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Module 1
1.01.3 Analysis graphs and uncertaintiesExperimental physics does not finish when the apparatus is switched off. The readings have to be processed, displayed, and interpreted so that a conclusion follows from the evidence rather than from wishful thinking. In this lesson you will practise the OCR analysis skills behind almost every pra...
1.01.4 Evaluation errors and improvementsEvaluation is the skill of deciding how much trust to place in experimental evidence. In this lesson you will learn how to draw conclusions from data, identify anomalies and limitations, judge precision and accuracy using uncertainties, and suggest improvements that genuinely make an investigatio...
Development of practical skills in physics
Practical skills assessed in a written examination
1.1.1 - Planning experimentsPlanning is the part of practical physics where you decide how an experiment will answer a scientific question before you touch the apparatus. In this course, that means choosing suitable apparatus, identifying variables, applying the relevant physics to the context, and judging whether the metho...
1.1.2 - Implementing experimentsPlanning decides what a practical should do; implementing is where the plan becomes reliable evidence. In this lesson you will learn how OCR expects you to use practical apparatus correctly, record measurements with appropriate units, and present observations or data in a format that another phys...
1.1.3 - Analysing experimental dataExperimental physics does not finish when the apparatus is switched off. The readings have to be processed, displayed, and interpreted so that a conclusion follows from the evidence rather than from wishful thinking. In this lesson you will practise the OCR analysis skills behind almost every pra...
1.1.4 - Evaluating experimentsEvaluation is the skill of deciding how much trust to place in experimental evidence. In this lesson you will learn how to draw conclusions from data, identify anomalies and limitations, judge precision and accuracy using uncertainties, and suggest improvements that genuinely make an investigatio...
Practical skills assessed in the practical endorsement
1.2.1 - Practical endorsement skillsPractical physics is not just a set of demonstrations that happen beside the "real" course. Practical skill is part of the qualification: it supports the written papers and is also assessed directly through the Practical Endorsement. This lesson teaches the broad conduct skills in section 1.2.1:...
1.2.2(a)-(e) - Measurement apparatus and accuracyIn this lesson you learn how the specification expects you to choose and use basic measuring apparatus. The focus is not just naming the instrument: it is reading it properly, reducing avoidable error, and explaining why one method gives a better measurement than another. These skills appear thro...
1.2.2(f)-(j) - Circuits and wave apparatusThis lesson is about using electrical and wave apparatus well enough to collect trustworthy data. These skills can be assessed inside later electricity, waves, superposition and optics questions, so the aim here is practical competence: connect the apparatus correctly, choose sensible ranges, rea...
1.2.2(k)-(l) - ICT, data logging and ionising radiationThis lesson is about using modern practical tools well: data loggers, sensors, software, computer models and radiation detectors. These can be assessed as practical techniques, so the skill is not just naming equipment. You need to explain why a tool is suitable, how to set it up, how to process...
Foundations of physics
Physical quantities and units
2.1.1 - Physical quantitiesPhysics turns observations into quantities that can be compared, calculated with, and checked. In this lesson you will learn what makes a physical quantity complete, why the unit matters as much as the number, and how to make sensible estimates rather than unsupported guesses. This is a small spe...
2.1.2 - SI units, prefixes and graph labelsPhysics answers only communicate clearly when the quantity, number and unit travel together. In this lesson you will use the S.I. base quantities named in this specification, build derived units from them, check whether equations are homogeneous, convert prefixes, and label tables and graph axes...
Making measurements and analysing data
Module 3
3.01.2b Investigating motion and free fallMotion experiments turn a moving object into measurements: distances, times, speeds and accelerations. In this lesson you will compare common laboratory techniques for investigating motion, then use two practical routes to determine the acceleration of free fall, $g$. The physics is familiar, but...
3.04.1 Springs, Hooke's law and force-extension graphsSprings are useful because their deformation can be measured and modelled. In this lesson you will distinguish extension from total length, use Hooke's law in the form F = kx, interpret force-extension graphs, and describe a practical method for investigating springs, wires, rubber bands and poly...
Forces and motion
Motion
3.1.1 - Kinematics and motion graphsMotion is easier to analyse when you can move between words, equations and graphs. In this lesson you will define the main kinematics quantities, interpret displacement-time and velocity-time graphs, and use gradients and areas to extract physical information. These skills are also practical skil...
3.1.2(a)(i) - Constant-acceleration equationsConstant acceleration is one of the most useful ideal models in mechanics. In this lesson you will connect the four constant-acceleration equations to a straight-line velocity-time graph, choose the right equation from the quantities in a problem, and apply the same model to vertical free fall wh...
3.1.2(a)(ii),(b) - Motion and free-fall investigationsMotion experiments turn a moving object into measurements: distances, times, speeds and accelerations. In this lesson you will compare common laboratory techniques for investigating motion, then use two practical routes to determine the acceleration of free fall, \(g\). The physics is familiar, b...
3.1.2(c) - Reaction time and stopping distancesStopping a vehicle is not one instant. There is a short time while the driver responds, then a separate interval while the brakes reduce the vehicle's speed to zero. In this lesson you will connect reaction time, thinking distance, braking distance and stopping distance, and use those ideas in OC...
3.1.3 - Projectile motionProjectile motion is two-dimensional motion where gravity changes the vertical motion while the horizontal motion continues independently. In this lesson you will learn how to split one flight into two simpler one-dimensional motions, choose the right equation for each direction, and recombine th...
Forces in action
3.2.1 - Dynamics and free-body diagramsDynamics links forces to motion. In this lesson you will learn how to model forces on an object, draw free-body diagrams, use F = ma and W = mg, and handle one- and two-dimensional motion when the resultant force is constant. The skill is not just substituting into equations: it is choosing the o...
3.2.2 - Drag and terminal velocityObjects rarely fall exactly like the constant-acceleration examples from earlier kinematics. As soon as an object moves through air, oil, water or any other fluid, it experiences drag, so the resultant force and acceleration change during the motion. In this lesson you will learn how drag changes...
3.2.3(a)-(d) - Moments, couples and centres of massForces can make objects move in a straight line, but they can also make extended objects turn. In this lesson you will learn how to calculate the turning effect of a force, how a couple produces a pure turning effect, and how moments explain the position of an object's centre of gravity. The fina...
3.2.3(e)-(f) - Equilibrium and triangle of forcesEquilibrium is the physics word for a situation where forces do not make an object accelerate and torques do not make it start rotating. In this lesson you will learn the two checks for equilibrium, then use a triangle of forces for three coplanar forces. The aim is to make force diagrams useful:...
Work, energy and power
Materials
Newton's laws of motion and momentum
Electrons, waves and photons
Charge and current
Energy, power and resistance
Electrical circuits
Waves
Quantum physics
Module 5
Newtonian world and astrophysics
Thermal physics
Circular motion
Oscillations
Gravitational fields
Astrophysics and cosmology
Module 6
Particles and medical physics
Capacitors
Electric fields
Electromagnetism
Nuclear and particle physics
Medical imaging