AS Level Physics Topics

Key Topics Covered:

• Physical quantities and units
• Kinematics
• Dynamics
• Forces, density, and pressure
• Work, energy, power
• Deformation of solids
• Waves and superposition
• Electricity and DC circuits
• Particle physics

AS Level Exam Structure

• Paper 1: Multiple choice
• Paper 2: Structured questions
• Paper 3: Advanced practical skills (Techniques for these papers will be discussed separately)

Physical Quantities and Units

Overview

• Physical quantities consist of a numerical magnitude and a unit.

Examples

• Length: 6.0 meters (6.0 = numerical magnitude, meters = unit)
• Physical quantities to study: mass, length, time, current, temperature

SI Base Quantities

• Mass: kilogram (kg)
• Length: meter (m)
• Time: second (s)
• Temperature: Kelvin (K)
• Electric current: ampere (A)
• Amount of substance: mole (mol)

Derived Units

• Derived from base quantities through defining equations

Examples

• Density: mass per unit volume (kg/m³)
• Acceleration: change in velocity over time (m/s²)
• Force: mass × acceleration (kg·m/s²)
• Power: rate of work done (kg·m²/s³)
• Pressure: force over area (kg/m·s²)
• Resistance: (kg·m²/s³·A²)

Dimensionless Constants

• Quantities with no units

Examples

• Refractive index: ratio of sine of angle of incidence to sine of angle of refraction
• Strain: extension over original length
• Other examples: π, real numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)

Exam Question Example

• Speed of sound in a gas: V = √(γP/ρ)
• SI Base units of γ: derived after manipulating the given equation.