Physics

In this course students acquire a solid foundation in physics, geared to prepare them for further studies in natural and engineering sciences and for professional needs in general. The focus is on both theoretical lessons following an international curriculum of core topics and a practical approach through experimental work (the ‘scientific investigation’). In lab lessons students learn to apply scientific methods: research questions are provided by the teacher or formulated by the students themselves, strategies are designed to solve the problem, data is collected and processed, and finally students state a conclusion and evaluate the procedure for weaknesses and possible improvements.

In the interdisciplinary Group 4 Collaborative Sciences Project, students from different subjects cooperate in a collective investigation and gain practical experience of communication and collaboration as essential elements of a successful scientific endeavour. Students writing their Extended Essay in physics set themselves an ambitious task requiring a profound body of knowledge, methods and techniques. Throughout the course, students make use of up-to-date information and communication technologies.

As we tailor the course to the needs of our respective student body, the sequence of topics and the selection of options may vary:

• A – Space, time and motion
• B – The particulate nature of matter
• C – Wave behaviour
• D – Fields
• E – Nuclear and quantum physics
• Group 4 Collaborative Sciences Project
• Scientific investigation

Previous knowledge: profound basic knowledge of physics is a prerequisite for successful completion of this two-year IB course. This roughly translates into school years 5–11 in the German syllabus, or physics studies comparable to the GCSE or at least a pre-IB year.

Semester grades and predicted grade: mock exams are assigned by the teacher and focus on the topics of the corresponding semester; extended exam papers in year 2 test all topics taught. Classroom participation, commitment during experiments, presentations and short tests all contribute to the semester grade. The exams and individual semester grades translate into the final predicted grade, which may be used for university applications prior to receiving the actual final grade.

Final grade: the external assessment consists of two written papers. Paper 1 covers multiple-choice questions testing core knowledge and data-based questions; Paper 2 consists of short and extended response questions testing core knowledge. Internal assessment consists of the interdisciplinary Group 4 project and of short- and long-term investigations such as practicals (labs) and other subject-specific projects, internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB.