AQA GCSE Physics Physics Paper 1 (Foundation), June 2025: Question 1

7 marks · Low Demand difficulty · Short Answer

Identify environmental impacts of carbon dioxide emissions, interpret a graph of car emissions versus distance, and match energy resources to environmental issues.

Practise this question

Question

Question 1 contains five parts. 01.1 asks to tick one environmental problem caused by carbon dioxide emissions: Acid rain, Damage to the ozone layer, or Global warming. Figure 1 shows a line graph with 'Total distance travelled by the car in km' on the x-axis from 0 to 160 000, and 'Total carbon dioxide emitted in kg' on the y-axis from 0 to 55 000. A straight line starts at (0, 6000) and increases linearly to approximately (150 000, 38 000). 01.2 asks to determine carbon dioxide emitted during manufacture using Figure 1. 01.3 asks how total emissions change as distance increases. 01.4 asks to tick one reason why an electric car does not emit carbon dioxide as it is driven. 01.5 asks to draw lines matching three methods of electricity generation (Hydroelectric dam, Nuclear power station, Wave power) to four environmental issues (Affects habitats of sea creatures, Emits carbon dioxide, Produces radioactive waste, Valley needs flooding).

Mark scheme

Show the mark scheme Mark scheme for Question 1: 01.1 accepts 'global warming' (1 mark). 01.2 accepts '6000 (kg)' (1 mark). 01.3 accepts '(as the distance travelled increases the amount of carbon dioxide) increases' (1 mark). 01.4 accepts 'electric cars are powered by a battery' (1 mark). 01.5 awards 3 marks for linking Hydroelectric dam to 'Valley needs flooding', Nuclear power station to 'Produces radioactive waste', and Wave power to 'Affects habitats of sea creatures'. Total 7 marks.

How to answer it

Car Emissions & Energy Resources

SPECIFICATION: AQA Physics 4.1.3 National and Global Energy Resources

What this question tests:

Environmental impacts of greenhouse gases (CO₂), interpreting linear graphs with y-intercepts (initial values before driving), understanding zero-emission electric vehicles, and identifying specific environmental hazards associated with renewable and non-renewable energy resources.

Part 01.1 • 1 Mark (AO1)

Environmental Problem Caused by Carbon Dioxide

Identifying atmospheric consequences of greenhouse emissions

✅ Correct Answer

Tick: Global warming

1 Mark: Exactly one box ticked for 'Global warming'.

❌ Common Errors & Confusions

  • Acid rain: Caused primarily by sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), NOT carbon dioxide.
  • Damage to ozone layer: Caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), NOT carbon dioxide.
Part 01.2 • 1 Mark (AO3)

Carbon Dioxide Emitted During Manufacture

Reading the y-intercept from a graph

📐 Graph Reading Steps

  1. Identify that "before the car has been driven" means distance travelled = 0 km.
  2. Look at the vertical y-axis where the x-axis is 0.
  3. Check the axis scale: each major grid division is 10 000 kg, and there are 10 small grid squares per 10 000 kg (each small square = 1 000 kg).
  4. The line crosses 6 small squares up from zero:
    6 × 1 000 = 6 000 kg .

✅ Correct Answer

6 000 (kg)

1 Mark: Correct reading of 6 000 from the y-intercept.

🧠 Exam Technique Tip

Many students reflexively write 0 because they assume that zero distance means zero emissions. Always check if the line passes through the origin (0, 0) or has a non-zero intercept!

Part 01.3 • 1 Mark (AO3)

Relationship Between Distance and Emissions

Describing trends shown on a line graph

✅ Correct Answer

As the distance travelled increases, the total carbon dioxide emitted increases.

(Accept simply: "increases" or "goes up")

1 Mark: Stating that the emissions increase.

🧠 Exam Technique

  • Use the wording from the question: "As [variable X] increases, [variable Y] increases / decreases."
  • Avoid using the phrase "directly proportional" unless the line is straight and goes through the origin (0, 0). Here it does not, so say "increases linearly".
Part 01.4 • 1 Mark (AO1)

Why Electric Cars Do Not Emit CO₂ When Driven

Understanding vehicle energy sources

✅ Correct Answer

Tick: Electric cars are powered by a battery.

1 Mark: Only the first box ticked.

💡 Key Knowledge

  • Batteries store energy chemically and release it electrically to drive an electric motor. There is no combustion involved inside the vehicle, so no exhaust gases (like CO₂ or CO) are released during driving.
  • Diesel is a hydrocarbon fuel that releases CO₂ during combustion.
Part 01.5 • 3 Marks (AO1)

Matching Energy Resources to Environmental Issues

Linking electricity generation methods to specific ecological drawbacks

✅ Correct Matching

Method of Generating Electricity Linked Environmental Issue
Hydroelectric dam → Valley needs flooding
Nuclear power station → Produces radioactive waste
Wave power → Affects habitats of sea creatures

Distractor: "Emits carbon dioxide" is not used because none of these three methods emit CO₂ during electricity generation.

3 Marks: 1 mark for each correctly drawn line.

💡 Energy Resource Revision Points

  • Hydroelectricity: Requires building a huge dam across a valley; vegetation and wildlife habitats upstream are flooded.
  • Nuclear power: Does not produce greenhouse gases, but spent fuel rods remain highly radioactive and hazardous for thousands of years.
  • Wave power: Machines placed in marine environments can disturb seabed ecosystems and alter coastal shorelines.

❌ Critical Exam Rule

The mark scheme explicitly states: "do not accept more than one line from a box on the left." If you draw two lines from one source box, you automatically get 0 marks for that item, even if one of the lines points to the right answer!

Topics

Physics · P1: Energy

Question and mark scheme from the AQA GCSE Physics examination, Physics Paper 1 (Foundation), June 2025. QuestionVault is an independent revision resource; questions remain the copyright of the awarding body.