r/ibPhysics

I noticed that my teachers assessments mirror the older style IB questions (since he doesn’t change his assessments for years), but I was wondering if using them (and omitting the content not covered anymore) is useful for exam prep. After all, the physics is the same, but how different really are the problems? It’s not to say I’ll be using new papers either, but for m27, learning the topics using those old papers could be useful. Thoughts?

Hey everyone,

I’m going into IB SL Physics next term, and I want to use the remainder of my break to get a head start and do some studying.

I know everyone always recommends grinding past papers, but since I haven't actually learned most of the curriculum yet, looking at full final exam papers feels pretty overwhelming.

Instead, I want to practice topic-by-topic. Does anyone know where I can find authentic, IB-style past unit test questions or topical question banks specifically for the SL syllabus? I want to make sure the questions I'm practicing match the actual rigor and style of the IB, rather than just generic textbook problems.

Also, if any recent grads or current DP2s have their own old SL Physics unit tests saved on a Google Drive and are willing to share, please feel free to DM me! I would incredibly appreciate any files you guys are willing to pass down.

Thanks in advance for the help!

So far I've done A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, and D1, and BY FAR C3 is the hardest thing ive done. Other than the obvious A5/(maybe A4) and D4, how do the other units fare by difficulty? I'm planning on taking a break from waves into topic E or topic D, but I can't decide on what to do first. Ideally, I want to do something easier, but if C3 is one of the easier units, then I'll need a ranking of pain.

I'm going into DP2 next year, and I wanted to pre-study some of the topics. Last year, we did A.1, A.2, A.3, B.1, B.2, B.3 and D.1. I found A.1-A.3 difficult not because of the unit itself, but the tricky applications that IB likes to put. Does anyone else feel the same way?

Additionally, should I do rotational dynamics, waves, electromagnetic fields, thermo, or quantum physics first? Not sure where to start.