H fizzics
26 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingPodcast to support pupils following the SQA Higher Physics course. Episodes contain homework activities, worked homework solutions as short screencast videos and additional materials relevant to the Higher Physics course.
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Episodes
charged particles in magnetic fields
November 25, 2021 09:31These Bitesize pages will help if you need to recap on the basics of magnets. A magnetic field is produced whenever current flows through a wire. The magnetic field is represented by a series of concentric circles around the wire, as shown below. Magnetic field lines around a current carrying wire. image: physick wiki The direction ... Read more
particles in electric fields
November 22, 2021 23:33 - 1 second - 1 Byte application/pdfAn electric field can be used to accelerate charged particles. Conservation of energy tells us that the work done by the field is equal to the change in the particle’s kinetic energy. The speed of the particle can be determined if its charge and the accelerating voltage are known. These notes show how to perform the calculation. ... Read more
fundamental particles: quarks, leptons and the standard model
November 13, 2021 10:21At the end of Our Dynamic Universe, we considered big things like stars, galaxies and the Universe itself. Now the Particles and Waves unit brings us to particles so small we need groups of them just to make a single atom. Is there a connection? Why do we study particles? from mr mackenzie on Vimeo. The Standard Model An elementary ... Read more
dark matter, dark energy and the end of the Universe
November 12, 2021 17:26It’s complicated and cosmologists are not certain. One of the issues is only being able to see about 4% of the mass in the universe – the stars, planets, gas and dust. About 25% of the mass of the universe is Dark Matter. It’s “dark” because it doesn’t emit light that enables us to see ... Read more
evidence supporting the Big Bang model: 3. Olber’s paradox
November 12, 2021 17:23You might remember that we looked at some paradoxes when we studied special relativity earlier this term. Here is another situation where a paradox can arise. The German astronomer Heinrich Olbers (1758–1840) asked why the night sky was dark. At the time, astronomers believed that the Universe was both infinite and steady state (unchanging), so ... Read more
evidence supporting the Big Bang model: 2. nucleosynthesis
November 12, 2021 17:20As we worked through the diagram explaining the stages of the Big Bang model, we looked at a section of the diagram where the Universe was hot enough for nuclear fusion. At this point, hydrogen nuclei were fusing together with other hydrogen nuclei to create helium nuclei. As the Universe expanded, it cooled and further ... Read more
evidence supporting the Big Bang model: 1. CMBR
November 12, 2021 17:16introduction to the Big Bang from mr mackenzie on Vimeo. Georges Lemaître’s theory of an expanding Universe, which has become known as the Big Bang, was supported by Hubble’s observations. The expanding Universe idea was challenged by influential scientists who believed the Universe was both infinite (and therefore not expanding) and steady state (unchanging). Supporters ... Read more
the Universe is bigger than the Milky Way
November 12, 2021 17:14In the 1920s, Edwin Hubble had access to the Hooker telescope on Mount Wilson, Los Angeles. This was the largest telescope in the world at that time. His first breakthrough was the discovery of a cepheid variable star in the Andromeda nebula. This enabled him to calculate the distance to Andromeda and he quickly realised this was ... Read more
redshift
October 26, 2021 21:34The Doppler Effect, which is familiar to us in terms of sound waves, also affects electromagnetic waves. Normally we are talking about light but the same effect would be detected in, for example, microwaves or radio waves. more redshift //www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U4O8XB14tg and Yoker Uni’s video about Doppler and stuff //www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0m6fvbd-wg While redshift can be used to ... Read more
Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity
September 30, 2021 20:27We started our study of Einstein’s special theory of relativity this week. Special relativity is tricky get your head round, so I’ve put together a collection of videos that help to explain the ideas we’re going to consider. Let’s start with a video about the speed of light. The next video follows Einstein’s thought process ... Read more
how will the Universe end?
June 27, 2020 14:26It’s complicated and cosmologists are not certain. One of the issues is only being able to see about 4% of the mass in the universe – the stars, planets, gas and dust. About 25% of the mass of the universe is Dark Matter. It’s “dark” because it doesn’t emit light that enables us to see ... Read more
evidence in support of the big bang: #3 olbers’ paradox
June 23, 2020 20:39You might remember that we looked at some paradoxes when we studied special relativity earlier this term. Here is another situation where a paradox can arise. The German astronomer Heinrich Olbers (1758–1840) asked why the night sky was dark. At the time, astronomers believed that the Universe was both infinite and steady state (unchanging), so ... Read more
evidence in support of the big bang: #2 nucleosynthesis
June 23, 2020 20:27As we worked through the diagram explaining the stages of the Big Bang model, we looked at a section of the diagram where the Universe was hot enough for nuclear fusion. At this point, hydrogen nuclei were fusing together with other hydrogen nuclei to create helium nuclei. As the Universe expanded, it cooled and further ... Read more
evidence in support of the big bang: #1 CMBR
June 23, 2020 20:13introduction to the Big Bang from mr mackenzie on Vimeo. Georges Lemaître’s theory of an expanding Universe, which has become known as the Big Bang, was supported by Hubble’s observations. The expanding Universe idea was challenged by influential scientists who believed the Universe was both infinite (and therefore not expanding) and steady state (unchanging). Supporters ... Read more
the Milky Way is not alone
June 09, 2020 09:39In the 1920s, Edwin Hubble had access to the Hooker telescope on Mount Wilson, Los Angeles. This was the largest telescope in the world at that time. His first breakthrough was the discovery of a cepheid variable star in the Andromeda nebula. This enabled him to calculate the distance to Andromeda and he quickly realised this was ... Read more
evidence that special relativity is real
May 10, 2020 20:11For the past two weeks, we’ve been looking at equations that describe time and distance changing according to speed. It’s been quite heavy on theory and maths with no supporting evidence to suggest Einstein’s ideas were correct. I want to address that lack of evidence by pointing you to some practical work that had been ... Read more
school closure work for Higher class
December 07, 2017 11:40 - 1.47 MB application/pdfWe’ve been looking at the photoelectric effect this week. In this video, Professor Dave reviews some of the points we covered in class. Click on the picture below to download a simulation to investigate the effect of irradiance on frequency on photocurrent. You’ll be prompted to install Java if you don’t have it already. Once ... Read more
higher – ODU unit revision notes
November 07, 2017 22:11 - 4.88 MB application/pdfHere is a link to some revision notes for the Our Dynamic Universe unit.
introducing special relativity…
October 06, 2017 08:15We’ve been looking at Einstein’s special theory of relativity this week. Special relativity is tricky get get your head round. Let’s start with a video about the speed of light. We watched this video in class, it follows Einstein’s thought process as he worked through his special theory of relativity. special relativity from mr mackenzie on ... Read more
H tension HW answers
September 24, 2017 21:05I’ve marked your HW jotters and will hand them back during tomorrow’s lesson. I’ll go over the main issues in class but many of you need to review the way you attempt tension questions; use a free body diagram and only use F=ma when you know the resultant force. These two videos should help. HW ... Read more
higher homework
September 12, 2017 06:57Your homework questions are attached. Please return to me by Wednesday 20th September.
higher ODU revision notes
August 28, 2017 15:44Here are some notes to help you prepare for the assessment later this week. There are also some useful resources on BBC Bitesize.
higher researching physics & assignment
March 12, 2017 16:19As promised, here are the Scholar notes for unit 2 of the CfE Higher course.
higher assignment
February 28, 2017 22:58Your assignment will be based on an optoelectronics topic. You will get some ideas for practical work by downloading this booklet. I have attached a copy of the Scholar notes for unit 3 of the CfE Higher course. You will find background physics with appropriate energy band explanations on pages 103-142. Don’t print this document, ... Read more higher assignment
1996 higher paper
February 28, 2017 20:57Thanks to Mr Ferguson for sharing his copy of the marking instructions for the 1996 Higher paper, it’s the only one I didn’t have! You’ll find a link to his answers on the Higher revision page.
higher particles and waves revision
February 22, 2017 20:08Remember that your unit assessment for P&W will take place at the end of this week. The attached notes might be helpful during your revision.