[paul.dirac121]

Hey there guys. I got 42/50 for the isa this year. Any aqa A2 physics students out there? What did you get out of 50. Apparently my teacher tells me that this years isa was slightly harder than others. So boundaries may be lower. Anyhow what grade will 42 equate to? Thanks

[Tullia]

(Original post by lucky20)
Hey there guys. I got 42/50 for the isa this year. Any aqa A2 physics students out there? What did you get out of 50. Apparently my teacher tells me that this years isa was slightly harder than others. So boundaries may be lower. Anyhow what grade will 42 equate to? Thanks

I can't say what the grade boundaries will be as that will depend on how all other students performed on said ISA and so on, but based on the last year's grade boundaries found here http://web.aqa.org.uk/UMS/index.php then I would estimate 42 raw marks being a grade B.

[paul.dirac121]

(Original post by Tullia)
I can't say what the grade boundaries will be as that will depend on how all other students performed on said ISA and so on, but based on the last year's grade boundaries found here http://web.aqa.org.uk/UMS/index.php then I would estimate 42 raw marks being a grade B.

True. Having said that 42 in the 2010 isa was an A. I got the highest in my class so hopefully it should amount to an A. Really need an A overall in physics otherwise I'm doomed lol. Wat score did you get in the isa? Cheers

[Benniboi1]

(Original post by lucky20)
True. Having said that 42 in the 2010 isa was an A. I got the highest in my class so hopefully it should amount to an A. Really need an A overall in physics otherwise I'm doomed lol. Wat score did you get in the isa? Cheers

I got 42 as well, I'm hoping that will be an A this year, maybe 48-50 UMS. Could be anything from about 44UMS upwards though

[Tullia]

(Original post by lucky20)
True. Having said that 42 in the 2010 isa was an A. I got the highest in my class so hopefully it should amount to an A. Really need an A overall in physics otherwise I'm doomed lol. Wat score did you get in the isa? Cheers

I did check June 2010, but ignored it because it is generally the case that the grade boundaries increase year on year with little fluctuation. I know you said that it was perceived as being more difficult this time around, but I had exams like that this January and then the grade boundaries ended up being the highest on record (albeit not for Physics).

It could be an A, and I do hope for your sake that it is. However, I do think it's more likely to be a B.

I didn't do the A2 Physics ISA as I've only just done AS, but for my AS Physics ISA I got 46/50.

for you!

[paul.dirac121]

(Original post by Benniboi1)
I got 42 as well, I'm hoping that will be an A this year, maybe 48-50 UMS. Could be anything from about 44UMS upwards though

Well i hope the grade boundaries are lower this year especially for unit 5. Was your score of 42 the highest, or did some of your counterparts get a higher score? How did you find unit 5? Judgement day for us guys in 13 days! Lol.

[Fishbulb25]

I got 37 :'( and that was one of the higher scores in my class.

[paul.dirac121]

(Original post by Fishbulb25)
I got 37 :'( and that was one of the higher scores in my class.

Well done. A mate of mines (very clever lad) got 37 as well. What do you think the boundaries will be like? I know 37 was a D last year, which is ridiculous, 37 is like 74% and should be a C at least. How did you find unit 5 exam?

[Tullia]

(Original post by lucky20)
I know 37 was a D last year, which is ridiculous, 37 is like 74% and should be a C at least.

You can't really complain when for Unit 4 (June 2011) you had grade boundaries that meant an A was 67%, and full UMS was 83%. That is just an example, but the grade boundaries for Physics exams are always quite low.

I'm not disagreeing with you as the grade boundaries are too high in science subjects for ISAs, but it's nothing like Chemistry where last year you needed 46/50 just to get an A and needed 50/50 for full UMS.

[paul.dirac121]

(Original post by Tullia)
You can't really complain when for Unit 4 (June 2011) you had grade boundaries that meant an A was 67%, and full UMS was 83%. That is just an example, but the grade boundaries for Physics exams are always quite low.

I'm not disagreeing with you as the grade boundaries are too high in science subjects for ISAs, but it's nothing like Chemistry where last year you needed 46/50 just to get an A and needed 50/50 for full UMS.

Tell me about it. We do ocr chem at my college. I got 38/40 raw marks for A2 isa, much better than what i did in physics, however i do feel the elusive A* is just out of my reach. As are very nice to have, however I've seen a trend in which some of the top unis are starting to ask for at least 1 A*

[Fishbulb25]

(Original post by lucky20)
Well done. A mate of mines (very clever lad) got 37 as well. What do you think the boundaries will be like? I know 37 was a D last year, which is ridiculous, 37 is like 74% and should be a C at least. How did you find unit 5 exam?

Tbh I found all the ISAs difficult. I found half of the unit 5 alright (astro) and the other half (the thermal) awful. It's just so difficult to say with grade boundaries, thought they're usually quite low and I try out all the possible situations like "if I got this many UMS in this then I can afford to miss some points in this unit". So, hopefully if I've not done terribly in the unit 5 (I know I've definitely lost quite a few marks for that stupid gamma ray question) and if 37 is a D, I think i'll end up with a B. I just really don't want a D!!! or a C. > ISA boundaries are ridiculously high... Annoying, isn't it, how we only have 2 years of marks to compare against?

Which optional section did you do for unit 5?

[paul.dirac121]

(Original post by Fishbulb25)
Tbh I found all the ISAs difficult. I found half of the unit 5 alright (astro) and the other half (the thermal) awful. It's just so difficult to say with grade boundaries, thought they're usually quite low and I try out all the possible situations like "if I got this many UMS in this then I can afford to miss some points in this unit". So, hopefully if I've not done terribly in the unit 5 (I know I've definitely lost quite a few marks for that stupid gamma ray question) and if 37 is a D, I think i'll end up with a B. I just really don't want a D!!! or a C. > ISA boundaries are ridiculously high... Annoying, isn't it, how we only have 2 years of marks to compare against?

Which optional section did you do for unit 5?

I hate isas with passion lol. At our college we took astrophysics, i was a bit pessimistic at first as astrophysics sounds like a difficult topic, with the most equations on the data sheet, however my teacher told us it is the easiest topic of the 4. I've done some maths and worked out i got 28/29 in nuclear 30 in astro, so that's around 58 in the paper. I've bumped my AS isa up from 33 to 37 and got 42 in the A2 isa. I hope this is enough to reap 143 ums or ill be truly gutted. How much ums you need for an A?

[Fishbulb25]

(Original post by lucky20)
I hate isas with passion lol. At our college we took astrophysics, i was a bit pessimistic at first as astrophysics sounds like a difficult topic, with the most equations on the data sheet, however my teacher told us it is the easiest topic of the 4. I've done some maths and worked out i got 28/29 in nuclear 30 in astro, so that's around 58 in the paper. I've bumped my AS isa up from 33 to 37 and got 42 in the A2 isa. I hope this is enough to reap 143 ums or ill be truly gutted. How much ums you need for an A?

Me too, they don't even test proper knowledge. I really didn't enjoy learning about telescopes... I just wanted to know about the stars and all the things going on in space. I retook units 1 and 2 to boost up my AS grade, which I think has improved quite significantly (got a mid B last year) and got 43 in the ISA. Without those improved scores i'd need 166... If my retakes were really good then I think I can just about get an A! Are you doing physics at uni?

[Tullia]

(Original post by lucky20)
however my teacher told us it is the easiest topic of the 4.

My teacher is recommending that we take medical physics as the optional topic for the simple reason that it is the easiest to get high marks in. I'm now thinking that he's said that because he didn't have any other material ready, and us doing another topic would've made more work for him.

Edit: Unless a teacher that feels I'm being inconsiderate of my teachers' efforts gave me -rep, then that is just ridiculous and you need to go and reflect on your life!

[paul.dirac121]

(Original post by Tullia)
My teacher is recommending that we take medical physics as the optional topic for the simple reason that it is the easiest to get high marks in. I'm now thinking that he's said that because he didn't have any other material ready, and us doing another topic would've made more work for him.

Hmm, i initially asked my teacher to do medical physics, for the reason the questions are more qualitative as their are only 3 formulas to learn. Having said that I'm glad we chose astro as it was really interesting and got some interesting discussions in class. But I've read somewhere that turning points option is the hardest and always has slightly lower boundaries than the rest. Are you happy doing the medical option? If not put your views to your teacher.

[paul.dirac121]

(Original post by Fishbulb25)
Me too, they don't even test proper knowledge. I really didn't enjoy learning about telescopes... I just wanted to know about the stars and all the things going on in space. I retook units 1 and 2 to boost up my AS grade, which I think has improved quite significantly (got a mid B last year) and got 43 in the ISA. Without those improved scores i'd need 166... If my retakes were really good then I think I can just about get an A! Are you doing physics at uni?

I'm sure you should get an A, it would be a shame if we are one of those students who miss an A by a mark, I'd be truly gutted. I want to study medicine at uni, i really do enjoy physics, and my teacher recommended me to do a physics degree, however my interests lie in healthcare. If i was to study physics i don't think I'd get in as most unis ask for maths A level which i don't have. U got any offers for physics then?

[Tullia]

(Original post by lucky20)
Hmm, i initially asked my teacher to do medical physics, for the reason the questions are more qualitative as their are only 3 formulas to learn. Having said that I'm glad we chose astro as it was really interesting and got some interesting discussions in class. But I've read somewhere that turning points option is the hardest and always has slightly lower boundaries than the rest. Are you happy doing the medical option? If not put your views to your teacher.

I would prefer to study either applied physics or turning points, but I'm taking Further Maths and so I do study a lot of mechanics as it is. I wouldn't be disadvantaged in preparation for university in that respect. And despite studying mechanics, I would be able to achieve just as high in the other options I'm sure.

I don't know what class size we'll have once the AS results are issued, as there are only two students (including me) that shall definitely be studying Physics at A2. The best case scenario any of us could expect is that there are four studying it at A2. My friend is one of those, and he has the same thinking as me - he studies Further Maths and would cope fine with any options, but prefers the mechanics options.

If there are the two others though, then they would struggle to cope with the mechanics and so it might be fair to them to study medical physics or astrophysics.

I've spoken to my teacher about all of this before but I don't want to be pushing his buttons too much given that he's going to be giving me a predicted grade and reference in the coming weeks.

[Fishbulb25]

(Original post by lucky20)
I'm sure you should get an A, it would be a shame if we are one of those students who miss an A by a mark, I'd be truly gutted. I want to study medicine at uni, i really do enjoy physics, and my teacher recommended me to do a physics degree, however my interests lie in healthcare. If i was to study physics i don't think I'd get in as most unis ask for maths A level which i don't have. U got any offers for physics then?

That'd be horrible. It'd be like it's mocking you saying "you're nearly there but you're not quite good enough". I'm not doing physics at uni either, it's chemistry for me so I need an A in that or if even I fail to get in my insurance I'll study composition with an offer of 2 Es. Don't think I could tolerate 3/4 years of physics, maybe later in life. Guessing you need all As then, or even an A*?

[Gokul1]

Yeah my teacher also said it was harder. Apparently if it is harder you could stand to gain 9 ums marks (forgot how you could but when he explained it i was reassured that he sounded right theoretically!) Don't worry...it wasn't just you!

[Gokul1]

(Original post by lucky20)
Well i hope the grade boundaries are lower this year especially for unit 5. Was your score of 42 the highest, or did some of your counterparts get a higher score? How did you find unit 5? Judgement day for us guys in 13 days! Lol.

Mate, honestly wouldnt worry about unit 5, it was a hard exam. Way more places to drop marks than with the previous two years, maybe because they left all the hard stuff to the end of the three year cycle! I know some people said it was perceptions and all that but if you have teachers/many other students saying it was harder then hey. Grade boundaries will be lower than last year for sure and i would argue lower still than year previous but just how much lower is the question. Wouldnt be loads in it!