Length: Full Year

Recommended background: It is highly recommended that students successfully complete two semesters of Stage 1 Physics

Content:

The topics in Stage 2 Physics (20 credits) provide the framework for developing integrated programs of learning through which students extend their skills, knowledge, and understanding of the three strands of science.

The three strands of science to be integrated throughout student learning are:

• science inquiry skills
• science as a human endeavour
• science understanding

The topics for Stage 2 Physics are:

• Topic 1: Motion and relativity
• Topic 2: Electricity and magnetism
• Topic 3: Light and atoms

Students study all three topics. The topics can be sequenced and structured to suit individual groups of students.

Leads to: Careers in Engineering, Physical Sciences, Surveying

Assessment:

The following assessment types enable students to demonstrate their learning in Stage 2 Physics:

• School-based assessment (70%): Assessment Type 1: Investigations Folio (30%), Assessment Type 2: Skills and Applications Tasks (40%)
• External assessment (30%): Assessment Type 3: Examination (30%)

Students provide evidence of their learning through eight assessments, including the external assessment component. Students complete:

• at least two practical investigations
• one investigation with a focus on science as a human endeavour
• at least three skills and applications tasks
• one examination

At least one investigation or skills and applications task should involve collaborative work.

At the student’s completion of study of each school assessment type, the teacher makes a decision about the quality of the student’s learning by:

• referring to the performance standards
• assigning a grade between A+ and E- for the assessment

The student’s school assessment and external assessment are combined for a final result, which is reported as a grade between A+ and E-.