IB Physics Tutoring: Syllabus, Exam Structure and How to Score a 7

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IB Physics tuition, tutoring and online classes at IBtheTOP

IBtheTOP is an IB specialist tutoring centre. IB Physics is taught three ways: 1:1 tutoring, group classes and summer and winter revision courses, all live online and recorded.

1:1 IB tutoring · Paced to your school's syllabus, at a time that suits you.
Group classes · Weekly small-group problem solving through the term.
Revision courses · Summer and winter Physics courses that teach next term ahead.
Online course · Self-paced Physics lectures to review at your own speed.

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IB Physics explores the fundamental laws that govern the universe, from motion and energy to waves, electricity, and modern physics. It develops students’ ability to investigate scientific problems through experimentation, data analysis, and logical reasoning, and shares its assessment structure with the other two IB science subjects.

IB Physics Syllabus Overview

The syllabus examined from 2025 is organised into five themes. SL students cover 150 teaching hours, HL students 240 — the extra time going to five Higher Level topics and to deeper treatment of several shared ones.

ASpace, time and motion

A.1Kinematics A.2Forces and momentum A.3Work, energy and power A.4Rigid body mechanicsHL A.5Galilean and special relativityHL

BThe particulate nature of matter

B.1Thermal energy transfers B.2Greenhouse effect B.3Gas laws B.4ThermodynamicsHL B.5Current and circuits

CWave behaviour

C.1Simple harmonic motionHL+ C.2Wave model C.3Wave phenomenaHL+ C.4Standing waves and resonance C.5Doppler effectHL+

DFields

D.1Gravitational fieldsHL+ D.2Electric and magnetic fieldsHL+ D.3Motion in electromagnetic fields D.4InductionHL

ENuclear and quantum physics

E.1Structure of the atomHL+ E.2Quantum physicsHL E.3Radioactive decayHL+ E.4Fission E.5Fusion and stars

HL = Higher Level only · HL+ = both levels, with additional Higher Level content · hover (or tap) a shortened topic to see its full name

Physics is especially important for students aiming for engineering, physics, mathematics, or computer science.

IB Physics Exam Structure

All IB science subjects follow a similar assessment structure combining written examinations and practical investigation.

Component	What it involves	SL	HL	Weighting
Paper 1	1A — multiple-choice questions on core principles, then 1B — data-based questions on experimental data, graphs and scientific scenarios. Sat as a single session.	1h 30m	2h	36%
Paper 2	Short-answer and extended-response questions: structured problems solved through calculations, diagrams and written explanation.	1h 30m	2h 30m	44%
Internal Assessment	A student-designed scientific investigation — data collection, analysis, and a formal scientific report. Assesses independent application of scientific methodology.	Coursework	Coursework	20%

Why Students Find IB Physics Difficult

IB Physics demands strong conceptual understanding and mathematical problem-solving at the same time. Students most often lose marks applying formulas to unfamiliar situations, interpreting complex diagrams and experimental data, and solving multi-step calculations under exam conditions — which is why success requires both conceptual clarity and extensive problem-solving practice.

How we teach IB Physics

Most students meet IB Physics as a long list of disconnected topics — twenty-four subtopics from A.1 to E.5, each apparently its own thing to memorise. It isn’t. Almost all of it reduces to a small number of core ideas, and force is the one everything else hangs from: acceleration, energy and momentum all follow from it.

We teach the subject as a map rather than a list. Every subtopic is placed against those core concepts and the dependencies between them are made explicit, so new material attaches to what a student already understands instead of arriving as one more thing to remember. Students who see the structure stop relearning the same principle in five different disguises.

See the whole of physics — not 24 separate topics

Core concepts

ASpace, time and motionBParticulate nature of matterCWave behaviourDFieldsENuclear and quantum physics

Tap or hover a topic to light up everything it connects to. Colours mark the holiday course it is taught in.

Concept before calculation. Students work out what is physically happening before reaching for a formula, which is what unfamiliar exam contexts actually test.
The vocabulary is part of the physics. Precise terminology is taught deliberately — most lost marks in short-answer questions are comprehension failures, not calculation errors.
The data booklet is a skill. Knowing which relationship to reach for, and deriving what the booklet doesn’t give you, is trained rather than assumed.
Graphs and high-error questions get their own drilling. Difficult graph interpretation and the questions students most commonly get wrong are practised separately, with keyword checklists for structured responses.