Teach Theme B
Teach pages for topics B.1 to B.5
Teach: Particle nature of matter
The big conceptual idea in unit B is that we can account for many of the properties of matter (including thermal properties) by imagining that matter is made of a very, very large number of very, very...
Teach: Specific & latent heat
We saw in the Particles lesson that there is a relationship between energy and the temperature of an object. Now, we will explore how heat will cause an object to change temperature or state.
Teach: Transfer of thermal energy
There are three primary mechanisms for thermal energy transfer: convection, conduction, and radiation. Let's get heated!
Teach: Greenhouse effect
The greenhouse effect is essential to life on earth. After introducing the ideas of albedo and emissivity, we will apply ideas from B.1 to understand energy flows in Earth's atmosphere.
Teach: Gas laws
The ideal gas law is an important application of the kinetic theory of matter and brings together many important concepts. We suggest an experimental approach insofar as possible, with animations/simulations...
Teach: First law
This HL-only sub-topic applies the ideas of heat and work to ideal gases in closed systems. PV diagrams are important, but the star of the show is the first law of thermodynamics.
Teach: Second law
This HL-only topic introduces the first and second laws of thermodynamics, which means working on PV diagrams, discussing the "iso-" processes, and calculating entropy. It's a challenge, so build up a...
Teach: Current and resistance
AimstextConsiderationsThere is the slight problem that students will be dealing with electrons and lattices of atoms without having been introduced to the atomic model so try to keep it simple, no electron...
Teach: The simple circuit
AimstextConsiderationsYou'll need to borrow some acid, zinc and copper from your chemistry department for the simple cell, they call it a Voltaic cell and add a salt bridge. I'm not sure what that does,...
Teach: Component combinations
AimstextConsiderationsYou could do all the circuit building with real components but it would take much longer and require a lot of circuit kits. I don't feel that this would add much extra value to the...
Teach: Kirchhoff's Laws
AimstextConsiderationsThe aim are simple but the topic isn't easy, I always spell Kirchhoff wrong although I think I got it right this time. 2f's and 2h's as for the pronunciation, I wouldn't like to...
Teach: Electrical power
AimstextConsiderationsIt's not obvious that P = VI but when you think of the units Volts JC-1 and Amps Cs-1 it becomes clearer. A good time to refresh the students understanding of the difference between...
Energy production project (teacher)
This activity is designed to take advantage of the "one block a day" timetable we have at the end of term. This means that my students will have physics from 08:30 until 14:30. That's quite along time...