AS Physics
Taught in this order — Physics-Syllabus-short.tex — Syllabus Overview in Teaching Order (2026–2027)
1Physical quantities and units weeks 1–2 Start unit ›
1.1 Physical quantities all covered 9/9 sheet questions Start ›
Syllabus for this subtopic 2 points
- Magnitude and unit of a physical quantity
- Reasonable estimates of physical quantities
1.2 SI units all covered 11/11 sheet questions Start ›
Syllabus for this subtopic 4 points
- SI base quantities and units: mass, length, time, current, temperature
- Derived units as products and quotients of base units
- Homogeneity of physical equations
- Prefixes and their symbols, pico to tera
1.3 Errors and uncertainties all covered 12/12 sheet questions Start ›
Syllabus for this subtopic 3 points
- Systematic errors, including zero errors, and random errors
- Precision and accuracy
- Uncertainty in a derived quantity by addition of absolute or percentage uncertainties
1.4 Scalars and vectors all covered 12/12 sheet questions Start ›
Syllabus for this subtopic 3 points
- Scalar and vector quantities
- Addition and subtraction of coplanar vectors
- Representing a vector as two perpendicular components
2Kinematics weeks 3–5 Start unit ›
2.1 Equations of motion all covered 11/11 sheet questions Start ›
Syllabus for this subtopic 8 points
- Distance, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration
- Graphical representation of motion
- Displacement from the area under a velocity–time graph
- Velocity and acceleration from the gradients of graphs
- Derivation of the equations of uniformly accelerated motion
- Problems on uniformly accelerated motion, including free fall
- Experiment to determine the acceleration of free fall
- Projectile motion
3Dynamics weeks 6–8 Start unit ›
3.1 Momentum and Newton’s laws of motion all covered 9/9 sheet questions Start ›
- Mass, weight, momentum and the second law Start ›
- Newton's three laws and free-body diagrams Start ›
Syllabus for this subtopic 6 points
- Mass as the property that resists change in motion
- F = ma, with resultant force and acceleration in the same direction
- Linear momentum p = mv
- Force as rate of change of momentum
- Newton's three laws of motion
- Weight as the effect of a gravitational field, W = mg
3.2 Non-uniform motion all covered 10/10 sheet questions Start ›
Syllabus for this subtopic 3 points
- Frictional and viscous or drag forces, including air resistance
- Motion in a uniform gravitational field with air resistance
- Terminal velocity
3.3 Linear momentum and its conservation all covered 9/9 sheet questions Start ›
Syllabus for this subtopic 4 points
- The principle of conservation of momentum
- Elastic and inelastic interactions in one and two dimensions
- Relative speed of approach and of separation in an elastic collision
- Conservation of momentum where kinetic energy changes