Physics

Physics is the subject for those students who concern themselves with understanding the complexity of the world around us. By studying physics, we can begin to appreciate the true beauty of nature and the universe in which we live. We search for patterns, look for meaning and discover simplicity.

From particles too small to observe with even the most powerful of microscopes, to the colossal distances between the stars, physics is the sort of subject where discovering how little you know can be as satisfying as calculating the solution to a complex problem.

In today’s world, physics allows us to develop alternative energy sources for future generations, assess the full extent of global warming and aid the development of materials and technologies that could one day put men on Mars.

The discipline of physics teaches skills that are recognised as highly relevant to a number of careers that include law, accounting, forensic science, IT, oceanography, meteorology, geology, archaeology, engineering, aeronautics and finance.
As such, physics combines particularly well with other AS subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Mathematics, Computing, History, Business Studies and Languages.

AS Level course outline:Communications
This module lets you examine the role of physics in imaging, signalling and sensing. You will learn how information is transmitted over huge distances in such a short space of time and will design and build your own electronic sensors that are sensitive to movement, sound or light.

Designer materials
Here you look at and test the properties of a variety of materials and consider how suitable they are for different purposes. You get to ‘attack’ them and see how they behave under a range of conditions – whether they indent, crack, break or shatter, and then discover why.

Wave and quantum behaviour
This module looks in detail at the phenomena that is light. You weren’t told the whole story at GCSE and may be amazed by what you discover.

Space and time
Can we really predict the future? Here you will learn how to map space and time using examples relevant to us all. Where will a dropped ball land? Will two aircraft avoid a collision in mid-air?

What the students have said:

“I enjoy that so many of the lessons involve practical work – they’re very interesting anyway but they also make the written work much easier to understand.”

“Physics is a great subject to study at A level because of the wide range of topics it allows you to study: in year 12, you cover subjects from communication to quantum physics. The lessons are fun and relatively easy to follow, and the CD – ROM which goes with the course is easy to use and full of information.”

“There’s a lot of maths involved, and you need to be competent at making calculations and rearranging equations.”

See Mrs Davis for further details.

Physics

Physics

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