11–12Physics 11–12 Syllabus (2025)

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Implementation from 2027

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Year 11

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Electricity and magnetism

PY-11-03
explains electric and magnetic field interactions

Related Life Skills content for Stage 6

Electricity and magnetism

Relevant Working scientifically outcomes and content must be integrated with each focus area. All the Working scientifically outcomes and content must be addressed by the end of Year 12.

Electrostatics

Explain the role of the movement of electrons in charging particles and objects
Explain how friction, induction and conduction can cause objects to become electrically charged
Outline characteristics of an electric field surrounding a point charge
Explain the role of static electricity in producing a lightning strike
Use the equation $E = \frac{1}{4 π ε_{0}} \frac{q}{r^{2}}$ to demonstrate that the electric field strength around a point charge follows the inverse square law
Use field line diagrams to describe the electric field around point charges and between charged particles
Solve problems involving charges in electric fields using $\vec{F} = q \vec{E}$
Analyse the factors that affect the force between 2 charged particles using the electrostatic force law and $F = \frac{1}{4 π ε_{0}} \frac{q_{1} q_{2}}{r^{2}}$
Use field line diagrams to describe the electric field between 2 charged parallel plates
Analyse the factors that affect the strength of the electric field between 2 charged parallel plates using $E = \frac{V}{d}$
Solve problems relating to the charged particles in electric fields using $\vec{F} = q \vec{E}$ , $E = \frac{V}{d}$ , ${\vec{F}}_{net} = m \vec{a}$ and $W = Δ KE$
Explain how the electric potential energy of a charged particle changes due to its position in an electric field
Solve problems involving changes in electric potential energy in a uniform electric field using $W = qV = qEd$ and $W = Δ KE$
Account for the energy transformations that occur when a charge moves in a uniform electric field
Solve problems involving the work done when moving a charge in an electric field using the relationships between $W$ , $Δ U$ and $Δ KE$
Analyse the relationships between voltage, potential energy difference and work when changing the position of a charge in a uniform electric field using $V = \frac{Δ U}{q}$
Solve problems relating to changes in position of charges in electric fields using $W = qV$

Electric circuits

Calculate electric current using $I = \frac{q}{t}$
Relate the flow of charge to the direction of conventional current
Explain why electrons flow through a metallic conductor when connected to an external voltage
Compare direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC)
Relate voltage to electron flow in a circuit of constant resistance
Explain why the resistance of a conductor can be affected by its material, length, cross-sectional area and temperature
Analyse the relationships between voltage, current and resistance using $V = IR$ for electric circuits having constant and variable resistance
Conduct a laboratory experiment to examine the relationships between voltage and current for ohmic conductors and non-ohmic conductors
Relate power to energy transformations
Solve problems using $P = \frac{W}{Δ t} = \frac{Δ E}{Δ t}$
Describe the relationship between power and voltage using $P = VI$
Solve problems relating to energy loss in circuits using $P = I^{2} R$ and the law of conservation of energy
Compare the connection of components in series circuits with that in parallel circuits
Construct and analyse diagrams of series circuits and parallel circuits
Explain why ammeters are connected in series, and voltmeters are connected in parallel to components, in electric circuits
Account for the magnitude of current at any point in a series circuit
Account for the total voltage of a series circuit being the sum of the voltages of its components using conservation of energy and $V_{series} = V_{1} + V_{2} + \dots + V_{n}$
Account for the total resistance of a series circuit being the sum of the resistances of its components using $R_{series} = R_{1} + R_{2} + \dots + R_{n}$
Use the relationship between the total resistance and resistance in each branch of a parallel circuit, $\frac{1}{R_{parallel}} = \frac{1}{R_{1}} + \frac{1}{R_{2}} + \dots + \frac{1}{R_{n}}$ to calculate resistances
Explain the relationship between the total current of a parallel circuit and the current passing through each component using $I_{parallel} = I_{1} + I_{2} + \dots + I_{n}$
Solve problems involving voltage, current and resistance, in series, parallel and combination circuits
Conduct a laboratory experiment to measure the voltage differences across components and current at different points in a combination circuit of fixed resistance, and account for variation from the calculated values

Magnetism

Identify that magnetic field lines are continuous and used to represent the strength and direction of magnetic fields
Use field line diagrams to analyse the magnetic field around a bar magnet, current-carrying wire and current-carrying loop
Calculate the strength of the magnetic field produced by a current-carrying wire using $B = \frac{μ_{0} I}{2 πr}$
Describe the structure of a simple solenoid
Account for the shape and direction of the magnetic field produced by a direct current passing through a solenoid
Calculate the strength of the uniform magnetic field inside a solenoid using $B = \frac{μ_{0} NI}{L}$
Conduct a secondary-source investigation to assess the choice of materials used in the core of electromagnets
Conduct a practical investigation to examine the factors affecting the strength of an electromagnet

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Year 12

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11–12Physics 11–12 Syllabus (2025)

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