England · AQASyllabus
Physical Education syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the England Physical Educationsyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
3.1 Applied anatomy and physiology
Module overview →- How does the body resynthesise ATP to fuel activities of different intensity and duration?The three energy systems (ATP-PC, glycolytic and aerobic), their fuels, sites, yields and by-products, the energy continuum and intensity thresholds, EPOC, recovery and the factors affecting which system predominates.13 min answer →
- How does the cardiovascular system respond and adapt to exercise?The structure and function of the heart, cardiac cycle, cardiac output and its regulation, the vascular shunt mechanism, venous return, and the cardiovascular responses and adaptations to exercise and training.10 min answer →
- How do bones, joints and muscles work together to produce movement at the major joints?Joint types and the articulating bones, the movement patterns and planes and axes of movement, the agonist, antagonist, fixator and synergist roles, and the types of muscle contraction at the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and ankle.10 min answer →
- How does the neuromuscular system control and produce muscular contractions during physical activity?The structure and recruitment of motor units, the all-or-none law, slow and fast twitch muscle fibre types and their characteristics, and the role of proprioceptors in the prevention of injury through PNF stretching.9 min answer →
- How does the respiratory system supply oxygen and remove carbon dioxide during exercise?The mechanics of breathing, lung volumes and capacities, gaseous exchange at the alveoli and muscles, the control of ventilation, and the respiratory responses and adaptations to exercise and training.10 min answer →
3.4 Exercise physiology and biomechanics
Module overview →- How do Newton's laws and the concepts of force and motion explain sporting movement?Newton's three laws of motion applied to sport, the definitions of mass, weight, inertia, momentum, force, net force and centre of mass, and the use of free body diagrams and the impulse-momentum relationship.11 min answer →
- How does diet and nutrition affect performance, energy balance and recovery in sport?The role of the macronutrients and micronutrients, hydration and energy balance, the importance of diet for different performers, and dietary manipulation and supplements such as creatine, sodium bicarbonate, caffeine and glycogen loading.10 min answer →
- How do the forces of air and water resistance and lift affect the movement of performers and projectiles?The factors affecting air resistance and drag, the Bernoulli principle and the production of lift, the Magnus effect on spinning balls, and the techniques used to minimise drag and maximise lift in sport.9 min answer →
- How can sports injuries be prevented, assessed and rehabilitated effectively?The methods of injury prevention through warm-up, cool-down and screening, the types of acute and chronic injuries, and the methods of treating and rehabilitating injuries including the recovery process.9 min answer →
- How do the lever systems of the body and the factors affecting projectiles influence performance?The three classes of lever and their mechanical advantage, the analysis of angular motion including moment of inertia and angular momentum, and the factors affecting the horizontal and vertical components of projectile motion.11 min answer →
- How do different methods of training improve fitness and what adaptations do they cause?The components of fitness and their testing, the principles of training and periodisation, the methods of training (continuous, interval, fartlek, plyometric, HIIT and flexibility), and the physiological adaptations that result.11 min answer →
3.2 Skill acquisition
Module overview →- How do different types of guidance and feedback improve the learning and performance of skills?The types of guidance (visual, verbal, manual and mechanical) and their advantages and disadvantages, and the types and roles of feedback (positive, negative, intrinsic, extrinsic, knowledge of results and knowledge of performance).9 min answer →
- How do we receive, process, store and recall information to perform motor skills?Information processing models (Whiting's model), the multi-store memory model of short-term sensory store, short-term memory and long-term memory, reaction time and Hick's law, and strategies to improve retention and response time.10 min answer →
- What theories explain how performers learn and improve motor skills?Theories of learning including operant conditioning, cognitive (insight) learning, Bandura's observational learning, and the use of reinforcement, the principles of effective practice and the development of schema.10 min answer →
- How are motor skills classified and how do these classifications guide the way we practise and teach them?The classification of skills on continua (open and closed, gross and fine, self-paced and externally paced, discrete, serial and continuous, low and high organisation, simple and complex), and the types and methods of practice and the transfer of skills.9 min answer →
- How does performance change as a learner moves through the stages of learning?Fitts and Posner's three stages of learning (cognitive, associative and autonomous), the characteristics of each stage, and the link to feedback, practice and performance plateaus.8 min answer →
3.3 Sport and society
Module overview →- How did modern sport emerge from pre-industrial pastimes through the social changes of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries?The characteristics of pre-industrial and post-industrial popular recreation and rational recreation, the impact of the industrial and agricultural revolutions, the role of public schools and the church, and the development of sport from the late nineteenth century to the post-1950 era.10 min answer →
- What social and cultural factors shape participation and the experience of sport in the twenty-first century?The factors affecting the emergence of elite performers, the social and cultural factors and barriers to participation for under-represented groups, and strategies to promote equal opportunities in sport.9 min answer →
- How have commercialisation, sponsorship and the media transformed modern sport?The relationship between sport, sponsorship and the media (the golden triangle), the positive and negative effects of commercialisation on sport, performers, officials, audiences and sponsors, and the influence of the media on sport.9 min answer →
3.6 Sport and society and the role of technology in physical activity and sport
Module overview →- How do the media and commercial interests shape elite sport and the behaviour of those involved?The relationship between sport and the media, the influence of commercialisation and sponsorship on elite sport, and the positive and negative effects on the performer, the sport, the spectator and the sponsor.9 min answer →
- What are the key concepts of physical activity and sport and how do they differ?The characteristics, benefits and objectives of the concepts of physical recreation, sport, physical education and outdoor and adventurous activities, and the relationship between them.8 min answer →
- How do performers progress from school participation to elite sport, and what supports that pathway?The development of elite performers from foundation to elite level, the role of schools, clubs and national institutes of sport, talent identification and development programmes, and the support services for elite performers.9 min answer →
- How does technology influence elite performance, officiating, fairness and the spectator experience?The use of technology in sport for performance analysis and training, for officiating and fair play, and for the spectator experience, and the positive and negative effects of technology on sport.9 min answer →
3.5 Sport psychology
Module overview →- What are anxiety and aggression in sport, and how can they be measured and controlled?The types of anxiety (somatic, cognitive, state and trait) and methods of measuring it, the theories of aggression (instinct, frustration-aggression, aggressive cue and social learning), and strategies to control anxiety and aggression.10 min answer →
- How do psychologists explain personality and its relationship with sporting behaviour?The theories of personality (trait, social learning and the interactionist approach), the use of personality profiling, and the relationship between personality and participation or performance in sport.9 min answer →
- How are attitudes formed and changed, and how does arousal affect sporting performance?The components and formation of attitudes, methods of changing attitudes including cognitive dissonance and persuasive communication, and the theories of arousal (drive, inverted U and catastrophe) and their effect on performance.10 min answer →
- How do groups form and function, and why does a team sometimes underperform?The characteristics and formation of groups and teams (Tuckman's stages), Steiner's model of group productivity, the Ringelmann effect and social loafing, and cohesion (task and social) and its development.9 min answer →
- What makes an effective leader in sport, and how do performers manage stress and confidence?The theories of leadership (trait, social learning and interactionist) and styles of leadership, Chelladurai's multi-dimensional model, the concepts of self-efficacy and confidence (Bandura and Vealey), and stress management techniques.11 min answer →
- What motivates performers and how does the presence of others affect performance?The types of motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic), achievement motivation and the need to achieve and need to avoid failure, attribution theory and learned helplessness, and social facilitation and inhibition.10 min answer →