Physics Department   The Physics department oversees the delivery of modules and courses designed to give students an understanding of the physical world around them. The course material includes: forces and motion, electricity and magnetism, light and sound, and, at senior levels, modern physics. Emphasis is placed on the balance between theoretical understanding, practical work, and the development of research, data processing and communication skills.   In the junior school and at Year 11, Physics is taught by science department teachers as an integrated part of the science course. In Years 12 and 13, specialist teachers deliver both the NCEA syllabus and the International Baccalaureate (IB) syllabus.   Junior Science:   Year 7 and 8 students are taught by science department teachers in science laboratories. The physical world content taught at this level includes electricity, forces and motion.   In Year 8, students develop skills in weather monitoring using the school’s weather station. Students collect data on air temperature, maximum and minimum temperature over a 24 hour period, daily rainfall and cloud observations. Measurements of relative humidity, soil temperature and the GPS location of the weather station are soon to be added to this program. Data is collected and processed using the Globe protocol (http://www.globe.gov).   Year 9 and 10 students cover sound and light, motion, electricity, forces, energy and machines. This material is delivered by science teachers as an integrated part of the junior science curriculum.   Senior Physics:   At Year 11, Physics is taught as an integrated part of the Level 1 NCEA Science course. This program is Achievement-Standard based, and prepares students for the internally-assessed practical investigation and the external exams at the end of the year. Physics content at this level includes mechanics (forces and motion), heat and electricity.   At Years 12 and 13 students have the choice of following either the NCEA or the IB syllabus. Both syllabi involve a combination of theory, practical work, and the development of data processing and graphing skills.     Major topics covered in the NCEA syllabus are: Level 2 (Year 12): ?     measurement practical – with a focus on data collection and processing ?     wave phenomena – including light, sound, reflection and refraction ?     mechanics – including velocity, acceleration, circular motion, forces and energy ?     electromagnetic phenomena – including electrostatics and circuit components ?     modern physics – including nuclear reactions.   Level 3 (Year 13): ?     practical research – with a focus on research design, data collection, and processing errors and uncertainty ?     wave phenomena – including sound, harmonics, light, diffraction and interference ?     mechanics – with a particular focus on rotational motion ?     electromagnetic phenomena – including capacitors and inductors in AC and DC circuits ?     modern physics – including quantisation of light, the photoelectric effect and the structure of the atom.   The IB syllabus has a much greater focus on student-led learning, fostering initiative and independent study skills and preparing students for Tertiary education. Part of the practical requirement of the course is the Group 4 Project – a collaborative research project incorporating planning, team-work, 15 hours of practical work, and the presentation of research findings. In the past this project has been done at the Marine Studies Centre in Portobello, where students benefit from the use of their educational laboratories, research vessel and assistance from PhD students.   Useful Internet Links:   Globe:  http://www.globe.gov Marine Studies Centre:  http://www.marine.ac.nz NZQA site for information on NCEA:  http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/index.html TKI site for information on NCEA:  http://www.tki.org.nz/e/community/ncea/ OCC site for information on IB:  http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/occ/guest/home.cfm Victoria University Physics Resources:  http://www.vuw.ac.nz/scps-demos/index.html   Important Dates:   NCEA Level 1 Science                        20th of November, pm NCEA Level 2 Physics                        25th of November, pm NCEA Level 3 Physics                        25th of November, am Scholarship Physics                            29th of November, am   IB Internal Portfolio Due                       19th of September IB Papers 1&2                                      4th of November, pm IB Paper 3                                             5th of November, am