Physics
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study guide | year
12 | year 11
Physics is "the branch of science concerned the properties
of matter and energy and the relationships between
them" (Collins
Concise Dictionary).
In the media recently, high-school Physics has come under
increasing attack for being irrelevant, a superficial glance
at the broad discipline without actually being able to
do anything practical. However, one must remember that
Physics contains the underlying principles of all science,
and other sciences, such as Chemistry, could be considered
as "applied Physics". The study of Physics, for
me and many others, unleashes a world of fascination, of
how the world works, an amazement at the infinite complexity
of the universe. Even the supposedly "boring" side
of school Physics, the history, can bring to light modern
Physics by placing it in context.
How to study physics: a quick guide
- Revise your work regularly. Go over the work you did
at school each night, and try to complete at least some
of the work assigned.
- What's most important is to try and listen during class.
Even though your teacher may be unbearably boring, he
or she is speaking words of wisdom. The diagrams and
overheads that your teacher may show you are often easier
to understand than reading your textbook at 2 am the
night before your assessment.
- Ask someone if you don't understand something.
- Physics is a discipline where knowledge builds up over
time — basic facts may be needed to be grasped
before understanding the more difficult material, hence
the need to keep up to date.
- Practice answering questions that involve the verbs
commonly seen in your exam papers.
- Don't spend too much time on each question. The number
of lines in the exam are often indicative of how much
you need to write, but remember that as long as you satisfy
the marking guidelines, you can score full marks regardless
of how much you write. You won't get extra marks just
because you wrote more than everyone else.
HSC (Year 12) resources
Preliminary (Year 11) resources
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