What your teen is learning
Your teen will explain and quantify predictions
about changes in position, velocity and acceleration
caused by interaction of objects. They’ll use
Newton’s laws of motion to explain uniform circular
and elliptical motion, as observed in a wheel
or in orbits. Using an experimental and problem-based
approach, your teen will quantify mechanical energy
and explore the relationships among different
forms of energy to understand conservation of
energy. Your teen will also relate harmonic motion
to technological applications, such as mechanical
resonance in cars, and to the natural world, such
as seismic waves in Earth’s crust. They’ll describe
how mechanical waves transmit energy, and they’ll
describe the factors that affect wave speed. For
more about Physics 20, refer to the program
of studies.
Your teen will explore the application of physics
principles to explain natural events and the technologies
we use every day. They’ll study momentum and impulse,
explain how momentum is conserved when objects
interact and apply their understanding to safety
and sports equipment. Your teen will describe
the motion of electric charges and its relevance
to magnetic fields, and they’ll analyze the benefits
and risks of electromagnetic technologies, such
as magnetic resonance imaging and generators.
They’ll use the wave and photon models of light
to describe electromagnetic radiation and to better
understand electromagnetic phenomena, including
the photoelectric effect and electron diffraction.
Your teen will also study the atom—its internal
structure and energy—to understand matter, energy
and our universe. For more about Physics 30, refer
to the program
of studies.
How your teen is assessed
Learning is assessed using a variety of tools
and strategies within the classroom. Ask the
teacher what methods they are using. The different
assessment methods tell you, your teen and
your teen’s teacher about your teen’s strengths,
the areas in which they might grow and how
well they are doing throughout a course. At
the end of the course, your teen will be assessed
and their achievement will be reported so
that you know if they have achieved the expected
learning outcomes for the course.
At the end of the 30-level course, your
teen will write a provincial diploma examination.
There are three main purposes for the diploma
examination:
- to certify the level of individual
student achievement in the course
- to ensure that province-wide standards
of achievement are maintained
- to report individual and group results.
Your teen’s final mark in the 30-level
course is determined by taking 70% of
the school-awarded mark and adding it to
30% of the diploma examination mark. Your
teen must achieve a final mark of 50% or
higher to obtain credits for the course. General and course-specific diploma examination information is
available to help you and your teen.
Resources to help your teen
A variety of digital and print resources, developed by publishers, Alberta Education or Alberta teachers, are available to help students learn. Teachers may select, and bring into the classroom, numerous innovative and creative resources to create rich learning experiences for your teen. Visit LearnAlberta.ca to learn more about the resources your teen may encounter.
Relevant Resources:
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
_DOWN.png)
