Site icon IBlieve

IB Physics HL & SL Explained

sahanasrajan

By Luca Martinez Cecchetelli and Sahana Sabarirajan

The International Baccalaureate’s Physics has a notorious reputation for being a complex subject that can throw off many students. But it’s nothing to worry about if you can gauge the workings of the IB and the expectations set out for you. After reading this article, you’ll know so much more about the Physics curriculum, and how to manage it to the best of your abilities as well.

The Curriculum Overview

The major characteristic of IB Physics is its focus on application. Either being in the class  or taking the examinations, it requires a deeper level of understanding to apply theory into real-world scenarios. Numericals go a long way, along with application questions in varying simulations. Throughout this course, you will go over an extensive syllabus that looks over the basics of physics while continuously using those bases as applications for new topics revised.

Your critical thinking and problem-solving skills will play a huge role. Day-to-day classes will commonly test how well you’ve been understanding the topics. Classwork and assessments are unpredictable in that sense, but rest assured that the syllabus is completely manageable, and it is created within the scope and understanding for any baccalaureate student although it also depends on how teachers can balance out raw theory and its applications in case scenarios.

Along with the experimental programme, the core concepts consist of five topics: 

You can view the detailed curriculum of the core concepts below:

Differences between HL & SL

Both SL and HL cover the five core concepts, but teaching hours required for HL are considerably higher than SL, which are 180 and 110 hours respectively. In the curriculum attached above, you can check out the respective topics for HL and SL according to the table key.

The HL Physics curriculum has dives deeper into the core concepts, and contains more complex emphasis on mathematics. The conceptual understandings of the topics are more profoundly dived into, and numericals require more understanding to manipulate formulas and derive new ones in a limited amount of time. This, of course, means that taking this subject is recommended for students who are interested in studying physics at college level, which this course definitely prepares students for. Similar to SL, the HL course includes building experimental design and data analysis. SL Physics is not as complex, but also doesn’t put students at any disadvantage when it comes to pursuing a physics-based course in higher education. The evaluations for HL also mean an increase in the amount of questions, and, of course, an increase in the amount of topics to cover in the external assessment’s questions (more on that later!). Taking into account that HL classes have a significant increase in difficulty.

Assessment Overview

Internal Assessments

The IA is the segment of the IB curriculum that gives you the freedom to explore physics as per call. After all, it is so important that we learn to develop our mindsets geared for curiosity, knowledge and discovery. Let’s uncover IA marking criteria for 2025. Each of the four criterions have a weighting of 6, leading to a final accumulation of 24 points: 

The most important thing to have in mind while preparing for your IA, is to not overcomplicate it for yourself! Your assessors are not looking for discoveries to rival Newton’s, and the most impressive IAs aim to centre around simple concepts and present them in an out-of-the-box perspective. Look at the core concepts from different angles, learn the foundations behind theories and discover how it’s relevant in our lives. 

Think about an activity or hobby of yours that you would be interested in working on. Then, view it through a Physics lens to see what you could make your IA about. Many students prefer to do this, because working on a passion of yours can help make this investigation much easier and enjoyable. Inspire yourself with topic examples from these links: 

External Assessments

In your Physics course, be it standard or higher level, 80% of your final grade is contributed from the external assessments. It may seem overwhelming, but if planned correctly, you’ll be able to do well in these evaluations. The actual evaluation is divided into paper 1 and paper 2 starting with the syllabus change.

In order to achieve better results in these evaluations, it’s necessary to understand the topics in various scenarios. You should be able to apply knowledge from class into any case. It is highly recommended to study notes from concepts and then try to apply them into simple cases. For example; in Unit A.2: Forces, look at random objects and identify the forces being applied to it.

When taking exams, HL students will have 60-minutes to complete a 40 mark paper, while SL students have 45 minutes to complete a 30 mark paper. Being able to balance the time you take in each question makes a good habit, so if you have an available past exam, use it to gain practice on areas of opportunity and pace in exam time.

How It Can Help for University?

Physics is a highly demanded class, not because all of these students want to specifically study that science, but because the application of this science and its use in other careers’ development has come up as “more useful” if you are looking to study careers related to areas such as engineering. Taking Physics has made it easier for many people to understand the world around them. If students have a steady grasp on the basics of physics, they can perform even better in university once the principles have to be put into action. 

Besides the benefits of the overall class, there are multiple opportunities for students to participate in physics-related extracurriculars that can sum up to the student curriculum. These advantages include science olympiads, competitions, internships and summer camps that contribute to your knowledge of IB Physics. Having a wide array of opportunities provided by one class can be a game-changer when it comes to your diploma’s development. We’ve included a few popular opportunities out there in the world of physics:

Also, schools can bring in professionals to help students delve into the world of physics from someone who is actively working in the field. It is through these experiences that the IB can differentiate from other curriculums to the point where knowledge can be achieved from outside the classroom and therefore ensure that students can develop the logical and critical thinking brought forward by subjects such as physics.

Tips for Success

  1. With every lesson and study session, aim to understand the fundamental workings behind a topic and how you can apply it to real-world scenarios. At the end of the day, your assessments will revolve around your consideration of a topic from all angles, so begin preparing that mindset from day one!
  2. Understand the workings and derivations of formulas, because many exam questions require the combination of one or many formulas to arrive at a solution. 
  3. Choose your IA topic wisely. You do not need to make it difficult for yourself! Choose a relatively simpler concept that you grasp well and present your investigation in an extraordinary manner.
  4. Check out IB Physics HL – 2024 | Revision Village, a website that offers practice exercises for exams.
  5. Utilise active recall! It is the only method for you to study smart in shorter periods of time. Online resources, such as Quizlet flashcards, already contain loads of physics flashcards and active recall questions created for you, so take advantage of past resources like these.
  6. Chris Donner’s Youtube channel is one of many physics resources that IB students around the globe worship. His explanations are super simple and help you build a strong foundation for your exam preparation and skills.
  7. Your exam skills will only flourish with practice! Look out for physics past papers online such as this amazing website PaperPlainz, and always remember that your teacher will be happy to provide you with additional assistance and resources.
  8. Finally, join the IBlieve Community on Slack and get ready to surround yourself with a community where you can support and be supported by IB students from around the world, be it regarding physics classes, physics study sessions or 24/7 motivation.

Conclusion

Overall, it is important that you approach IB physics as a subject you are genuinely curious to know more about. Since it is a demanding subject with a valuable payoff, we recommend that you choose Physics if you are also willing to go through what this class entails. With unwavering dedication and strategic studying, you’ll earn that 7 in no time. We wish you all the best and good luck! 

You may also like…

Exit mobile version