A selection of diagnostic questions to use remotely when teaching about electricity and magnetism.

For students aged 11-14:

Diagnostic questions on circuits from York University

For students aged 11-14 and 14-16:

Best Evidence Science Teaching resources on electricity and magnetism

For students aged 16-19:

Questions on Kirchoffs laws from Isaac Physics

Potential divider questions from TAP

A selection of question sets and worksheets to use with your students to support and develop their understanding of light, sound and waves whilst educating remotely. This page will be updated and added to regularly.

For students aged 11-14:

• Best Evidence Science Teaching (BEST) - A selection of diagnostic questions (with solutions and suggestions on how to tackle misconceptions) to use with students. A brief selection of some of these questions are given below, however there are many more available on the website (available in both in editable Word and PowerPoint formats). Please note: You may need to create a free STEM Learning account to gain full access to these resources.
• Who can see who? - An interactive simulation from The Physics Classroom that investigates the law of reflection (with built in questions).
• Stage Lighting - Another interactive simulation from The Physics Classroom that investigates how coloured surfaces appear in different coloured light.

For students aged 14-16:

• Waves quizzes on Isaac Physics.
• Wave speed questions on Isaac Physics.
• S & P waves questions on Isaac Physics.
• Ultrasound scans - teaching resource including a worksheet to help develop students' understanding of ultrasound imaging and practice exam-style calculations.
• Describing waves and electromagnetic waves worksheets from STEM Learning.

For students aged 16-19:

• Teaching Advanced Physics resources feature many question sets to use with your students.
• Question boards on Isaac Physics - A variety of online questions (automatic checking of answers included). They can be accessed without signing up for account, but the free teacher and student accounts allow you to set assignments for your classes. Some examples of the KS5 waves question boards are given below.

For students aged 14-16:

A small selection of worksheets to support the remote teaching of energy. This list will be added to regularly.

• Science Doctor question booklets including worked examples - A selection of worksheets, linked to below, that are split into helpful sub-categories relating to energy for GCSE Paper 1.
• Energy resources - A worksheet from NUSTEM to check existing understanding and analyse data.
• Nuclear power - Questions from NUSTEM to guide student research or check understanding of nuclear energy.
• Gravitational PE and Kinetic energy - online, self-marking quizzes from Isaac Physics.

For students aged 11-14:

• Renewable energy island challenge - resources include energy fact cards, a map and information about the needs of different communities.
• Best Evidence Science Teaching (BEST) - A selection of diagnostic questions, with solutions and suggestions about how to tackle misconceptions, for use with students. A brief selection of some of these questions are given below, but there are many more available on the website (available in both in editable Word and PowerPoint formats). Please note: You may need to create a free STEM Learning account to gain full access to these resources.

For students aged 16-19:

• Star Trek Physics - questions relating to different areas of the A-level specification linking to real applications and to science fiction.

For students aged 11-14

• The mental models needed to explain materials in terms of their particles can often include misconceptions. The EPSE questions on this topic, from the University of York, are very helpful to diagnose the thinking behind student answers and to give indications of useful approaches. Refer to the guidance to make best use of these questions; it includes links to other resources too.
• These KS3 Mastery booklets in docx format contain teaching materials as well as review questions for a range of topics. Particles in the year 7 section and Matter in year 9 are most relevant, with Hooke's Law in the year 9 topic of Forces in Action.

For students aged 14-16

• A range of exam-style questions are available, but there will inevitably be overlaps between subject areas. The Physics and Maths Tutor site is organised by exam board, but then by topic, for example the Particle Model page for AQA. Due to the different treatment of concepts such as internal energy across boards it is worth being careful when sharing these resources with students. Markschemes are included but not examiners' notes.
• The exam-board sections on BBC Bitesize include resources for both revision and tests, as you can see on the AQA Particle Model of Matter, OCR 21st Century Matter and Models and Nationals Gas Laws pages. It may be useful to share sections from exam boards your students are not doing for greater variety.
• Isaac Physics has Quick Quizzes on Density, which focus on fluency with the mathematical relationship.

For students aged 16-19

• A-level questions will also have overlaps between subject areas, such as this quiz for OCR from STEM Learning which covers forces and measurements as well as materials.
• Isaac Physics has organised sets of questions by topic; the Materials section includes Hooke's Law and the relationship to stored energy. For gas laws questions head for the Thermodynamics section within Physical Chemistry.

A selection of diagnostic questions to use remotely when teaching about Forces and Motion

• Best Evidence Science Teaching (BEST) Forces and Motion resource contains a number of questions, along with their respective teaching notes and answers. Some of the individual questions are listed below.

• There are questions from 'Physics for You' by Keith Johnson and our own IOP Coach, Sue Holt. The forces sheet is linked to below.
• Paul Hewitt's 'Next time questions' are a fun way to stimulate thinking about a topic.

For students aged 16-19:

• Teaching Advanced Physics resources feature many question sets to use with your students.
• Question boards on Isaac Physics - A variety of online questions (automatic checking of answers included). They can be accessed without signing up for account, but the free teacher and student accounts allow you to set assignments for your classes. Some examples of the Forces question boards  suitable for 14 - 16 and 16 -19 are given below.

A selection of diagnostic questions to use remotely when teaching about Earth and Space

• Best Evidence Science Teaching (BEST) Earth in Space resource contains a number of questions, along with their respective teaching notes and answers. Some of the individual questions are listed below.

• There are questions from 'Physics for You' by Keith Johnson and our own IOP Coach, Sue Holt. The Earth and Space sheet is linked below.

For students aged 16-19:

• Teaching Advanced Physics resources feature question sets to use with your students. Those relevant to Astrophysics are linked below.

In this page we have listed a range of websites and resources containing useful questions on quantum and nuclear physics topics for students.



Isaac Physics

Concept Collections (key points and questions to test understanding) and Question Boards (a variety of online questions with automatic checking of answers). They can be accessed without signing up for an account, but the free teacher and student accounts allow you to set assignments for your classes. 

Concept collections: 

• Photoelectric Effect
• Radioactive Decay

Examples of the 16-19 Quantum and Nuclear question boards:

• Isaac Physics Board ‘Nuclear Equations’
• Isaac Physics Board  ‘Activity and Decay’ 
• Isaac Physics Board ‘Nuclear Decay with time’ 
• Isaac Physics Board ‘Nuclear Equations’

Physics And Maths Tutor

The website PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com has a repository of past paper questions, solutions and mark schemes for all awarding bodies. You can download an example question set for Quantum Physics (photoelectric effect, energy levels, de Broglie wavelength) and the Mark Scheme.

AS Physics Exam Questions: Quantum Phenomena DrPhysA

These excellent videos demonstrate examples of Physics AS level exam questions for Quantum Phenomena covering Edexcel, AQA and OCR material.

Plank’s constant should be 6.63 x 10-34, not 6.3 x 10-34, which gives quite a different answer.

Electricity, sensing, waves and quantum physics: multiple choice question (MCQ) quiz

A multiple choice quiz on electricity, sensing, waves and quantum physics. Although it is written for OCR AS/A level physics (H156, H556, H157, H557) it can be edited to suit your scheme of work.

A level Quantum Physics Quizlet

Quantum Mechanics flashcards, diagrams and study guides.

Study Quantum Mechanics sets on Quizlet for free. Learn what you need to get good grades in your classes; memorise important Quantum Mechanics terms, definitions, formulas, equations and concepts and prepare for Quantum Mechanics homework and exams with Quizlet’s free online flashcards, diagrams, study guides and practice tests. 

Quantum Technology - laser cooling

This resource developed by STEM Learning is a synoptic student activity that guides students towards an understanding of laser cooling through questions relating to a wide range of the 16-19 physics specifications. It is a useful activity to help students prepare for exam papers through an engaging and realistic context. The teacher notes and answers can be downloaded here.

Wave Particle Duality

This is a very simple revision clip from BBC Bitesize Physics with questions to go with it.

The photoelectric effect shows that light is made up of individual photons. It begins by noting that photoemissions will take place if photons have a high enough frequency and enough energy. These are basic questions but good revision before the start of A level. 

High Energy Laser

This is a video clip from BBC Sounds which has been available for some time. Lasers can produce the kinds of extreme temperatures, pressures and magnetic fields only found inside stars. Dr Ceri Brenner shows us the high-energy laser she uses for her research, based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxford. Length of video 3mins 30sec.

Quantum worlds

Listen to a 43 min radio programme, “The Infinite Monkey Cage”. Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian Katy Brand and physicists Sean Carroll and Jim Al-khalili as they explore our strange and bizarre Quantum world.

A selection of diagnostic question sets to use remotely with your students.

With students aged 11-14 years old:

• Education Quizzes offers topic based quizzes and instant feedback on Electrical Circuits part 1 and Electrical Circuits part 2.
• Best Evidence Science Teaching (BEST) magnet questions - see below for their individual questions, along with their respective teaching notes and answers.

With students aged 14-16 years old:

• Isaac Physics quizzes on density, gravitational PE, kinetic energy, momentum, resistors in series, weight, and waves.
• Science Doctor gives questions on energy, electricity, particle mode of matter and atomic structure.

With students aged 16-19 years old:

• Teaching Advanced Physics resources feature many question sets to use with your students.