Introduction
OCR involves teachers in the development of new support materials to capture current teaching practices tailored to our new specifications. These support materials are designed to inspire teachers and facilitate different ideas and teaching practices. Each Scheme of Work and set of sample Lesson Plans is provided in Word format – so that you can use it as a foundation to build upon and amend the content to suit your teaching style and students’ needs.
The Scheme of Work and sample Lesson plans provide examples of how to teach this unit and the teaching hours are suggestions only. Some or all of it may be applicable to your teaching.
The Specification is the document on which assessment is based and specifies what content and skills need to be covered in delivering the course. At all times, therefore, this Support Material booklet should be read in conjunction with the Specification. If clarification on a particular point is sought then that clarification should be found in the Specification itself. References to the content statements for each lesson are given in the ‘Points to note’ column.

Sample Scheme of Work
GCSE 21st Century Science Physics A J245
Module P2: Radiation and life
Suggested Teaching Time: 13 Hours

Topic outline
Suggested teaching and homework activities
Suggested resources
Points to note
1. Models of radiation
Discussion about how light travels.
Use ray boxes and mirrors to show reflection (class practical).
Students should trace the path of the light and explain how it reaches its final destination.
Use ray boxes and mirrors to trace the path light takes from one place to another. Students should appreciate that light doesn’t leave the eye and hit anything but leaves an object to enter the eye.
Discuss the speed of light and how it travels from one place to another.
Use a laser to show you can’t see a beam of light unless there is something for it to reflect off – chalk dust or an aerosol will work.

Recap of KS3 to see things we can either reflect light from them, they give out light,, or light is scattered from them
Specification links:
P2.1.1. interpret situations in which one object affects another some distance away in terms of a general model of electromagnetic radiation: a. one object (a source) emits radiation b. the radiation travels outwards from the source and can be reÀ ected, transmitted or absorbed (or a combination of these) by materials it encounters c. radiation may affect another object (a detector) some distance away, when it is absorbed
P2.1.2. understand that light is one of a family of radiations called the electromagnetic spectrum
P2.1.3. understand that a beam of electromagnetic radiation transfers energy in ‘packets’ called photons

Topic outline
Suggested teaching and homework activities
Suggested resources
Points to note
2. Photons
Introduce the idea that light travels as photons with increasing energy linked to increasing frequency
Students investigate the intensity of light at increasing distance
Multimedia science school / sunflower demonstration www.rm.com/shops/rmshop/ product.aspx?cref=pd952460&srcurl=/mss
Data loggers and light sensors.
Graphs to show the inverse square law for more able students. Possible investigation as preparation for controlled assessment.

Specification links:
P2.1.4. understand that the higher the frequency of an electromagnetic radiation, the more energy is transferred by each photon
P2.1.5. list the electromagnetic radiations in order of the energy transferred by each photon, or in order of frequency: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, red visible light violet, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays
P2.1.6. recall that all types of electromagnetic radiation travel at exactly the same, very high but finite, speed through space (a vacuum) of 300 000 km/s
P2.1.7. understand that the energy arriving at a square metre of surface each second is a useful measure of the