Getting a good grade at Edexcel A Level Physics?
Does anyone have any advice?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
Scroll to see replies
Get a practice calculations book. Study with someone who is really good at Physics. Do past papers. Relax. SLEEP
Original post by confuzzled92
Does anyone have any advice?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
How many pastpapers are there 0.o. like only 3...
Original post by Haitham
How many pastpapers are there 0.o. like only 3...
There should be Specimen and Mock papers on the Edexcel site.
They usually have 2 specimen papers and 2 Mock papers.
That means you could technically do a total of 7 papers.
Edexcel are bastards. They charge for past papers.
Original post by confuzzled92
Does anyone have any advice?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
As many exam questions as possible, and make sure you understand the key concepts enough that you can apply them to un-familiar situations
Make sure you understand what the equations mean and understand the idea of proportion ! They always include questions involving stuff such as "If the drift velocity in the wire increases and the current remains the same, what happens to the number of charge carriers?" (tip incase you have covered this I=navq)
Make sure you 100% every calculation question !!! edexcel calculation questions are generally easy so you really need to get full marks on all of them to allow room for not getting the wordy stuff 100% right.
Depending on unit there are only a limited amount of papers, I recommend buying CGP revision guide just for the extra questions and pretty much any other physics text book you can get your hands on/revision guide which has relevant questions to your spec.
The key to science exams is past papers/exam questions, just keep plodding through and you will come out with your desired A/A*
Original post by confuzzled92
Does anyone have any advice?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
i just got the worst result ever in As'level Physics in Unit 1 and 2. i did the pastpapers, weren't so helpful to me. i'm repeating it in this may. anyone have any idea what i can do, besides practicing past paper again to get a better grade? please help me.
Original post by confuzzled92
Does anyone have any advice?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
Ive gone over my textbook a couple of times and I've been doing as much past papers as I can but I still don't feel confident (nor have I been able to score high in the papers)
What tips do you have to share?
This isn't advice just for edexcel but any exam board. Get a proper physics book from a library (Even a first year degree physics books covers A level topics nicely). Read all the relevant chapters in your specification. And you'll have a much deeper understanding than anyone else, and it will make A level seem basic.
Edit: Don't bother with CGP until the night before. If you use it as a staple in your learning it will only get you a sound C. Also practising questions can help, but more often a solid understanding in the first place is what is needed!
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by Freerider101
This isn't advice just for edexcel but any exam board. Get a proper physics book from a library (Even a first year degree physics books covers A level topics nicely). Read all the relevant chapters in your specification. And you'll have a much deeper understanding than anyone else, and it will make A level seem basic.
Edit: Don't bother with CGP until the night before. If you use it as a staple in your learning it will only get you a sound C. Also practising questions can help, but more often a solid understanding in the first place is what is needed!
Edit: Don't bother with CGP until the night before. If you use it as a staple in your learning it will only get you a sound C. Also practising questions can help, but more often a solid understanding in the first place is what is needed!
whats cgp
Original post by Haitham
whats cgp
A revision guide designed to cover the basics without too much detail. Personally I don't find them at all useful.
Original post by Freerider101
A revision guide designed to cover the basics without too much detail. Personally I don't find them at all useful.
Really? I was supposed to buy one today, would they help at all, if I like study from the text book and make sure I cover whats in the revision guide well, and get just a basic knowledge of the stuff outside the guide but in the textbook.
Where can I get all possible specimens/mocks/pastpapers with marking schemes? The edexcel site only has a few. (I know its a new syllabus but there should be more, no?)
Original post by Haitham
Really? I was supposed to buy one today, would they help at all, if I like study from the text book and make sure I cover whats in the revision guide well, and get just a basic knowledge of the stuff outside the guide but in the textbook.
Where can I get all possible specimens/mocks/pastpapers with marking schemes? The edexcel site only has a few. (I know its a new syllabus but there should be more, no?)
Where can I get all possible specimens/mocks/pastpapers with marking schemes? The edexcel site only has a few. (I know its a new syllabus but there should be more, no?)
I found them pretty useful, just for the extra exam questions they give, and they give the basic knowlegde in small easily manageable chunks.
The edexcel text book (miles hudson) is uselesss in my opinion :/, I didn't use it all for Units 1/2/4 and its seemed to have become a bit more useful for unit 5.
The AQA nelson thornes text book is very good but they are a different syllabus so you need to pick out bits of information which relate to the edexcel spec (the book explains everything in detail and has exam questions + practise questions with the answers in the back)
Try and find papers from the old spec? what unit are you on at the moment?
Someone posted up a file with all relevant questions to unit 4 edexcel physics (200 odd questions) from the old spec which was extremely useful, I dont have any of the other units though but I'm sure someone on TSR does.
good luck
Where can i find the compilation of past papers some1 posted?
Original post by Freerider101
This isn't advice just for edexcel but any exam board. Get a proper physics book from a library (Even a first year degree physics books covers A level topics nicely). Read all the relevant chapters in your specification. And you'll have a much deeper understanding than anyone else, and it will make A level seem basic.
Edit: Don't bother with CGP until the night before. If you use it as a staple in your learning it will only get you a sound C. Also practising questions can help, but more often a solid understanding in the first place is what is needed!
Edit: Don't bother with CGP until the night before. If you use it as a staple in your learning it will only get you a sound C. Also practising questions can help, but more often a solid understanding in the first place is what is needed!
Hey, Im trying to get a "sound D" in physics 4,5 and 6. Is that possible if I depend fully on the CGP?
Original post by Haitham
Hey, Im trying to get a "sound D" in physics 4,5 and 6. Is that possible if I depend fully on the CGP?
You can probably get a D just by understanding the formula sheet. CGP will help you do this and also give the key points to write in an essay style question. I have a friend that got 120/120, 120/120, 112/120 in unit 1, 2, 4 respectively by using the CGP. However I think to understand physics well you need to good deeper in by using the textbook, then maybe use the CGP to summarise what you've learnt.
Also yes you can most probably get a D by only using the revision guide. Although my advice is use textbook first then revision guide later.
Original post by Freerider101
You can probably get a D just by understanding the formula sheet. CGP will help you do this and also give the key points to write in an essay style question. I have a friend that got 120/120, 120/120, 112/120 in unit 1, 2, 4 respectively by using the CGP. However I think to understand physics well you need to good deeper in by using the textbook, then maybe use the CGP to summarise what you've learnt.
Also yes you can most probably get a D by only using the revision guide. Although my advice is use textbook first then revision guide later.
Also yes you can most probably get a D by only using the revision guide. Although my advice is use textbook first then revision guide later.
I literally memorized the textbook last time i did unit 4, the questions that came were Unbelievably hard, I got 57/120. All I want is a 65/120 XD.
I know this thread is old, but I'm doing A - Level Physics Edexcel, and I cannot describe how difficult it is.
I've tried literally everything possible, has any1 got any techniques that aren't the usual past papers and stuff??
I've tried literally everything possible, has any1 got any techniques that aren't the usual past papers and stuff??
Original post by Freerider101
You can probably get a D just by understanding the formula sheet. CGP will help you do this and also give the key points to write in an essay style question. I have a friend that got 120/120, 120/120, 112/120 in unit 1, 2, 4 respectively by using the CGP. However I think to understand physics well you need to good deeper in by using the textbook, then maybe use the CGP to summarise what you've learnt.
Also yes you can most probably get a D by only using the revision guide. Although my advice is use textbook first then revision guide later.
Also yes you can most probably get a D by only using the revision guide. Although my advice is use textbook first then revision guide later.
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