Leaving Cert Physics Syllabus - Real World Physics 2000?

SuperRabbit

It is so hard to find up to date information on this. All the google results are between 6 and 15 years old.

I want to do Leaving Cert physics by myself, so I haven't got a teacher I can ask these questions.

Is "Real World Physics" copyright 2000 an okay book to study from? Surely this was already out of date when I first did my leaving in 2005, but it's listed on sites selling leaving cert books. (I'm not complaining of course. It is GOOD if they only change it every 20 years, my college changed books) every 5 years so every book costs a fortune. )

What are the options, how often do they change? The one in RWP2000 is particle physics and applied electricity.

Any general advice from anyone who has done physics recently is also welcome

Thank you!

MomijiHime

We used that book last year...didn't check the copyright but had the same options so I'd say it's grand.

spurious

Check the syllabus too.

kevohmsford

Very good book. Should be fine. The Particle Physics option is the easiest to cover.

randylonghorn

Sometimes companies update textbooks just for the sake of it, I think.

As the numbers of students studying Physics isn't all that high, there isn't the same incentive for them to do that, so it's quite possible that a good textbook has survived for that long.

TMJM96

For our LC we used Investigating Physics, it wasn't great.

Our teacher used a mix of notes from Real World Physics and from this site.

Just go off notes on that site and exam papers and you'd be fine.

SuperRabbit

Thanks, guys!
It is very encouraging to know I chose the right book, and a good one to boot

I want to make a study timetable. I remember our optional subjects were done in 80 minute blocks but I can't remember if that was 3 times a week or more.
I know I need to do at least twice as many hours as that to cover everything you guys covered in class over two years in one year. Then allot extra time for study / extra practice / revision.

Corkgirl18

Most schools use that book. Some use Fusion but I personally rather the RWP.
The options are still the same. I'd definitely recommend doing the particle physics.
Definitely keep your eye on the syllabus. You can use it as a sort of checklist at the end of each chapter to make sure you've covered what you need to cover.
Exam Papers and Marking Schemes will be your best friend.
The questions can be repetitive so if you keep on practicing questions you'll do well. I'm not sure if you're going to be carrying out the experiments but those questions in the papers are usually the most manageable so make sure you prepare well for them.
Most schools would allocate 200 minutes to physics - usually broken down into 3 x 40 mins and 1 x 80 mins periods.

Good luck!

TMJM96

SuperRabbit wrote: »

Thanks, guys!
It is very encouraging to know I chose the right book, and a good one to boot

I want to make a study timetable. I remember our optional subjects were done in 80 minute blocks but I can't remember if that was 3 times a week or more.
I know I need to do at least twice as many hours as that to cover everything you guys covered in class over two years in one year. Then allot extra time for study / extra practice / revision.

The exam is split into two sections - Section A and Secrion B.

Section A is experiments, 4 questions do 3. Very handy section for students to do well in. Section A is worth 30% and comes from the 24 mandatory experiments. NUIM do a day where you can see the experiments being done, very handy. There's a channel on YouTube called C4Science and he goes through the experiments, very well. Spend five minutes reading the question and then twenty minutes doing each question.

Section B is the long questions and main part of the exam. Spend 5 minutes reading this section and spend 20 minutes on five questions. Then 10 minutes at the end to read over your paper. The banker questions are: Q5, 12, 10 and then two more you feel comfortable with.

The way we did it in class was Waves, Light And Sound, Heat, OL Mechanics, Electricty, HL Mechanics, Modern Physics and the Option One: Particle Physics.

TSMGUY

thephysicsteacher will sort you right out. I used Investigating Physics and thought it was a pretty well-written and neat textbook, although its electricity section left a lot to be desired.

Good luck OP.

rainbowtrout

The Physics, Chemistry and Biology courses changed in 2000 and were first examined in 2002. The book should be ok.

spurious

Questions can be asked on anything on the syllabus, regardless of whether it is in a textbook or not.