England · AQASyllabus
Physics syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the England Physicssyllabus, 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.
4.4 Atomic structure
Module overview →- What does half-life mean, and how do we use it?Half-life: the meaning of half-life, calculating activity after a number of half-lives, and the difference between contamination and irradiation.9 min answer →
- What are isotopes and ions, and how do we use atomic and mass numbers?Isotopes and ions: atomic number and mass number, how isotopes differ, how ions form, and the standard nuclear notation.8 min answer →
- How is energy released by splitting and by joining nuclei?Nuclear fission and fusion: the process of fission and the chain reaction, the process of fusion, and how each releases energy (separate physics only).8 min answer →
- What types of nuclear radiation are there, and how do they differ?Radioactive decay and nuclear radiation: the nature of alpha, beta and gamma radiation and neutron emission, their penetrating and ionising powers, and decay equations.9 min answer →
- What is an atom made of, and how did our model of it develop?The structure of the atom: the sizes and charges of protons, neutrons and electrons, the nuclear model, and how the model developed from the plum pudding model.8 min answer →
4.2 Electricity
Module overview →- What are current, potential difference and resistance, and how are they linked?Current, potential difference and resistance: the meaning of each quantity, the charge equation, Ohm's law and the I-V characteristics of resistors, lamps and diodes.9 min answer →
- How is mains electricity supplied to homes, and how is it wired safely?Domestic electricity and mains: direct and alternating current, the UK mains supply, the three-core cable and the role of the live, neutral and earth wires.8 min answer →
- How do we calculate electrical power and energy, and why does the grid use high voltages?Electrical power and the national grid: the power and energy equations, charge and energy transfer, and why step-up and step-down transformers make transmission efficient.9 min answer →
- How do current, potential difference and resistance behave in series and parallel circuits?Series and parallel circuits: the rules for current, potential difference and resistance in each arrangement, and how to combine resistors.8 min answer →
- How does charge build up by friction, and what is an electric field?Static electricity: charging by friction, the forces between charges, sparking, and the idea of an electric field around a charged object (separate physics only).8 min answer →
4.1 Energy
Module overview →- Where does our energy come from, and what are the trade-offs?Energy resources: the main renewable and non-renewable resources, their uses for transport, heating and electricity, and the environmental and reliability trade-offs.8 min answer →
- How do we describe energy as it moves between stores in a system?Energy stores and systems: describing how energy is transferred between stores when a system changes, and the principle of conservation of energy.7 min answer →
- How do we calculate the energy in moving, raised and stretched objects?Kinetic, gravitational potential and elastic potential energy: calculating each store and using conservation of energy to link them.8 min answer →
- How fast is energy transferred, and how much of it is usefully used?Power and efficiency: power as the rate of energy transfer, the power equations, useful versus wasted energy, the efficiency equation and ways to reduce unwanted transfers.8 min answer →
- How much energy does it take to heat a material, and how do we measure it?Specific heat capacity: the energy needed to raise the temperature of a substance, the equation linking change in thermal energy to mass, specific heat capacity and temperature change, and the required practical.8 min answer →
4.5 Forces
Module overview →- How do forces change motion, and what do Newton's laws say?Acceleration and Newton's laws: the acceleration equation, the uniform acceleration equation, velocity-time graphs, and Newton's three laws of motion.9 min answer →
- How do we describe and calculate motion using distance, speed and velocity?Distance, time and velocity: distance and displacement, speed and velocity, the speed equation, and interpreting distance-time graphs.8 min answer →
- What is momentum, and why is it conserved in collisions?Momentum: the momentum equation, conservation of momentum in collisions and explosions, and the link between force and rate of change of momentum (higher and separate).9 min answer →
- What is the difference between scalars and vectors, and what types of force are there?Scalars, vectors and forces: the difference between scalar and vector quantities, contact and non-contact forces, weight and the resultant of several forces.8 min answer →
- What affects how far a car travels before it stops?Stopping distances: thinking distance and braking distance, the factors that affect each, and the link between braking, work done and road safety.8 min answer →
- How do forces do work and stretch springs?Work done and elasticity: work done by a force, the link to energy, Hooke's law, the spring constant and elastic potential energy, and the required practical.9 min answer →
4.7 Magnetism and electromagnetism
Module overview →- How does an electric current create a magnetic field?Electromagnetism: the magnetic field around a current-carrying wire, the field of a solenoid, and how electromagnets are made and used.8 min answer →
- How is a potential difference induced, and how do transformers work?Induced potential and transformers: electromagnetic induction, the generator effect, how transformers change voltage, and the transformer equations (separate physics).9 min answer →
- What are magnetic poles and fields, and how do they behave?Magnets and magnetic fields: permanent and induced magnets, attraction and repulsion between poles, magnetic field patterns, and the Earth's magnetic field.8 min answer →
- Why does a current-carrying wire in a magnetic field feel a force?The motor effect: the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field, the force equation, Fleming's left-hand rule, and the electric motor.9 min answer →
4.3 Particle model of matter
Module overview →- How does the particle model explain density, and how do we measure it?Density of materials: the density equation, how the particle model explains the densities of solids, liquids and gases, and the required practical to measure density.8 min answer →
- What is internal energy, and what happens to it during a change of state?Internal energy and changes of state: internal energy as the total kinetic and potential energy of particles, how heating changes it, and why changes of state are physical changes.8 min answer →
- How does the motion of gas particles create pressure, and how does temperature affect it?Particle motion in gases: how the random motion of particles causes gas pressure, the link between temperature and average kinetic energy, and the effect of changing volume on pressure.8 min answer →
- How much energy does it take to melt or boil a substance?Specific latent heat: the energy needed to change the state of a substance, the latent heat equation, and the difference between latent heat of fusion and vaporisation.8 min answer →
4.8 Space physics
Module overview →- What does red-shift tell us about the expanding universe and the Big Bang?Red-shift and the Big Bang: how red-shift shows the universe is expanding, the evidence for the Big Bang theory, and dark matter and dark energy (separate physics).9 min answer →
- How do stars form, live and die?The life cycle of stars: how a star forms, the main sequence and the balance of forces, and the different fates of stars depending on their mass (separate physics).9 min answer →
- What is in our solar system, and what keeps objects in orbit?The solar system and orbits: the structure of the solar system, the role of gravity, and why orbital speed and radius are linked for circular orbits.8 min answer →
4.6 Waves
Module overview →- What is the electromagnetic spectrum, and how are its waves used?The electromagnetic spectrum: the order of the seven groups, their shared properties, their uses and the dangers of the more energetic waves.9 min answer →
- How do lenses form images, and why do objects have colour?Lenses and visible light: how convex and concave lenses refract light, ray diagrams and magnification, and how colour depends on reflection, transmission and absorption (separate physics).9 min answer →
- How do we describe and measure a wave?Properties of waves: amplitude, wavelength, frequency and period, the wave speed equation, and the required practical for measuring wave speed.9 min answer →
- What happens when waves meet a boundary between materials?Reflection and refraction: how waves are reflected, transmitted or absorbed at a boundary, the law of reflection, and why refraction occurs (separate physics).9 min answer →
- How does sound travel and how are sound and other waves used in technology?Sound and uses of waves: how sound travels through solids and is heard, the range of human hearing, ultrasound, and the use of waves in detection and imaging (separate physics).9 min answer →
- What are transverse and longitudinal waves, and how do they differ?Transverse and longitudinal waves: how each type oscillates relative to the direction of energy transfer, and examples of each.8 min answer →