Guide

How to get a H1 in your Leaving Cert Physics exam

By Marina P. - 12 minute read

In this guide, Marina gives her top tips and tricks for succeeding in your Leaving Certificate Physics.

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Introduction

I switched to physics about a month into my sixth year after starting with history. I also took biology, chemistry and applied maths. This combination of subjects had its advantages as chemistry overlapped with particle/modern physics and applied maths helped with mechanics. I had a friend do physics alongside art, music and history and it worked just as well for her. So, my advice is, if you have an interest in the subject (however small) consider it. 

The course is a manageable size with many upsides (such as the lack of essays). Whether you love the subject or can’t wait to never glance at that textbook again, you can get something from it and use it to maximise your points. Personally, the physics jokes and puns also drew me in, here’s a personal favourite: “so my physics teacher said I had potential...then he threw me off the roof!”

Studying for physics

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the number of chapters on the course but it is actually made up of six broad topics:

  • Mechanics

  • Waves, light and sound

  • Heat and temperature

  • Electricity

  • Modern physics

  • The option (particle physics or applied electricity)

By focusing on these as units, you will have a universal view of the course without feeling as if you have 40 chapters in a textbook to cover. I know it’s tempting but try not to skip any section as you never know what will come up on the day. Here are some tips for studying this subject:

  • Find a study method that suits you

    I found it easiest to study by making notes from the textbook and condensing them as much as possible. I made notes of these notes until I could whittle down the course to under 25 pages. No one has the same notes/style of learning so use what works for you, whether your notes are written with long explanations or written in abbreviations. Making my notes look pretty definitely helped me actually want to write them and learn from them too.

  • Flashcards

    Flashcards are a great tool that you can look over in your spare time. For me, the act of just making them and writing things out one more time helped.

  • Record yourself

    We’re all different types of learners so something auditory may help you too. You could record yourself reading notes or even record yourself asking a question, leave a pause to answer it and then record the answer. Here is a podcast that I found helpful: podcast by thatsmadthatis.  

  • Teach someone else

    Teaching someone else about what you’re learning is a great way to know if you understand a topic. This could be a study group where you help each other or a chat with your mum over a cup of tea.

  • Past papers

    Past papers are your new best friend so make the most of the ones available to you and even more importantly, the marking schemes. So many topics repeat and by knowing the past questions inside out (do them multiple times if you can), the actual exam will seem much more familiar and doable.

  • Study topic by topic

    Up until the end of my sixth year, I found it most useful to simply do questions topic by topic (Studyclix is great for this). This will ensure that you can apply material from each chapter in an exam-focused way and allow you to flag any areas or styles of questions you may need to focus on going forward.

  • After the mocks

    After the mocks, I suggest working through papers under timed conditions and marking these yourself in their entirety. This will get you used to the structure and you can avoid any timing slip-ups on the day of the exam. Marking your own paper will also show you what the examiner is looking for.

Exam layout and timing

The physics exam is three hours long and consists of two sections:

  • Section A (mandatory experiments) accounts for 30% of your grade and each question is worth 40 marks.

  • Section B (general questions) accounts for 70% of your grade and each question is worth 56 marks.

How you decide to split up your timing is completely up to you. I suggest doing some past papers and using trial and error to find the timing that works best for you. Here is some food for thought when considering how to split your time in the exam:

  • Option 1

    If you divide the minutes by the marks exactly, this would give you roughly 18 minutes per question in Section A and 25 minutes for each question in Section B. This, however, leaves you hardly any spare time for going over and choosing your questions. You might still opt for this as a guideline (especially if you go back and check over your work as you go) but I prefer to have some time to play with.

  • Option 2

    If you allow around 16 minutes per experiment question and 22 minutes for the others, this leaves you with an extra 22 minutes. You could also keep it simple and use 20 minutes for each question and give yourself another 10 minutes for the beginning and end of the exam. Naturally, some questions will be quicker to finish and others will take a few minutes longer but believe in yourself that it will all balance out.

Personally, I liked to use a lot of time (10-15 minutes) choosing the questions I would do. This ensured I wouldn’t abandon a question halfway through and I was confident that I had chosen the best questions for me. I would grab three coloured highlighters and mark what I was definitely going to answer, the 'maybes' and what was ruled out straight away. I found it hugely satisfying to cross out whole questions and avoid the questions that didn’t resonate with me (excuse the pun). Trust yourself, even if the person beside you has already asked for graph paper and your exam booklet is still closed. You got this!

Top tip

The order in which you approach the questions is a personal preference and nothing requires you to answer in the order they are asked. For example, you might like to start with a question that's relatively straightforward which might put your mind at ease or you might like to leave it for the end for when you’re getting tired.

Section A: mandatory experiments

In this section, you answer three out of four experiment questions. There will usually be a question on:

  • mechanics;
  • light, sound and waves;
  • heat and temperature;
  • electricity.

Unfortunately, there is no particular trend so it's best to learn them all. Some people like to learn the experiments separately but personally, I liked to merge them with all the other material in my notes. There is limited scope to what they can ask concerning any one experiment so make sure you know:

  • a diagram;
  • a brief method;
  • any associated maths and sources of error for each one.

I recommend going over past papers and as you attempt to complete questions, ask yourself whether you could answer similar questions for a different experiment. It’s also key to read the question properly; there have been many times when I’ve done a calculation using a formula when asked to use the graph and lost marks. Try your best to avoid mistakes like these.

Remember

Many experiments will require you to draw graphs so remember what goes on each axis, e.g. whether it is √T or t2, etc. Practice proportionality and straight lines through the origin and don't forget to bring a long ruler.

Experiment checklist

Here is a list of all the experiments you need to know:

Mechanics

  • Measure velocity/acceleration/show that a ∝ F/verify the principle of momentum with a ticker tape and timer or using an air track and light gates.

  • Calculate g using a freefall apparatus.

  • Verify Boyle’s law.

  • Verify the laws of equilibrium.

  • Calculate g using a simple pendulum by showing length ∝ period2.

Light, sound and waves

  • Measure the wavelength of monochromatic light.

  • Measure the focal length of a concave mirror/a converging lens.

  • Verify Snell’s law and find the refractive index of glass.

  • Measure the refractive index of a liquid.

  • Measure the variation of a stretched string’s fundamental frequency with length/tension.

  • Measure the speed of sound in air.

Heat

  • Plot a thermometer’s calibration curve using a lab mercury thermometer as a standard.

  • Measure the specific heat capacity of a metal/water by an electrical method.

  • Measure the specific latent heat of fusion of ice/vapourisation of water.

Electricity

  • Verify Joule’s law (Δϑ ∝ I2).

  • Measure a wire’s resistivity.

  • Measure the variation of resistance with the temperature of a metallic conductor/thermistor.

  • Measure the variation of current with a potential difference for a metallic conductor/filament bulb/semiconductor diode/copper sulphate solution and copper electrodes.

Section B: other questions

In this section, there are eight questions and you have to choose five. There’s no set trend but in general, the questions have shown the following patterns:

Question 5
  • This question consists of ten short questions and you answer eight. I recommend attempting to answer all parts of this question as your best eight will be marked.
Question 6 
  • Mechanics.
  • This question can vary and be a little complicated so practice is key here.
  • If stuck, always go back to your log tables to see if there are formulae that might be useful.
Question 7
  • Waves, light and sound.
Question 8/9
  • Electricity or modern physics.
Question 10
  • Choose (a) or (b) depending on what option you covered in class.
Question 11
  • This is often a comprehension, usually based on something topical.
  • The topic STS (science and technology in society) can appear anywhere but will definitely appear here. These are the applications of physics such as using a capacitor as a defibrillator or the Doppler effect in speed guns.
Question 12
  • This is a mixture of shorter questions where you choose 2 out of 4 parts.
  • This is a good place to earn extra marks as if you have extra time you could attempt a third subsection.

Demonstration experiments

As well as the mandatory experiments listed earlier (which you complete yourself), your teacher will have performed demonstration experiments for the class. These could be asked about in any question where you might be asked to:

  • Show that light/sound is a wave.

  • Demonstrate Archimedes’ principle.

  • Demonstrate atmospheric pressure.

  • Calibrate a thermometer using ice/steam.

  • Demonstrate the presence of an electric field.

  • Demonstrate that a capacitor stores energy/demonstrate the factors that control its capacitance.

  • Show a current-carrying conductor experiencing a force in a magnetic field.

  • Show that two parallel wires conducting a current will experience a force.

  • Demonstrate electromagnetic induction/Faraday’s law/Lenz’s law.

  • Demonstrate Rutherford’s gold foil experiment or the Cockcroft-Walton experiment.

Definitions

Definitions will be asked anywhere and everywhere in the exam so be prepared. I listed and learned the definitions from past papers (you don’t want to learn a definition only to realise it doesn’t fit the marking scheme). 

Top tip

To help you remember them, why not put post-its around your bedroom or on the bathroom sink, create a song or rhyme or even record yourself saying them and then listen back?

Calculations

If I could say one thing, it would be to show your workings. You could get the right answer but lose marks because the examiner doesn’t know how you got there. Alternatively, your answer might be completely wrong but you could still gain marks as the examiner can follow where you made a slip and give you what you deserve.

My final thing to say about calculations is to remember to use radians for circular motion and simple harmonic motion.

Top tip

If you have time, double-check your calculations. It’s easy to lose marks by copying something down incorrectly from your calculator, for example.

Derivations

These are such a forgotten part of the course (I am definitely guilty of this). However, those few marks could make a difference and are definite marks if you know them. Here is a list of them all:

  • nλ = dsinθ

  • SUVAT equations: v = u + at, s = ut + ½at2, v2 = u2 + 2as

  • v = rw

  • g = GM/r2

  • T2 = 4π2r3/GM

  • v2 = GM/r

  • Show simple harmonic motion: a = -ω2s

  • In series: RT = R1 + R2 + R3

  • In parallel: 1/RT = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

  • F = qvB

Final tips

Final Tips

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Log tables

Make the most of your log tables as they can get you some marks:

  • you can get the marks for many of the above pesky definitions by defining the terms in a formula;
  • you can check units in them and find the starting points for derivations and relationships between variables;
  • some answers will even be contained within them such as for the question, 'What are two negative leptons bar electrons?'. The negative muon and negative tau are all found between the covers of the log book.
  • By using them as you study, their familiarity might jog your memory in the exam.
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Acronyms and mnemonics

Use acronyms and mnemonics to aid your revision. For example, I used the phrase, “Granny wears eccentric stuff” to remember the order of the four fundamental forces in increasing strength: gravitational, weak nuclear, electromagnetic and strong nuclear. Make the mnemonic personal to you and draw on humour to make it stick in your head.

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Diagrams

The physics exam may ask you for many diagrams so make sure you’ve practiced drawing them beforehand. This isn’t an art exam so don’t worry about making them look too nice, the key is that they’re large and clear. Label all your parts and make sure to avoid mistakes like whether an ammeter or voltmeter is in series or parallel.

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Have fun with it

Try to get excited about the subject as it’s much easier to study something when you can find a little joy in what you’re learning. This could be watching a YouTube documentary such as Brian Cox’s 'A Crash Course in Particle Physics' or explaining to your little sibling/cousin/neighbour how a rainbow or mirage is formed and having them think you know everything.

Use the exam paper

You can write all over your exam paper. You can highlight, circle, jot points and my personal trademark: writing in bright red, 'go back to at the end!'. It’s your paper, so use the space as you need it.

Some final tips

for the Leaving Cert Physics exam.

Log tables

Make the most of your log tables as they can get you some marks:

  • you can get the marks for many of the above pesky definitions by defining the terms in a formula;
  • you can check units in them and find the starting points for derivations and relationships between variables;
  • some answers will even be contained within them such as for the question, 'What are two negative leptons bar electrons?'. The negative muon and negative tau are all found between the covers of the log book.
  • By using them as you study, their familiarity might jog your memory in the exam.

Acronyms and mnemonics

Use acronyms and mnemonics to aid your revision. For example, I used the phrase, “Granny wears eccentric stuff” to remember the order of the four fundamental forces in increasing strength: gravitational, weak nuclear, electromagnetic and strong nuclear. Make the mnemonic personal to you and draw on humour to make it stick in your head.

Diagrams

The physics exam may ask you for many diagrams so make sure you’ve practiced drawing them beforehand. This isn’t an art exam so don’t worry about making them look too nice, the key is that they’re large and clear. Label all your parts and make sure to avoid mistakes like whether an ammeter or voltmeter is in series or parallel.

Have fun with it

Try to get excited about the subject as it’s much easier to study something when you can find a little joy in what you’re learning. This could be watching a YouTube documentary such as Brian Cox’s 'A Crash Course in Particle Physics' or explaining to your little sibling/cousin/neighbour how a rainbow or mirage is formed and having them think you know everything.

Use the exam paper

You can write all over your exam paper. You can highlight, circle, jot points and my personal trademark: writing in bright red, 'go back to at the end!'. It’s your paper, so use the space as you need it.

Hope these help - happy studying!

Best of luck in the exam! You will be great.

Want more tips on how to get a H1 in Physics? Check out Gabrielle's advice below:

By Marina P.

Marina got an H1 in her Leaving cert higher level Physics exam. 

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