Home Physics Saxony curriculum · Gymnasium Grade 12 Physics Saxony curriculum · Gymnasium
Physics – grade 12 Grade 12 with basic course (GK) and advanced course (LK). The GK/LK prefixes are ours; the numbers after them are the curriculum’s; W marks optional areas.
Unit GK-1 Mechanical and electromagnetic oscillations and waves (basic course)Harmonic oscillation of a spring pendulum, the LC circuit, waves with reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference, standing waves, and light as a wave at double slits and gratings.
A mass bounces up and down on a spring. Graphs show position, speed and energy during the oscillation.
Grade 10–12 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12 Berlin: grades 9/10, 11 Brandenburg: grades 9/10, 11 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grades 10, 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 12 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
A wave travels through a chain of particles. Each particle only oscillates in place, across or along the direction of travel.
Grade 10–12 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 11 Berlin: grades 9/10, 12 Brandenburg: grades 9/10, 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grades 7–10, 12/13 Saarland: grade 12 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Two circular waves overlap: in some places they reinforce each other, in others they cancel out.
Grade 10–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12 Berlin: grades 9/10, 12 Brandenburg: grades 9/10, 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grades 12, 13 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
A wave is reflected at the end and a fixed pattern of nodes and antinodes appears, like on a guitar string.
Grade 11–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 12 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Laser light passes through a double slit or a grating. A pattern of bright and dark stripes appears on the screen.
Grade 10–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12, 13 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 13 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 13 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Unit GK-2 Practical: optics and oscillations (basic course)Experimental tasks on oscillations and optics and analysis of measurement uncertainty.
No separate simulation is planned for this.
Unit GK-3 Quantum objects (basic course)The photoelectric effect and photon model, de Broglie wavelength and electron diffraction, stochastic interpretation and complementarity.
Red light can be as bright as you like, it frees not a single electron. Short-wave light does it at once. A puzzle for waves, not for photons.
Grade 12–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 13 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 13 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 13 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grade 12/13
Electrons hit a thin layer of graphite and form rings on the screen, just like waves do.
Grade 12–13 · University Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 13 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 13 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 13 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grade 12/13
Unit GK-4 Models of the atom (basic course)The Bohr model, energy levels and discrete spectra, orbitals and lasers.
Every element glows in its own colours. When an electron drops one level, exactly one line appears in the spectrum.
Grade 12–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 13 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 13 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 13 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grade 12/13
Unit GK-W1 Applications of physics (optional, basic course)The Doppler effect for sound, ultrasound in medicine and X-rays.
An ambulance drives past and the siren sounds lower. The wave fronts show why. You can also listen to it.
Grade 10–12 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bremen: grade 11/12 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saxony: grade 12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Unit GK-W2 Radioactivity (optional, basic course)Types of radiation, the chart of nuclides, the decay law, half-life and activity.
Many nuclei decay at random and a Geiger counter clicks. Even so, after each half-life almost exactly half are left.
Grade 8–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 9/10 Bavaria: grades 10, 13 Berlin: grade 9/10 Brandenburg: grade 9/10 Bremen: grade 7–9 Hamburg: grades 8, 9 Hesse: grades 9/10, 13 Lower Saxony: grades 9/10, 11, 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grades 7–10, 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grades 7–10, 12/13 Saarland: grades 10, 11 Saxony: grades 9, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 10 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 7–10, 12/13
Unit LK-1 Mechanical and electromagnetic oscillations (advanced course)Spring and simple pendulums with the linear force law, damped oscillations, resonance and comparison with the LC circuit.
A mass bounces up and down on a spring. Graphs show position, speed and energy during the oscillation.
Grade 10–12 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12 Berlin: grades 9/10, 11 Brandenburg: grades 9/10, 11 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grades 10, 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 12 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Pull a pendulum aside, let it go and measure how long one swing takes. What does it depend on? Also with large angles and damping.
Grade 10–12 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 11 Berlin: grades 9/10, 11 Brandenburg: grades 9/10, 11 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grades 10, 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 12 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
A motor drives an oscillating wheel. If the motor hits exactly the right rhythm, the wheel swings especially strongly: resonance.
Grade 10–13 · University Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12 Berlin: grades 9/10, 11 Brandenburg: grades 9/10, 11 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grades 7–10, 12/13 Saarland: grades 12, 13 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Unit LK-2 Mechanical and electromagnetic waves (advanced course)Travelling and standing waves, reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference, radio waves, and light at double slits, gratings and single slits.
A wave travels through a chain of particles. Each particle only oscillates in place, across or along the direction of travel.
Grade 10–12 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 11 Berlin: grades 9/10, 12 Brandenburg: grades 9/10, 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grades 7–10, 12/13 Saarland: grade 12 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Two circular waves overlap: in some places they reinforce each other, in others they cancel out.
Grade 10–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12 Berlin: grades 9/10, 12 Brandenburg: grades 9/10, 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grades 12, 13 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
A wave is reflected at the end and a fixed pattern of nodes and antinodes appears, like on a guitar string.
Grade 11–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 12 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 12 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Laser light passes through a double slit or a grating. A pattern of bright and dark stripes appears on the screen.
Grade 10–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grades 11, 12, 13 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 13 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 13 Saxony: grades 10, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 11, 12/13
Unit LK-3 Practical: optics and oscillations (advanced course)Experimental tasks and quantitative analysis of measurement uncertainty.
No separate simulation is planned for this.
Unit LK-4 Quantum objects (advanced course)The photoelectric effect, photon momentum, electron diffraction, the wave function, the uncertainty principle and the delayed-choice experiment.
Red light can be as bright as you like, it frees not a single electron. Short-wave light does it at once. A puzzle for waves, not for photons.
Grade 12–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 13 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 13 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 13 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grade 12/13
Electrons hit a thin layer of graphite and form rings on the screen, just like waves do.
Grade 12–13 · University Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 13 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 13 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 13 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grade 12/13
Unit LK-5 Models of the atom (advanced course)Atomic models, energy levels and spectra, the potential well, luminescence, lasers and the X-ray spectrum.
Every element glows in its own colours. When an electron drops one level, exactly one line appears in the spectrum.
Grade 12–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 12/13 Bavaria: grade 13 Berlin: grade 12 Brandenburg: grade 12 Bremen: grade 11/12 Hamburg: grade 11/12 Hesse: grade 13 Lower Saxony: grade 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grade 12/13 Saarland: grade 13 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 11/12 Schleswig-Holstein: grade 12/13
Unit LK-6 Thermodynamics (advanced course)The ideal gas law, isochoric, isobaric and isothermal changes, the laws of thermodynamics, Carnot and Stirling cycles and efficiency.
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.
Grade 8–13 · University Baden-Württemberg: grade 9/10 Bavaria: grade 9 Berlin: grade 7/8 Brandenburg: grade 7/8 Bremen: grade 10 Hesse: grade 9/10 Lower Saxony: grade 9/10 North Rhine-Westphalia: grade 7–10 Rhineland-Palatinate: grades 7–10, 12/13 Saarland: grades 8, 10 Saxony: grade 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 7/8 Schleswig-Holstein: grade 12/13
Unit LK-W1 Properties of atomic nuclei (optional, advanced course)Types of radiation, nuclear transformations, the decay law and interaction with matter.
Many nuclei decay at random and a Geiger counter clicks. Even so, after each half-life almost exactly half are left.
Grade 8–13 Baden-Württemberg: grade 9/10 Bavaria: grades 10, 13 Berlin: grade 9/10 Brandenburg: grade 9/10 Bremen: grade 7–9 Hamburg: grades 8, 9 Hesse: grades 9/10, 13 Lower Saxony: grades 9/10, 11, 12/13 North Rhine-Westphalia: grades 7–10, 12/13 Rhineland-Palatinate: grades 7–10, 12/13 Saarland: grades 10, 11 Saxony: grades 9, 12 Saxony-Anhalt: grade 10 Schleswig-Holstein: grades 7–10, 12/13
Unit LK-W2 Deterministic chaos (optional, advanced course)Non-linear systems, attractors and limited predictability.
No separate simulation is planned for this.
The summaries describe the curriculum in our own words. The original text is authoritative. Original text (German): Lehrplan, Gymnasium, Physics, grade 12
