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How can radioactive materials be used to provide energy?: OCR GCSE Physics B questions

Every OCR GCSE Physics B exam question on P5.3 How can radioactive materials be used to provide energy?, 2018–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

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1,376 questions

  1. Q9(a)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  2. Q9(b)(i)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  3. Q9(b)(ii)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  4. Q9(c)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  5. Q9(d)

    June 2025 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  6. Q2(a)

    June 2025 · Paper 3 Higher

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    The start of question 2
  7. Q2(b)(i)

    June 2025 · Paper 3 Higher

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  8. Q2(b)(ii)

    June 2025 · Paper 3 Higher

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  9. Q2(c)

    June 2025 · Paper 3 Higher

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  10. Q2(d)

    June 2025 · Paper 3 Higher

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  11. Q3(d)

    June 2025 · Paper 4 Higher

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  12. Q7(a)

    June 2023 · Paper 2 Foundation

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  13. Q7(b)

    June 2023 · Paper 2 Foundation

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  14. Q7

    June 2023 · Paper 4 Higher

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  15. Q8(a)

    June 2022 · Paper 2 Foundation

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  16. Q9(b)

    November 2021 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  17. Q2(a)(i)

    November 2020 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  18. Q2(a)(ii)

    November 2020 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  19. Q2(b)

    November 2020 · Paper 1 Foundation

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  20. Q2(c)(i)

    November 2020 · Paper 1 Foundation

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    The start of question 2
All 27 questions on How can radioactive materials be used to provide energy?, as a list
  1. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(a) (2 marks): Complete the sentences about splitting the nucleus. Use words from the list. fission fusion negative power stable unstable The nuclei of certain elements can be
  2. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(b)(i) (1 mark): Suggest why Enrico Fermi’s hypothesis was believed in 1934. [1]
  3. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(b)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why, by 1940, more scientists had confidence in the theory that nuclei can be split. Use information from the table to support your answer. [2]
  4. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(c) (1 mark): When uranium nuclei split, neutrons are released and a chain reaction happens. Which statement correctly explains how a chain reaction happens? Tick (✓) one box
  5. June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(d) (2 marks): Which two statements describe how the energy is released when uranium nuclei split? Tick (✓) two boxes. As kinetic energy of the new particles. As kinetic energ
  6. June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q2(a) (2 marks): Complete the sentences about splitting the nucleus. Use words from the list. fission fusion negative power stable unstable The nuclei of certain elements can be
  7. June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q2(b)(i) (1 mark): Suggest why Enrico Fermi’s hypothesis was believed in 1934. [1]
  8. June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q2(b)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why, by 1940, more scientists had confidence in the theory that nuclei can be split. Use information from the table to support your answer. [2]
  9. June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q2(c) (1 mark): When uranium nuclei split, neutrons are released and a chain reaction happens. Which statement correctly explains how a chain reaction happens? Tick (✓) one box
  10. June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q2(d) (2 marks): Which two statements describe how the energy is released when uranium nuclei split? Tick (✓) two boxes. As kinetic energy of the new particles. As kinetic energ
  11. June 2025, Paper 4 Higher, Q3(d) (4 marks): Complete the sentences about the use of uranium-235 in a nuclear fission reactor. Use words from the list. chain chemical electrons gamma kinetic neutrons proto
  12. June 2023, Paper 2 Foundation, Q7(a) (2 marks): State two ways that energy is released during this fission reaction. 1. 2. [2]
  13. June 2023, Paper 2 Foundation, Q7(b) (2 marks): Neutrons are emitted during a fission reaction. These neutrons may collide with other uranium nuclei. Explain how this can lead to a chain reaction. [2]
  14. June 2023, Paper 4 Higher, Q7 (6 marks): 7* Uranium (U) and hydrogen (H) can be used to release energy in a nuclear reaction. Typical nuclear equations for each are: 23 2 U + 1 5 8 6 Kr + 14 9 6 Ba + 3
  15. June 2022, Paper 2 Foundation, Q8(a) (3 marks): Which three statements are true about the series of fission reactions in the diagram? Tick (3) three boxes. The diagram shows a chain reaction. Fission means th
  16. November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(b) (2 marks): Nuclear power stations use uranium as a fuel. Energy is released from the uranium nuclei by nuclear fission. Describe the process of nuclear fission. [2]
  17. November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(i) (1 mark): Complete the sentence to explain what is meant by nuclear fission. Put a ring around the correct answer. Fission is when nuclei fuse / grow / shrink / split to
  18. November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(ii) (1 mark): Complete the sentence to explain what causes nuclear fission. Put a ring around the correct answer. Fission happens because some nuclei are negative / positive
  19. November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b) (2 marks): During nuclear fission, energy is released in two main forms. How is the energy released? Tick (✓) two boxes. Elastic potential energy of the new particles Gamm
  20. November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(c)(i) (2 marks): Describe what happens during nuclear fusion. [2]
  21. November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(c)(ii) (1 mark): During nuclear fusion some of the mass is lost. What is this mass converted into? [1]
  22. November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q9(a) (2 marks): Describe how the energy released during nuclear fission is transferred. [2]
  23. November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q9(b)(i) (2 marks): Nuclear fission takes place in the fuel rods. The fuel rods contain uranium. To release a useful amount of energy, there must be a chain reaction. If only one f
  24. November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q9(b)(ii) (2 marks): Coolant is continually pumped through the reactor. The purpose of the coolant is to remove thermal energy from the reactor. The table shows two coolants that ca
  25. June 2019, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(a)(ii) (2 marks): Another energy resource is the Sun. Energy is transferred from the energy store in the Sun as radiation. Explain how the energy is stored in the Sun and how it
  26. June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q12(c) (1 mark): Nina researches how the Sun releases energy. She finds this information in a textbook. The Sun releases energy by nuclear fusion. The Sun emits about 4 × 10 26
  27. June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q1(c) (1 mark): Nina researches how the Sun releases energy. She finds this information in a textbook. The Sun releases energy by nuclear fusion. The Sun emits about 4 × 10 26

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