No of Sets in 2023/2024: 1 No of Periods per Week: 5

Department Staff: Dr. Mary Singleton

Brief Summary of Course Content

Physics is the study of the physical world in which we live and the forces and interactions which govern it. Physics is all around you and the aim of the course is to explain and understand things which you observe in everyday life. The subject is practically based with a large number of mandatory pupil experiments. There is a new and increasing emphasis on understanding and developing an appreciation for the influence of science and technology in the modern world.

We start from scratch in Form V so it is not necessary to have taken Physics in Form IV. It is an advantage from the point of view that the pupils are familiar with the jargon and will have the basic concepts fresh in their minds, however long term it makes no difference. It is a 2 year course covering the topics of mechanics, heat, sound, optics, static electricity, current electricity, magnetism, semiconductors, radioactivity, nuclear physics and particle physics. Many of these topics have been touched on in Junior Cycle science; the Leaving Cert course is simply a more in depth study. Experiments form the backbone of the course and are, to a large extent, performed by the pupils in small groups (usually 2 or 3 per group). In Form V and the first term of Form VI an experiment is performed almost every week during the double class. 

Comparison of Results with National Figures

The results are consistently good. In 2023 44% of our pupils obtained H1 ( compared with 17% nationally)  and 25%  H2 at higher level (compared with 14% nationally) . Of course this takes lots of hard work throughout the two years!

Possible Career Areas for which this Subject is Useful/ Essential

Physics is a very helpful course for a whole range of careers and university courses and is essential for many. All forms of engineering, medicine, dentistry, as well as many science based careers use physics. All university engineering courses, medicine, dentistry and many science courses will require you to study physics for at least the first year, so clearly you are at an advantage if you have studied it in school. In the case of engineering courses it is essential in most cases. Employers view a background in physics as an indication of strong academic ability and high intellect.