Complete coverage of Theme E: Nuclear and quantum physics for IB DP Physics (First Assessment 2025). Designed for combined SL/HL classrooms in Year 2, Term 2–3.
39–42 teaching hours total.
Units Included
E.1 Structure of the Atom (SL: 6h | HL: 9h)
E.2 Quantum Physics (8h – HL only)
E.3 Radioactive Decay (SL: 7h | HL: 12h)
E.4 Fission (4h – combined, no HL extension)
E.5 Fusion and Stars (6h – combined, no HL extension)
Features
30+ activities – Rutherford simulations (PhET), real spectroscopy, LED Planck’s constant, dice/coin half-life, mousetrap chain reaction, HR diagram analysis, parallax calculations
Formative assessment – Exit tickets, simulation checks, equation balancing, spectral identification, half-life understanding
Summative assessment – End-of-unit tests with Paper 1A/1B/2 style, SL/HL differentiated where applicable
IA links – Spectroscopy investigation, Bohr model modelling (HL), half-life investigation, exponential decay verification (HL), fission database, HR diagram cluster age
Differentiation – Scaffolding (templates, worked examples); extension (beyond-syllabus, research projects)
Cross-curricular – TOK (models, conservation laws, unification, language limits), CAS (spectroscope building, debates, presentations)
ATL – Thinking, communication, self-management, research
NOS – Anomalies overturning models, conservation predicting particles, randomness/statistics, engineering applications, unification across themes
Quantitative skills – Nuclear radius, Bohr transitions, photoelectric graphs, de Broglie, Compton, binding energy, exponential decay, fission energy, parallax, stellar radius
Resources
Tsokos (7th ed.), Hamper (Oxford); FREE: PhET, HyperPhysics, NASA/ESA, IAEA, Revision Village, Save My Exams; IB Questionbank access.
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£14.95