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A light source is placed 0.5m from a plant - OCR Gateway - GCSE Biology - Question 8 - 2018 - Paper 1

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A light source is placed 0.5m from a plant. The relative light intensity falling on the plant is 2 units. The light source is moved to 1m away. What is the relativ... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:A light source is placed 0.5m from a plant - OCR Gateway - GCSE Biology - Question 8 - 2018 - Paper 1

Step 1

Calculate the relative light intensity at 1m distance

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Answer

The intensity of light falls off with the square of the distance according to the inverse square law, which states:

I1=I0(d0d1)2I_1 = I_0 \left( \frac{d_0}{d_1} \right)^2

Where:

  • I0I_0 is the initial intensity (2 units).
  • d0d_0 is the initial distance (0.5m).
  • d1d_1 is the new distance (1m).

Substituting the values:

I1=2(0.51)2=2×(0.5)2=2×0.25=0.5I_1 = 2 \left( \frac{0.5}{1} \right)^2 = 2 \times \left( 0.5 \right)^2 = 2 \times 0.25 = 0.5

Thus, the relative light intensity falling on the plant when the light source is moved to 1m away is 0.5 units.

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