Everything you need to prepare for IB Physics at SL and HL on the 2023 syllabus: a paper-by-paper strategy, a 6-week revision timeline, theme-by-theme checklists, and links to free notes and flashcards. Physics rewards clear working, correct units, and confident data analysis — this guide shows you how to practise all three.
Want to know what's most likely to come up on your exam? We track which themes and question types recur across recent Physics papers — favourites like kinematics and energy in mechanics, the gas laws, wave superposition and interference, fields and electromagnetic induction, and nuclear decay. Revise everything, but spend your final weeks on these high-probability areas: it is the smartest way to study.
In Physics you can get the right number and still drop marks if you ignore the command term — it tells you how much working and reasoning to show. Three are worth knowing cold before you sit the exam.
Determine
Obtain the only possible answer — often by reading a gradient or area off a graph, or by combining several equations. Show how the value is fixed; a bare number rarely earns full marks.
Show that
The answer is printed in the question, so the marks are in the working. Derive it forward from first principles and quote one extra significant figure than the given value to prove you reached it — never work backwards.
Explain
An AO3 reasoning term: give the causes and reasons, linked to a physics principle. The word 'because' should appear — a one-line statement with no reasoning will not score.
Not sure what percentage you need across Paper 1 and Paper 2 (plus the Scientific Investigation) to land a 7? Use our interactive grade calculator to enter your mock or target scores and see exactly how they convert to final IB grades, based on historical Physics boundaries.
What grade are you on track for?
Enter your marks per paper and see the grade boundaries you are aiming at.
The biggest revision mistake is studying content but ignoring format. Know exactly what each paper asks for before you start practising.
Paper 1SL + HL1 h 30 min (SL) / 2 hours (HL)36% (SL & HL)
Sat in one block. Paper 1A is multiple choice (SL 25 / HL 40 marks) covering the whole syllabus; Paper 1B is data-based and experimental (20 marks). The physics data booklet and a calculator are allowed throughout, and there is no negative marking.
Answer every 1A question — there is no penalty for a wrong guess, so never leave a blank
Eliminate obviously wrong distractors, then check units and orders of magnitude before choosing
In 1B, plot points with error bars and draw a clear best-fit line; state the unit when you read a gradient or intercept
Treat uncertainties in order — absolute, then fractional, then percentage — and propagate them into the final result
Paper 2SL + HL1 h 30 min (SL) / 2 h 30 min (HL)44% (SL & HL)
Short-answer and extended-response questions across the whole syllabus (SL 50 marks / HL 90 marks, with HL-only extensions). Extended parts are marked on markbands and reward structured reasoning. The data booklet and a calculator are allowed.
Write the equation, then the substitution, on separate lines — you keep the method mark even if the arithmetic slips
Read the command term: "explain", "discuss" and "evaluate" need reasoning, not just a value
Draw a free-body diagram before any mechanics question so you never miss a force
Carry units and sensible significant figures (usually 2–3) to the final line — a missing unit loses the mark
Internal AssessmentSL + HL~10 hours of coursework20% (SL & HL)
The Scientific Investigation — one individual experiment written up in ≤ 3,000 words and marked out of 24 on four criteria: research design, data analysis, conclusion, and evaluation. SL and HL students do exactly the same task.
Pick a focused research question with one clear independent and one dependent variable
Collect at least five values of the independent variable with repeats so you can plot a graph with error bars
Process uncertainties fully (absolute → fractional → percentage) and propagate them into your result
Evaluate honestly: name specific systematic and random errors and suggest realistic improvements
Start dedicated Physics revision about 6 weeks before the exam. That gives you time to cover Themes A–E, make your data-booklet routines automatic, and complete several full past papers under timed conditions — including the Paper 1B data-analysis section, which trips up students who only revise content.
What is on IB Physics Paper 1?+
Paper 1 is sat in one block and has two parts: Paper 1A is multiple choice (25 marks at SL, 40 at HL) covering the whole syllabus, and Paper 1B is data-based and experimental (20 marks) testing graphing, uncertainties and evaluating a method. The data booklet and a calculator are allowed, and there is no negative marking — so answer every question.
What topics come up most in IB Physics?+
Mechanics (Theme A) and Fields (Theme D) are the heaviest and appear on every paper — kinematics, forces, energy, and electromagnetic induction are near-guaranteed. Waves (Theme C), thermal physics and the gas laws (Theme B), and nuclear and quantum physics (Theme E) also recur. Check our Predicted Topics page for the latest data-driven breakdown.
How do I get a 7 in IB Physics?+
Show your working line by line so method marks survive an arithmetic slip, carry correct units and significant figures to the final answer, and answer the exact command term — "explain" and "discuss" need reasoning, not a value. Master the data booklet and the Paper 1B data skills, and treat your Scientific Investigation IA (20%) as marks in the bank before you even sit the papers.
First topic free
Turn your Physics revision plan into results
Aimnova builds a personalised study plan around your exam date — it tracks your progress, surfaces weak themes like fields or nuclear physics, and schedules exactly what to review each day.