A-Level Home Page

 

Before you start the course

 

Important Links

                   Specification              Past Paper Questions                  Extra Questions              Textbook Answers

                                    

 

Good online revision sites

 

 

 

 

Modules

 

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Content Overview

 

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Exam structure

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Other exam boards:

These can be a useful source of extra questions during revision.

 

  AQA                   Edexcel                  Cambridge                 WJEC

 

                               

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General Advice

 

This is your A-level.  Take responsibility for it.  If you are struggling, do something about it.

  • Reread the textbook or revision guide.  Try some more questions, taking careful note of what the mark scheme says.
  • Any questions you can't do, bring to the lessons to discuss.
  • You must understand and learn things as you go along.  If you leave it too long, it will be too late.  There is a lot of material in an A-level course.
  • Don't suffer in silence.  Speak up sooner rather than later if you are not coping with it.

 

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Table of Icons

  Website - Always a good place to start.  They have been selected to be at an appropriate level.  Obviously many

            other websites are available.  If you don't like mine, find your own.

 

   Khan Academy - An extensive collection of videos on pretty much all topics.  Always correct and to the point.

            Can get a bit carried away.  You never need anything with calculus in it, although if you are doing A-level maths you

            should make an effort to engage with it.

   A-level Physics Online - A high quality set of videos based directly on the A-level specification.  You need

            to know everything in these videos.

   Video - There is some very high quality videos available.  If you find one you like e.g. Crash Course Physics, look

            at what other videos they have.  If you don't like my suggestion, find your own.  If you find something really good, let _          me know.

   Exam Questions - Do these.  All of them.  If you can't do them, bring them to the lesson.

 

  Exam  Answers - Take careful note of the words used in the mark schemes.  Vague waffling gets you

 __        nowhere.  You have to use the right words in the right order.

   General Questions  - You cannot do too many questions.  Do all that you can find.  They always include the

             answers.  As always, if you can't do them, let me know.

   Notes -  A good summary of the information.  Print them out if it helps.

 

  Plus - Not on the specification, but interesting.  You should not be confining yourself only to the spc.

 

   Ted-ed - Can be beyond specification, but not always.  Usually very high quality videos.

 

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Flipped Classroom

Your A-level course will be delivered using a "flipped classroom" model.  Traditionally lessons have been spent imparting new information and then you go home and try to do the questions applying the knowledge at home.  In the past, this has proved difficult because while you think you understand the only time you find out whether you do or not is when you try to apply it.  If you are at home, and get stuck, there is no one there to help.  The theory behind the flipped classroom is that you do the easy bit, i.e. acquiring the new knowledge, at home.  Then in the classroom we do experiments to prove the theory and try to apply the knowledge.  This way when you get stuck, I am there to help.  You can always do your homework as it is watching or reading and making notes.  If you didn't get it the first time, obviously you have time to do it again.  If there is a bit that you don't understand, think about what questions you need to ask, write them down and bring them to the lesson.

 

Expectations

You should arrive at each lesson ready to discuss the appropriate subject matter.  You should spend at least two hours a week preparing for the lessons.  There will not usually be other homework for Physics so make sure you spend the necessary time preparing.

 

How to prepare for lessons

  • Read the specification to check what you need to know before you start.
  • Read the textbook.
  • Watch the videos. I admit that I haven't watched them all so if they start talking about something that is not in the text book, you don't need it.
  • Make notes as required.  Some people like to make notes.  Some people think that they can spend a lot of time making notes that just say the same thing that the textbook or revision guide already says, so what was the point of writing it all out again.  I agree with the second point.  Do whatever works for you.
  • Don't understand?  Write down what questions you need to ask in the lesson and bring them to the lesson.
  • Do whatever online questions that are provided.
  • Try the questions provided on the website or in the textbook..  If you can do them, great.  If not, make a note of the ones that you can't and we will discuss them in the lesson.
  • Find some other links of your own and share them with others.

 

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Practical Endorsement

This is what we will informally call the PAGs.  These are clearly labelled as such in the specification and on the website.

This is nothing to worry about.  Throughout the course you will do a series of practicals.  These are just the standard practicals that we would do anyway.  What is important about them is that they can ask you questions about them in the written exam papers.

You should also have some evidence that you have done these experiments and learnt the required skills.  I will keep a spreadsheet record of the practicals and skills achieved.  You will have a PAG file in which we will store these write ups.  They do not have to be fancy.  A table of results, a graph and some error calculations are all that are needed.  They are not formally marked.

The practical endorsement itself is a Pass/Fail assessment.  I decide if you pass or fail.  There is no moderation and it does not affect your overall grade from the written papers.  Some university offers may be dependent on you passing.  Do let me know if this is the case.

 

 

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Maths Skills

 

If you are not doing A-level maths you will have to make sure your maths skills are up to date and good enough so they don't slow your progress.  A good place to start is on ISSAC Physics.  The list of things the exam board say you need to know is here. You might want to consider buying a book entitled something like "Maths Skills for Physics".  An example is here but there are plenty of others.  The basic skills you need, that will keep coming up over and over again are:

 

Significant figures

Standard Form

How to calculate percentages

Rearranging equations

Trigonometry in right angle triangles

Orders of magnitude

Gradients of straight line graphs

Exponential decay

Ratios