Physics is a key part of science and technology, which deals with how and why things behave as they do. It includes such topics as light, waves, sound, motion and forces, heat, magnetism, electricity, nuclear physics and astronomy.
Physics is concerned with things that vary in size from atoms to galaxies. Atoms, which are far too small to be seen directly by the human eye, are the building blocks of all living things and non-living things in the universe.
Galaxies are enormously large collections of stars, which can be so far away from us that they are only seen as tiny patterns of bright points of light.
By the end of Year 10 you will have studied electrostatics and current electricity, magnetism and electromagnetism, motion and forces.
You will also have already been introduced to Physics topics like light, heat, waves, in Years 8 and 9
In Year 11 each student can choose to study Physics as a separate GCSE subject, taught in 6, 50 – minute periods per fortnight.
Topics already studied in Key Stage 3 will be developed further with new topics like radioactivity and astronomy being introduced.
More mathematical skills are introduced in many of the topics e.g. motion and forces, work, energy and power.
Coursework counts for 25% of the final GCSE examination.
GCSE Physics attracts those students who are interested in careers such as Engineering, Science, Architecture, Optics, Medicine, Geology, Astronomy, Surveying, Veterinary Science, RAF, etc. or simply want to continue to study the subject in its own right.
If you want to do Physics at GCSE level we would advise that you also try to take Additional Mathematics. Although not essential, it will greatly help with the more mathematical topics in the GCSE Physics course.
Having a GCSE pass in Physics will make you a very strong candidate for entrance into science-based courses in Colleges of Further Education e.g. Engineering, Land Use, Computing, Electronics, Sound Engineering, etc.
We hope of course that you will choose to continue to study at CAI beyond Key Stage 4 and that you will choose Physics at AS and A2 level.
Those topics already studied for GCSE are developed further and again in more mathematical detail, along with new topics like Particle Physics, Quantum Physics and Relativity being introduced.