IB Physics SL

Grades: 11–12 (two-year course)

Subject Area/Course Credit: Science, 1 credit each year

Prerequisite: B- or above in Coordinated Science II OR C+ or above in AP Physics 1/Honors Chemistry/Honors Biology, AND B- or above in Math 2B or C+ or above in Math 2A, or science recommendation

Corequisite: IB Mathematics Analysis & Approaches SL or HL, or IB Mathematics Applications HL

IB Physics SL is a two-year course designed to prepare students for the IB exam at the end of the second year.

As one of the three natural sciences in the IB Diploma Programme, physics is concerned with an attempt to understand the natural world; from determining the nature of the atom to finding patterns in the structure of the universe. It is the search for answers from how the universe exploded into life to the nature of time itself. Observations are essential to the very core of the subject. Models are developed to try to understand observations, and these themselves can become theories that attempt to explain the observations. Besides leading to a better understanding of the natural world, physics gives us the ability to alter our environments. DP physics enables students to constructively engage with topical scientific issues. Students examine scientific knowledge claims in a real-world context, fostering interest and curiosity. By exploring the subject, they develop understandings, skills and techniques which can be applied across their studies and beyond. Integral to the student experience of the DP physics course is the learning that takes place through scientific inquiry both in the classroom and the laboratory.