How I Got An A* in A Level Physics in Just 1 Month

Summary

Achieving an A* in A-Level Physics in just one month is entirely possible with the right strategy and mindset. The video provides seven crucial physics-specific tips that focus on integrating mathematics, memorizing key definitions, understanding core concepts, and maximizing exam techniques. While relying on practice questions is essential, the creator emphasizes the importance of mastering fundamental topics and comprehending derivations. Additionally, maintaining composure during exams and leveraging resources like formula books are vital. The end message encourages viewers to commit to relentless practice and stay dedicated to achieving their desired grades.

Highlights

• Combining mathematics and physics is key to excelling in exams ➗
• Memorizing definitions can secure you easy marks, don't miss out! 🧠
• Balance memorization with a deep understanding of concepts 🤓
• Prioritize basic topics to build a strong foundation 📘
• Use derivations to tackle complex questions confidently 🗂️
• Keep the formula book open during exams as a helpful tool 📖
• In tough exams, remember to stay calm and move past hard questions 😌
• Consistent practice is your best friend in achieving excellent grades! 💪

Key Takeaways

• Start studying now; it's never too late to improve your grade 📚
• Math knowledge is crucial - practice it diligently! ➗
• Memorize key definitions for guaranteed marks 🧠
• Understand concepts deeply; don't just memorize! 🤓
• Master foundational topics as they're crucial for advanced understanding 📘
• Keep the formula book handy during exams for quick assistance 📖
• Stay calm during exams, and don't dwell on difficult questions too long 😌
• Practice relentlessly; it's the grinding that makes the difference! 💪

Overview

The journey to securing an A* in A-Level Physics in just a month requires dedication and strategic planning. The creator reflects on his own experience, highlighting the turning point when he decided to buckle down after underperforming in a mock exam. Through this video, he imparts seven physics-specific tips, many of which transcend general advice, emphasizing a tailored approach to the subject combining both comprehension and relentless practice.

One of the core aspects stressed is the interconnection between mathematics and physics. As much as physics requires understanding, a significant portion of the exams is math-oriented, demanding thorough practice of past paper questions. Memorization also plays a crucial role, but it needs to be balanced with conceptual clarity, especially when approaching complex topics derived from fundamental ones taught early in the course.

Exam strategy is another focal point, where the creator advises maintaining composure and not spending excessive time on difficult questions. Keeping the formula book handy can also provide quick insights and aid in problem-solving during the exam. Coupled with a never-give-up attitude, these strategies collectively form a robust ground for aiming and achieving high marks in A-Level Physics.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction and Background The chapter discusses the challenges of achieving high grades in A-level Physics, acknowledging that while it is difficult, it is not impossible with the right approach. The speaker recommends watching their other videos on achieving high grades in A-level Maths and general A-level success, promising to share seven specific tips for excelling in Physics. The speaker candidly shares a personal anecdote about being underprepared in physics during sixth form due to procrastination and minimal effort in homework, which impacted their understanding and performance in topic tests.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Tip 1: Focus on Mathematics Tip 1 focuses on the importance of mathematics in achieving success in A-level physics exams. The speaker reflects on a personal experience of achieving an AAR in a mock exam two months before the actual A-level exam and emphasizes that it's not too late to start studying seriously. They suggest that with a proper plan, you can achieve the grades you desire. The chapter highlights that A-level physics is heavily reliant on mathematics, making up at least 50% of the course content, and that students should be prepared for questions that are essentially math problems.
• 01:30 - 02:30: Tip 2: Memorize Definitions and Explanations In this chapter, the focus is on the importance of memorizing definitions and explanations, particularly in the context of exams. Understanding every formula and knowing when to use them is crucial to not miss out on easy marks in papers. Regular practice with past papers is recommended, as it helps in familiarizing with the type of calculations required. Although the calculations may seem repetitive, sometimes examiners introduce them in different contexts. Additionally, resources like Isaac Physics can be beneficial for challenging oneself beyond traditional paper questions. The key takeaway from this tip is to memorize certain essential concepts and formulas.
• 02:30 - 03:30: Tip 3: Understand Concepts In this chapter, the focus is on understanding concepts thoroughly, particularly in the context of exam preparation and answering explanation questions. It highlights the importance of working through past papers to identify patterns in mark schemes. Although mark schemes for explanation questions are not identical, they share similar key concepts. The chapter emphasizes that linking memorized knowledge to the context of a problem can secure easy marks. It uses the example of questions about threshold frequency to illustrate this point.
• 03:30 - 04:30: Tip 4: Master Basic Topics First This chapter emphasizes the importance of mastering basic topics in academic studies. It suggests that key terms like 'work function,' 'total energy,' and 'useful energy' should not be overlooked, as they often appear in exams. The chapter advises students to utilize flashcards or cheat sheets to memorize such terms, although it acknowledges that creating flashcards might be too late unless one is selective. The main message is to avoid losing marks on basic topics that are easy to prepare for. The chapter ends by transitioning to the next tip.
• 04:30 - 05:30: Tip 5: Understand Equation Origins This chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding the origins of equations in physics, as opposed to merely memorizing them. While it acknowledges the existence of repetitive questions that can be leveraged, it stresses that problem-solving skills are crucial for true comprehension. The text suggests that pre-existing knowledge of concepts is necessary for practical problem-solving. It also advises revisiting topics through different resources if uncertainty persists, despite having engaged with various learning materials like videos, textbooks, and classroom lectures.
• 05:30 - 06:30: Tip 6: Use the Formula Book The chapter emphasizes the importance of starting to solve practice problems early, rather than waiting until one has mastered all the knowledge.
• 06:30 - 07:30: Tip 7: Don't Panic During Exams This chapter emphasizes the importance of having a solid understanding of basic topics such as electricity and mechanics, as these are crucial for tackling more advanced topics in exams, especially for AQA paper 2. It advises students not to neglect these foundational topics even if they feel they have mastered them, as these areas are often revisited in exams and are essential for solving complex problems. The chapter suggests that lacking knowledge in foundational topics might lead to difficulties in solving higher-level questions.
• 07:30 - 08:30: Conclusion and Motivation The chapter discusses the importance of understanding the derivation of formulas as emphasized in examination specifications. It highlights that many bullet points in specifications focus on knowing these derivations, which can be particularly useful for answering describe or explain questions. The chapter suggests using resources like 'Save My Exams', which offers excellent visual representations to understand where formulas originate. It specifically mentions the ideal gas law (PV = nRT) and references a good explanation found on the website, reinforcing the idea that understanding the derivations can enhance comprehension and performance in exams.

How I Got An A* in A Level Physics in Just 1 Month Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 all right a level physics is hard but that doesn't mean that you can't get an A star and if you do really want one you come to the right place I've already made a video on how to get an AAR in a level maths which will probably be useful because you're doing a level physics and a more General a level advice video I'll link both in the description but in this video I'm going to give you guys seven physics specific tips so in six form I vividly remember being a little behind in physics just cuz I didn't really study I left it really really late I did the bare minimum in homeworks I wouldn't study much for topic tests I ended up not
• 00:30 - 01:00 getting an AAR in a mock like 2 months before the actual a level and that's when I decided that I'm really going to lock in now and that's why I know if you start studying properly with a plan from right now you can 100% get the grade that you want because it's never too late to start studying for your exam but given that your exams are in around a month let's not waste any time and get right into the tips all right tip number one a level physics is literally like 50% if not more just maths you're going to be faced with a five Mark just basically a maths question and if you
• 01:00 - 01:30 don't know how to do the calculations that's a lot of marks that you're going to be missing out on make sure you know exactly what every formula does and when to use them so that you don't end up getting cooked by in my opinion some of the easiest marks that you can pick up in the paper you basically just practice this by spamming practice questions as you do more and more pass papers you'll find out that the calculations can get pretty repetitive but sometimes they'll just paint a completely different context for a question so just be aware of that Isaac physics is also really good too if the questions in the papers are getting a little boring and you want a bit more of a challenge tip number two is to just straight up memorize certain
• 01:30 - 02:00 definitions and explanations again when you start completing more and more past papers you end up finding that when you look at the mark schemes for some explanation questions that they're actually very very similar they're never going to be completely identical there's often going to be like one or two marks that need you to link the knowledge that you just stated to the actual context of the problem if you just memorize some of those other marks that are basically the same in every variation of that question you're just guaranteeing yourself some really easy marks like this is just an example but if you see a question about like threshold frequency or something
• 02:00 - 02:30 you basically know there's going to be one or two marks for an explanation or description that at least mentions work function in some way or more simple example more for as would be something like if they ask anything to do with efficiency you're going to have to mention the words total energy and useful energy put them all on a flash card or put them all in a cheat sheet whichever method works best for you honestly it might be a little too late for flash cards unless you're being really picky about what you're putting in your flash card bank but just find a way to memorize them because it would be a waste to just throw away marks like that all right tip number three is
• 02:30 - 03:00 basically a contradiction to tip number two but not really hit me out physics is tough because it needs you to actually understand the concepts really well while there are some repetitive questions that you can take advantage of you can't just memorize your way through everything I really don't want to keep saying it but it really is the only way you can only get better by solving more and more problems given that you've actually gone through the content and the basic concepts beforehand also if you feel like even though you've gone through a topic by watching the videos and reading the textbook or listening to your teacher explain it but you're still not 100% sure on the actual content then
• 03:00 - 03:30 I still think that's the perfect position to be in to solve more and more practice problems I made this mistake and I don't want you to and that is waiting for the perfect time to start doing practice questions only once you think you have all of the knowledge just start the earlier you start solving problems the better tip number four Master the basic topics first reason number 105 of why physics is such a difficult subject is that the harder topics especially in like year 2 physics all build up on top of the foundational Topics in year one so if you want to be able to solve questions about fields or
• 03:30 - 04:00 photo electricity really well they assume that you have a really really solid foundation of like electricity and mechanics never neglect those topics from as that you feel like you're done with I'm pretty sure most of you will have an entire paper on those year one topics anyway but just to let you know that knowledge is still really important for paper 2 at least for AQA I don't know what the setup is for other exam boards if your knowledge on the basic topics is lacking don't be surprised if you can't solve the really tricky topics from year two tip number five try and really understand where some equations
• 04:00 - 04:30 come from a lot of bullet points in the specification you've probably noticed are about knowing the derivation for some formula and sometimes they can be pretty useful particularly in those three plus Mark describe or explain questions save my exams does them really well they have really good visual representations that tell you where some of the formula in the formula book come from so use them and definitely don't ignore that derivation point in the spec for example I remember a pretty good explanation on sa of my exams about where some of the relationships in PV equals NT come from and I felt like I
• 04:30 - 05:00 literally had like a photographic memory of that picture in the exam and I felt like it helped me in a really long explained question about collisions in gas particles tip number six this one's more of an exam tip and it's to keep the formula book open all the time during the exam I just felt like personally when I was really lost on a question especially a calculation question I would just start staring at the formula Book for a bit and sometimes not all the time that would be enough to make something click and for me to go this is the formula I need to use or I'm going to need to use this relationship in this
• 05:00 - 05:30 explained question or something don't make it mean that you need to rely on the formula book completely all the time some really common equations should be basically second nature and drilled into your head but if you're really stuck on a question there's a chance that something in the formula book is going to give you at least a little bit of a hint as to what you need to do tip number seven another exam tip is to never Panic so when I sat physics paper 2 I sat in that exam and thought to myself there is a chance I might get like 50% in this exam AQA 2024 physics
• 05:30 - 06:00 paper 2 was known to be one of the most ridiculously difficult exams but I remember being told that no matter how difficult you find an exam paper you still need to give it your best shot because everyone else is just going to find it tricky as well you're going to regret it even more if you get your mark and think I actually could have done a lot better if I hadn't given up because you've seen everyone else's marks and you understand that everyone found that difficult if you see a hard question that's taking you too long skip it and focus on all the questions you can pick up marks from literally Strat mezee your
• 06:00 - 06:30 exam technique as much as possible don't get too caught up on one long question try and maximize the number of marks you're getting for every unit of time you spend then you can go back and attempt the harder questions definitely try and come back to those questions at the end of the exam as well because no matter how hard they are even though you might lose all confidence on the first go at seeing it there's times where a second look after a little while can make you think you actually know what to do now and I'm just going to give a bonus tip too which is that there's a chance you didn't actually need to watch this video hopefully the tips helped but
• 06:30 - 07:00 at the end of the day you know exactly what you need to do it's likely you just watch this video because you want to feel like you're studying but trust me nothing is going to get the job done for you other than the grind set of just sitting at your desk and going through as many practice problems as possible that's the thing that's going to make the biggest difference obviously and I say obviously because you probably knew that already so go ahead and close YouTube now go into a deep workflow and solve as many problems as you can until you just don't want to see it anymore and it's easy for you for now I have one more video planned in this a level series video that's for A- level
• 07:00 - 07:30 chemistry so if you think that's going to help make sure to subscribe and leave suggestions of any other videos that you guys want to see drop a like too hopefully this helped and I'll see you guys in the next video