Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?
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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Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?Is anyone able to help with ideas of what we should expect to see in the practical this summer?
Judging from past papers, the practical task tends to be electrical, waves or some sort of mechanical experiment. Is it pretty likely to just be one of these three options? Or have I missed something out?
I'm not attending a college so unfortunately don't have the benefit of asking teachers etc..
Any help from fellow 3T or even 3X takers would be very much appreciated. Thanks.Last edited by kingm; 03-05-2012 at 17:59. -
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Re: Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?we're not allowed to discuss content of exams until they're done, and the ISA is a tricky one as some people will have already sat it, and there are others like yourself who havn't dont it yet.
Are you studying at home? where are you doing your ISA? At college, the teacher can tell the class the general subject area that is going to be investigated, one week before hand at the most.
From experience, I dont think the actual practical bit takes a lot of preparing for. you just go in there and follow the instructions. honestly. the written element tends to ask about experiment design, results graphs, errors / uncertainty etc, rather than hard physics.
you should try to have a chat to the person who is running your isa.
good luck, and don't worry!! -
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Re: Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?Thanks for the response. Yes, I'm studying from home. And I'll be sitting the exam at Duff Miller College in London.
I agree that the written element takes precedence over the task itself. But with 11 marks for the task and a further 9 for use of equipment, safety etc. it would be handy to have an idea.
Is it definitely the case that teachers are allowed to reveal to their pupils the general subject area of the practical a week in advance? I've heard conflicting stories on this from this site so I'm a little confused. I've attempted to get in contact with the teacher who is running the practical but haven't had a response yet.
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Re: Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?Teacher are not allowed to tell pupils what the practical is going to be on - normal teachers are not even supposed to know (most don't!). You may find out some how from pupils in other school, but legally it is not allowed.
My experience is that it is very easy (barely any physics). No topic revision required. Just learn answers to questions like how do you improve accuracy/experiment/make experiment more precises/ reduce parallax error.Last edited by silentlife; 03-05-2012 at 22:24. Reason: adding to it -
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Re: Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?Much appreciated. I'm still getting conflicting stories about this telling a week in advance thing. I live with an a-level biology teacher and he has just told me that his school tell their pupils what will be on the practical a week in advance. I of course asked him to ask his physics teacher what the practical was going to be on but his school does EMPAH instead of ISA so it's no good for me unfortunately.
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Re: Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?http://web.aqa.org.uk/UMS/
but the latest available ones are for last year. This years grade boundaries wont be out until god knows when.... Maybe august? I'm not sure. The do sometimes shift, but at least it gives you an idea... -
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Re: Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?So it is final....colleges ARE allowed to reveal to their students what the practical task will be a week in advance. I know this because I have been told. For obvious reasons I won't reveal what it is so don't bother asking me but anyone that hasn't been informed should get on to their colleges and bug them for it.
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Re: Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?So it is final....colleges ARE allowed to reveal to their students what the practical task will be a week in advance. I know this because I have been told. For obvious reasons I won't reveal what it is so don't bother asking me but anyone that hasn't been informed should get on to their colleges and bug them for it.
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Re: Aqa as physics unit 3t (isa) - ideas?oops, thought this was the empa (misread title)
. Statistically speaking though, the empa is easier to get a good mark than the ISA despite similar content, because there are many schools who do "things" that give their students better marks than they deserve ... *cough* cheat. As a result ums conversion is brought down.
