A Level Physics

Course summary

Physics is the study of the natural world. It deals with the fundamental particles of which the universe is made, and the interactions between those particles, the objects composed of them (nuclei, atoms, molecules) and energy. Physics is the science of Nature - of matter and energy in space and time. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena covering enormous scales: from the subatomic particles to the Universe as a whole. All laws and forces of nature originate from mathematical symmetries of space and time, so modern physics currently focuses on studying these symmetries. Physics is very dependent on mathematics. Models and theories in physics are expressed using mathematical equations. However, while physics uses mathematics to describe the material world, mathematics may deal with strictly abstract concepts and patterns. There is a large overlap between the two fields, known as mathematical physics. Skills you will pick up include: • Communication and presentation skills • Computational and data-processing skills • Data analysis using a range of appropriate statistical methods and packages • Identify and predict trends and patterns • Problem solving skills • Report writing • Research skills.