Multiple choice questions
Multiple choice questions are perhaps the easiest to complete - you simply put a cross in a box - however, the questions often have two answers that could, at first glance, be correct. Don’t make the mistake of reading the first answer and thinking this is correct without checking all the others.
If it says 'Tick one box', you must tick one box. If you leave it blank or tick two or more boxes, you will get zero marks. These multiple choice questions will not start with command words like ‘Describe...’ or ‘Explain...’. They will be written in the form of a question like ‘W³ó²¹³Ù...?’ or ‘W³ó²â...?’.
There will be more multiple choice questions on the Foundation paper.
This page contains AQA material which is reproduced by permission of AQA.
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Sample question 1 - Foundation
Question
What provides the force needed to keep a satellite in its orbit? [1 mark]
Tick one box.
| A | Friction | |
| B | Gravity | |
| C | Tension |
| A |
|---|
| Friction |
| B |
|---|
| Gravity |
| C |
|---|
| Tension |
| A | Friction | |
| B | Gravity | ✔ |
| C | Tension |
| A |
|---|
| Friction |
| B |
|---|
| Gravity |
| ✔ |
| C |
|---|
| Tension |
Gravity provides the force that keeps an object in orbit.
Sample question 2 - Foundation
Question
Complete the following sentence by drawing a ring around the correct option. [1 mark]
The fact that light from a distant galaxy seems to move towards the red end of the spectrum gives scientists evidence that …
| A | Galaxies are shrinking |
| B | Galaxies are changing colour |
| C | The Universe is expanding |
| A |
|---|
| Galaxies are shrinking |
| B |
|---|
| Galaxies are changing colour |
| C |
|---|
| The Universe is expanding |
C
As distant galaxies move away, the wavelengths of light waves emitted are stretched by the motion of the galaxy, making them longer. Red light is the longest wavelength of light in the visible spectrum so we say the waves have been red-shifted as they appear closer to the red end of the spectrum than they would do if the galaxy was not moving. Red-shift is detected in light from all galaxies, so they must all be moving away from each other, meaning that the Universe is expanding.
Sample question 3 - Higher
Question
Use the correct answer from the box to complete the sentence. [1 mark]
| decay | fission | fusion |
| decay |
| fission |
| fusion |
Energy is released in stars by the process of nuclear ______.
Fusion
Within stars, smaller atoms like hydrogen are fused together into larger atoms like helium. Fission occurs in nuclear reactors when large atoms are split and nuclear decay releases a form of nuclear radiation.
Sample question 4 - Higher
Question
Tick one box to complete the sentence. [1 mark]
The discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation was important because it ...
| A | proved the ‘Big Bang’ theory to be correct | |
| B | provided more evidence to support the ‘Big Bang’ theory | |
| C | proved the Universe will continue to expand forever |
| A |
|---|
| proved the ‘Big Bang’ theory to be correct |
| B |
|---|
| provided more evidence to support the ‘Big Bang’ theory |
| C |
|---|
| proved the Universe will continue to expand forever |
| A | proved the ‘Big Bang’ theory to be correct | |
| B | provided more evidence to support the ‘Big Bang’ theory | ✔ |
| C | proved the Universe will continue to expand forever |
| A |
|---|
| proved the ‘Big Bang’ theory to be correct |
| B |
|---|
| provided more evidence to support the ‘Big Bang’ theory |
| ✔ |
| C |
|---|
| proved the Universe will continue to expand forever |
The ‘Big Bang’ theory has not been proven but the detection of cosmic microwave background radiation provided more evidence for the ‘Big Bang’ theory that could not be explained by the ‘Steady State’ theory.