plumiBasics of electricity: AQA A‑Level Physics questions
AQA A-Level Physics past-paper questions on 3.5.1.1 Basics of electricity, 2008–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
Paper
All papers
Exam
All years
Calculations
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ01.4
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ02.2
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ02.4
The whole paper ↗Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFQ06.2
The whole paper ↗Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFQ03.1
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ04.4
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ02.1
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFQ04.1
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFQ04.2
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDFLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerLoading the question…
Open the full PDFYour answerQ06.1
The whole paper ↗
Loading the start of the question…
Loading the question…
Open the full PDF
All 55 questions on Basics of electricity, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q29 (1 mark): The diagram shows part of a circuit. The graph shows how the two currents I1 and I2 vary with time. What is the total charge that flows through point P in 60 s?
- June 2024, Paper 3A, Q01.4 (2 marks): When the switch is closed, the voltmeter reading is 397 mV. Show that, for the arrangement in Figure 4, the resistance R of the wire between the clips is about
- June 2024, Paper 3A, Q02.2 (2 marks): The quantity EV is a measure of the intensity of the light incident on the LDR. The SI unit of EV is the lux (lx). The resistance R of the LDR is given by log(R
- June 2024, Paper 3A, Q02.4 (2 marks): Deduce the value of x when EV = 130 lx. [2 marks] x = mm
- June 2024, AS Paper 2, Q06 (1 mark): The current in a circuit is 0.33 A. How many electrons pass a point in the circuit in 7.0 minutes? [1 mark] A 1.4 × 1019 B 1.2 × 1020 C 8.7 × 1020 D 8.0 × 1021
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q06.2 (2 marks): Calculate the number of electrons that pass a point in the circuit in 37 minutes. [2 marks] number of electrons =
- June 2023, AS Paper 2, Q29 (1 mark): The current in a resistor is 15 mA. How many electrons pass through the resistor in 3 minutes? [1 mark] A 2.8 × 1017 B 1.7 × 1019 C 2.8 × 1020 D 1.7 × 1022
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q29 (1 mark): The current in a metallic conductor is 1.5 mA. How many electrons pass a point in the conductor in two minutes? [1 mark] A 1.1 × 1018 B 1.9 × 1019 C 1.4 × 1020
- June 2022, AS Paper 2, Q03.1 (2 marks): The battery is connected to a charger that maintains a constant potential difference of 5.0 V across the battery. It takes 2.6 hours for the battery to become f
- November 2020, AS Paper 2, Q04.4 (4 marks): The electron hits the first electrode and causes the release of several electrons. Figure 9 shows how a series of accelerations and collisions produces a large
- November 2020, AS Paper 2, Q30 (1 mark): The capacity of a portable charger is rated in ampere hours (A h). A charger of capacity 1 A h can provide 1 A for 1 hour at its working voltage. One charger ha
- November 2020, AS Paper 2, Q31 (1 mark): A filament lamp with resistance 12 Ω is operated at a power of 36 W. How much charge flows through the filament lamp during 15 minutes? [1 mark] A 26 C B 1.6 kC
- June 2019, Paper 1, Q21 (1 mark): A rubber belt in an electrostatic machine has a width of 0.1 m and moves with speed 0.4 m s–1. Each square metre of the belt carries a charge Q coulomb. The cha
- June 2019, AS Paper 1, Q02.1 (3 marks): The designers state that the battery can produce a current of 2.0 A in the heating element for 240 minutes. Calculate the energy dissipated in the heating eleme
- June 2019, AS Paper 2, Q04.1 (3 marks): Determine the total energy input by the 24 V battery to the motor in the first 200 ms. [3 marks] total energy input = J
- June 2019, AS Paper 2, Q31 (1 mark): A power of 100 kW at a potential difference of 10 kV is transmitted to a load resistor through cables of total resistance 5.0 Ω. What is the power loss in the c
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q04.2 (2 marks): The student selects a resistor rated at 0.36 W for the 0.25 kΩ resistor in Figure 7. Determine whether this resistor is suitable. [2 marks]
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q25 (1 mark): A gas containing doubly-charged ions flows to give an electric current of 0.64 A How many ions pass a point in 1.0 minute? [1 mark] A 2.0 × 1018 B 4.0 × 1018 C
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q26 (1 mark): A mobile phone operates at a constant power of 200 mW It has a 3.7 V lithium-ion battery that has a charge capacity of 9400 C What is the time taken for the bat
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q06.1 (4 marks): Table 1 shows the operating conditions for the lamps when they are at normal brightness. Table 1 Lamps Operating voltage / V Power / W A and C 6.0 6.0 B and D 3
- June 2018, AS Paper 2, Q03.4 (2 marks): A spark counter consists of a wire gauze separated from a metal wire by a small air gap. A power supply with an output of 4500 V is connected in series with a 5
- June 2018, AS Paper 2, Q28 (1 mark): Which graph shows how power dissipated P varies with current I in a component that obeys Ohm’s law? [1 mark] A B C D
- June 2018, AS Paper 2, Q29 (1 mark): 1.0 kilowatt-hour (kW h) is equivalent to [1 mark] A 6.3 × 1018 eV B 6.3 × 1021 eV C 2.3 × 1022 eV D 2.3 × 1025 eV
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q04.3 (3 marks): Solar cells convert solar energy to useful electrical energy in the road sign with an efficiency of 4.0%. The solar-cell supply used by the engineer has a total
- June 2017, AS Paper 2, Q18 (1 mark): A battery of negligible internal resistance and an emf of 12 V is connected in series with a heating element. The heating element has a resistance of 6.5 Ω when
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q02.6 (1 mark): A student decides to carry out a similar experiment. The student thinks the meter in Figure 7 could be used as the microvoltmeter to measure ε. Figure 7 When th
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q04.3 (1 mark): The RTG has a constant output voltage of 32 V. Calculate the current when the output power is 100 W. [1 mark] current = ____________________ A
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q04.4 (2 marks): Calculate the maximum number of components, each of resistance 45 Ω, that can be connected in parallel across the RTG before the maximum output power is reached
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q28 (1 mark): The current in a wire is 20 mA. How many electrons pass a point in the wire in 2 minutes? [1 mark] A 2.5 × 1017 B 1.5 × 1019 C 2.5 × 1020 D 1.5 × 1022
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q31 (1 mark): The National Grid uses high-voltage transmission lines to carry electrical power around the UK. A particular transmission line delivers 800 MW of power at 132 k
- June 2016, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(a)(ii) (3 marks): The resistance of the heating element in the oven at its working temperature is 12 Ω. Calculate the power dissipated by the heating element in the oven. Give yo
- June 2016, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(b)(iii) (2 marks): Calculate the average power wasted in the cable due to the heating effect of the electric current. [2 marks] average power = ___________________________ W
- June 2016, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(b)(iv) (2 marks): State two reasons why it is important that the cable has a low resistance. [2 marks] 1 _________________________________________________________________________
- June 2015, PHYA1 (old spec), Q5(d)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the electrical energy converted by each lamp if both are on for 4 hours a day for a period of 30 days. [2 marks] electrical energy converted by X = J
- June 2015, PHYA1 (old spec), Q5(d)(ii) (2 marks): Suggest why the two lamps can have different power ratings but have the same light intensity output. [2 marks]
- June 2015, PHYA1 (old spec), Q7(c) (3 marks): The potential difference across a length of 1.0 km of the cable is 75 V. Calculate the total power loss for a 1.0 km length of cable. [3 marks] Total power loss
- June 2014, PHYA4 Section B (old spec), Q2(b)(ii) (1 mark): Copper contains 8.4 × 1028 free electrons per cubic metre. The section of wire in Figure 2 is 95mm long and its cross-sectional area is 5.1 × 10–6m2. Show that
- June 2013, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(b)(i) (3 marks): Using appropriate data values that you have calculated, complete the following table by calculating the rate of energy dissipation in each resistor. (3 marks) r
- June 2013, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(b)(ii) (2 marks): Hence show that energy is conserved in the circuit. (2 marks)
- January 2013, PHYA1 (old spec), Q7(b)(i) (1 mark): Calculate the current flowing in the lamp. current = A (1 mark)
- June 2012, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(a)(ii) (1 mark): Calculate the resistance of P. answer = Ω (1 mark)
- June 2012, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(a)(iii) (1 mark): Calculate the resistance of Q. answer = Ω (1 mark)
- June 2012, PHYA1 (old spec), Q7(a)(iii) (2 marks): Calculate the charge passing through the battery in 2.0 minutes. Give an appropriate unit for your answer. answer = unit = (2 marks)
- January 2012, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(a) (2 marks): Calculate the current in each lamp when it is operated at its correct working voltage. X A Y A (2 marks)
- June 2011, PHYA4 Section B (old spec), Q3(a)(ii) (2 marks): A rechargeable 1.2V cell used in a cordless telephone can supply a steady current of 55mA for 10 hours. Show that this cell, when fully charged, stores almost 5
- June 2011, PHYA4 Section B (old spec), Q5(a)(i) (1 mark): Calculate the current in the cables. answer = A (1 mark)
- June 2011, PHYA4 Section B (old spec), Q5(a)(ii) (2 marks): The total resistance of the cables is 30Ω. Calculate the power supplied to the factory by the cables. answer = kW (2 marks)
- June 2011, PHYA4 Section B (old spec), Q5(a)(iii) (1 mark): Calculate the efficiency with which power is transmitted by the cables from the input at the supply point to the factory. answer = % (1 mark)
- June 2011, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(d)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the charge flowing through the cell in 15s, stating an appropriate unit. answer = (2 marks)
- January 2011, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(b)(i) (1 mark): Calculate the resistance of the lamp when it has reached its normal operating temperature, answer = Ω (1 mark)
- January 2011, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(b)(ii) (1 mark): Calculate the power of the lamp when it has reached its normal operating temperature. answer = W (1 mark)
- June 2010, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(c)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the resistance of the filament when the pd across its terminals is 12V. answer = Ω (2 marks)
- January 2010, PHYA1 (old spec), Q6(a)(iv) (2 marks): Calculate the charge passing through cell A in five minutes, stating an appropriate unit. answer = (2 marks)
- June 2008, PHA3W (2008 spec), Q1(c) (3 marks): 1 (c) When the lamps are at their correct working voltage, 1 (c) (i) calculate the time taken for a charge of 20 C to pass through one of the lamps, 1 (c) (ii)
- June 2008, PHA3W (2008 spec), Q2(a) (7 marks): 2 (a) A student is required to carry out an experiment and to draw a suitable graph in order to obtain a value for the resistance of a resistor. You may be awar
Questions, mark schemes and examiner’s reports are © AQA, from their published past papers. Plumi isn’t affiliated with any exam board. Want whole papers? AQA A-Level Physics past papers.
The Plumi iPad app also offers exam-style questions with AI feedback on your handwritten working.