Is A Level Physics as hard as everyone makes it out to be?

I'm definitely taking Physics at A Level due to my interest in the subject in general and also future career paths

My schools sixth form does the edexcel Physics course and i was just wondering whether there's anyone with experience in the new specification who can give me an insight into the difficulty of the course

Reply 1

k-lo

Hi, i take physics as level and im on the aqa exam board. I found physics quite easy at gcse however i think it's much harder at as level. I've gone from straight a*s in physics to Cs, Ds and even a U, although this may be because i dont take maths and there is a lot of maths involved (around 40%). Hopefully i havent put you off if its something you want to do as i know people who enjoy it and who are doing well. I advise that you only take it if you really enjoy physics and that you take maths mechanics with it as that'd help a lot. Have a look on the exam board websites at the specification and the specimen papers as this will be helpful in showing you whats on the course and how hard the exams are :smile:

Reply 2

Rather_Cynical

11

If you excel in A-level mathematics, you should have no problem in physics - unlike chemistry or biology, there's very little rote learning and it's mainly abstract relationships you've got to understand. What subjects, and particular areas of those subjects, are you particularly good at?

Reply 3

BioStudentx

16

Do all the past papers and you'll be fine. I went from an A in gcse to A* in a level.

Reply 4

TeeEm

19

Hard to get a high grade in an exam ....

Reply 5

Serpentine111

12

The lack of mathematics in the physics A-levels are disgusting quite frankly. I remember we had to count squares because some people didn't know how to integrate in year 13 :colondollar:

Reply 6

Jack Francis

2

I do AQA and its quite hard! I think its probably the biggest jump from GCSE to A level, but it still doesn't mean you cant do well.

Reply 7

Lucas_Wojtysiak

12

I do both Physics (AQA) and Maths and I find Physics sooo hard. I get D's and U's in test but I somehow managed to get a C in my mock :P

Reply 8

jacobcc7

3

I started the AS in Physics in September and initially found it quite difficult. I was getting Ds and Cs but in the mock I got an A so it's not too bad. The actual content isn't too hard to understand but there are some really dodgey exam questions which just completely throw me.

I think if you make sure you practice exam Qs and put the effort in, you shouldn't find it too difficult. Just remember that you actually need to put quite a lot of hard work into A levels compared to GCSEs.

Reply 9

Jack Francis

2

Remember physics is the hardest and arguably the most respected A level as very few people are good at it and its extremely employable. Massive shortage of physics grads.

Reply 10

Serpentine111

12

Original post by Jack Francis

Remember physics is the hardest and arguably the most respected A level as very few people are good at it and its extremely employable. Massive shortage of physics grads.

Lol this is not really true at all. How is doing physics a-level going to make anyone "extremely employable"? Also there are lots of physics grads js

Reply 11

Arcane1729

12

Original post by Lemuelc14

I'm definitely taking Physics at A Level due to my interest in the subject in general and also future career paths

My schools sixth form does the edexcel Physics course and i was just wondering whether there's anyone with experience in the new specification who can give me an insight into the difficulty of the course

Edexcel A level physics is nothing but a memory test- I've heard that's the worst board for physics though.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 12

Argylesocksrox

5

Physics is just dull, there's no real problem solving, just GCSE tier mathematics combined with regurgitation.

Reply 13

TVIO

12

Original post by Arcane1729

Edexcel A level physics is nothing but a memory test- I've heard that's the worst board for physics though.

No no no, without a doubt the worst board is OCR B. Half the stuff on the exam was things that we've never encountered and the other half was asking questions about stuff we did know in really vague annoying ways. The content was all very easy, but the difficulty came from understanding what the hell they were asking about (which is an idiotic way of setting exams). I really regret taking it to A2 as it just gets worse than AS with more variability in question quality so I ended up with a comparatively low mark for A2.

Reply 14

z_of_8.1

2

Original post by TVIO

No no no, without a doubt the worst board is OCR B. Half the stuff on the exam was things that we've never encountered and the other half was asking questions about stuff we did know in really vague annoying ways.

That is not the exam boards fault is it?

Reply 15

Arcane1729

12

Original post by Jack Francis

Remember physics is the hardest and arguably the most respected A level as very few people are good at it and its extremely employable. Massive shortage of physics grads.

Not the hardest at all...

Reply 16

Lemuelc14

OP

14

Original post by Arcane1729

Edexcel A level physics is nothing but a memory test- I've heard that's the worst board for physics though.

What do you mean by worst board, in terms of what?

Reply 17

username1560589

20

Original post by Jack Francis

Remember physics is the hardest and arguably the most respected A level as very few people are good at it and its extremely employable. Massive shortage of physics grads.