IB Physics Syllabus Update - First Assessment 2025
We are pleased to announce that at SME, we're supporting the newly restructured IBDP Physics Course with a range of new updated resources including Revision Notes, Topic Questions and Model answers written and designed by experienced teachers.
Contents
The New IB Physics Curriculum
The IBDP has an exciting new science curriculum for first teaching in September 2023 and first assessment in May 2025. The four Options examined in Paper 3 have been scrapped and some of the content has been incorporated in the new curriculum.
The new DP Physics course has undergone a radical overhaul in approach and has been constructed to promote concept-based teaching and learning. Read about it in the Physics Subject Brief.
There are five overarching themes in the new syllabus:
A. Space, time and motion
B. The particulate nature of matter
C. Wave behaviour
D. Fields
E. Nuclear and quantum physics
These are themes are divided into five levels of organisation covering 24 topics and subtopics headed by guiding questions. Linking questions are used to facilitate connections between different parts of the course to promote a highly networked understanding of physics.
IBDP Physics Syllabus Outline from 2023
Syllabus component | Teaching hours | |
SL | HL | |
Syllabus content | 110 | 180 |
A. Space, time and motion | 27
| 42
|
B. The particulate nature of matter | ||
C. Wave behaviour | ||
D. Fields | ||
E. Nuclear and quantum physics | ||
Experimental Programme | 40 | 60 |
Practical work | 20
| 40
|
Collaborative sciences project | ||
Scientific investigation | ||
Total teaching hours | 150 | 240 |
Study Skills in Physics
The skills and techniques students must experience through the course are encompassed within the tools: Experimental Techniques, Technology and Mathematics. These support the application and development of the inquiry process in the delivery of the physics course: Exploring & Designing, Collecting & Processing Data, and Concluding & Evaluating
Source: ibo.org
What Will the New IB Physics Exams Look Like?
Students will have to take two external exams made up from the following components:
IB Physics SL Assessment Components 2025
Assessment component | Weighting |
External assessment (3 hours) | 80% |
Paper 1 (1 hour and 30 minutes) Paper 1A—Multiple-choice questions Paper 1B—Data-based questions
(Total 55 marks) | 36%
|
Paper 2 (1 hour and 30 minutes) Short-answer and extended-response questions on standard level material only.
(Total 50 marks) | 44%
|
Internal assessment (10 hours) | 20% |
The internal assessment consists of one task: the scientific investigation. This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.
(Total 24 marks) |
|
IB Physics HL Assessment Components 2025
Assessment component | Weighting |
External assessment (4 hours and 30 minutes) | 80% |
Paper 1 (2 hours) Paper 1A—Multiple-choice questions
Paper 1B—Data-based questions
(Total 75 marks) | 36%
|
Paper 2 (2 hours and 30 minutes) Short-answer and extended-response questions on standard and additional higher level material. (Total 90 marks) | 44%
|
Internal assessment (10 hours) | 20% |
The internal assessment consists of one task: the scientific investigation. This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course. (Total 24 marks) |
|
Comparing the 2014 syllabus with the 2023 syllabus
The 2014 syllabus had 12 topics with 8 SL plus options, whereas the 2023 syllabus has 24 compulsory topics, 19 of which are required in full or in part at SL.
They are grouped under 5 themes, space, time and motion, the particulate nature of matter, wave behaviour, field, nuclear and quantum physics.
Reassuringly, teachers won’t have to make significant changes to how they plan and teach, because the important physics ideas are still addressed, however, students really need to understand them now, as opposed to picking an equation and plugging in the numbers.
All teachers will need to brush up on rigid body mechanics, relativity, entropy, Kepler's laws, Compton scattering, and the lifecycle of stars. On the other hand, particle physics and the standard model, capacitors and rectification, thin film interference and cosmology have been removed. Make sure to cover content on every resource, as although the topic has gone, the same content is applied in the guidance under currents and circuits.
Teachers shouldn't teach in the same order that the guide is presented.
Consider when you want to run the internal assessment. What skills will students require?
For classes with HL and SL, we recommended having everyone together for the first part of the course relevant to all, then release SL for some lessons when covering the topics with additional higher-level content e.g. Doppler effect, and then exclusive HL content.
New Materials to Help You Study
We are updating all our resources for the new IB course so that whether you are a student or a teacher, you can depend on them for high quality learning and revision - perfect for acing those exams!
In the meantime, browse our existing IB Physics revision resources.
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Written by Stewart Hird
Chemistry Lead7 articlesStewart has been an enthusiastic GCSE, IGCSE, A Level and IB teacher for more than 30 years in the UK as well as overseas, and has also been an examiner for IB and A Level. As a long-standing Head of Science, Stewart brings a wealth of experience to creating Topic Questions and revision materials for Save My Exams. Stewart specialises in Chemistry, but has also taught Physics and Environmental Systems and Societies.
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