. Some answers were too vague, e.g. ‘checking money’ or uses of other electromagnetic waves, such as TV remotes. A noticeable number of candidates did not give an answer.
— Examiner report, May/June 2025, 0972/32 Q7(c)(i) (Cambridge)

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In the syllabus

3.3 Electromagnetic spectrum

Know the main regions of the electromagnetic spectrum in order of frequency and in order of wavelength
Know that all electromagnetic waves travel at the same high speed in a vacuum
Describe typical uses of the different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum including: (a) radio waves; radio and television transmissions, astronomy, radio frequency identification (RFID) (b) microwaves; satellite television, mobile phones (cell phones), microwave ovens (c) infrared; electric grills, short range communications such as remote controllers for televisions, intruder alarms, thermal imaging, optical fibres (d) visible light; vision, photography, illumination (e) ultraviolet; security marking, detecting fake bank notes, sterilising water (f) X-rays; medical scanning, security scanners (g) gamma rays; sterilising food and medical equipment, detection of cancer and its treatment
Describe the harmful effects on people of excessive exposure to electromagnetic radiation, including: (a) microwaves; internal heating of body cells (b) infrared; skin burns (c) ultraviolet; damage to surface cells and eyes, leading to skin cancer and eye conditions (d) X-rays and gamma rays; mutation or damage to cells in the body
Know that communication with artificial satellites is mainly by microwaves: (a) some satellite phones use low orbit artificial satellites (b) some satellite phones and direct broadcast satellite television use geostationary satellites
Know that the speed of electromagnetic waves in a vacuum is 3.0 × 10⁸ m / s and is approximately the same in air
Know that many important systems of communications rely on electromagnetic radiation including: (a) mobile phones (cell phones) and wireless internet use microwaves because microwaves can penetrate some walls and only require a short aerial for transmission and reception (b) Bluetooth uses radio waves because radio waves pass through walls but the signal is weakened on doing so (c) optical fibres (visible light or infrared) are used for cable television and high-speed broadband because glass is transparent to visible light and some infrared; visible light and short wavelength infrared can carry high rates of data
Know the difference between a digital and analogue signal
Know that a sound can be transmitted as a digital or analogue signal
Explain the benefits of digital signalling including increased rate of transmission of data and increased range due to accurate signal regeneration

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