SPH4U
University Preparation
1.0
SPH3U, Physics, Grade 11, University Preparation
This is a credit course for University-bound students. Many University programs require Grade 12 physics, and many post-secondary students also have to take physics in University. This course gives you a solid foundation in important concepts so that you succeed both at the grade 12 level and at the first-year University courses you take.
The foundations laid in our course will be very useful when you take first-year University classes such as Physics, Chemistry, and Astronomy.
We believe that physics doesn’t have to be difficult. Physics should be intuitive, understandable, and fun to learn. Yet too many high school students dread the physics class.
That’s a shame because physics is one of the most fascinating subjects on earth. Physics lets you understand and explain the universe's underlying behaviour. It is a journey through the deepest depths of the universe to understand the underlying laws that govern it.
As wonderful and interesting as it is, students will only appreciate physics if the course is taught well enough that students are not struggling with the course material. This is why we offer high quality lecture content that guides students through important concepts, eases them step-by-step through ideas that may seem counter-intuitive at first, brings concepts to life with animations, and gently leads them through sample problem sets. At every step through the course, we reinforce learning by reiterating important concepts and provide students with the toolbox they need to succeed.
Physics is a mathematical science, and so mathematics is an unavoidable part of physics. Students who have taken this course, though, do not fear math. Whether you are math phobic or already a mathematical wizard, by the end of this course you will have the confidence and the tools to succeed.
We help you by breaking down seemingly complex mathematical equations into manageable chunks, providing you with a road map and guiding you through it as we transform the complex into the simple. We walk you through parts of equations step-by-step, delving into what the parts mean and the consequences and applicability of the equation to real-life examples.
Simultaneously we deepen your understanding of mathematics while also helping you gain a newfound knowledge of the fundamental laws of nature. Physics has never been so approachable.
Here, we invite you to join us on our journey in understanding the world around us. Take this course and unlock the laws of the universe. In this course, we ditch the mental barriers, embrace the awe-inspiring laws of nature, and engage with the world around you in an entirely different way.
This course builds on grade 11 physics and enables students to deepen their understanding of physics concepts and theories. Students will continue their exploration of energy transformations and the forces that affect motion, and will investigate electrical, gravitational, and magnetic fields and electromagnetic radiation. Students will also explore the wave nature of light, quantum mechanics, and special relativity. They will further develop their scientific investigation skills, learning, for example, how to analyse, qualitatively and quantitatively, data related to a variety of physics concepts and principles. Students will also consider the impact of technological applications of physics on society and the environment.
The following topics and concepts are covered in this course:
This is an OSSD credit course that has been developed based on the following Ontario Ministry of Education documents
| A. Scientific Investigation Skills and Career Exploration | |
|---|---|
| A1 | demonstrate scientific investigation skills (related to both inquiry and research) in the four areas of skills (initiating and planning, performing and recording, analysing and interpreting, and communicating); |
| A2 | identify and describe a variety of careers related to the fields of science under study, and identify scientists, including Canadians, who have made contributions to those fields. |
| B. Dynamics | |
| B1 | analyse technological devices that apply the principles of the dynamics of motion, and assess the technologies' social and environmental impact; |
| B2 | investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, forces involved in uniform circular motion and motion in a plane, and solve related problems; |
| B3 | demonstrate an understanding of the forces involved in uniform circular motion and motion in a plane. |
| C. Energy and Momentum | |
| C1 | analyse, and propose ways to improve, technologies or procedures that apply principles related to energy and momentum, and assess the social and environmental impact of these technologies or procedures; |
| C2 | investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, through laboratory inquiry or computer simulation, the relationship between the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of momentum, and solve related problems; |
| C3 | demonstrate an understanding of work, energy, momentum, and the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of momentum, in one and two dimensions. |
| D. Gravitational, Electric and Magnetic Fields | |
| D1 | analyse the operation of technologies that use gravitational, electric, or magnetic fields, and assess the technologies' social and environmental impact; |
| D2 | investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields, and solve related problems; |
| D3 | demonstrate an understanding of the concepts, properties, principles, and laws related to gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields and their interactions with matter. |
| E. The Wave Nature of Light | |
| E1 | analyse technologies that use the wave nature of light, and assess their impact on society and the environment; |
| E2 | investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, the properties of waves and light, and solve related problems; |
| E3 | demonstrate an understanding of the properties of waves and light in relation to diffraction, refraction, interference, and polarization. |
| F. Revolutions in Modern Physics: Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity | |
| F1 | analyse, with reference to quantum mechanics and relativity, how the introduction of new conceptual models and theories can influence and/or change scientific thought and lead to the development of new technologies; |
| F2 | investigate special relativity and quantum mechanics, and solve related problems; |
| F3 | demonstrate an understanding of the evidence that supports the basic concepts of quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of special relativity. |
The assessment and evaluation strategies of our school follows the Ministry of Education's Growing Success document. Growing Success articulates the vision the Ministry has for the purpose and structure of assessment and evaluation techniques.
The Final Grade
Proctoring
You can safely enroll and try this course. We do not notify your day school in any way when you register and enroll in our courses. Only when you explicity instruct us to share your grades will we send your registration information and your grades to your day school.
In addition, you can safely drop this course without any academic penalty at any time before the first report card. Once you have received the first report card, you will still have five (5) days to drop this course without any academic penalty. The first report card is issued right after the midterm point of this course.
The midterm point of this course is based on work completed rather than time elapsed, since this is a self-paced course. It is roughly after the first half of the assessments in the course, at which point you will have a fairly good idea of how well you are doing.
At this point, you will have to manually indicate, by pressing an acknowledgement button, that you would like to continue in the course and that you would like us to send your registration information and your marks to your day school.
As a courtesy to our students, our system requires you to manually indicate that you would like to progress beyond the midterm point and receive the first report card. This safety feature is designed to ensure that you do not accidentally pass the deadline to drop the course without academic penalty.
After receiving your first report card, we will also send you notifications via email regarding the 5 day deadline to drop the course.
Read more about ministry guidelines regarding course withdrawals and retakes.According to Ministry policies, grade 9 and grade 10 courses can be withdrawn at any time without any academic penalty. The grade 9 and 10 courses can also be repeated an unlimited number of times without any academic penalty. Grade 9 or 10 courses withdrawn are simply not recorded on the OST (it is as if you have never registered for the course). When students retake grade 9 or 10 courses, the highest mark is recorded on their OST, replacing the lower mark.
However, withdrawing from grade 11 or grade 12 courses without academic penalty must be done within 5 days of receiving the first report card. In this case, the mark will not be recorded on the OST. On the other hand, withdrawal from a grade 11 or grade 12 course after 5 days of receiving the first report card results in the following permanent record on the student’s OST: a "W" being entered in the "Credit" column of the OST along with the mark at the time of the withdrawal. If there are extraordinary circumstances relating to a student's withdrawal from a course, an "S" may be entered in the "Note" column on the OST.
Retaking grade 11 and grade 12 courses leads to permanent records of all repeats on the student’s OST, along with the marks of each attempt. Only one credit is earned if a course is retaken. An “R” is entered in the “Credit” column of the OST for the repeats with the lower mark.
It is therefore advised that students taking grade 11 and grade 12 courses be mindful of withdrawal deadlines pertaining to their enrollment, and do their best in the course if they have passed the withdrawal deadline.
