I'm an A-Level physics teacher. In my opinion independent learning is the key to success so I focus a lot of effort into making resources to help students learn physics independently. A lot of what I make is available for free on YouTube. My website has links to everything.
I'm starting to offer my free downloads on https://wonkylogic.co/a-level-physics-hq which does not require a log in to download.
I'm an A-Level physics teacher. In my opinion independent learning is the key to success so I focus a lot of effort into making resources to help students learn physics independently. A lot of what I make is available for free on YouTube. My website has links to everything.
I'm starting to offer my free downloads on https://wonkylogic.co/a-level-physics-hq which does not require a log in to download.
An independent activity worksheet for students to recap the main points of electromagnetic induction: the definitions of key quantities magnetic flux and magnetic flux linkage, their unit, definition of the weber, and the circumstances that give rise to an induced e.m.f. in a conductor (wire or coil).
The PDF includes solutions on the second page.
This spreadsheet will solve your problems involving the equations of uniform acceleration. If you’re a physics teacher you’ll need to solve a lot of these problems at certain times of the year, you may even need to invent your own questions. This may speed up your workflows. Simply input your data (s u v a and t) typing a question mark by the unknown quantity. Then select the equation you need to use from a drop down menu and the answer is calculated.
Calculations are performed on a background table, so at any time you can investigate what’s happening on that tab. Questions that lead to two values of t (due to the square root in some solutions) are solved and both values of t are shown.
A simple but beautifully well illustrated set of Keynote slides to help teachers introduce students to common scientific measuring instruments and their precision.
The first two slides link precision to the scale division of the instrument and the use of different prefixes for the same measurement and uncertainty.
Includes high quality diagrams to help link the measurement concept to use of the real instrument. A slide at the end shows how to indicate precision in tabulated results.
Instruments covered in this presentation deck:
Ruler
Vernier caliper (standard precision ± 0.1 mm)
Micrometer
Voltmeter (digital and analogue versions [10 V shunt ± 0.2 V]
Handheld stopwatch
Thermometer
Weighing scale
This presentation is available to you for free, but it is copyrighted - no alterations are to be made and it is not to be distributed further.
This is made with Keynote which is Apple’s presentation software. It can be exported to PowerPoint but I don’t guarantee the output will look and operate in the same way. Keynote is an app available on macOS, iOS and iPadOS for free with most new or new-ish Apple devices. You have my permission to try exporting into PowerPoint for your personal use in teaching your classes.
Copy of the spreadsheet I used to analyse the current balance experiment in this video.
This is a Numbers spreadsheet. It is possible to convert Numbers spreadsheets to Excel files but I cannot guarantee an easy to use output since the tables may be converted to separate worksheets in the Excel file.
Take your Google Classroom to the next level with a cool science-themed animated banner!
Eight planets of the solar system orbit the Sun. Orbit timings are not to scale - this is just for fun! You’ll need to download it before you see the animation.
An I ♥ Science Resource by Wonky Logic
This spreadsheet looks up steam properties for a specified temperature or pressure. It is based on data from the NIST steam tables. The spreadsheet automatically handles interpolation on the temperature and pressure sorted tables. It also handles double interpolation on the superheated steam tables.
In order to use the lookup tables the database first needs to be populated with freely available NIST data - I do not sell that data or claim any copyright on it. The data is included for free in a spreadsheet with the correct layout ¹. Download the data and populate the database tables in this spreadsheet before use.
¹ Filename: Steam table lookup - file 2 - database (free)
This is a Numbers (Apple spreadsheet) spreadsheet. It is possible to convert Numbers spreadsheets to Excel files but I cannot guarantee an easy to use output since the tables may be converted to separate worksheets in the Excel file. You can use Numbers spreadsheets on iPhones, iPads, Mac computers and in a web browser.
A comprehensive set of basic statistical tests in one spreadsheet. Includes: distribution checker (check whether data is normally distributed), standard error and confidence limits, student’s t-test, chi squared test, Spearman and Pearson correlations.
The first sheet has a decision tree to help decide which type of analysis is most appropriate for the data. Simply follow the decision tree and click the link to jump to the relevant sheet for that test.
The spreadsheet is built in Apple’s Numbers application (iOS, iPadOS and macOS).
Complete activity with a worksheet with fifteen incorrect statements about waves that need to be corrected. Each incorrect statement has an identifier indicating how many mistakes there are. This task is A-Level physics standard.
The worksheet is a PDF.
There is a PowerPoint and Keynote presentation for the teacher to use to go through the corrections to the statements in a whole group activity. So the presentation is accessible to Microsoft Windows users, Open Office users and Apple users - whatever floats your boat!
Topics included:
Wave features (wavelength, period, frequency etc)
Transverse and longitudinal waves
Polarisation
Refraction
Diffraction
Superposition
Coherence
Stationary waves
Complete activity with a worksheet with thirteen incorrect statements about magnetic fields and electromagnetism that need to be corrected. Each incorrect statement has an identifier indicating how many mistakes there are. This task is A-Level physics standard.
The worksheet is a PDF.
There is a PowerPoint and Keynote presentation for the teacher to use to go through the corrections to the statements in a whole group activity. So the presentation is accessible to Microsoft Windows users, Open Office users and Apple users - whatever floats your boat!
Topics included:
Magnetic flux density
Fleming’s left hand rule
Velocity selector
Magnetic flux
Faraday’s law
Lenz’s law
Alternator
Transformers
Turns ratio equation
A poster showing the base units of the SI units system and derived units. The relationship between base and derived units is shown in a mind map layout.
Paper size: A3
Suitable for AQA and OCR Physics A AS-Level and A-Level specifications. (7407, 7408, H156, H556)
Differentiated activity for practicing drawing curved graphs. There are four curves to plot and draw, which includes choosing the scale on the y-axis. The four graphs are gas pressure and volume, gravitational field strength, radioactive activity and capacitor charging.
The first two pages include the activity for students to complete, the third and fourth pages are the same activity but designed for more able students to complete, the final two pages are the solutions.
Suitable for AQA and OCR Physics A AS-Level and A-Level specifications.
(7407, 7408, H156, H556)
This is part of a series of worksheets for practicing different graph skills. If you prefer, you can purchase this in a bundle of Graph Skills worksheets 1-6 here (at a discount): https://gum.co/KBWAH
This worksheet is ideal for home learning since it has solutions to all questions included in the document, it is part of a series that gradually builds up a range of graphing techniques and it includes an extension version of the tasks to challenge more able students.
A poster illustrating the principal bodies of our Solar System. The Sun is shown with the planets in their respective orbits around it. Data is given on the Sun and each planet including: mass, diameter and mean orbit radius around the Sun. Two additional graphics show the orbits to relative scale and the Sun and planet diameters to relative scale.
Suitable for A-Level physics specifications:
AQA and OCR Physics A AS-Level and A-Level specifications.
(7407, 7408, H156, H556)
A detailed presentation to aid explanation of the role of radiation intensity in the photoelectric effect for various photon frequencies relative to the threshold frequency of the metal. Students often misunderstand the inability of increased intensity to trigger the photoelectric effect and therefore believe it has no role. This presentation is a visual aid to help the teacher show that it has a role in controlling the number of photons arriving per unit time.
This presentation compares low and high intensity sources of red and green light with low and high intensity blue light (where green and blue light have frequencies above the threshold frequency). The effect of intensity on the number of photons arriving at the metal is made clear and intensity is clearly distinguished from photon energy.
This is a Keynote presentation (macOS, iPadOS and iOS).
Useful for all A-Level physics specifications.
The photoelectric effect is an important experiment in physics that proves that light behaves like a particle, it was a founding experiment for quantum theory. Einstein won his Nobel prize for his work on explaining the photoelectric effect.
Copy of the spreadsheet I used to analyse the experiment to estimate Planck’s constant in this video.
The spreadsheet automatically calculates photon energy from inputted potential difference readings. The data plots are added to a carefully formatted graph. A line of best fit is automatically plotted. The gradient and y-intercept of the line are automatically calculated from the data plots and the estimate for the Planck constant is calculated from the gradient. This spreadsheet is perfect for rapidly analysing experimental data.
This is a Numbers spreadsheet. It is possible to convert Numbers spreadsheets to Excel files but I cannot guarantee an easy to use output since the tables may be converted to separate worksheets in the Excel file.
Suitable for most A-Level Physics specifications.
Copy of the spreadsheet I used to analyse the data obtained in the experiment to determine the capacitance of a capacitor in this video.
The spreadsheet automatically calculates capacitance from inputted time and potential difference readings using a natural log analysis. The data plots are added to a carefully formatted graph. A line of best fit is automatically plotted. The gradient and y-intercept of the line are automatically calculated from the data plots and the value of the capacitance is calculated from the gradient. This spreadsheet is perfect for rapidly analysing experimental data.
A second method of analysis is also possible using a second graph - a direct plot of p.d. versus time (exponential data). Instructions are included to guide the user in determining the value of the time constant and that is then used to calculate a value of C that can be compared with the first method.
This is a Numbers spreadsheet. It is possible to convert Numbers spreadsheets to Excel files but I cannot guarantee an easy to use output since the tables may be converted to separate worksheets in the Excel file.
Suitable for most physics specifications.
A Keynote presentation with worksheet to help teach your students how to present science experiment results in tables and graphs. The presentation includes a table and graph with errors that the students try to identify - they can annotate the accompanying worksheet. Each error is identified with animated annotations in the presentation.
A good table / graph is then shown to illustrate the good features. The worksheet includes the good table and graph for optional sharing with students after the activity.
A free version of this activity is available without the worksheet and without the annotated erroneous table/graph.
Keynote is presentation software for macOS, iPadOS and iOS
A Keynote¹ presentation for introducing students to handling experimental uncertainties in science measurements. Topics covered are: types of error (systematic and random), absolute and percentage uncertainty, and rules for determining uncertainty in calculated values (five calculation rules in total).
There is also a sample of exam questions - three for each rule (except rule 1 which has just one exam question).
Also included in addition to the above:
An explanation of uncertainty in handheld stopwatches.
Examples - notably an example question with full worked solution for each calculation rule.
There is a lite version of this slideshow available for free so you can get a feel for the resource prior to purchasing this slideshow if you would like to do so. Note that the Lite version does not contain all of the teaching content of this presentation; the rules for multiplication by coefficients and calculation with complex functions (trig and logs) are only available in this version.
¹ Keynote works on iPhones, iPads, Macs and in many web browsers. Check your device against Apple’s latest guidance.
A differentiated activity worksheet for students and Keynote¹ presentation with answers. Four different elastic collisions are presented and students have to apply conservation of momentum and conservation of kinetic energy to the collision to determine the correct outcome. The problems range in difficulty from straightforward to advanced problem solving.
There are two versions of the activity included:
Extension version with limited guidance on the task.
Accessible version with four possible outcomes shown that students need to evaluate.
(Both worksheets are combined into the single pdf document - just print what you need.)
This is a paid version of a lite product which includes the same task without the differentiated version.
The worksheet should prove self explanatory for students. The presentation is designed to aid the teacher’s explanation. There are slides that can be used to show solutions for both versions of the worksheet giving the teacher the option to choose how to work through the the tasks. The slides linked to the differentiated version include the algebraic working to analyse conservation of momentum and KE - making the teacher’s life even easier!
¹ The presentation is made with Keynote which is Apple’s presentation software. It can be exported to PowerPoint but I don’t guarantee the output will look and operate in the same way. Keynote is an app available on macOS, iOS and iPadOS for free with most new or new-ish Apple devices. You have my permission to try exporting into PowerPoint for your personal use in teaching your classes.
Complete activity with a worksheet with eight incorrect statements about charge and current that need to be corrected. Each incorrect statement has an identifier indicating how many mistakes there are. This task is A-Level physics standard.
The worksheet is a PDF.
There is a PowerPoint and Keynote presentation for the teacher to use to go through the corrections to the statements in a whole group activity. So the presentation is accessible to Microsoft Windows users, Open Office users and Apple users - whatever floats your boat!
Complete activities each including a PDF worksheet with incorrect statements about an A-Level physics topic that need to be corrected. Perfect for topic revision.
Each bundle also includes a PowerPoint and Keynote presentation for the teacher to use to go through the corrections to the statements in a whole group activity. The presentation is accessible to Microsoft Windows users, Open Office users and Apple users - whatever floats your boat!
Topic Areas Included:
Materials science
Electricity
Waves
Magnetic Fields & Induction