GCSE P3 Knowledge Test (51

marks)
QUESTIONS
1. What type of image do x-rays form?
2. What radiation is used in PET scans?

ANSWERS
Negative image
Gamma

3. What is ionising radiation?

Radiation that changes

atoms to ions (charged
particles)
a. Gamma
b. X-rays
Ultrasound
Light

4. Give two examples of ionising radiation using in

medicine.
5. State 2 types of non-ionising radiation used in
medicine?
6. Label the diagram of the eye below

7. What controls the amount of light entering the eye?

8. What distance is your far point when focussing?

Iris
Infinity

9. Why does an image get blurred when it is nearer that

25cm to your eye?

It is closer that your near

point so you cannot focus
on it.
To contract or relax and
change the shape of the
lens

10.What is the job of the ciliary muscle

11.Where does the image focus in a person who is short

sighted?
12.A person who is long sighted struggles to focus what
objects?
13.What lens shape is needed to correct short
sightedness?

In front of the retina

Distant ones (far away)
Diverging

14.What lens shape is needed to correct long

sightedness?
15.How does a converging lens change the path of a light
ray?

Converging

16.What is the point at which converging rays meet

called?
17.What are the main causes of short sightedness?

Focal point

18.Define the term focal length.

Distance from the lens to

the focal point.
The point from which the
rays seems to be coming

19.Where is the focal point in a diverging lens

It refracts it more so that

the rays meet on the retina.

Eyeball too long or cornea

curved too sharply

20.How is the power of a lens measured?

21.What unit is used to measure the power of a lens.
22.What is the lens equation?

Dioptre, D
1= 1 + 1
F
u
v

23.What factors are linked in the lens equation?

links the object distance

(u), the image distance (v)
and the focal length (f)

24.Define a real image.

Real Image An image that

can be projected onto a
screen
Virtual Image An image
that cannot be projected
onto a screen

25.Define a virtual image.

26.State the law of reflection

Angle of incidence = Angle

of reflection

27.What is the normal?

Normal line at right angle

to a surface

28.What is the definition of critical angle?

Critical angle = the

smallest angle of incidence
at which the angle of
refraction is 90 or total
internal reflection occurs.
Travels slower

29.What happens to the speed of a wave in denser

materials?
30.When a ray passes into a material where is can move
faster does it refract towards or away from the normal?
31.In Snells law what to nr and ni stand for?

If travelling faster = refract

away from normal
nr - refractive index of
medium ray is travelling
into
ni - refractive index of
medium ray is travelling
from

32.Why is a light ray in an optical fibre always reflected

back?

Light ray travelling is

consistently reflected back
as it is at an angle greater
than the critical one.

33.What is an endoscope and how does it work?

Flexible rod of optical

fibres.
Light reflected off the
inside of the body is
gathered and focussed
to form an image.

34. State 3 ways ultrasound can be used in either

diagnosis and treatment

35.How does a CAT scan work?

36.Give 2 benefits and 2 risks of X-rays and CAT scans.

Used to locate hard

deposits like kidney
stones
e.g. high intensity
ultrasound can break
down kidney stones
Treat injured muscles
(easy to target the
correct area
X-ray source moves in
circle around patient
Detectors opposite the
source
Many cross-sectional
images that can build up
3D image

Benefits

Painless and non

invasive

Can eliminate the

need for biopsy to
decide on treatment.
Risks

Both give a dose of

radiation equivalent to
10 yrs background
radiation

Increased risk of
cancer so not
recommended on
children or pregnant
females

37.Describe two properties of beta radiation

38.Describe two properties of positron radiation
39.Describe the process of + decay and - decay.
40.What happens to the proton number and mass number during decay?
41.Complete this table to show the properties of alpha, gamma and neutron radiation.

Type

Description

Charge Penetration

Ionisation ability

Alpha()

Beta(-)

Gamma()

42.What happens to nuclei that have undergone radioactive decay?

43.Radium 226 emits an alpha particle. Complete the equation to show the products
formed.

44.What effect does gamma radiation have on the mass number? Explain your answer.