What you’ll learn

Conservation and dissipation of energy

Content Covered

• Explain Energy and its various forms
• Identify Different energy stores and its conversion between one store to other
• Understand the concept of the law of conservation of energy
• Interpret energy need
• Understand the concept of dissipation of energy and efficiency
• Calculating the energy needed to heat the objects.
• Comparing between energy resources.

Skills to develop in this topic

• Learning the skills to calculate the work done and energy transformation.
• Calculating the power using time.
• Be able to calculate the efficiency of devices and power dissipation.

Heat energy

Content Covered

• Know the thermal conductivity of material in simple terms
• Know the factors that affect the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of an object.
• Know the effect of insulation to prevent heat loss

Skills to develop in this topic

• How to calculate the relative formula mass of a compound
• How to calculate the specific heat capacity
• How to rearrange equation to calculate different variables
• How to calculate payback time

Energy resources

Content Covered

• Know the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy resources
• Know the operation of: – a fossil fuel burning power station. – a nuclear power station. – a wind farm. – a hydroelectric system.
• Know the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of power stations.

Skills to develop in this topic

• How to evaluate the startup times of various power stations.
• Use base load and start-up time data to explain why some power stations are in constant operation whereas others may be switched on and off.

Electric circuits

Content Covered

• Describe charges and understand the concept of transfer of electrons
• Identify the circuit symbols
• Learn how to build a simple circuits • Understand the path and flow of electrons.
• Understand the concept of energy carried by the electrons
• Identify the different circuits and measure the current and voltage using ammeter and voltmeter.

Skills to develop in this topic

• Recall the equation V = I x R
• And application of this equation.
• They will learn the skill to draw the I-V graphs.

Electricity at home

Content Covered

• The potential difference across it and the current through it
• The energy transferred over a given time.
• Students should be able to describe, with examples, the relationship between the power ratings for domestic electrical appliances and the changes in stored energy when they are in use.
• Students should be able to explain why the National Grid system is an efficient way to transfer energy.

Skills to develop in this topic

• Compare a.c. traces in terms of period and amplitude (voltage).
• Operate a cathode ray oscilloscope to display an a.c. trace.
• Discuss the choices of materials used in cables and plugs in terms of their physical and electrical properties.

Molecules and matter

Content Covered

• Know what is meant by density • Know what different properties are of solid, liquid and gas
• Know the formula that links
• Know what is meant by boiling point and melting point.
• Know what the changing of states are.
• Know the formula that links latent heat and energy.

Skills to develop in this topic

• How to calculate the density and units
• How to calculate the mass by using volume and density
• Use the equation link to latent heat and energy.
• How the increase in temperature of the substance affects its internal energy.
• How to calculate specific latent heat

Radioactivity

Content Covered

• Explain the radioactivity process and its radiation properties based on particle model of an atom.
• Properties of alpha, beta, gamma radiation
• Half life
• Fusion and fission reaction

Skills to develop in this topic

• Calculating the activity of a radioactive isotopes.
• Calculating the half life.

Forces in action

Content Covered

• Know the types of forces
• Explain the effect of forces
• Describe Moment
• Evaluate the resultant forces
• Define Equilibrium
• Define Centre of mass
• Calculate the resultant force by adding forces

Skills to develop in this topic

• Use of trigonometry to find out the resultant force graphically.

Motion

Content Covered

• Describe the interaction between pairs of objects which produce a force on each object. The forces to be represented as vectors.
• Students should be able to explain the vector–scalar distinction as it applies to displacement, distance, velocity and speed.
• (HT only) Students should be able to explain qualitatively, with examples, that motion in a circle involves constant speed but changing velocity.
• (HT only) The tendency of objects to continue in their state of rest or of uniform motion is called inertia.

Skills to develop in this topic

• Learning to find out the gradient to calculate the speed from distance time graph. Calculate the area under the graph to calculate the total distance covered by the object in velocity time graph.

Forces and motion

Content Covered

• Difference between mass and weight
• Force and acceleration
• Terminal velocity
• Stopping distance
• Factor effecting the stopping distance
• Understand the concept of momentum and how it is linked to force.

Skills to develop in this topic

• To calculate the weight using mass and gravity
• To calculate the velocity after collision by using the equation of momentum

Space

Content Covered

• Describe the objects in space and their structures.
• Know about different galaxies.
• Understand that universe is expanding.

Skills to develop in this topic

• To analyse the red shift and doppler’s effect.

Properties of Waves

Content Covered

• Describe that wave and its different form.
• Understand the properties and uses of waves.
• Compare the frequency and wavelength of EM waves.
• Explain the characteristics of waves.
• Explain that how the light waves are used for transferring the signals.

Skills to develop in this topic

• Use of equation V = f λ

Electromagnetic waves

Content Covered

• Know the part of the EM spectrum, range of wavelengths that the eye can detect
• How energy is transferred by EM waves
• Know the uses and dangers of IR, microwaves and radio waves
• What mobile phone radiation is
• Know which waves are used for satellite TV
• Know what carrier waves are (H)
• How optical fibres are used in communication
• Know what ionising radiation is
• Know how X-rays are used in hospitals

Skills to develop in this topic

• Calculation of frequency and wavelength.
• The speed of EM waves

Light

Content Covered

• Know the light is a transverse wave
• Know the waves can be reflected or refracted after hitting different materials
• Know an image is formed by a plane mirror
• Know how a light ray refract when it goes from air into glass or from glass into air

Skills to develop in this topic

• How to calculate angle of incidence and angle of reflection
• How to calculate the magnification
• How to find the position and nature of an image formed by a convex lens and its principal focus

Electromagnets

Content Covered

• Know the direction of magnetic field in a solenoid can be identified using right hand rule.
• Know the direction of force on a current carrying wire can be identified using left hand rule.
• Know the strength of an electromagnets depends on various factors.
• Know the different uses of electromagnets in devices.

Skills to develop in this topic

• How to rearrange equations
• How to convert the units
• How to use the electromagnets in different devices
• How to construct the simple motor and generator
• How to construct the transformer
• How to use of equation
• Force = magnetic f lux density × current × length F = B I l
• How to interpret diagrams of electromagnetic devices in order to explain how they work.