A Level Physics 9702, topic 24

Medical physics: past paper questions

17 Cambridge A Level Physics 9702 questions on Medical physics (24) from 17 papers, 2023 to 2026. Open the paper or try a question free.

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Questions: 17
Papers: 17
Years: 2023 to 2026
Total marks: 168
Average per question: 9.9 marks
Largest question: 13 marks

By type: Structured 17

How hard the questions are

Recall0
Apply3
Analyse14
Not banded0

Derived from the command word Cambridge prints in each question, banded by a fixed table beside the syllabus's own definitions. A question printing no command word is unbanded: unknown, not middling.

Command words

explainAnalyse12 questions
set out purposes or reasons/make the relationships between things evident/provide why and/or how and support with relevant evidence
stateRecall9 questions
express in clear terms
useApply9 questions
calculateApply8 questions
work out from given facts, figures or information
determineApply8 questions
establish an answer using the information available
show thatApply6 questions
completeApply4 questions
defineRecall3 questions
give precise meaning
describeApply3 questions
state the points of a topic / give characteristics and main features
suggestAnalyse3 questions
apply knowledge and understanding to situations where there are a range of valid responses in order to make proposals

Where the questions come from

By year

20262
20254
20245
20236

By session

May/June9
Oct/Nov8

By paper

Paper 417

Questions on this topic

Showing 11 of 17, spread across the years. Open one to write your answer and have it marked.

Question 8May/June 2026, paper 41Structured13 marks
State what is meant by a photon.
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Question 10Oct/Nov 2025, paper 41Structured8 marks
Define specific acoustic impedance.
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Question 9Oct/Nov 2024, paper 41Structured10 marks
Fluorine-18 ( $_{9}^{18} F$ ) decays by beta-plus ( $β^{+}$ ) emission with a half-life of 110 minutes. State the name of the beta-plus particle.
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Question 10Oct/Nov 2023, paper 41Structured8 marks
Ultrasound and X-rays are both types of wave that are used in medical diagnosis to form images of internal body structures.
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Question 10Oct/Nov 2025, paper 42Structured9 marksHas a diagram
State what is meant by contrast in an X-ray image.
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Question 9Oct/Nov 2023, paper 42Structured12 marksHas a diagram
Fluorine-18 ( $_{9}^{18} F$ ) is a radioactive nuclide that is used as a tracer in positron emission tomography (PET scanning).
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Question 6May/June 2025, paper 42Structured11 marksHas a diagram
Two parallel metal plates X and Y are separated by a distance of $0.041 m$ , as shown in Fig. 6.1. There is a vacuum between the plates. An electron is at rest at the centre of plate X. A potential difference (p.d.) of $58 k V$ is applied across the plates.
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Question 10May/June 2024, paper 42Structured7 marks
Describe how reflected ultrasound pulses may be used to obtain diagnostic information about internal structures.
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Question 8May/June 2023, paper 41Structured8 marks
Table 8.1 shows some data relating to the properties of air, gel and body tissue. The data are given to three significant figures. Show that the specific acoustic impedance of gel is $1.68 \times 10^{6} kg m^{- 2} s^{- 1}$ .
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Question 10May/June 2023, paper 42Structured9 marks
X-rays for use in medical diagnosis are produced in an X-ray tube. In the X-ray tube, charged particles are accelerated towards a metal target by an applied potential difference (p.d.). State the name of the charged particles that are accelerated by the applied p.d.
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Question 8May/June 2023, paper 43Structured8 marks
Table 8.1 shows some data relating to the properties of air, gel and body tissue. The data are given to three significant figures.
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