Course Content

Unit 1: Telecommunication

The purpose of this Unit is to assist pupils to gain understanding of the physical principles which underlie the rapidly developing area of information technology. Among the aspects studied are radio and television reception, communication satellites and the use of fibre optics for transmitting information.

S3 Telecommunications 1

S3 Telecommunications 2

S3 Telecommunications 3

Telecomms Millionaire

Unit 2: Using Electricity

This Unit allows pupils to gain a knowledge and understanding of the principles behind the electrical and electronic devices which they encounter in their everyday lives. Since these principles are developed further in later Units, the emphasis in this Unit is on providing a sound foundation of electrical circuit theory.

SG Electricity part 1

SG Electricity part 2

SG Electricity part 3

Unit 3: Health Physics

It is hoped that an awareness of the beneficial and caring face of physics will balance the negative view that physics only relates to the production of weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, this Unit is especially important as a preparation for life as it introduces pupils to the uses of ultrasonics, optics, electronics and radioactivity in medical care.

Health Physics part 1

Health Physics part 2

Health Physics part 3

Health Physics part 4

Unit 4: Electronics

Developments in the field of microelectronics have revolutionised the structure of commerce and industry. This Unit attempts to familiarise pupils with developments in both digital and analogue electronics and provides further applications of the circuit theory developed in Unit 2. The associated practical activities allow pupils to investigate what "chips" can do and to recognise how they can be linked together as elements in a total system. Theoretical aspects of solid state physics are not considered appropriate at this level.

Electronics part 1

Electronics part 2

Electronics part 3

Unit 5: Transport

This Unit is similar in nature to Unit 2 in that it introduces fundamental concepts which can be developed further in later Units. The main aim is to provide a grounding in key concepts of mechanics and to relate these to everyday aspects of travel such as the use of seat belts and the stopping distances of vehicles.

S4 Transport 1

S4 Transport 2

S4 Transport 3

Transport millionaire



Unit 6: Energy Matters

The provision of an adequate supply of energy and its careful husbanding is one of the most important problems facing a modern, highly-industrialised society. This Unit enables pupils to study energy supply and demand, the generation of electricity and the physical principles involved in conservation, especially in the domestic environment.

S4 Energy Matters part 1

S4 Energy Matters part 2

S4 Energy Matters part 3

S4 Energy Matters part 4

S4 Energy Matters part 5  

 

Unit 7: Space Physics

This final Unit endeavours to instil in pupils a sense of wonder about the vastness of the Universe and to develop an appreciation of the ways in which knowledge has been obtained about the constitution of stars. Our trips into near space provide a context in which to consider the physical basis of space travel.

SG Space Physics part 1

SG Space Physics part 2