AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy Physics Paper 1 (Higher), June 2025: Question 1

✅ Correct Answers (Any Two)

• Chemical store (of fuel) decreases [1 mark]
• Thermal store (of engine / surrounding air / gases) increases [1 mark]
• Kinetic store / energy (of the moving car / engine parts) increases [1 mark]

💡 Key Knowledge

Always state the name of the store AND the direction of change (increase or decrease):

• Fuel contains stored chemical energy.
• Combustion shifts this energy mechanically to the car's kinetic store and by heating to the thermal store.

🧠 Exam Technique

The command word is describe. Stating only "chemical and kinetic" scores 0 marks. You must state what happens to them: e.g., "chemical energy decreases" and "kinetic energy increases".

❌ Common Errors

• Confusing energy stores with energy transfer pathways (e.g., writing "heat" or "light" instead of thermal).
• Omitting the word decreases or increases.

✅ Correct Answers

01.2 Plant-derived fuel [1 mark]:

• Biofuel (or a named biofuel: biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas, wood).

01.3 Non-fuel car power [1 mark]:

• (By a) battery OR (by) electricity (also allow: electric motor).

❌ Common Errors

• 01.2: Writing "petrol" or "coal" (fossil fuels are ancient biomass, but mark scheme explicitly says ignore fossil fuels).
• 01.3: Writing vague answers like "solar energy" without explaining that it powers the car via a battery/electric motor.

✅ Correct Answer

Tick Box 1:
☑ The amount of fossil fuel that is burned to generate electricity each year has decreased.

🧠 Exam Technique: Reading the Logic

• The graph shows total electricity generation stayed roughly steady (around 300 units) or slightly fell.
• The prompt states that the proportion from renewables increased.
• If total generation is flat/decreasing and renewables take a larger share, the share from non-renewables (fossil fuels) must have decreased.
• Options 2 and 3 make broader climate claims that cannot be proven directly from this UK generation graph alone.

✅ Correct Answer (Mark Scheme Breakdown)

• Reason [1 mark]: Many generators / wind turbines / solar panels are needed (OR lots of resources/infrastructure required).
• Explanation [1 mark]: Building all these takes time and is very expensive / high financial cost.

❌ Common Errors & Examiner Warning

Do NOT write "because renewables are unreliable".

The mark scheme guidance specifically says: ignore unreliable . The question asks why it will take many years to complete the build, which is a question of infrastructure scale, manufacturing capacity, and high capital cost.

✅ Correct Answers

Hydro-electric power [1 mark]:

• Loss of habitat / destruction of ecosystems (due to flooding valleys).

Wind power [1 mark]:

• Negative visual impact (visual pollution / spoils the view).
• Also allowed: noise pollution OR danger to birds / bats.

🧠 Exam Technique: Be Specific to the Technology

Avoid generic statements like "it causes pollution" (which gets 0 marks). Name the precise environmental disruption:

• Hydro-electric: Large areas of land and river valleys are flooded to make reservoirs, submerging plants and displacing animals.
• Wind: Turbines are huge structures visible across open landscapes (visual impact) and create mechanical/aerodynamic hum (noise).