12 Physics

12 Physics

Mā te whakaaro nui e hanga te whare; mā te mātauranga e whakaū - Big Ideas create the house; knowledge maintains it

Physics is the study of how things move and change. Those things might be very large, like the Sun, or they might be roughly human-sized, like a train, or they might be very small, like an atomic nucleus. All of these things move and change in accordance with very simple mathematical rules, which govern the forces acting on the things and the energy they have. Humanity has spent a lot of time trying to understand these rules, and they have helped us make bridges, planes, MRI machines, prosthetics, robots, rockets, and telescopes. By investigating these simple rules we have discovered strange things like black holes and dark matter, quarks and neutrinos, photons and nuclear energy. In this SPIN, you will begin your physics journey by learning the basics of dynamics, movement and energy, and in the context of mechanical systems, waves, electricity, and modern physics.

Physics can open a lot of future pathways for you. Engineering, medical and veterinary science, astronomy, and financial sciences all depend on how things move and change. Physics is very mathematical, and also has an important research component demanding strong literacy. Algebra is the language of physics: expect to use algebra every day. You will either need to be skilled with algebra or be willing to learn.