Physics Curriculum

Measurement and Uncertainties

• Measurements in physics
• Uncertainties and errors
• Vectors and scalars

Mechanics

• Motion
• Forces
• Work, energy and power
• Momentum and impulse

Thermal

• Thermal concepts
• Modelling a gas

Waves

• Oscillations
• Travelling waves
• Wave characteristics
• Wave behaviour
• Standing waves

Electricity and Magnetism

• Electric fields
• Heating effect of electric currents
• Electric cells
• Magnetic effects of electric currents

Circular motion and Gravitation

• Circular motion
• Newton’s law of gravitation

Atomic, Nuclear and Particle physics

• Discrete energy and radioactivity
• Nuclear reactions
• The structure of matter

Energy production

• Energy sources
• Thermal energy transfer

Wave Phenomena

• Simple harmonic motion
• Single-slit diffraction
• Interference
• Resolution
• Doppler effect

Fields

• Describing fields
• Fields at work

Electromagnetic Induction

• Electromagnetic induction
• Power generation and transmission
• Capacitance

Quantum and Nuclear physics

• The interaction of matter with radiation
• Nuclear physics

Relativity

Core topics

• The beginnings of relativity
• Lorentz transformations
• Spacetime diagrams

Additional higher level option topics

• Relativistic mechanics
• General relativity

Engineering Physics

Core topics

• Rigid bodies and rotational dynamics
• Thermodynamics

Additional higher level option topics

• Fluids and fluid dynamics
• Forced vibrations and resonance

Imaging

Core topics

• Introduction to imaging
• Imaging instrumentation
• Fibre optics

Additional higher level option topics

• Medical imaging

Astrophysics

Core topics

• Stellar quantities
• Stellar characteristics and stellar evolution
• Cosmology

Additional higher level option topics

• Stellar processes
• Further cosmology