Ever wonder why some students can do well for Physics examinations while others constantly struggle throughout their school years in Singapore? Is Physics tuition really necessary to do well for Physics examinations?
Different components of a Physics exam paper
Firstly, let’s examine the different components that make up the Physics examination paper. There are 40 compulsory multiple choice questions in paper 1 that make up 30% of the total weightage. For paper 2, it is split up into 2 sections. Section A comprises of a series of short answer questions making up 50 marks. Section B comprises of 2 compulsory problem solving questions and an application question of the student’s choice that usually involve major topics in Physics like Electromagnetism and Kinematics and this makes up 30 marks. Totals marks from paper 2 is 80 and the weightage is 50%. For the last component, it is laboratory work which makes up the last 20% of the weightage.
Understanding the breakdown of the Physics examination papers can help students to study smart, regardless of whether they see the need for Physics tuition or not.
For Physics MCQ questions, students have an easier time as the answers are provided as one of the choices. Therefore, for calculation questions, students can either use the answers to work out and confirm the parameters backwards to eliminate the wrong answers or they can work out the answers based on the question parameters and eliminate choices that are obvious outliers and zoom into the answers that are closer to the correct answer. This helps to increase their probability of getting the correct answer. For explanation or conceptual questions, there is also a tendency for certain choices to not fit into what the questions are asking about. This will allow students a better chance of obtaining the correct answers as well.
For questions found in Physics paper 2, students are required to formulate their answers with no reference. That means they would have to already know and memorise all the topics at their fingertips. Although the requirements are tougher than that of paper 1, there are several strategies that students may find useful to handle this section. One strategy will be to create a summary of concepts for each topic into bite-sized pieces based on possible questions from past year papers. Another strategy will be to identify possible topics for problem solving and application questions.
How can Physics tuition help students to break down an exam paper?
There are many physics tuition centres across Singapore but what makes the Physics Lab stand out is the fact that our physics tuition revolves around making comprehension and understanding of Physics topics easy and enjoyable. This is achieved through creating examination guides and notes for students to study on the go and having videos of fun Physics experiments to keep students intrigued and interested in the subject. We keep our Physics lessons interactive and engaging through group discussions and brain teasers that our teachers will conscientiously explain and showcase solutions to our students.
We believe that we provide an edge to our students by providing a multi-dimensional approach to learning Physics at our tuition centres and this will help to supplement the learning of Physics in schools.
