The Student Room Group

How hard is Physics A Level?

Hi guys. I am a student who loves science as a whole. At GCSE I didn't like Physics much but I still got A*'s in my exams.. I am considering to do this for A Level. What do you guys think? Is it hard? Is it worth it.. How much more different will it be? Also my exam board is OCR..

I am also decent/good at maths :smile:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
You should only really choose it if you need it or enjoy it. It is more interesting than GCSE physics I thought, though. The maths is largely basic so being good at maths is only a small advantage. There is an annoying focus on long answer questions, especially in the A2 G485 module which is essentially a large memory test which may or may not work to your advantage.
Reply 2
Thank you :-) are you a male/female? Sorry I'm only asking this because I've looked at the specification and it doesn't really interest me at all.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 3
Original post by Aleenaa
Thank you :-) are you a male/female? Sorry I'm only asking this because I've looked at the specification and it doesn't really interest me at all.


Posted from TSR Mobile


I'm male. I'd say an interest in it is fairly important to studying it, though on the other hand with your GCSE results you are capable of studying it and getting a lot out of it as a well-respected subject. What other subjects are you considering and what is your main area of interest? You might not have any definite plans for university, but what are you drawn to at the moment?
A level physics is really interesting! But if you don't enjoy it, then you might be best picking a different subject.

My best advice would be to look through some textbooks your sixth form has to get an idea about physics at a level. :smile:



Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 5
Original post by pingu27
You should only really choose it if you need it or enjoy it. It is more interesting than GCSE physics I thought, though. The maths is largely basic so being good at maths is only a small advantage. There is an annoying focus on long answer questions, especially in the A2 G485 module which is essentially a large memory test which may or may not work to your advantage.


Original post by Aleenaa
Hi guys. I am a student who loves science as a whole. At GCSE I didn't like Physics much but I still got A*'s in my exams.. I am considering to do this for A Level. What do you guys think? Is it hard? Is it worth it.. How much more different will it be? Also my exam board is OCR..

I am also decent/good at maths :smile:


If you can easily re arrange fairly complex formulas and are generally very good at algebra you would ace it, the concepts of A level physics is very interesting nut not beyond understanding esp if you love science. I only did AS physics but I was very poor at algebra and re arranging formulas even though I got an A at GCSE :O. Plus my college made all phusics studnet do A level maths with Mechanics and I hated that so i dropped all my science subjects after the first year and went down accounting business route instead. I got a C in Physics and Chemistry and a E in Maths, all with very little revision or work outside lessons. The E in maths was becuase I got a U in the mechanics module which i was poor in lol, but I did get a C in unit 1 and D in Unit 2 despite very little revision as I knew I would be restarting. SO in short if you are good at maths and don;t panic at formulas then you could easily get an A in physi (BTW in the quantitative, quantitative and evaluative assessments I got an A and scored the highest in the class, so you would ace it. Good Luck Mate.
Original post by Aleenaa
Hi guys. I am a student who loves science as a whole. At GCSE I didn't like Physics much but I still got A*'s in my exams.. I am considering to do this for A Level. What do you guys think? Is it hard? Is it worth it.. How much more different will it be? Also my exam board is OCR..

I am also decent/good at maths :smile:


OCR A or B?
Reply 7
OMG. I love Maths - especially the algebra and rearranging formula's part. But I've heard mixed reviews about Physics. People say it's the HARDEST A Level out there, that has put me off it completely. From reading at what you're saying - it sounds amazing to me.. But ughh the fact that people are saying it's the hardest a level is making me put off it /:


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 8
Original post by Aleenaa
Hi guys. I am a student who loves science as a whole. At GCSE I didn't like Physics much but I still got A*'s in my exams.. I am considering to do this for A Level. What do you guys think? Is it hard? Is it worth it.. How much more different will it be? Also my exam board is OCR..

I am also decent/good at maths :smile:


Physics is not bad, not good either. It's a huge step from GCSEs! You have to apply rather than memorize. It's tricky and requires a lot of time and practise. My teacher wasnt helpful, if you are lucky you may get a good tutor.
There were moments where I wanted to pull my hair out, but I got through (somehow)

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 9
quite
Reply 10
Original post by human_13
Physics is not bad, not good either. It's a huge step from GCSEs! You have to apply rather than memorize. It's tricky and requires a lot of time and practise. My teacher wasnt helpful, if you are lucky you may get a good tutor.
There were moments where I wanted to pull my hair out, but I got through (somehow)

Posted from TSR Mobile


Why did you get in the end? And by the way I see you ship ZYLER haha I love them too!


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 11
Hi, i've done AS Physics(OCR) and personally i have enjoyed it and its very logical. I dont think its the hardest subject, I found Biology much harder, probably cos im more mathematical minded. Theres lots of questions which they ask to show so and so. If your maths is good enough then you should find it relatively easy. The second unit G482 is more theory and harder than the first but grade boundaries are low so its okay. Im predicted an A and hopefully ill achieve that.

Any more questions then feel free to ask. :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 12
Reply 13


Which A Levels are you planning to do?

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Aleenaa
Hi guys. I am a student who loves science as a whole. At GCSE I didn't like Physics much but I still got A*'s in my exams.. I am considering to do this for A Level. What do you guys think? Is it hard? Is it worth it.. How much more different will it be? Also my exam board is OCR..

I am also decent/good at maths :smile:


I can relate to this very much as i too loved science at gcse and aced gcse physics. The physics board which i have taken was ocr a. It was difficult at times especially if you love the more mathsy side of stuff as unit g481 and unit g484 are to a mathsy students liking. However unit g482 and unit g485 are usually written answers which require an in depth understanding of the topic such as medical diagnostics and the topic which i found most difficult to deal with was probably the electricity side of stuff. So concluding i would advise if youre up for a challenge go for it. And i actually think biology is the hardest a level from all the sciences...
Reply 15
Original post by titration
I can relate to this very much as i too loved science at gcse and aced gcse physics. The physics board which i have taken was ocr a. It was difficult at times especially if you love the more mathsy side of stuff as unit g481 and unit g484 are to a mathsy students liking. However unit g482 and unit g485 are usually written answers which require an in depth understanding of the topic such as medical diagnostics and the topic which i found most difficult to deal with was probably the electricity side of stuff. So concluding i would advise if youre up for a challenge go for it. And i actually think biology is the hardest a level from all the sciences...


Same here. Biology was the hardest from bio chem physics maths nd further maths

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by S_ahmed
Same here. Biology was the hardest from bio chem physics maths nd further maths

Posted from TSR Mobile


Thats right theres too much wish washy stuff in biology that i wouldnt say is very sciencey at all. For example unit 4 biology is not at all biology its very geography related and at a2 its literally all hsw!
Reply 17
Original post by titration
Thats right theres too much wish washy stuff in biology that i wouldnt say is very sciencey at all. For example unit 4 biology is not at all biology its very geography related and at a2 its literally all hsw!


Luckily im dropping it. :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Aleenaa
Hi guys. I am a student who loves science as a whole. At GCSE I didn't like Physics much but I still got A*'s in my exams.. I am considering to do this for A Level. What do you guys think? Is it hard? Is it worth it.. How much more different will it be? Also my exam board is OCR..

I am also decent/good at maths :smile:


I did OCR AS Physics A this year, I would consider myself pretty gifted at maths and found physics till then pretty easy though I wasn't VERY interested in it. I found a fair part of the AS physics very easy; but partially due to a slight lack of interest, distractions, and not a great teacher I slowly fell behind in Unit 2 until it got to a point when I really didn't have much of a clue on one module (about waves). So I just sat down for a few days head down really focused and with time, as we finished the course, it all seemed to click and now I'm hoping for Full UMS across all the units. My friend in the year above who got 298/300 UMS in physics followed a similar route to me.

So while I wouldn't say it's EASY I'd say anyone could manage it provided they cared enough and had the capacity and willingness to think.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Aleenaa
Why did you get in the end? And by the way I see you ship ZYLER haha I love them too!


Posted from TSR Mobile


I had an A last year. This year the exams were much more difficult, I hope I can get an A. And yes! Theyre perfect >.<

Posted from TSR Mobile

Quick Reply

Latest