Physics Q&A by dot point

Apply the energy balance of the Earth-atmosphere system to model the enhanced greenhouse effect, including the role of greenhouse gases and the radiative forcing concept

Analyse DC circuits containing resistors in series and parallel using Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws, including problems combining series and parallel branches and including electrical power and energy ($P = VI$, $W = Pt$)

Electric current, voltage and resistance, Ohm's law $V = IR$, series and parallel circuits, electric power $P = VI$, energy in circuits, and household electricity

Define electric current, potential difference and resistance, and apply Ohm's law ($V = IR$) to ohmic and non-ohmic conductors, including filament lamps and diodes

The radiative energy balance of Earth, the natural greenhouse effect, the enhanced greenhouse effect from increased greenhouse gas concentrations, climate feedbacks, and the physics of climate change mitigation

Solve problems involving exponential decay and half-life ($N = N_0 (\tfrac{1}{2})^{t/T_{1/2}}$), and apply to dating techniques (carbon-14, uranium-lead) and nuclear medicine (technetium-99m, iodine-131)

Compare the mechanisms of heat transfer (conduction, convection and radiation), including the Stefan-Boltzmann law ($P/A = \sigma T^4$) and Wien's displacement law ($\lambda_{\max} T = b$) for thermal radiation

Explain temperature in terms of the average translational kinetic energy of particles ($\bar{E}_k = \frac{3}{2} k_B T$), distinguishing absolute (kelvin) and celsius temperature scales

Atomic nucleus structure (protons, neutrons), isotopes, types of radioactive decay (alpha, beta, gamma), nuclear stability, half-life, fission and fusion, and applications including nuclear power

Describe the structure of atomic nuclei, the strong nuclear force, and the modes of radioactive decay (alpha, beta-minus, beta-plus, gamma), and write balanced nuclear equations

Investigate and apply theoretically and practically the relationships $Q = mc\Delta T$ (specific heat capacity) and $Q = mL$ (latent heat of fusion and vaporisation), including multi-stage heating problems

Thermal energy, temperature and internal energy, methods of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation), specific heat capacity $Q = mc\Delta T$, latent heat of fusion and vaporisation, and applications including the greenhouse effect and climate

Interpret and construct position-time, velocity-time and acceleration-time graphs for one-dimensional motion, including reading slope (instantaneous rates) and area (displacement and change in velocity)

Astrophysics option (one possible Unit 2 AoS 2 option): the structure of the solar system, stellar life cycles, the colour-magnitude diagram, distance measurement (parallax, standard candles), and cosmological structure (galaxies, the expanding universe, Big Bang model)

Investigate uniform circular motion, including the centripetal acceleration $a = v^2 / r$ and the net force required to maintain circular motion ($F_c = m v^2 / r$)

Apply the principle of conservation of momentum to one-dimensional collisions and explosions, distinguishing elastic (kinetic energy conserved) and inelastic (kinetic energy not conserved) collisions

Apply Newton's second law to objects on horizontal surfaces and inclined planes, including problems with static and kinetic friction ($f_s \le \mu_s N$, $f_k = \mu_k N$)

Kinematics of motion in one dimension: displacement, velocity, acceleration, the equations of uniformly accelerated motion (suvat), and graphical analysis

Newton's three laws of motion, force as a vector ($F = ma$), free-body diagrams, momentum $p = mv$ and impulse $\Delta p = F \Delta t$, and conservation of momentum in collisions

Solve problems involving projectile motion by resolving the motion into independent horizontal and vertical components, assuming constant gravitational acceleration and negligible air resistance

Distinguish scalar and vector quantities and apply vector addition, subtraction and resolution into perpendicular components in one and two dimensions

Apply Newton's second law to systems of connected bodies, including tension in light inextensible strings over light frictionless pulleys and trains of carts on horizontal and inclined surfaces

Work $W = Fd \cos\theta$, kinetic energy $\frac{1}{2}mv^2$, gravitational potential energy $mgh$, elastic potential energy $\frac{1}{2}kx^2$, conservation of mechanical energy, and power $P = W/t = Fv$

Apply the work-energy theorem ($W_{\rm net} = \Delta KE$) to motion problems, distinguishing situations where energy methods are more efficient than kinematic methods

model the force vectors acting on an object on a banked track moving in uniform circular motion in a horizontal plane and identify the design speed at which friction is not required to keep the object on the track

investigate and analyse theoretically and practically the uniform circular motion of an object moving in a horizontal plane and on a vertical circle, including a quantitative analysis of the forces acting at the top and bottom of the vertical circle

describe electric fields using the field model, apply Coulomb's law $F = k q_1 q_2 / r^2$ and the relationships $E = F/q$, $E = kQ/r^2$ for point charges and $E = V/d$ for the uniform field between parallel plates; identify the directions of field, force and acceleration of charged particles in uniform and radial fields

investigate and apply theoretically and practically electromagnetic induction using the concepts of magnetic flux $\Phi_B = B_\perp A$, induced EMF $\varepsilon = -N \Delta\Phi_B / \Delta t$ (Faraday's law) and Lenz's law to determine the direction of the induced current

explain the operation of AC and DC generators, distinguish between peak and RMS values of voltage and current using $V_{RMS} = V_{peak} / \sqrt{2}$ and $I_{RMS} = I_{peak} / \sqrt{2}$, and apply the ideal transformer relationship $V_1 / V_2 = N_1 / N_2 = I_2 / I_1$ to AC power transmission, including resistive losses $P_{loss} = I^2 R$

describe gravitation using a field model and apply Newton's law of universal gravitation $F = G m_1 m_2 / r^2$ and the relationships $g = G M / r^2$, $g = F/m$, the work done by a gravitational field $W = \Delta U = mg \Delta h$ in a uniform field and the change in gravitational potential energy in non-uniform fields as the area under a force-distance graph

describe magnetic fields around magnets, current-carrying wires and solenoids; apply the right-hand rule to determine the directions of fields and forces; apply $F = qvB$ for a charged particle moving perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field, including circular motion of the particle

investigate and analyse theoretically and practically the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field, $F = n B I L$, and apply this to the operation of a simple DC motor including the role of the split-ring commutator

investigate and apply theoretically and practically Newton's three laws of motion in situations where two or more coplanar forces act along a straight line and in two dimensions; apply the concepts of momentum and impulse, including the conservation of momentum in one and two dimensions, and distinguish between elastic and inelastic collisions

investigate and analyse theoretically and practically the motion of projectiles near Earth's surface including a qualitative description of the effects of air resistance

Explain the discrete energy levels of atoms and how transitions between levels produce photons with $E_{\text{photon}} = E_i - E_f$, including the appearance of line emission and absorption spectra

Describe electromagnetic waves as transverse waves of oscillating electric and magnetic fields propagating at the speed of light, and identify the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum with their characteristic frequencies, wavelengths and applications

Explain de Broglie's hypothesis that matter has wave-like properties with wavelength $\lambda = h / p$, and apply it to predict diffraction of electrons and other particles

Apply the photon model of light to the photoelectric effect using $E_{\text{photon}} = h f$ and $E_{k,\max} = h f - \phi$, where $\phi$ is the work function of the metal, and interpret the stopping voltage $V_0$ as $e V_0 = E_{k,\max}$

Explain polarisation of light as evidence for the transverse-wave nature of light, and apply Malus's law $I = I_0 \cos^2(\theta)$ to determine the intensity of light transmitted by an ideal polariser

Design and conduct a student-directed practical investigation related to fields, motion or light, including formulating a research question, identifying independent, dependent and controlled variables, collecting and analysing data with explicit uncertainty estimates, and communicating findings

Apply Snell's law $n_1 \sin \theta_1 = n_2 \sin \theta_2$ to predict the refraction of light at a boundary between two media, including the critical angle for total internal reflection, and explain dispersion in terms of frequency-dependent refractive index

Investigate the wave model of light, including diffraction and constructive and destructive interference (Young's double-slit experiment), and apply $\Delta x = \lambda L / d$ for fringe spacing in the small-angle limit

Synthesise the evidence for wave-particle duality: that light has both wave and particle properties (interference, photoelectric effect) and that matter has both particle and wave properties (Newtonian mechanics, electron diffraction)