Valencian Community PAU Physics study plan

Derive and apply Newton's law of universal gravitation to compute gravitational field strength and potential at a point due to one or more point masses.

Calculate gravitational potential energy of a two-body system and relate it to escape velocity and orbital speed for circular orbits.

State and apply Kepler's three laws to solve problems involving orbital periods, semi-major axes and areal velocity.

Distinguish field strength from potential and explain why gravitational potential is negative and zero at infinity.

Apply conservation of mechanical energy and of angular momentum to orbital and free-fall problems.

Solve problems on weightlessness, apparent gravity and variation of g with altitude and latitude.

Analyse simple systems using Newton's second law with variable forces and resolve forces on inclines and in circular motion.

Interpret and sketch field-line and equipotential diagrams and justify their perpendicularity.

Write and use the equation of simple harmonic motion (SHM) to find amplitude, angular frequency, period, phase and displacement as a function of time.

Derive expressions for velocity and acceleration in SHM and relate them to energy conservation in a mass-spring and a simple pendulum.

Describe and calculate the behaviour of a damped oscillator and distinguish underdamped, critically damped and overdamped cases qualitatively.

State the conditions for resonance and give one real example where resonance is useful and one where it is dangerous.

Apply the wave equation v = f·lambda to mechanical and electromagnetic waves and convert between frequency, period and wavelength.

Explain and calculate phenomena of reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference for mechanical waves, including path-difference conditions for constructive and destructive interference.

Describe standing waves on strings and in pipes and determine harmonic frequencies for fixed and free ends.

Apply the Doppler effect formula to moving source and moving observer cases for sound.

Solve mixed problems that combine SHM with gravitational contexts, such as a pendulum on another planet or orbital period versus pendulum period.

Re-derive key results from memory (escape velocity, SHM period, standing-wave condition) without notes.

Identify which physical principle governs each part of a multi-step exam problem before calculating.

Practise writing justified answers that state the law used, the substitution and the unit of the result.

Apply Coulomb's law and the superposition principle to compute the net electric field and potential at a point due to several point charges.

Relate electric field to potential gradient and calculate the work done moving a charge between two points.

Apply Gauss's law to symmetric charge distributions (sphere, infinite sheet, line) and justify the choice of Gaussian surface.

Compute magnetic force on moving charges and current-carrying wires and determine the field of a long straight wire and a solenoid.

Apply Faraday's and Lenz's laws to calculate induced emf and determine the direction of induced current.

Describe the motion of a charged particle in a uniform magnetic field and calculate radius and period of the circular path.

Apply the laws of reflection and refraction, including Snell's law, critical angle and total internal reflection.

Construct ray diagrams for thin lenses and spherical mirrors and use the lens/mirror equation with the sign convention consistently.

Explain interference and diffraction of light through Young's double slit and a diffraction grating, and calculate fringe spacing.

Define and apply the concepts of focal length, magnification and optical power in simple optical instruments.

Apply time dilation and length contraction formulas and the relativistic mass-energy relation to simple problems.

Explain the photoelectric effect using photon energy and work function, and calculate threshold frequency and stopping potential.

Describe radioactive decay, write balanced nuclear equations and apply the half-life relation to activity and remaining nuclei.

Design and describe an experiment to measure a physical quantity, stating the independent, dependent and control variables and the instruments used.

Calculate uncertainties in direct and derived quantities, express results with correct significant figures and interpret a linearised graph to obtain a gradient.