Aga Khhan Universsity Examiination Boaard

Nootes from E-Marking

E Centre on HSSC I Ph hysics Exammination May
M 2014

Introductiion
This docuument has beenb produced for thee teachers and
a candidates of HS SSC Part I (Class XI)
Physics. Itt contains comments on candidaates’ responnses to the 2014 High her Secondary Schooll
Certificatee (HSSC-I) Examinatioon, indicatiing the quaality of the responses and highligghting theirr
relative strrengths and weaknesses.

General Comments
C
This reporrt includes overall coomments onn students’ performan nce on everry questionn and somee
specific exxamples of students’ reesponses whhich supporrt the mentiioned comm ments. Pleasse note thatt
the descripptive commments repressent an oveerall percepption of thee better andd weaker reesponses as
gathered from
fr the e-m
marking sesssion. Wherreas, the canndidates’ reesponses shhared in thiss documentt
represent ssome speciffic example((s) of the mentioned
m coomments.

Teachers anda candidaates should be

b aware thaat examinerrs may ask questions
q th
hat address tthe Studentt
Learning Outcomes (SLOs) inn a mannerr that requuires candiddates to reespond by integratingg
knowledgee, understannding and application
a skills they have develloped during g the coursse of study.
Candidatess are adviseed to read annd comprehhend each quuestion careefully beforre writing thhe response
to fulfil thee demand of the question.

Candidatess need to bee aware thatt the marks allocated too the questio ons are relatted to the annswer
space provvided on thee examinatioon paper as a guide to the
t length of o the requirred responsee. A longer
response w
will not in ittself lead to higher marrks. Candidaates need too be familiarr with the coommand
words in thhe Student Learning
L Ouutcomes wh hich containn terms com mmonly usedd in examinnation
questions. However, candidates
c s
should also be aware thhat not all quuestions wiill start withh or contain
one of the command words.
w Worrds such as ‘how?’,
‘ ‘whhy?’ or ‘whaat?’ may alsso be used.

Question 11a:

Better respponses highlighted the importance of physics in the field of science, technologyy and in
society aloong with resspective exaamples.

Example:

Page 1 of 18
Weaker responses were unable too substantiaate their answ
wers with im
mportance of
o physics in the field
of science,, technologyy and in socciety along with
w respective examplles.

Example:

Question 11b:

mated the coorrect value of the given numbers as well as wrote

Better respponses estim w the coorrect
number off significant figures.

Example:

Weaker responses neiither estimaated correct value of givven numberrs nor wrotee the correctt number
of significaant figures. In this partt of the quesstion, candiddates showeed wrong cooncept of seelection of
the significcant figuress for estimattion. Similaarly their ressponses lackked the corrrect conceptt of
rounding ofo figures.

Example:

Page 2 of 18
Question 22:

Better respponses
ρ
show
wcased that candidates were able too complete the provideed table corrrectly
ρ
using vectoor A and/orr B .

Example:

ρ ρ
Weaker responses were those in which
w the candidates
c w
wrote in term
ms of vectorr R and S innstead of
ρ ρ
writing in terms of vector A and//or B .

Example:

Question 33:

Better respponses demoonstrated thhat candidattes understoood the princciple and allso correctlyy discussed
it with clarrity.

Example:

Page 3 of 18
Weaker responses ind dicated that candidates failed to ideentify the coorrect princciple and connfused it
with the otther principles such as the principlle of “inertia”.

Example:

Question 44:

Better respponses demoonstrated thhat candidattes were ablle to correcttly label the table as truue and false
statementss indicating their understanding off the concepts asked.

Actual Reesponse of the

t Candid
date:

Weaker responses shoowcased thaat candidatees were unabble to label the statemeents correctlly. At
most, onlyy one statem
ment was labbelled correcctly.

Example:

Page 4 of 18
Question 55a:

Better respponses indiccated that caandidates coorrectly idenntified the “centripetal

“ force” and defined it
with its correct expresssion.

Example:

Weaker responses ind dicated that candidates were unablee to identifyy the correcct name of thhe force
and also too define it with
w its correect expressiion.

Example:

Question 55b:

Better respponses indiccated that caandidates coorrectly drew

w an arrow showing thhe path of thhe ball in
the diagramm.

Example:

Page 5 of 18
Weaker responses ind dicated that candidates had no ideaa of the path
h of the objeect in circullar motion
after the sttring was brroken.

Example:

Question 66a:

wcased that candidates were able too correctly and clearly define streaamline and
Better respponses show
turbulent flow.
f

Example:

dicated that candidates were unablee to define both

Weaker responses ind b the streamline andd the
turbulent flow.
f

Example:

Question 66b:

Better respponses correectly mentiooned two co

onditions neecessary forr turbulent flow.
f

Example:

Page 6 of 18
Weaker responses were unable too provide th
he correct coonditions neecessary forr turbulent flow.
f

Example:

Question 77a:

Better respponses correectly defined the oscillaatory and peeriodic mottion.

Example:

Weaker responses deffined circulaar and randoom motion instead of oscillatory

o a periodicc motion.
and

Example:

Question 77b:

Better respponses show

wcased threee characteristics of sim
mple harmon
nic motion.

Example:

Page 7 of 18
Weaker responses ind
dicated onlyy one or two
o characterisstics of simpple harmoniic motion.

Example:

Question 88:

Better respponses dreww correct im mage of resulltant wave and

a identifieed the phennomenon off beats and
also defineed it by refeerring to thee interferencce between two
t sound waves
w of sliightly differrent
frequenciees.

Example:

Page 8 of 18
Weaker responses ind dicated that candidates were unablee to draw thhe correct im
mage of resuultant
wave and iidentified thhe phenomeenon incorreectly as “intterference”.

Example:

Question 99a:

Better respponses correectly defined the pheno

omenon of polarization
p n of light.

Example:

Weaker responses ind

dicated that candidates were unablee to define the
t polarizaation of lighht.

Example:

Page 9 of 18
Question 99b:

Better respponses indiccated the coorrect reasonn for the glaare to be elim
minated beccause of thee
horizontallly-polarizedd light wavees which can nnot bypasss the polarizzed filter.

Example:

Weaker responses failled to proviide the correect reason for

f the elimiination of gllare and insstead
provided thhe basic con
ncept of pollarized glass.

Example:

Page 10 of 18
Question 110:

Better respponses indiccated the coorrect name of the devicce i.e. heat engine/steam
e m engine/heeat pump
and labelleed correctlyy the componnents in thee diagram.

Example:

Weaker responses ind dicated the correct

c namme of the devvice but werre unable too label its coomponents
correctly aand also couuld not manaage to definne it properlly.

Example:

Page 11 of 18
Question 111a:

Better respponses derivved all the necessary

n m
mathematical
l steps requuired in solvving this queestion.

Example:

Weaker responses were unable too derive the complete expression

e a wrote on
and nly the basiic equation
of this deriivation.

Example:

Page 12 of 18
Question 111b:

Better respponses correectly defined and distin

nguished between posittive and neggative workk with one
example eaach.

Example:

Weaker responses were unable too correctly distinguish

d b
between poositive and negative
n woork with
one exampple each.

Example:

Page 13 of 18
Question 112a:

Better respponses discu

ussed Laplaace’s correcttion correcttly and also derived thee expressionn for it.

Example:

Weaker responses failled to mentiion the basiic correctionn of adiabattic conditionn and were unable to
provide thee rapid and non-uniform
m change of
o pressure.

Example:

Page 14 of 18
Question 112b:

Better respponses show

wed all posssible mathemmatical stepps to prove that
t velocityy of speed of
o sound
increases bby 0.61 per degree rise in temperatture.

Example:

Weaker responses failled to expannd the expreession by biinomial exp

pansion and substitutedd the wrong
3 ms-1.
value of vo as 334 or 336

Example:

Page 15 of 18
Question 113a:

Better respponses correectly wrote five basic postulates

p off kinetic theeory of gasees.

Example:

Weaker responses were unable too provide reequired num

mber of basicc postulatess of kinetic theory
t of
gases.

Example:

Page 16 of 18
Question 113b:

Better respponses correectly wrote five points on environm

mental crisees as an entrropy crisis.

Example:

Page 17 of 18
Weaker responses were unable too provide th
he required number of points relateed to enviroonmental
crises.

Example:

Page 18 of 18