PHYSICS B - 2025/6

Module Overview

A foundation level physics module designed to reinforce and broaden basic A-Level Physics material in electricity and electronics, nuclear physics, develop practical skills, and prepare students for the more advanced concepts and applications in the first year of their Engineering or Physical Sciences degree. You will attend several lectures and a tutorial each teaching week alongside guided independent study opportunities to develop your understanding of topics more deeply, supported using the university’s virtual learning platform.

Module provider

Sustainability, Civil & Env Engineering

Module Leader

RAHMAN Alifah (Mech Eng Sci)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 3

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

This comprehensive module encompasses essential topics and interconnected fields in electrical engineering and physics. It explores circuit theory, quantum physic, electric and electronics, materials, and nuclear physics.

In various subject areas, numerous chances are presented to enhance comprehension through diverse problem-solving exercises, concurrently refining essential mathematical skills crucial for a strong physics foundation. Participation in these activities cultivates resilience in tackling intricate problems and fosters resourcefulness in employing solution strategies, drawing from other aspects of your Foundation Year studies.

Indicative content includes:

Circuit Theory

• Electric current, potential difference, power

• Ohm’s Law

• Resistors in series and parallel

• Measuring resistance from V and I

• EMF and internal resistance

• Kirchhoff’s laws

• Potential dividers circuits

• Capacitors

• Inductors as circuit elements

• Circuit simplification utilising Thevenin’s theorem

Quantum Physics

• Photoelectric effect

• Energy levels in atoms

• Emission and absorption spectra

• Electron diffraction

Electronics

• Analogue versus Digital Signals

• Digital Electronics

¿ Combinational logic circuits

¿ Analysis, design and simplification of combinational logic circuits

¿ Sequential logic circuits

• Analogue Electronics

¿ Properties of operational amplifiers

¿ Op-amps as comparators

¿ Op-amps with negative feedback

Electrical Conduction

• Microscopic model of electrical conduction – drift velocity, current density, resistivity; the temperature coefficient of resistance

• Metals, semiconductors and insulators

Discrete Devices

• Diodes and Transistors – diode rectifier, Zener diode, the field effect transistor, the transistor as a switch

Radioactivity and Nuclear Energy

• Properties of nuclear radiation

• Exponential law of decay

• Nuclear decay

• Mass defect and binding energy

• Fission and fusion

• Fission reactors

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is structured to allow students to showcase their understanding of physical concepts and principles, as well as their proficiency in solving diverse problems in various contexts using appropriately chosen techniques.

Your summative assessment (assessments which are directly used to determine a pass) for this module consists of:

1.  Timed Online (Open Book) Test administered through SurreyLearn (1 hour) [LOs 1 – 5] 30%.
   
   
   
   
   1. Feedback will be provided in the form of an examiner’s report, which details the common areas the cohort struggled with, and learning objectives you personally struggled with. You can use this feedback to help identify areas which would likely benefit from deeper review before the final exam.
   
   
   
   


2. Written online (Open Book) exam, 4 hours within 4hour window [all learning outcomes covered] 70%.
   
   
   
   1. You can seek appropriate feedback for this terminal examination when preparing for a resit examination, if appropriate.
   
   
   
   

1. Participation in lectures and tutorials offers valuable chances to pose questions, revisit taught content, and enhance understanding through diverse practice questions and discussions with both staff and fellow students.


2. The majority of lecture material and practice questions come with comprehensive model solutions. It is advisable to utilise these solutions for assessing your work, pinpointing areas for improvement, and bringing your work to tutorials for further discussion with staff or peers.

Module aims

• Develop knowledge of the scientific principles pertaining to electric circuits, electronic devices, materials, and nuclear physics.
• Apply the concepts mathematical modelling
• Enhance your theoretical understanding of experimental work

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to familiarise students with physical concepts and techniques, supported by use of examples and applications; students are engaged in the solution of problems and application of techniques in tutorial classes.

The learning and teaching methods include:

Lectures to revise prior learning and bring students from varying backgrounds to a common level of knowledge, and to introduce new concepts and techniques and provide illustrative examples and applications.

Guided self-study, allowing students to cover specific topics independently, fostering the development of their self-learning skills.

Tutorial classes focusing on refining skills in selecting and applying appropriate techniques through problem sheets. Individual and group assistance is provided to address common areas of difficulty.

Independent learning, encouraging students to engage in self-directed learning.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ENG0016

Other information

Foundation Year programmes are committed to developing students with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to develop knowledge and skills in the following:

Employability: You will develop competencies in subject-specific terminology, problem-solving strategies, and specialist knowledge and understanding, highly sought after by many of the likely graduate employers you may choose to work with. This will likely include an ability to critique facts and fiction, approach unfamiliar scenarios with an informed perspective and be capable of mapping an appropriate knowledge and skill set to navigate towards a solution. You will, in turn, develop not only your scientific knowledge and skills but further enhance your ability to communicate science effectively to a range of audiences.

Resourcefulness and resilience: The module is designed in such a way as to encourage and support the progressive development of independent thinking and resourcefulness through scaffolded activities and assessments. You will be exposed to challenging authentic scenarios which invariably lead to setbacks and frustration. You are encouraged to reflect, fault find and to question your strategy if the outcome of a problem-solving process is not as expected. You will learn how to seek verification of your output through independent research or peer collaboration and how to respond constructively to formal and informal feedback. 

Sustainability: Through the introduction of more complex and connected scenarios in science and engineering, you will begin to appreciate that there are often many ways of approaching the same problem and the solutions have differing impacts on society and the environment. You will seek to incorporate societal and environmental impact considerations in “real-world” examples that are included in the module teaching and learning.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.