Edexcel AS Level Physics Tutors Online

Edexcel AS Level Physics is code 8PH0, and its full title is the Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Physics. First teaching was September 2015 and first certification was 2016. This page works from Issue 2, dated March 2016.

The qualification is two externally examined papers and nothing else. There is no coursework, no practical endorsement and no non-examined assessment. Each paper is worth 50% of the total qualification, each runs for 1 hour 30 minutes, and each carries 80 marks. Both are available in May and June only, and the specification requires both assessments in May and June in any single year, so the papers cannot be split across two summers.

The first thing that makes this specification different is that the content is written twice. There is a concept-led approach, which begins with the laws, theories and models of physics and then explores their practical applications. There is also a Salters Horners context-led approach, based on the Salters Horners Advanced Physics Project, which begins with situations and applications that draw on one or more areas of physics and then moves to the underlying laws, theories and models.

Both routes lead to the same papers. The specification says the approaches can be mixed to allow variety in course delivery, that teachers may select whichever suits their students, and that the different approaches lead to the same common assessment papers. So the route a school chooses changes the order of the teaching, not the examination.

Each paper has two sections, and the sections are weighted the same on both. Section A carries most of the paper and assesses the listed topics, and Section B carries the rest and draws on topics from the whole specification.

Paper 1 is Core Physics I, code 8PH0/01. On the concept route its Section A topics are Working as a Physicist, Mechanics and Electric Circuits. On the Salters Horners route they are Working as a Physicist, Higher Faster Stronger, Technology in Space excluding items 70 and 92 to 95, and Digging up the Past excluding items 83 to 87. Its Section B contains a data analysis question, possibly within an experimental context.

Paper 2 is Core Physics II, code 8PH0/02. On the concept route its Section A topics are Working as a Physicist, Materials and Waves and Particle Nature of Light. On the Salters Horners route they are Working as a Physicist, The Sound of Music, Good Enough to Eat, Technology in Space using only items 70 and 92 to 95, Digging up the Past using only items 83 to 87, and Spare-part Surgery. Its Section B is built around a short article.

Two details in that are worth pausing on. First, Working as a Physicist is examined on both papers, so it is never finished after the first sitting. Second, the two shared Salters Horners topics are split between the papers by item number: Technology in Space is examined on Paper 1 apart from items 70 and 92 to 95 and on Paper 2 for those items only, and Digging up the Past follows the same pattern with items 83 to 87.

So Section B is not the same task twice. On Paper 1 it is a data analysis question, which rewards handling numbers, units and uncertainty. On Paper 2 it is a short article, which rewards reading prose and pulling physics out of it. A student who is comfortable with one is not automatically comfortable with the other, and both are worth a real share of the paper.

Practical work is central and it is examined rather than endorsed. The specification includes 8 core practical activities, and it states that core practicals will be assessed in the examination. The eight are determining the acceleration of a freely-falling object, determining the electrical resistivity of a material, and determining the e.m.f. and internal resistance of an electrical cell. Then using a falling-ball method to determine the viscosity of a liquid, and determining the Young modulus of a material. Then determining the speed of sound in air using a 2-beam oscilloscope, signal generator, speaker and microphone, investigating the effects of length, tension and mass per unit length on the frequency of a vibrating string or wire, and determining the wavelength of light from a laser or other light source using a diffraction grating.

The reference material is unusually generous, and it changes how a student should revise. The formulae sheet states that students need not memorise formulae for this qualification, that the formulae listed will be supplied in each examination, and that any other formulae required will be provided in the question. The data sheet states that the values of the constants will be provided in each examination paper. So the skill being tested is choosing and applying a relationship, not recalling it.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures, is 35 to 37 per cent. AO2, apply knowledge and understanding in a theoretical context, in a practical context, and when handling qualitative and quantitative data, is 41 to 43 per cent. AO3, analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence to make judgements and reach conclusions and to develop and refine practical design and procedures, is 20 to 23 per cent. Both papers carry an identical split of 17 to 19 per cent AO1, 20 to 22 per cent AO2 and 10 to 12 per cent AO3.

Mathematics is where this qualification is most demanding numerically. The specification states that a minimum of 40% of the marks across both papers will be awarded for mathematics at level 2 or above, with the skills listed in Appendix 6 on mathematical skills and exemplifications. Four tenths of the qualification is mathematical, so the algebra, the graph work and the handling of units are the substance of the course rather than an add-on.

Students are also expected to apply their knowledge and understanding to familiar and unfamiliar contexts, which is the line that separates a student who has learned the standard questions from one who can use the physics.

The qualification is graded on a five-grade scale from A to E using the total subject mark, and individual papers are not graded. Students below the minimum judged by Pearson to be of sufficient standard receive an unclassified U result. The qualification number is 601/4847/0.