AQA AS PHYSICS PAPER 2 CERTIFICATION
EVALUATION TEST 2026 PRACTICE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS VERIFIED
●● Marking a scale on a measuring instrument. This involves
establishing the relationship between indications of a measuring
instrument and standard or reference quantity values which must be
applied. For example, placing a thermometer in melting ice to see
whether it reads zero in order to check if it has been calibrated correctly.
Answer: Calibration
●● Information, either qualitative or quantitative, that has been
collected.
Answer: Data
●● The difference between a measured value and the true value.
Answer: Measurement error
●● These are values in a set of results which are judged not to be part of
the variation caused by random uncertainty.
Answer: Anomalies
,●● These cause readings to be spread about the true value, due to results
varying in an unpredictable way from one measurement to the next.
Random errors are present when any measurement is made, and cannot
be corrected. The effect of random errors can be reduced by making
more measurements and calculating a new mean.
Answer: Random error
●● These cause readings to differ from the true value by a consistent
amount each time a measurement is made. Sources of systematic error
can include the environment, methods of observation or instruments
used. Systematic errors cannot be dealt with by simple repeats. If a
systematic error is suspected, the data collection should be repeated
using a different technique or a different set of equipment, and the
results compared.
Answer: Systematic error
●● Any indication that a measuring system gives a false reading when
the true value of a measured quantity is zero, eg the needle on an
ammeter failing to return to zero when no current flows. A zero error
may result in a systematic uncertainty.
Answer: Zero error
●● Data which has been shown to be valid.
Answer: Evidence
, ●● A fair test is one in which only the independent variable has been
allowed to affect the dependent variable.
Answer: Fair test
●● A proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations.
Answer: Hypothesis
●● The quantity between readings, eg a set of 11 readings equally
spaced over a distance of 1 metre would give an interval of 10
centimetres.
Answer: Interval
●● Precise measurements are ones in which there is very little spread
about the mean value. Precision depends only on the extent of random
errors - it gives no indication of how close results are to the true value.
Answer: Precision
●● A prediction is a statement suggesting what will happen in the future,
based on observation, experience or a hypothesis.
Answer: Prediction
●● The maximum and minimum values of the independent or dependent
variables; important in ensuring that any pattern is detected. For example
EVALUATION TEST 2026 PRACTICE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS VERIFIED
●● Marking a scale on a measuring instrument. This involves
establishing the relationship between indications of a measuring
instrument and standard or reference quantity values which must be
applied. For example, placing a thermometer in melting ice to see
whether it reads zero in order to check if it has been calibrated correctly.
Answer: Calibration
●● Information, either qualitative or quantitative, that has been
collected.
Answer: Data
●● The difference between a measured value and the true value.
Answer: Measurement error
●● These are values in a set of results which are judged not to be part of
the variation caused by random uncertainty.
Answer: Anomalies
,●● These cause readings to be spread about the true value, due to results
varying in an unpredictable way from one measurement to the next.
Random errors are present when any measurement is made, and cannot
be corrected. The effect of random errors can be reduced by making
more measurements and calculating a new mean.
Answer: Random error
●● These cause readings to differ from the true value by a consistent
amount each time a measurement is made. Sources of systematic error
can include the environment, methods of observation or instruments
used. Systematic errors cannot be dealt with by simple repeats. If a
systematic error is suspected, the data collection should be repeated
using a different technique or a different set of equipment, and the
results compared.
Answer: Systematic error
●● Any indication that a measuring system gives a false reading when
the true value of a measured quantity is zero, eg the needle on an
ammeter failing to return to zero when no current flows. A zero error
may result in a systematic uncertainty.
Answer: Zero error
●● Data which has been shown to be valid.
Answer: Evidence
, ●● A fair test is one in which only the independent variable has been
allowed to affect the dependent variable.
Answer: Fair test
●● A proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations.
Answer: Hypothesis
●● The quantity between readings, eg a set of 11 readings equally
spaced over a distance of 1 metre would give an interval of 10
centimetres.
Answer: Interval
●● Precise measurements are ones in which there is very little spread
about the mean value. Precision depends only on the extent of random
errors - it gives no indication of how close results are to the true value.
Answer: Precision
●● A prediction is a statement suggesting what will happen in the future,
based on observation, experience or a hypothesis.
Answer: Prediction
●● The maximum and minimum values of the independent or dependent
variables; important in ensuring that any pattern is detected. For example
