Conservation of energy (roller coaster)
A car rides a roller coaster: energy bars show how potential and kinetic energy turn into each other.
Physics – grade 9
Unit 1Energy as a conserved quantity
1.1Mechanical energy
Converting potential, kinetic and elastic energy and balancing them with the conservation of energy; distinguishing and measuring work and power.
1.2Electrical energy
Charge as a multiple of the elementary charge, voltage as a potential difference, electrical energy and power in circuits, and the efficiency of devices.
No separate simulation is planned for this.
Unit 2Atoms
Photon model of light, colour and photon energy, emission and absorption spectra explained by the energy-level model, and absorption in the Earth’s atmosphere.
No separate simulation is planned for this.
Unit 3Thermal physics
3.1The particle model
Temperature as the mean kinetic energy of particles, internal energy, states of matter, and the pressure, volume and temperature of a gas.
Gas laws
Push the piston halfway in and the pressure doubles. Heat the gas and it pushes the piston out. Pressure, volume and temperature are tightly linked.
Particle model and temperature
Ice melts, water boils, and the temperature stops rising meanwhile. The particles show where the energy goes in between.
3.2Thermal energy transport and influences on our climate
Specific heat capacity, heat as a process quantity, conduction, convection and thermal radiation, and the greenhouse effect and the Earth’s radiation balance.
No separate simulation is planned for this.
Unit 4Profile area at the NTG (science and technology track only)
4.1Climate
Further aspects of the climate system such as sea-level rise, feedbacks and tipping points; checking alternative explanations of global warming with physics.
No separate simulation is planned for this.
4.2Deepening process-related skills with further selected content
Optional topics such as energy in the body, insulation, energy supply, vehicle technology or pressure and buoyancy, documented and presented independently.
No separate simulation is planned for this.
The summaries describe the curriculum in our own words. The original text is authoritative. Original text (German): LehrplanPLUS, Gymnasium, Physics, grade 9