Singapore · SEABSyllabus
Physics syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Singapore 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 →- How are alternating currents characterised by root-mean-square values, and how do transformers change a.c. voltages?Define peak and root-mean-square values for alternating current, relate them to power, and explain the operation of an ideal transformer8 min answer →
- How does a capacitor store charge and energy, and how do capacitors combine in circuits?Define capacitance, calculate the energy stored on a capacitor, and combine capacitors in series and parallel8 min answer →
- What is electric current as a flow of charge, and how do resistance and resistivity describe how a conductor opposes that flow?Define electric current, potential difference and resistance, apply Ohm's law and resistivity, and relate electrical power to current and voltage8 min answer →
- How do Kirchhoff's laws, built on conservation of charge and energy, let us analyse any d.c. circuit?Apply Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws, combine resistors in series and parallel, and analyse potential dividers and the effect of internal resistance9 min answer →
- How does an electric field describe the force on a charge, and how do field strength and potential relate to one another?Define electric field strength and potential, apply Coulomb's law and the field of a point charge, and analyse the uniform field between parallel plates9 min answer →
- How does a changing magnetic flux induce an e.m.f., and what determines its size and direction?Define magnetic flux and flux linkage, apply Faraday's law and Lenz's law, and explain the operation of a simple generator9 min answer →
- How does a magnetic field exert a force on a current-carrying conductor and on a moving charge?Define magnetic flux density, calculate the force on a current-carrying conductor and on a moving charge, and analyse the circular motion of a charge in a magnetic field9 min answer →
Measurement
Module overview →- How do the uncertainties in measured quantities combine when those quantities are added, multiplied or raised to a power?Combine uncertainties in derived quantities by adding absolute uncertainties for sums and differences and adding fractional uncertainties for products, quotients and powers8 min answer →
- How do random and systematic errors affect a measurement, and how do precision and accuracy describe the quality of data?Distinguish random and systematic errors, relate them to precision and accuracy, and quote results to an appropriate number of significant figures with an estimated uncertainty8 min answer →
- How do we linearise a physical relationship so that a straight-line graph yields the quantities we want from its gradient and intercept?Rearrange a physical relationship into straight-line form y = mx + c, plot the appropriate variables, and extract physical quantities from the gradient and intercept8 min answer →
- How do SI prefixes and order-of-magnitude reasoning let us handle quantities spanning more than forty powers of ten?Use SI prefixes from pico to tera, convert between prefixed units consistently, and make order-of-magnitude estimates to check whether a numerical answer is physically reasonable7 min answer →
- How do we distinguish scalars from vectors, and how do we add and resolve vectors to solve physical problems?Distinguish scalar and vector quantities, add coplanar vectors, and resolve a vector into perpendicular components8 min answer →
- How do the seven SI base quantities and their units provide a consistent foundation for every physical measurement?Recall the SI base quantities and their units, express derived units as products or quotients of base units, and use base units to check the homogeneity of physical equations8 min answer →
Modern Physics
Module overview →- How do discrete atomic energy levels produce the characteristic line spectra of atoms?Explain discrete energy levels in atoms, relate transitions to emitted or absorbed photon energies, and account for line emission and absorption spectra8 min answer →
- Why is the mass of a nucleus less than the sum of its parts, and how does this mass defect explain the energy released in fission and fusion?Relate mass defect to binding energy through E = mc squared, interpret the binding-energy-per-nucleon curve, and explain energy release in fission and fusion9 min answer →
- Why does the photoelectric effect demand a particle model of light, and how is it described quantitatively?Describe the photoelectric effect, explain why it requires the photon model, and apply Einstein's photoelectric equation9 min answer →
- How does the random, spontaneous nature of radioactive decay lead to the exponential decay law and the idea of half-life?Describe radioactive decay as a random spontaneous process, apply the exponential decay law and the decay constant, and relate it to half-life and activity8 min answer →
- What evidence established the nuclear model of the atom, and how do we describe nuclides and nuclear reactions?Describe the evidence for the nuclear atom, represent nuclides and isotopes, and balance nuclear reaction and decay equations8 min answer →
- How can both light and matter exhibit wave and particle behaviour, and what evidence supports this duality?Explain wave-particle duality, apply the de Broglie relation, and describe the experimental evidence such as electron diffraction8 min answer →
Newtonian Mechanics
Module overview →- Why does a body moving in a circle at constant speed require a centripetal force, and how large must that force be?Describe uniform circular motion using angular velocity, relate it to centripetal acceleration and force, and apply these to horizontal and vertical circular motion9 min answer →
- What conditions must hold for an extended body to be in equilibrium under several forces?Apply the conditions for translational and rotational equilibrium, using the principle of moments and the resolution of forces, to extended rigid bodies8 min answer →
- How does Newton's law of gravitation describe the field around a mass, and how does it govern the motion of satellites and planets?Apply Newton's law of gravitation and the concept of gravitational field strength, derive orbital relationships, and account for geostationary orbits and Kepler's third law10 min answer →
- How do the equations of uniformly accelerated motion describe and predict the motion of a body moving in a straight line?Define displacement, velocity and acceleration, interpret motion graphs, and apply the equations of uniformly accelerated motion to one-dimensional problems8 min answer →
- Why is the total momentum of an isolated system conserved, and how does this distinguish elastic from inelastic collisions?Apply the principle of conservation of linear momentum to collisions and explosions in one dimension, and distinguish elastic from inelastic collisions using kinetic energy9 min answer →
- How do Newton's three laws relate force, mass and motion, and how is the second law expressed through momentum?State and apply Newton's three laws of motion, expressing the second law as the rate of change of momentum, and identify Newton's third-law force pairs9 min answer →
- How does treating horizontal and vertical motion independently let us predict the path of a projectile?Analyse projectile motion by treating the horizontal and vertical components independently, and determine range, maximum height and time of flight9 min answer →
- How do work, energy and power describe energy transfer, and how does the work-energy theorem connect force to a change in kinetic energy?Define work, kinetic and potential energy and power, apply the work-energy theorem and conservation of energy, and calculate efficiency9 min answer →
Oscillations and Waves
Module overview →- How do damping and an external driving force change an oscillation, and why does resonance occur?Describe free, damped and forced oscillations, distinguish light, critical and heavy damping, and explain resonance and its dependence on damping8 min answer →
- How does a wave spread out when it passes through an aperture, and what determines the amount of spreading?Describe diffraction of waves at a single aperture, relate the degree of spreading to the ratio of wavelength to aperture width, and recognise the single-slit pattern7 min answer →
- How does energy continually interchange between kinetic and potential forms during a simple harmonic oscillation?Describe the interchange of kinetic and potential energy in simple harmonic motion, and show that total energy is constant and proportional to the square of the amplitude8 min answer →
- How does a progressive wave transfer energy through a medium, and what do its frequency, wavelength and speed describe?Define the properties of a progressive wave, apply the wave equation, distinguish transverse from longitudinal waves, and explain intensity, phase and polarisation9 min answer →
- What defines simple harmonic motion, and how do displacement, velocity and acceleration vary throughout an oscillation?Define simple harmonic motion by its defining equation, and describe the variation of displacement, velocity and acceleration with time and with displacement9 min answer →
- How do two waves travelling in opposite directions form a stationary wave with fixed nodes and antinodes?Explain the formation of stationary waves by superposition, identify nodes and antinodes, and apply the conditions for stationary waves on strings and in air columns8 min answer →
- How does the superposition of coherent waves produce predictable patterns of constructive and destructive interference?State the principle of superposition, explain coherence and path difference, and apply them to two-source interference and the diffraction grating9 min answer →
Thermal Physics
Module overview →- How does the first law of thermodynamics account for the energy of a system in terms of heating and work done?Define internal energy as the sum of molecular kinetic and potential energies, and apply the first law of thermodynamics to changes in a gas9 min answer →
- How does the kinetic model of a gas connect microscopic molecular motion to the macroscopic pressure, volume and temperature?State the assumptions of the kinetic theory of an ideal gas, apply the ideal gas equation, and relate pressure and temperature to the mean square molecular speed9 min answer →
- Why do different substances need different amounts of energy to change temperature or state, and how do we calculate that energy?Define and apply specific heat capacity and specific latent heat to calculate energy transfers during temperature changes and changes of state8 min answer →
- What does temperature actually measure, and what does it mean for two bodies to be in thermal equilibrium?Define thermal equilibrium and thermodynamic temperature, relate the kelvin and Celsius scales, and explain temperature as a measure of average molecular kinetic energy7 min answer →
- How do pressure-volume processes and the first law combine to describe the work output of a gas in a thermodynamic cycle?Represent thermodynamic processes on a pressure-volume diagram, calculate the work done by a gas as the area under the curve, and analyse a simple cycle8 min answer →