CP4a Describing Waves | Edexcel GCSE Combined Science Physics Topic Mastery Pack

This pack covers Edexcel specification points 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5: how waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter, evidence that the wave and not the water or air travels, the terms frequency, wavelength, amplitude, period, wave velocity and wavefront, and the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves.

The Topic Mastery Sheet explains what waves transfer, gives the evidence from water and sound waves with an original diagram of a cork on a wave, labels the parts of a wave and defines each term in a table, and compares transverse and longitudinal waves with a slinky spring diagram and examples. Exam tips explain how to measure amplitude and, from the June 2025 Edexcel examiners’ report, why sound is not a transverse wave. A key vocabulary table gives the exact Edexcel terms, and five common errors are corrected. The Grade 8-9 stretch section explains how S waves tell us about the Earth’s core.

The Student Exam Practice Sheet (20 marks) has six questions. They progress from a multiple choice item through reading amplitude and wavelength from a graph (adapted from the June 2025 paper), finding period and frequency, describing particle movement in seismic waves and explaining the evidence from a floating duck, to a 6-mark compare and contrast question on sound and light, marked by levels. Answers are checked against the official June 2025 Edexcel Combined Science 1PH mark scheme and the Pearson CP4-5 assessment wherever an equivalent item exists.

Project the mastery sheet for a ready-made revision lesson, set the practice sheet as homework or a timed check, or use the pack for intervention and independent study. PDF and editable Word versions are both included. Written for Edexcel GCSE Combined Science (1SC0); points that appear only in the separate GCSE Physics specification are not included.

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