How hard is physics A level?
Physics exam discussion - share revision tips in preparation for GCSE, A Level and other physics exams and discuss how they went afterwards.
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How hard is physics A level?I've decided to pick it alongside maths as an A level because i am interested in doing some sort of engineering degree at uni. My maths is decent but not exceptional which is why i haven't picked further maths. I am predicted As in both Maths and physics. (I've done most of the course anyway) I was wondering how big the jump is from GCSE to A level and how much maths is involved in a physics A level.
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Re: How hard is physics A level?For me Physics overlapped quite a lot with two modules in Maths; Core 1 and Mechanics 1. You will probably see a similiar overlap because once all the measurements are taken Physics is essentially mathematics.
Try to get the A* in GCSE Maths as it'll help with your confidence when A-levels come. I found the jump very easy, but only because I was extremely confident.Last edited by The_Last_Melon; 06-06-2012 at 22:09. -
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Re: How hard is physics A level?yeah, i found that my first physics module (i did OCR) was extremely similar to mechanics 1, so doing both really helped
i have to say that everyone thinks that physics is really hard (at least they do in my school) whereas i found it a fairly easy a level, its just important to do practise exam questions on each topic as you go along so that you understand the concepts completely, then do a few years worth of past papers and you should be fine
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Re: How hard is physics A level?im doing my AS's at the moment and have been thinking of taking up physics AS next year along side my A2's so i spoke to the course leader at my college and he said doing maths with physics is not a requirment in AS but in A2 it is greatly needed. hope this helps.
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Re: How hard is physics A level?Pretty easy - not quite as easy as maths, but still pretty easy. For some reason many people find it insanely hard, for me chemistry was hard compared with physics, so of course it's completely subjective - but I had both an excellent tutor (who I've maintained a relatively close relationship with over the past 2 years) and an excellent textbook.
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Re: How hard is physics A level?because most of the people on TSR are A grade students mate(unlike myself) lol(Original post by chelseafan)
I find it hard to believe that so many of you find it so easy. I was lead to believe it was one of the hardest a levels. -
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Re: How hard is physics A level?Physics is arguably one of the tougher jumps from GCSE to A Level, but is still entirely reasonable. Taking it alongside Maths also definitely helps, as Physics at A Level becomes significantly more mathematical than it is at GCSE.
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Re: How hard is physics A level?That's probably because the classes were filled with people thinking it would be like GCSE physics, whereas in reality it's much different.(Original post by Lollyage)
According to Ofsted, my college has the "best (non-private) sixth-form college teaching in the country" and last year, for the first modules in Jan, a third of the year group failed physics.
Seems pretty tough. -
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Re: How hard is physics A level?Which exam board? I sit WJEC, and it's TOTALLY different to GCSE physics. I think it's way more interesting. It kinda follows on from the triple award module I did, with things like history of atomic structure and absorption and emission spectra. I thought it was a lot of mathsy, although M1 overlaps with a lot of the first PH1 module at AS, and M2 overlaps with the PH4 module.
I think it's definitely harder than GCSE, and would say a lot of people find it very difficult. But that's a lot to do with your natural aptitude for Physics. I find Physics a lot harder than Biology, but loads of my friends who study both can't understand this at all!
Would say it's very interesting and useful though! I thoroughly enjoy it! -
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Re: How hard is physics A level?I think you'll probably need it anyway for engineering...(Original post by chelseafan)
I've decided to pick it alongside maths as an A level because i am interested in doing some sort of engineering degree at uni. My maths is decent but not exceptional which is why i haven't picked further maths. I am predicted As in both Maths and physics. (I've done most of the course anyway) I was wondering how big the jump is from GCSE to A level and how much maths is involved in a physics A level.
It depends which course you are doing - some are more concept based and some are more maths related...
I did edexcel SHAP led approach and it was really hard, to understand the concepts, because our GCSE course was just learning the facts without really understanding them. There was some maths in the equations, but that part wasnt particularly difficult...
Can you talk to any physics students from the 6th form?
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Re: How hard is physics A level?AS physics was easy enough. A huge jump from GCSE but still do-able.
A2 physics, however... let's see. If I told you that out of a year of 50 students doing physics A2 only one person got an A in the January exam, and everybody else got C and below, would you believe me? -
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Re: How hard is physics A level?as your doing maths it will be ok, AS level physics is ok, but you must realise its a big jump from gcse..i found that out in the first module, most of us retook because it was very different to the GCSE stuff.
A2 - well....many find that awful..some find it ok, it really depends on your understanding and maths is important - A2 physics for AQA is maths-y in places.
