Any Edexcel A Level Physics Teachers Here - Paper 1 Q13?

[Paulinio]

Unfortunately I can't share the question.

It involves a photocell with a constant terminal pd as load resistance decreases.

Terminal pd then falls off as output approaches emf.

It is Q13 on Edexcel Paper 1.

I am getting two different answers for the final part (internal resistance) depending on method uses.

It is driving me crazy!!

Are there any teachers here who've seen the question and can discuss?

 

[martinbn]

Unfortunately I can't share the question.

Why not!

 

[Paulinio]

Why not!

It is from an A Level exam from the current session so must be kept secure for a while.

 

[martinbn]

It is from an A Level exam from the current session so must be kept secure for a while.

Isn't that exam done? Why does it have to be a secret for a while?

 

[Paulinio]

I'm not sure of the exact rules.
The paper isn't secure/secret anymore however it won't be available for download for a month or so and then will only be available for download by teachers of Edexcel. Past papers are kept 'secure' for around 12 months after they were sat. Mainly so that they can be used as unseen papers by teachers.

 

[PeroK]

I am getting two different answers for the final part (internal resistance) depending on method uses.

Do it a third way.

 

[Steve4Physics]

The paper isn't secure/secret anymore however it won't be available for download for a month or so and then will only be available for download by teachers of Edexcel. Past papers are kept 'secure' for around 12 months after they were sat. Mainly so that they can be used as unseen papers by teachers.

Many years ago I taught Edexcel A-level physics and also officially marked Edexcel (and other) examination papers.

I can confirm what @Paulinio has said. In fact the papers are very tightly controlled. Rules may have changed but I believe the papers will only be available to registered users (i.e. teachers) a month or two after the examinations have taken place.

The papers won’t be publicly available for about a year. This enables teachers to use the previous year’s papers for ‘mock’ examinations.

I wonder if @Paulinio could make up an equivalent question (though not too similar to the original one). Then post it, along with two solutions using two different methods and giving two different answers. Making-up such a question could itself be a useful learning exercise!

 

[Steve4Physics]

Do it a third way.

The danger is then ending-up with three different answers!

 

[martinbn]

Is this a British thing? Clearly he took the exam, and can tell us what the question was. What is he afraid of? The Edexel police!

 

[berkeman]

I am getting two different answers for the final part (internal resistance) depending on method uses.

Does this link help? https://eepower.com/technical-articles/pv-module-performance-characteristics/#

(found with Google search on photovoltaic output voltage versus load resistance)

 

[Ibix]

What is he afraid of?

As a student I doubt he would get to keep a copy of the paper. So he's probably a teacher, and probably makes money marking papers. If he breaks Edexcel's rules he risks an income stream.

 

[Steve4Physics]

Is this a British thing?

Yes.

"Edexcel regulates school examinations under the British Curriculum and offers qualifications for schools on the international and regional scale. It is the UK's largest awarding organisation offering academic and vocational qualifications in schools, colleges and work places in the UK and abroad."
(From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edexcel.)

As a student I doubt he would get to keep a copy of the paper. So he's probably a teacher, and probably makes money marking papers. If he breaks Edexcel's rules he risks an income stream.

Answers are written in blank spaces on the question paper (and on extra sheets if required). The question paper, with the answers written on it, is then handed in.

I doubt the OP is a teacher. A physics teacher would easily be able to answer the examination questions at this level. The teachers paid to mark the papers are given a detailed mark-scheme to which they must adhere. (Quality-control is quite good - the standard of marking is carefully monitored.)

 

[martinbn]

As a student I doubt he would get to keep a copy of the paper. So he's probably a teacher, and probably makes money marking papers. If he breaks Edexcel's rules he risks an income stream.

But i am not saying he should upload the paper. I am saying thst he should write down a question. How is that a problem? If someone asks how to solve a quadratic equation, that has been given on a gcse exam, how is that a problem? What really puzzles me is that he is strictly following a rule, which if broken will harm no one.

 

[TensorCalculus]

Just out of principle I guess... it is like taking an Olympiad paper and then posting one of the questions publicly online when some people have not taken it yet

The results of those "unseen papers" that teachers give carry weight... and you may not think that it is huge deal for just one question to get leaked, but for reference as a Brit myself, I sat internally graded mocks for geography GCSE and the difference between a 6 and a 9 was only 9 marks. If someone were to see the question and answer early that would give them an unfair advantage which depending on how many marks it was might even affect mock grades and you're right, y12s who might get the paper next year are probably not going to see this but there's still a risk of it I guess. Probably not worth risking all of that just to get an answer to a question...

If he gets caught there might be some consequence too, I mean I doubt there is but I'm not an A level student so I can't really confirm anything. Also us Brits are kind of just like that, we follow the rules quite a lot haha