LC Physics study guide
LC Physics · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Leaving Certificate Physics (Fisic) is the Irish senior-cycle physics qualification, studied over two years and examined by the State Examinations Commission. It suits students who want a physics-based science subject for CAO entry - engineering, physics, computing, and many medical and health courses - or who simply want a quantitative science alongside another science subject. The LC Physics study guide has 6 sections and about 1,970 words.
01Mechanics
Mechanics is the LC Physics domain that tests straight-line motion, Newton’s laws, momentum, energy, moments and circular motion. Questions usually combine a calculation with a statement of the relevant principle, so show the equation, substitute with units and state the direction or conservation condition.
318 words, about 2 min02Waves
Waves tests wave motion, the wave equation, superposition, standing waves, resonance, diffraction, interference, polarisation and the Doppler effect. The exam expects you to connect a physical situation to a wave property and to calculate frequency, wavelength, speed or path difference.
323 words, about 2 min03Sound and Light
Sound and Light tests sound as a longitudinal pressure wave and light as a transverse electromagnetic wave, including intensity, reflection, refraction, lenses, critical angle and total internal reflection. Calculations often use Snell’s law, the lens formula or intensity ratios.
330 words, about 2 min04Electricity and Magnetism
Electricity and Magnetism tests electrostatic force and field, potential, capacitance, DC circuits, magnetic force and electromagnetic induction. You should be able to select the correct law and to track charge, current, energy and flux through a circuit or coil.
339 words, about 2 min05Modern Physics (the electron, the atom and the nucleus)
Modern Physics tests the electron, the atom and the nucleus: the photoelectric effect, atomic energy levels and spectra, de Broglie wavelength, radioactivity, half-life, nuclear equations and mass–energy equivalence. A photon has energy E = hf = hc/λ.
317 words, about 2 min06Heat and Temperature
Heat and Temperature tests the distinction between heat and temperature, specific heat capacity, latent heat, gas laws, thermodynamics and heat transfer by conduction, convection and radiation. Temperature is a measure of average kinetic energy; heat is energy transferred because of a temperature difference.
343 words, about 2 min