A-level Physics

• Measurements and their errors: This includes understanding of the SI units, limitations of physical measurements, and the use of significant figures.

• Particles and radiation: This involves understanding the fundamental properties and nature of matter, radiation, quantum phenomena, particle physics, and the particle model of matter.

• Waves: Students learn about wave properties, electromagnetic waves, wave-particle duality, and refraction, diffraction and interference.

• Mechanics and materials: The course covers Newton's laws, energy, power, materials and their properties, and the principles of circular motion and simple harmonic motion.

• Electricity: This area includes understanding of current, voltage, resistance, circuits, and electrical power.

• Further mechanics and thermal physics: This includes topics like momentum, collisions, work, energy, power, thermal energy transfer, and molecular kinetic theory model.

• Fields and their consequences: This involves gravitational fields, electric fields, capacitors, magnetic fields, and electromagnetic induction.

• Nuclear physics: This area covers the characteristics of the nucleus, radioactivity, nuclear energy, and nuclear instability.

The AQA A-level Physics course also requires study of one of the following options:

• Astrophysics

• Medical physics

• Engineering physics

• Turning points in physics

• Electronics

Each option has its own set of specific topics.

Practical skills are also a crucial part of A-level Physics. The course includes 12 required practical activities, where students learn to use various experimental apparatus, make observations, analyze data, and evaluate results.

Remember that the course requires an understanding of mathematical concepts as well, so a strong background in math will help you succeed in this physics course.

How is A level assessed:

Written Exams

• Paper 1: This paper assesses knowledge from sections 1-5 of the syllabus, which includes "Measurements and their errors," "Particles and radiation," "Waves," "Mechanics and materials," and "Electricity." It's a 2-hour written exam with 85 marks, consisting of 60 marks of short and long answer questions, and 25 multiple choice questions on content.

• Paper 2: This paper assesses knowledge from sections 6-8 of the syllabus: "Further mechanics and thermal physics," "Fields and their consequences," and "Nuclear physics." It is a 2-hour written exam with 85 marks, and it includes 60 marks of short and long answer questions and 25 multiple choice questions on content.

• Paper 3: This paper assesses knowledge from section 9: "Astrophysics," "Medical physics," "Engineering physics," "Turning points in physics," or "Electronics," plus "Practical skills" and "Data analysis." It's a 2-hour written exam with 80 marks, comprising of 45 marks of short and long answer questions on practical experiments and data analysis, and 35 marks of short and long answer questions on optional topics.

The written papers each make up 34%, 34%, and 32% of the A-level, respectively.

Physics A level Practicals:

There are 12 required practical activities that students need to carry out over the two-year course. These practicals are designed to allow students to develop experimental skills and to understand the link between theory and experiment.

Here's a brief overview of these practicals:

• Investigation into the measurement of specific heat capacity: Students use methods to measure the specific heat capacity of a material, such as an electric heater and measuring temperature change.

• Investigation of the I-V characteristics of a variety of circuit elements: This includes ohmic conductors, filament lamps, diodes, and resistors at constant temperature.

• Determination of the resistivity of a wire using a micrometer, ammeter, and voltmeter: Here, students measure voltage across and current through a wire of known length and diameter to determine resistivity.

• Investigation into the deflection of a beam or cantilever: Students investigate the relationship between load and extension in a stretched material.

• Investigation of Boyle’s (constant-temperature) law for a gas: Students determine the relationship between pressure and volume for a gas at constant temperature.

• Determination of the acceleration due to gravity using a simple pendulum: This involves timing a pendulum's oscillations to calculate the acceleration due to gravity.

• Investigation into simple harmonic motion using a mass-spring system and a simple pendulum: Students will analyze the characteristics of simple harmonic motion in these systems.

• Investigation into the relationship between force and extension for a spring: Here, students will work with Hooke's Law and measure the extension of a spring under increasing force.

• Investigation into how the amount of infrared radiation absorbed or radiated by a surface depends on the nature of that surface: This explores how different materials absorb or emit different amounts of infrared radiation.

• Investigation of the inverse-square law for gamma rays: Students use a Geiger-Muller tube and counter to verify the inverse square law for radiation from a gamma source.

• Investigation into the attenuation of gamma rays or the absorption of beta particles: This practical examines how gamma or beta radiation is absorbed by different materials.

• Investigation into the deflection of electrons by electric and magnetic fields: This practical looks at how electric and magnetic fields affect the path of electrons.