Physics
Waves, mechanical systems and electrical systems: the three big externals.
Achievement standards
Reference sheet Print flashcardsExternal · 16 credits
AS 91523 Wave Systems Interference, standing waves, resonance, diffraction, Doppler & refraction. External 4 credits AS 91524 Mechanical Systems Circular motion, rotation, SHM and gravitation / orbital mechanics. External 6 credits AS 91526 Electrical Systems DC circuits, capacitors, inductors and AC theory (RMS, reactance). External 6 creditsInternal · 7 credits
AS 91521 Practical Investigation Design & carry out an investigation; linearising data and analysis. Internal 4 credits AS 91525 Modern Physics Atoms, photons, the photoelectric effect, spectra and nuclei. Internal 3 creditsWhere this leads in business & finance
Physics graduates are aggressively recruited by investment banks, hedge funds and trading firms, not for the physics, but for the modelling. Quantitative analysts (“quants”) build the pricing and risk models behind derivatives markets, and the maths is the same differential-equation and probability toolkit you're learning here. Jane Street, Optiver and every major bank hire physicists specifically because they can model complex systems under uncertainty. Closer to home, the same skills drive energy trading, insurance risk pricing, and the engineering economics behind Rocket Lab.
Watch: Physics in the real world Opens a YouTube search: a good one to watch when motivation dips