New York Β· NYSEDSyllabus
Physics syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the New York Physicssyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Electricity and Magnetism
Module overview β- What is electric current, and how do voltage, current and resistance relate in a conductor?Define current as rate of flow of charge, , state Ohm's law , and apply the electrical power equations to calculate power and energy in a resistor.11 min answer β
- How do we describe the influence of a charge on the space around it, and what is electric potential difference?Define the electric field as force per unit charge, , describe the uniform field between parallel plates with , and define electric potential difference as work per unit charge, .11 min answer β
- How does a changing magnetic field produce an electric current, and how is this used in generators?Describe electromagnetic induction as the production of an electromotive force by a changing magnetic field through a conductor, and explain how generators and transformers use induction.11 min answer β
- How are magnetism and electric current related, and what force acts on a moving charge in a magnetic field?Describe magnetic fields and the field produced by an electric current, apply to the force on a moving charge in a magnetic field, and explain the force on a current-carrying wire that underlies the electric motor.11 min answer β
- How do current, voltage and resistance behave differently in series and parallel circuits?Apply the rules for series and parallel circuits to current, voltage and total resistance, and analyze simple circuits to find the current through and voltage across each component.12 min answer β
- How do objects become charged, and how does the force between charges depend on charge and distance?Describe charging by friction, conduction and induction, state that charge is conserved and quantised in multiples of the elementary charge, and apply Coulomb's law to calculate the force between point charges.12 min answer β
Mechanics: Forces and Newton's Laws
Module overview β- How do you represent all the forces on an object and find the conditions for equilibrium?Draw free-body diagrams showing all forces acting on an object, resolve forces into perpendicular components, and apply the equilibrium condition that the net force is zero in each direction.11 min answer β
- How does friction depend on the surfaces and the normal force, and how do static and kinetic friction differ?Describe static and kinetic friction, apply to calculate the friction force, and use the coefficient of friction to compare surfaces and decide whether an object slides.10 min answer β
- Why does an object keep doing what it is doing unless a net force acts on it?State Newton's first law (the law of inertia), relate inertia to mass, and apply the law to objects at rest and moving at constant velocity, recognizing that balanced forces produce no change in motion.10 min answer β
- How does the net force on an object determine its acceleration, and how does mass mediate that relationship?State and apply Newton's second law, , to calculate net force, mass or acceleration, and analyze situations with several forces by finding the net force first.11 min answer β
- Why do forces always occur in pairs, and why does a force pair never cancel?State Newton's third law, identify action-reaction force pairs, and explain why the two forces in a pair act on different objects and therefore do not cancel.10 min answer β
- How is weight related to mass and gravity, and how does a surface support an object?Distinguish mass and weight, calculate weight using , and determine the normal force on an object on a surface, including on a horizontal surface and an incline.10 min answer β
Mechanics: Kinematics and Motion
Module overview β- How are position, velocity and acceleration defined as rates of change, and how do they differ from distance and speed?Define displacement, velocity and acceleration as vector rates of change, distinguish them from distance and speed, and calculate average velocity and average acceleration from change in position and velocity over time.11 min answer β
- How does an object move under gravity alone, and how do the kinematic equations describe free fall?Describe free fall as motion under the constant acceleration due to gravity, and apply the kinematic equations with m/s squared to objects dropped, thrown down or thrown up near Earth's surface.11 min answer β
- How do position-time, velocity-time and acceleration-time graphs encode an object's motion, and what do their slopes and areas mean?Interpret and sketch position-time, velocity-time and acceleration-time graphs, relating the slope of a graph to a rate of change and the area under a velocity-time graph to displacement.11 min answer β
- Why can two-dimensional projectile motion be solved as two independent one-dimensional motions?Analyze projectile motion by treating the horizontal and vertical motions independently: constant horizontal velocity and vertical free fall, linked only by the common time of flight.12 min answer β
- How do the constant-acceleration equations link displacement, velocity, acceleration and time, and how do you choose the right one?Apply the constant-acceleration kinematic equations to solve problems for displacement, initial and final velocity, acceleration and time, selecting the equation that omits the unknown not asked for.12 min answer β
- How do physicists distinguish quantities that need a direction from those that do not, and how are vectors combined?Distinguish scalar and vector quantities, represent vectors as scaled arrows, and find the resultant of vectors by graphical and component methods, including resolving a vector into perpendicular components.11 min answer β
Mechanics: Momentum, Energy and Gravitation
Module overview β- Why is the total momentum of an isolated system conserved, and how is this used to analyze collisions?State the law of conservation of momentum, explain it using Newton's third law, and apply it to collisions and explosions where the total momentum before equals the total momentum after.11 min answer β
- What are the main forms of mechanical energy, and how does the conservation of energy let us solve motion problems?Define kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy and elastic potential energy, and apply the conservation of energy to systems with and without friction, recognizing friction transfers mechanical energy to internal (thermal) energy.12 min answer β
- How is the momentum of an object defined, and how does a force acting over time change it?Define momentum as , define impulse as , and apply the impulse-momentum relationship to calculate force, time or change in momentum.11 min answer β
- Why does an object moving in a circle at constant speed still accelerate, and what supplies the force?Describe uniform circular motion, calculate centripetal acceleration with and centripetal force with , and identify the real force that supplies the centripetal force in a given situation.11 min answer β
- How does the gravitational force between two masses depend on their masses and separation?State Newton's law of universal gravitation, apply to calculate the gravitational force, and use the inverse-square relationship to reason about how the force changes with distance.11 min answer β
- When does a force do work, and what does power measure?Define work as for a force along the displacement, relate work to the energy transferred, and define power as the rate of doing work, .11 min answer β
Modern Physics
Module overview β- How are mass and energy related, and what happens to mass in nuclear reactions?State the mass-energy equivalence , describe the mass defect and binding energy of a nucleus, and outline nuclear fission and fusion as reactions that convert mass into energy.11 min answer β
- Why do atoms emit and absorb only certain wavelengths of light, and what does this reveal about energy levels?Describe the Bohr model with quantised electron energy levels, explain how photons are emitted or absorbed when electrons change levels, and apply the energy-level relationship for hydrogen.11 min answer β
- How can light behave as both a wave and a stream of particles, and what is a photon?Describe the dual (wave-particle) nature of light, define the photon and its energy , and outline the photoelectric effect and the matter-wave (de Broglie) relationship as evidence for duality.11 min answer β
- What are the fundamental particles of matter, and how does the Standard Model classify them?Describe the Standard Model classification of matter into quarks and leptons, use the quark composition of protons and neutrons, and read particle charges from the Standard Model chart on the Reference Tables.11 min answer β
Waves, Sound and Light
Module overview β- What happens when waves spread around obstacles or overlap, and what does this reveal about light?Describe diffraction as the spreading of waves around obstacles and through openings, and explain interference as the superposition of waves, distinguishing constructive and destructive interference and standing waves.11 min answer β
- How do waves bounce off surfaces and bend when they pass between media?State the law of reflection, define the absolute index of refraction , and apply Snell's law to refraction, including the bending of light between media.12 min answer β
- What kind of wave is sound, and why does the pitch of a passing siren change?Describe sound as a longitudinal mechanical wave needing a medium, relate pitch and loudness to frequency and amplitude, and explain the Doppler effect as an apparent change in frequency due to relative motion of source and observer.11 min answer β
- What unites radio waves, light and gamma rays, and how do they differ?Describe the electromagnetic spectrum as a family of transverse waves travelling at the speed of light in a vacuum, ordered by frequency and wavelength, and apply to electromagnetic waves.11 min answer β
- What quantities describe a wave, and how are wave speed, frequency and wavelength related?Define amplitude, wavelength, frequency and period, distinguish transverse and longitudinal waves, and apply the wave equation and the period-frequency relationship .11 min answer β