Physics 12

Course Details

Overall Curriculum Expectations

By the end of this course the student will:

Scientific Investigation Skills and Career Explorations

• Demonstrate scientific investigation skills (related to both inquiry and research) in the four areas of skills (initiating and planning, performing, and recording, analysing, and interpreting, and communicating).
• Identify and describe careers related to the fields of science under study, and describe the contributions of scientists, including canadians, to those fields.

Dynamics

• Analyse technological devices that apply the principles of the dynamics of motion and assess the technologies’ social and environmental impact.
• Investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, forces involved in uniform circular motion and motion in a plane and solve related problems.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the forces involved in uniform circular motion and motion in a plane.

Energy and Momentum

• Analyse, and propose ways to improve, technologies or procedures that apply principles related to energy and momentum and assess the social and environmental impact of these technologies or procedures.
• Investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, through laboratory inquiry or computer simulation, the relationship between the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of momentum and solve related problems.
• Demonstrate an understanding of work, energy, momentum, and the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of momentum, in one and two dimensions.

Gravitational, Electric, and Magnetic Fields

• Analyse the operation of technologies that use gravitational, electric, or magnetic fields, and assess the technologies’ social and environmental impact.
• Investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields, and solve related problems.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts, properties, principles, and laws related to gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields and their interactions with matter.

The Wave Nature of Light

• Analyse technologies that use the wave nature of light and assess their impact on society and the environment.
• Investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, the properties of waves and light, and solve related problems.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the properties of waves and light in relation to diffraction, refraction, interference, and polarization.

Revolutions in Modern Physics: Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity

• Analyse, with reference to quantum mechanics and relativity, how the introduction of new conceptual models and theories can influence and/or change scientific thought and lead to the development of new technologies.
• Investigate special relativity and quantum mechanics and solve related problems.
  Demonstrate an understanding of the evidence that supports the basic concepts of quantum mechanics and einstein’s theory of special relativity.

Outline of Course Content