MECHANICS
Vectors
Students should be able to:
_ distinguish between scalar and vector quantities and give examples
of each
1/HFS
_ resolve a vector into two components at right angles to each other
by drawing
and by calculation
1/HFS
_ combine two coplanar vectors at any angle to each other by drawing,
and at
right angles to each other by calculation
1/HFS
_ combine any number of coplanar vectors at any angle to each other
by drawing.
Kinematics
Students should be able to:
_ construct displacement/time and velocity/time graphs for uniformly
accelerated
motion
1/HFS
_ identify and use the physical quantities derived from the slopes
and areas of
displacement/time and velocity/time graphs, including cases of
non-uniform
acceleration
1/HFS
_ recall and use the expressions v = Δx/Δt and a = Δv/Δt 1/HFS
_ recognise and use the kinematic equations for motion in one
dimension with
constant velocity or constant acceleration
1/HFS
_ recognise and make use of the independence of vertical and horizontal
motion
of a projectile moving freely under gravity.
1/HFS
Dynamics
Students should be able to:
_ recall and use the relationship F = ma in situations where mass
is constant
1/HFS
_ recall and use the independent effect of perpendicular components
of a force.
1/HFS
Energy concepts
Students should be able to:
_ understand and use the concept of work in terms of the product
of a force and a
displacement in the direction of that force, including situations
where the force
is not along the line of motion
1/HFS
_ calculate power from the rate at which work is done or energy
is transferred
1/HFS
_ recall and use the relationship ΔEgrav = mgΔh for the
gravitational potential
energy transferred near the Earth.s surface
1/HFS
_ calculate the elastic strain energy Eel in a deformed material
sample, using the
expression Eel = ½ Fx where applicable, and from the area
under its
force/extension graph
2/SUR
_ recall and use the relationship Ek = ½mv2 for the kinetic
energy of a body
1/HFS
_ apply the principle of conservation of energy to examples involving
gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy
1/HFS
_ recognise and use the expression ΔE = mcΔΘ
1/SPC
_ explain the principles involved in a continuous flow technique
to measure
thermal energy transfer
1/SPC
_ recognise and use the expression % efficiency = [useful energy
(or power)
output/total energy (or power) input] x100%.
1/SPC
ELECTRICITY
Current
Students should be able to:
_ describe electric current as the rate of flow of charged particles
and recall and
use the expression ΔQ = IΔt.
1/SPC
Emf and potential difference
Students should be able to:
_ recall and use the expression V = W/Q 1/SPC
_ define and use the concepts of emf and internal resistance and
distinguish
between emf and terminal potential difference
1/SPC
_ recall and use the fact that the maximum power transfer from
a source of emf is
achieved when the load resistance is equal to the internal resistance.
1/SPC
Resistance
Students should be able to:
_ recall and use the fact that resistance is defined by R = V/I
and that Ohm's Law
is a special case when I is proportional to V
1/SPC
_ recall and use the expressions P = VI and W = V/t; and derive
and use related
expressions (eg P = I2R)
1/SPC
_ recall that the resistance of metallic conductors increases
with increasing
temperature and that the resistance of NTC thermistors decreases
with
increasing temperature
1/SPC
_ recall and use the relationship R = ρP/A and derive and use
related expressions
(eg R = l/σA).
2/DIG
DC circuits
Students should be able to:
_ recognise and use the relationships between current, voltage
and resistance, for
series and parallel circuits, and appreciate that these relationships
are a
consequence of the conservation of charge and energy
1/SPC
_ explain how the potential along a uniform current-carrying wire
varies with the
distance along it and how this variation can be made use of in
a potential
divider
2/DIG
_ explain qualitatively how the potential varies with distance
in a non-uniform
current-carrying wire or other medium.
2/DIG
NUCLEAR PHYSICS
Ionising radiation
Students should be able to:
_ show an awareness of the existence and origin of background
radiation, past
and present
2/DIG
_ recognise nuclear radiations (alpha, beta and gamma) from their
penetrating
power and ionising ability
2/DIG
Subatomic particle physics
Students should be able to:
_ use the non-SI units MeV and GeV (energy)
QUANTUM PHYSICS
Photons
Students should be able to:
_ explain how the behaviour of light can be described in terms
of waves and
photons
1/MUS
_ explain atomic line spectra in terms of transitions between
discrete energy
levels
1/MUS
_ recognise and use the expression E = hf to calculate the highest
frequency of
radiation that could be emitted in a transition across a known
energy band gap
or between known energy levels
2/DIG
_ recall that the absorption of a photon can result in the emission
of a
photoelectron
2/DIG
_ understand and use the terms threshold frequency and work function
and
recognise and use the expression hf = φ + ½ mv2
max
2/DIG
Matter
Students should be able to:
_ understand the need for a wave model when explaining electron
diffraction
2/SUR
_ use electron diffraction images to deduce ordered structure, or
lack of it.
2/SUR
WAVES AND OSCILLATIONS
Travelling waves
Students should be able to:
_ understand and use the terms amplitude, frequency, period, speed
and
wavelength
1/MUS
_ recall and use the wave equation v = fλ1/MUS
_ recall that a sound wave is a longitudinal wave which can be
described in terms
of the displacement of molecules or changes in pressure
1/MUS
_ recognise and use the expression v = √(T/μ) for the speed of a
wave on a string
or wire
1/MUS
_ explain qualitatively how the movement of a source of sound
or light relative to
an observer/detector gives rise to a shift in frequency (Doppler
effect)
2/SUR
_ explain how a pulse-echo technique can provide details of the
position and/or
speed of an object
2/SUR
Superposition, interference and standing waves
Students should be able to:
_ use graphs to represent transverse and longitudinal waves, including
standing
waves
1/MUS
_ explain and use the concepts of coherence, path difference,
superposition and
phase
1/MUS
_ explain what is meant by a standing wave, how such a wave is
formed, and
identify nodes and antinodes
1/MUS
_ identify the physical factors (eg length, tension, mass per
unit length) which
affect the pitch of a musical note produced by a string and by
a pipe, and hence
explain how the pitch may be controlled
1/MUS
Polarisation and diffraction
Students should be able to:
_ explain what is meant by plane polarised light (simple picture
only, not E and B
fields)
2/EAT
_ explain how to measure the rotation of the plane of polarisation
by a liquid and
how this can be used in comparing the concentrations of, for example,
sugar
solutions
2/EAT
_ recall that waves can be diffracted and that substantial diffraction
occurs when
the size of the gap or obstacle is comparable with the wavelength
of the radiation.
2/DIG
Refraction and reflection
Students should be able to:
_ understand and use the terms focal length, power (of a lens),
critical angle
1/MUS
_ use ray diagrams to trace the path of light through an optical
system
1/MUS
_ recognise and use the equation 1/v + 1/u = 1/f for a thin lens
(with the real-ispositive
sign convention)
2/SUR
_ recognise and use the expression for refractive index
= sin i/sin r = v1/v2 and predict whether total internal reflection
will occur at
an interface
2/EAT
_ explain how to measure the refractive index of a liquid and
how this can be
used in comparing the concentrations of, for example, sugar solutions
2/EAT
_ recall that, in general, waves are transmitted and reflected
at an interface
between media
2/SUR
_ explain how different media affect the transmission/reflection
of waves
travelling from one medium to another.
2/SUR
FIELDS
Force fields
Students should be able to:
_ recall and use the fact that the strength of a gravitational
field is
g = F/m and hence that weight W = mg
1/HFS
MATERIALS
Bulk properties of solids
Students should be able to:
_ distinguish between elastic and plastic deformation of a material
2/EAT
_ explain what is meant by the terms brittle, ductile, hard, malleable,
stiff and
tough, use these terms, and give examples of materials exhibiting
such
behaviour
2/EAT
_ explain the meaning of, use and calculate tensile/compressive
stress,
tensile/compressive strain, strength, breaking stress, stiffness
and Young
Modulus
2/SUR
_ draw force-extension, force-compression and tensile/compressive
stress-strain
graphs, and identify the limit of proportionality, elastic limit
and yield point
2/SUR
Bulk properties of fluids
Students should be able to:
_ understand and use the terms density, laminar flow, streamline
flow, terminal
velocity, turbulent flow, upthrust and viscous drag
2/EAT
_ recall that the rate of flow of a fluid is related to its viscosity
2/EAT
_ recognise and use the expression for Stokes's Law, F = 6πηrv
2/EAT
_ recall that the viscosities of most fluids change with temperature.
2/EAT
Microscopic properties
Students should be able to:
_ explain, qualitatively, how changes of resistance with temperature
may be
modelled in terms of lattice vibrations and number of conduction
electrons
1/SPC
_ use electron diffraction images to deduce ordered structure, or
lack of it
2/SUR
_ recall that polymers consist of long chain molecules in varying
states of order
and disorder
2/SUR
_ recall and use the fact that the amount of light emitted in
thermoluminescence
depends on the number of electrons trapped in .defect energy levels.
and hence
on the nuclear radiation to which the material has been exposed.
2/DIG
Signals
Students should be able to distinguish between analogue and digital
signals;
1/MUS
SIGNALS
Students should be able to distinguish between analogue and digital
signals;
1/MUS
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