O Level Physics 5054 · Waves · 3.2

Light continued: past paper questions

5 real questionsasked in 2 of the last 10 exam series2024–2025usually: Suggest, Calculate, Describe, State

Real questions on light continued

The newest 5 of 5 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.

5054/22 · October/November 2025 · Q5b(i)[3]
The speed of microwaves in a vacuum is 3.0 × 10 8 m / s. Calculate the wavelength of these microwaves in a vacuum. wavelength = m
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5054/22 · October/November 2025 · Q5b(ii)[2]
Describe how microwaves are used in satellite television systems.
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5054/22 · October/November 2025 · Q5c[2]
All microwave ovens have a switch that turns the oven off when the door is opened. Suggest why it is important for a microwave oven to switch off when the door is opened.
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5054/22 · May/June 2024 · Q4b(i)[1]
State the name of one other type of electromagnetic radiation used to transmit information through long, thin glass fibres.
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5054/22 · May/June 2024 · Q4b(ii)[2]
Suggest two advantages of using glass fibres rather than copper wires to transmit information from the internet.
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Practise this topic

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Practise light continued

In the syllabus

3.2 Light continued

Define and use the terms normal, angle of incidence and angle of refraction sin i
Define refractive index n as n = ; recall and use this equation sin r
Describe an experiment to show refraction of light by transparent blocks of different shapes
Define the terms critical angle and total internal reflection; recall and use the equation 1 n= sin c
Describe experiments to show internal reflection and total internal reflection
Describe the use of optical fibres, particularly in telecommunications, stating the advantages of their use in each context Describe the action of thin converging and thin diverging lenses on a parallel beam of light Define and use the terms focal length, principal axis and principal focus (focal point) Draw ray diagrams to illustrate the formation of real and virtual images of an object by a converging lens and know that a real image is formed by converging rays and a virtual image is formed by diverging rays Define linear magnification as the ratio of image length to object length; recall and use the equation image length linear magnification = object length Describe the use of a single lens as a magnifying glass Draw ray diagrams to show the formation of images in the normal eye, a short-sighted eye and a long-sighted eye
Describe the use of converging and diverging lenses to correct long-sightedness and short-sightedness Describe the dispersion of light as illustrated by the refraction of white light by a glass prism Know the traditional seven colours of the visible spectrum in order of frequency and in order of wavelength

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