Physics

$Advanced \STEM$

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Advanced STEM

This collection of resources is designed for developing STEM at Post-16.

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Core scientific mathematics

This is the area of the advanced stemNRICH site devoted to the core applied mathematics underlying the sciences.

$\chemNRICH$

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chemNRICH is the area of the stemNRICH site devoted to the mathematics underlying the study of chemistry, designed to help develop the mathematics required to get the most from your study of chemistry at A-level and university.

$\physNRICH$

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physNRICH

PhysNRICH is the area of the StemNRICH site devoted to the mathematics underlying the study of physics

$\engNRICH$

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engNRICH

engNRICH is the area of the stemNRICH Advanced site devoted to the mathematics underlying the study of engineering

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Emmy Noether

Find out about Emmy Noether, whose ideas linked physics and algebra, and whom Einstein described as a 'creative mathematical genius'.

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Ancient astronomical terms

Some explanations of basic terms and some phenomena discovered by ancient astronomers

$\stemNRICH - Technology$

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Stemnrich - technology

Age

11 to 16

Challenge level

This is the technology section of stemNRICH - Core.

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Pinhole camera

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

Make your own pinhole camera for safe observation of the sun, and find out how it works.

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Big and small numbers in physics

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Work out the numerical values for these physical quantities.

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Constantly changing

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Many physical constants are only known to a certain accuracy. Explore the numerical error bounds in the mass of water and its constituents.

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The power of dimensional analysis

An introduction to a useful tool to check the validity of an equation.

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Bigger or smaller?

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

When you change the units, do the numbers get bigger or smaller?

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Perfect eclipse

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Use trigonometry to determine whether solar eclipses on earth can be perfect.

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Guessing the graph

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Can you suggest a curve to fit some experimental data? Can you work out where the data might have come from?

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Construct the solar system

Age

14 to 18

Challenge level

Make an accurate diagram of the solar system and explore the concept of a grand conjunction.

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The amazing properties of water

Age

14 to 18

Challenge level

Find out why water is one of the most amazing compounds in the universe and why it is essential for life. - UNDER DEVELOPMENT

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Big and small numbers in the physical world

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Work with numbers big and small to estimate and calculate various quantities in physical contexts.

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Alternative record book

Age

14 to 18

Challenge level

In which Olympic event does a human travel fastest? Decide which events to include in your Alternative Record Book.

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Big and small numbers in chemistry

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Get some practice using big and small numbers in chemistry.

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Electric kettle

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Explore the relationship between resistance and temperature

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Mach attack

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Have you got the Mach knack? Discover the mathematics behind exceeding the sound barrier.

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Big and small numbers in physics - group task

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Work in groups to try to create the best approximations to these physical quantities.

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Lennard Jones potential

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Investigate why the Lennard-Jones potential gives a good approximate explanation for the behaviour of atoms at close ranges

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Diamonds aren't forever

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Ever wondered what it would be like to vaporise a diamond? Find out inside...

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Neural nets

Find out some of the mathematics behind neural networks.

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Earth orbit

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Follow in the steps of Newton and find the path that the earth follows around the sun.

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Poiseuille's equation

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Look at the flow of fluids down circular pipes.

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Moving Stonehenge

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

A look at the fluid mechanics questions that are raised by the Stonehenge 'bluestones'.

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Modelling assumptions in mechanics

An article demonstrating mathematically how various physical modelling assumptions affect the solution to the seemingly simple problem of the projectile.

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Escape from Planet Earth

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

How fast would you have to throw a ball upwards so that it would never land?

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Motorbike momentum

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

A think about the physics of a motorbike riding upside down

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Universal time, mass, length

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Can you work out the natural time scale for the universe?

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Striking gold

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Investigate some of the issues raised by Geiger and Marsden's famous scattering experiment in which they fired alpha particles at a sheet of gold.

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Ramping it up

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Look at the calculus behind the simple act of a car going over a step.

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Electromagnetism

Read all about electromagnetism in our interactive article.

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Cannon balls

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

How high will a ball taking a million seconds to fall travel?

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The ultra particle

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Explore the energy of this incredibly energetic particle which struck Earth on October 15th 1991

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Pack man

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

A look at different crystal lattice structures, and how they relate to structural properties

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Maths in the undergraduate physical sciences

An article about the kind of maths a first year undergraduate in physics, engineering and other physical sciences courses might encounter. The aim is to highlight the link between particular maths topics (e.g. complex numbers) and their applications.

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Cobalt decay

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Investigate the effects of the half-lifes of the isotopes of cobalt on the mass of a mystery lump of the element.

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Battery modelling

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Find out how to model a battery mathematically

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New units for old

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Can you match up the entries from this table of units?

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Hold still please

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Can you arrange a set of charged particles so that none of them start to move when released from rest?

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The not-so-simple pendulum 1

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

See how the motion of the simple pendulum is not-so-simple after all.

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The Lorentz force law

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Explore the Lorentz force law for charges moving in different ways.

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Powerfully fast

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Explore the power of aeroplanes, spaceships and horses.

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The real hydrogen atom

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Dip your toe into the world of quantum mechanics by looking at the Schrodinger equation for hydrogen atoms

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Go spaceship go

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Show that even a very powerful spaceship would eventually run out of overtaking power

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Ideal axes

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Explore how can changing the axes for a plot of an equation can lead to different shaped graphs emerging

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Ideal gases

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Problems which make you think about the kinetic ideas underlying the ideal gas laws.

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Eudiometry

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

When a mixture of gases burn, will the volume change?

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Reaction types

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Explore the rates of growth of the sorts of simple polynomials often used in mathematical modelling.

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Levels of Bohr

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Look at the units in the expression for the energy levels of the electrons in a hydrogen atom according to the Bohr model.

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Drug stabiliser

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

How does the half-life of a drug affect the build up of medication in the body over time?

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Sweeping satellite

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Derive an equation which describes satellite dynamics.

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Lunar leaper

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Gravity on the Moon is about 1/6th that on the Earth. A pole-vaulter 2 metres tall can clear a 5 metres pole on the Earth. How high a pole could he clear on the Moon?