Astronomy

The study of celestial objects and space


Astronomy with an online telescope Free course from The Open University

Astronomy by LibreTexts Open Access Text

Physics

The study of the properties and relationships of matter, motion and energy.


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Under construction

Content of School Physics Courses

BGE Science - physics components

Planet Earth

  • Energy Sources and Sustainability
  • Space

Forces, electricity and waves

  • Forces
  • Electricity
  • Vibrations and waves

Topical Science


National 3 Physics

Electricity and Energy

  • Energy Sources
  • Electricity
  • Energy Transfer

Waves and Radiation

  • Wave properties
  • Colour
  • Optical instruments
  • Electromagnetic radiation
  • Sound

Dynamics and Space

  • Forces
  • Solar System

National 4 Physics

Electricity and Energy

  • Generation of electricity
  • Electrical power
  • Electromagnetism
  • Practical electrical and electronic circuits
  • Gas laws and the kinetic model

Waves and Radiation

  • Wave characteristics
  • Sound
  • Electromagnetic Spectrum
  • Nuclear radiation

Dynamics and Space

  • Speed and acceleration
  • Relationship between forces, motion and energy
  • Satellites
  • Cosmology

National 5 Physics

Dynamics

  • vectors and scalars
  • velocity–time graphs
  • acceleration
  • Newton’s laws
  • energy
  • projectile motion

Space

  • space exploration
  • cosmology

Electricity

  • electrical charge carriers
  • potential difference (voltage)
  • Ohm’s law
  • practical electrical and electronic circuits
  • electrical power

Properties of matter

  • specific heat capacity
  • specific latent heat
  • gas laws and the kinetic model

Waves

  • wave parameters and behaviours
  • electromagnetic spectrum;
  • refraction of light

Radiation

  • Nuclear radiation
National 5 Physics Past Papers

Higher Physics

Our dynamic Universe

  • motion — equations and graphs
  • forces, energy and power
  • collisions, explosions, and impulse
  • gravitation
  • special relativity
  • the expanding Universe

Particles and waves

  • forces on charged particles
  • the Standard Model
  • nuclear reactions
  • inverse square law
  • wave-particle duality
  • interference
  • spectra
  • refraction of light

Electricity

  • monitoring and measuring AC
  • current, potential difference, power, and resistance
  • electrical sources and internal resistance
  • capacitors
  • semiconductors and p-n junctions
Higher Physics Past Papers

Advanced Higher Physics

Rotational motion and astrophysics

  • kinematic relationships
  • angular motion
  • rotational dynamics
  • gravitation
  • general relativity
  • stellar physics

Quanta and waves

  • introduction to quantum theory
  • particles from space
  • simple harmonic motion
  • waves
  • interference
  • polarisation

Electromagnetism

  • fields
  • circuits
  • electromagnetic radiation
Advanced Higher Physics Past Papers

Advanced Higher Mathematics of Mechanics

Forces, energy and momentum

  • Applying impulse, change in momentum and conservation of momentum
  • Determining and applying work done by a constant or variable force
  • Using the concepts of kinetic and potential energy; applying the work–energy principle; and applying the principle of the conservation of energy
  • Determining the turning effect of force
  • Using moments to find the centre of mass of a body
  • Using Newton’s First and Third laws of motion to understand equilibrium
  • Using the concepts of static friction and limiting friction on bodies in equilibrium

Straight line, periodic and parabolic motion

  • Applying graphs,calculus and equations of motion in one dimension to problems involving displacement,velocity and acceleration
  • Applying displacement, velocity and acceleration vectors to resultant and relative motion
  • Applying Newton’s Second Law of motion, including situations involving dynamic friction
  • Establishing and applying equations of motion to projectiles in horizontal and vertical directions moving with parabolic motion
  • Applying equations to motion in horizontal and vertical circles with uniform angular velocity, including gravitational motion
  • Applying the concept of simple harmonic motion (SHM), including problems involving Hooke’s Law

Mathematical techniques for mechanics

  • Decomposing a rational function into a sum of partial fractions (denominator of degree at most three)
  • Differentiating,exponential, natural logarithmic, and trigonometric functions
  • Differentiating functions using the chain rule, and functions given in the form of a product and in the form of a quotient
  • Finding the derivative where relationships are defined implicitly or parametrically
  • Integrating expressions using standard results
  • Integrating using a substitution
  • Integrating by parts
  • Applying integration to a range of physical situations
  • Solving a first-order linear differential equation with variables separable
  • Solving a first-order linear differential equation using an integrating factor
  • Solving a second order homogeneous differential equation
Advanced Higher MechanicsAdvanced Higher Mechanics Past Papers

School Physics Courses - England

Energy

Calculation of fuel uses and costs in the domestic context

  • comparing energy values of different foods (from labels) (kJ)
  • comparing power ratings of appliances in watts (W, kW)
  • comparing amounts of energy transferred (J, kJ, kW hour)
  • domestic fuel bills, fuel use and costs
  • fuels and energy resources

Energy changes and transfers

  • simple machines give bigger force but at the expense of smaller movement (and vice versa): product of force and displacement unchanged
  • heating and thermal equilibrium: temperature difference between 2 objects leading to energy transfer from the hotter to the cooler one, through contact (conduction) or radiation; such transfers tending to reduce the temperature difference; use of insulators
  • other processes that involve energy transfer: changing motion, dropping an object, completing an electrical circuit, stretching a spring, metabolism of food, burning fuels

Changes in systems

  • energy as a quantity that can be quantified and calculated; the total energy has the same value before and after a change
  • comparing the starting with the final conditions of a system and describing increases and decreases in the amounts of energy associated with movements, temperatures, changes in positions in a field, in elastic distortions and in chemical compositions
  • using physical processes and mechanisms, rather than energy, to explain the intermediate steps that bring about such changes

Motion and forces

Describing motion

  • speed and the quantitative relationship between average speed, distance and time (speed = distance ÷ time)
  • the representation of a journey on a distance-time graph
  • relative motion: trains and cars passing one another

Forces

  • forces as pushes or pulls, arising from the interaction between 2 objects
  • using force arrows in diagrams, adding forces in 1 dimension, balanced and unbalanced forces
  • moment as the turning effect of a force
  • forces: associated with deforming objects; stretching and squashing – springs; with rubbing and friction between surfaces, with pushing things out of the way; resistance to motion of air and water
  • forces measured in newtons, measurements of stretch or compression as force is changed
  • force-extension linear relation; Hooke’s Law as a special case
  • work done and energy changes on deformation
  • non-contact forces: gravity forces acting at a distance on Earth and in space, forces between magnets, and forces due to static electricity

Pressure in fluids

  • atmospheric pressure, decreases with increase of height as weight of air above decreases with height
  • pressure in liquids, increasing with depth; upthrust effects, floating and sinking
  • pressure measured by ratio of force over area – acting normal to any surface

Balanced forces

  • opposing forces and equilibrium: weight held by stretched spring or supported on a compressed surface

Forces and motion

  • forces being needed to cause objects to stop or start moving, or to change their speed or direction of motion (qualitative only)
  • change depending on direction of force and its size


Waves

Observed waves

  • waves on water as undulations which travel through water with transverse motion; these waves can be reflected, and add or cancel – superposition

Sound waves

  • frequencies of sound waves, measured in hertz (Hz); echoes, reflection and absorption of sound
  • sound needs a medium to travel, the speed of sound in air, in water, in solids
  • sound produced by vibrations of objects, in loudspeakers, detected by their effects on microphone diaphragm and the ear drum; sound waves are longitudinal
  • the auditory range of humans and animals

Energy and waves

  • pressure waves transferring energy; use for cleaning and physiotherapy by ultrasound; waves transferring information for conversion to electrical signals by microphone

Light waves

  • the similarities and differences between light waves and waves in matter
  • light waves travelling through a vacuum; speed of light
  • the transmission of light through materials: absorption, diffuse scattering and specular reflection at a surface
  • use of ray model to explain imaging in mirrors, the pinhole camera, the refraction of light and action of convex lens in focusing (qualitative); the human eye
  • light transferring energy from source to absorber, leading to chemical and electrical effects; photosensitive material in the retina and in cameras
  • colours and the different frequencies of light, white light and prisms (qualitative only); differential colour effects in absorption and diffuse reflection

Electricity and electromagnetism

Current electricity

  • electric current, measured in amperes, in circuits, series and parallel circuits, currents add where branches meet and current as flow of charge
  • potential difference, measured in volts, battery and bulb ratings; resistance, measured in ohms, as the ratio of potential difference (p.d.) to current
  • differences in resistance between conducting and insulating components (quantitative)

Static electricity

  • separation of positive or negative charges when objects are rubbed together: transfer of electrons, forces between charged objects
  • the idea of electric field, forces acting across the space between objects not in contact

Magnetism

  • magnetic poles, attraction and repulsion
  • magnetic fields by plotting with compass, representation by field lines
  • Earth’s magnetism, compass and navigation
  • the magnetic effect of a current, electromagnets, DC motors (principles only)

Matter

Physical changes

  • conservation of material and of mass, and reversibility, in melting, freezing, evaporation, sublimation, condensation, dissolving
  • similarities and differences, including density differences, between solids, liquids and gases
  • Brownian motion in gases
  • diffusion in liquids and gases driven by differences in concentration
  • the difference between chemical and physical changes

Particle model

  • the differences in arrangements, in motion and in closeness of particles explaining changes of state, shape and density; the anomaly of ice-water transition
  • atoms and molecules as particles

Energy in matter

  • changes with temperature in motion and spacing of particles
  • internal energy stored in materials

Space physics

  • gravity force, weight = mass x gravitational field strength (g), on Earth g=10 N/kg, different on other planets and stars; gravity forces between Earth and Moon, and between Earth and sun (qualitative only)
  • our sun as a star, other stars in our galaxy, other galaxies
  • the seasons and the Earth’s tilt, day length at different times of year, in different hemispheres
  • the light year as a unit of astronomical distance

Key Stage 4 Physics


Energy

Calculation of fuel uses and costs in the domestic context

  • energy changes in a system involving heating, doing work using forces, or doing work using an electric current: calculating the stored energies and energy changes involved
  • conservation of energy in a closed system, dissipation
  • calculating energy efficiency for any energy transfers
  • renewable and non-renewable energy sources used on Earth, changes in how these are used

Forces

  • forces and fields: electrostatic, magnetic, gravity
  • forces as vectors
  • calculating work done as force x distance; elastic and inelastic stretching
  • pressure in fluids acts in all directions: variation in Earth’s atmosphere with height, with depth for liquids, up-thrust force (qualitative)

Forces and motion

  • speed of sound, estimating speeds and accelerations in everyday contexts
  • interpreting quantitatively graphs of distance, time, and speed
  • acceleration caused by forces; Newton’s First Law
  • weight and gravitational field strength
  • decelerations and braking distances involved on roads, safety

Wave motion

  • amplitude, wavelength, frequency, relating velocity to frequency and wavelength
  • transverse and longitudinal waves
  • electromagnetic waves, velocity in vacuum; waves transferring energy; wavelengths and frequencies from radio to gamma-rays
  • velocities differing between media: absorption, reflection, refraction effects
  • production and detection, by electrical circuits, or by changes in atoms and nuclei
  • uses in the radio, microwave, infra-red, visible, ultra-violet, X-ray and gamma-ray regions, hazardous effects on bodily tissues

Electricity

  • measuring resistance using p.d. and current measurements
  • exploring current, resistance and voltage relationships for different circuit elements; including their graphical representations
  • quantity of charge flowing as the product of current and time
  • drawing circuit diagrams; exploring equivalent resistance for resistors in series
  • the domestic a.c. supply; live, neutral and earth mains wires, safety measures
  • power transfer related to p.d. and current, or current and resistance

Magnetism and electromagnetism

  • exploring the magnetic fields of permanent and induced magnets, and the Earth’s magnetic field, using a compass
  • magnetic effects of currents, how solenoids enhance the effect
  • how transformers are used in the national grid and the reasons for their use

The structure of matter

  • relating models of arrangements and motions of the molecules in solid, liquid and gas phases to their densities
  • melting, evaporation, and sublimation as reversible changes
  • calculating energy changes involved on heating, using specific heat capacity; and those involved in changes of state, using specific latent heat
  • links between pressure and temperature of a gas at constant volume, related to the motion of its particles (qualitative)

Atomic structure

  • the nuclear model and its development in the light of changing evidence
  • masses and sizes of nuclei, atoms and small molecules
  • differences in numbers of protons, and neutrons related to masses and identities of nuclei, isotope characteristics and equations to represent changes
  • ionisation; absorption or emission of radiation related to changes in electron orbits
  • radioactive nuclei: emission of alpha or beta particles, neutrons, or gamma-rays, related to changes in the nuclear mass and/or charge
  • radioactive materials, half-life, irradiation, contamination and their associated hazardous effects, waste disposal
  • nuclear fission, nuclear fusion and our sun’s energy

Space physics

  • the main features of the solar system.

GCSE Physics


AS Physics


AS2 Physics


© Alexander Forrest