Chapter 22 | Current and Charge

relate current and charge for steady and changing currents

For a steady current
Q = It
For a chnaging current
Q = It
I = dQ/dt
explain the meaning of drift velocity and relate it to the current in a
conductor
Is the average velocity a charged particle (like an electron)
moves through a material.
I = nvAq
n = number of charge carries per m^3
velocity of carriers
A = cross-sectional area
q = charge of each carrier
define potential difference and know how it could be measured
without a voltmeter
The p.d. between two points is the electrical energy converted into
other forms of energy when 1 coulomb of charge passes from one
point to the other
define the e.m.f. and internal resistance of a cell and explain how to
measure these quantities
The electrical energy produced per unit charge inside the source.
sketch graphs to show the characteristics of different components
explain how to measure the resistivity of a material

carry out circuit calculations for circuits that include resistor

combinations
use Kirchholf's laws to carry out circuit calculations on circuits that
include more than one cell
calculate the charge and energy stored in a capacitor and in
combinations of capacitors
carry out capacitor charge and discharge calculations

Chapter 23 | Meters and Bridges

use an ammeter to measure current or a voltmeter to measure
potential difference
carry out calculations to extend the range of a meter
describe and explain the principle of the potential divider
use a potentiometer to compare e.m.fs and to measure small e.m.fs
explain the principle of the Wheatstone bridge and use it to measure
resistance and in sensor circuits
carry out appropriate calculations on the Wheatstone bridge

Chapter 27 | Properties of the electron

explain thermionic emission and the production of an electron beam
carry out calculations on charged particles in electric and magnetic
fields
describe a method to measure the specific charge of the electron,
e/m describe Millikans method to determine e
outline the significance of the measurement of e/m and of e
describe the principle of the mass spectrometer, the TV tube and the

oscilloscope
use the photon theory to explain photoelectricity
carry out calculations using Einsteins photoelectric equation

Chapter 28 | Radioactivity
describe the properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiation
describe experiments that demonstrate the properties of alpha, beta
and gamma radiation
state the equations for each type of radioactive decay
explain the principle of operation of different detectors of ionizing
radiation
describe Rutherford's alpha scattering experiment and how it led to
the nuclear model of the atom
describe methods used to estimate the size of the nucleus
describe the discovery of the neutron
Carry out half-life calculations and describe how to measure half-life

Chapter 29 | Electrons inside the Atoms

describe and explain ionisation and excitation by collision
Ionisation
Is the process of creating a charged atom by the addition
or removal of an electron.
To create a negatively charged ion you must give it enough
energy to escape the pull of the positively charged nucleus
Three ways to create ions in the air include:
Allow radioactive particles to pass through the air
Striking a match

Using a beam of electrons from an electron gun

The first two methods work by giving energy directly to the
electrons whilst the third works via passing kinetic energy via a
collision between two electrons.
By adjusting the voltage at the anode; you can change the
speed of the electron
A thyratron valve can be used to demonstrate ionisation by
collision.

The valve contains an inert gas like xenon. Increasing the

anode voltage gives energy to the electrons however we
see little to no change in the current (as shown below) until
12.1V.
At 12.1V, electrons have the right amount of kinetic energy
to ionise the inert gas
The ion moves towards grid plate which gives us the extra
current which can be measured

Excitation
Is the process whereby electrons absorb energy without
ionisation
We can modify the thyratron valve to measure the electrons
reaching the anode and we get the following graph:

As we increase the voltage the number of electrons reaching

the anode increases hence the current increases until 8.4v
where in Xenon the energy is absorbed hence causing the

current to drop
At this point the electrons are in an excited state
Different gasses; absorb energy at different energy levels
relate excitation energies to energy levels and possible photon
energies
When an atom absorbs energy; it's released in the form of ultra-violet
radiation
You can find the energy of the emitted photon using it's wavelength:

Energy is absorbed by the atoms in fixed amounts

relate energy level diagrams to possible photon energies
As electrons move down energy levels they release photons of
specific wavelength/frequency from which we can calculate their
energy
The hydrogen spectrum follows a specific pattern for it's energy
levels. Others don't follow this simple pattern because the
electrons interact with each other.
electrons can travel multiple routes to ground state from an excited
state. As shown in the diagram below:

As you can see there are nine possible routes/transitions;

therefore there are nine possible wavelengths of energy that
can be emitted
Line emission spectrum is a graph of intensity (photons per
second) against wavelength.

Peaks appear where there are a lot photons being

released which indicates an energy level

Line absorption spectra is essentially when white light is
passed through a material and different parts of the spectrum
get absorbed by the electrons.
We see throughs where there is absorption and that
absorption indicates an energy level
describe the main features of atomic models that explain energy
levels
Bohr developed a model of an atom as a solar system to better
understand energy levels
the electron is in a circular motion around the nucleus where the
centripetal force is provided by the attraction between the nucleus
and the electron
Bohr made a bold assumption of the angular momentum of an
electron being in lumps of h/2pi
When calculating energy released from de-excitement we do:
hf = initial energy (e.g -13.6 ev at n=1) - final energy (-3.4ev at
n=2)

Chapter 30 | Nuclear Energy

state the assumptions of the theory of special relativity and outline
evidence for the invariance of the speed of light
Physical laws have the same form in all inertial frames (frame of
reference which obeys newtons first law)
The speed of light in free space is constant(/invariant)
3 key points of evidence:
Time Dilation - a moving clock runs slower then a clock that is
stationary
Length Contraction - a rod moving in the same direction as it's
length appears shorter when moving
Relativistic Mass - mass of an object increases with velocity
use E=mc2 and the relativistic equations for length contraction, time

dilation and mass increase

Einstein's relativistic mass formula shows no object can reach the
speed of light because at that point the mass would be infinite
Supplying any form of energy to an object increases it's mass with
accordance to E=mc2
sketch the binding energy curve and carry out energy calculations
for nuclear reactions
The mass of separated nucleons is always greater than the mass of
the combined mass of the nucleus
mass defect is the difference between the mass of separated
nucleons and the combined mass of the nucleus
1u = 1.66*10^-27 = 931 MeV
binding energy of a nucleus is defined as the work done to separate
a nucleus into its constituent neutrons and protons
binding energy curve is the plot of all known isotopes's binding
energy against their mass number

most stable isotope is at A = 50 as the binding energy is the greatest

here
the nucleons are not as bound together at the maximum
when a large nucleus disintegrates each nucleon becomes part of a
smaller hence B.E. per nucleon increases.
the nucleons in the product nucleus are far more tightly bound so the
energy released during the disintegration is equal to the increase in
B.E.

the loss of P.E. (and increase of B.E.) is released as K.E.

in fission a large nucleus disintegrates into two equal smaller nuclei
radioactive disintegration occurs where the original nucleus losses
an alpha, beta or gamma particle.
where an alpha & beta particle are released both lead to an
increase of B.E. per nucleon and hence release energy as K.E.
of the products
Fusion occurs when two light nuclei join together with a mass
number of less than 50. The B.E. per nucleon is increased so energy
is released when the nucleons fuse together
explain the origin of the neutrino hypothesis
Puali suggested that an additional particle called a neutrino is also
emitted during beta decay which is responsible for missing energy
if the neutrinos share of the energy is negligible then the beta
particle's K.E. is almost equal to Q because it's much lighter than the
recoil nucleus.
Hence K.E. max is equal to Q.
describe the principles of nuclear fission
uranium nucleus splits into two, each of it's nucleons becomes a part
of a nucleus about half it's size hence the B.E. per nucleon increases
by roughly 1 MeV. So, approximately 1 MeV of kinetic energy is
released and since uranium as around 200 nucleons that means 200
MeV being released - this is a lot.
a single uranium nucleus might release two more neutrons which
can bombard and cause fission to two more radioactive nuclei which
release more neutrons which do the same. This process is a nuclear
chain reaction.

describe the main features of the thermal nuclear reactor

critical mass of fuel
the minimum mass capable of producing a self sustaining chain
reaction
choice of moderator
do not absorb the released neutrons but help to scatter them
choice of control rod
absorb neutrons rather than scatter them

type of coolant
pumped from the core of the reactor to the heat exchanger
where where it's used to produce steam to drive the turbines
treatment of waste
in the form of spent fuel and fuel cans
it's radioactive
safe storage and cooling of fuel rods as they get extremely hot
when radioactive
spent fuel is removed from cans and reprocessed to recover
any fuel
unwanted material is stored is sealed containers until it is no
longer radioactive
describe the principle of the fast breeder reactor
Makes use of U-238 which makes up 99% of natural uranium and
plutonium
Pu is fast fission by neutrons without the need of a moderator
it's surrounded by U-238 nuclei
when the Pu releases a neutron from disintegrating; it is absorbed by
U-238 which becomes Pu creating a chain reaction.
explain energy release due to nuclear fusion
Essentially, after the two light nuclei fuse the binding energy of the
product nucleus is greater than the of the initial hence energy is
released
describe the main difficulties associated with a fusion reactor
Plasma Heating - Needs lots of electricity to reach the temperatures
needed for plasma which easily conducts electricity.
Plasma Confinement - Plasma will melt anything it touches
therefore it must be confined. Current methods include using an
electromagnetic field however it is difficult to restrict the plasma's
movement.

Panos of my library workspace