• GRAVITY AND MOTION
  • ELECTROMAGNETISM
  • WAVE PARTICLE DUALITY AND QUANTUM THEORY
  • SPECIAL RELATIVITY
  • THE STANDARD MODEL

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Assessment Type and Total Weighting / Task and Content / Task Weighting / Assessment Week
Science Inquiry
There must be at least one experiment, one investigation and one evaluation and analysis completed in this pair of units.
Appropriate strategies should be used to authenticate student achievement on an out-of-class assessment task.
20% / Task 2: Experiment – Simple Pendulum
Students will conduct an experiment to verify relationships between length and time period. The experimental write-up will be assessed along with a validation assessment. / 5% / 1.5
Task 5: Investigation – The efficiency of an electric motor
Students will conduct an investigation to determine the efficiency of an electric motor under different conditions. / 5% / 2.2
Task 9: Investigation – The behaviour of light
Students will conduct a series of short investigations to explore and report on the wave properties of light including reflection, refraction, dispersion, diffraction and polarisation. / 5% / 3.1
Task 11: Evaluation and Analysis – Special relativity and The Standard Model
Students will conduct a series of research tasks over the course of 6 weeks followed by an ‘open book’ assessment of their findings. / 5% / 3.7
Test
Tests typically consist of questions requiring short answers, extended answers and problem solving. This assessment type is conducted in supervised classroom settings.
30% / Task 1: Topic Test (Gravity and Motion)
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content based specifically on projectile motion and gravitational fields. / 2.5% / 1.4
Task 3: Topic Test (Gravity and Motion)
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content based on circular motion and satellite motion. / 2.5% / 1.6
Task 4: Topic Test (Gravity and Motion)
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content based on torque and mechanical equilibrium. / 2.5% / 1.8
Task 6: Topic Test (Electromagnetism)
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content from the electromagnetism topic. / 3.5% / 2.3
Task 7: Topic Test (Electromagnetic Induction)
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content from the electromagnetic induction topic. / 4% / 2.4
Task 10: Topic Test (Atomic Physics, Wave Particle Duality and Quantum Theory)
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content from the wave particle duality and the quantum theory topic. / 7% / 3.3
Task 12: Topic Test (Special Relativity and The Standard Model)
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content from the topics Special Relativity and The Standard Model. / 8% / 3.9
Examination
Examinations require students to demonstrate use of terminology, understanding and application of concepts and knowledge of factual information. It is expected that questions would allow students to respond at their highest level of understanding. Typically conducted at the end of each semester and/or unit. In preparation for Unit 3 and Unit 4, the examination should reflect the examination design brief included in the ATAR Year 12 syllabus for this course. This assessment type is conducted in supervised classroom settings.
50% / Task 8: Semester I Examination
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content from Unit 3; i.e. – from the topics of Gravity & Motion and Electromagnetism. / 20% / 2.6 - 2.7
Task 13: End of Year Examination
The students will answer questions on a representative sample of content from Units 3 and 4; i.e. – from all topics. / 30% / 4.0 - 4.1

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2018 Year 12ATAR Physics Course Assessment Outline Summary

Task / Assessment Type / Week / Weighting
1 / TEST – Projectile motion and gravity / 1.4 / 2.5%
2 / EXPERIMENT – Simple Pendulum to determine ‘g’ / 1.5 / 5%
3 / TEST –Circular motion, satellites / 1.6 / 2.5%
4 / TEST – Torque and equilibrium / 1.8 / 2.5%
5 / INVESTIGATION – Efficiency of an electric motor / 2.2 / 5%
6 / TEST – Electromagnetism / 2.3 / 3.5%
7 / TEST – Electromagnetic induction / 2.4 / 4%
8 / EXAMINATION – Semester 1 / 2.6 – 2.7 / 20%
9 / INVESTIGATION – Behaviour of light / 2.8 / 5%
10 / TEST – Atomic Physics / 3.3 / 7%
11 / EVALUATION & ANALYSIS – The Standard Model / 3.7 / 5%
12 / TEST – Special relativity and The Standard Model / 3.8 / 8%
13 / EXAMINATION – End of Year Examination / Holidays & 4.1 / 30%
TOTAL / 100.0%

The structure and organisation of the syllabus for the Year 12 Physics ATAR Course can be seen in the SCSA document for this course. A copy is available on SEQTA.

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