S3 Physics:
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Units Covered Across the Year

Kinematics

Learners who complete this Unit will have covered topics such as: Speed; Acceleration; and Speed-Time Graphs.

Forces

Learners who complete this Unit will have covered topics such as: Balance and Unbalanced Forces; Mass and Weight; Friction; and Newton’s Laws.

Electricity

Learners who complete this Unit will have covered topics such as: Static Electricity; Practical Circuits; Power; and Resistance and Ohm’s Law.

Waves

Learners who complete this Unit will have covered topics such as: Features of Waves; The Wave Equation; Applications of Sound; Lenses; and the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

Radiation

Learners who complete this Unit will have covered topics such as: Types and Properties of Nuclear Radiation; Ionisation; Uses and Effects of Ionising Radiation; and Power Generation in Nuclear Power Plants.

Physics Units in S3 cover content from across Levels 3 and 4, though predominantly Level 4. Pupils coping with the majority of the Physics work being set should be able to achieve at least Fourth C in this subject.

Working Level and Working Grade descriptions for S3 Physics:

Fourth A: A pupil achieving this will be making excellent progress across all their assessments (averaging 70% or more). They will be consistently demonstrating that they understand and can recall the content of the course and are able to apply that understanding to calculations and problem-solving questions.  They will also have demonstrated a sound ability to provide extended explanations and handle data in graphical form.

Fourth B: A pupil achieving this will be making good progress across all their assessments (averaging 60-69%). They will be demonstrating that they understand and can recall much of the content of the course and are able to apply that understanding to calculations and problem-solving questions.  They may also have demonstrated an ability to provide extended explanations and handle data in graphical form.

Fourth C: A pupil achieving this will be making reasonable progress across all their assessments (averaging 50-59%). They will be demonstrating that they understand and can recall some of the content of the course and may be able to apply some of that understanding to more straight-forward calculations and problem-solving questions.  They may also have demonstrated an ability to handle data in graphical form.

Fourth D: A pupil achieving this will be making some progress across all their assessments (averaging 40-49%). They will be demonstrating that they understand and can recall some of the content of the course and may be challenged by applying this knowledge to calculations and problem-solving questions.  They may also find challenge in handling data in graphical form.

Third A-D: A pupil achieving this will be making limited progress across all their assessments (averaging less than 40%). They may be demonstrating that they understand and can recall small portions of the content of the course but will likely find applying this content to calculations and problem-solving questions a great challenge.  They will also likely find challenge in handling data.