Physics

Course summary

Students will complete three examinations at the end of the two year course. They will be tested on topics in the units below. In the third paper, the students will complete a section on practical skills and data analysis, as well as an additional unit (Unit 11: Engineering). A practical endorsement is taken alongside the course; it is assessed by teachers and based on direct observation of students’ competency in a range of skills. This is reported separately. Unit 1: Measurements and their Errors - Use of SI units and their prefixes, limitations of physical measurement, estimation of physical quantities. Unit 2: Particles and Radiation - Constituents of the atom, particle interactions, collisions of electrons with atoms and quantum Physics. Unit 3: Waves - Progressive waves, interference, diffraction. Unit 4: Mechanics and Energy - Projectile motion, Newton’s laws of motion, material Physics. Unit 5: Electricity - Current/voltage characteristics, circuits, electromotive force and internal resistance. Unit 6: Further Mechanics and Thermal Physics - Periodic motion, thermal energy transfer, molecular kinetic theory model. Unit 7: Fields - Newton’s law of gravitation, orbits of planets and satellites, magnetic flux density. Unit 8: Nuclear Physics - Evidence for the nucleus, radioactive decay, nuclear instability. Additional unit 11: Engineering Physics - including rotational dynamics, thermodynamics and engines.