PHYSICS CURRICULUM FOR SENIOR SECONDARY 1

SS1 TOPICS:

FUNDAMENTAL QUANTITIES AND DERIVED QUANTITIES

·         Definition of fundamental quantities

·         Definition of  derived quantities

·         Units of fundamental quantities e.g metre, second, kilogram, Kelvin, mol, etc

·         Units of derived quantities e.g m/s,m^3,m^2, kg/m^3,Km, etc

POSITION, DISTANCE AND TIME

·         Definition of distance, position and displacement

·         Measurement of distance, and displacement and instruments used

·         Location of point using rectangular coordinate system

TIME:

·         Definition/Concept of time

·         Unit of time

·         Instruments for measuring time

 MOTION :

·         Definition of motion

·         Causes of motion

·         Types of motion and their examples:

·         Random motion; circular motion; rotational motion; oscillatory motion; translational

·         motion; spin motion; linear motion; relative motion

FORCE:

·         Concept of force

·         Effect of force

·         Types of force : Contact force and field force,and friction force

·         Examples of each type of force

·         Definition of friction force

·         Laws of solid friction force

·         Formula for calculating friction force : F = R

·         where F is friction force; R is normal reaction; Π is coefficient of friction

·         Advantages of friction force

·         Disadvantages of friction force

·         Methods of reducing/eliminating friction force

CIRCULAR MOTION:

·         Concept of circular motion

·         Demonstration of circular motion in a vertical/horizontal circle

·         Differences between angular speed / velocity and linear speed / velocity

·         Relation between linear velocity and angular velocity

·         Relation between linear acceleration and angular acceleration

·         Application of the relations

·         Centripetal force and centrifugal force

·         Definition  of centripetal and centrifugal force

·         Formula for calculating centripetal and centrifugal force

·         Advantages and disadvantages of centripetal force and centrifugal force

SPEED AND VELOCITY:

·         Definition of speed and velocity

·         Units of speed and velocity

·         Formula for calculating speed and velocity

·         Application of the formula to solving problems

·         Distance -time graph / displacement - time graph

·         Slope of distance -time graph

·         Area of distance - time graph

·         Application of distance-time graph in solving problems

 RECTILINEAR ACCELERATION:

·         Definition of acceleration and unit

·         Definition of uniform and nonuniform acceleration

·         Formula for calculating acceleration

·         Application of formula to solving problems

·         Velocity-time graph

·         Solving problems from velocity-time graph

SCALARS AND VECTORS:

·         Definition of scalars and vectors

·         Difference between scalars and vectors

·         Examples of scalars and vectors

WORK AND POWER:

·         Concept / definition of work

·         Unit of work

·         Formula for calculating work

·         Application of formula to solving problems

ENERGY:

·         Concept / definition of energy and power

·         Unit of energy and power

·         Types of energy:

·         Potential energy (P.E):

·         Concept of kinetic energy

·         Formula for calculating potential energy

·         Application of formula to solving problems

·         Kinetic energy (K.E)                                                                                                                                              

·         Concept of kinetic energy

·         Formula for calculating kinetic energy

·         Application of formula to solving problems

·         Conservation law of mechanical energy

·         Explanation of conservation law of energy using:

·         Motion of object under influence of gravity: indentify energy transformation that take place

·         Motion of object undergoing simple harmonic motion: indentify energy transformation that take place

HEAT ENERGY:

·         Definition / concept of temperature

·         Unit of temperature

·         Effect of heat on substances:  expansion, change of state, vaporization

·         Using kinetic molecular theory to explain the above phenomenon

EXPANSIVITY:

LINEAR EXPANSIVITY:

·         Concept linear expansivity.

·         Unit of linear expansivity

·         Formula for calculating linear expansivity

·         Application of formula in solving problems

AREA EXPANSIVITY:

·         Concept of  Area/ Supperficial expansivity

·         Unit of area expansivity

·         Formular for calculating area expansivity

·         Application of formular in solving problems

VOLUME EXPANSIVITY:

·         Concept of volume/ cubic expansivity

·         Unit of volume expansivity

·         Formula for calculating volume expansivity

·         Application of formula in solving problems

   

   HEAT ENERGY:

·         Definition/ concept of heat energy

·         Unit of heat energy

·         Methods of heat energy transfer: (i) conduction (ii) convection (iii) radiation

·         Using kinetic molecular theory to explain the above phenomenon

ELECTRIC CHARGES:

·         Production of charges

·         Types of charges

·         Distribution of charges

·         Storage of charges

·         Methods of charging a neutral body

DESCRIPTION OF FIELD:

·         Concept / definition of field

·         Types of fields: (i) gravitational field (ii)  electric field (iii) Magnetic field

·         Examples of gravitational field

·         Electric field

·         Examples of electric fields

·         Magnetic field

·         Examples of magnetic fields

·         Properties of fields

GRAVITATIONAL FIELD:

·         acceleration due to gravity

·         explanation of why two different objects from the same height fall to the ground at the same time

·         shape and dimension of the earth

ELECTRIC FIELD:

·         Definition of electric line of force

·         Electric line of force of isolated positive charge

·         Electric line of force of isolated negative charge

·         Electric line of force of two positive charges

·         Electric line of force of positive and negative charges

ELECTRIC CURRENT:

·         Concept of electric current and unit

·         Formula for calculating electric current

·         Application of formula in solving problems

·         Concept of electric circuit

·         Type of electric circuit: (i) open circuit (ii) closed circuit

·         Conductors and examples of conductors

·         Insulators and examples of insulators

ELECTRIC CONDUCTION THROUGH MATERIAL

·         Concept of Ohm's law

·         Formula of ohm’s law

·         Application of ohm's law

ELECTRICAL WORK DONE IN A CIRCUIT

·         Concept of electrical work done in a circuit

·         Formula for calculating electrical work done in a circuit

·         Application of formula in solving problems

PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER:

·         Definition of matter

·         Structure of matter/ atom

·         Constituents of atom

·         Brownian motion

·         Evidence that matter exist

·         Molecules: nature and size of molecules

·         Crystal structure of matter

·         Difference between crystalline and amorphous substances

·         State of matter: solid, liquid and gaseous state

·         Using molecular theory to explain state of matter

·         Photons: particulate nature of photons

·         Using concept of photon to explain behaviour of light as particle

FLUID AT REST:

·         Definition of surface tension

·         Effect of surface tension

·         Formula for calculating surface tension

·         Application of formula in solving problems

·         Viscosity

·         Formula for calculating viscosity

·         Classification of fluid base on viscosity

·         Examples of each classifications

·         Application of viscosity

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT:

·         Unit of measurement used in industries: (i) temperature - °F (ii) power - horse  (iii) oil – barrels (iv) land - acres etc

                                                        

ELECTRICAL CONTINUITY:

·         How to construct a continuity tester

·         How to use continuity tester to detect discontinuity/fault

SOLAR COLLECTOR:

·         Solar energy

·         Solar panel

·         Construction of solar panel