hello and welcome back to Ivy Lilia. If
you're new make sure to subscribe. Today
we're talking about IB SL physics. I know
that a lot of kids that take physics are
total math whizzes... that's not me so I
knew I couldn't bank on calculations
alone to get all of my marks. So if
you're like me and you need to play to
your strong suits to ace the physics
exam, then here are four tips if math
isn't really your forte. Number one: play to your strengths. I really focused my energy
on learning the different definitions
for different terms, learning the
connections between different concepts,
everything that I could learn
conceptually without knowing a
calculation for. There's so much content
for physics that it's all about time
management. If that means time management
on the exams, then you should really
prioritize the content that you feel
really confident about, so when you're
studying, study what you know you can
knock out of the park and not what you
think you may or may not be able to get
one or two marks on. For me, circuits
didn't really click with me. I just
didn't really get it, so when I was
studying for the exam, and throughout the
class, I was spending most of my time on
really hammering and internalizing
concepts from waves or particle physics
and just kind of knowing the bare
minimum for circuits. It's all about
prioritizing what you think you can
excel on, so if you know you can do
really well and get all the marks on a
certain topic, focus on that topic. Now
I'm not saying don't study anything else,
just know that ultimately whatever
you're not strongest on will be one or
two questions on the test it's not going
to make or break your entire score.
Number two: pay attention to marks. If
it's a short answer question, the IB will
tell you how many aspects they want you
to answer. If they're asking you about
radioactivity and it's two marks, you
know that there's going to be two things
they want you to say. I will always know
that to
answer anything about radioactivity I
need to mention that it's spontaneous
and random, and if I get those two things
in, then I'm sure to get most of the
marks. It is so important to keep this in
mind when you're studying and when
you're learning in the class because you
need to memorize every element that's
needed to effectively and completely
answer any question. It's little things
like that that will ensure you get the
highest marks possible. Three: know what every
variable in the data booklet means and
how to utilize every single equation.
It's not important to memorize the
equations, it's important to memorize
what they mean. If you understand the
interaction between the variables, it's
going to help you understand concepts
and physics
and do the calculations better.
Throughout the year, as I was studying I
would take sections of the data booklet
cut them out and put them onto a flashcard
and then I would test myself: do I know
every variable? do I know how I can use
this equation? do I know how this
equation really works? And that helped me
answer short questions because you can
use the data packet to help you memorize
definitions. Knowing the different
equations helps you with short answer
questions because you can see the
definitions in the equations. Don't
memorize anything that you don't have to,
so use that data booklet to its best
advantage for you. Number four: Don't get
psyched out. It is so easy to be
overwhelmed by the content, by the time
constraints in the exams, by the sheer
difficulty of the physics exams. Like,
come on! It's SL why is it so hard! But
remember that you really only need a 50%
to do super well on the exams, but I
would caution you to not use that
mindset when you're studying for the
exams because if you study knowing you
only need a 50% you're not giving it
your all and you're probably gonna end
up with a 2 or 3 instead of a 6 or a 7.
Remember that the mark bands are really
low to console yourself, but don't let it
be an excuse for a bad work ethic. I was
not good at physics when I came into
that class. I couldn't visualize how
things moved, like, I couldn't think about
acceleration or velocity. I just
didn't get it, but by the
and it was probably one of my favorite
IB classes I took, like, I loved
astrophysics, I loved particle physics. Muons, tauons, bosons,  those are my things!
So it's really about finding your
strengths in that class and really
playing to them. I'm confident that if
you keep that strategy in mind you will
excel in that class. I hope this video
was helpful, if you have any questions
make sure to leave a comment or DM me on
Instagram. Make sure to subscribe, and I
will see you later!
