hello and welcome back to Ivy Lilia. If you're new make sure to subscribe. Today
we're talking about IB SL physics. I know that a lot of kids that take physics are
total math whizzes... that's not me so I knew I couldn't bank on calculations
alone to get all of my marks. So if you're like me and you need to play to
your strong suits to ace the physics exam, then here are four tips if math
isn't really your forte. Number one: play to your strengths. I really focused my energy
on learning the different definitions for different terms, learning the
connections between different concepts, everything that I could learn
conceptually without knowing a calculation for. There's so much content
for physics that it's all about time management. If that means time management
on the exams, then you should really prioritize the content that you feel
really confident about, so when you're studying, study what you know you can
knock out of the park and not what you think you may or may not be able to get
one or two marks on. For me, circuits didn't really click with me. I just
didn't really get it, so when I was studying for the exam, and throughout the
class, I was spending most of my time on really hammering and internalizing
concepts from waves or particle physics and just kind of knowing the bare
minimum for circuits. It's all about prioritizing what you think you can
excel on, so if you know you can do really well and get all the marks on a
certain topic, focus on that topic. Now I'm not saying don't study anything else,
just know that ultimately whatever you're not strongest on will be one or
two questions on the test it's not going to make or break your entire score.
Number two: pay attention to marks. If it's a short answer question, the IB will
tell you how many aspects they want you to answer. If they're asking you about
radioactivity and it's two marks, you know that there's going to be two things
they want you to say. I will always know that to
answer anything about radioactivity I need to mention that it's spontaneous
and random, and if I get those two things in, then I'm sure to get most of the
marks. It is so important to keep this in mind when you're studying and when
you're learning in the class because you need to memorize every element that's
needed to effectively and completely answer any question. It's little things
like that that will ensure you get the highest marks possible. Three: know what every
variable in the data booklet means and how to utilize every single equation.
It's not important to memorize the equations, it's important to memorize
what they mean. If you understand the interaction between the variables, it's
going to help you understand concepts and physics
and do the calculations better. Throughout the year, as I was studying I
would take sections of the data booklet cut them out and put them onto a flashcard
and then I would test myself: do I know every variable? do I know how I can use
this equation? do I know how this equation really works? And that helped me
answer short questions because you can use the data packet to help you memorize
definitions. Knowing the different equations helps you with short answer
questions because you can see the definitions in the equations. Don't
memorize anything that you don't have to, so use that data booklet to its best
advantage for you. Number four: Don't get psyched out. It is so easy to be
overwhelmed by the content, by the time constraints in the exams, by the sheer
difficulty of the physics exams. Like, come on! It's SL why is it so hard! But
remember that you really only need a 50% to do super well on the exams, but I
would caution you to not use that mindset when you're studying for the
exams because if you study knowing you only need a 50% you're not giving it
your all and you're probably gonna end up with a 2 or 3 instead of a 6 or a 7.
Remember that the mark bands are really low to console yourself, but don't let it
be an excuse for a bad work ethic. I was not good at physics when I came into
that class. I couldn't visualize how things moved, like, I couldn't think about
acceleration or velocity. I just didn't get it, but by the
and it was probably one of my favorite IB classes I took, like, I loved
astrophysics, I loved particle physics. Muons, tauons, bosons, those are my things!
So it's really about finding your strengths in that class and really
playing to them. I'm confident that if you keep that strategy in mind you will
excel in that class. I hope this video was helpful, if you have any questions
make sure to leave a comment or DM me on Instagram. Make sure to subscribe, and I
will see you later!