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Self-Learn Physics


Angel O.

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Hello everyone, 

I am planning on taking the IB Physics Exam next year, the only trouble is that there is only AP physics in my school. I have already talked with my IB coordinator and we have figured out how the Internal Assessment will be graded next school year. I have some sites and channels that might be able to teach me most of the content, yet I doubt that I will be able to find all I need. Can any of you recommend me what should I do, and sites and/or videos to learn and hopefully pass the exams next year?

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Guest TheMagical7

1. You need an IB Physics textbook. In my school we use the Oxford textbook. You can also purchase the study guide which summarizes the points. If you can't burn information into your head then good luck - you are not  trying to memorize everything, you are trying to understand the logic.

Videos and sites are good and all but only a teacher can tell you how much you don't know. This brings me to my next point:

2. Rub your face in exam questions. We use past exam questions for practice. If you're not doing at least 20 for each subtopic, you are not doing enough. You climb a quarter of the mountain with the textbook, and the remainder three-quarters with exam questions. Remember that you get most of the equations that you need in the Physics data-booklet <- you need to familiarize yourself extremely well with it - like use it for every question you do.

 3. Once you finish the chapters, you need to do a truckload of exam papers. These can be pirated but you need to find the source.

 

I recommend against doing HL unless you love Physics, and you cannot be lax about Physics because it will take you time to understand how to approach it. HL students need to do an extra option (Paper 3). 

You need to research the IBO website and find yourself someone who is experienced with the subject - in real life.

 

The toughest thing is finding the exam questions - you really don't want to waste your time searching for them all the time. You should have a school which provides them.

Edited by TheMagical7
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First 40 questions or so of AAPT PhysicsBowl  provide some quick multiple choice questions close to IB syllabus. These cannot replace IB past papers. There are many topics unique to IB and not found in AP so just be aware. I assume you have some background in physics because it's not feasible to learn everything in SL or HL in one year if you have other demanding courses. Finally be sure to go over the official course guide/syllabus as you study and review. 

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