Failing Physics HL

lolo97

I'm an average student doing all higher for my lc except maths. My mocks are a week away and I'm worried about physics. We had a mechanics test today and I failed that despite constant study and doing past exam questions. I honestly don't know what to do. I began getting grinds at the start of January. My teacher is an okay teacher, definitely knows his stuff but I'm beginning to wonder what is the problem between me and physics. My past grades have been inconsistent; i do very well in one test, bad in another etc.

Anyone else have experience with this? Can anyone help me?

Dropping down would have devastating consequences on my total results and I really don't want to do OL.

Thank you all

TSMGUY

Past papers, past papers and more past papers! I got a B1 in honours physics and was devastated I didn't get an A2. Viewed the script and it turns out I messed up the experiments and derivations.

GET THE SIMPLE STUFF DOWN!

rainbowtrout

Are there topics on the course that you find ok or is all of it generally difficult?

E.g. Q6 on the exam paper is usually mechanics. If you find mechanics that difficult, you can always avoid this question.


Your options

Section A:

Four experiments to do three:

Usually the options include Light, Mechanics, Electricity, Sound/Heat.
The fourth experiment is usually electricity. The experiments that came up the previous year (2015) have never come up the following year, so continuing that pattern, that would be four you could scrap from the list you need to know. One experiment usually involves drawing a graph.

Section B: Eight questions to do five:

Q5: Set of short questions where you need to do eight of the options. Usually one line answers, short simple calculations etc. A very popular question

Q6: Mechanics. Usually involves a definition, a number of calculations and possibly a derivation.

Q7/8/9: A variety of topics turn up in these questions including light, electricity, sound heat. There is typically one full question among these on 'Nuclear physics: the electron, the atom, radioactivity' Very doable.

Q10 A or B (this could also be Q11) The Option Question

If you have done the option on the course Applied Electricity or Particle Physics there is a full question on the topic. Almost everyone in the country (something like 98%) that do the question go for the Nuclear Physics option. It's only 1 chapter in the book but there a a full question on it every year. A good option.

Q11 ( or again can appear as question 10). Usually involves reading a paragraph on some topic related to physics and it's everyday applications. Structured similar to Q5 where there are 8 questions to answer worth 7 marks each. Can sometimes be tricky because the questions can be asked on a couple of topics.

Q12: Four options to do two:

usually a nice question with a good choice. Typical options include light, electricity, mechanics, heat. As each topic is only half a question the topic does not go into huge depth. Again a good choice.



Have a look at the topics you are good at. Pick a topic a week and do all the questions on that topic. Alternate weekly perhaps between Section A and B.

E.g. week 1 do all the light experiments, week 2 do all the light questions in Section B.

One other question: what exactly are you doing in your physics grinds? Is your grinds teacher just giving you a bundle of notes to learn? If that is the case, it's not working. If you are paying for grinds, then you need to make the grind to work for you. Ask to concentrate on a particular topic each week. Work through the questions on that topic with the grinds teacher. If you don't understand how to arrive at an answer (in a mathematical question), ask the teacher to explain. This applies to school too.

lolo97

Thank you for your replies.

My grinds teacher and I usually go through notes then work out some past exam questions.

I'm fairly okay with the theory and concepts behind some physics its just calculations that trip me up. When I attempt calculations I always don't know where to start or what numbers/formulas to use. The way I perceive things are always incorrect. This has helped in making me not confident in calculations and generally physics. Is it just that I am not able for physics?

I enjoy physics and find it very interesting and I am a hard working student I will not allow my self to drop to OL, but I don't know what way I should go about getting the hang of LC Physics.

My school does the Applied Electricity option. My grinds teacher was surprised at the choice and I'm wondering should I study the other option by myself?

Many thanks once again

rainbowtrout

lolo97 wrote: »

Thank you for your replies.

My grinds teacher and I usually go through notes then work out some past exam questions.

I'm fairly okay with the theory and concepts behind some physics its just calculations that trip me up. When I attempt calculations I always don't know where to start or what numbers/formulas to use. The way I perceive things are always incorrect. This has helped in making me not confident in calculations and generally physics. Is it just that I am not able for physics?

I enjoy physics and find it very interesting and I am a hard working student I will not allow my self to drop to OL, but I don't know what way I should go about getting the hang of LC Physics.

My school does the Applied Electricity option. My grinds teacher was surprised at the choice and I'm wondering should I study the other option by myself?

Many thanks once again

Personally I think the particle physics option is way easier. And given the 98% of people that attempt that option when they do the question in the LC, it would seem that the majority would agree.

If you find difficulties with the regular electricity section, does the applied electricity section cause you bother? You could always get the grinds teacher to do the particle physics option with you.

On the ordinary level thing: it depends what you are hoping to achieve here. If doing the HL paper is a pride thing, then you should look at the bigger picture. What kind of grade are you looking for/ realistically think you can achieve?

A D3 in HL is 45 points, so is a B1 at OL.

lolo97

I'm hoping to achieve a C1 or at least a honour. I know it will take a considerable amount of work given the fact that its one of my weakest subjects. I will also have to see how the mocks work out.

It's not wholly about a pride thing, its my overall points that worry me. I already do OL maths i feel adding another OL subject will have drastic consequences on my chances of entering the course I want with relatively high points.

I will consider doing the particle physics with my grinds teacher.

People tell me that they're leaving out sections like Heat, Electricity etc. Is this a personal thing or is one topic easier than another ?

rainbowtrout

In my experience it would be a personal thing. One of my students hated electricity and decided they would study everything else and avoid it. You do have to be careful taking this approach to ensure you know the other topics well as you are limiting your choices. It also depends on the topic. Heat is a much smaller section of the course, so leaving it out doesn't have the same impact on choice as say electricity or mechanics.