Physics

In this unit students develop an understanding of nuclear reactions and electricity. Students explore the ways physics is used to explain energy transfers and transformations that are pivotal to modern industrial societies. Students apply the nuclear model of the atom to investigate radio activity, and learn how nuclear reactions convert mass into energy. They examine the movement of electrical charge in circuits and use this to analyse electrical phenomena. 

In this unit, students develop an appreciation of how motion and waves can be used to predict a wide range of phenomena. Students describe linear motion in terms of position and time data, and examine the relationships between force, momentum and energy. Students investigate common wave phenomena, including sound and earthquake waves, and compare the behaviour of these waves with the behaviour of light. 

In this unit, students develop a deeper understanding of motion and its causes by using Newtons Laws of Motion and the gravitational field model to analyse motion on inclined planes, the motion of projectiles and satellite motion. They investigate electromagnetic interactions and apply this knowledge to understand the operation of direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) motors and generators, transformers and the AC electricity distribution systems. Students also investigate the production of electromagnetic waves. 

In this unit, students examine observations of relative motion, light and matter that could not be explained by existing theories, and investigate how the shortcomings of existing theories led to the development of the special theory of relativity and the quantum theory of light and matter. Students evaluate the contribution of quantum theory of light to the development of the quantum theory of the atom, and examine the Standard Model of particle physics and the Big Bang theory.