GCSE to A-level Transition Workbook Wales High School Science Department Name: _________________________________ Moving from GCSE to A-level physics Introduction Welcome to the A-level physics course at Wales High School. You have chosen to study physics at a higher level, and I applaud your decision. You are about to embark on a two-year journey that few people have completed. There’s a good reason for this – physics is not an easy subject. If it was, everybody would have a degree in physics and the world would be a much better place. Over the coming months your eyes will be opened to a new way of looking at the Universe. I hope that this opportunity is not wasted and that you leave our Sixth Form asking even more questions than when you join it. A lifelong passion for physics will stand you in good stead, irrespective of the direction you travel in life. To help you begin this journey you should complete the tasks set out in this workbook. Ensure you bring this completed workbook with you to your first lesson in September. Of particular importance are the suggestions in the final pages of the workbook, entitled “Become a better physicist”. It is my expectation that you will take this advice to heart and do some, if not all, of the things I’ve suggested to help you improve the way you think about physics. I look forward to seeing you in September. Richard Bembridge – Head of A-level Physics Physics transition work 1. Dealing with symbols and SI units One of the highest jumps between GCSE and AS physics is the way things are written down. At AS-level you will be multiple prefix symbol expected to start using standard scientific notation. 1012 tera- T 109 giga- G Standard notation means: 106 mega- M using the conventional symbols for quantities 3 writing all quantities in terms of SI units (Système 10 kilo- k International) 10-3 milli- m writing very large and very small numbers in 10-6 micro- μ standard form (e.g. 10–6 instead of 0.000001) -9 10 nano- n You will need to have memorised the unit prefixes shown in 10-12 pico- p the table on the right – they are used in exams and it is assumed that you know what they mean. Of course people in the real world don’t use standard scientific notation – you don’t see car speedometers with ms-1 scales on them or tyre pressure gauges calibrated in kNm-1. You’ll also encounter non-standard units in the physics course itself – megaparsecs and electronvolts. In the following ten pairs of quantities, underline the quantity which is greater. –2 a. 12 mW or 12 MW f. 22 x 10 Ω or 220 Ω 3 b. 3.0 μs or 3.0 ns g. 300 kg or 3 x 10 kg 6 c. 27 kV or 27 GV h. 121 kN or 0.0121 x 10 N –6 d. 6 pm or 6 μm i. 30 x 10 F or 0.003 pF 9 e. 1024 TW or 1024 GW j. 14000 MHz or 1.4 x 10 Hz When you write out the name of a unit in full it is always written completely in lower case letters. For example: the unit of power is the watt (symbol W). In the box above, next to each question write the full name of the SI unit in the question. Bonus points if you find out why some symbols are written using upper case, for example N, whereas other unit symbols are written using lower case, for example s. You must bring a working scientific calculator to all of your physics lessons and exams. Your calculator has a button that says ENG . Find out what this button does, and why it will be useful to you on your physics course. Describe the function and usefulness in the space below. 2. Dealing with vector quantities You should already know that a quantity like speed only has a size (e.g. 13 ms-1), but there is another type of quantity (called a vector) that has a size and direction, e.g. a velocity of 13 ms-1 to the left. You can represent velocities with arrows – the longer the arrow the greater the size (speed) of the velocity. At AS-level you will become confident with working in more than one dimension, and in order to do this you will need to master vectors. For example, the formula for working out the change in velocity looks simple enough: change in velocity = final velocity - initial velocity However, you can’t just subtract one speed from the other – you have to account for the directions of the two velocities. -1 Example: find the magnitude (size) of the change in velocity if you have an initial velocity of 5 ms to -1 the right and a final velocity of 3 ms downwards. _ = + -1 -1 -1 3 ms 5 ms 3 ms-1 5 ms Δv is the change in velocity. To find this you first reverse the arrow for the initial velocity and then add it (top to tail) to the final velocity. Pythagoras and trigonometry give you the details. = Δv 3 ms-1 Δv2 = 32 + 52 Δv = 5.8 ms-1 θ 5 ms-1 tan θ = 3/5 = 0.6 θ = 31° Have a go at finding the changes in velocity in these two cases: a. initial velocity = 4 ms-1 upwards; final b. initial velocity = 3 ms-1 down; final velocity = 4 ms-1 to the right velocity = 4 ms-1 to the left 3. Dealing with equations One of the biggest problems that students face when moving to A-level is being comfortable and proficient at rearranging formulae. For ‘three-term equations’ like 푭 = 풎풂 or 푽 = 푰푹 it is sometimes useful to teach GCSE students the idea of the ‘formula triangle’. At A-level, however, this will no longer be sufficient. You need to learn how to properly change the subject of a formula since you will meet far more complicated formulae than the simple three-term equations shown above. Remember that the ‘=’ sign in an equation does not mean ‘equals’ – rather it is the ‘equality’ operator. This means that whatever you do to one side of the ‘=’ you must do the same to the other. For example: “Change the subject of the formula 푣 = 푢 + 푎푡 to give 푎” Step 1: subtract 푢 from both sides: 푣 − 푢 = 푎푡 푣−푢 Step 2: divide both sides by 푡: = 푎 푡 Have a go at these (hard) rearrangements: 1 2 2 2 푠 = 푢푡 + 푎푡 푣 = 푢 + 2푎푠 2 Find 푎. Find 푢. (−푡/푅푐) 푦 = 푚푥 + 푐 푉 = 푉0푒 Find 푚. Find 푡. Become a better physicist You have chosen to join us to study physics. The assumption is, then, that you want to become better at physics. The ideas on the following pages will help you with that. 1. Join the Institute of Physics (IOP) Join the Institute of Physics – it is completely free for A-level students, although if you want to receive paper copies of the monthly ‘Physics World’ magazine then there is an annual fee. At the very least you can get a monthly update on the latest physics news, and also read in-depth articles about current cutting-edge physics topics. The direct link is: http://members.iop.org/16-19.asp and in the ‘school details’ section you need to enter the school name: Wales High School Storth Lane Kiveton Park Sheffield S26 5QQ and your teacher name: Mr Bembridge 2. Read books about physics and science It will help you to stand back and see physics in its wider context, and also to look in more detail at some areas of physics that you may currently know very little about. I consider reading the two books in bold below to be the easiest way for you to do this, and they’re something that would be easy to obtain and simple for you to take away with you on holiday. Both books are written at a level that assumes very little about your prior subject knowledge, but reading them will stretch you into areas that go beyond university level. The other books are also highly recommended. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Big Bang: The Most Important Scientific Discovery of All Time and Why You Need to Know About It by Simon Singh A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys by Michael Collins (the Apollo 11 astronaut) 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense: The Most Intriguing Scientific Mysteries of Our Time by Michael Brooks Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman by Richard P Feynman and Ralph Leighton Six Easy Pieces: Fundamentals of Physics Explained by Richard P Feynman (or any other book by the same author) If you don’t want to pay the full price for the books then they can often be found in charity shops, Amazon or eBay (other websites are available). If you don’t want to pay anything remember that your local public library should be able to help you. 3. Watch online video Watch any or all of the “Schools Lecture series” videos made by the Institute of Physics. Don’t be put off by the title – they are all presented by experts in physics at the right kind of level, and the topics covered will really help you understand some of the details of the A- level course.