GCSE Physics

energy

The currency of the physical world. Work explores how energy is transferred — by heating, by current, by work done — and how we measure the rate as power. The focus then turns to temperature change and insulation, before the central idea: energy is never lost, only stored, dissipated or usefully transferred, and efficiency measures how well we manage it.

electricity

From a spark of static to the flow of current. Work explores how materials become charged and the fields between them, then the core concepts of current, resistance and potential difference — and how components behave in series and parallel, where Ohm’s law applies, and where diodes, thermistors and LDRs break the rule.

Matter, understood through its particles. Work explores specific heat capacity and why water stores so much energy, the latent heat hidden in changes of state, and how the particle model explains it all — before turning to gases, where heating, pressure and volume are bound together.

Inside the nucleus. Work explores what defines an element, how isotopes differ, and why some atoms are unstable — then the transformations of radioactive decay, fission and fusion, the uses of radiation in medicine and beyond, and how nuclear equations capture it all.

Science lessons are focussed on Chemistry and Physics this term.

forces

What sets the world in motion. Work explores acceleration, velocity and momentum, how safety features like seatbelts and airbags reduce the forces in a crash, the pressure within fluids, and why all objects fall at the same rate — until air resistance brings them to terminal velocity.

Energy on the move. Work explores the electromagnetic spectrum — transverse waves that reflect and refract — how we measure speed, wavelength and frequency, and the invisible waves beyond the visible. The focus then turns to ultrasound and seismic waves revealing hidden structures, and to lenses and the images they form.

Where electricity and magnetism meet. Work explores how motors turn magnetic force into motion, how generators reverse the process to induce a current, and how transformers raise and lower voltage — making it possible to move energy across the national grid with minimal loss.

The physics of the cosmos. Work explores the Solar System and the life cycle of stars, the orbits held by gravity, and the expanding Universe — where red-shift offers evidence for the Big Bang, and dark matter and dark energy mark the edge of what we understand.

energy

The foundations, revisited for mastery. Work consolidates energy stores and transfers, power and efficiency, specific heat capacity and insulation, and the distinction between renewable and non-renewable energy resources and their impact on the environment.

Circuits and current, in full. Work consolidates current, potential difference and resistance, series and parallel circuits, Ohm’s law and its conditions, domestic electricity and safety, energy and power — and the national grid, transformers, static and electric fields.

Matter and its particles, in depth. Work consolidates density and the particle model, changes of state, internal energy, specific heat capacity and latent heat — before the gas laws linking the temperature, pressure and volume of a fixed mass of gas.

Inside the nucleus, in depth. Work consolidates atoms, isotopes and the changing models of the atom, then explores radioactive decay, half-life and decay equations — before turning to contamination and irradiation, safe handling, the hazards and uses of radiation, and the energy released through fission and fusion.

The final stretch. Revision is active: core concepts revisited, past papers practised, exam technique sharpened — turning three years of physics into confident, exam-ready understanding.