GCSE Physics Concepts

www.physconcepts.co.uk

KS4 (Years 10 - 11)

Science

This product is distributed by Physics Concepts Ltd (Tel: 020 7274 6504)

The CD-ROM provides superb simulations of three standard physics practicals used to illustrate Hooke's Law, Boyle's Law and Ohm's Law. It also includes a nifty animated plane that can be used to show the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces. It is designed to be used with an interactive whiteboard and has a simple but visually appealling format which really works. The Ohm's Law simulation is particularly useful. As a button is clicked to increase the voltage, the ammeter reading changes; a graph of voltage against current plots, and the equation changes size to reflect the new values of the variables. One button press changes the resistor value and another turns the circuit diagram into an analogous water circuit.

The software was used to help summarise and assess pupils studying Forces at Key Stage 4, particularly Balanced and Unbalanced Forces. I used the scenario of the aeroplane as a plenary activity to help assess how well the pupils had learned during the course of the lesson and previous lesson. The other scenarios were used with small groups in revision and extra help sessions. This aided them in coursework and to generally understand graphs and equation relationships.