SPH4U – Physics Grade 12

Course Type: University Preparation

Credit: 1.0

Ontario Curriculum: SPH4U Grade 12: Science

Prerequisite: SPH3U – Grade 11 Physics

NCAA Approved Course

This SPH4U course enables students to deepen their understanding of physics concepts and theories. Students in SPH4U 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. In this SPH4U course 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 in SPH4U will also consider the impact of technological applications of physics on society and the environment.

SPH4U Course Outline

Unit 0 – Skills handbook
Students will learn how to properly use significant digits in their measurements and problem
solving situations. They will learn to use unit analysis techniques to verify the correctness of their
solutions or derived formula in their lab activities. Students will learn how to analyze measurement
errors quantitatively and qualitatively.
Unit 1 – Motion on a plane
Students will investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, forces involved in uniform circular
motion and motion in a plane, and solve related problems. They will demonstrate an
understanding of the forces involved in uniform circular motion and motion in a plane. Students
will analyse technological devices that apply the principles of the dynamics of motion, and assess
the technologies’ social and environmental impact. Students will use critical thinking and inquiry
skills to prepare, conduct, and write a lab investigation.
Unit 2 – Momentum and Energy
Students will 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. They will demonstrate an understanding
of work, energy, momentum, and the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of
momentum, in one and two dimensions. Students will 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. Students will use critical
thinking and inquiry skills to prepare, conduct, and write a lab investigation.
Unit 3- Gravitational, Electric, Magnetic Field
Students will investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, gravitational, electric, and magnetic
fields, and solve related problems. They will demonstrate an understanding of the concepts,
properties, principles, and laws related to gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields and their
interactions with matter. Students will analyse the operation of technologies that use gravitational,
electric, or magnetic fields, and assess the technologies’ social and environmental impact.
Students will use critical thinking and inquiry skills to prepare, conduct, and write a lab
investigation.
Unit 4 – Wave Nature of Light
Students will investigate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, the properties of waves and light,
and solve related problems. They will demonstrate an understanding of the properties of waves
and light in relation to diffraction, refraction, interference, and polarization. Students will analyse
technologies that use the wave nature of light, and assess their impact on society and the
environment. They will use critical thinking and inquiry skills to prepare, conduct, and write a lab
investigation.
Unit 5 – Modern Physics; Quantum mechanics and Relativity
Students will investigate special relativity and quantum mechanics, and solve related problems.
They will demonstrate an understanding of the evidence that supports the basic concepts of
quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of special relativity. Students will 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.
They will use critical thinking and inquiry skills to prepare, conduct, and write a lab investigation.

A. Scientific Investigation skills and Career Exploration
By the end of this course, students will:
● 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 careers related to the fields of science under study, and describe the
contributions of scientists, including Canadians, to those fields.

B. Dynamics
By the end of this course, students will:
● 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
By the end of this course, students will:
● 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
By the end of this course, students will:
● 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
By the end of this course, students will:
● 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.

In this course, students will experience the following activities.

Presentations with embedded videos are utilized to outline concepts, explain theory with the use
of examples and practice questions, and incorporate multi-media opportunities for students to
learn more (e.g. online simulations, quizzes, etc.).

End of unit conversations and Poodlls are opportunities for students to express their ideas,
problem solving, and thought processes with a teacher who provides timely feedback.

Reflection is an opportunity for students to look back at concepts and theories with new eyes, to
relate theory to practice, and to align learning with their own values and beliefs.

Discussions with the instructor are facilitated through video conferencing, discussing the concepts
and skills being studied. This enables two-way communication between the student and the
instructor, to share ideas and ask questions in dialogue. This also helps to build a relationship
between the student and instructor.

Instructor demonstrations (research skills, etc.) are opportunities for the instructor to lead a
student through a concept or skill through video conferencing, videos, or emailing with the
student.

Discussion forums are an opportunity for students to summarize and share their ideas and
perspectives with their peers, which deepens understanding through expression. It also provides
an opportunity for peer-to-peer feedback.

Practical extension and application of knowledge are integrated throughout the course. The goal
is to help students make connections between what they learn in the classroom and how they
understand and relate to the world around them and their own lives. Learning becomes a dynamic
opportunity for students to be more aware that their learning is all around them and enable them
to create more meaning in their lives.

Individual activities/assignments assessments are completed individually at a student’s own pace
and are intended to expand and consolidate the learning in each lesson. Individual activities allow
the teacher to accommodate interests and needs and to assess the progress of individual students.

For this reason, students are encouraged to discuss IEPs (Individual Education Plans) with their
teacher and to ask to modify assessments if they have a unique interest that they feel could be
pursued in the assessment. The teacher plays an important role in supporting these activities by
providing ongoing feedback to students, both orally and in writing.

Research is an opportunity to apply inquiry skills to a practical problem or question. Students
perform research to gather information, evaluate quality sources, analyze findings, evaluate their
analysis, and synthesize their findings into conclusions. Throughout, students apply both creative
thinking and critical thinking. New questions are also developed to further learning.

Writing as a learning tool helps students to think critically about course material while grasping,
organizing, and integrating prior knowledge with new concepts. Good communication skills are
important both in and out of the classroom.

Virtual simulations are interactive websites that provide students with an opportunity to ask
questions, explore hypotheses, relate variables, examine relationships, and make connections
between theory and application in a safe environment that promotes intellectual risk taking and
curiosity.

Virtual labs are interactive websites that provide students with an opportunity to follow a
procedure to test hypotheses using scientific apparatus, gather and record observations, analyze
observations using formula and relevant theory/concepts, and then formulate conclusions that
relate hypotheses to analysis.

Diagrams are visual representations of scientific ideas and concepts. They provide another
perspective to organize ideas. Visuals are thought to promote cognitive plasticity – meaning, they
can help us change our minds or help us to remember an idea.

Graphics/images are visual representations of ideas/concepts. Visuals are thought to promote
cognitive plasticity – meaning, they can help us change our minds or help us to remember an idea.

Charts are visual representations of scientific ideas and concepts using math that support analysis.
For example, you can have a pie chart that shows Canada’s energy sources.

Tables involve organizing information in terms of categories (rows and columns). This helps us to
understand the relationships between ideas and data, as well as highlight trends.

Drawings and schematics are scientific and engineering ideas explained visually. For example, an
electric circuit can be explained using symbols, which makes it possible to communicate ideas
universally, clearly, and succinctly.

Articles are examples of concepts and theories being discussed in the public realm and with
respect to current events. They are snapshots not only of why scientific
theories/concepts/applications are relevant but also provide a window into the broader context of
scientific knowledge and understanding. Students learn through reading and analysis that science
is deeply related to, and intertwined with, society and the diverse perspectives of lived experience.

Practice problems provide students with a scenario/problem to solve by applying concepts and
skills learned in a context. This helps students to understand the relevance of their learning.

As summarized in Growing Success 2010, the primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Information gathered through assessment helps teachers to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses in their achievement of the curriculum expectations in each course. This information also serves to guide teachers in adapting curriculum and instructional approaches to students’ needs and in assessing the overall effectiveness of programs and classroom practices. As part of assessment, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback that guides their efforts towards improvement.

Evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of student work on the basis of established criteria, and assigning a value to represent that quality. All curriculum expectations must be accounted for in instruction, but evaluation focuses on students’ achievement of the overall expectations. A students’ achievement of the overall expectations is evaluated on the basis of his or her achievement of related specific expectations. Teachers will use their professional judgement to determine which specific expectations should be used to evaluate achievement of overall expectations, and which ones will be covered in instruction and assessment but not necessarily evaluated.

In order to ensure that assessment and evaluation are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of student learning, teachers must use assessment and evaluation strategies that:

● Address both what students learn and how well they learn;
● Are based both on the categories of knowledge and skills and on the achievement level descriptions given in the achievement chart
● Are varied in nature, administered over a period of time, and designed to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
● Are appropriate for the learning activities used, the purposes of instruction, and the needs and experiences of the students;
● Are fair to all students;
● Accommodate students with special education needs, consistent with the strategies outlined in their Individual Education Plan;
● Accommodate the needs of students who are learning the language of instruction;
● Ensure that each student is given clear directions for improvement;
● Promote students’ ability to assess their own learning and to set specific goals
● Include the use of samples of students’ work that provide evidence of their achievement;
● Are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year and at other appropriate points throughout the school year.

The final grade will be determined as follows:

❑ 70% of the grade will be based on evaluation conducted throughout the course. This
portion of the grade should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement
throughout the course, although special consideration will be given to more recent
evidence of achievement.

❑ 30% of the grade will be based on a final evaluation administered at or towards the end of
the course. This evaluation will be based on evidence from one or a combination of the
following: an examination, a performance, and/or another method of evaluation suitable to
the course content. The final evaluation allows the student an opportunity to demonstrate
comprehensive achievement of the overall expectations for the course.

(Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools. Ontario
Ministry of Education Publication, 2010 p.41)

All students can succeed. Some students are able, with certain accommodations, to participate in the regular course curriculum and to demonstrate learning independently. Accommodations allow access to the course without any changes to the knowledge and skills the student is expected to demonstrate. The accommodations required to facilitate the student’s learning can be identified by the teacher, but recommendations from a School Board generated Individual Education Plan (IEP) if available can also be consulted. Instruction based on principles of universal design and differentiated instruction focuses on the provision of accommodations to meet the diverse needs of learners.

Examples of accommodations (but not limited to) include:

• Adjustment and or extension of time required to complete assignments or summative tasks
• Providing alternative assignments or summative tasks
• Use of scribes and/or other assistive technologies
• Simplifying the language of instruction

To learn more go to our Individual Education Plan (IEP) page.

To learn more about this course including tests and exams please visit our FAQ page