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Physics HL Proper Textbooks/Study Guides?


David14

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I am currently doing Physics HL and my exams are in May, finding it
kind of difficult (some parts are somewhat easy while some very hard
to compherehend). Yet even for the easy parts the IB manages to set
difficult questions thus screwing you over.

What are your thoughts on a specific textbook/study guide that works
well for you? I'm not really having a panic attack but am a bit
worried. I currently have the Tsokos and Oxford Physics Study Guide by
Tim Kirk as a textbook and study guide.

Oh and we are currently just starting the HL bit for Electricity
(Electromagentic Induction), is that normal considering we are this
far in the course?

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I'm yet to really find a textbook that really works well myself, though I have looked through quite a few. The two books you have are pretty decent in my opinion though, the Tsokos book in particular is generally very clear with the explanations - though it tends to also cover things that aren't actually needed for the course. I've found that there really aren't any textbooks that give you much in terms of questions though - for that it's typically better to just to past-papers.

In terms of pace and coverage, what topics are are you yet to do? My class still has to do chapter 8 + a second option and my teacher predicts we'll be finishing around March, so I'd say you are a bit behind if you still have more to cover than that.

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Dnivise-

I'll look into it, probs buy it online thanks! And I know this is a bit unorthodox and out of the blue, but what is your predicted grade?

Cntrls-

We still haven't started the two options plus nuclear atomic (neither hl nor sl content) , the global warming one (energy and climate I think it's called?) and digital technology.

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I use a combination of Tsoks and Pearson. I feel where one is weak often the other is strong. Also having both of them gives you alot more questions, which help in areas which you may be weaker. Other than that I think their is meant to be a good OSC study guide, which many of my friends use and that may be worth looking at.

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We have already finished electromagnetic induction but I think our teacher does not teach in order. It is honestly one of the easiest units in Physics. There are a lot of more weird units. The textbooks you have are fine. Just make sure to carefully study the study guide. Also the internet and Youtube videos on the Physics topics are usually helpful also.

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The Pearson Baccalaureate book is kind of mediocre, but it should suffice (sometimes the author states obvious or irrelevant analogies). You could as well try the Tsokos book, but it's kind of frustrating as most of it's problems are college or undergrad level, and they don't really measure how you are going to do in the exams. I think that it focuses more on how to solve examples rather than teaching you the concise theory. Forget about IBID, it's the worst company for the IB ever (at least excluding the Chemistry IBID book which is fairly decent).

What you really need to get is the IB Study Guide (by Oxford). I used it mainly for my final exams and I got a decent grade (i didn't even need to touch my textbook or notebook after getting the Study Guide). Be reminded though, that you might require to do some reinforcement in Topic 5 and Topic 6, as they aren't that well developed in the book. However, it has the best outline for Topic 8, and that's pretty much all you need for the final exam. I would even recommend it just for Topic 8 for how well it is developed.

Edited by Rigel
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What you really need to get is the IB Study Guide (by Oxford). I used it mainly for my final exams and I got a decent grade (i didn't even need to touch my textbook or notebook after getting the Study Guide). Be reminded though, that you might require to do some reinforcement in Topic 5 and Topic 6, as they aren't that well developed in the book. However, it has the best outline for Topic 8, and that's pretty much all you need for the final exam. I would even recommend it just for Topic 8 for how well it is developed.

As I earlier mentioned, I already have it, yet for some bits I feel it lacks depth (for instance it sometimes doeesn't explain how a formula is derived) - remember it is a study guide not a textbook. However if you can use it to get high marks I'm cool with that and will continue to use it.

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We use the pearson textbook and I don't like it, at all. The definitions it has are always incorrect and if you were to write them in an exam you'd get no points, and it isn't clear in explaining a lot of the content. In addition to that the questions it has (that aren't the practice questions) are usually too easy compared to actual IB papers and there aren't enough questions in the practice question to properly study for the exams. I already ordered the Tsokos textbook to study for mocks (in january).

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Given that we are this far into the course,

We still haven't started the two options plus nuclear atomic (neither hl nor sl content) , the global warming one (energy and climate I think it's called?) and digital technology

I was wondering where exactly you guys are up to and is it normal to have 4 topics + 2 options that are yet to be learnt?

I am Physics HL and my exams in May.

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Given that we are this far into the course,

We still haven't started the two options plus nuclear atomic (neither hl nor sl content) , the global warming one (energy and climate I think it's called?) and digital technology

I was wondering where exactly you guys are up to and is it normal to have 4 topics + 2 options that are yet to be learnt?

I am Physics HL and my exams in May.

Well I only have the 2 options and part of the thermodynamics and part of nuclear left. I think it's still best for me to learn ahead over the holidays since physics is a subject I am not doing so well in. Also, have you finished your investigations? You should at least have those finished, but even then you seem a bit behind.

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Given that we are this far into the course,

We still haven't started the two options plus nuclear atomic (neither hl nor sl content) , the global warming one (energy and climate I think it's called?) and digital technology

I was wondering where exactly you guys are up to and is it normal to have 4 topics + 2 options that are yet to be learnt?

I am Physics HL and my exams in May.

You need to study in advance if you're planning to get a 7. I was in Physics SL and I was in a worse situation than you, we had 4 months left for the final exams and we had only done Topics 1, 2, 3, 4 (in a really mediocre way) and 5. I had to teach myself Topics 6, 7, 8 and study the options by my own, Options A and E (take Option E if you have the chance, it was the most enjoyable part of the syllabus).

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We also have a lot to do in little time. We still have to do digital technology, the easier part of nuclear physics (half life, radioactive decay and that stuff), the climate topic and a second option. The worse part is that the parts that we've done weren't done thoroughly since our teacher isn't familiar with the IB and this is the first time he teaches and IB class (he taught middle school science before teaching us...). So I'm pretty worried about the physics exam. I'm studying on my own though, and hopefully that'll prove to be successful.

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I'm studying on my own though, and hopefully that'll prove to be successful.

Good on you, just make sure you don't only study Physics and neglect other subjects. It took me a while to realise that my Language B subject (sl) has the same amount of weight as Physics although there is a clear, for some a practical rather massive difference in the amount of hours and content; so take advantage of that imo.

Given that we are this far into the course,

We still haven't started the two options plus nuclear atomic (neither hl nor sl content) , the global warming one (energy and climate I think it's called?) and digital technology

I was wondering where exactly you guys are up to and is it normal to have 4 topics + 2 options that are yet to be learnt?

I am Physics HL and my exams in May.

You need to study in advance if you're planning to get a 7. I was in Physics SL and I was in a worse situation than you, we had 4 months left for the final exams and we had only done Topics 1, 2, 3, 4 (in a really mediocre way) and 5. I had to teach myself Topics 6, 7, 8 and study the options by my own, Options A and E (take Option E if you have the chance, it was the most enjoyable part of the syllabus).

Thanks I really don't be seen as a complainer about teachers but I think I'm in a similar situation as you (rather less for Physics as in Economics) but I understand what you mean (Y)

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