PHYSICS Queens College

The Physics department aims to make Physics an enjoyable subject for all those who study it, incorporating as much practical work at all levels and with as many unusual experiments as possible.

Physics is housed in a purpose-built laboratory block with three labs, a preparation room and an ICT suite. The department has an outstanding stock of modern apparatus including an electron diffraction tube, many oscilloscopes including a Digital storage oscilloscope module, radioactivity apparatus, data logging equipment with accurate sensors and both a 90mm refracting telescope and a 6” reflecting telescope.

As an A-Level student, you will study the AQA course, which lays the foundations for courses at university. The course is linear with the content split across the two years and examined at the end of the second year. In the first year, there are topics on measurements and their errors, particles and radiation, waves, mechanics and materials and electricity. In the second year, topics include further mechanics and thermal physics, fields and their consequences, nuclear physics and astrophysics. Throughout the two years, students complete twelve compulsory pieces of practical work which are internally assessed to achieve the Practical Endorsement element of the A level.