A Level Physics

Choose from your exam board:

Common Questions

A Level Physics covers a wide range of new concepts in physics and it's crucial to make sure you understand what's going on in these before all else. Reading through revision notes, writing them up in your own words and practising questions after your lessons will all help. Knowing which equations and definitions you need to be able to recall is important too - some students like using flashcards to remember these but try different revision methods to see what works for you. When you get closer to your exams and you have a good understanding of the course, complete as many past paper-style questions from your exam board as you can, to get used to the style of questions and the mark schemes the examiners will be using.

Difficulty is subjective and it depends on the individual student, the teachers, the resources available and how much they enjoy the subject! The concepts are a big step up from those in GCSE and the maths is more involved, but statistically students perform better in A Level Physics when compared to A Level Biology. The number of students achieving A/A* in physics is similar to that of A Level Chemistry. We wouldn't recommend choosing subjects by "which ones you can get a high grade in most easily", if you enjoy it and you're willing to put the work in then go for it!

Each exam board assesses Physics differently but all require the same general skills. Being confident in your mathematical abilities is a great way to gain easy marks when calculations appear in your exams - for this reason, many students studying physics also study Maths A Level. There is a lot of cross-over so revising mechanics, for example, is 2 for the price of 1 in terms of revision! The exam papers are not just recalling definitions and performing calculations, you need to be able to apply your knowledge to new situations and have a solid understanding of how a good scientific experiment works. Without a lot of practice in these areas, it will be difficult to achieve the top marks.

Of course, a Physics A Level teaches you a lot about Physics and the way our natural world works, but it also teaches a lot of general skills that are useful in a number of roles and careers throughout life. The logical and critical thinking that is regularly used in physics A Level is valuable in economics, software development, medicine, research and development for products, engineering, architecture, scientific research or any job that requires problem solving abilities.