IGCSE → A-Level Physics

Transition Booklet
Poor
Student Name: _______________________
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents 1
Overview 2
How to use this booklet 2
Course Overview 3
Course Title and Codes 3
Course Specification and Textbooks 3
Course Examinations 4
Year 12 Course Content 6
Expectations for Physics Students at A-Level 8
Expectations: In-class 8
Expectations: Independent Study 9
Expectations: Note-Taking 10
Expectations: Showing Your Full Working Out 12
Resources for Extra Help 14
How to Ask for Help 14
Online Resources 14
Co-ordinated Science → Triple Physics: Bridging the Gap 15
Resources by Topic 15
Practice Questions 16
Are you ready for A-Level Physics? 18
Pre-Requisite Physics Skills Self-Assessment 18
Pre-Requisite Maths Skills Self-Assessment 32
Mark Schemes: Pre-Requisite Physics Skills Self-Assessment 40
Mark Schemes: Pre-Requisite Maths Skills Self-Assessment 43
Transition Skills 48
Learning the Basics for Practical Work 48
Pre-A-Level Additional Skills Practice Using Isaac Physics 49
Setting up your account 49
Tasks by Topic 49
Task 1: GCSE to A level transition - Skills 1 49
Task 2: GCSE to A level transition - Skills 2 49
Task 3: Getting to Grips with Significant Figures 49
Getting Ahead: The First Look at Unit 1 50
Mechanics 50
Materials 50
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Overview
Welcome to A-level Physics!
You are about to embark on a journey that will build on your foundation from IGCSE and expand
your horizons. We will also help you question everything around you, to be inquisitive, and to gain
a thirst for understanding.
However, the difference between IGCSE and A-level is quite large, and transitioning up to A-level
may come with a few surprises.
This booklet is designed to help you fill in some of the gaps between what you know now, and
what you are expected to know as we move on to more challenging topics in Year 12.

How to use this booklet

1. Read through the booklet to become familiar with the Course Content and Course
Outline, the Expectations for KS5, and the skills you need to solidify to find success in
A-Level Physics.

2. If you completed the IGCSE Co-ordinated Science syllabus, go through the

Co-ordinated → Triple Physics section of the booklet. Read through the notes and
complete the practice.

3. Complete the Are You Ready For A-Level Physics section. This section includes
IGCSE-level questions that a student who is suitable for A-Level should be able to
answer with a minimal amount of external help.

4. Complete the Transition Skills section of the booklet. Start by watching the video
about the Top 5 Differences between IGCSE and A-Level. As you read through this
section, you will find instructions on how to use these skills, as well as practice
questions that you should complete to help you solidify these skills.

5. Complete the Pre-A-Level Skills Additional Practice on Isaac Physics. This section
includes some videos for each of the skills, and some Isaac Physics practice questions
to go with it. Instructions on how to join Isaac Physics are found in this section.

6. Optional but recommended: The First Look at Unit 1 section contains some
pre-reading and related activities that you can do to give yourself the best start to this
new and challenging adventure.
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Course Overview

Course Title and Codes

Y12 (AS): Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary in Physics (XPH11)
Y13 (IAL): Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level in Physics (YPH11)

Course Specification and Textbooks

● Link to the Pearson Edexcel Specification (as of 2018)

● Link to the digital versions of the textbooks on Firefly

○ It is recommended that you download the textbook or borrow a physical copy from
the school library

● A printed copy of the Practical Lab Book will also be given to you.

○ You must complete all of the work related to the Core Practical in this book.

○ The books are to remain in the classroom unless otherwise specified by your
teacher.
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Course Examinations
Year 12:
The Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary (AS) in Physics consists of three externally
examined units.
Note that Unit 1 and Unit 2 contain two topics each.

Unit Assessment Information Number of Raw % of IAS % of IAL

Marks Allocated
to the Unit

Unit 1: Mechanics Externally assessed 80 marks 40% 20%

and Materials
Written examination:
Code: WPH11/01
1 hour and 30 minutes

Availability: January, June

and October

Unit 2: Waves and Externally assessed 80 marks 40% 20%

Electricity
Written examination:
Code: WPH12/01
1 hour and 30 minutes

Availability: January, June

and October

Unit 3: Practical Externally assessed 50 marks 20% 10%

Skills in Physics I
Written examination:
Code: WPH13/01
1 hour and 20 minutes

Availability: January, June

and October
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Year 13:
The Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level (IAL) in Physics consists of six externally
examined units, three of which are completed in the AS course (Year 12).
Note that Unit 4 and Unit 5 contain three or four topics each.

Unit Assessment Information Number of Raw % of IAS % of IAL

Marks Allocated
to the Unit

Unit 4: Further Externally assessed 90 marks 40% 20%

Mechanics, Fields
and Particles Written examination:

1 hour and 45 minutes

Code: WPH14/01
Availability: January, June
and October

Unit 5: Externally assessed 90 marks 40% 20%

Thermodynamics,
Radiation, Written examination:
Oscillations and
1 hour and 45 minutes
Cosmology
Availability: January, June
Code: WPH15/01 and October

Unit 6: Practical Externally assessed 50 marks 20% 10%

Skills in Physics II
Written examination:
Code: WPH16/01
1 hour and 20 minutes

Availability: January, June

and October

Candidates must complete and pass all assessments (with a letter grade of A - E) to obtain a
qualification.

For more information, see the specification document attached to Page 3.

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Year 12 Course Content

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Expectations for Physics Students at A-Level

Expectations: In-class
● Come prepared

○ Bring all of the necessary materials, such as pens, pencils, rulers, protractors, and
calculators

○ Have access to all of your note-taking materials (more details below)

○ Do any pre-assigned practice work or reading assignments and have questions ready.

● Take pride in your work

○ You should always work on paper/iPad/whiteboard, never just in your head.

○ Your work must be neat and legible and should show all of your steps (more on this
below)

● Have a good attitude

○ Bring a “can do” attitude with you. You will come across some challenging content and
questions. Learn from your mistakes and keep working hard.

○ Collaborate with your peers. Everyone in this room is studying Physics because they
chose to. Everyone is here to learn, and you can learn a lot from the people around
you.
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Expectations: Independent Study

● Get organised

○ Develop a method to keep track of all of the work you need to do each day, as well as
important dates and deadlines. Paper or digital planners work best.

You will also be provided with a spreadsheet that outlines all of the lessons for each
topic and the related work, as found on Google Classroom.
Ask your tutor for help if you need support finding a way to keep track of everything.

○ Have a system for organising your work for each topic, either in a binder, a notebook,
or a digital filing system. You will be learning two topics at once, so it is important that
you can keep track of all of your notes and practice sets.

○ If you prefer to work on paper, find a way to print all of the notes/practice questions
ahead of time and keep them organised in a binder.

● Make good use of your study periods

○ The 10 hours of class time each fortnight should not be the only time that you are
doing Physics. Independent study is an integral part of any A-Level course.

○ After every lesson, you should go over your notes from class (or make notes if you
were too busy listening to write things down), as well as any additionally linked
resources to check that you understand the content, and then move on to the
corresponding practice set.

○ Use the Mark Schemes only to check your work, not as a means to get the work done. If
you don’t know how to answer a question, ask your peers and/or teacher.
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Expectations: Note-Taking
● Understand the purpose of note-taking

○ Note-taking is a way to consolidate your understanding by summarising what you

learned

○ Copying down information from the slide/other resources word for word is a waste of
time - you need to put it in your own words for it to work

● Choose a note-taking tool that allows you to make high-quality notes

○ Much research on cognitive psychology shows that writing by hand is linked to higher
levels of comprehension and memory.

○ Your notes can be typed up, however, your practice work should be done by hand,
either in a notebook or digitally on a tablet using a stylus.
Typing on a laptop is not appropriate for practising a subject like physics.

● Choose a note-taking method that you can stick to

○ Option 1: Use the Slides Template provided for each lesson to keep track of the
information, links, questions, etc.

■ Summarise the information on the Slide pictured above

■ Here is a link to an example of what these Slides will look like

○ Option 2: Use the Cornell Method

■ Here is a template to help you out. Likewise, the instructions can be seen in the
example on the left, on the next page.

■ Below, on the right, you will find an example of how a previous student used this
method of note-taking using the Goodnotes App
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Summary of how to use Cornell Notes: Sample Student Notes using the Cornell Method:
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Expectations: Showing Your Full Working Out

The problems that we will look at in A-Level are significantly more complex than those from IGCSE
and often require a large amount of quantities to use over a series of multiple steps. Showing your
work in a clear and proper format is of the utmost importance.

The person who will benefit the most from having clear work is YOU.

● It will help the examiner understand what you are doing so you are more likely to receive
the marks you deserve

● It will help you organise the large amount of information in each question so you can keep
track of what you need and when to use it

● It will help you keep track of what you are doing so you can follow your own thought
process if you get distracted

● It will eventually allow you to solve harder problems that you have not seen before since
you can keep track of relevant information and see where it should be used

● It will allow your teacher to give you more meaningful feedback in class since they can
quickly see your approach for each question and correct any mistakes or misconceptions

To be convinced further, you can watch this video outlining the importance of showing your work

High-quality work includes the following:

● A clear indication of the variable assigned to each quantity given in the question, with SI
units.
Ex: m = 3100 kg, W = 600 N, d = 22mm = 0.022m

○ You may need to use subscripts if you have more than one of a specific quantity.
Ex: F1 = 450 N, F2 = 675 N

● A labelled diagram to show where each of the quantities belongs within the problem.
This step is usually the most important first step for problem-solving in Physics

● The equation that you are using, immediately followed by the numbers being substituted
into the equation in the line BELOW

○ All of the algebra that you do to solve for your unknowns should be done beneath the
equation, with all equal signs aligned.
You should always have the variable you are solving for somewhere in your equation.

○ Do most of your algebra on the page. Doing it in your head will likely lead to you
making silly mistakes.
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○ Save the calculator for the last step. Calculating numbers before you have finished
rearranging your equation for your unknown could lead to rounding errors at best, or it
may distract you from what you were doing and confuse you.

● Labels and units are attached to any number that you have calculated.
This will help you remember what that number means for later use.

● If the problem has multiple parts, make a short statement to describe which part of the
problem the calculation that you are about to solve is for.

Below are some examples of high-quality work vs. work that is hard to follow for both the reader
and the student.

Question: A ball is thrown upwards at an angle of 40 degrees with a speed of 3.0 m/s. What is the
horizontal displacement of the ball when it reaches its maximum height?

Good working out: Not so good working out:

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Resources for Extra Help

How to Ask for Help
● Make an appointment with your teacher as soon as you have any questions or feel
something is unclear

● An after-school ECA will be available weekly for additional support. You can sign up for it
and attend it regularly, or you can drop by as needed.
Note: Your teacher may ask you to attend this ECA on a weekly basis if they feel that you are
struggling to keep up with the course content.

Online Resources
● A Level Physics Online - great videos, simulations, and notes

○ Access to some resources may require a subscription

○ You can also find a lot of their online resources on YouTube

● Edexcel International A-level Physics Revision - PMT (Physics and Maths Tutor)
- great for past papers and revision notes.

○ Do not replace your own note-taking by just downloading theirs

● Edexcel SaveMyExams
- great for past papers and revision notes.

○ Do not replace your own note-taking by just downloading theirs

○ Requires a paid subscription if you want full access to all of the resources
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Co-ordinated Science → Triple Physics: Bridging the Gap

Resources by Topic
There are topics in the Triple Physics Syllabus that are not in the Coordinated one.
You will have already learned about many of these topics to some extent, but there are a few
additional details that you need to be aware of.

Topic 1: Vector Diagrams and Resultant Vectors - Notes, Video 1, Video 2

Topic 2: Calculating Speed from a Distance-Time Graph - Notes, Video

Topic 3: Calculating Acceleration from a Speed-Time Graph - Notes, Video

Topic 4: Negative Acceleration - Notes

Topic 5: Terminal Velocity - Notes, Video

Topic 6: Circular Motion - Notes, Video

Topic 7: Momentum and Impulse - Notes, Video I, Video II

Topic 8: Pressure in Liquids - Notes, Video 1, Video 2

Topic 9: Gas Laws Calculations - Notes, Video 1, Video 2, Video 3

Topic 10: Specific Heat Capacity - Notes, Specific Heat Capacity: Video 1, Video 2, Video of a
Full Lesson; Latent Heat: Video

Topic 11: Critical Angle - Notes, Video

Topic 12: Dispersion on Light through a Prism - Notes, Video

Topic 13: Electric and Magnetic Fields - Notes, Video (electric), Video (magnetic 1), Video
(magnetic 2)

Topic 14: I-V Graphs for Resistors, Filament Lamps, and Diodes - Notes, Video

Topic 15: Potential Dividers - Notes, Video (summary), Video (details)

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Topic 16: Uses of Electromagnets in Relays and Loudspeakers - Notes, Video (relays), Video
(Loudspeakers)

Topic 17: High Voltage Transmission and Power Loss in Cables - Notes, Video

Topic 18: Rutherford and Evidence for the Nuclear Atom - Notes, Video

Topic 19: Fusion and Fission - Notes, Video (Fusion), Video (Fission)

Topic 20: Space Physics - Notes (LONG DOC), Video (the Solar System), Video (Seasons), Video
(The Moon), Video (Lunar Eclipses), Video (Solar Eclipses), Video (Life Cycle of Starts), Video (the
Universe), Video (Orbits), Video (Red Shift)

Practice Questions

Topic 1: Vector Diagrams and Resultant Vectors - Questions with MS

Topic 2: Calculating Speed from a Distance-Time Graph and

Topic 3: Calculating Acceleration from a Speed-Time Graph - Quiz

Topic 5: Terminal Velocity - Quiz

Topic 6: Circular Motion - Quiz

Topic 7: Momentum and Impulse - Quiz: Momentum, Quiz: Impulse, Quiz (both), Practice
Questions and MS

Topic 8: Pressure in Liquids - Quiz

Topic 9: Gas Laws Calculations - Quiz, Practice Calculation Questions with MS

Topic 10: Specific Heat Capacity and Direction of Heat Transfer - Questions with Answers

Topic 11: Critical Angle - Questions with MS

Topic 13: Electric and Magnetic Fields - Quiz, Practice Questions

Topic 15: Potential Dividers - Quiz, MC Questions

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Topic 16: Uses of Electromagnets in Relays and Loudspeakers - Quiz

Topic 17: High Voltage Transmission and Power Loss in Cables - Quiz

Topic 18: Rutherford and Evidence for the Nuclear Atom - Quiz

Topic 19: Fusion and Fission - Questions with MS

Topic 20: Space Physics - Solar System Quiz, Orbits Quiz, Life Cycle of a Star Quiz, Redshift Quiz,
The Big Bang and Hubble Quiz
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Are you ready for A-Level Physics?

A-Level Physics is not an easy course; it is significantly more challenging than what you were
expected to learn in IGCSE, and you will be required to use a much higher level of problem-solving.
If you find this section of the booklet to be very challenging, take a moment to consider what
taking this course will look like for you - the amount of additional work that you will need to do to
keep up with the class, the extra help sessions you will need to attend—and be realistic about
your expectations about your final results.
We are here to help you, but you will need to put in the time and effort first.

Pre-Requisite Physics Skills Self-Assessment

1. Two blocks, A and B, are joined by a thin thread that passes over a frictionless pulley. Block A
is at rest on a rough horizontal surface, and block B is held at rest, just below the pulley.
The diagram shows the thread hanging loose.

Block B is released and it falls vertically.

The thread remains loose until Block B has

fallen a distance of 0.45 m.

The mass of Block B is 0.50 kg.

The mass of block A is 2.0 kg.

a. Calculate the change in the gravitational potential energy (g.p.e.) of Block B as it falls
through 0.45 m.

Change in GPE = ______________ [2]

b. When the thread tightens, it pulls on Block A, which moves to the right at a speed of 0.60
m/s.
Calculate the impulse exerted on block A as it accelerates from rest to 0.60 m/s.

Impulse = _________________ [3]

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2. A rock climber, with a total mass of 62kg, holds herself in horizontal equilibrium against a
vertical cliff.
She pulls on a rope that is fixed at the top of the cliff and presses her feet against the cliff.

The diagram shows her position.

a. The climber’s centre of mass is 0.90 m from the cliff.

Calculate the moment about her feet due to her weight.

Moment = _______________ [2]

b. The line of the rope meets the horizontal line through her centre of mass at a distance
of 1.2m from the cliff, as shown in the diagram. The rope is at an angle of 60° to the
horizontal.

Determine the tension in the rope.

Tension = _________________ [3]