Delnatour Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 I start Year 1 HL Physics in August thus following the new syllabus.What books should I get or videos I should watch, and should I do something over summer? I am stuck on whether to get the oxford one or the KA. Toskos one that comes out August 31st. Also, any advice to do well in that class overall because I heard it is the hardest course of the year. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jupiter Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 There's some good podcasts free on iTunes - these are good to have a look at, just type in IB physics! It's definitely not the hardest IB course - at my school it's the subject with the highest scores every year (although we're lucky to have a very good teacher). The entire course basically comes down to three things: definitions, explanations, calculations. Top tips: Learn your definitions. Some things are difficult to explain, and you can define things by the formula that derives them, which is easy because you're given the formulas, and you just have to know to use them! Get to know your formula booklet. Obviously you don't need to memorise the formulas, but you do need to memorise what each letter stands for, and what those things mean. The same letter often stands for something different in different formulas, so get to know these especially well! Lots of practise calculations. The questions will never be exactly the same, especially with the syllabus change, but the same types of question crop up over and over again, making you do the same calculations in the same order, and if you can recognise these easily then you'll have a definite advantage in the exam. Revise questions and calculations (with answers) from past papers, as well as your notes. These will give you a lot more insight into what you need to know - in IB physics more than any other subject, I've found, having the facts is not enough - you need to know how to answer the questions, and this is why I think a lot of people find it really difficult. Good luck Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
entrails Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 ^ I second everything jupiter said! One thing I highly recommend as a study guide is to look at the syllabus. It depends on how your teacher does things, but if they don't show you the syllabus and the things you're learning, look at the syllabus yourself (it can be found with a google search) and make sure you're able to do everything under every section. The syllabus is especially helpful when it comes to definitions and derivations you need to know. As for textbooks, we used the Tsokos book (5th edition, so I can't speak for the one coming out in August) in my physics class and to be honest, I found it rather convoluted and sometimes it would make some glaring omissions of points from the syllabus, which was odd. I would say, no physics textbook is perfect and you'll have to find some information on your own no matter what, but just based on my own personal experience, I recommend the Oxford book over the Tsokos book. And also look into getting the course companion / study guide version of whatever book you end up using - it's a tremendously helpful study tool! But yeah, basically you just need to know definitions, understand the concepts behind stuff, and do calculations. And the best things I can recommend for achieving that is, study with the syllabus and learn the definitions, ask questions in class when you don't understand the concepts, and do your homework! You need to practice your skills in order to improve them. Best wishes! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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