Units - Including base units, derived units and prefixes
Estimating Physics Quantities - Some common quantities you should be aware of
The Greek Alphabet - Alpha, beta and more
Wave Properties - Progressive waves that can be transverse of longitudinal
Intensity - The power transferred per unit area
Electromagnetic Waves - Oscillating electric and magnetic fields
Polarisation - Evidence for the nature of transverse waves
Refraction - The changing direction of a wave as it crosses a boundary
Total Internal Reflection - TIR as a wave travels towards a different medium
Optical Fibres - These allow the modern digital world to communicate at light speed
Interference - The interaction of two or more waves
The Double Slit - Young's famous experiment that produces an interference pattern
Diffraction Gratings - Plane transmission gratings and the pattern these produce
Standing Waves - Formed by waves of the same frequency travelling in opposite directions
The Doppler Effect - Due to relative motion between the observer and the wave emitter
Scalars and Vectors - Two different types of quantities
Speed and Velocity - How quickly an object is moving
Motion Graphs - Visualising the movement of objects
'suvat' Equations of Motion - Linear motion with a constant acceleration
Stopping Distances - For vehicles coming to a halt
Projectile Motion - Showing the independence of vertical and horizontal motion
The Monkey and Hunter - A great 'real-life' example with projectile motion
Energy - How energy can be stored and the equations for calculating it
Mechanical Power - The rate that energy is transferred or work is done
Newton's Laws - The three big laws of motion
Mass and Weight - Often confused with each other, these are two very different quantities
Free Body Diagrams - Essential for understanding the forces acting on an object
Drag and Resistance - Forces that resist motion
Terminal Velocity - When a moving object has no resultant force acting
Moments - The turning effect of a force
Density - The amount of 'stuff' in a given volume
Pressure - The force per unit area
Archimedes' Principle - For objects submerged in a fluid
Linear Momentum - The quantity of motion
Collisions - Elastic and inelastic interactions between two objects
Kinetic Energy and Momentum - Deriving the equation for these
Springs - These come up all the time in A Level Physics
Stress and Strain - These allow us to investigate material properties
Current and Charge - The movement of charged particles in a conductor
Drift Velocity - How quickly electrons move in a complete circuit
Conductors - These allow the movement of charges when a PD is applied
Circuit Symbols - Essential for drawing and understanding circuits
Voltage - The potential difference or EMF across a component
Resistance - The ratio of voltage across to the current in a component
IV Characteristics - How common components behave
LDRs and Thermistors - These are semi-conductors that change their resistance
Resistivity - A bulk material property
Electrical Power - The rate of energy transfer
Kilowatt Hours - A large unit of energy
Circuits - Investigating how components behave together
Internal Resistance - Due to the source of EMF
Potential Dividers - These divide the potential difference between components
Strain Gauges - Small components that
The Wheatstone Bridge - An example of a simple bridging circuit
Digital Communications - Used everyday by all of us
Quantum Basics - Photons and the electronvolt
Photoelectric Effect - Electrons in the surface of a metal can interact with photons
de Broglie - Introducing wave-particle duality
Energy Levels - Emission and absorption spectra
Atoms - What is inside these building blocks that make up everything
Standard Model - The fundamental particles that make up everything else
Baryons and Mesons - Particles that are made from 2 or 3 quarks
Nuclear Equations - For radioisotopes
Feynman Diagrams - This may look familiar
Specific Charge - The charge to mass ratio
Lenses - The different types, their power and magnification
Images - For both converging and diverging lenses
Lasers - Amplified light from the stimulated emission of radiation
Uncertainty - The error in measured values
Percentage Difference - How accurate a calculated value is compared to the real value
Anomalies - Data that does not fit the pattern
Graphs - How to plot your data
Using Equipment - A few hints and tips
Variables - Getting valid results
Fluorescent Lamps - How these emit light
Angular Terminology - The motion of objects travelling in a circular path
Centripetal Force - The force that causes objects to travel in a circular path
Deriving Centripetal Acceleration - How to derive this important equation
Temperature - How we measure temperature and the absolute thermodynamic scale
Particle Model - Particles and states of matter
Brownian Motion - The continuous movement of particles, even in stationary objects
Heat - Temperature, heat and internal energy
Changes of State - The energy supplied to a material and its state and temperature
Chemistry - A fundamental concept in Chemistry: the mole
Ideal Gases - Their corresponding equations, laws, constants and assumptions
Kinetic Theory Equation - How to derive the kinetic theory equation for an ideal gas
Maxwell - The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution
Gas Temperature - The relationship between temperature and the kinetic energies of particles
Capacitors - Charging, discharging and their exponential behaviour
Gravitational Fields - The region where objects that have mass experience a force
Kepler's Laws - Kepler's laws, pertaining to astronomical objects
Deriving Kepler's Third Law - A simple derivation you should remember
Satellites - The two main types of artificial satellite
Gravitational Potential - Potential energy and gravitational potential
Energy of a Satellite - The total energy of an orbiting body
Escape Velocity - Calculating the velocity needed to escape a gravitational field
Fields - A field is simply a region in space where something feels a force
Electric Fields - A region where a charged object experiences a force
Parallel Plate Capacitors - Parallel plate capacitors and the permittivity of free space
The Isolated Sphere - How charge is stored on an isolated sphere
Electric Potential - The difference between electrical potential and electric potential energy
Particles in Electric Fields - The behaviour of charged particles in an electric field
Millikan's Experiment - Carried out to find the elementary unit of charge
Magnetic Fields - Magnetic fields around various objects
Fleming's Left Hand Rule - Very handy when it comes to electromagnetism
Particles in Magnetic Fields - The behaviour of charged particles in a magnetic field
Motors - How electric motors work
Electromagnetic Induction - EM induction, magnetic flux and magnetic flux density
Generators - Generating electricity using an alternating current
Transformers - How they are used to either step-up or step-down the voltage
Even More Magnetic Fields - Magnetic fields in solenoids and around wires
Mass Spectrometer - How mass spectrometers use electric and magnetic fields to work
Deriving the Radius of a Charged Particle - The path of a charged particle in a B field
Root Mean Square - Why RMS values are used in AC circuits
Rectifying Circuits - Converting AC to DC
Simple Harmonic Motion - The properties of a system that define it as undergoing SHM
SHM Equations - The equations used when working with simple harmonic motion
Timing SHM - How to accurately time an oscillator
Energy in SHM - Energy in an oscillating system
Resonance - The effect of resonance and how we can lessen these effects with damping
Alpha Scattering - Rutherford's alpha scattering experiment exploring the atom
Radiation - The different types, their ranges and penetration, and their sources
Radioactive Decay - The nature of radioactive decay and how its measured
The NZ Chart - The relationship between proton and neutron number
Einstein's Equation - Probably the most famous equation of all time
Carbon Dating - How we use the radioactive decay of carbon-14 to measure an object's age
Fission - The splitting of a large, heavy nucleus
Fusion - The joining together of two small, light nuclei
The GM Tube - How a Geiger-Müller tube works
Exponential Decay - Deriving the exponential decay function
Everything - All of the types of objects in the universe
Stars - The life of stars, including how they are formed and how they die
Spectra - We use these to determine the elements and compounds in faraway objects
Wien's Displacement Law - The wavelength of maximum intensity radiation that is emitted
Stefan's Law - The relationship between the light emitted and the temperature of a star
Supernovas and Black Holes - These are massive
Distances in Space - Some of these are really really big!
Redshift - The change in wavelength of light from distant objects
Cosmology - The cosmological principle
Olbers' Paradox - Why it is dark at night
Hubble's Constant - Measuring this constant is one of the biggest challenges in astronomy
The Universe - The origin and evolution of the universe
Dark Matter and Energy - These are really important but not understood just yet
Telescopes - Refracting and reflecting telescopes
Quasars - Quasi-stellar radio sources from distant galaxies
Exoplanets - Planets orbiting stars other than our Sun
Supernovas and Black Holes - These are massive
X-rays - The production of X-rays and how these are used for imaging
CAT Scanning - The CT scanner and how this forms a 3D image
Medical Tracers - Using radioactive sources for imaging inside the body
The Gamma Camera - The basic structure and workings of this detector
PET Scanning - Positron emission tomography
Ultrasound - Non-invasive and non-ionising
MRI - Magnetic resonance imaging produces detailed images of the inside of the body
Rotational Dynamics - This builds on your knowledge of linear motion, but for rotating objects
Thermodynamics - The first law and developing ideas from previous work on ideal gases
Engines - How a heat cycle can be used to do work
Discovery of the Electron - Experiments in the early twentieth century led to new discoveries
Wave-Particle Duality - Developing how we model the world around us
Relativity - Special relativity and how time, mass and length are not always the same...
Practical Experiment - Stationary Waves on a String
Practical Experiment - Measuring the Wavelength of Light with a Double Slit
Practical Experiment - Measuring the Wavelength of Light with a Diffraction Grating
Practical Experiment - Calculating 'g' with a Freefall Method
Practical Experiment - The Young Modulus of Copper
Practical Experiment - The Young Modulus of Steel (with a Vernier Scale)
Practical Experiment - Measuring the Resistivity of Wire
Practical Experiment - Measuring Internal Resistance and EMF
Practical Experiment - Investigating Terminal Velocity
Practical Experiment - Viscosity of a Liquid
Practical Experiment - Velocity and Stopping Distance
Practical Experiment - Testing Plastic Bags
Practical Experiment - Max Power of a Cell
Practical Experiment - Investigating Combinations of Resistors
Practical Experiment - Using Non-Ohmic Devices as Sensors
Practical Experiment - Measuring 'g' with a Pendulum
Practical Experiment - Calculating the Spring Constant using a Mass-Spring System
Practical Experiment - Boyle's Law
Practical Experiment - Charles' Law
Practical Experiment - Capacitor Discharge
Practical Experiment - Force on a Current Carrying Conductor
Practical Experiment - Magnetic Flux Linkage Investigation
Practical Experiment - Inverse-Square Law for a Gamma Source