Fair physics papers should have left Leaving Certificate students smiling yesterday afternoon.

The higher-level Leaving Certificate paper was welcomed by ASTI subject representative Mr Matt Bermingham. He said the paper was long and testing and reflected the width of the syllabus.

A TUI subject representative, Mr Jim Murphy, said the higher-level paper was pitched at the right level and students in his school, Abbey Community College, Wicklow town, were generally happy. The paper followed the trend of previous years and there were no unpleasant surprises.

The higher-level paper was divided into three sections. Question 1 in section A, the short-answer section, was difficult, according to Mr Bermingham. Students find capacitance, which came up in question 4 in this section, a difficult concept, he explained. Both teachers noted it is only a short part of the course; however, if students had covered it they should have been able to deal with the question, they said.

Section B, the experiment section, included an experiment to verify the principle of moments as well as an investigation of the relationship between the natural frequency of stretched string and its length. This section reflected the experiments done over the last two years, Mr Bermingham said; it was very predictable. However it was the first time the principle of moments had appeared on a paper, both teachers said. Mr Murphy said this may have caught some students out.

Question 6, with the graph, was fine, he said. Questions 6 and 7 made an effort to reward students who had actually done the experiments, added Mr Murphy. There is no practical component to the physics exam so the experiments section of the paper is the only way to test students' practical experience.

In the final section, which accounts for half of the total marks, students had a choice of three questions from a total of six. If they selected their questions properly they should do well, noted Mr Bermingham, who teaches in St Colman's College, Fermoy, Co Cork.

Mr Murphy said it was unusual to see Einstein's famous "E=mcs2]" on the paper. It appeared in question 8 and the formula was useful further down the question. The latter part of the question was a direct substitution into the satellite formula, which was also given in this question.

A lot of his students did question 9, which was a little unusual, he said. Question 11, on Faraday's law, which is usually badly answered or avoided by students, was not difficult this year, Mr Murphy said. It was unusual to have a full question on semiconductors, but students "who were well up in the area would have found question 12 a very good question", he said. Most students would have attempted question 13 and would probably have answered three rather than two parts. Part (d), on radioactive decay, was particularly nice, he added.

Overall, it was a fair paper and not too mathematical.

The ordinary-level paper, which follows the same format as the higher-level one, was generally fine. It was well illustrated, Mr Bermingham said. The only questions which might have caused problems were question 7 on resistivity and question 10 (b), on potential difference, he said.

Mr Murphy noted that some of the ordinary-level questions were easier than others. Students who chose their questions carefully should have fared well.

Sample question

Leaving Cert higher-level physics

State Farday's law of electromagnetic induction. Describe an experiment to illustrate this law.

Draw a labelled diagram of an a.c. generator and explain how it works.

Explain the principles involved in each of the following: (i) A coil with an iron core has a higher effective resistance to a.c. than it does to d.c; (ii) A galvanometer coil is wound on an aluminium former to slow the motion of the coil; (iii) A transformer is made more efficient by laminating the core.