None of the above

[gareth_rees]

As background for an article complaining about falling standards in education, The Times scanned and posted the 2006 Edexcel GCSE Science: Physics P1b exam paper. This is a multiple choice paper covering topics of waves, electromagnetic radiation, astronomy, cosmology, and seismology.

I don’t necessarily concur with the judgment of the article (

Comments

[drj11]

Since when were the formula required to answer a question placed in a box by each question (Q 24)?

[nickbarnes]

Since about 1995.

[nickbarnes]

(and before that they were printed elsewhere in the exam paper or in a formula booklet).

[cartesiandaemon]

Well said -- "you have to guess just how dumb the examiner is. And the evidence from this paper is that the examiner can be very dumb indeed," is a great description, of something that I always found annoying, although since I could generally *do* it, couldn't quite articulate why it was so wrong.

For question 5, even "C. Send a probe to look for coins," that I assume they want[1] doesn't work at all. It's a reasonable attempt, but it wouldn't actually prove very much:

Scientist: We sent a probe to the moon and there weren't any coins.
Oldladyist: Duh. She covered them with her cloak before you got there.
Scientist: Uh-uh. We watched, she never came near.
Oldladyist; Duh. Well, then, if she wasn't there, then thieves got all the coins.
Scientist: AAAGH!

Just looking at the moon through a big telescope during an eclipse would not just be cheaper, but actually work.

[1] And, indeed, teaching the scientific method is good, I'm pleased it is at least mentioned, even if it's hard to give the prominence it has in science.