AQA Physics PHYA5 - Thursday 18th June 2015 [Exam Discussion Thread]

No sorry, I don't really use any :/

Ah brilliant, thanks!


Posted from TSR Mobile

Ah that's okay! I really feel like it helped last year. Could have just helped me procrastinate though too :L


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You're welcome, I hope you find it useful.

Thank you, that's very kind of you How are you finding physics?


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You're welcome

So far I don't think it is too difficult. The concepts in Turning Points are not hard to grasp ... YET

What about you?

Have you done the isa practical and or exam yet?
If so would you mind giving me some tips of the questions and what the experiment is about.
Thanks!


Posted from TSR Mobile

Ah me too. A lot of it is okay to understand but applying it to exam questions is another story!

Ah right! Astro seems to be starting off okay with lenses but I'm sure it gets harder by the look of the formulae sheet!


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Ah I still haven't looked at the Turning Points examination questions.

Yes I believe that Turning Points will get slightly more difficult as we go along because it'll delve into wave-particle duality and that was something I hated learning at AS.

Has anyone done section A of the AQA A2 Physics A Empa? Has anyone got theirs tomorrow? Task one or two

for the radioactivity topic how much do we have to know about elements?
as ive been doing some old past papers and some questions come up such as give the equation for .. is converted into an isotope of .... i can do some by knowledge of alpha/beta etc if they tell me that but sometimes i don't know the name of the element its been converted into and they ask for that... are there a certain few I'm supposed to know? thanks

It should give you the element and chemical symbol. We aren't expected to remember any elements. Sometimes I guess in those scenarios there would be a diagram of the periodic table either as an insert or on the paper itself.

It's unrealistic to expect us to complete those questions without telling us in the main question or providing the periodic table.


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Does anyone have any tips for revising for this exam? I feel like I don't know anything and I've being reading the text book but it just doesn't seem to go in. Anyone got any tips?

yeah i thought that, thanks, maybe in these old papers they got a periodic table

Make your own revision notes to read from - writing stuff down and putting the information together right helps it go in and makes sure you understand it. Use the textbook, the specification, your notes from class, the revision guide - all the resources you have. You can use colours and mindmaps etc if you want. It can also be much more portable than a textbook! You can stick them in your college folder to work in your spare time if you wanted, or to help with revision in lessons.

There are a handful of definititions across PHYA4/PHYA5 that you could use flashcards for (question on the front, answers on the back) because at least one or two usually come up and it's an easy two marks.

Astrophysics is the biggest topic, so divide revision time up appropriately (the paper doesn't split equally three ways - it's 40 marks thermal and nuclear, 35 marks astro, a six mark question in both halves).

Learning certain things that have to be memorised can be tricky - like the table of spectral classes etc (can be found in the specification under the astrophysics heading). The "cover and write" type technique from primary school can be pretty useful, and as you start to remember it more you can try writing it out without looking first when you have a spare five minutes and eventually it will sink in properly.

There aren't many past papers, so use them carefully but definitely do them! Because there are so few, if timing is likely to be an issue time it and then continue in a different coloured pen when the time is up so you can see which are problems from knowledge and which are from timing. Once you're done making notes etc, maybe do a bit of work with them and then sit down to do a paper. You might surprise yourself with how much you know!

Important tips for any subject: revise regularly for short periods of time, take breaks, get decent sleep

Make your own revision notes to read from - writing stuff down and putting the information together right helps it go in and makes sure you understand it. Use the textbook, the specification, your notes from class, the revision guide - all the resources you have. You can use colours and mindmaps etc if you want. It can also be much more portable than a textbook! You can stick them in your college folder to work in your spare time if you wanted, or to help with revision in lessons.

There are a handful of definititions across PHYA4/PHYA5 that you could use flashcards for (question on the front, answers on the back) because at least one or two usually come up and it's an easy two marks.

Astrophysics is the biggest topic, so divide revision time up appropriately (the paper doesn't split equally three ways - it's 40 marks thermal and nuclear, 35 marks astro, a six mark question in both halves).

Learning certain things that have to be memorised can be tricky - like the table of spectral classes etc (can be found in the specification under the astrophysics heading). The "cover and write" type technique from primary school can be pretty useful, and as you start to remember it more you can try writing it out without looking first when you have a spare five minutes and eventually it will sink in properly.

There aren't many past papers, so use them carefully but definitely do them! Because there are so few, if timing is likely to be an issue time it and then continue in a different coloured pen when the time is up so you can see which are problems from knowledge and which are from timing. Once you're done making notes etc, maybe do a bit of work with them and then sit down to do a paper. You might surprise yourself with how much you know!

Important tips for any subject: revise regularly for short periods of time, take breaks, get decent sleep