My day job is teacher of physics. Hence I offer a lot of physics related resources for students and teachers. A central place for all of this is a dedicated website: physicshq.wixsite.com/alevelphysicshq
Below are educational resources for A-Level Physics I’ve made. I’ve been adding resources – free and paid – to my TES shop and TPT shop for a few years now but I’m now including them below as well in order to increase the accessibility of the free resources since TES and TPT require an account before downloads are available. Any paid resources below will link to TES, TPT or Gumroad. Any resources below that are marked Lite have a paid equivalent that includes extra material (such as differentiated versions).
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Keynote presentations / slideshows for A-Level physics topics
Keynote is Apple’s presentation software. It can be exported to PowerPoint but I don’t guarantee the output will look and operate in the same way. Keynote is an app available on macOS, iOS and iPadOS for free with most new or new-ish Apple devices. You have my permission to try exporting into PowerPoint for your personal use in teaching your classes.
A simple but beautifully well illustrated set of Keynote slides to help teachers introduce students to common scientific measuring instruments and their preci
Introduce students to handling the most common experimental uncertainties in science measurements (addition/subtraction, multiplication/division and indices). Includes a sample of three exam questions – one for each rule.
Teach students how to use Vernier Calipers and Micrometers. Learning how to use vernier calipers and micrometers is an important part of physics A-Level, and engineering courses.
Teach students how to present science experiment results in tables and graphs. The presentation includes a good table and graph with animated bullet points to draw attention to the good features. A premium version of this activity is available with a worksheet and with an annotated erroneous table/graph.
Explanation of scatter in graphs, error bars, lines of worst acceptable fit, and how these come together to determine uncertainties in gradients and y-intercepts.
Help your students practice recall of graph shapes and features across most physics subject areas (A-level and equivalent). A PDF with blank graph grids and labelled axes for students to draw onto is available with worksheets below. The introduction and solutions are included in the PDF document; printing them is optional.
Four different elastic collisions are presented and students have to apply conservation of momentum and conservation of kinetic energy to the collision to determine the correct outcome. The problems range in difficulty from straightforward to advanced problem solving. Accompanying worksheet is below.
A simple presentation to aid explanation of the role of radiation intensity in the photoelectric effect once the threshold frequency of the metal has been exceeded.
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Worksheets (PDFs)
Worksheet that accompanies the Elastic Collisions slideshow above.
Worksheet that accompanies the Physics Graphs slideshow above.
I designed this worksheet and others in the Graph Skills series to enable students to get practice on specific aspects of graph work.
The second in the Graph Skills series of worksheets. Worksheets 1 and 2 are free downloads, 3 onwards are paid.
A summary activity to enable students to compare the force constant (from Hooke’s Law) with Young’s Modulus in order to appreciate the benefit that Young’s Modulus provides in discussion about material stiffness.
An activity to guide students through the analysis of real planetary data (orbit radius and period) to see if it is consistent with Kepler’s Third Law.
This activity worksheet present students with original data that Hubble analysed and guides them through analysis of the data to deduce the Hubble constant and the age of the Universe.
A summary activity to facilitate students comparing electric and gravitational fields. The nature of the fields, direction, definitions, units, equations (strength, potential and potential energy) paths of objects with mass/charge are included.
An independent activity worksheet for students to recap the main points of electromagnetic induction: the definitions of key quantities magnetic flux and magnetic flux linkage, their unit, definition of the weber, and the circumstances that give rise to an induced e.m.f. in a conductor (wire or coil).
The PDF includes solutions on the second page.
A compilation of extended calculation exam questions (calculations worth 3 or more marks). These are questions that prove challenging to many students. The intention of this compilation is to give students focussed practice on these challenging questions.
The AS collection covers the modules of first year A-level physics.
The second compilation of extended calculation exam questions (calculations worth 3 or more marks).
The A Level collection covers the modules of second year A-level physics.
Bundles
Material science worksheets and slides – material classification, structure, periodicity, metals & polymers – suitable for L3 BTEC applied science, BTEC engineering, and CTEC engineering.
This bundle of resources is available in PDF format. This is a free sample of the upcoming full bundle of resources with presentations available in Keynote¹ and PowerPoint (.pptx) formats and editable worksheets available in Pages² and Word (.docx) formats. The file numbering links slides to worksheets. Please note that there is not a 1:1 ratio of slides to worksheets but the same topics are covered over the entirety of the slides and worksheets.
The full bundle of resources will cover all key topics, in addition to those mentioned above the full bundle will include:
- Elastomers
- Ceramics
- Composites and Smart Materials
- Material Properties
- Standard Forms of Supply
- Material Failure Modes (fracture, fatigue & creep)
- Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
- Alloying and Thermal Equilibrium Diagrams
- Processing Polymers
The presentation slides give an introduction to key topics of materials science relevant to BTEC and CTEC vocational qualifications.
The worksheets are designed to be completed prior to the assessed assignments thus giving tutors the ability to offer feedback on the tasks. The work that learners do in the worksheets can be readily adapted into their assessed assignments. The worksheets in this bundle are printable with space for learners to complete the tasks directly onto the worksheet. The worksheets include links to relevant research sites to guide learners into their research which will be relevant for their assignments. There is space within each task to compile a bibliography of sources as the learners work thus simplifying the process of compiling a full bibliography for the assessed tasks.
The full bundle will be a paid download and will drastically ease the life of all tutors teaching material science on BTEC Engineering (units 25 & 26), CTEC Engineering (unit 11), and BTEC Applied Science (unit 22) courses. It will also give learners the ability to develop their portfolio over the entirety of the course thus simplifying the assignment process.
¹ Keynote is Apple’s presentation software. Keynote is an app available on macOS, iOS and iPadOS for free with most new or new-ish Apple devices.
² Pages is Apple’s word processing and desktop publishing software. Pages is an app available on macOS, iOS and iPadOS for free with most new or new-ish Apple devices.
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| Summary of A-Level Physics for the Uninitiated |
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| Take measurements, present data in tables and graphs, analyse and evaluate data. Know and use SI units and prefixes, convert between units. |
| Explain motion and the role of forces in motion, interpret graphical plots of motion and explain the effect of forces exerted by fluids. |
| Calculate and explain quantities in energy transfers, apply the principles of conservation of energy and momentum and Newton’s Laws of Motion. |
| Explain and calculate the effects of forces on materials using the concepts of Hooke’s Law, stress, strain and Young’s Modulus. |
| Resolve forces, calculate the moments of forces and use the two conditions of equilibrium to solve problems. |
| Design, set up and interpret electrical circuits. Calculate electrical quantities in circuits and explain changes in current, voltage, resistance etc. |
| Explain and calculate progressive wave behaviour. Explain and calculate wave interference depending on phase difference and changing phase relationships for two or multiple sources of waves and standing waves. |
| Explain experimental evidence for the existence of photons and solve problems involving energy transfer by photons. |
| Explain and calculate heat energy transfer in solids, liquids and gases and explain changes to gas properties in terms of molecular behaviour. |
| Explain and calculate the motion of objects moving in circles and oscillating objects, explain resonance and damping. |
| Explain and calculate gravitational effects, state and explain evidence for the expanding Universe and the evolution of stars and the Universe. |
| Explain and calculate the function of capacitors in circuits, and the effect of circuit parameters on the discharge and charge profiles of capacitors. |
| Explain and calculate the behaviour of charged particles in uniform and radial electric and magnetic fields, also explain and calculate electromagnetic effects – motor force and induction. |
| Know a simplified version of the Standard Model of physics, describe and calculate parameters in radioactive transformations. |
| Describe and explain processes involved in X-ray imaging, CAT scans, radionuclide imaging and PET scans. |