Physics HL

By: R. Gonzalez

Hello. So, here, I will write a little bit about my experience in taking IB Higher Level Physics and the reasons why I chose it.

First of all, if you are taking the IGCSEs right now, and hate physics, this is probably not the right subject for you, specially because the IB is all about is going in depth on these subjects. I liked to  study physics before, but I found all of that a bit boring and useless, and thought: ‘why measure the momentum of two 10kg carts hitting each other?What is the point of these pathetic questions?’

Well, when you start taking the IB, it all starts to make sense, and things become more interesting and complicated. I will never forget how amazed I was when I found out how a CD player worked: when would I have imagined that refraction had such an important role in our daily lives! Not only do you learn more about how and why things happen but you also know where things you learn in class are used in real life. Knowing why things happen the way they do is just priceless.

I honestly love physics lessons, although I am the only girl in my Physics HL class; people are always willing to learn and intrigued about the subject, which makes it even more enjoyable. Most of the people in physics are good at maths but you don’t need to be a fantastic mathematician to take physics. Understanding the basic skills of algebra, substituting values in an equation, plotting graphs and knowing a bit of trigonometry is enough. Plus, memorizing all of those equations the night before the test is a something of the past; we receive a beautiful data booklet with all of the formulas!

Okay, don’t get me wrong. It’s not easy. You will have to be very dedicated and hardworking to keep up with the amount of topics covered, because there are many, many subjects. Electricity, magnetism, waves, mechanics, relativity, quantum and nuclear physics are only a few. Nothing that a bit of studying can’t do though.

Besides, whenever you have a doubt there are so many resources to help you; workshops, firefly, Google, khan academy, kognity, textbooks etc. Just make sure to never let things to the last minute because some topics require a bit more time and patience to understand. I think that’s about it.  Good luck in your making your choice and thank you for reading!