LEVEL: Stage 2
SACE Credits: 20 credits
LENGTH: Full Year
Recommended background: Students must have successfully completed Physics A & B at Stage 1 and have the recommendation of their Stage 1 Physics teacher.
It is further recommended that students have successfully completed Stage 1 Mathematical Methods and are studying Stage 2 Mathematics.
Content:
The study of Physics is constructed around using qualitative and quantitative models, laws, and theories to better understand matter, forces, energy, and the interaction among them. Physics seeks to explain natural phenomena, from the subatomic world to the macrocosmos, and to make predictions about them. The models, laws, and theories in physics are based on evidence obtained from observations, measurements, and active experimentation over thousands of years.
By studying physics, students understand how new evidence can lead to the refinement of existing models and theories and to the development of different, more complex ideas, technologies, and innovations.
Stage 2 Physics is organised into three topics:
Topic 1: Motion and Relativity
Topic 2: Electricity and Magnetism
Topic 3: Light and Atoms
Assessment:
Students’ performance will be determined according to the subject’s Performance Standards, as outlined by the SACE Board. Grades A+ to E- will be used for reporting purposes.
Students demonstrate their learning in Stage 2 Physics through eight assessments, comprising:
School Assessment (70%)
Assessment Type 1: Investigations Folio (30%)
- Two practical investigations
- One investigation with a focus on science as a human endeavour
Assessment Type 2: Skills and Applications Tasks (40%)
- Four skills and applications tasks
Assessment Type 3: Examination (30%)
- One examination.
Special Requirements: Students are required to have a scientific or graphics calculator and a protractor.