Scotland Β· SQASyllabus
Physics syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Scotland 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.
Area 3: Electromagnetism
Module overview β- How do capacitors store charge and behave in d.c. and a.c. circuits?Capacitance and the energy stored, charging and discharging through a resistor with the time constant, and the behaviour of capacitors in d.c. and a.c. circuits.14 min answer β
- How do electric fields and potential describe the force on charges?Electric charge and Coulomb's law, electric field strength, electric potential, and the motion of a charged particle in an electric field.15 min answer β
- How did Maxwell unify electricity and magnetism into electromagnetic radiation?Electromagnetic radiation as orthogonal oscillating electric and magnetic fields, the unification of electricity and magnetism by Maxwell, and the speed of light from the relationship c equals one over the square root of permittivity times permeability.13 min answer β
- How do inductors oppose changing current and store energy in a magnetic field?Self-inductance and back emf, Lenz's law, the energy stored in an inductor, the growth and decay of current in an RL circuit, and inductive reactance.14 min answer β
- How do magnetic fields exert forces on currents and moving charges?The magnetic field around a current, the force on a current-carrying conductor and on a moving charge, magnetic flux, and Millikan's experiment.15 min answer β
Area 4: Investigating Physics
Module overview β- How do you plan, carry out and report the Advanced Higher Physics project?Planning an investigation, gathering and processing raw data with uncertainties, and writing the project report that contributes 30 marks to the award.14 min answer β
- How do we quantify and combine uncertainties and analyse experimental data?Random, systematic and reading uncertainties, absolute and percentage uncertainties, combining uncertainties, and presenting data with graphs, best-fit lines and error bars.15 min answer β
- How do we use units, prefixes and scientific notation correctly in physics?SI base and derived units, metric prefixes, scientific notation, significant figures and the consistent handling of units in calculations.13 min answer β
Area 2: Quanta and Waves
Module overview β- How do coherent waves interfere by division of amplitude and division of wavefront?Coherence and path difference, constructive and destructive interference, division of amplitude in thin films and wedges, and division of wavefront in Young's double-slit experiment.15 min answer β
- How does quantum theory describe light, matter and the limits of measurement?Photons and quantised energy, wave-particle duality and the de Broglie wavelength, the uncertainty principle, and quantum tunnelling.14 min answer β
- How do charged particles from space move in magnetic fields and produce aurorae?Cosmic rays and the solar wind, the motion of charged particles in magnetic fields, and the formation of aurorae.13 min answer β
- How does polarisation reveal that light is a transverse wave?Plane polarisation of transverse waves, the action of polarisers and Malus's law, polarisation by reflection and Brewster's angle, and applications.13 min answer β
- How do we describe oscillations where acceleration is proportional to displacement?The definition of simple harmonic motion, displacement, velocity and acceleration as functions of time, energy in SHM, and damping.14 min answer β
- How do we describe a travelling wave and the stationary waves it can form?The travelling-wave equation, phase and phase difference, and the formation and properties of stationary waves.13 min answer β
Area 1: Rotational Motion and Astrophysics
Module overview β- How do we describe rotation and the force needed to keep an object moving in a circle?Angular displacement, velocity and acceleration, the angular equations of motion, the link between angular and linear quantities, and central (centripetal) force.14 min answer β
- How does general relativity describe gravity as the curvature of spacetime?The equivalence principle, general relativity as the curvature of spacetime by mass and energy, the bending of light, black holes and the Schwarzschild radius.13 min answer β
- How do gravitational fields, potential and orbits describe gravity at Advanced Higher?Gravitational field strength and potential, gravitational potential energy, escape velocity, satellite orbits and Kepler's third law.15 min answer β
- How do we use calculus to describe motion and derive the equations of motion?Calculus relationships between displacement, velocity and acceleration, derivation of the equations of motion by integration, and motion under constant and varying acceleration.14 min answer β
- How do torque, moment of inertia and angular momentum govern rotation?Torque and moment of inertia, the rotational form of Newton's second law, rotational kinetic energy, angular momentum and its conservation.15 min answer β
- How do we measure stars and explain how they shine and evolve?Luminosity, apparent brightness and the inverse-square law, the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, stellar evolution and energy from the proton-proton chain.14 min answer β