A-Level Physics (Edexcel IAL)

Course Overview 课程介绍

Edexcel IAL 物理采用模块化按 Unit 考试，可重考单模块，理工科与医学申请核心科目。

Edexcel International A-Level Physics is a modular course assessed unit by unit across five written units. Students sit each Unit exam separately and may retake individual units to improve their overall grade. Content spans mechanics and materials, waves and electricity, fields and further mechanics, and thermodynamics, radiation, oscillations and cosmology, with practical skills examined in Unit 3. A core subject for engineering, physics, computer science and medicine applicants.

Key Facts 基本信息

Exam Board (考试局)	Pearson Edexcel International A-Level
Specification Code (代码)	WPH11-15
Structure (结构)	Modular, 5 written units; AS = Units 1-3, A2 = Units 4-5
Grading (评分)	A* - E for full A-Level; a - e for AS
Exam Units (模块)	Modular structure, unit-by-unit assessment, single unit retake allowed
Practical (实验)	Unit 3 Practical Skills in Physics I (written practical paper)

AS Syllabus AS 阶段章节（Units 1-3）

Unit 1Mechanics

Motion (kinematics, equations of motion), forces, Newton's laws, momentum and impulse, work, energy and power
Unit 1Materials

Springs and Hooke's law, Young's modulus, elastic and plastic behaviour, fluid flow, viscosity, laminar and turbulent flow
Unit 2Waves

Progressive waves, transverse and longitudinal waves, superposition, stationary waves, refraction, diffraction, interference, polarisation
Unit 2Electricity

Current and voltage, resistance, resistivity, series and parallel circuits, EMF and internal resistance, Kirchhoff's laws, electrical power
Unit 3Practical Skills in Physics I

Experimental methods, data collection and analysis, uncertainty and error propagation, graphing and evaluation (written practical paper)

A2 Syllabus A2 阶段章节（Units 4-5）

Unit 4Further Mechanics

Circular motion, angular velocity, centripetal acceleration and force, momentum in two dimensions
Unit 4Gravitational and Electric Fields

Newton's law of gravitation, gravitational field strength and potential, Coulomb's law, electric field strength and potential, uniform fields
Unit 4Capacitance

Capacitors and capacitance, energy stored, charging and discharging capacitors, dielectrics
Unit 4Magnetic Fields and Electromagnetic Induction

Magnetic force on charges and conductors, magnetic flux, Faraday's law, Lenz's law, transformers and generators
Unit 5Thermodynamics

Thermal energy transfer, ideal gases, specific heat capacity, internal energy, Boyle's and Charles's laws
Unit 5Nuclear Radiation

Radioactive decay, half-life, nuclear fission and fusion, mass-energy equivalence, radiation safety
Unit 5Oscillations

Simple harmonic motion, damping, resonance, forced oscillations, pendulum and mass-spring systems
Unit 5Astrophysics and Cosmology

Stars and stellar evolution, Doppler effect, Hubble's law, the Big Bang model, cosmology and the universe

Exam Structure (Edexcel IAL WPH11-15) 考试结构

Unit 1 (WPH11)	Mechanics and Materials · 1h30m · 20% of IAL (40% of AS)
Unit 2 (WPH12)	Waves and Electricity · 1h30m · 20% of IAL (40% of AS)
Unit 3 (WPH13)	Practical Skills in Physics I · 1h20m · 10% of IAL (20% of AS)
Unit 4 (WPH14)	Fields and Further Mechanics · 1h45m · 25% of IAL
Unit 5 (WPH15)	Thermodynamics, Radiation, Oscillations and Cosmology · 1h45m · 25% of IAL
Modular Feature	Modular structure, unit-by-unit assessment, single unit retake allowed

Suitable Majors & Pathway 适合专业与升学路径

适合工程、物理、计算机、医学等理工科专业，是英国顶尖大学理工科录取的首选科目之一。

Physics is a required or strongly preferred subject for engineering (mechanical, electrical, aerospace, civil), physics, astrophysics, computer science, and many medicine and dentistry programmes. Combined with Mathematics and Further Mathematics, it opens pathways to top universities in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and beyond. The modular structure lets students strengthen weak units through retakes before the final A-Level award.