The shared ground across all three boards

AQA, Edexcel and OCR carve up GCSE Physics slightly differently, but the content underneath is the same: energy, electricity, the particle model of matter, atomic and nuclear physics, forces and motion, waves, magnetism and electromagnetism, and space physics. Space physics is usually the smallest, most self-contained topic of the lot, and a good place to bank reliable marks. Build your revision around these shared themes first, then check your specific board's specification for exact wording and anything extra it adds.

Know which equations you have to memorise

Every board splits its equations into two lists: ones you're expected to recall from memory, and ones printed on the equation sheet in the exam. Mixing the two up, assuming an equation will just be given to you when it's actually one you're supposed to know, is a common way to lose marks for no good reason. Get your board's exact equation list early and test yourself on the memorise-list specifically, rather than folding it into general topic revision.

Required practicals turn up on the written papers

Like GCSE Chemistry, Physics required practicals aren't sat as a separate hands-on exam. They're tested through written questions about method, variables, apparatus, and evaluating results and sources of error. Revise each required practical as its own topic: what was measured, what was controlled, what usually goes wrong. Having "done it once in class" won't carry you through an exam question months later.

Units and significant figures

Physics calculation questions usually lose marks for reasons that have nothing to do with the method: missing or wrong units on the final answer, or the wrong number of significant figures for the data given. Make checking units and sig figs part of how you check every calculation question, not something you remember to do occasionally.

Common content traps

  • Mixing up distance-time and velocity-time graphs, especially when reading gradients and working out what a curved line means versus a straight one.
  • Muddling the units and definitions of energy, work done and power, particularly in multi-step calculations that chain several quantities together.
  • Describing alpha, beta and gamma radiation only by penetrating power, without also knowing their relative ionising power and what each one actually is.

Revising GCSE Physics with ExamPass.ai

ExamPass.ai generates GCSE Physics exam questions by topic and full exam papers with mark schemes matched to your exam board and tier. instant marking of your handwritten calculation working shows you exactly where units, significant figures or method steps went missing.