Edexcel A-Level Physics Overview

Particle Physics

• Hadrons and Leptons

  • Leptons: Fundamental particles like the electron, muon, and neutrino.
    • Electron and Muon neutrinos have separate lepton numbers.
  • Hadrons: Composed of baryons and mesons.
    • Baryons: Made of three quarks.
    • Mesons: Quark-antiquark pairs.

• Quarks

  • Three flavors: Up, Down, and Strange.
  • Charges: Up (+2/3), Down, and Strange (-1/3).
  • Strangeness: Strange quarks have strangeness -1.

• Particles and Forces

  • Electromagnetic Force: Exchange particle is the photon.
  • Weak Force: Exchange particles are W+/W- and Z0 bosons.
  • Strong Force: Acts on hadrons, exchange particle is the gluon or pion.

Nuclear Reactions and Radiation

• Alpha Decay: Emission of 2 protons and 2 neutrons (alpha particle).
• Beta Decay: A neutron turns into a proton, emits an electron (beta particle).
• Gamma Radiation: Emission of high-energy photons from the nucleus.

Electricity and Circuits

• Basic Concepts

  • Current, voltage (PD), and resistance.
  • Ohm's Law: (V = IR)
  • Series and Parallel Circuits: Different rules for current and voltage distribution.

• Potential Difference and Current

  • PD measures energy per coulomb of charge.
  • Current is the flow of charge per second.

• Resistors and Components

  • Ohmic behavior: Constant resistance.
  • Non-ohmic components: Resistance changes with voltage.

• Electric Fields and Capacitors

  • Electric Fields: Uniform and radial fields, field strength (E = V/d).
  • Capacitors: Store charge and energy; charging and discharging profiles.

Waves and Optics

• Wave Properties

  • Types: Transverse and Longitudinal.
  • Wave equation: (v = f\lambda).

• Refraction and Lenses

  • Snell's Law: (n_1 \sin \theta_1 = n_2 \sin \theta_2).
  • Converging and diverging lenses, focal points.

Quantum Physics

• Photoelectric Effect: Light as particles; energy quantized in photons.
• Wave-Particle Duality: Electrons exhibit diffraction patterns.
• Energy Levels: Electrons absorb/emission spectra.

Mechanics

• Forces and Dynamics

  • Newton's Laws of Motion.
  • Momentum: Conservation in collisions and explosions.

• Circular Motion

  • Centripetal force and acceleration.
  • Angular velocity and its relation to frequency.

Thermodynamics

• Heat and Temperature
  • Specific heat capacity and latent heat.
  • Gas laws: Ideal gas law and assumptions.

Astrophysics

• Star Life Cycle
  • Stellar evolution from nebula to black hole.
• Cosmology
  • Big Bang Theory and evidence, including redshift and CMBR.

Practical Skills

• Measurements and Errors
  • Importance of accuracy, precision, and uncertainty.
  • Techniques to minimize errors in experimental setups.