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 1: Dynamics
Module overview β- How do forces change the motion of an object, and what is the link between force, mass and acceleration?Newton's laws: balanced and unbalanced forces, Newton's first and second laws including F equals ma, the difference between mass and weight, and friction and free-body force diagrams.10 min answer β
- Why does a horizontally launched object follow a curved path, and how do we treat its motion?Projectile motion: treating a projectile as separate horizontal (constant velocity) and vertical (constant acceleration) motions, and using these to find the range, time of flight and impact velocity.10 min answer β
- What is the difference between a vector and a scalar, and how do we combine quantities that have direction?Vectors and scalars: distinguishing the two kinds of quantity, the difference between distance and displacement and between speed and velocity, and combining vectors that act at right angles.9 min answer β
- How do we measure acceleration and read motion from a velocity-time graph?Velocity and acceleration: defining and calculating acceleration, and interpreting velocity-time graphs to describe motion and to find acceleration and distance travelled.10 min answer β
- How do we account for energy when forces do work, and how is energy conserved as it changes form?Energy: work done by a force, gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy, the conservation of energy, and using energy changes to solve motion problems such as a falling or braking object.10 min answer β
Area 3: Electricity
Module overview β- What is an electric current, and how is it linked to electric charge?Electrical charge carriers: current as the flow of charge, the relationship between charge, current and time, the role of electrons as charge carriers, and how current divides in series and parallel circuits.9 min answer β
- How much energy do electrical appliances use, and how is electrical power calculated?Electrical power: power as energy transferred per second, the relationships linking power to current, voltage and resistance, and using power to find the energy and cost of running an appliance.10 min answer β
- How are voltage, current and resistance related, and how do we combine resistors?Ohm's law: the relationship between voltage, current and resistance, the meaning of resistance, and calculating the total resistance of resistors in series and in parallel.10 min answer β
- What does voltage mean, and how is it related to the energy given to charge?Potential difference (voltage): voltage as the energy given to each unit of charge, the relationship between energy, charge and voltage, and how voltage behaves in series and parallel circuits.9 min answer β
- How are real electrical and electronic circuits built, and how does a potential divider work?Practical electrical and electronic circuits: standard circuit symbols and components, input and output devices such as the LDR and thermistor, the potential divider, and the action of switches and simple control circuits.10 min answer β
Area 4: Properties of Matter
Module overview β- How are the pressure, volume and temperature of a gas related, and how does the kinetic model explain this?Gas laws and the kinetic model: the relationships between the pressure, volume and temperature of a fixed mass of gas, the kelvin temperature scale, and the kinetic model explanation of gas pressure.11 min answer β
- What is pressure, and how does it depend on the force applied and the area it acts over?Pressure: the definition of pressure as force per unit area, the relationship linking pressure, force and area, the unit of pressure, and everyday and gas-pressure examples.9 min answer β
- Why do different materials need different amounts of energy to heat up, and how do we calculate that energy?Specific heat capacity: the energy needed to change the temperature of a material, the relationship linking energy, mass, specific heat capacity and temperature change, and using it in heating and mixing problems.10 min answer β
- Why does the temperature stay constant while a substance melts or boils, and how do we calculate the energy involved?Specific latent heat: the energy needed to change the state of a material without changing its temperature, the relationship linking energy, mass and specific latent heat, and the difference between latent heat of fusion and of vaporisation.10 min answer β
Area 6: Radiation
Module overview β- How do we measure the radiation dose a person receives, and how is the biological harm taken into account?Dosimetry: absorbed dose as energy per unit mass, equivalent dose using the radiation weighting factor, equivalent dose rate, the safe handling of sources, and background radiation.10 min answer β
- What is half-life, and how do we use it to work out how a radioactive source decays over time?Half-life: the meaning of half-life, how activity and the number of undecayed nuclei fall by half each half-life, finding half-life from data or a graph, and uses such as dating and medical tracers.10 min answer β
- What are the types of nuclear radiation, and how do their properties differ?Nuclear radiation: the nature and properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiation, their ionising ability and penetrating power, what ionisation means, and the activity of a source.10 min answer β
Area 2: Space
Module overview β- How do we use light from distant stars and galaxies to learn about the universe and its history?Cosmology: using the electromagnetic spectrum and telescopes to study the universe, line spectra as a fingerprint of elements, and redshift as evidence that the universe is expanding.9 min answer β
- How do rockets get into space, and what physics keeps a satellite in orbit?Space exploration: rocket thrust and Newton's third law, weight and mass on different bodies, the use of satellites and the idea of a satellite as a projectile, and the risks and benefits of space travel including re-entry heating.10 min answer β
Area 5: Waves
Module overview β- What are the bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, and how are they used and detected?The electromagnetic spectrum: the order of the bands by wavelength and frequency, that all travel at the speed of light, and the uses, sources and detectors of each band including the dangers of the high-energy bands.10 min answer β
- Why does light bend when it passes from one material into another?Refraction of light: the change of direction when light crosses a boundary between materials, the angles of incidence and refraction, why refraction happens, and the action of a lens and total internal reflection.10 min answer β
- What quantities describe a wave, and how do we calculate wave speed and frequency?Wave parameters and behaviours: the meaning of wavelength, frequency, period, amplitude and speed, the wave equations, the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves, and wave behaviours such as reflection and diffraction.10 min answer β