National 4 and National 5 Physics

Course Structure N4 and N5 Physics courses comprise 3 units: Electricity and Energy Dynamics and Space Waves and Radiation Pupils will be awarded at the appropriate level for each successful unit achieved.

Achieving a Course Award at National 5 Requirements All three units passed at National 5. Successful completion of learning outcome 1 – experimental report. Completion of short research report on an aspect of Physics and its impact on the environment or society (LO 2.2 / 2.3). Completion of Course Assignment (20% of final grade) – Extended research project which is externally marked by the SQA. Final external exam in May set by the SQA.

Achieving a Course Award at National 4 Requirements All three units passed at National 4 or National 5. Successful completion of learning outcome 1 – experimental report. Completion of short research report on an aspect of Physics and its impact on the environment or society (LO 2.2 / 2.3). Completion of Added Value Unit – Internally assessed research project. National 4 is assessed as Pass or Fail.

Unit Assessments Pupils sit a unit assessment at the end of each unit, initially at N5 level and subsequently at N4 level should they be unsuccessful at N5 level Pupils will be asked a set of questions for each unit which test ‘Key Areas’ of knowledge and ‘Problem Solving’ ability. At least half the responses to ‘Key Areas’ questions must be correct in order to achieve a pass. There are 4 different types of ‘Problem Solving’ questions. Pupils must correctly answer one of each of the different types of ‘Problem Solving’ questions during the course of the year’s assessments.

LO1 Experimental Report Pupils conduct an investigation in class and complete a scientific report on this investigation A ‘Candidate Guide’ will be issued to help pupils structure their report. (in your pack) Subject to external verification by the SQA.

Short Research Report LO (2.2 / 2.3) Conduct research in a “Key Area” of Physics Produce a short report detailing the application of Physics the impact on either the environment or society. A ‘Candidate Guide’ will be provided to help structure their report. The report is subject to external verification by the SQA.

Course Assignment (N5) Added Value Unit (N4) Pupils are required to undertake approximately 6 hours of research on a specified Physics topic. Pupils will produce a final report under exam conditions based on their research. At N5 this report is externally marked by the SQA and constitutes 20% of the final grade. At N4 this report is internally marked and is subject to external verification by SQA. Pupils will be given a ‘Candidate Guide’ explaining what is required of them and advice on how to structure their report. Assignment information: http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/GAInfoNational5Physics.pdf

National 5 External Exam In May pupils will sit a 2 hour exam paper worth 100 marks. The mark for this exam will be added to the mark for the assignment and the total used to grade the candidate’s pass as A, B, C or D.

National 5 External Exam Structure The question paper will comprise two sections. Section A will contain 20 multiple-choice questions covering all three units Section B will contain extended questions covering all three units and will total 80 marks Specimen question paper: http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/PhysicsSQPN5.pdf

How can you help? Experimental report (LO 1) Short research task (LO2.2/2.3) Course Assignment N5 and Added Value Unit N4 Research assistance Preparation for writing the final report

Work steadily throughout the year and you won’t need luck in the final exam.