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June 2009
Advanced Subsidiary Examination
SCIENCE FOR PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING
Unit 2 Issues in the Physical Sciences
Wednesday 3 June 2009

SPU2

1.30 pm to 2.45 pm

You will need no other materials.

You may use a calculator.

For Examiners Use

Question

Time allowed: 1 hour 15 minutes

Instructions
! Use black ink or black ball-point pen.
! Fill in the boxes at the top of this page.
! Answer all questions.
! Answer the questions in the spaces provided. Answers written in
margins or on blank pages will not be marked.
! Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not
want to be marked.
! Show your working in all calculations.

Information
The maximum mark for this paper is 60.
! The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
! Questions 2(c) and 3(c) should be answered in continuous prose.
In these questions you will be marked on your ability to use good
English, to organise information clearly and to use specialist
vocabulary where appropriate.

Mark

Question

Mark

3
4
5

Total (Column 1)

Total (Column 2)

TOTAL

Examiners Initials

(JUN09SPU201)

M/Jun09/SPU2

SPU2

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2
Answer all questions in the spaces provided.

1 Figure 1 shows how the total amount of oil used for different purposes has risen between
1971 and 2005.
Figure 1 World-wide use of oil 1971 to 2005
3500
3000
2500
Mtoe

2000
1500
1000
500
0

1975

Industry

1980

1985

Transport

1990

1995

Other fuel use

2000

2005

Non-fuel use

Year

(a) Figure 1 shows that between 1975 and 2005, world use of oil for transport rose from
about 1000 million tonnes of oil equivalent, Mtoe, to over 2000 Mtoe.

(a)

(i) Suggest two reasons why the use of oil for transport has increased so much over
this period.
Reason 1 ...................................................................................................................
Reason 2 ...................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

(a)

(ii) Predict a value for the world use of oil for transport in 2035 and
state two assumptions you have used in making this prediction.
Possible world oil use for transport in 2035 .............................................................
Assumption 1............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
Assumption 2............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

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1

(a) (iii) Figure 1 suggests that transport is the only sector that has significantly increased
its oil use over this period. Give two features of oil as a fuel that make it
particularly suitable for transport.
Feature 1 ..................................................................................................................
Feature 2 ..................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

(b) Road transport accounts for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.

(b)

(i) Describe the chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide from oil.
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

(b)

(ii) One way of achieving a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is by the use of
an electric car which runs on batteries recharged from mains electricity. Most
electricity in the UK is generated from fossil fuels.
Sketch a flowchart showing the transfers of energy from fossil fuel to car
movement for an electric car.

(2 marks)
1

(c) An electric car running on batteries is described as emission free, with no CO2 or other
exhaust emissions, ever on a web site advertising the car.

(c)

(i) Explain why this statement is misleading if mains electricity is used to charge the
batteries.
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)
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1

(c)

(ii) Another web site describes an electric car as providing a reduction of carbon
dioxide emissions compared to using petrol.
Petrol cars have an efficiency of about 30%. The combined efficiency of a power
station and electric car is about 45%.
Explain why greater efficiency means less carbon dioxide emission.
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)
____
14

2 It is known that there is a correlation between air pollution and the risk of heart disease.
Recent research has focussed on the role of very small particles.
2

(a) Study 1: The effect of very small particles, PM2.5

The health of nearly 65 000 women over 60 was followed for 6 years.
The womens exposure to PM2.5 particles was estimated from the average concentration
of these particles in the air where they lived.
Their relative risk of death from cardiovascular disease at different concentrations of
PM2.5 was calculated after correction for other variables that might influence this risk.
The results are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Relative risk of death from cardiovascular disease

5
4
relative risk

3
2
1
0
0

12

15

18 21

24

27

30

3
concentration of PM2.5 in the air (g/m )

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2

(a)

(i) The risk at 11 g/m3 of PM2.5 has been taken as the standard.
What is the risk of death at a concentration of 21 g/m3 relative to this standard?
...................................................................................................................................
(1 mark)

(a)

(ii) The death rate from cardiovascular disease over the 6 years of the study for those
living at a concentration of PM2.5 of 11 g/m3 is 4.45 per 1000.
3
Predict the rate for those living at a concentration of 21 g/m .
...................................................................................................................................
(1 mark)

(b) Study 2: The effect of ultra-fine particles, known as UFP (these particles are
smaller than PM2.5)
Scientists exposed groups of genetically identical mice to air with different size
particles, for a total of 75 hours.
The air was taken from a busy roadside in Los Angeles and the concentration of
particles altered for different groups of mice as shown in Figure 3.
Normal air contains a mix of different particles at a concentration of about
3
35 000 particles/cm .
The mice were then killed humanely and their blood vessels examined.
Figure 3 The effect of inhaling different size air particles on blood vessels of mice
Number Particles in air
of mice
breathed
14
16
15

(b)

almost none
PM2.5
UFP

Concentration of
particles
number/cm3
<5000
450 000
390 000

Relative damage
to blood vessels
1
1.23
1.55

(i) Suggest two advantages of using animals in the way described in Study 2
compared to the epidemiological study of the women described in Study 1.
Advantage 1 .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
Advantage 2 .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

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2

(b)

(ii) Give two limitations of this research with mice for our understanding of the
effects of air pollution on humans.
Limitation 1 .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
Limitation 2 .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

(c) Air pollution is monitored in the UK.

!
!

!
!

Most monitors measure only the larger particles known as PM10

Air quality standards suggest an annual mean concentration of 25 g/m3 for
PM2.5. This is a recommendation, not a requirement.
There are no standards for UFP particles.
There is no way of monitoring the concentration of UFP particles on a routine
basis.

Discuss what sort of research or other actions should follow as a result of the studies
described in this question.
Two of the 6 marks in this question are available for the quality of your written
communication.
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
(6 marks)
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7
3 Scientists can use computer models to predict the future mean global temperatures for
different carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
3

(a) Explain, using a diagram, how increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to a
rise in atmospheric temperature.

(3 marks)

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3

(b) Scientists use scenarios based on different predictions of future emissions of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. When the data on which these scenarios are based are fed
into a climate model the results shown in Figure 4 are produced. The shaded regions
represent the uncertainty in the predictions. Figure 4 also shows the known values up
to the year 2000.

(GtC per yr)

Figure 4 The predicted outcomes of three carbon dioxide emission scenarios, X, Y, Z

30
20

20

10

10

(ppm)

1000

(C above 19802000)

1000

CO2 Concentrations

800
600

800
600

400

400

6
5

Global Mean Temperature

1900

1950
History

30

Fossil CO2 Emissions

(b)

2000

2050
X

2100

2000

2050
Y

2100 2000

2050

2100

(i) In scenario X what is the predicted rise in global mean temperature by 2100,
above the 19802000 mean?
Express this change as .................C rise .....................................C
(2 marks)

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3

(b)

(ii) Suggest two reasons why, in scenario X, the predicted concentration of carbon
dioxide keeps rising after 2050 even though carbon dioxide emissions from fossil
fuels are falling.
Reason 1 ...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
Reason 2 ...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

(b) (iii) In all the scenarios there is much more uncertainty in the 2100 predictions of
temperature than in the levels of carbon dioxide. Suggest one factor, other than
the concentration of carbon dioxide, that might also influence the temperature.
...................................................................................................................................
(1 mark)

(b) (iv) Name one major environmental problem that would occur if the predictions from
scenario Y take place.
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(1 mark)

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3

(c) The level of carbon dioxide emission from fossil fuels is largely under human control.
Which of the three scenarios do you think is the most likely? Explain why you have
chosen this scenario.
Two of the 6 marks in this question are available for the quality of your written
communication.
Scenario chosen ..................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
(6 marks)
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4 Mobile phone base stations communicate with mobile phone hand sets using electromagnetic,
em, radiation in the microwave region. This radiation is non-ionising.
4

(a)

(i) State one difference between non-ionising and ionising radiation.

...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(1 mark)

(a)

(ii) Name an example of ionising electromagnetic radiation.

...................................................................................................................................
(1 mark)

(b) Many people are happy to use mobile phone handsets, but are less willing to have
mobile phone masts placed near their houses or places of work.
Suggest why people have different attitudes to these two sources of radiation although
both risks are thought to be equally low.
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

Question 4 continues on the next page

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4

(c) A number of people believe that they have a condition called electrosensitivity. When
they are exposed to even low levels of microwaves they report a variety of physical
symptoms such as severe headaches, nausea, dizziness and high-blood pressure.
In order to investigate whether microwaves from mobile phone masts can cause these
symptoms, scientists carried out a double-blind study. They exposed electrosensitive
and non-sensitive (control) subjects to three conditions.
!
!
!

sham condition no microwave radiation

Type A microwave radiation
Type B microwave radiation

Type A and B microwave radiation were similar to radiation patterns given out by
different mobile phone masts.
During each exposure each subject was asked to report any physical symptoms they
were experiencing chosen from a list of about 60 possibilities, such as headaches,
tingling sensations and nausea.
4

(c)

(i) What is a double-blind study?

...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

(c)

(ii) Why is it important to use a double-blind study when trying to measure the effect
of electromagnetic radiation on subjects who believe they are electrosensitive?
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(1 mark)

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4

(d) The results of the experiments showed that for both electrosensitive and control
participants the ability to say if the microwave transmitter was on or off was no
different from chance (approximately 50%).
The researchers recorded the total number of symptoms reported by participants during
all three experimental conditions. The average values are given in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Average number of symptoms reported by participants during the
electrosensitivity tests
Electrosensitive subjects
Radiation
condition
Average number
of symptoms
reported

Control subjects

sham

type A

type B

sham

type A

type B

3.0

3.0

3.3

0.33

0.33

0.33

The objective of the study was given as:

To determine if electrosensitive and control individuals experience more negative
health effects when exposed to base station-like signals compared with sham signals.
Use the findings summarised above to write a conclusion for the study which addresses
the objective and suggests an explanation for the findings.
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
(3 marks)
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14
5 In many school science books the solar system is shown using a picture similar to Figure 6.
Figure 6 The solar system

Asteroid
Belt

Mars
Earth
Venus
Mercury

Pluto

Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

Shortly after the discovery of Neptune some astronomers predicted the existence of a planet
further from the Sun than Neptune. This prediction was based on differences between
Neptunes observed orbit and that calculated using Newtons Law of gravity. An extra
planet would influence the orbit because of gravitational attraction.
In 1930 an American astronomer called Clyde Tombaugh observed such a planet, which was
extremely faint, and much smaller than the astronomers had been expecting. It was named
Pluto. It was, however, too small to be responsible for the anomalies in the orbit of Neptune
that had been noticed, so some thought another unknown Planet X must exist.
In 1993 the mass of Neptune was recalculated using data from the Voyager fly-by. Using
the new, smaller mass for Neptune led to a re-calculation of its orbit which then matched the
observed orbit.
The Hubble space telescope has found many more objects orbiting far from the Sun. Some
of these objects are similar in size to Pluto. This led to the possibility that they could be
named as new planets.
In August 2006 a meeting of the International Astronomical Union voted to change the status
of Pluto. It was disqualified as a planet because it is smaller than several other objects that
also orbit the Sun but are not regarded as planets. A new and clearer definition of planet
was agreed upon. Pluto was renamed a plutoid.
5

(a) What two things determine the force of gravity between two objects?
1 ..........................................................................................................................................
2 ..........................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

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5

(b) The diagram in Figure 6 does not accurately reflect the scale of the solar system.
Suggest two ways in which it is incorrect.
1 ..........................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
2 ..........................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

(c)

(i) From the passage on page 14, identify an example of a prediction that can be
tested by observation.
...................................................................................................................................
(1 mark)

(c)

(ii) How did new technology add to our knowledge and resolve some difficulties in
the understanding of this part of the solar system?
...................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)

(d)
Changing the status of Pluto
completely alters the way in which we
should think about the solar system.
Its Galileo all over again!

Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
(2 marks)
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END OF QUESTIONS

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