Physics

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OCR (Specification A)

J Owen
M Williams

The study of physics is, of itself, a valuable use of time but it also opens doors to many possible careers such as electronics, computing, all branches of engineering and design, ophthalmology, architecture, geology, geography, materials science, medicine, veterinary science, law – the list goes on.

Students will study areas of physics with which they are familiar but at increased depth and with more emphasis on the application of physics to the physical world.  There is more scope for individual practical work and problem solving at this level.  Ideas introduced at GCSE level will be expanded on in greater detail as well as new areas of study opened up. (At the end of the physics course students will be able to explain why atoms are the size they are and how grasshoppers are able to emit ultrasound from their legs.)

There is a short assessed piece of coursework and a practical exam to test practical skills.  Topics within the AS course include forces and motion, electrons and photons and waves. These topics are examined in 3 modules. At A2 the course develops many of the ideas met at AS in the forces, fields and energy module. Students also study either cosmology or nuclear physics in the second module. The third module contains the practical exam and a synoptic paper which examines all the ideas the students have met in the course.   Although it is not necessary for students to be studying A/S Maths, they will need to be competent in higher level GCSE otherwise they will have problems understanding and applying the equations during problem solving.

Further details of the content and the structure of the course are available from your physics teacher who will be happy to discuss sixth form physics with you. 

This table gives the AS and A2 results for the course in the first two years of its operation.

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