AQA GCSE Physics Physics Paper 2 (Foundation), June 2022: Question 1

✅ Correct Answer

Row 1: Attract (N-S facing N-S)

Row 2: Attract (S-N facing S-N)

Row 3: Repel (N-S facing S-N)

Row 4: Repel (S-N facing N-S)

💡 Key Knowledge

• Like poles repel (North-North or South-South).
• Opposite poles attract (North-South).

🧠 Exam Technique

Look carefully at the letters facing each other in the middle. If the touching letters are different (N and S), they attract. If they are the same (N and N, or S and S), they repel. Tip: 1 mark is awarded if you get 3 correct ticks out of 4.

✅ Correct Answers (Tick two boxes)

• The magnetic field gets weaker further from the magnet.
• The magnetic field is strongest at the poles.

❌ Common Errors

Students often incorrectly select "The magnetic field lines point from south to north". Remember: magnetic field lines always point from North to South.

✅ Correct Answer

Iron

💡 Key Knowledge

An iron core is used because iron is a soft magnetic material. It easily magnetises and demagnetises when the current is turned on and off, greatly increasing the magnetic field strength compared to non-magnetic metals like aluminium, copper, or magnesium.

✅ Correct Answer

The switch is closed. There is a current in the coil .

🧠 Exam Technique

Always select your answer strictly from the given word box. Do not invent your own terminology.

✅ Correct Answer

The magnetic field would be stronger.

💡 Key Knowledge

Increasing the number of turns on the coil increases the strength of the magnetic field produced by an electromagnet (as long as the current stays the same).

✅ Correct Answer

The magnetic field would be weaker.

💡 Key Knowledge

Removing the iron core removes the induced magnetism added by the core material, leaving only the weaker magnetic field produced by the wire coil on its own.