Overview

Higher, in much greater depth: fewer topics, modelled mathematically — calculus included — to explain and predict how things behave. Regular past-paper practice with corrections is what moves the grade.

🧠 What we study (big picture)
  • Serious modelling: building explanations from assumptions, evidence, and maths that actually means something.
  • Modern/advanced ideas: the kind of concepts that make you say “that’s weird… but it works.”
  • Skills focus: clear derivations, tidy working, strong graphs, and explanations that don’t panic under pressure.
  • Exam mindset: AH questions love structure — define, model, calculate, interpret.
Nerdy truth: AH is basically “be friends with the model” — once you trust it, the marks start appearing.
✅ A quick weekly routine that works
  • 1) Learn the idea (notes/video) → 2) do 2–3 worked examples → 3) past-paper questions → 4) check + fix mistakes.
  • When stuck: write the knowns, the model/assumption, and the equation before touching the calculator.
  • Use the Past Paper Question Finder tile as your main “training ground”.

Learn

Meet the idea, then see it worked. Start with the topic page, and use the slides for the lesson you were taught.

📚 Topic pages Mr Stewart's Notes, worked examples and self-check practice, one page per topic, in teaching order. 📽 Lesson slides Mr Stewart's Every class deck as a PDF, in teaching order — catch up on a lesson, or copy the notes again. Scholar External site Heriot-Watt's full course online — the notes to read, and the end-of-topic tests set as homework. Scholar login. Flash Animations External site Interactive animations and simulations — good for seeing a model move before you trust it. The other (better) Mr Stewart External site Video walkthroughs and topic playlists. The FANTASTIC Mrs Physics External site Fun fact: she taught me at school — any unusually clear explanation is probably her fault 😄 Graphing in Excel (iPad) Mr Stewart's Step-by-step guide to AH-standard graphs in Excel for iPadOS (PDF) — the skill the project marks hardest.

Practise

Where the marks are actually won. Past-paper questions with corrections, and a test pair per topic that marks itself.

📝 Practice tests Mr Stewart's A pair of 25-mark tests for each topic — sit one on screen, press Finish, and see where the marks went. ⭐ Past Paper Question Finder Every past-paper question sorted by topic, with links to the marking instructions — your main training ground (large PDF). Past-paper questions by topic Straight from a topic to the questions that exist, with marking instructions. Coming soon.

Revise

Close to the exam: check what you can already do, and work through whole papers under time.

✅ Success Criteria Mr Stewart's The full “can I…?” checklist for every topic — tick off what you have mastered and revise what you have not (PDF). SQA past papers External site Official whole papers and marking instructions — sit one to time once the topics are covered. SQA course pages External site The course specification, the relationships sheet and the data sheet, straight from the source.
Tip: if you ever think “I get it”… do a past-paper question anyway. AH has a talent for revealing hidden gaps.

Sources & credits: the Past Paper Question Finder is compiled by Mr Davie (September 2025 update by Mr White); past-paper questions and marking instructions © Qualifications Scotland (SQA). Scholar © Heriot-Watt University.