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Unit 1 Motion, Energy and Matter

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What is the basic toolkit of units, vectors and forces that the rest of physics is built on?

SI units and prefixes, homogeneity of equations, scalars and vectors, resolving and adding vectors, density, and the equilibrium of coplanar forces including moments.
A focused answer to WJEC A-Level Physics Unit 1 basic physics, covering SI base units and prefixes, checking homogeneity of equations, scalars and vectors, resolving and adding vectors, density, and the equilibrium of coplanar forces using moments.
11 min answer →

How do forces change motion, and why is momentum conserved in a collision?

Newton's three laws of motion, force as the rate of change of momentum, conservation of momentum, and elastic and inelastic collisions.
A focused answer to WJEC A-Level Physics Unit 1 dynamics, covering Newton's three laws of motion, force as the rate of change of momentum, the principle of conservation of momentum, and the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions.
11 min answer →

How do work, energy, power and efficiency describe energy transfer?

Work done by a force, kinetic and gravitational potential energy, conservation of energy, power, and efficiency.
A focused answer to WJEC A-Level Physics Unit 1 energy concepts, covering work done by a force, kinetic and gravitational potential energy, the principle of conservation of energy, power as the rate of doing work, and efficiency.
11 min answer →

How do we describe motion using graphs and the equations of motion?

Displacement, velocity and acceleration, interpreting motion graphs, the equations of motion for constant acceleration, and projectile motion.
A focused answer to WJEC A-Level Physics Unit 1 kinematics, covering displacement, velocity and acceleration, interpreting motion graphs, the equations of motion for constant acceleration, and resolving projectile motion into horizontal and vertical parts.
11 min answer →

What are the fundamental building blocks of matter and the rules that govern their reactions?

Quarks and leptons, antiparticles, baryons and mesons, conservation laws of charge, baryon and lepton number, and beta decay at the quark level.
A focused answer to WJEC A-Level Physics Unit 1 particles and nuclear structure, covering quarks and leptons, antiparticles, the classification of hadrons into baryons and mesons, conservation laws, and beta-minus and beta-plus decay described at the quark level.
11 min answer →

How do materials deform under load, and what does the Young modulus tell us?

Hooke's law, stress, strain and the Young modulus, elastic and plastic behaviour, stress-strain graphs, and elastic strain energy.
A focused answer to WJEC A-Level Physics Unit 1 solids under stress, covering Hooke's law, tensile stress and strain, the Young modulus, elastic and plastic behaviour, interpreting stress-strain graphs, and elastic strain energy.
11 min answer →

How can the light from a star tell us its temperature, size and luminosity?

Black-body radiation, Wien's displacement law, Stefan's law, the inverse-square law of intensity, and stellar spectra.
A focused answer to WJEC A-Level Physics Unit 1 using radiation to investigate stars, covering black-body radiation, Wien's displacement law, Stefan's law, the inverse-square law of intensity, and how stellar spectra reveal temperature and composition.
11 min answer →