← Physics syllabus

ScotlandPhysics

Area 1: Dynamics

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

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.
An SQA National 5 Physics answer on Newton's laws, covering balanced and unbalanced forces, Newton's first and second laws including F equals ma, the difference between mass and weight using W equals mg, terminal velocity, and how to find a resultant force from a free-body diagram.
10 min answer →

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.
An SQA National 5 Physics answer on projectile motion, covering why a projectile is treated as separate horizontal and vertical motions, that the horizontal velocity is constant while the vertical motion accelerates under gravity, and how to find the range, time of flight and impact speed of a horizontally launched projectile.
10 min answer →

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.
An SQA National 5 Physics answer on vectors and scalars, covering which quantities are scalar and which are vector, the difference between distance and displacement and between speed and velocity, and how to combine two vectors that act at right angles using a scale diagram or Pythagoras.
9 min answer →

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.
An SQA National 5 Physics answer on velocity and acceleration, covering the definition and calculation of acceleration, how it is measured with light gates, and how to read a velocity-time graph to describe the motion, find the acceleration from the gradient and find the distance from the area under the line.
10 min answer →

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.
An SQA National 5 Physics answer on energy in dynamics, covering work done by a force, gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy, the conservation of energy, and how to combine these to solve problems such as a falling object or a braking car.
10 min answer →