How to use this guide
The guide describes what you need to know about your O level Physics examination.It will help you to plan your revision programme for the written examinations and will explain whatthe examiners are looking for in the answers you write. It can also be used to help you to reviseby using the tick boxes in Section 3, ‘What you need to know', to check what you know and whichtopic areas of Physics you have covered.
The guide contains the following sections:
Section 1 - How will you be tested?
This section will give you information about the different theory and practical examination papersthat are available.
Section 2 - What will be tested?
This section describes the areas of knowledge, understanding and skills that the Examiners willtest you on. It is particularly important to realise that most marks are awarded for understandingand skills and only 30% of the total mark is for simple recall.
Section 3 - What you need to know
This shows the syllabus in a simple way so that you can check the topics you need to know about details about each topic in the syllabus how much of the syllabus you have covered
Appendices
This section covers other things you need to know such as:
a. symbols, units and definitions of physical quantities
b. the importance of the command words the Examiners use in examination Papers
c. some useful websites that you might useNot all the information will be relevant to you.
For example, you will need to select what you needto know in Sections 1 and 3 by finding out from your teacher which practical examination paper you will be taking.
The guide contains the following sections:
Section 1 - How will you be tested?
This section will give you information about the different theory and practical examination papersthat are available.
Section 2 - What will be tested?
This section describes the areas of knowledge, understanding and skills that the Examiners willtest you on. It is particularly important to realise that most marks are awarded for understandingand skills and only 30% of the total mark is for simple recall.
Section 3 - What you need to know
This shows the syllabus in a simple way so that you can check the topics you need to know about details about each topic in the syllabus how much of the syllabus you have covered
Appendices
This section covers other things you need to know such as:
a. symbols, units and definitions of physical quantities
b. the importance of the command words the Examiners use in examination Papers
c. some useful websites that you might useNot all the information will be relevant to you.
For example, you will need to select what you needto know in Sections 1 and 3 by finding out from your teacher which practical examination paper you will be taking.
Section 1 - How will you be tested?
1.1 The examination Papers you will take
You will be entered for three examination Papers,two theory Papers and one practical Paper.You will need to ask your teacher which practical Paper you are taking. You will take Paper 1(theory), Paper 2 (theory) and either Paper 3 (the Practical Paper) or Paper 4 (the Alternative toPractical Paper). You should check with your teacher which of these two papers you will take.
1.2 About the theory Papers
The table gives you information about the theory Papers
You will be entered for three examination Papers,two theory Papers and one practical Paper.You will need to ask your teacher which practical Paper you are taking. You will take Paper 1(theory), Paper 2 (theory) and either Paper 3 (the Practical Paper) or Paper 4 (the Alternative toPractical Paper). You should check with your teacher which of these two papers you will take.
1.2 About the theory Papers
The table gives you information about the theory Papers
Paper 1
The multiple choice questions cover the entire syllabus, apart from section 25 on ElectronicSystems. You have to choose one of the four possible answers in each question.
Paper 2
There are two sections. Section A contains short structured questions where you may have towrite a few words or sentences or make a calculation. Your answers are written in the spacesprovided on the actual question paper. In Section B you have to answer two of the threequestions available; so take your time to choose your questions carefully at the start of theexamination. Until 2010 you answer section B on the ruled lines at the end of the question paper or you use additional paper. From 2010 you will answer the two questions that you choose inspaces provided on the question paper.
Here is some more detail about the Practical Papers. If you are unsure of anything, ask your teacher.
Paper 3 (Practical test)
You do a practical exam, which is supervised by a teacher. You will carry out four shortexperiments.Section A contains three short questions and lasts 1 hour. Section B contains one question thattakes 1 hour.You are given an instruction sheet, which enables you carry out the experiments. You will takereadings and record them in a table using a sensible number of figures and give the unit. You willusually draw a graph and make some conclusions, commenting upon accuracy and on how toimprove the experiment.You may be asked to use the following techniques, amongst others:
•recording current and potential difference and drawing circuit diagrams
•ray tracing and drawing ray diagrams
•measuring temperature
•balancing (centre of mass and moments)
•stretching of springs
•timing of oscillations
Your experience of practical work during the course should enable you to handle the experimental techniques. Your teacher will be able to give you more examples and explain how totake readings and analyse the data.
Paper 4 (Alternative to Practical)
This is a written paper, testing the same skills as Paper 3. There are usually four questions whichtest practical procedures in the Physics laboratory.You may be asked to:
•record readings from diagrams of apparatus e.g. current readings
•answer questions on the arrangement of apparatus
•complete tables of data
•draw conclusions from information
•answer questions about experimental data
•plot a graph from a table of readings
•interpret information from graphs
•draw ray diagrams
•identify sources of error and suggest improvements in the experiment
•suggest suitable apparatus for investigationsYou will need to do plenty of practical work during the course in order to score a good mark onthis Paper in the examination
The multiple choice questions cover the entire syllabus, apart from section 25 on ElectronicSystems. You have to choose one of the four possible answers in each question.
Paper 2
There are two sections. Section A contains short structured questions where you may have towrite a few words or sentences or make a calculation. Your answers are written in the spacesprovided on the actual question paper. In Section B you have to answer two of the threequestions available; so take your time to choose your questions carefully at the start of theexamination. Until 2010 you answer section B on the ruled lines at the end of the question paper or you use additional paper. From 2010 you will answer the two questions that you choose inspaces provided on the question paper.
Here is some more detail about the Practical Papers. If you are unsure of anything, ask your teacher.
Paper 3 (Practical test)
You do a practical exam, which is supervised by a teacher. You will carry out four shortexperiments.Section A contains three short questions and lasts 1 hour. Section B contains one question thattakes 1 hour.You are given an instruction sheet, which enables you carry out the experiments. You will takereadings and record them in a table using a sensible number of figures and give the unit. You willusually draw a graph and make some conclusions, commenting upon accuracy and on how toimprove the experiment.You may be asked to use the following techniques, amongst others:
•recording current and potential difference and drawing circuit diagrams
•ray tracing and drawing ray diagrams
•measuring temperature
•balancing (centre of mass and moments)
•stretching of springs
•timing of oscillations
Your experience of practical work during the course should enable you to handle the experimental techniques. Your teacher will be able to give you more examples and explain how totake readings and analyse the data.
Paper 4 (Alternative to Practical)
This is a written paper, testing the same skills as Paper 3. There are usually four questions whichtest practical procedures in the Physics laboratory.You may be asked to:
•record readings from diagrams of apparatus e.g. current readings
•answer questions on the arrangement of apparatus
•complete tables of data
•draw conclusions from information
•answer questions about experimental data
•plot a graph from a table of readings
•interpret information from graphs
•draw ray diagrams
•identify sources of error and suggest improvements in the experiment
•suggest suitable apparatus for investigationsYou will need to do plenty of practical work during the course in order to score a good mark onthis Paper in the examination
Section 2 - What will be tested?
The Examiners take account of the following areas in your examination Papers:
•your knowledge (what you remember) and understanding (how you use what you know andapply it to unfamiliar situations)
•how you handle information and solve problems
•your experimental skills
These areas of knowledge and skills are called Assessment Objectives. The theory Papers testmainly Objective A (knowledge with understanding) and Assessment Objective B (handlinginformation and problem solving). You should note that 65% of the marks available are for Assessment Objective A and of these only 30% are for simple recall. The purpose of the practicalPaper is to test Assessment Objective C (experimental skills). Your teacher will be able to giveyou more information about how each of these is used in examination Papers. The table showsyou the range of skills you should try to develop.
•your knowledge (what you remember) and understanding (how you use what you know andapply it to unfamiliar situations)
•how you handle information and solve problems
•your experimental skills
These areas of knowledge and skills are called Assessment Objectives. The theory Papers testmainly Objective A (knowledge with understanding) and Assessment Objective B (handlinginformation and problem solving). You should note that 65% of the marks available are for Assessment Objective A and of these only 30% are for simple recall. The purpose of the practicalPaper is to test Assessment Objective C (experimental skills). Your teacher will be able to giveyou more information about how each of these is used in examination Papers. The table showsyou the range of skills you should try to develop.
Section 3 - What you need to know
This is a table, which describes the things you may be tested on in the examination. When it usesthe word “
qualitatively you are expected to be able to answer in words or give a diagram withouthaving to do a calculation.
How to use the table
You can use the table throughout your course to check the topic areas you have covered.There is no need to start at the beginning. Use it when you finish a section of your course tomake sure that you understand what you should be able to do.When you think you have a good knowledge of a topic, you can tick the appropriate box in thechecklist column. The main headings in the topic areas are usually followed by the details of whatyou should know.Test yourself as follows:
•cover up the details with a piece of paper
•try to remember the details
•when you have remembered the details correctly, put a tick in the appropriate boxYou can also use it as a revision aid at the end of the course to find out any weaknesses or areas you need to do some work on or ask your teacher about.If you use a pencil to tick the boxes, you can retest yourself whenever you want by simply rubbingout the ticks. If you are using the table to check which topics you have covered, you can put a tickin the topic column, next to the appropriate bullet point.
The column headed ‘Comments’ can be used:
•to add further information about the details for each bullet point
•to add learning aids, e.g. simple equations set out in a triangle to help in rearranging the equation
• to highlight areas of difficulty/ things you need to ask your teacher about
There are six major themes in the table, General Physics, Mechanics and Properties of Matter,Energy and Thermal Physics, Waves, Electricity and Magnetism and Atomic Physics. Eachtheme contains a number of sections. The 27 sections cover the whole syllabus. Each sectioncontains a number of topics and the table lists what you should be able to do in each topic.You should note that questions in section 25, Electronic Systems, only appear in Paper 2 and arealways set as an alternative within a question. This means that your teacher may have chosennot to cover this section in your course. In that case you may choose not to learn that topic. Do,however, make sure that you understand topic 24, Introductory Electronics.
qualitatively you are expected to be able to answer in words or give a diagram withouthaving to do a calculation.
How to use the table
You can use the table throughout your course to check the topic areas you have covered.There is no need to start at the beginning. Use it when you finish a section of your course tomake sure that you understand what you should be able to do.When you think you have a good knowledge of a topic, you can tick the appropriate box in thechecklist column. The main headings in the topic areas are usually followed by the details of whatyou should know.Test yourself as follows:
•cover up the details with a piece of paper
•try to remember the details
•when you have remembered the details correctly, put a tick in the appropriate boxYou can also use it as a revision aid at the end of the course to find out any weaknesses or areas you need to do some work on or ask your teacher about.If you use a pencil to tick the boxes, you can retest yourself whenever you want by simply rubbingout the ticks. If you are using the table to check which topics you have covered, you can put a tickin the topic column, next to the appropriate bullet point.
The column headed ‘Comments’ can be used:
•to add further information about the details for each bullet point
•to add learning aids, e.g. simple equations set out in a triangle to help in rearranging the equation
• to highlight areas of difficulty/ things you need to ask your teacher about
There are six major themes in the table, General Physics, Mechanics and Properties of Matter,Energy and Thermal Physics, Waves, Electricity and Magnetism and Atomic Physics. Eachtheme contains a number of sections. The 27 sections cover the whole syllabus. Each sectioncontains a number of topics and the table lists what you should be able to do in each topic.You should note that questions in section 25, Electronic Systems, only appear in Paper 2 and arealways set as an alternative within a question. This means that your teacher may have chosennot to cover this section in your course. In that case you may choose not to learn that topic. Do,however, make sure that you understand topic 24, Introductory Electronics.
