What should I do? Not learning anything from physics course

[noinoeso]

My physics class is useless!

I noticed this on my first Ib exams (which where simulations of the actual ones). The day my group took physics exam everyone came out worried. No one knew exactly how to answer the exam.

Later on, we saw our grades. Everyone on the classroom, except me (lucky of me), failed the exam. This was a big surprise for all of us, so we decided to ask the IB students one year older than us.

They told us that in our school we are learning physics as the school wants to (learn formulas and know how to apply them, just as a math course with a twist). This is completely different from IB physics, which revolve strongly on theories and the way matter and energy work.

What would you do in my case? Is there a way I can learn physics at my own?

The knowledge i acquire on this class will be helpful to solve all the exams while i finish IB, but at the moment of the final IB exam, i will be cmpletely ignorant of what i need to answer.

[Drake Glau]

Get a good IB book and teach yourself. The previous class was right, you definitely need to know how to manipulate formulas past just pluggin in stuff. You need to know the concept and then what formulas go with it and then use multiple formulas to get the information you need to use the formula for the answer...

You might end up teaching yourself a lot, sorry

[noinoeso]

Get a good IB book and teach yourself. The previous class was right, you definitely need to know how to manipulate formulas past just pluggin in stuff. You need to know the concept and then what formulas go with it and then use multiple formulas to get the information you need to use the formula for the answer...

You might end up teaching yourself a lot, sorry

Thank you for your answer.

Which Ib book would you recommend me to use?

Is there an online free version of it?

[suggaplum]

Get a good IB book and teach yourself. The previous class was right, you definitely need to know how to manipulate formulas past just pluggin in stuff. You need to know the concept and then what formulas go with it and then use multiple formulas to get the information you need to use the formula for the answer...

You might end up teaching yourself a lot, sorry

Thank you for your answer.

Which Ib book would you recommend me to use?

Is there an online free version of it?

I personally don't take physics, but the physics students in my school are also suffering like you since the teacher just simply opens the textbook and reads it (which I think is no different from the students reading it themselves...) and he completely does not know about the IB exam (mixes up between option and core questions on the test and doesn't know that we only have to answer 2 questions for Section B.. he told them to answer all) So many of the physics students bought the Pearson Baccalaureate book, which apparently is very helpful. I have the bio and chem one, and it is probably the best textbook out of the whole lot. They use the IBID one in school however they said its very wordy and some explanations are not clear.

There aren't any online versions for both, but if you go to the Pearson Baccalaureate page, there are a few sample spreads for both HL & SL so you can decide for yourself if they're helpful, before you order a book for yourself.

I personally think the best revision is from past papers, naturally you have to know the concepts behind it and therefore apply it, not just using the formulae as they are given and plugging in values. Get hold of some past papers and find questions for different topics and after you self learn something, try a couple of questions and see how it is being asked and how its being answers. You'll really benefit from it since you'll familiarise yourself with the type of questions/way the questions are asked. But please please remember not to just look at the question and then the markscheme, that is not the way to use past papers. They are there to let you stretch your brain and complete them, simply memorising the answer is not the way to go.

http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/Secondary/BusinessAndEconomics/IBResources/PearsonBaccalaureate/Try/Try.aspx

Good luck

[Drake Glau]

Get a good IB book and teach yourself. The previous class was right, you definitely need to know how to manipulate formulas past just pluggin in stuff. You need to know the concept and then what formulas go with it and then use multiple formulas to get the information you need to use the formula for the answer...

You might end up teaching yourself a lot, sorry

Thank you for your answer.

Which Ib book would you recommend me to use?

Is there an online free version of it?

I personally don't take physics, but the physics students in my school are also suffering like you since the teacher just simply opens the textbook and reads it (which I think is no different from the students reading it themselves...) and he completely does not know about the IB exam (mixes up between option and core questions on the test and doesn't know that we only have to answer 2 questions for Section B.. he told them to answer all) So many of the physics students bought the Pearson Baccalaureate book, which apparently is very helpful. I have the bio and chem one, and it is probably the best textbook out of the whole lot. They use the IBID one in school however they said its very wordy and some explanations are not clear.

There aren't any online versions for both, but if you go to the Pearson Baccalaureate page, there are a few sample spreads for both HL & SL so you can decide for yourself if they're helpful, before you order a book for yourself.

I personally think the best revision is from past papers, naturally you have to know the concepts behind it and therefore apply it, not just using the formulae as they are given and plugging in values. Get hold of some past papers and find questions for different topics and after you self learn something, try a couple of questions and see how it is being asked and how its being answers. You'll really benefit from it since you'll familiarise yourself with the type of questions/way the questions are asked. But please please remember not to just look at the question and then the markscheme, that is not the way to use past papers. They are there to let you stretch your brain and complete them, simply memorising the answer is not the way to go.

http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/Secondary/BusinessAndEconomics/IBResources/PearsonBaccalaureate/Try/Try.aspx

Good luck

I used pearson's, it was purple if that helps. I've already turned it in though so I can't tell you much more than that sorry

We also had a blue book (it had a skier on it) by Giancolli or something like that. It was a great book personally that explained things in a less technical vocabulary because the IB books can sometimes be overwhelming with their science vocab

[noinoeso]

Thanks for the support!

I will start to search for these books during vacations.

[Rigel]

Thanks for the support!

I will start to search for these books during vacations.

I'm in the same situation, the problem is that my coursebook is horrible. I'm getting the Pearson Bac one because a lot of people here on IBS recommend it.

Edited May 15, 2011 by Ipos Manger

[Daedalus]

The best way to study for any course, and particularly one where your teacher is entirely incompetent (happens more than you think!) is to get the same information in several forms. Some schools have a lax policy with books and you can end up stealing several different IB physics books; others don't, so you might have to buy it yourself. If you're completely self-teaching, I'd recommend at least two textbooks, and two study guides (OSC and Kirk for example). You'll have to actually devote a lot of time to teaching yourself things, doing practice questions, etc. It'll be like university!!

Minus the sexually liberal culture and danger of death from alcohol overdose, which we might as well be thankful for, because its lurking somewhere in your future.