Physics
It is easy to be left behind in a technological world that is changing fast. A grasp of basic physics provides the necessary understanding that will enable active participation in this dynamic world.
The GCSE Physics Course at AESG, and the Physics component of the Dual Award course, both make full use of the latest applications to make Physics a highly up to date and more relevant subject. It is an exciting time as Physics plays an increasingly important role in our everyday lives. Whether there is a wish to study Physics to a further level or not, the girls acquire a better understanding of the changes that are occurring around them and can participate in an informed way.
In Years 7 and 8, we aim to introduce pupils to a range of new ideas and equipment. The course is divided into topics, where possible including a significant amount of practical work and opportunities to develop their skills. In Year 7 the girls study energy resources, electricity and find out all about our solar system. In Year 8 the topics include sound, light and heat. Year 9 girls start on GCSE work, building on their knowledge of energy.
Fascinating FactsFascinating Facts
All the matter that makes up the human race could fit in a sugar cube
Atoms are 99.9999999999999 per cent empty space. As Tom Stoppard put it: "Make a fist, and if your fist is as big as the nucleus of an atom, then the atom is as big as St Paul's, and if it happens to be a hydrogen atom, then it has a single electron flitting about like a moth in an empty cathedral, now by the dome, now by the altar."
Almost all the Universe is missing
There are probably more than 100 billion galaxies in the cosmos. Each of those galaxies has between 10 million and a trillion stars in it. Our sun, a rather small and feeble star (a “yellow dwarf”), weighs around a billion, billion, billion tons, and most are much bigger. There is an awful lot of visible matter in the Universe. But it only accounts for about two per cent of its mass. We know there is more, because it has gravity. Despite the huge amount of visible matter, it is nowhere near enough to account for the gravitational pull we can see exerted on other galaxies.
Black holes aren’t black
They’re very dark but they aren’t black. They glow, slightly, giving off light across the whole spectrum, including visible light.