Here is the written paper from 1996.
There is a complete set of answers for this paper here.
This paper is reproduced to support SQA qualifications on a non-commercial basis according to SQA conditions of use.
mrmackenzie
Higher 1993 paper II
Here is the written paper from 1993.
There is a complete set of answers for this paper here.
This paper is reproduced to support SQA qualifications on a non-commercial basis according to SQA conditions of use.
total internal reflection
By coincidence (pardon the pun!), both Int2 and S3 have reached the stage of investigating total internal reflection at the same time. Here is a photo showing total internal reflection of a laser beam in a tank of water.
I’ve put together a short video showing total internal reflection in a semicircular block and a perspex model of an optical fibre.
total internal reflection from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.
old Higher Physics past papers
We looked at projectiles and radiation today. The past paper questions we tried were taken from 1992-1999. I’ll post some of these papers on the blog so you can try some more of them. Note that the exam used to have two papers, paper I was multiple choice and paper II was the written paper.
There is a complete set of answers for these papers here. Sorry, that link seems to be dead now. You can get them here instead.
This paper is reproduced to support SQA qualifications on a non-commercial basis according to SQA conditions of use.
AH investigation report – handling uncertainties
I’ve been asked several questions on uncertainties recently. Many of these have been about graphs and I have discussed the linest function in Excel. However, not everyone uses a spreadsheet and so I thought the attached file from Learning & Teaching Scotland might be useful, especially if you are drawing graphs by hand.
inside a tv set
We spent the last lesson of this term taking an old colour television apart. Even if you didn’t have the screwdriver, you were able to see the whole thing close up thanks to Ellie’s webcam and the digital projector. I have edited down the footage to around 2.5 minutes of TV destruction and added some still shots as well.
inside a tv set from mr mackenzie on Vimeo.
Can you use your knowledge of how a tv works to identify some of the parts as they are removed from the box? Leave a comment to tell me what you noticed. I’ll keep them secret until after the holidays so everyone gets a chance to reply. You can download a smaller version of the video from iTunes.
P.S. As we are now in the Easter holidays, I have left you an Easter egg. Who will be the first to find it?
Higher revision notes
We are heading towards hardcore revision season now. I’ll be at the Easter study school on Monday and Tuesday to help with areas of difficulty. I’m also going to start posting some additional resources, sometimes it helps to get a different person’s perspective on the course.
Let’s start with a set of whole course notes I found online. It’s a pdf that summarises everything in the Higher course. You can use the download button or let iTunes do the downloading (easier option).
See you on Monday!
diffraction grating simulation
We used the grating equation
today to predict the location of bright fringes produced by a diffraction grating. Remember that d in this equation is the distance between adjacent lines in the grating and not the number of lines per metre/millimetre/inch. We’ll look at applications of this equation a little more this week, e.g. using a spectrometer to measure the angle so we can calculate the wavelength of the light used.
spectrometer
In the meantime, get some practice at using the grating equation with the simulation site shown below. You can select how many lines you would like per millimeter of grating and alter the wavelength. Try calculating the angle for the first or second order spots and then use the simulated protractor to see if you are correct. Click on the image below to get started.
S3 colour mixing
We’ve moved from looking at forming a black & white image on a tv screen to creating a colour picture. I found a clever simulation that may help you to understand how coloured light is produced by mixing together different quantities of the three primary light colours. Click on the image below to go to the site. Use the red, green and blue sliders to adjust the colour that the man sees.
