IB DP Physics: Paper-by-Paper Exam Preparation

DP Physics does not yet have a dedicated assessment-revision-notes page on this site, so the paper structure below is drawn directly from the same official IB Physics guide used to build the full syllabus guide and this site’s assessment records: Paper 1 (two separate booklets completed together without interruption: Paper 1A multiple-choice, SL 25 marks / HL 40 marks, and Paper 1B data-based questions, 20 marks; SL 90 minutes/45 marks/36%, HL 120 minutes/60 marks/36%, calculator and data booklet permitted), Paper 2 (short-and-extended-response questions, SL 90 minutes/55 marks/44%, HL 150 minutes/90 marks/44%, calculator and data booklet permitted), and an internally assessed scientific investigation (24 marks, 20%, marked against 4 criteria worth 6 marks each – research design, data analysis, conclusion and evaluation – externally moderated). These notes turn that structure into an exam-day plan.

Paper 1: a multiple-choice booklet (1A) and a data-based booklet (1B)

Paper 1 is presented as two separate booklets: Paper 1A, multiple-choice questions (25 marks at SL, 40 at HL), and Paper 1B, data-based questions built around graphs, tables or experimental scenarios the student has not seen before (20 marks at both levels). The two are completed together without interruption. Exam-preparation priority: because 1B’s data-based questions sit inside the same 36% paper as the multiple-choice booklet, and the time is shared across both, don’t over-revise pure factual recall at the expense of practising unfamiliar data sets – reading an unfamiliar graph or table accurately under time pressure is a distinct, practisable skill, not something that follows automatically from knowing the five syllabus themes well.

Command terms decide how much working is expected

As with other DP sciences, Physics uses a command-term hierarchy that scales with the demand of a question: state or define requires a precise recalled fact; describe requires an accurate account of a pattern or process without explanation; explain requires a reasoned account of why something happens, supported by a named physical law or principle; evaluate or discuss requires weighing the strength of a model, method or conclusion, including its limitations. Exam-preparation priority: because Physics content is unusually formula-heavy, a common way marks are lost is treating “explain” as though stating and applying a formula is enough – full marks typically also require stating the physical reasoning the formula represents, so practise writing the reasoning sentence explicitly, not just the calculation.

Know your data booklet before exam day, not during it

Both papers permit the official IB Physics data booklet, containing formulae and physical constants. Exam-preparation priority: revise using your own copy of the data booklet actively, so that locating the right formula quickly is a rehearsed skill rather than something worked out for the first time under exam pressure – time lost searching the booklet mid-exam is time not spent on the data-based questions and extended responses that carry most of the marks.

The internal assessment: reducing and evaluating uncertainty is a distinct skill

The investigation is graded against 4 equally weighted criteria, each worth 6 marks (24 marks total, 20% of the final grade): research design, data analysis, conclusion and evaluation. Exam-preparation priority: because identifying and reducing sources of uncertainty is examined directly in the written papers as well as in the IA, practising uncertainty estimation from given data – not just recalling it as an IA-only skill – strengthens both.

Worked practice scenario: estimating and commenting on uncertainty

Question: “A student times 20 oscillations of a pendulum three times, recording 28.4 s, 28.6 s and 28.2 s. Estimate the uncertainty in the period, T, and comment on how the student could reduce it.”

Step 1 - find the mean time for 20 oscillations:
mean = (28.4 + 28.6 + 28.2) / 3 = 28.4 s

Step 2 - estimate the absolute uncertainty in that mean (half the range):
uncertainty = (28.6 - 28.2) / 2 = 0.2 s
so the time for 20 oscillations = 28.4 +/- 0.2 s

Step 3 - find the period, T, and its uncertainty (dividing by 20):
T = 28.4 / 20 = 1.42 s
uncertainty in T = 0.2 / 20 = 0.01 s
so T = 1.42 +/- 0.01 s

Step 4 - comment on reducing the uncertainty (the step a
calculation-only answer would miss):
Timing a larger number of oscillations (e.g. 50 instead of 20) reduces
the effect of reaction-time error on each individual measurement of T,
since the same absolute timing uncertainty is divided by a larger
number.

Every step is shown explicitly – the mean, the absolute uncertainty, the division into a per-period uncertainty, and a physically reasoned comment on reducing it – rather than jumping straight to a final value, which is exactly the level of working both the written papers and the IA reward.

Before/during exam checklist

• Before the exam: revise using your own copy of the data booklet, not a printed formula sheet you already know by heart; practise unfamiliar data-based questions specifically, not just recall multiple-choice; write out the physical reasoning behind a formula when practising “explain” questions, not just the calculation; practise uncertainty estimation from raw data.
• During Paper 1: read data-based questions carefully before answering, since they test interpretation of unfamiliar data, not recalled facts.
• During Paper 2: check the command term before answering – “explain” needs reasoning, not just a number.
• On every paper: use the data booklet actively rather than relying on memory for formulae.

Self-test

1. What are Paper 1 and Paper 2 each worth, and how do they differ in structure?
2. What resource is permitted on both written papers, and why is practising with it in advance important?
3. In the worked scenario, why does timing a larger number of oscillations reduce the uncertainty in the period?
4. What does “explain” require, beyond a correct calculation?

Answers: 1. Paper 1 is worth 36% (two booklets taken together: 1A multiple-choice, 1B data-based questions); Paper 2 is worth 44% (short-and-extended-response questions). 2. The official IB Physics data booklet (formulae and constants) – practising with it in advance means locating the right formula is a rehearsed skill rather than something worked out for the first time under exam pressure. 3. Because the same absolute timing uncertainty from reaction time is divided across a larger number of oscillations, reducing the uncertainty in the period calculated per oscillation. 4. A reasoned account of why something happens, supported by a named physical law or principle – not just stating and applying a formula.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Physics guide (Diploma Programme), first assessment 2025 – the same source cited by this site’s full syllabus guide and assessment record, with SL/HL paper structures, durations and mark totals cross-verified against the guide’s own curriculum-model and assessment-summary sections. The worked scenario above is an original example written for this resource, not a reproduction of any official past or sample paper question.