Italy: Description of Physics Programs and Curriculum
Students assessed in TIMSS Advanced 2015 followed the National Guidelines of 2010 for the upper secondary schools (Licei, Istituti Tecnici, Istituti Professionali). The five-year curriculum is divided into three parts by grade. The topics taught at each grade are listed below.
| Grade | Topics |
|---|---|
| Grades 9 and 10 |
Scalar quantity and vector quantity, unit of measurement
Geometrical optics: reflection and refraction, optical instruments Thermic phenomena (macroscopic viewpoint): temperature, definition of heat, calorimetry, thermal equilibrium, changes in states of matter Forces and equilibrium: machines and mechanical advantage Equilibrium of fluids: density and pressure, Pascal’s principle, Archimedes’ principle and buoyant force Kinematics: one-dimensional motion, displacement, velocity, acceleration Forces and Newton’s laws of motion Work and energy: potential energy, kinetic energy, conservation of energy, power |
| Grades 11 and 12 |
Two-dimensional motion
Forces and Newton’s laws of motion (study in depth): inertial and not inertial reference frame, Galilean principle of relativity; Conservation of energy (study in depth) Fluid Dynamics: volume flow rate and equation of continuity, Bernoulli’s equation Linear momentum, conservation of momentum, and elastic collisions Center of mass, torque, angular velocity and angular momentum, conservation of angular momentum Gravitation: from Kepler to Newton Ideal gas, ideal gas law Molecular theory of gases Laws of thermodynamics, entropy Oscillatory motion: harmonic motion Mechanical waves: amplitude, period, frequency and wavelength of periodic waves Wave propagation: absorption, reflection, interference, refraction, diffraction, polarization, dispersion Acoustic waves Light waves Coulomb’s Law, Electric field Electric potential energy, electric potential and voltage Capacitors and capacitance, dielectrics in capacitors, energy of a capacitor Circuits and Ohm’s law, resistors in series and in parallel, resistivity and conductivity, voltmeters and ammeters, electrolytic conductivity, R-C circuits Magnets and magnetic force: magnetic force on a charge, magnetic force on a current carrying wire Magnetic field created by a current carrying wire, magnetic force between two currents going in the same and in opposite direction Electric motors |
| Grade 13 |
Electromagnetic induction
Applications of induction R-L circuits Maxwell’s Equations Electromagnetic radiation and electromagnetic spectrum Relativity, mass-energy equivalence The photoelectric effect and the nature of light Planck’s theory of blackbody radiation Atomic spectra and quantum theory Structure of the nucleus, radioactivity Recommended insights: astrophysics and cosmology Elementary particles Nano- and micro-technologies, new materials Solid state physics: semiconductors Renewable energy |